EPA Announces $27bn Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to Finance Clean Energy Projects
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced the creation of a Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund to finance clean energy projects aimed at reducing pollution and energy costs, particularly in low-income and disadvantaged communities.
The agency expects to award up to $20bn in competitive grants to non-profit groups working with local banks and other financial institutions to invest in such projects, while another $7bn will be given to states, tribes, and municipalities to deploy various solar energy projects.
EPA Administrator Michael Regan said that the new fund, modelled after similar banks established in states such as Connecticut, will unlock billions of dollars in private investment to enable disadvantaged neighborhoods and communities to "participate in full force" in creating green jobs.
The program expects to begin making grant awards this summer, and has already received nearly 400 responses to preliminary inquiries.
Republicans in Congress have criticized the fund, calling it a taxpayer-funded "slush fund" ripe for abuse.
The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is part of the $739bn Inflation Reduction Act Democrats enacted last year to combat climate change.
Democrats consider the fund to be a historic opportunity to cut greenhouse gas emissions, protect public health, and create economic opportunity in disadvantaged and under-resourced communities.
The EPA will issue grants directly to non-profit groups, ranging from two to fifteen organizations, instead of establishing the Coalition for Green Capital as the de facto green bank.
The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund will provide nearly $27bn in funding to help finance projects aimed at combating climate change, mobilize billions more in private capital, and deliver benefits to all in a transparent and inclusive fashion.
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