EPA announces $4.3 billion in funding for 25 climate projects
The Environmental Protection Agency announced $4.3 billion in funding on Monday for 25 new projects proposed by states, tribes, local governments and territories to tackle climate change. The funding could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by as much as 971 million metric tons by 2050, or roughly the emissions of 5 million homes over 25 years, according to the agency.
Among the jurisdictions that will get funding, Nebraska will receive $307 million to reduce agricultural waste and enhance energy efficiency in homes and buildings. Pennsylvania will get $396 million to reduce industrial pollution and create about 6,000 jobs.
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“This is a truly exciting day for Lincoln and for Nebraska and for other cities and states all across the country who are working so hard to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and leave a better, brighter future for our children,” said Leirion Gaylor Baird, the mayor of Lincoln, Nebraska, in a call Friday.
Baird said the funds could reduce Lincoln’s greenhouse gas emissions by 77% by 2050.
Other regions that received money included Southern California to decarbonize freight vehicles; Michigan and tribal partners to adopt new renewable energy projects; Atlantic coastal states to sequester carbon through wetland preservation; Alaska to replace residential oil-burning systems with heat pumps; and the Nez Percé Tribe to retrofit homes.
“I have always said we’ve got to reject the false choice between protecting the planet and protecting our jobs,” said Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania on Monday afternoon. “We can and must do both.”
The money is part of the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program, a $5 billion fund included in the Inflation Reduction Act. The act was a key victory by the Biden administration, providing $396 billion in climate and clean energy funding.
States, plus Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia, were each eligible to receive $3 million to create climate action plans in 2023 during the program’s first phase. All but five states — Florida, Kentucky, Iowa, South Dakota and Wyoming — submitted outlines in March.
Alongside states, the 67 most populous metro areas got $1 million each to create climate action plans in Phase One, $25 million went to tribes and tribal consortia, and $2 million went to other U.S. territories. When a state chose not to apply, the funding defaulted to its three largest metro areas, providing $1 million to develop a plan.
The climate action plans approached cutting emissions in a variety of ways. In total, the EPA received almost 300 applications outlining projects for the program’s second phase.
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