EPA Announces Nearly $200 Million to Minnesota for Community-Driven Solutions to Cut Climate Pollution
Publilshed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Today, as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the selection of the State of Minnesota to receive a $199,999,999 Climate Pollution Reduction Grant to implement community-driven solutions that tackle the climate crisis, reduce air pollution, advance environmental justice, and accelerate America’s clean energy transition.
Minnesota will use its Climate Pollution Reduction Grant to support the Minnesota Climate-Smart Food Systems project, led by Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The project will focus on food system decarbonization to improve the health and well–being of Minnesotans. The project will support peatland restoration, climate-friendly agriculture, energy efficiency, vehicle and equipment electrification, and advanced clean fuels, climate friendly refrigerants and food waste prevention.
“President Biden believes in the power of community-driven solutions to fight climate change, protect public health, and grow our economy. Thanks to his leadership, the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program will deliver unprecedented resources to states, local governments, and Tribes to fund the solutions that work best in their communities,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “Selected recipients have put forward ambitious plans to advance sustainable agriculture, deploy clean industrial technologies, cut emissions and energy costs in homes and commercial buildings, and provide cost- and energy-efficient heating and cooling to communities, creating economic and workforce development opportunities along the way.”
“The Biden-Harris administration is delivering unprecedented funding and resources to help Minnesota fight climate change, safeguard public health and grow its economy,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore. “EPA congratulates Gov. Walz for his leadership and innovative plans to drastically cut greenhouse gas emissions by decarbonizing the state’s food system across agricultural, industrial and waste sectors, to building a greener, cleaner, healthier future for all Minnesotans.”
“Minnesota is a national leader in developing sustainable solutions to address climate change and ensure a safe and healthy future for our kids,” said Governor Tim Walz. “This funding will help us continue this work and implement a wide range of improvements to our food system: from climate-smart farming practices to scaling up food waste prevention programs. The Inflation Reduction Act is helping Minnesota make great strides on climate change.”
“I am thrilled to that the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has been selected as one of twenty-five grantees through EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program,” said Rep. Betty McCollum. “The $4.3 billion in new investments from the Biden-Harris Administration will be spread across the country, building national momentum towards achieving our climate resilience goals. In Minnesota, the Climate-Smart Food Systems project will improve the health and wellbeing of Minnesotans by focusing on food system decarbonization.”
EPA made its selections through a rigorous grants competition that was designed to be fair and impartial. The Agency reviewed nearly 300 applications that were submitted by entities from across the country and requested a total of nearly $33 billion in funding.
The 25 selected applications – from states, a Tribe, local governments, and coalitions of these entities – will receive federal funding to implement local and regional solutions. Many of these projects can be expanded and provide examples that other states, local governments, Tribes, and even businesses can replicate in their work to tackle the climate crisis.
Together, these selected projects will implement ambitious climate pollution reduction measures designed by states, Tribes and local governments that will achieve significant cumulative GHG reductions by 2030 and beyond. When estimates provided by all selected applicants are combined, the proposed projects would reduce greenhouse gas pollution by as much as 971 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2050, roughly the emissions from 5 million average homes’ energy use each year for over 25 years.
EPA expects to announce up to an additional $300 million in selections under the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program for Tribes, Tribal consortia, and territories later this summer.
State, Tribal, and local action is vital to deliver on the President’s commitment to reduce climate pollution by over 50% by 2030 and achieve net-zero emissions no later than 2050. The innovative measures contained in the selected applications, developed with input from local communities, are expected to achieve substantial public health benefits such as reducing exposure to extreme heat, improving air quality, reducing energy burden for lower income Americans, improving climate resilience, and providing workforce and economic development opportunities, particularly in low-income and disadvantaged communities.
The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants advance President Biden’s historic Justice40 Initiative, which aims to ensure 40% of the overall benefits of certain climate, clean energy, and other federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
The grants will fund projects supporting the deployment of technologies and programs to reduce greenhouse gases and other harmful pollution across the country and build the infrastructure, housing, industry, and competitive economy needed for a clean energy future. These grants will also help businesses capitalize on new opportunities, spur economic growth and job creation in new and growing industries, and support development of training programs to prepare workers. EPA expects to award the funds later this year, once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied.
Many of the proposed projects contained in the selected applications announced today, as well as the $250 million in planning grant funding that EPA is providing under the CPRG program for development of Climate Action Plans by state, local, and Tribal governments across the country, will complement the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic federal actions and national climate strategies across sectors. Those include: the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, the Administration’s efforts to achieve 100% clean electricity by 2035 and make zero emissions construction common practice by 2030, the Industrial Decarbonization Roadmap, the U.S. Buildings Decarbonization Blueprint, the Administration’s climate-smart agriculture efforts and Nature Based Solutions Roadmap, the U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan, the National Climate Resilience Framework, and more.
Learn more about the selected applications
Learn more about the CPRG program
Read the full article at: https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-announces-nearly-200-million-minnesota-community-driven-solutions-cut-climate
