Fight Climate Change In Your Backyard

The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF)

Thirty years after the alarm bells first sounded on our rapidly warming planet, the Amazon is still burning , fossil fuel companies continue to post record profits , and the deadline to fix our system looms ever larger.

But growing, grassroots-level climate programs are providing much-needed hope to communities facing the brunt of climate change disasters.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)has implemented a national-level program – the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) – to provide low-income and disadvantaged communities with access to capital. Via partnerships with nonprofit and public agencies at the state and local levels, GGRF aims to lower energy bills, reduce pollution, and leverage private capital to combat climate change and create economic opportunity for American communities.

It’s the largest-ever infusion of federal funds in clean energy and climate change, enshrined by law via the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022.  The Justice40 initiative guarantees that the lion’s share — 40% of $27 billion — is earmarked for disadvantaged communities (DACs) that bear the highest per capita energy costs and are overburdened by pollution.

Together, these two federal mechanisms, set up by the Biden-Harris administration, ensure that communities now have resources to tackle the climate crisis.

Educating at-risk communities about GGRF

But how much do communities know about the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund or that it is a vital part of the two-year-old Inflation Reduction Act? What energy-burdened communities are already mobilizing to receive grants for climate and green energy projects? Where are the most energy-burdened regions? How can local agencies — including grassroots nonprofits — apply?

At a Sept. 9 EMS briefing, a panel of experts and local stakeholders examined the GGRF in-depth to explain how this historic investment can reduce household energy costs and uplift working-class and poor communities. They included David Widawsky, Director, Office of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, US Environmental Protection Agency; Shalanda H. Baker, University of Michigan’s first vice provost for sustainability and climate action; Evie Bauman, Director, Community Implementation, Rewiring America, part of the Power Forward Communities Coalition; Rosemery Jones, De Soto, Georgia resident, project manager for Rewiring America; Reed Hundt, co-founder, former chairman, and CEO of the Coalition for Green Capital; and Chrystel Cornelius, President & CEO of the Oweesta Corporation

The 27 billion dollar split

The $27 billion dollar investment is split across three main programs:

1. The $14 National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF) establishes access to private capital in order to deliver financing at scale to businesses, communities, community lenders, and accelerate the clean energy transition independent of the current coal-heavy institutions.
2. The $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA) directs funds to five non-profits to establish hubs that provide funding and technical assistance to community lenders, such as green banks, working in low-income and disadvantaged communities, providing an immediate pathway to deploy projects in those communities while also building up the capacity to finance projects for the future.
3. The $7 billion Solar for All program awards funding to 60 grant recipients – including states, territories, Tribal governments, municipalities, and eligible nonprofits to expand the number of low-income and disadvantaged communities primed for distributed solar investment. These recipients are enabling millions of low-income households to access affordable, resilient, and clean solar energy.

An age of energy insecurity

Currently, one in three Americans live in a state of energy insecurity; they do not have the means or access to heating or cooling required for their living environments. These communities suffer the injustice of facing the largest energy burdens including financial burdens that occur when any household spends more than 6% of their income on energy needs. Besides this, these communities may also face legacy pollution or live in areas where fossil fuel production is ongoing.

In California, nearly 8056 communities have been identified as climate-disadvantaged; they spread across urban and semi-urban areas like San Diego, Santa Clara, San Jose, and Alameda counties.

Caption key: the areas in blue are identified as facing one or more of energy burdens caused by the climate crisis. Source: Climate and Economic Justice Tool

How Can Communities Access Funding?

“The GCRF is a once-in-a-generation wealth creation opportunity for black and brown communities,” says Shalanda Baker, Vice Provost for Sustainability

and Climate Action at the University of Michigan, alluding to the doorways opened up by this initiative for new business opportunities and the jobs that they will create.

The first step to accessing this fund would be to contact non-profits that have won grants from the EPA as part of the GGRF Initiative. Some of these non-profits like Rewiring America have already achieved success in small towns like DeSoto, Alabama , by helping the residents install heat pumps and electric stoves, and fix their broken appliances at zero cost. Some of these residents had faced a no-heat winter and had refrained from upgrading their homes for fear of the high costs involved.

For Solar: Community leaders or solar advocates in California can contact The California Infrastructure Economic Development Bank (Ibank) or email casolarforall@energy.ca.gov directly.

For Access to Capital: Reach out to the appropriate non-profit serving your geographic area and need.  The 3 NCIF Awardees are Climate United , Coalition for Green Capital , and Power Forward Communities . CCIA awardees include Appalachian Community Capital , Inclusiv , Justice Climate Fund , Native CDFI Network , and Opportunity Finance Network .

The post Fight Climate Change In Your Backyard appeared first on India Currents .