On Sept. 5, the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation received a $1.5 million federal grant for the transitioning to an electric vehicle fleet, expanding charging infrastructure and providing rebates to residents who opt to transition from gas to electric for their personal automobiles.
“The Tribal and territory leaders selected today will fund innovative projects that improve air quality, deliver cleaner affordable electricity, and create economic and workforce opportunities that can be scaled up and replicated across Tribal lands and U.S. territories,” said Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan in a Sept. 5 press release.
The funding has been appropriated through the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), passed by Congress in Aug. 2022. The IRA’s clean energy provisions are the most expansive of any piece of legislation to date, offering a total of $5 billion in federal funding to sustainability initiatives around the nation.
The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation, located within the southeastern corner of Connecticut, has joined a list of 34 total Tribal Nations and territories selected by the EPA for green energy funding. According to an EPA press release, the purpose of the recent grant initiative is to
“implement community-driven solutions to tackle the climate crisis, reduce air pollution, advance environmental justice, and accelerate the clean energy transition.”
Collectively, the 34 grants are projected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 7 million metric tons by 2050, states the same EPA press release.
The grant marks a step forward not only in the push for sustainable development, but for the positive relations between Indigenous Tribal Nations and the federal government. In a Dec. 6, 2023 executive order, the Biden administration affirmed their commitment to tribal self- determination and expressed a readiness to support Tribal communities through federal grants.
“We must ensure that Federal programs, to the maximum extent possible and practicable under Federal law, provide Tribal Nations with the flexibility to improve economic growth, address the specific needs of their communities, and realize their vision for their future,” stated Executive Order 14112.
Although electric vehicles have been lauded for their lower rates of greenhouse gas emissions, some critics view their production and implementation as a more complex issue of human rights. Citing problematic rare mineral extraction by vulnerable workers in the Global South, the critiques leveraged against the broader shift to electric vehicles (EVs), emphasizing their perpetuation of existing social inequalities.
In a paper titled Ensuring a just transition: The electric vehicle revolution from a human rights perspective, researchers from the University of Connecticut have identified the problems and potential solutions surrounding the widespread shift to electric automobiles.
“Prioritizing low-income communities, communities of color, and regions facing chronic disinvestment would signify a significant step toward restorative justice, as it ensures that the benefits of transitioning to low-carbon transportation are equitably distributed among all communities,” states the research paper.
Although the application of funding to Tribal Nations may not address every shortcoming of the “electric vehicle revolution,” the targeted investment of clean and stable infrastructure in historically underfunded Tribal lands indicates progress in the technologies of the future, benefitting all of society.