The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency launched $4.6 billion in competitive grants to fund state, local, and tribal programs and policies that cut climate pollution, advance environmental justice, and deploy clean energy solutions across the country.
As part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) competitions will enable community-driven solutions to the climate crisis, helping to accelerate America’s clean energy transition. The announcement comes during Climate Week 2023 in New York City, an annual gathering of civil society leaders, business leaders, students, and advocates who are committed to taking bold climate action.
The two new competitions are part of the second tranche of funding from EPA’s $5 billion CPRG program, which was created by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act – the largest climate investment in history. EPA has already made $250 million available to fund the development of climate action plans and nearly all states, plus major cities, opted in to receive these flexible planning resources. The $4.6 billion implementation grant competitions launched today will fund initiatives developed under the first phase of the program.
“EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Implementation Grant competition provides our communities with the opportunity to move from planning to action,” said EPA Region 7 Administrator Meg McCollister. “With this funding, our communities have the potential to implement meaningful change in the fight against the climate crisis and positively impact our environment for generations to come.”
State and local action is vital to deliver on President Biden’s commitment to reduce climate pollution by 50 to 52% by 2030. The CPRG program will enable states and local and tribal governments to take aggressive action to combat climate change by funding measures that reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, especially measures that would bring economic and health benefits to low-income and disadvantaged communities. This program will reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and other harmful air pollution for the health and well-being of everyone, including those most vulnerable to flooding, heat waves, wildfires, and other destabilizing impacts of climate change on communities.
The CPRG program will also advance President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which aims to ensure that 40% of the overall benefits of certain climate, clean energy, and other federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that have been marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. Justice40 is part of the Biden-Harris administration’s historic commitment to environmental justice.
Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Competitions
EPA is announcing the availability of $4.6 billion across two implementation grant competitions, one general competition and one specifically for tribes and territories. Under these competitions, eligible applicants will compete for CPRG implementation grants to fund measures in climate action plans specific to their state, municipality, tribe, or territory. As part of its evaluation of applications, EPA will prioritize measures that achieve the greatest amount of GHG emissions reductions.
In the grant competitions announced today, the EPA describes how it intends to score applications and award competitive funds to implementation grant recipients. EPA anticipates awarding approximately 30 to 115 grants ranging from $2 million to $500 million under the general competition. EPA also anticipates awarding approximately 25 to 100 grants ranging from $1 million to $25 million under the tribes and territories competition.
The deadline to apply to the general competition is April 1, 2024. The deadline to apply to the tribes and territories competition is May 1, 2024.
EPA estimates that the implementation grants will be awarded in fall 2024 for the general competition, and in winter 2024-2025 for the tribes and territories competition.
EPA has published the two official Notice of Funding Opportunities, or NOFOs, for these grant competitions on grants.gov:
Webinars
EPA will hold two informational webinars about the general competition on Sept. 21, 2023, at 2:30 p.m. and Oct. 3, 2023, at 3 p.m. (same content for both); and two informational webinars about the tribes and territories competition on Sept. 27, 2023, at 2 p.m. and Oct. 5, 2023, at 1 p.m. (same content for both). All times are Eastern. These one-hour webinars will provide more detailed information on the implementation grants competitions. Recordings of the webinars will be posted to the CPRG webpage.
- Register for the Sept. 21 webinar
- Learn more about the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants
- Sign up for notifications about the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program
