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Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan, the first Black man and the second person of color to lead the agency, delivered a special video message to symposium attendees. Regan highlighted the work he and the Biden administration are doing to advance environmental justice, including President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to devote at least 40% of the federal investments in addressing climate change to underserved communities.

An informal settlement (IS) is a densely populated area of housing that has little to no legal status or regulation. The settlements arise as a result of housing needs for low-income residents or migrant workers. Typically, the homes are quickly assembled on any plot of available land, using materials that are donated or can be easily acquired. Globally, the number of people living in IS ranges from 200 million to 1 billion [Walls, et al., 2020] [United Nations, n.d.]. In South Africa, people in IS households comprise between 18% to 33% of the total population.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded the University of Maryland School of Public Policy (SPP) $300,000 and Syracuse University $200,000 to study changes in electricity and technology use in consumers who adopt solar panels (PVs), battery storage and electric vehicles (EVs). The study will help policymakers develop targeted interventions to encourage consumers to co-adopt these energy-saving technologies.