Dive Brief: Policymakers and organizations with climate action and social equity goals must consider a multi-faceted approach to ensuring former fossil fuel workers are treated fairly, according to a new report by Resources for the Future and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). U.S. investment in rural communities, where the majority of energy production takes place, has steadily declined over the past 30 years, Heidi Binko, executive director and co-founder of the Just Transition Fund, said during a Wednesday panel discussion based on the report's findings. This has made many rural communities dependent on fossil fuel income, and economic recovery cannot happen unless physical and social infrastructure in these communities are upgraded, Binko said.