Public Law 111-8 authorizes EPA to award competitive grants to communities to develop plans and demonstrate and implement projects which reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
EPA will implement this grant authority by awarding grants to local and tribal governments for Planning, Demonstrations, and
Implementation Projects designed to address climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Such projects should include a plan for measuring documentable reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and exhibit the capacity for replication.
Grant activities should aim to: 1) reduce emissions of greenhouse gases; 2) build capacity within local and tribal agencies to address greenhouse gas emissions within their communities; 3) create meaningful and sustainable programs and management systems to achieve ongoing reductions; 4) link climate change initiatives with broader environmental, economic, and social concerns; 5) build and leverage partnerships across multiple stakeholder groups that facilitate front-end participation by communities impacted by climate change; and 6) create models of success that can be replicated across the nation.
Funding Priority - Fiscal Year 2009: The Climate Showcase Communities Grant Program will support robust local and tribal initiatives that demonstrate potential for documentable reductions; integrate funded activities within a broader framework for climate management; leverage funding from other sources; contain clear mechanisms to share results and lessons learned within and outside of the community; and encourage economic, social, health and environmental co-benefits (e.g.
green job creation, improve transit access for disadvantaged communities, public health improvements, reduce stormwater runoff, or reduction of co-pollutants produced concurrent with greenhouse gases).
In addition, the Climate Showcase Communities Grant Program seeks to support program focus areas that span a range of local and tribal government attributes (including geographic location, demographic makeup, community size, economic circumstances, and level of previous climate change activity) and a range of project areas.
Funding will be available for applicants who address greenhouse gas mitigation in one or more of the following priority areas: 1) energy use in municipal operations (including energy, water, and wastewater utilities); 2) energy use in residential, commercial, and/or industrial buildings; 3) transportation planning or vehicle miles traveled reduction programs; 4) land use planning; 5) solid waste management; 6) heat island management; 7) energy generation activities; and, (8) other innovative activities which generate measurable reductions of greenhouse gases.