Environmental Justice Initiative

Exterior of Vanderbilt Hall Courtyard

The Environmental Justice Initiative at NYU School of Law is dedicated to advancing environmental and climate justice in partnership with community-based groups in New York and across the United States. The EJ Initiative uses a range of tools, including litigation, policy advocacy, research, and public education, to protect the rights of all people to clean air, clean, water, and a safe place for children to play. 

Given urgent needs at this moment in history, the Environmental Justice (EJ) Initiative has four priorities: 

  • Providing legal technical assistance and representation to defend environmental justice groups facing termination of federal grants or that may be subject to inquiry from the federal government
  • Representing communities advocating for strong state and local environmental justice laws
  • Strengthening and defending the application of civil rights laws to advance environmental justice, and
  • Representing communities across the country fighting for their health and future by relying on environmental and civil rights laws

October 15 Launch Event

Join Environmental Justice Movement co-founders Charles Lee and Vernice Miller Travis, and NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Director Abre’ Conner for a discussion on "The Past, Present, and Future of Environmental & Climate Justice—How Can the New Environmental Initiative Support the Movement?"

Find out more about our launch event
Charles Lee, Vernice Miller-Travice, Abré Conner

Explore the EJ Initiative

Environmental & Climate Justice Lab

In Fall 2025, the EJ Initiative launched the Environmental and Climate Justice Lab, an experiential learning opportunity for students to represent and partner with community-based organizations in their efforts to address gross disparities in access to clean air, clean water, and a safe place for their children to play, as well as experiencing greater risks from climate change. As a practice dedicated to community lawyering, the Lab provides students with a hands-on opportunity to explore the role of the lawyer in social change movements.

The EJ Initiative is a joint effort of the Center on Race, Inequality, and the Law (CRIL), and the Guarini Center on Environmental, Energy & Land Use Law, and benefits from relationships with other centers and institutes at NYU, including the State Energy & Environmental Impact Center and the Institute for Policy Integrity.