Biden-Harris Administration Announces $47 Million for the City of Austin to Develop Community-Driven Solutions to Cut Climate Pollution Across Texas
Funded by President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, EPA announces selected applications through competitive Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program to tackle climate change, improve air quality, and advance environmental justice
DALLAS, TEXAS (July 23, 2024) – As part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the City of Austin will receive $47,854, 062 from the 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.
The selected application led by the City of Austin will assist in expanding transit service and develop consolidated information resources for residents. This selected application will benefit low income and disadvantaged communities, across five counties in anticipation of the construction of a multimodal transportation network, including a light rail system. The selected application is a coalition partnership amongst the City of Austin, the Capital Area Council of Governments, Cap Area Rural Transpiration Service, CapMetro, and the Texas Department of Transportation.
“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.”
“As the climate crisis continues, EPA funding from the Inflation Reduction Act is going directly to communities that feel the most impact so they can implement the solutions they know will lead to significant pollution reduction,” said Regional Administrator Dr. Earthea Nance. “This Climate Pollution Reduction Grant will help the City of Austin implement projects that will build climate resilience in the community while reducing climate pollution.”
“As we combat the climate crisis, this federal funding will help Austin lead the region in protecting our planet and creating a cleaner, greener society. I am pleased to work with the City of Austin, EPA, and all local partners to continue advancing these important efforts to lower our emissions and conserve water," said Rep. Doggett (TX-37).
“Alongside the Biden Administration, we are going to deliver clean air and truly reliable public transportation for the heart of Texas,” said Rep. Greg Casar (TX-35). “This EPA grant will help our families with public transportation throughout Central Texas, while reducing pollution and emissions.”
"The Austin region is on the brink of an exciting and positive new era of mobility with the infusion of billions of dollars into transportation projects. But transformational change will bring some disruption along the way," said Austin Mayor Kirk Watson. "Working with our regional coalition of transportation agencies, we plan to use this grant to make our transition a little easier and more pleasant for our residents with timely traveler information while also promoting adoption of transit, carpooling, and active transportation, leading to long-lasting impacts on congestion and achieving our mobility and pollution reduction goals," said Mayor Kirk Watson.
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
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