In its fifth National Climate Assessment, the White House has announced an investment of more than $6 billion to help communities across America be more resilient to the impacts of climate change.
"Today’s announcements build on the Biden-Harris Administration’s unprecedented commitment to tackling the climate crisis, strengthening America’s resilience, and delivering for underserved and overburdened communities," the White House said in a statement.
The new investments include nearly $4 billion to "modernize" the country's electric grid and provide more reliable power to households across the country. The Environmental Protection Agency will also soon provide $2 billion in grants to support projects that enhance the use of clean energy and boost support for programs to respond to environmental and climate justice challenges.
"This program, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, will invest in multi-year partnerships between community-based organizations, local governments, institutes of higher education, and federally- recognized Tribes," the White House said. "EPA also will provide $200 million in technical assistance and capacity building support for communities and their partners as they work to access these critical federal resources."
Meanwhile, the Department of Interior also announced $100 million in funding for upgrades to the country's water infrastructure that will help combat the impact of drought in the Western United States.
"This includes $50 million in project awards to improve the reliability of water resources and support ecosystem health in Western states, along with an additional $50 million funding opportunity for water conservation projects and hydropower upgrades," the White House said.
The National Climate Assessment is a federal effort to look at the state of climate change and its impact on communities and ecosystems across the country. According to a new Associated Press/NORC poll, 87% of adults say they've gone through an extreme weather event such as severe heat, drought, hurricanes or winter storms in the last five years. Three-quarters of the public said they had such an experience just in the last few months.
