Eight nonprofit organizations combatting so-called climate change are to receive $20 billion from the Biden administration.
The funds are part of the Inflation Reduction Act.
The awards, announced last week, are described as a “first-of-its-kind national network to fund tens of thousands of climate and clean energy projects across America, especially in communities historically left behind and overburdened by pollution.”
“When President Biden and I made the largest investment in our nation’s history to address the climate crisis and to build a clean energy economy, we made sure that every community would be able to participate and benefit,” Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement. “The grantees announced today will help ensure that families, small businesses, and community leaders have access to the capital they need to make climate and clean energy projects a reality in their neighborhoods.”
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Michael S. Regan called the move “unprecedented.”
“President Biden and Vice President Harris have put communities at the center of their Investing in America agenda. Today, we’re putting an unprecedented $20 billion to work in communities that for too long have been shut out of resources to lower costs and benefit from clean technology solutions,” Regan stated. “The selectees announced today will deliver transformational investments for American communities, businesses, and families and unleash tens of thousands of clean technology projects like putting solar on small businesses, electrifying affordable housing, providing EV loans for young families, and countless others. That translates to good-paying jobs, energy bill savings, and cleaner air, all while delivering on President Biden’s historic agenda to combat climate change.”
The eight nonprofits receiving funds are the Climate United Fund ($6.97 billion), Coalition for Green Capital ($5 billion), Power Forward Communities ($2 billion), Opportunity Finance Network ($2.49), Inclusiv ($1.87), Native CDFI Network ($400 million) Justice Climate Fund ($940 million), and Appalachian Community Capital ($500 million).
“Collectively, the selected applicants have committed to reducing or avoiding up to 40 million metric tons of carbon pollution annually over the next seven years, contributing toward the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic climate goals,” a press release reads. The selected nonprofits “plan to mobilize almost $7 of private capital for every $1 of federal funds—approximately $150 billion total—ensuring that today’s awards will have a catalytic, ongoing effect on the deployment of climate and clean energy technologies at scale, particularly in underserved communities.”
Since he first took office, President Joe Biden has signed into law the “largest investment in climate action ever, including more than $50 billion in climate resilience,” according to a November 2023 fact sheet.
