Category Archives: Climate Action

Environmentalists Endorse Tom Suozzi in Feb. 13 Special Election for Congress NY-03 Citing Record, Policies

Tom Suozzi, seeking to return to Congress representing NY-03, receives endorsements from leading environmental organizations including the Sierra Club, National Resources Defense Council, and New York League of Conservation Voters © Karen Rubin/news-photo-features.com

By Karen Rubin, News & Photo Features, [email protected]

Glen Cove, NY – Former US Congressman Tom Suozzi today held a press conference to highlight his lifelong commitment to preserving and protecting our environment and lay out his plan to continue to do so when he returns to Congress after the February 13th special election.

At the press conference, held at a very cold and windy Sea Cliff Municipal Beach, Suozzi received enthusiastic and wholehearted endorsements from the New York League of Conservation Voters, the NRDC (National Resources Defense Council) Action Fund, and the Sierra Club Long Island Group.

“I am grateful to the New York League of Conservation Voters Federal Fund, the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund, the NRDC Action Fund, and the Sierra Club Long Island Group for recognizing my three-decades-long commitment to preserve, protect, and clean our air, land, and water,” Suozzi said. “Just a few days ago, we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, and on that day, I saw an eagle fly across the sky in my hometown of Glen Cove. The hard work of a lot of dedicated people can produce results!”

Tom Suozzi, running to return to Congress representing NY-03 in the Feb. 13 special election, reminds voters of his 30-year record on the environment, and his policies going forward © Karen Rubin/news-photo-features.com

When asked about the environment as a campaign issue, Suozzi emphasized his 30-year public service record of cleaning up pollution, dramatically reducing nitrogen, modernizing sewage treatment plants, remediating groundwater, and restoring shell fishing in our local waters.

“I’ve been a champion of the environment for my entire career. My opponent, on the other hand, parrots the talking points of the Conservative Party, which rejects the Paris Climate Change Agreement, denying that climate change is even real,” Suozzi stated. “Well, I know the people that live in this district very well, and they care about the environment. They want to make sure that we clean up pollution and that we protect our air, protect our land, and protect our water.”

“My whole adult life I have worked for these issues. I know how politics works, how government works….I know how to make government work for people, so they see real impact in their lives,” Suozzi said, flanked by a battalion of enthusiastic supporters despite the frigid wind.

“Our environment is a big part of my 10-point plan,” Suozzi said, citing his 10-point plan released in mid-December. “My opponent just put out a 10-point plan, which looks very similar to my 10-point plan, and there is nothing on it about the environment whatsoever.”

Tom Suozzi, seeking to return to Congress representing NY-03, receives endorsements from leading environmental organizations including the Sierra Club, National Resources Defense Council, and New York League of Conservation Voters © Karen Rubin/news-photo-features.com

Joining Suozzi and speaking at the press conference were Julie Tighe, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters; Al Fredericks, Chair of the Political Committee of the Sierra Club’s Long Island Group; Kevin Curtis, Executive Director of the NRDC Action Fund; Danielle Fugazy Scagliola, member Glen Cove City Council; and Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, Nassau County Legislator and Minority Leader.

“It’s not partisan to want clean air, clean water,” said Julie Tighe, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters. “We are feeling the effect of climate change – the hottest year on the planet since records were kept. Leadership matters. …We’ve had a 30-year relationship with Suozzi…He fights tooth and nail for policies that all have real impact on the environment.”

Al Fredericks, Chair of the Political Committee of the Sierra Club’s Long Island Group , noted that Suozzi was one of the chief negotiators of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act that dramatically increased funding for Long Island Sound and remediating Grumman. He cast a critical vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest federal investment in the environment and climate action.

“His Republican opponent cannot match his knowledge or experience in issues that most concern District 3. She is a newcomer with a single two-year term as Nassau County Legislator. We cannot afford to gamble once again on an inexperienced candidate.”

Kevin Curtis, Executive Director of the NRDC Action Fund said that his committee unanimously voted to endorse Suozzi. “The Congressman is the real deal – he does the hard work on the environment.”

Minority Leader in Nassau County Legislature Delia DeRiggi-Whitton, who has served with Suozzi’s Republican opponent the past two years, noted that this coastal peninsula was one of the largest superfund sites in the nation, but Suozzi fought for and won funding to clean it up. “There are places all over the nation needing funding –the only way to bring money home is if you have someone fighting for it. His opponent has said she is ‘not a talker’. We need someone who understands the process, how the system works and is not just a talker, but can argue, fight for his local area.”

While Suozzi has regularly held press conferences and is out meeting people and taking questions, his Republican opponent has kept away and is refusing to debate.  

“The voters need to know where she stands on the environment and every other issue. She refuses to tell us anything in detail, and she refuses to debate,” Suozzi asserted. “I give detailed policy descriptions and have a record of getting things done.”

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FACT SHEET: Biden Administration Updates Report on the Impact of Climate Change on Migration

At the Climate March, New York City, activists demand climate justice. The Biden Administration updated its report on how climate change the trigger to migration to the southern border and around the world. © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Two years ago, the Biden-Harris Administration released the Report on the Impact of Climate Change on Migration. This update in the report comes at a key time when Republicans in the House and Senate are holding up government funding for border security, foreign aid to Israel, Ukraine and Taiwan, and threatening to shut down the government over inhumane, likely illegal demands to close down migration, when the Biden Administration has attempted to focus on one of the major causes for migration: climate change. This fact sheet was provided by the White House: – Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
 
The Administration provided an update on actions taken under President Biden’s Executive Order 14013 Rebuilding and Enhancing Programs to Resettle Refugees and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration and efforts to address the effects of climate change on displacement and migration.
 
Research estimates more than 216 million people could migrate within their countries as a result of climate change by 2050. Migration can be a necessary mechanism for survival for communities and families facing severe risk to personal safety, property damage, or loss of livelihood and is often the only option to meaningfully reduce that risk.  Particular attention must be paid to the needs of communities that receive migrants displaced as a result of climate events, including access to housing, work, and education.
 
Under President Biden’s leadership, the United States Federal government is working to implement a number of initiatives to improve the ability of vulnerable communities both at home and abroad to adapt to and manage the increasing impacts of the global climate crisis that contribute to displacement: 

  • The President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE), launched by President Biden in November 2021 with a commitment to work with Congress to fund international climate adaptation at $3 billion annually by 2024, has an Action Plan that builds off and bolsters existing international efforts to advance climate resilience, including ways to address key drivers of migration by enabling communities to support themselves where they are, respond to displacement, support those who choose to move as a risk management strategy, and assist trapped populations.
     
  • The U.S. Agency for International Development’s April 2022 Climate Strategy highlights the importance of limiting displacement and supporting safer and more productive migration. This includes the need to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to climate-related migration and scale support to migrants and their communities.
     
  • Lack of access to and availability of water accounted for ten percent of the increase in global migration between 1970 and 2000. The June 2022 White House Action Plan on Global Water Security lays out a whole-of-government approach to improve global resilience, elevate data-driven methods, use resources more efficiently, and work collaboratively across communities and sectors to address global water security, which can be a key driver of displacement and migration due to impacts on health, food security, and livelihoods.
     
  • The Department of State released a new approach in June 2023 to address the impacts of the climate crisis on migration and displacement, including four objectives: 1) strengthen and expand the protection of refugees and migrants in situations of vulnerability affected by climate change; 2) enhance existing climate action by partnering with key humanitarian partners, through regular dialogue with international, governmental, and non-governmental organizations, and through engagement with members of affected populations; 3) expand U.S. multilateral diplomacy and leadership to address the impacts of climate change on migration and displacement in international fora; and 4) strengthen coordination between agencies to advance policy solutions for refugees and migrants affected by climate change.

Additionally, the White House report called for U.S. leadership to elevate the impact of climate change on migration and displacement in multilateral spaces and educate leaders on the urgency of climate risk to populations. The Department of State has advanced dialogue on the issue in various fora over the last two years, including hosting events during the International Dialogue on Migration, Inter-Governmental Consultations on Migration, Asylum, and Refugees, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, UN General Assembly High-Level Week, the Cities Summit of the Americas, the Regional Conference on Migration, and the Africa Climate Summit.

These efforts have generated engagement and momentum among key stakeholders – government, international organizations, impacted communities, multilateral development banks and international finance institutions, civil society, think tanks, the private sector, and others – around action at the intersection of climate change and human mobility. The State Department and USAID will continue working with these stakeholders to inform, develop, and coordinate actions in the years to come.

To address migration and displacement due to climate change, the United States has developed a three-pronged approach of 1) improving access to information by U.S. federal agencies, partner countries, and local communities, 2) increasing investment in adaptation and resilience programs, and 3) facilitating protection of individuals at home and abroad.
 
Increasing access to information by U.S. federal agencies, partner countries, and local communities on climate change
 
Information about climate change impacts, early warning systems, and adaptation options saves lives and empowers governments and communities to take timely and appropriate actions to increase climate resilience and address climate-related mobility. The U.S. Government advances observations, models, and forecasts that enable monitoring and early warnings for floods, droughts, cyclones, and extreme temperatures, as well as food insecurity, conflict, and humanitarian needs, including through the following programs:

  • The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) established the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) in collaboration with the United States Geological Survey (USGS), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) in 1985 in response to devastating famines in East and West Africa to fulfill a critical need for better and earlier warning of potential food security crises.  Over the past two years, FEWS NET has increased its investments and partnerships in the climate security domain to better understand interactions between the changing climate, food and water security, fragility, and conflict. Improved understanding and forecasting of these dynamics provide increased insight into migration drivers and patterns, creating opportunities to anticipate, prepare for, and respond to the needs of migrating people.
     
  • The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and the U.S. Civil Applications Committee lead the Thermal Working Group (TWG), a coordinating body for advancing and enabling delivery of data, information, and products to civil first responders. Since 2021, the TWG has supported wildland fire detection. Increasing average temperatures and related climate change are correlated with observed increases in the occurrence and area burned by fires and the duration of wildfire seasons, increasing the risks associated with disaster-induced displacement. Through continued efforts to improve system processes, the TWG National Guard FireGuard teams have detected and delivered information on more fires (over 2,800 fires total), more quickly, and with greater confidence, enabling earlier and faster local emergency response.
     
  • The USGS provides science to better understand drivers of migration, such as sea-level rise in the Pacific Islands.  USGS personnel facilitate the delivery of geospatial data during disaster events, such as the 2022 volcanic eruption in Tonga and 2023 flooding in South Africa, in support of the International Charter: Space and Major Disasters, a United Nations-brokered agreement to provide disaster-related geospatial data and imagery to first responders. Through the USGS-chaired, interagency Civil Applications Committee and National Civil Applications Center, commercial imagery and sensor data are provided to first responders to proactively prepare and respond to these disasters, mitigating the impacts on critical infrastructure and livelihoods. 
     
  • The U.S. Global Change Research Program is co-leading an initiative launched in 2021 on Enhancing Capacity for Climate Risk Assessment and Catalyzing Partnerships to Inform Decisions in Latin America and the Caribbean (LACI). The goal of the LACI partnership is to help countries in the region develop capacity to produce national climate assessments that support decision-making and help communities mitigate and adapt to climate change. In June 2023, LACI pilot programs were announced for El Salvador, Amazonia, and Jamaica. This effort directly responds to Executive Order 14008, Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, as well as PREPARE.
     
  • USAID provides life- and livelihood-saving early warning systems and climate information services that help communities, pastoralists, farmers, and local governments better prepare for and adapt to frequent and extreme climate events. USAID partners with leading science organizations to ensure partner governments, civil society, and other stakeholders have context-specific, accurate, and actionable climate information.  USAID also invests in capacity building and provides resources for governments and communities to respond and adapt to climate risks. For example, the flagship USAID-NASA partnership, SERVIR, harnesses the power of satellite data to strengthen climate resilience, food and water security, forest and carbon management, and air quality.  SERVIR has co-developed over 65 services used around the world to increase early warning lead times for floods, droughts, and high-impact weather events.
     
  • In 2022, USAID made an initial investment of $67 million in partnership with NOAA, the World Meteorological Organization, and the UN Office of Disaster Risk Reduction to advance early warning capacity of national authorities.  Through these investments, Flash Flood Guidance System coverage expanded from 74 countries to an additional 20 countries.  In addition, USAID will expand the early warning of river and urban flooding droughts, and heatwaves as needed, focusing on small Island Developing States, Africa, and Least Developed Countries.  Increasing local capacity for early warning supports governments and communities to better prepare for, plan for, and reduce impact of disaster displacement.
     
  • As announced at the Cities Summit of the Americas in April 2023, more than $1 million in support for USAID’s Roadmaps for Urban Adaptation in Latin America and the Caribbean will provide key information to support urban adaptation and climate resilience, with a focus on those most vulnerable to climate impacts, including migrants and displaced people.
     
  • USAID’s Climate Change, Food Security, and Migration research in Honduras advances understanding of how climate change relates to migration in the country.  The research has for instance, revealed a statistically significant relationship between food insecurity and migration; showed that municipal drought has a long-term and cumulative impact on the U.S. border apprehension rate; and demonstrated that coffee prices, which are increasingly affected by climate change, drive migration most where coffee is more important to the local economy.  USAID uses this research to help farmers in areas of high migration like Honduras cope with climate impacts. Supporting water-conservating agricultural methods reduces production risks related to drought and enables farming households across Central America to improve soil moisture and fertility, increasing yields by as much as 50 percent.
     
  • With almost $3 million in funding starting in October 2021, USAID has been supporting the Academic Alliance for Anticipatory Action, an innovative partnership between a U.S. university and six universities in Africa and Asia to build the evidence base on why acting ahead of hazards and risks saves lives. Research topics range from assessing the impact of social protection systems on different demographic groups in response to effects of drought in Namibia, to studying the lead time required for different nutrition and health interventions in Eastern Uganda, to examining the use of a flood forecasting system which indicates possible flooding in the Philippines.

Increasing investment in adaptation and resilience programs

Climate variability and change are increasingly contributing to human migration and displacement. Weather-related disasters currently displace around 30 million people annually, even under current warming projections, additional people will be displaced or unable to escape climate impacts. Adaptation and resilience actions can help respond to the key drivers of migration, support those who choose to move as a risk-management strategy, and assist populations trapped by climate impacts. U.S. Government adaptation and resilience initiatives support and scale actions to build the climate resilience of people, places, ecosystems, and livelihoods, including through the following programs:

  • A $135 million investment through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act charged the Department of Interior (DOI), the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA), and the Denali Commission to support 11 severely impacted Tribes to advance relocation, managed retreat, and adaptation planning. To date, efforts have focused on outreach to the 11 Tribes, providing technical assistance to build Tribal capacity to adapt, and establishing PL-638 Tribal accounts for initial fund distribution to facilitate the hiring of Tribal relocation coordinators. 
     
  • A $40 million investment from the Department of Agriculture funded community-driven relocation projects in 15 Alaskan Tribal communities, with $7 million for seven Emergency Watershed Protection projects in Alaska to relocate homes threatened by erosion, stabilize eroding riverbanks, and restore channel capacity to mitigate flooding.
     
  • USAID’s Climate Strategy sets the ambitious goal of improving the climate resilience of 500 million people by 2030. USAID partners with more than 45 countries to strengthen the resilience of people and communities to address climate impacts across multiple sectors, including issues that are linked to migration and displacement. USAID supports programming to address climate-related migration including:
    • In FY21, USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures (DIV) supported Planning for Productive Migration in Niger with a $200,000 pilot evaluation that provided comprehensive job search support and facilitated safe, productive, regional migration as a livelihood strategy for people facing climate change and other challenges within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
    • In FY22, USAID Burkina Faso’s YouthConnect activity, which improves the resilience and economic empowerment of vulnerable youth, expanded by $4 million to support an influx of persons displaced by climate and conflict;
    • In FY22, the $15 million USAID Asia Resilient Cities activity addressed cross-cutting urban development challenges in secondary cities in Asia, with a focus on migrants and informal settlement dwellers, by promoting sustainable urban growth; supporting resilient, low-carbon urban infrastructure; and integrating climate change and environmentally conscious urban development approaches;
    • In 2023, USAID partnered with the University of Arizona and universities in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Pacific to develop locally led solutions to climate-related disasters by supporting youth and young professionals through an initial grant of $6 million. The program addresses local climate-related challenges in partnership with communities, local governments, NGOs, and the private sector to enable climate adaptation; and
    • USAID contributed approximately $1 million in FY22 to the U.N. International Organization for Migration (IOM) for solar water pumping schemes in emergency settings. The USAID-funded Solar Hub provides technical support and training to ensure solar water pumping schemes reach vulnerable populations experiencing climate-related shocks and stressors. Solar water pumps played a critical role during the 2022-2023 Horn of Africa drought, where reduced displacement related to water scarcity by providing safe and cost-effective water access.
       
  • The Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration contributed $5 million in FY22 to the UN Migration Multi-Partner Trust fund.  This funding supports labor mobility and climate resilience in the Pacific, facilitates safe and regular migration in the Eastern Africa; enhances climate resilience for migrant and vulnerable households in coastal India; and strengthens capacities in the Brazilian Amazon to face the challenges of migration, climate change, and health.  This funding addressed needs and gaps in: 1) data and knowledge, 2) national and regional policy frameworks, 3) disaster displacement preparedness, and 4) regular migration pathways.

Protecting people at home and abroad from climate change

Climate change has disproportionate impacts on vulnerable groups, including marginalized communities and people already displaced. Climate-induced displacement creates additional vulnerabilities, which the United States aims to mitigate through programs to address the needs of those displaced by climate change, inclusion of displaced persons in climate action plans and programs, and support community-driven relocation plans, such as the following:

  • Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration’s contributions to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Organization of Migration (IOM), and other humanitarian agencies support climate adaptation and mitigation for refugees, internally displaced persons, conflict victims, migrants, stateless persons, and their host communities in climate-vulnerable countries.  For example, with Department of State support:
    • UNHCR helps Rohingya refugees in southern Bangladesh mitigate the effects of monsoon storms, flooding, and landslides;
    • IOM conducted capacity-building efforts in Central America to assist national and local authorities in better understanding the impact of climate change on migration flows, and their implications in terms of human rights, protection, and development;
    • IOM supports government authorities in Angola, Djibouti, Libya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, and other countries in including migrants in their disaster preparedness and response plans;
    • IOM prevents and mitigates human trafficking in Kenya brought on by vulnerabilities and displacement exacerbated by climate change. IOM is raising awareness of risks and employing a variety of livelihood support models to build economic resilience in communities facing economic insecurity due to climate change; and
    • At the August 2023 Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry announced the Department of State’s contribution of $4 million to the IOM to enhance data collection on climate change and human mobility, and to support migrants, refugees, and host communities impacted by climate events in Kenya.
       
  • USAID delivers assistance to the most vulnerable communities and addresses migration and displacement linked to climate change impacts. This assistance comes prior to, during, and after a humanitarian crisis. USAID responds on average to 75 crises in nearly 70 countries each year. USAID also works to address the long-term needs of displaced persons, including those impacted by climate change. For example, in FY22, USAID/Somalia invested $11 million in Building Durable Solutions to Displacement to support the resilience of long-term internally displaced people (IDPs) affected by climate- and conflict-related disasters. By facilitating access to land titles, formal rental agreements, and improved livelihood prospects, USAID is forging avenues for these families to integrate productively and safely into urban economies, transforming their displacement into opportunities for development.    
     
  • In August 2023, the Department of State supported a technical conference that resulted in the continent-wide expansion of the Kampala Declaration on Migration, Environment, and Climate Change, in partnership with IOM and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) Regional Collaboration Center for East and Southern Africa.  The Declaration is a potential example for other regional blocs to collaborate on the challenges posed by the intersection of climate change and migration.
     
  • The Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons is supporting programs to conduct research on and address human trafficking in climate-induced migration, including:
    • IOM, with Columbia University, is conducting research on human trafficking in cross-border migration linked to climate change and its impact on livelihoods and food security in places including Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, and South Africa;    
    • In Bangladesh, a program aims to integrate anti-trafficking policies into existing government plans to address climate change, while building the capacity of vulnerable communities. The program is also conducting research to better understand the link between climate change and human trafficking.
    • Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has incorporated research on the climate change-human trafficking nexus within the brick-kiln industry in Pakistan as a result of the 2022 “super flooding,” which displaced hundreds of thousands of the country’s most vulnerable workers.  The findings were used to refine the interventions on human trafficking in the brick-kiln industry.
       
  • The Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), in furtherance of Section 6 of Executive Order 14013, updated its combined asylum officer and refugee officer training materials in July 2023 to provide guidance on the intersection of climate change and asylum and refugee claims under existing law.  USCIS basic training for all new asylum officers and refugee officers includes specific training and activities related to the intersection of climate change and protection claims.
     
  • DHS, through USCIS, issued new, first-of-its-kind guidance in August 2023 to assist stateless noncitizens in the United States who wish to obtain immigration benefits or have submitted other requests to USCIS. Stateless individuals are those who are not legally considered a citizen of any country, and therefore may be denied legal identity, and struggle to access education, healthcare, marriage, and job opportunities. Individuals can be born stateless or become stateless because of discrimination, war and conflict, or changing borders and laws, including due to the potential impacts of climate change. 
     
  • DHS has also used its authority to designate certain countries for Temporary Protected Status (TPS), issuing 12 new designations and redesignations under the Biden-Harris Administration. There are 16 TPS designations in place currently. TPS can be issued to protected noncitizens in the United States when their home countries are facing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or other extraordinary and temporary conditions.
     
  • The Department of Housing and Urban Development released a Climate Resilience Implementation Guide for Community Driven Relocation in March 2023, which provides a step-by-step guide for communities seeking to implement a community-driven relocation program.

See also:

FACT SHEET: BIDEN-HARRIS ADMINISTRATION LEVERAGES HISTORIC US CLIMATE LEADERSHIP AT HOME AND ABROAD TO URGE COUNTRIES TO ACCELERATE GLOBAL CLIMATE ACTION AT COP28

FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Leverages Historic US Climate Leadership at Home and Abroad to Urge Countries to Accelerate Global Climate Action at COP28

In this fact sheet, the White House detailed how the Biden-Harris Administration leverages historic U.S. climate leadership at home and abroad – which is why it is so dangerous for those climate activists who threaten to withhold voting to reelect Biden unless he “ends fossil fuels” Trump (and every Republican) pledges to “drill baby, drill” and reverse every climate action the Biden Administration has taken:. This fact sheet is a reminder to those frustrated activists of what Biden, despite Republican obstacles, has accomplished, and what a second-term might produce. –Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Wind turbine on New York State farm. “The climate crisis is the existential threat of our time,” President Biden stated at the conclusion of COP 28. “But as America has always done, we will turn crisis into opportunity – creating clean energy jobs, revitalizing communities, and improving quality of life. It is our collective responsibility to build a safer, more hopeful future for our children. We can’t be complacent. We must keep going, and we will.”
© Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

At the conclusion of COP28, President Biden stated, “Today, at COP28, world leaders reached another historic milestone – committing, for the first time, to transition away from the fossil fuels that jeopardize our planet and our people, agreeing to triple renewable energy globally by 2030, and more. While there is still substantial work ahead of us to keep the 1.5 degree C goal within reach, today’s outcome puts us one significant step closer.  
 
“But we didn’t just arrive at this inflection point. Vulnerable countries have called on major economies to take urgent action. And in every corner of the world, young people are making their voices heard, demanding action from those in power. They remind us that a better, more equitable world is within our grasp. We will not let them down.
 
“The climate crisis is the existential threat of our time. But as America has always done, we will turn crisis into opportunity – creating clean energy jobs, revitalizing communities, and improving quality of life. It is our collective responsibility to build a safer, more hopeful future for our children. We can’t be complacent. We must keep going, and we will.”

Since day one, President Biden, Vice President Harris, and the entire Biden-Harris Administration have treated climate change as the existential threat of our time. After spearheading the most significant climate action in history at home and leading efforts to tackle the climate crisis abroad, the United States heads into the 28th U.N. Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) with unprecedented momentum. At COP28, the Biden-Harris Administration will urge other major economies to accelerate climate action in this decisive decade and will announce new initiatives to galvanize global efforts to keep a resilient, 1.5°C future within reach.

In her remarks at COP28, the Vice President announced a series of initiatives outlined below, including a $3 billion pledge to the Green Climate Fund as the United States works with international partners to mobilize finance at the pace and scale required.

President Biden’s ambitious domestic climate action offers countries gathering at COP28 a proven model for how bold action to tackle the climate crisis and end dependence on fossil fuels can unlock a new era of clean and inclusive economic growth, investment, good-paying jobs, energy security, and savings for families and business. Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) – the largest investment in clean energy and climate action ever – the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), and other executive actions, the United States is in a strong position to achieve our 1.5°C-aligned emissions target under the Paris Agreement. Implementation of these two laws alone is expected to cut U.S. emissions as much as 41% below 2005 levels in 2030 – roughly 80% of the way towards achieving the 50-52% reduction outlined in our nationally determined contribution (NDC). At the same time, the Biden Administration is pursuing additional federal actions to bring us to the full 50-52% reduction levels, including measures like the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) standards for vehicles, power plants, and methane emissions – which complement increased action from state and local governments and the private sector.

President Biden’s ambitious climate agenda has also unleashed a clean manufacturing boom – stimulating over $350 billion in announced private investment in clean energy manufacturing since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration and creating over 210,000 clean energy jobs in just the last 15 months, with an additional 1.5 million jobs projected to be created over the next decade. Through robust incentives, the United States will not only accelerate our own clean energy transition, but also catalyze investments in other countries and drop the cost of clean energy for everyone – saving hundreds of billions of dollars globally. Over the next seven years, according to analysis from the Department of Energy (DOE), twice as much U.S. wind, solar, and battery deployment is expected than would have been without the IRA.

At the same time, the Biden-Harris Administration is pursuing bold executive action to accelerate our progress toward the full 50-52% reduction levels in 2030. Today, at COP28, Assistant to President Biden and U.S. National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi and EPA Administrator Michael Regan, announced EPA’s final standards to sharply reduce methane emissions from oil and gas operations, which will achieve a nearly 80% reduction below future methane emissions expected without the rule. This final rule is expected to prevent the equivalent of 1.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide – nearly as much as all the carbon dioxide emitted by the power sector in 2021. In 2030 alone, the expected reductions are equivalent to 130 million metric tons of carbon dioxide – more than the annual emissions of 28 million gasoline cars. This builds on more than 100 additional actions that U.S. federal agencies have taken this year to dramatically reduce methane emissions under the U.S. Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan, including plugging wells and leaks in the oil and gas sector, reclaiming abandoned coal mines, reducing food waste and agricultural emissions, investing in cleaner buildings and industrial processes, and launching innovative technologies to detect and halt large methane emissions. These actions, which further deliver on the Global Methane Pledge, will cut consumer costs, protect workers and communities, maintain and create high quality, union-friendly jobs, and promote U.S. innovation and manufacturing of critical new technologies.

US Delivering on Commitment

At COP28, the Biden-Harris Administration demonstrated how it is delivering on its commitment for the United States to lead the global response to combatting the climate crisis. Initiatives that the Biden-Harris Administration are announcing at COP28 include:

• Powering Forward with Ambitious Domestic Climate Action – by advancing the most ambitious climate agenda in American history, demonstrating that investing in climate action is good for the economy at home and abroad. At COP28, federal agencies will announce a series of new, historic actions across every sector of the economy, including energy supply, transportation, and buildings – all while advancing environmental justice and promoting climate resilient communities.

• Bolstering Global Climate Resilience – by scaling up U.S. support for vulnerable developing countries, reaching $2.3 billion in FY 2022 to support the President’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE); expanding access to cutting-edge climate information, early-warning, and satellite data through PREPARE Climate Information Services; announcing $50 million for the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils multi-donor funding platform to support climate-resilient food systems, subject to the availability of funds; and marshalling over $2 billion from 15 additional companies in response to the PREPARE Call to Action.

• Responding to the Impacts of Climate Change in the Most Climate-Vulnerable Countries and Communities – including announcing its intent to work with Congress to put $17.5 million toward a new fund for climate impact response; $4.5 million to support community-based measures through the Pacific Resilience Facility; and providing $2.5 million to the Santiago Network to catalyze technical assistance for vulnerable countries.

• Accelerating Global Climate Action to Keep the 1.5°C Goal Within Reach – including by launching a new Clean Energy Supply Chain Collaborative and announcing up to $568 million in catalytic financing available to support these and related efforts; working with partners to unveil over $1 billion in new grant funding through the Methane Finance Sprint; mobilizing $9 billion through the Agriculture Innovation Mission (AIM) for Climate; co-leading coalitions of countries to triple renewable energy and nuclear energy capacity globally; and launching the Resilient Ghana and DRC New Climate Economy country packages for forests with government, philanthropic, and private sector partners.

• Mobilizing Finance from All Sources – including putting the United States on course to scale up our international public climate finance to over $9.5 billion in FY 2023 – on track to meet President Biden’s pledge to work with Congress to scale up our support to over $11 billion per year by 2024; playing our part to help meet the collective goal of mobilizing $100 billion in climate finance per year; announcing a $3 billion pledge to the Green Climate Fund (GCF); and delivering better, bigger, and more effective multilateral development banks (MDBs).

• Advancing Women’s and Girls’ Leadership in Tackling the Climate Crisis – including galvanizing over $1.4 billion in investments from the U.S. government and partners through the Women in the Sustainable Economy (WISE) Initiative.

BOLSTERING GLOBAL CLIMATE RESILIENCE

The Administration is announcing new efforts to accelerate the implementation of President Biden’s Emergency Plan for Adaptation and Resilience (PREPARE), which aims to help more than half a billion people in developing countries adapt to and manage the impacts of climate change this decade. Through these efforts, the United States has provided over $2.3 billion in adaptation finance in FY 2022, putting the United States on track to achieve President Biden’s pledge of working with Congress to increase U.S. international public adaptation finance to $3 billion by FY 2024 to help implement PREPARE. This includes the following additional efforts across PREPARE, subject to Congressional notification, the availability of funds, and the completion of domestic procedures:

• Expanding Access to Cutting-Edge Climate Information and Satellite Data through PREPARE Climate Information Services. The United States has invested billions to develop world-leading weather and climate-related information and service capabilities – from launching leading-edge satellites, amassing relevant observational data from a global network of sensors, and developing advanced modelling technology. Under PREPARE Climate Information Services, the United States is leveraging these investments and sharing cutting-edge capabilities to support vulnerable developing countries in understanding, anticipating, and preparing for climate impacts. At COP28 the United States is:

Announcing $6 million for the Weather-Ready Pacific Program. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will support Pacific countries as they develop and build multi-hazard early warning systems.

Enhancing Forecasting and Preparedness. NOAA and USAID will work with National Meteorological and Hydrological Services in the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and the Cayman Islands to deploy storm surge sensors to improve public storm surge forecasts and warnings. USAID and NOAA are also working with the World Meteorological Organization, UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction and National Meteorological and Hydrological Services in 20 African nations, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to establish and advance early warning systems on floods, droughts, cyclones and heatwaves.

o Enhancing Capabilities to Reduce Disaster Risk and Support Disaster Response and Recovery around the World. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Disaster Response Coordination System will leverage cutting-edge NASA science and technology to provide actionable information to those who need it most around the world.

• Promoting Long-Term, Climate-Resilient Food Security:

Announcing $50 million for the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils (VACS) Multi-Donor Fund, pending Congressional appropriations, to support for climate-resilient, nutritious crops and building healthy soils that will foster more resilient food systems, and build on the $100 million United States commitment announced towards VACs in July.

• Mobilizing Private Capital, Innovation, and Engagement in Adaptation and Resilience:

Marshalling over $2 billion in New Investments through the PREPARE Call to Action to the Private Sector. This initiative invites businesses to make new, significant commitments to building climate resilience in partner countries. This initiative has more than doubled from its 10 founding companies to a total of 25 companies including Aon, Arup, Blue Marble, Boston Consulting Group, Danone, Howden Group, IBM, Jupiter Intelligence, McCormick, Milliman, Miyamoto International, Pula, Synoptic Data, Tomorrow.io, and Xylem. The founding companies of the PREPARE Call to Action are Google, Gro Intelligence, Marsh McLennan, Mastercard, Meta, Microsoft, Pegasus Capital Advisors, PepsiCo., SAP, and WTW.

HELPING THE MOST VULNERABLE RESPOND TO THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE:

The United States is helping vulnerable countries respond to climate impacts. These efforts include (1) helping vulnerable developing countries recover and reconstruct after extreme climate-related events, (2) supporting vulnerable developing countries in their efforts to increase fiscal space, including through the expanded application of climate-resilient debt clauses, debt-for-nature restructurings, and parametric insurance; and (3) working with partners on policy matters related to sea-level rise. To build on this track record, at COP28 the United States is:

• Announcing $17.5 million for the fund for climate impact response, subject to Congressional notification, to help address critical gaps in the existing financing landscape. The fund will help particularly vulnerable developing countries, for example, in responding to slow onset events, such as with measures to support SIDS with planned relocation and the preservation of cultural heritage in the face of sea-level rise. The fund will also help the most vulnerable respond to extreme events, like storms and floods, by complementing existing support for reconstruction and recovery provided by the MDBs.

• Providing $4.5 million to the Pacific Resilience Facility, subject to Congressional notification. The Pacific Resilience Facility, a Pacific-owned and Pacific-led initiative, will provide small grants to finance community-based adaptation and responses to the impacts of climate change.

• Announcing $2.5 million for the Santiago Network. The Santiago Network will catalyze technical assistance of relevant organizations, networks, and experts to assist the most vulnerable developing countries in responding to climate impacts.

ACCELERATING GLOBAL CLIMATE ACTION TO KEEP THE 1.5°C GOAL WITHIN REACH.

In April 2023, President Biden convened leaders of the Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate (MEF) to galvanize efforts in key areas that the latest science identified as critical to keeping the goal of limiting average warming to 1.5°C within reach. At COP28, the United States announced progress in each of these key areas, including:

• Launching a New Clean Energy Supply Chain Collaborative. According to the International Energy Agency, the world must invest $1.24 trillion in clean energy technology supply chain capacity between now and 2030 to be on track to achieve net zero energy by 2050. To help meet this challenge, the United States announced a new Clean Energy Supply Chain Collaborative (CESC Collaborative) aimed at expanding and diversifying clean energy supply chains that are critical to the clean energy transition. The Collaborative will enable like-minded countries to advance policies, incentives, standards, and investments to create high-quality, secure, and diversified clean energy supply chains across seven critical technologies: wind, solar, batteries, electrolyzers, heat pumps, direct air capture, and sustainable aviation fuels. Participating countries will work together to optimize the economic opportunities the clean energy transition provides, strengthen key stages of global clean technology supply chains where challenges related to lack of capacity are most acute, and further reduce the cost of clean energy technologies. To jump-start clean energy supply chain investment in developing countries, the United States announced up to $568 million in new concessional lending available from the U.S. Department of Treasury through the Clean Technology Fund (CTF) to support eligible projects in CTF-eligible countries.

• Reducing methane and other non-CO2 GHGs, including through over $1 billion in new grant funding under the Methane Finance Sprint. Reducing methane emissions is the fastest way to lower global temperature rise in the near term. Limiting warming to 1.5 °C will require reductions in global methane emissions of at least 30% by 2030 from 2020 levels, as called for by the Global Methane Pledge (GMP) which was launched by the United States and European Union at COP26. To accelerate these efforts, at COP28, the United States, People’s Republic of China, and UAE convened leaders for a Summit on Methane and Other Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases. At the Summit, the United States and UAE called on Parties to the Paris Agreement to submit 2035 NDCs that are economy-wide and cover all greenhouse gases. Countries and partners also showcased new steps to cut methane in support of the GMP, which has now been endorsed by 155 countries. Governments, philanthropies, and the private sector unveiled over $1 billion dollars in new catalytic grant funding for methane reduction since COP27. This funding is more than five times the $200 million goal set by President Biden in April 2023. The Summit also featured $965 million in funding to replenish the Montreal Multilateral Fund and support Kigali Amendment implementation and energy efficiency.

• Unveiling new announcements under the Green Shipping Challenge. Following the successful launch of the Green Shipping Challenge at COP27 by United States and Norway, countries, ports, and companies announced over 60 new and updated actions to accelerate the decarbonization of the shipping sector. These include more than $1.6 billion in new public-private funding for maritime decarbonization, accelerated progress in over 15 green shipping corridors, including over $120 million to support their development, at least 65 new orders for zero-emission vessels, and the expansion of the United States Green Shipping Corridor Initiation Project.

• Decarbonizing Energy by Scaling Technologies Critical to Achieving the 1.5°C Goal:

Scaling global renewables and energy efficiency. The United States, EU and UAE co-led a coalition of countries committed to pursuing a global tripling of renewable energy and a doubling of energy efficiency by 2030, in line with efforts to ensure a 1.5°C-aligned power sector, including ending new unabated coal capacity globally. In the lead-up to COP28, the United States and the People’s Republic of China committed to accelerate substitution of unabated coal and other fossil power generation by scaling up renewables sufficiently to anticipate meaningful post-peaking absolute power sector emissions reduction in the 2020s.

Leading Efforts to Accelerate Nuclear Energy Capacity. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and IEA analysis shows that nuclear energy plays a key role in achieving global net zero goals. At COP28, the United States announced new initiatives to:

  •  Triple Nuclear Energy Capacity Globally by 2050 – The United States co-led a coalition of over 20 countries from four continents that launched a Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy from 2020 levels by 2050 globally and invited shareholders of international financial institutions to encourage the inclusion of nuclear energy in energy lending policies.
  •  Jump Start Small Modular Reactor (SMR) Deployments Around the World – In response to the significant global interest in deploying U.S. SMR nuclear energy systems to support critical climate and energy security goals, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) and U.S. Department of State are outlining EXIM’s suite of financial tools to support SMR deployments and help U.S. exporters remain competitive.
  • Advancing a Secure Nuclear Fuel Supply Chain – Building on our pledge announced in April 2023 at the G7 meeting in Sapporo, Japan, the United States, Canada, Japan, France, and the United Kingdom will work to mobilize at least $4.2 billion in government-led investments to enhance their collective enrichment and conversion capacity over the next three years. These investments will catalyze private sector finance to build out safe, secure, and reliable global nuclear energy supply chains.

o Launching a U.S. Fusion Energy International Partnership Strategy. This strategy will support the timely development, demonstration, and deployment of commercial fusion energy in strategic areas like research and development and harmonization of regulatory frameworks.

Delivering on Hydrogen. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is scaling up hydrogen technologies to support the global transition to clean energy, including by ramping up investments in research, development, and demonstration to pursue the Hydrogen Shot goal of reducing the cost of clean hydrogen to $1/kg by 2031. It is also working to strengthening international collaboration on standards and certification.

Launching International Energy Earthshots Partnerships. DOE is now taking its signature Energy Earthshots Initiative global by collaborating with Canada on long duration storage, India on hydrogen, and other countries to tackle climate change through innovation, creating good jobs, and driving down energy costs.

o Expanding the Carbon Management Challenge. The Challenge recognizes the urgency of deploying, at scale, carbon capture, utilization and storage and carbon dioxide removal as key to keep the goal of limiting average global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius goal within reach – in addition to the utmost efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Members of the Challenge, co-sponsored by Brazil, Canada, Indonesia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, advance a global goal of expanding carbon management projects to reach gigaton scale annually by 2030. New countries include Iceland, Indonesia, Mozambique, Netherlands, and Romania.

Expediting the global transition to clean energy through Net Zero World (NZW). The U.S. Department of Energy is working with Argentina, Chile, Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria, Singapore, Thailand, and Ukraine to formulate national net-zero policies and roadmaps and, in only two years, has worked on implementation of 23 decarbonization actions across the energy sector, mobilizing $10 billion in investments.

o Expanding the Net-Zero Government Initiative (NZGI). Building on the Initiative’s successful launch at COP27, more than 15 NZGI member countries have developed net zero roadmaps in conjunction with COP28, and 10 new countries will announce they are joining the Initiative for a total of nearly 30 NZGI countries. The NZGI aims to leverage the catalytic role of national governments in accelerating the achievement of countries’ climate targets. Participating countries commit to achieving net-zero emissions from national government operations by no later than 2050 and developing a roadmap with interim targets for getting there.

Decarbonizing energy sectors through Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETP). The United States, and other International Partners Group countries, Indonesia, Vietnam, and South Africa celebrated the launch of critical investment mobilization and policy implementation plans to accelerate clean energy transitions and achieve ambitious JETP climate targets.

• Partnering with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Mobilize $9 billion in New Investments for Climate-Smart Food Systems, Research, Development, and Innovation. Launched at COP26 by the United States and the UAE, the Agriculture Innovation Mission (AIM) for Climate and its growing network of over 600 partners, including 55 countries, is announcing a more than doubling of investments by its partners, from $8 billion announced at COP27 to over $17 billion at COP28, which includes $1.5 billion in previously announced funding from the United States. USAID, through Feed the Future, will invest $100 million, subject to the availability of funds, over the next two years in the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). USAID has already surpassed its initial five-year commitment of $215 million to the CGIAR under AIM for Climate. This funding compliments commitments made at COP28 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the UAE for investments in the CGIAR.

• Leading global efforts to halt and reverse forest loss by 2030. The United States co-chaired the Forest and Climate Leaders Partnership, driving greater ambition and action with 32 countries, including launching the Resilient Ghana and New Climate Economy country packages. The United States, alongside the United Kingdom, secured new commitments from ADM and Cargill to halt nature loss, and partnered with the Governor of Para to stop deforestation from cattle.

MOBILIZING FINANCE FROM ALL SOURCES.

From day one, the Biden-Harris Administration has been committed to boosting international climate finance. This includes scaling-up our own bilateral finance, fully leveraging multilateral financial institutions, and mobilizing private investment. These efforts are also in direct support of the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment. These efforts include:

• Putting U.S. International Climate Finance on Track to Exceed $9.5 Billion in FY 2023. Since taking office, President Biden has dramatically increased U.S. international climate finance from $1.5 billion in FY 2021 to $5.8 billion in FY 2022 and is on track to exceed $9.5 billion in FY 2023. These increases put the United States on track to meet President Biden’s pledge to work with Congress to scale up U.S. international public climate finance to over $11 billion annually by 2024. These increases were also critical to the OECD’s recent expression of confidence that contributors have likely already achieved the collective $100 billion climate finance goal in 2022.

• Fully Leveraging International Financial Institutions:

Delivering Better, Bigger, and More Effective Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs). Working with partners, the United States has championed a major effort to better equip the MDBs to address today’s increasingly complex global challenges like climate as part of their effort to fight poverty. The United States is rallying partners to boost World Bank Group concessional financing capacity towards these efforts, building on the President’s request to Congress to unlock $27 billion to support these efforts.

Announcing a $3 Billion Pledge to the Second Replenishment of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), subject to the availability of funds. In the context of this pledge, and building on its year as co-chair of the GCF Board, the United States will champion an ambitious GCF evolution agenda to help ensure that all U.S. funds provided to the GCF have maximum impact for U.S. taxpayers with respect to the climate and diplomacy. Elements of the evolution agenda include improved access to climate finance for SIDS, LDCs, and African states; exploring how to better leverage the GCF’s balance sheet, including through an improved private-sector financing platform; continued improvements in unlocking private capital; and streamlining the accreditation process for public and private sector entities.

• Pioneering Innovative Tools and Approaches to Leverage Private Finance:

o Becoming a Global Leader in Innovative Debt-for-Nature Swaps. The U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) has further strengthened its standing as a global leader in debt restructurings for nature with nearly $2 billion in commitments generating funding for marine protection, terrestrial conservation, biodiversity, climate resilience, and sustainable livelihoods in Belize, Ecuador, and Gabon. In addition, deals executed by Treasury, State and USAID under the Tropical Forest and Coral Reef Conservation Act have unlocked over $380 million in new financing over the life of the program.

Announcing that DFC and the Government of India intend to invest up to $1 billion in the India Green Transition Fund. This private credit fund will target market-based returns, provide climate impact benefits, and accelerate the development of clean energy transition projects in India through investments in solar, energy storage, and e-mobility. The fund, and all projects in which it invests, will adhere to DFC’s environmental and social policies and procedures, as well as international environmental and social standards, including the IFC Performance Standards. DFC and the India Green Transition Fund are in late-stage discussions regarding indicative terms.

Advancing the Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA). At COP28, the U.S. Department of State, the Bezos Earth Fund, and The Rockefeller Foundation will partner with other countries and leading companies to present the core framework of the ETA, an innovative carbon finance platform that will catalyze private capital to speed the transition from fossil-based to clean power in developing and emerging economies. Several countries will announce they are joining the ETA as pilot countries or express interest in participating. Several major companies will sign a letter of interest welcoming the ETA as an opportunity to support large-scale power sector transformation while accelerating progress towards their ambitious climate goals.

Mobilizing up to $20 billion in New Private Investment through the Comprehensive Action for Climate Change Initiative (CACCI) Partnership for Climate Action (PCA). USAID will identify promising mitigation and adaptation investments that help countries meet their climate commitments and strengthen their resilience in the face of climate change. CACCI is a key piece of USAID’s response to the COP28 Global Stocktake. At COP28, USAID will announce memoranda of understanding with two private sector partners: BG Titan and Genesis Energy Group. These companies are pivoting their business towards climate investments and, with USAID’s guidance, they will aim to responsibly leverage up to $10 billion each in private sector investment over the next five years to support renewable energy projects, green housing and infrastructure, and climate-resilient agriculture in developing countries.

Mobilizing over $1.4 billion through Innovative Blended Finance Approaches. Through the Blended Finance for the Energy Transition (BFET) program, the U.S. State Department, in partnership with USAID’s Climate Finance for Development Accelerator, will help mobilize over $1.4 billion of capital to accelerate the energy transition in emerging markets. With co-funding from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Investment Fund for Developing Countries, and engagement from DFC, BFET competitively awarded funding to two private sector-led blended finance investment funds.

The U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) and the Investor Leadership Network (ILN) intend to sign a Strategic Partnership Agreement aimed at mobilizing climate finance from ILN’s global coalition of institutional investors, which manages over $10 trillion in assets. Under the Strategic Partnership, USTDA will support project preparation assistance in emerging economies for priority clean energy and critical minerals projects that are designed to catalyze institutional investment for climate-aligned financing.

Delivering Progress under MCC and USAID’s Climate Finance +. MCC and USAID launched Climate Finance + at COP27 as a collaborative approach to strategically use public finance to unlock billions in private investments for green and climate-friendly infrastructure. Under this program, MCC has provided $10 million in financing estimated to catalyze up to $200 million in climate-related investments in industrial zones in Morocco. In Indonesia, MCC will build on USAID investments to catalyze financing to develop and de-risk transactions that expand public transit, promote transition to electric vehicles, and build more efficient transport networks. And to facilitate greater access to MCC Compacts, USAID is supporting the Liquidity and Sustainability Facility to improve the terms of African Sovereign Eurobonds issuances and catalyze Sustainable Development Goal-related investments in clean energy infrastructure in Africa.

Supporting the Launch of the Green Guarantee Company (GGC). The GGC is the first privately run guarantee company devoted to green bonds and loans in developing countries, focusing on Africa, Asia and Latin America. The United States – through USAID, State Department and Prosper Africa – alongside the U.K. Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office, the GCF and the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, contributed to GGC’s initial balance sheet of $100 million. GGC will use this catalytic seed funding to mobilize $1 billion in new, mainstream private capital for climate change adaptation and mitigation projects.

ADVANCING WOMEN AND GIRL’S LEADERSHIP IN TACKLING THE CLIMATE CRISIS

In the 21st century, no economy can get ahead if half of its population is left behind. In our rapidly modernizing global economy, the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to ensuring women are prepared for, and part of, the industries of the future. At COP28, the Administration announced:

• $1.4 Billion in Investments through the Women in the Sustainable Economy (WISE) Initiative, Including $449 Million in Additional Aligned U.S. CommitmentsWISE, which the Vice President first launched at the APEC Economic Leaders’ Summit in November, aims to bolster women’s economic participation at home and around the world by expanding access to employment, training, leadership roles, and financial resources in green and blue industries that are critical to the future of our planet, including clean energy, fisheries, recycling, forest management, and environmental conservation. At COP28, the U.S. will announce an additional $449 million in aligned U.S. commitments to the initiative, for a total of $612 million in direct and aligned U.S. commitments under WISE. This includes new programs like Global Girls Creating Change (G2C2), which aims to introduce 900 girls and young women in at least 29 countries to professional opportunities in the sustainable economy through training, skills development, and mentoring, with focused efforts in Brazil, Indonesia, Nepal, and Uganda. New partner commitments announced at COP include: the Rockefeller Foundation will commit to advance gender equity amid climate change, including through a $25 million commitment to the Co-Impact Gender Fund and five-year climate strategy which will, among other objectives, help advance women’s leadership and access to climate finance in green sectors; The UPS Foundation will commit $3 million to the Climate Gender Equity Fund to foster a greener world and create economic opportunities for women, augmenting The UPS Foundation’s ongoing efforts through the Women Exporters Program and UPS’s Green Exporters Program; and the African Development Bank will commit to leverage up to 3 million through the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa initiative to facilitate women’s access to finance in sectors such as sustainability, climate mitigation, and clean energy.

NYS Announces Nation’s Biggest Investment in Renewable Energy: 3 Offshore Wind, 22 Land-Based Renewable Projects to Power 2.6M Homes

Long Islanders have been protesting, pleading, rallying for offshore windpower for years. Here, rallying outside Long Island Power Authority’s offices in May, 2016. Governor Kathy Hochul has just announced the largest state investment in renewable energy in US history, demonstrating New York’s leadership in advancing the clean energy transition. The conditional awards include three offshore wind and 22 land-based renewable energy projects totaling 6.4 gigawatts of clean energy, enough to power 2.6 million New York homes and deliver approximately 12 percent of New York’s electricity needs once completed.  © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Three Offshore Wind and 22 Land-Based Renewable Energy Projects Totaling 6.4 Gigawatts Will Power 2.6 Million New York Homes and Deliver 12 Percent of New York’s Electricity Needs in 2030  

Projects Expected to Create Approximately 8,300 Family-Sustaining Jobs and Bring $20 Billion in Economic Development Investments Statewide, Including Developer-Committed Investments to Support Disadvantaged Communities 

Advances the Nation’s First Offshore Wind Blade and Nacelle Manufacturing Facilities with the State Committing $300 Million and Attracting an Additional $668 Million in Private Funding

Supports Progress Toward New York’s Climate Act Goal to Obtain 70 Percent of the State’s Electricity from Renewable Sources by 2030 

79 Percent of New York’s 2030 Electricity Needs to be Met with Renewable Energy

Governor Kathy Hochul has announced the largest state investment in renewable energy in United States history, demonstrating New York’s leadership in advancing the clean energy transition. The conditional awards include three offshore wind and 22 land-based renewable energy projects totaling 6.4 gigawatts of clean energy, enough to power 2.6 million New York homes and deliver approximately 12 percent of New York’s electricity needs once completed. When coupled with two marquee offshore wind blade and nacelle manufacturing facilities, this portfolio of newly announced projects is expected to create approximately 8,300 family-sustaining jobs and spur $20 billion in economic development investments statewide, including developer-committed investments to support disadvantaged communities.

The announcement supports progress toward New York’s goal for 70 percent of the state’s electricity to come from renewable sources by 2030 – and nine gigawatts of offshore wind by 2035 – on the path to a zero-emission grid as required by the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Following these awards, New York will now have enough operating, contracted, and under development renewable energy projects to supply 79 percent of the state’s 2030 electricity needs with renewable energy.

“New York continues to set the pace for our nation’s transition to clean energy,” Governor Hochul said. “An investment of this magnitude is about more than just fighting climate change – we’re creating good-paying union jobs, improving the reliability of our electric grid, and generating significant benefits in disadvantaged communities. Today, we are taking action to keep New York’s climate goals within reach, demonstrating to the nation how to recalibrate in the wake of global economic challenges while driving us toward a greener and more prosperous future for generations to come.”  

U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm said, “The Department of Energy applauds the significant step that this announcement represents for building an offshore wind energy industry here in the U.S. that revitalizes domestic manufacturing and coastal economies, while advancing our clean energy future. New York is showing President Biden’s Investing in America agenda at work, and DOE looks forward to continued collaboration on project deployment, development of a robust domestic supply chain along with transmission development to help realize both our state and federal offshore wind goals.”

Once in service, the awarded offshore wind and land-based renewable energy projects will: 

  • Produce approximately 19 million megawatt-hours of new renewable energy per year, enough to power more than 2.6 million New York homes. 
  • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 9.4 million metric tons annually, the equivalent of taking more than 2 million cars off the road every year. 
  • Provide public health benefits resulting from reduced exposure to harmful pollutants—including fewer episodes of illness and premature death, fewer days of missed school or work, less disruption of business, and lower health care costs.
  • Deliver a host of benefits to disadvantaged communities in line with the Climate Act goals, with over $3.5 billion in commitments to disadvantaged communities made by developers.

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority President and CEO Doreen M. Harris said, “This latest and largest round of large-scale renewable energy awards is further proof that New York is, and will continue to be, a place where the renewable energy sector can thrive. This cohort of large-scale renewable energy projects reflect New York’s longstanding and ongoing priority to responsibly advance the most cost-competitive and economically viable clean energy projects in a manner that is timely and maximizes benefits for all New Yorkers.” 

Today’s announcement represents the first set of actions taken by the State as part of New York’s 10-point Action Plan, announced recently by Governor Hochul, offering insight into how the Governor’s Administration plans to overcome recent macroeconomic and inflationary challenges that have impacted the renewable energy sector. Today’s awards also mark the commencement of contract negotiations with the awarded parties, and the awards are conditional on successful contract execution. 

Demonstrating the State’s commitment to ensuring these projects create quality, family-sustaining jobs for New Yorkers, the contracts upon full execution will include commitments to purchase certain minimum amounts of U.S. iron and steel and prevailing wage provisions for all laborers, workers, and mechanics performing construction activities. In addition, offshore wind project developers will be required to negotiate Project Labor Agreements among their construction contractors and a building and construction trade labor organization representing craft workers for the construction of the new renewable energy generation resources. 

The Nation’s Largest-Ever State Investment in Offshore Wind
In the most competitive offshore wind solicitation in the U.S., NYSERDA has selected three new offshore wind projects totaling 4,032 megawatts (MW) of clean energy which is expected to displace over 7 million metric tons of CO2 annually, equivalent to removing 1.6 million cars from the road each year. Additionally, the awarded projects will bring more than $15 billion in anticipated in-state spending and create more than 4,200 family sustaining jobs across Long Island, New York City and the Capital Region over the 25-year lifespan of the projects. 

The three offshore wind projects include: 

  • Attentive Energy One (1,404 MW) developed by TotalEnergies, Rise Light & Power and Corio Generation. The project includes a novel fossil repurposing plan in Queens, which seeks to retire fossil fuel power generation in the heart of New York City and transition the current workforce to clean energy jobs.  
  • Community Offshore Wind (1,314 MW) developed by RWE Offshore Renewables and National Grid Ventures. The project includes utilization of new grid interconnection being developed by Con Edison in downtown Brooklyn, made possible by the Public Service Commission Order Approving Cost Recovery for Clean Energy Hub to maximize delivery of clean electricity into New York City.  
  • Excelsior Wind (1,314 MW) developed by Vineyard Offshore (Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners). The project includes proposed cable route options providing robust energy deliverability to Long Island, leveraging the electric grid expansion provided through the Long Island Public Policy Transmission Need outcome. 

Together, these projects will bring tremendous benefits to New York’s economy, workforce, and environment, including: 

  • More than $85 million to support wildlife and fisheries research, mitigation, and enhancement. 
  • Nearly $300 million in commitments to Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs) and Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Businesses (SDVOBs). 
  • Over $100 million in commitments to train New York’s workforce to build and service offshore wind projects. 
  • Billions of dollars in public health benefits resulting from reduced exposure to harmful pollutants—including fewer episodes of illness and premature death, fewer days of missed school or work, less disruption of business, and lower health care costs.    

These projects employ a mix of flexible and innovative transmission designs, including a reduced footprint in transmitting energy from offshore wind projects to New York City through high voltage direct current (HVDC) and adaptable “Meshed-Ready” offshore electrical substations. The three offshore wind projects are anticipated to enter commercial operation in 2030. The average bill impact for customers over the life of the projects will be approximately 2.73 percent, or about $2.93 per month. The average all-in development cost of the awarded offshore wind projects over the life of the contracts is $96.72 per megawatt-hour.

Delivering on Governor Hochul’s commitment to make New York State a hub for the U.S. offshore wind supply chain, this procurement includes continued support for offshore wind turbine manufacturing, which leverages over $2 in privately committed capital for every $1 of New York public funding. 

NYSERDA is also awarding $300 million in state investment to enable the development of two supply chain facilities including nacelle manufacturing and assembly by GE Vernova, along with blade manufacturing developed by LM Wind Power Blades USA, both planned for New York’s Capital Region.  

This investment has the capacity to supply almost one-third of the total regional demand for offshore wind by 2035, which will unlock $968 million in public and private funding, create 1,700 direct and indirect jobs backed by prevailing wage and project labor agreements, and result in over $3 billion in direct spending in the State. Additionally, these projects also align with available federal tax credits, enabling future savings to New York’s ratepayers. 


New York’s Land-Based Renewable Energy Procurement
In addition, New York also announced its latest round of conditional land-based large-scale renewable awards, which are comprised of 14 new solar projects, six wind repowering projects, one new wind project, and one return-to-service hydroelectric project, totaling a combined 2,410 megawatts – enough new renewable generation to power over 560,000 New York homes annually for at least 20 years. These projects are expected to spur over $4 billion in direct investments and create over 4,100 good-paying short- and long-term jobs across New York State. 

The projects by region include:

Central New York 

  • Oxbow Hill Solar: Cypress Creek Renewables will build a 140-megawatt solar facility in the Town of Fenner, Madison County. 

Finger Lakes 

  • Gravel Road Solar: Delaware River Solar will build a 128-megawatt solar facility in the Towns of Tyre and Seneca Falls, Seneca County. 
  • Hatchery Solar: VC Renewables, LLC will build a 19.99-megawatt solar facility in the Town of Caledonia, Livingston County. 
  • SunEast Hampton Corners Solar: Cordelio Power will build a 19.99-megawatt solar facility in the Town of Groveland, Livingston County. 
  • SunEast Niagara Solar: Cordelio Power will build a 19.99-megawatt solar facility in the Town of Caledonia, Livingston County. 
  • White Creek Solar, LLC: AES will build a 135-megawatt solar facility in the Towns of York and Leicester, Livingston County. 
  • Hemlock Ridge Solar: AES will build a 200-megawatt solar facility in the Towns of Barre and Shelby, Orleans County. 
  • Valcour Bliss Windpark: AES will repower a 100.5-megawatt wind facility in the Town of Eagle, Wyoming County. 
  • Valcour Wethersfield Windpark: AES will repower a 126-megawatt wind facility in the Town of Wethersfield, Wyoming County. 

Mohawk Valley 

  • Dolgeville Hydro: Energy Ottawa NY Generation Ltd. will continue operations for a 5-megawatt hydroelectric facility in the Town of Dolgeville, Herkimer County. 
  • SunEast Millers Grove Solar: Cordelio Power will build a 19.99-megawatt solar facility in the Town of Schuyler, Herkimer County. 

North Country 

  • North Country Wind: Terra-Gen Development Company, LLC will build a 298.2-megawatt wind facility in the towns of Burke and Chateaugay, Franklin County. 
  • Riverside Solar: AES will build a 100-megawatt solar facility in the Towns of Lyme and Brownville, Franklin County. 
  • SunEast Morris Solar: Cordelio Power will build a 19.99-megawatt solar facility in the Town of Gouverneur, St. Lawrence County. 
  • Valcour Altona Windpark: AES will repower a 97.5-megawatt wind facility in the Town of Altona, Clinton County. 
  • Valcour Chateaugay Windpark: AES will repower a 106.5-megawatt Wind facility in the Town of Chateaugay, Franklin County. 
  • Valcour Clinton Windpark: AES will repower a 100.5-megawatt Wind facility in the Town of Clinton, Clinton County. 
  • Valcour Ellenburg Windpark: AES will repower an 81-megawatt Wind facility in the Town of Ellenburg, Clinton County. 

Southern Tier 

  • Clear View Solar: VC Renewables, LLC will build a 19.99-megawatt Solar facility in the Town of Cohocton, Steuben County. 
  • Stonewall Solar: Nexamp will build a 145-megawatt solar facility co-located with 20 megawatts of energy storage in the Town of Meredith, Delaware County. 

Western New York 

  • Somerset Solar: Somerset Solar, LLC will build a 125-megawatt solar facility in the Town of Somerset, Niagara County. 

Outside of New York 

  • Mineral Basin Solar: Swift Current Energy will build a 401.6-megawatt solar facility in the Townships of Girard and Goshen, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, and will deliver energy into the New York electric grid. 

The average bill impact for customers over the life of the projects will be approximately 0.31 percent, or about $0.32 per month. The average all-in development cost of the awarded Tier 1 projects over the life of the contracts is $60.93 per megawatt-hour. Importantly, these projects are prioritizing benefits to disadvantaged communities in line with the State’s Climate Act, with over $108 million in commitments to disadvantaged communities made by developers as part of their proposals to NYSERDA. These projects are also expected to result in over $38 million in commitments in spending to MWBEs and SDVOBs. 

The State will continue to emphasize and enhance engagement with the communities where the projects are being developed. NYSERDA offers resources and no-cost technical assistance to help local governments understand how to manage responsible clean energy development in their communities, including step-by-step instructions and tools to guide the implementation of clean energy, including permitting processes, property taxes, siting, zoning, and more. 

Long Island Power Authority Chief Executive Officer Thomas Falcone said, “LIPA proudly stands with Governor Hochul as we make history with this monumental investment in renewable energy. These projects are part of a shared commitment to a sustainable future, directly aligning with LIPA’s vision of delivering clean, reliable, and affordable electricity to our communities. Governor Hochul is transforming how we power New York while creating thousands of jobs in a new industry.”

“New York’s significant investments in offshore wind and renewable energy projects are a testament to Governor Hochul’s commitment in advancing a clean energy economy while reducing greenhouse gas emissions to benefit the state’s communities,” New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos said. “I applaud the Governor for continuing to address the challenges of climate change with the wind, solar, and hydro projects announced today that are helping ensure a greener, more prosperous, and equitable future for all New Yorkers.”

New York State Department of Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said,“Under Governor Hochul’s leadership, this monumental investment not only propels New York to the forefront of the renewable energy sector but promises thousands of family-sustaining jobs across our state. As we work towards a sustainable future, we’re committed to ensuring that every New Yorker reaps the economic benefits of this initiative, especially our disadvantaged communities.”

Representative Paul Tonko said, “I have always believed in the potential for New York to play a leading role in offshore wind and clean energy development and have pushed hard at the federal level to advance policy and investment that grows out this industry. Today’s announcement is a realization of that vision. This next chapter in the storied history of skilled labor and innovation in our area will bring hundreds of good paying green jobs to the Capital Region while advancing our clean energy future and protecting our environment for generations to come. I look forward to closely working with our state and commercial partners to make these bold plans a reality and I will never stop working to secure our clean energy future and create the jobs of tomorrow.”

“Today marks a key milestone for solar, wind and renewable energy projects that will not only help New York reach its sustainability goals, but also create thousands of good paying, union careers for our hardworking tradesmen and tradeswomen,” New York State Building Trades President Gary LaBarbera said. “This historic investment will brighten our clean energy future and the improve the lives of all New Yorkers, including those who will now have the opportunity to work on these projects, support their families and pursue a more accessible path to the middle class. We applaud Governor Hochul for her continued commitment to streamlining clean energy initiatives, all while uplifting working class New Yorkers.”

New York State AFL-CIO President Mario Cilento said, “I thank Governor Hochul for this historic investment that will help us combat climate change, and ultimately win that battle while creating solid, middle-class, union jobs right here in New York State. It is the next step to ensuring that New York’s clean energy future is built, operated, and maintained by a highly trained and highly skilled union workforce. We look forward to continuing to work with the governor to address climate change while creating and preserving family-sustaining union jobs.”

Long Island Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO President John Durso said, “We look forward to working with the governor and her team as we move the offshore wind industry forward, creating good union jobs that will not only power Long Island’s economy but also make an historic commitment to our environment. The Long Island Federation of Labor, as a crucial partner, plays a pivotal role in ensuring the success of offshore wind development, with our expertise and dedication, in bolstering the growth of the industry while safeguarding the interests of our workforce.”

“Today’s announcement is clearly indicative of Governor Hochul’s intent to move forward with a thriving offshore wind industry,” IBEW Local Union #3 Business Manager Christopher Erikson said. “This commitment includes labor protections for working men and women, the guaranteeing of good wages, the inclusion of PLA’s and workforce development for both the construction trades and supply chain employers. This is good for New Yorkers, our employers, our environment, and the health of generations to come.”

Alliance for Clean Energy New York Executive Director Anne Reynolds said, “New contracts for 22 wind, solar, and hydroelectric projects, plus for three major offshore wind energy projects, is good news for New York’s environment and electricity system. Building these projects will mean construction jobs for laborers, electricians, and other building trades, as well as cleaner air for New Yorkers. The renewable energy industry welcomes today’s announcements and looks forward to continuing to work with the state of New York on its ambitious energy transition.”

New York Offshore Wind Alliance Director Fred Zalcman said,“Today’s announcement by the Governor, awarding three contracts for more than 4,000 MW of offshore wind generation, shows that New York is prepared to double down on this clean, renewable and job-creating resource, and will go a long way towards instilling confidence in a market that has recently faced tremendous headwinds.

New York League of Conservation Voters President Julie Tighe said, “As the climate crisis bears down on us and the health of our population and planet continue to suffer the damaging effects of burning fossil fuels, we can no longer afford to just talk about renewable energy, we need to deliver real projects on the ground. The awarding of an additional 6.2 GW of wind, solar, and hydro power is a big step to meeting the state’s renewable energy goals and a major win for public health and the environment. We applaud Governor Hochul and NYSERDA President Doreen Harris for going big in the latest round of renewable energy procurements.”

Citizens Campaign for the Environment Executive Director Adrienne Esposito said, “Climate change impacts have continued to assault New York this year with more flooding in New York City subways, mud slides in Westchester and significant erosion along Fire Island and Long Island’s south shore.  Now is the time to act! Transitioning to renewable energy is the primary action we need to take to fight climate change.  Today’s announcement establishes a pivotal turning point in advancing green energy in our state. We are excited and hopeful that New York will lead the way for our Nation to act just as vigorously and decisively as New York.  We applaud Governor Hochul and NYSERDA for this historic action which will not only fight climate change, but also result in cleaner air, healthier communities and uplift our economy.”

President of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Nassau and Suffolk Counties, and President of the National Offshore Wind Training Center Matthew Aracich said,”Here is another shining example by Governor Hochul honoring her pledge to advance the offshore wind industry here in NY. The magnitude of these projects will undoubtedly spur economic growth that will reverberate throughout the state and simultaneously provide a true pathway to the middle class. The work mentioned in today’s announcement allows skilled labor’s registered apprenticeship training programs to grow at an unprecedented rate and holds the key to maintaining a vibrant future for the Long Island Region. When we build green energy projects at a scale necessary, we eliminate our dependence on fossil fuels as quickly as possible.”

New York State’s Nation-Leading Climate Plan
New York State’s nation-leading climate agenda calls for an orderly and just transition that creates family-sustaining jobs, continues to foster a green economy across all sectors and ensures that at least 35 percent, with a goal of 40 percent, of the benefits of clean energy investments are directed to disadvantaged communities. Guided by some of the nation’s most aggressive climate and clean energy initiatives, New York is on a path to achieving a zero-emission electricity sector by 2040, including 70 percent renewable energy generation by 2030, and economywide carbon neutrality by mid-century. A cornerstone of this transition is New York’s unprecedented clean energy investments, including more than $55 billion in 145 large-scale renewable and transmission projects across the state, $6.8 billion to reduce building emissions, $3.3 billion to scale up solar, more than $1 billion for clean transportation initiatives, and over $2 billion in NY Green Bank commitments. These and other investments are supporting more than 165,000 jobs in New York’s clean energy sector in 2021 and over 3,000 percent growth in the distributed solar sector since 2011. To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality, New York also adopted zero-emission vehicle regulations, including requiring all new passenger cars and light-duty trucks sold in the State be zero emission by 2035. Partnerships are continuing to advance New York’s climate action with nearly 400 registered and more than 100 certified Climate Smart Communities, nearly 500 Clean Energy Communities, and the State’s largest community air monitoring initiative in 10 disadvantaged communities across the state to help target air pollution and combat climate change. 

FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Takes Action to Cut Energy Bills, Housing Costs and Climate Pollution

Administration invests over $100 million to renovate homes with zero energy and climate resilient technology

Announcement will help advance goal of cutting the cost of decarbonizing housing in half within a decade while lowering energy bills and increasing affordable housing supply

 

The Biden Administration announced awards of more than $100 million from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through the Inflation Reduction Act – the largest investment in clean energy and climate action ever – to help renovate the homes of more than 1,500 low-income families to be zero energy and climate resilient. © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

This fact sheet about Biden-Harris administration actions to cut energy bills, housing costs and climate pollution is provided by the White House:

Since Day One, the Biden-Harris Administration has advanced the most ambitious climate agenda in history, leading a whole-of-government approach to reduce emissions across every sector of the economy, including the buildings sector, and expand affordable clean energy to every American. Last week, the Biden-Harris Administration set a bold target to reduce the cost to decarbonize new and existing housing by 50% within a decade, while delivering energy bill savings for Americans and curbing greenhouse gas emissions that come from operating, constructing, and renovating buildings.
 
In the United States, more than a third of greenhouse gas emissions comes from the buildings sector – with 20 percent from heating, cooling, and operating our homes. By investing in solutions to cut pollution from homes, the U.S. will help curb 37% of greenhouse gas emissions that come from operating, constructing and renovating our buildings, while protecting people’s health and lowering energy and housing costs for hardworking families, a key pillar of Bidenomics.
 
That’s why today, the Administration announced awards of more than $100 million from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through the Inflation Reduction Act – the largest investment in clean energy and climate action ever – to help renovate the homes of more than 1,500 low-income families to be zero energy and climate resilient. These energy-saving renovations will demonstrate the potential to preserve quality, affordable housing in our communities by cutting energy waste down to zero, increasing resiliency to extreme weather events worsened by climate change, and lowering costs for families. All the investments will be made in affordable housing communities serving low-income families in alignment with President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative and the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to environmental justice. These investments will also preserve the long-term viability and affordability of our nation’s existing stock of affordable housing and advance fair housing by increasing housing options for communities.
 
In addition, the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Energy today opened applications for the Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit program, which will spur up to 1.8 gigawatts of clean energy investments annually in underserved communities. The program, also created by the Inflation Reduction Act, provides a bonus credit amount on top of the Investment Tax Credit for building clean energy projects, which is up to 30% of qualifying investments. The Low-Income Communities Bonus provides up to a 10 or 20- percentage point tax credit boost for small solar and wind projects placed in service in low- income or Tribal communities.
 
Today’s announcements build on key actions taken by the Administration to boost climate resilience in buildings and deliver lower home energy costs for families across the country, while increasing investments in housing supply and safer, healthier housing.
 

Lowering Energy and Housing Costs for Families and Achieving a Zero Emissions Building Sector

  • Last week, the Department of Energy launched its eighth Energy Earthshot – the “Affordable Home Energy Shot” – which sets a bold target to reduce the cost to decarbonize new and existing housing by 50%, save Americans money on their energy bills, and help address the persistent burdens faced by low-income households and communities of color. The initiative will advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s environmental justice and equity goals, including the President’s Justice40 Initiative, by lowering the cost of energy-efficient retrofits while reducing overall energy costs and carbon intensity of homes across the country. Reducing the cost of building will also contribute to the Administration’s efforts to increase the nation’s affordable housing supply through the President’s Housing Supply Action Plan by expanding the production of affordable housing and ensuring the long-term viability of existing units.
     
  • The Biden-Harris Administration recently announced a goal of making zero emissions, resilient new construction and retrofits common practice by 2030. To achieve its goal, the Administration is developing a standard national definition for zero emissions buildings that will help establish a consistent, verifiable and measurable path to a zero-emissions building sector. With over 130 million existing buildings, which collectively cost over $400 billion a year to heat, cool, light and power, and 10 million new homes to be constructed by 2030, establishing a consistent uniform target will accelerate climate progress by driving investments into homes and buildings of the future.
     
  • The Department of the Treasury recently issued guidance on the Inflation Reduction Act’s amendments to the 45L new energy efficient homes tax credit that now offers up to $5,000 per home to eligible contractors who construct, reconstruct, or rehabilitate energy efficient homes.
     
  • Last week, the Department of Energy announced more than $30 million in awards through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) Program, providing clean energy funding to eight states, 19 local governments and one Tribe. The EECBG Program is designed to assist states, local governments, and Tribes in implementing strategies to reduce energy use, to reduce fossil fuel emissions, and to improve energy efficiency. DOE also awarded more than $22 million in cash prizes and technical assistance through the Buildings Upgrade Prize (Buildings UP) to teams across America with winning ideas to accelerate widespread, equitable energy efficiency and building electrification upgrades for homes and communities.
     
  • In addition, last month, the Department of Energy opened applications for $400 million through the Inflation Reduction Act for states and territories to adopt and implement the latest building energy codes or zero building energy codes in order to reduce utility bills, increase efficiency, lower greenhouse gas emissions that fuel the climate crisis, and make buildings more resilient to climate disaster.
     
  • FEMA last week announced the availability of $1.8 billion for two resilience grant programs designed to increase climate resilience nationwide and prepare communities for more frequent and severe extreme weather events. The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) annual grant program is making an additional $1 billion available to fund projects that protect people and infrastructure from natural hazards and the effects of climate change. The Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) program will provide a further $800 million to fund projects that mitigate flood risks facing homes and communities across the nation.
  • Today Department of Housing and Urban Development released a Climate Resources for Housing Supply Framework that describes key funding opportunities for a climate-focused housing supply strategy. This follows the launch of HUD’s Funding Navigator, a user-friendly searchable database of Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law incentives and other resources from across federal agencies to support efforts to enhance climate resiliency, energy efficiency, renewable energy integration, healthy housing, workforce development and environmental justice.
     
  • Recently, HUD announced its Funding Navigator, an interactive tool that allows users to browse and sort funding opportunities for billions of dollars in funding available under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).
     
  • Earlier this month, EPA closed its application window for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction FundFor two of the competitions—the $14 billion National Clean Investment Fund and the $6 billion Clean Communities Investment Accelerator—EPA identified net-zero emissions buildings, including multi-family housing, as a priority project category.

Together, these actions further the Administration’s commitment to reducing energy burdens, increasing housing supply and advancing fair housing, cutting climate pollution, boosting climate resilience, lowering household energy costs, and preserving the viability and affordability of America’s housing stock.

New York City Climate Marchers Demand Action Now to End Climate Crisis

New York City Climate March, 2023 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

By Karen Rubin, News-Photos-Features.com

Ahead of the United Nations General Assembly this week when leaders including President Biden will make speeches, tens of thousands came out from around the country and around the world to march in New York City to demand political and corporate leaders take sweeping Climate Action – not incremental steps – to address the climate crisis and end the use of fossil fuels that are heating the planet beyond habitability.

New York City Climate March, 2023 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

“We’re on a pathway to lose everything, Peter Kalmus, a climate scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab (speaking for himself), declared at a rally before the march stepped off. “The cause of heatwaves are fossil fuels, and leaders including Biden are still approving fossil projects. It’s insanity… This can’t be reversed. Stop fossil fuels or ramp down as soon as possible. I’m terrified for the future. Burning, flooding, smoke, heat waves. How will we feed 8 billion people? Heat waves will kill millions. Every year is worse, the planet is hotter. .. This is the only planet in our universe with life. We are on the brink of a 6th mass extinction. A dead planet has no economy, no politics. There is no solution – not carbon capture, not planting trees. There is no plan to deal with the decreasing habitability. We must come together. Fight.”

New York City Climate March, 2023 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

They weren’t giving Biden any credit, either, for passing against all odds the largest climate action program ever, funded with billions of dollars, directed at thousands of communities. He isn’t getting credit for an across-government policy of climate justice, or putting millions of acres of land under federal protection, including canceling all remaining oil and gas leases issued under the Trump administration in the Arctic Refuge and protecting more than 13 million acres in the Western Arctic.

“Biden, you should be scared of us,” declared Emma Buretta, 17, a New York City high school student and an organizer with the Fridays for Future movement,. “If you want our vote, if you don’t want the blood of our generations to be on your hands, end fossil fuels.”

New York City Climate March, 2023 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

They are calling on Biden to declare a climate emergency and “end fossil fuels”, as if he actually had such unbounded power to shut down fossil fuels. But look around: the Christo Fascist majority on the Supreme Court did not even allow him to mandate masks or vaccinations during a deadly pandemic. The court overturned the EPA’s ability to protect wetlands. The courts are overturning DACA, gun control, and Republicans in Congress and at the state level have battled back against climate action – Republican in Congress trying to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act that funds so much climate action; Republican Governors like the POTUS-wannabe Ron DeSantis actually making it illegal to address climate action, even as he takes billions of dollars in federal aid to restore Floridians’ lives after yet another historic hurricane, and Republican-dominated state legislatures making it illegal to accept federal money for climate projects and Republican Attorneys General suing to stop giving incentives for electric vehicles.

So are these young people suggesting they don’t vote, so that a Republican – maybe Trump, maybe some other – will take over and do what Trump did after Obama: reverse course on climate action, pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement?

Instead of threatening not to vote for Biden, if they want to end the Climate Crisis, they should threaten not to vote for any Republican at any level of government.

Here are more photo highlights:

New York City Climate March, 2023 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
New York City Climate March, 2023 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
New York City Climate March, 2023 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
New York City Climate March, 2023 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
New York City Climate March, 2023 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
New York City Climate March, 2023 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
New York City Climate March, 2023 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
New York City Climate March, 2023 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
New York City Climate March, 2023 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
New York City Climate March, 2023 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
New York City Climate March, 2023 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
New York City Climate March, 2023 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
New York City Climate March, 2023 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
New York City Climate March, 2023 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
New York City Climate March, 2023 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com
New York City Climate March, 2023 © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

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© 2023 News & Photo Features Syndicate, a division of Workstyles, Inc. All rights reserved. For editorial feature and photo information, go to www.news-photos-features.com, email [email protected]. Blogging at www.dailykos.com/blogs/NewsPhotosFeatures. ‘Like’ us on 

Clinton Global Initiative, Taking Place Sept. 18-19 in NYC, Focuses on Facilitating Actions that Make Tangible Difference in Lives Around the World


At the 2022 Clinton Global Initiative, themed “Taking Action Together,” President Bill Clinton, Secretary Hillary Clinton, Clinton Foundation Vice Chair Chelsea Clinton present the Clinton Global Citizen Award to long-time fighter for human, civil, workers and immigrant rights, Dolores Huerta. This year’s meeting, taking place Sept. 18-19 in NYC, will focus on what it takes to keep going—to maintain and advance progress, in spite of the difficulties that arise. © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

The Clinton Global Initiative taking place in New York City September 18-19, is aimed at bringing together organizations across government, business, and civil society; established and emerging leaders; activists and advocates; and community workers and doers who are on the front lines of our most pressing global challenges, and facilitate collaborations and actions that have real impact on people’s lives around the world.

Launched by President Clinton in 2005, CGI has built a community of doers who are taking action to make a tangible difference in people’s lives around the world.

CGI works with partners to develop Commitments to Action, which are new, specific, and measurable solutions. Since 2005, more than 3,900 Commitments to Action have been launched through CGI. At the 2022 meeting, members of the CGI community launched more than 140 Commitments to Action that are now improving access to health care, advancing sustainability, creating employment opportunities, supporting refugee resettlement, and more.

President Clinton, Secretary Clinton, and Chelsea Clinton, in a letter to the CGI community,  said this year’s meeting would focus on how to “keep going” – in spite of the difficulties that arise – to build a stronger future for all.

“We all have the power to make a difference, and therefore the responsibility at least to try. This fundamental belief is what led us to call the CGI community back together in 2022. The response was remarkable: more than 2,000 leaders attended our September meeting in New York City, where more than 650 partnering organizations came together to launch more than 140 Commitments to Action – new, specific, measurable projects. All told, the CGI community has now made more than 3,900 Commitments.

“Throughout 2023, we’ve built on that momentum, convening leaders, innovators and dreamers across geographies and areas of focus to forge new partnerships and drive further action, all to achieve more durable, meaningful and yes, measurable impact. In the spring alone, we hosted events on five continents to get input from the CGI network and bring more partners into the fold—and we heard from you over and over again how important it is to reconvene CGI again this September.

“That’s why, on September 18-19, we will gather again in New York City. This year’s meeting will focus on what it takes to keep going—to maintain and advance progress, in spite of the difficulties that arise, and increase our capacity to cross the divides and make common cause with one another wherever possible to build a stronger future for all.

“At CGI’s annual meeting, we’ll hear from those who are tackling some of today’s most pressing issues, including climate change, health inequities, food insecurity, economic inequality, threats to democracy around the world, and record-breaking refugee displacement. We will examine ways to channel energy and investment to scale solutions that are already improving people’s lives, and explore how tools like AI can be responsibly harnessed for good. As always, the focus will be on what we can do, not what we can’t—and will highlight how even seemingly small actions, when taken together, can turn the tide on even our most stubborn challenges.”

At CGI 2023, President ClintonSecretary Clinton, and Chelsea Clinton will be joined by leaders from across business, government, philanthropy, and civil society, including Noubar Afeyan, Founder and CEO, Flagship Pioneering; Co-Founder and Chairman, Moderna; Ajay Banga, World Bank President; Jason Buechel, CEO, Whole Foods; Miguel Cardona, U.S. Secretary of Education; Brian Chesky, Co-Founder and CEO, Airbnb; DanielsDaniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Directors/Writers/Producers; Philip E. Davis, Prime Minister, The Bahamas; Patrick Dempsey, Actor, Producer, Founder and Board Member of The Dempsey Center; Michael J. Fox, Founder, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research; Maura Healey, Governor, Massachusetts; Kathy Hochul, Governor, New York; Padma Lakshmi, Host/Executive Producer of Hulu’s Taste the Nation, Writer, and UNDP Goodwill Ambassador; Tjada D’Oyen McKenna, CEO, MercyCorps; David Miliband, President and CEO, International Rescue Committee; La June Montgomery Tabron, President and CEO, W.K. Kellogg Foundation; Wes Moore, Governor, Maryland; Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General, World Trade Organization; Noel Quinn, CEO, HSBC; J.B. Pritzker, Governor, Illinois; Liev Schreiber, Co-Founder, Blue Check Ukraine; Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation; will.i.am, President & Founder, i.am Angel Foundation.

Additional featured participants include Rolando Gonzalez-Bunster, Founder, President, and CEO, InterEnergy; Nicole Hockley, CEO, Sandy Hook Promise; Eugenia Kargbo, Arsht-Rock Chief Heat Officer, Freetown, Sierra Leone; Francine Katsoudas, Executive Vice President and Chief People, Policy & Purpose Officer of Cisco; Sophia Kianni, Founder and Executive Director, Climate Cardinals; Nicholas Kristof, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist and Author; Peter Laugharn, President and CEO, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation; Sage Lenier, Founder & Executive Director, Sustainable & Just Future; Louise Emmanuelle Mabulo, Founder, The Cacao Project; Janet Murguía, President, UnidosUS; Vaishali Nigam-Sinha, Co-Founder & Chairperson, Sustainability, ReNew Energy Global PLC; ‘Aholotu Palu, Chief Executive of the Pacific Catastrophe Risk Insurance Company; Amy Pope, Incoming Director General of the International Organization for Migration (IOM); Keller Rinaudo Cliffton, Founder and CEO, Zipline; Lynn Forester de Rothschild, Founder & Chair, Council for Inclusive Capitalism and CEO, E.L. Rothschild; Paul Stormoen, CEO, OX2; Pete Upton, CEO and Chairperson, Native CDFI Network; Asha Varghese, President, Caterpillar Foundation; Gary White, Co-Founder, Water.org; Debra Whitman, Executive Vice President and Chief Public Policy Officer, AARP; Darrin Williams, CEO, Southern Bancorp.

Previously announced featured participants include José Andrés, Founder and Chief Feeding Officer, World Central Kitchen; Orlando Bloom, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador; Albert Bourla, CEO, Pfizer; Jesper Brodin, Chairman and CEO, INGKA Holding; Matt Damon, Co-Founder, Water.org; Tony Elumelu, Founder and Chair, The Tony Elumelu Foundation; Ilan Goldfajn, President, Inter-American Development Bank; Filippo Grandi, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; Ashley Judd, Author and Goodwill Ambassador, UNFPA; Karlie Kloss, Entrepreneur and Founder of Kode With Klossy; Lorenzo P. Lewis, Founder, the Confess Project; Tsitsi Masiyiwa, Co-Founder and Chair of Higherlife Foundation and Delta Philanthropies; Cindy H. McCain, Executive Director of the World Food Programme; Ai-jen Poo, President, National Domestic Workers Alliance; Catherine Russell, Executive Director, UNICEF; Ai Weiwei, Artist; and more.

The schedule for CGI 2023, including plenary and spotlight sessions, can be found at www.clintonglobal.org/2023.

Sponsors for the CGI 2023 meeting span a broad range of supporters from business, philanthropy, and civil society. CGI is grateful for their support in building a convening that will help drive action across the major global challenges of our time. They include InterEnergy/Evergo, Domuschiev Impact, AFT, American Beverage, APCO Worldwide, Aurora Humanitarian Initiative, Beatrice Snyder Foundation, Bob and Jane Harrison, Caterpillar Foundation, Christie’s, Cisco, Dream, The EKTA Foundation, The Elevate Prize Foundation, Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali, Flagship Pioneering, Fondation Botnar, Global Education Foundation, Global Sae-A, JetBlue, Joyce Aboussie, The Marc Haas Foundation, The Masimo Foundation, Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, MEBO International, Pernod Ricard USA, Pfizer Inc., SAP, Tarsadia Foundation, Teena Hostovich, The Nima Taghavi Foundation, and W.K. Kellogg Foundation. In addition, Postcode Lottery Group is serving as a partner for the CGI 2023 Meeting. For the second consecutive year, decision intelligence company Morning Consult is serving as the official data partner.

The CGI 2023 Meeting will also include the return of two programs launched in 2022 – CGI Greenhouse that directly connects entrepreneurs with partnership and scaling opportunities; and the CGI Story Studio that inspires action through stories of frontline leaders and lived experiences.

You can livestream the event by registering to participate.

For schedules and information, visit www.clintonglobal.org/2023. Follow CGI on FacebookInstagramThreadsLinkedIn, and X, for meeting news and highlights.

FACT SHEET: Bidenomics is Boosting Clean Energy Manufacturing for Offshore Wind and Creating Good-Paying American Union Jobs and Advancing a Clean-Energy Economy

Peoples Climate March, Washington DC April 29, 2017. President Biden is making historic investments in transitioning to a clean energy future, against opposition by Republicans © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

President Biden visited Philly Shipyard, where union workers are building a new offshore wind vessel as part of continued manufacturing boom—while Republicans in Congress voted to repeal the Inflation Reduction Act and continue to try to block clean energy progress. This is a fact sheet from the White House on how Bidenomics is boosting clean energy manufacturing for offshore wind, which is creating well-paying union jobs in America that cannot be outsourced, while advancing the transition to a clean-energy economy to stem the existential impacts of climate change—Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com 

President Biden’s economic agenda—Bidenomics— is fueling America’s clean energy future, creating American-made products in American factories with American workers, and attracting more than $500 billion in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments, including in the offshore wind industry. President Biden visited Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for a steel-cutting ceremony at the Philly Shipyard for the first offshore wind vessel of its kind to be Made in America and Jones Act compliant, employing over 1,000 workers across nine unions to build the vessel, using steel plates made by the United Steelworkers in Indiana, and generating an estimated $125 million of U.S. economic activity each year. This project is another example of how Bidenomics is growing the economy from the middle out and the bottom up.
 
Under President Biden’s leadership, the American offshore wind industry is rapidly expanding—creating good-paying union jobs across the manufacturing, shipbuilding, and construction sectors. Since President Biden took office, companies have announced 18 offshore wind shipbuilding projects as well as investments of nearly $3.5 billion across 12 manufacturing facilities and 13 ports to strengthen the American offshore wind supply chain, representing thousands of new jobs. New data released shows there are more than 4,100 companies in all 50 states that are looking to support the U.S. offshore wind industry, up 54% since President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act.

President Biden also announced the first-ever Gulf of Mexico offshore wind lease sale. This is the latest in a broad set of actions by the Biden-Harris Administration to build 30 gigawatts of offshore wind projects by 2030—enough to power more than 10 million homes with clean energy. A key pillar of Bidenomics, President Biden’s Investing in America agenda will help create offshore wind jobs across the country, including through tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act to support Made in America wind turbines and ships.

However, if Republicans in Congress had their way, their states would have lost out on billions of dollars in investments, jobs, and opportunity. In Pennsylvania alone, companies have committed to invest approximately $2 billion in manufacturing and clean energy investments since President Biden took office. Yet nearly every Republican Member of the House voted again to overturn the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy tax credits in April 2023—doubling down on their opposition at a time when manufacturers were investing in their state.
 
Bidenomics is Catalyzing America’s Clean Energy and Offshore Wind Industry

As part of President Biden’s historic actions to build a clean energy economy, the Biden-Harris Administration has jumpstarted an American offshore wind industry that will strengthen the nation’s energy security, make the power grid more reliable while lowering energy costs, and reduce dangerous climate pollution. The Biden-Harris Administration’s actions to advance responsible offshore wind deployment are creating opportunities up and down the supply chain. A report released today by the Business Network for Offshore Wind shows the immense growth of the U.S. offshore wind industry since President Biden took office, with the Inflation Reduction Act catalyzing further progress:

  • Since January 2021, investments in the U.S. offshore wind industry have quadrupled from $5 billion to $21.6 billion, including growth of $7.7 billion since President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act. These totals reflect investments across specific project lease areas as well as the supply chain, port and transmission infrastructure, and workforce development needed to support the industry.
     
  • More than 4,100 companies across all 50 states have joined a supplier registry to express interest in providing components and services to the offshore wind industry—169% growth since President Biden took office and up 54% since he signed the Inflation Reduction Act.
     
  • The U.S. offshore wind industry now includes nearly 1,500 contracts for work in the growing American market, growth of 272% since President Biden took office and up 47% since he signed the Inflation Reduction Act, with 90% of these contracts going to companies that are either U.S. headquartered or have a U.S. presence.
     

This nationwide growth reflects jobs up and down the offshore wind supply chain and across the country. For example, today’s steel-cutting ceremony at the Philly Shipyard launches the construction of the Acadia, the first-ever Jones Act compliant vessel for offshore wind subsea rock installation—a contract that was announced as a direct result of the Administration’s clean energy agenda. This vessel will be crewed by American mariners and take rocks from American quarries to protect the foundations of offshore wind projects that produce American clean energy. Additional supply chain progress includes:

  • New and expanded ports and manufacturing facilities: Today the Department of Energy (DOE) published an updated map of offshore wind supply chain investments announced just since President Biden took office, including nearly $3.5 billion across 12 manufacturing facilities and 13 ports—representing major new economic opportunities across not just the East Coast, but also in the Midwest and along the Gulf of Mexico and West Coast. Under President Biden, the Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) has awarded more than $100 million for port projects to support offshore wind development, through the Port Infrastructure Development Program expanded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
     
  • Vessel construction across multiple states: Since President Biden took office, companies have also announced investments to build 18 offshore wind vessels across states including Florida, Louisiana, New York, Massachusetts, Michigan, Rhode Island, and Wisconsin. Last year, MARAD announced the designation of offshore wind vessels as Vessels of National Interest for priority consideration under the Federal Ship Financing Program. Since then, MARAD has received and advanced reviews of applications for a variety of offshore wind vessel types.
     
  • Steel manufacturing boosts to support offshore wind industry: Recent announcements include an investment of $145 million to upgrade a steel facility in Mingo Junction, Ohio—following previously announced upgrades of $260 million for a steel plate mill in Baytown, Texas—to serve the offshore wind industry and the broader clean energy industry; a new advanced component steel facility in Baltimore that will construct and assemble offshore wind components using steel prefabricated at Maryland facilities; and an additional contract for a facility in western New York to provide specialized structural steelwork for the Revolution Wind and South Fork Wind projects. 

 
Earlier this year at the International Offshore Wind Partnering Forum in Baltimore, White House National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi outlined ten ways the Administration is making progress toward the goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030. Recent progress made by the Biden-Harris Administration toward this goal includes:

  • New Lease Areas: Today the Department of the Interior (DOI) is issuing the final sale notice for the first-ever offshore wind lease sale in the Gulf of Mexico, which will take place on August 29. This historic sale—with enough clean energy potential to power almost 1.3 million homes—will include one lease area of 102,480 acres offshore Lake Charles, Louisiana, and two lease areas totaling nearly 200,000 acres offshore Galveston, Texas. This sale will follow the Administration’s offshore wind sales in the New York BightCarolina Long Bay, and northern and central California, as well as yesterday’s announcement that DOI’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has completed another step in reviewing a potential offshore wind research lease in the Gulf of Maine.
     
  • Efficient and Responsible Permitting: Earlier this week, BOEM completed environmental analysis of the proposed Revolution Wind project offshore Rhode Island. If approved, it could power more than 300,000 homes with clean energy. This permitting milestone follows BOEM’s final construction approval earlier this month for the nation’s third large-scale offshore wind project, Ocean Wind 1 off the coast of New Jersey, which is expected to create more than 3,000 good-paying jobs. Other recent progress includes draft Environmental Impact Statements for six additional projects: Empire WindSunrise WindCoastal Virginia Wind (CVOW)New England WindSouthCoast Wind, and Atlantic Shores South. In total, BOEM and cooperating agencies are on track to complete reviews of at least 16 project plans by 2025, representing more than 27 gigawatts of clean energy. The Administration is holding projects to high standards for community engagement and environmental protection, including work by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to ensure protection of coastal and marine resources, and requiring offshore wind projects to adopt extensive monitoring and mitigation measures that reduce the potential for impacts to protected species.
     
  • Construction Milestones: The nation’s first two large-scale offshore wind projects, approved by the Biden-Harris Administration, are both being built by union labor and achieved “steel in the water” by starting to install foundations last month. These projects will provide a wide range of benefits. For example, Vineyard Wind offshore Massachusetts will create enough clean electricity to power 400,000 homes, save customers $1.4 billion on their utility bills over 20 years, and reduce climate pollution by more than 1.5 million metric tons each year—the equivalent of taking 325,000 gas cars off the road—while creating 3,600 good-paying jobs. South Fork Wind offshore New York is using high-tech cables made in Charleston, South Carolina at a new factory, an electrical substation engineered in Kansas and fabricated in Texas, and a service operations vessel being built at shipyards in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Florida, with components sourced from across 34 states.

FACT SHEET: Biden Takes Action to Protect Workers and Communities from Extreme Heat

Death Valley was close to breaking its all-time global record of 130 degrees; so far at least five people have died in national parks this summer, as the planet posts its highest temperature since records have been kept. More people die from heat than any other weather disaster; 600 people die annually from its effects, more than from floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes in America combined, President Biden said. Extreme heat will cost the US $1 billion in health care costs this year alone. The Biden Administration is taking steps to mitigate the dangers of extreme heat while Republicans are doing everything to deny and obstruct. © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

President Biden is asking the Department of Labor to issue hazard alert and is announcing new investments to protect communities from extreme heat. In contrast, Republicans are using their power to eliminate workers’ rights to any relief. In Texas, where sweltering heat has persisted for weeks, on July 13, Governor Greg Abbott and his MAGA-run state legislature passed a bill that revoked city and county control over rest breaks, essentially condemning city workers to working outdoors with no mandated breaks. The Texas Governor has also ordered his border militia to refuse water or assistance to migrants caught in his traps, allowing many to die. Republicans also continue to obstruct any effort to shift society and the economy away from fossil fuels which generate the carbon that is causing global warming and climate change. In actuality, thousands of high temperature records are being set all over the nation and the world and some have chided that we have gone from “global warming” to “global boiling.”

In remarks announcing actions to protect workers and communities, President Biden stated:

I don’t think anybody can deny the impact of climate change anymore.  There used to be a time when I first got here — a lot of people said, “Oh, it’s not a problem.”  Well, I don’t know anybody — well, I shouldn’t say that — I don’t know anybody who honestly believes climate change is not a serious problem.
 
Just take a look at the historic floods in Vermont and California earlier this year.  Droughts and hurricanes that are growing more frequent and intense.  Wildfires spreading a smoky haze for thousands of miles, worsening air quality.  And record temperatures — and I mean record — are now affecting more than 100 million Americans.
 
Puerto Rico reached a 125-degree heat index last month.  San Antonio hit an all-time heat index high of 117 last month.  Phoenix has been over 110 degrees for 27 straight days.
 
And with El Niño and the short-term warming of the ocean that exacerbates the effects of climate change, making forecasts even hotter in the coming months.
 
Ocean temperatures near Miami are like stepping in a hot tub.  They just topped 100 degrees — 100 degrees — and they’re hitting record highs around the world.  And that’s more like, as I said, jumping in a hot tub than jumping in an ocean to ride a wave.

Most people don’t realize: For years, heat has been the — I have to admit I didn’t know it either.  I thought it — I knew it was tough, but the number one weather-related killer is heat.  The number one weather-related killer is heat.  Six hundred people die annually from its effects, more than from floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes in America combined.  And even those places that are used to extreme heat have never seen it as hot as it is now for as long as it’s been.
 
Even those who deny that we’re in the midst of a climate crisis can’t deny the impact that extreme heat is having on Americans.  Americans like an elderly woman in Phoenix who fell out of her wheelchair and, after five minutes on the ground, had third-degree burns.  Third-degree burns.
 
Or like firefighters who’s — already has to lug over 45 pounds of gear through smoke and flame, which is incredibly hot.  The job is even harder and more dangerous to do in record heat.

For the farmworkers who have to harvest crops in the dead of night to avoid the high temperatures.  Or farmers who risk losing everything they’ve planted for the year.
 
Or the construction workers who literally risk their lives working all day in blazing heat and, in some places, don’t even have the right to take a water break.  That’s outrageous.  That is outrageous — anybody who says that — does that.
 
Folks, we really want to pretend these things are normal?
 
Experts say extreme heat is already costing America $100 billion a year.  And it hits our most vulnerable the hardest: seniors, people experiencing homelessness who have nowhere to turn, disadvantaged communities that are least able to recover from climate disasters.
 
And it’s threatening farms, fisheries, forests that so many families depend on to make a living.
 
But none of this is inevitable.  From day one of my administration, we’ve taken unprecedented action to combat the climate crisis that’s causing this.  We’re using a law I got passed the first day in office — first month in office — called the American Rescue Plan, to help states and cities promote energy efficiency, reduce flooding, and open cooling centers.

We’re delivering over $20 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to upgrade the electric grid to withstra- — withstand stronger storms and heatwaves so we don’t cause more fires.

Look, last year I signed the Inflation Reduction Act, the most significant climate investment ever anywhere in the world.  Meanwhile, FEMA has been on the ground responding to those unprecedented weather emergencies in real time.  And I’ve traveled an awful lot in that helicopter with you all across the country and — to see the devastation that occurs, the kind of wildfires and other — and drought and the like.

We’ve launched a place you can go, Heat.gov — go online to Heat.gov — to share lifesaving information that you may need to know about.

Last year, my Department of Labor created the first-ever national program to protect workers from heat stress.  Since then, we’ve conducted 2,600 heat-related inspections at workplaces nationwide to protect the health and safety of the workers on the job so they’re being taken care of.

Today I’m announcing additional steps to help states and cities deal with the consequences of extreme heat.
 
First, I’ve asked Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su to issue a Heat Hazard Alert.  It clarifies that workers have a federal heat-related — have federal heat-related protections.  We should be protecting workers from hazardous conditions, and we will.  And those states where they do not, I’m going to be calling them out, where they refuse to protect these workers in this awful heat.

Second, the Acting Secretary of Labor will work with her team to intensify enforcement, increasing inspections in high-risk industries like construction and agriculture.

This work builds on the national standard that the Labor Department is already developing for workforce and workplace heat-safety rules.
 
Meanwhile, the U.S. Forest Service will award more than $1 billion in grants to help cities and towns plant tree that in the long term will help repel the heat and expand access to green spaces so families have a place to go to cool off and to bring down the temperature in cities.
 
The Department of Housing and Urban Development is providing billions to communities to make buildings more efficient and to make more heat — make them more heat-resistant, opening cooling centers in — for residential areas and in the cities that the communities can go to to be safe.
 
The Department of the Interior is using infrastructure funding to expand water storage capacity in the Western states to deal with the impacts of future droughts that are made every — all this more extr- — this heat — this extreme heat more consequential.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is launching a new partnership with universities and impact communities to improve the nation’s weather forecasts and its accuracy so Americans everywhere can be better prepared when they — when — and they can better predict what the heat is going to be in that community with the weather.

In all my Investing in America agenda, we provided a record $50 billion for climate resiliency to restore wetlands, manage wildfires, help Americans in every state withstand extreme heat.
 
But our MAGA extremists in Congress are trying to undo all this progress.
 
Not a single one of them — not a single Republican voted — voted for the Inflation Reduction Act, which had all this money for climate, which provides funding to con- — to combat climate change.
 
And now many of them are trying to repeal those provisions, but we’re not going to let that happen.

Part of the reason we’re here today is to get the word out so state and local governments know these resources are available and uses them.

I want the American people to know help is here and we’re going to make it available to anyone who needs it.

Here is a fact sheet from the White House on President Biden’s new actions to protect workers and communities from extreme heat—Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Millions of Americans are currently experiencing the effects of extreme heat, which is growing in intensity, frequency, and duration due to the climate crisis.
 
Today, President Biden will convene Mayor Kate Gallego of Phoenix, Arizona, and Mayor Ron Nirenberg of San Antonio, Texas, to hear from them directly about how their communities are being impacted by extreme heat and to discuss the steps the Biden-Harris Administration is taking to protect communities like theirs. The President will also announce new measures to protect workers and communities across the country from the impacts of extreme heat.

  • President Biden has asked the Department of Labor (DOL) to issue a Hazard Alert, and DOL will also ramp up enforcement to protect workers from extreme heat. For years, heat has been the number one cause of weather-related deaths in America – with more than 600 heat-related deaths every year. And workers, including farmworkers, farmers, firefighters, and construction workers, are disproportionately impacted. Since 2011, more than 400 workers have died due to environmental heat exposure, and thousands more are hospitalized every year. The Hazard Alert will reaffirm that workers have heat-related protections under federal law. As part of the alert, the Department of Labor will provide information on what employers can and should be doing now to protect their workers, help ensure employees are aware of their rights, including protections against retaliation, and highlight the steps the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is currently taking to protect workers. Additionally, the Department of Labor will ramp up enforcement of heat-safety violations, increasing inspections in high-risk industries like construction and agriculture, while OSHA continues to develop a national standard for workplace heat-safety rules.
     
  • The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is investing up to $7 million from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act to improve the nation’s weather forecasts. In partnership with universities and other institutions, NOAA will establish a new Data Assimilation Consortium focused on developing better weather-prediction capabilities and maximizing the value provided by NOAA’s global observing system. These improved forecasts will allow communities to better prepare for extreme weather events, including long periods of extreme heat. As the climate crisis contributes to worsening extreme weather events affecting Americans nationwide, this investment will give Americans the information and tools they need to stay safe.
     
  • The Department of the Interior is investing $152 million from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to expand water storage and enhance climate resilience in California, Colorado, and Washington. This investment will help increase water storage capacity and lay conveyance pipeline to deliver reliable and safe drinking water and build resiliency for communities most impacted by drought. In the wake of severe drought conditions throughout the West, the Administration is making coordinated investments through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act to modernize essential water infrastructure, invest in new water recycling and desalination projects and expand access to clean drinking water for communities that have long-dealt with contaminated water supplies.

Today’s announcements build on numerous actions that the Biden-Harris Administration has taken to bolster heat response and resilience nationwide, including providing billions of dollars through the Department of Housing and Urban Development to communities to make buildings more energy efficient and to open cooling centers to keep residents safe.
 
Since day one, President Biden has taken historic action to address the climate crisis, which includes securing more than $50 billion through his Investing in America agenda to help Americans in every single state become more resilient to climate impacts like heat waves. The Biden-Harris Administration has continued to deliver on the most ambitious climate agenda in American history—an agenda that is lowering energy costs for hardworking families, bolstering America’s energy security, creating thousands of good-paying jobs, and strengthening community-driven climate resilience across the country.
 
Meanwhile, many Republicans in Congress continue to deny the very existence of climate change, peddle conspiracy theories, and remain committed to repealing the President’s Inflation Reduction Act – the biggest climate protection bill ever – which would undermine the health and safety of their own constituents.

FACT SHEET: Biden Administration Makes Historic Investments to Build Community Climate Resilience

Mendocino, California. President Biden went to California to tour a coastal community that is working to safeguard their natural infrastructure – highlighting both the urgency of taking bold climate action and strengthening America’s resilience. © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Over the past two years, more than 100 million Americans have been personally affected by an extreme weather event. The record-shattering heat wave that hit Puerto Rico earlier this month, recent wildfire smoke that blanketed the Midwest and East Coast, and devastating storms in California, are just the latest evidence that climate change is not a far-off threat. It’s a crisis that’s here now. President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris understand that to protect lives and livelihoods, we need to both slash emissions and give Americans the tools they need to prepare for the growing impacts of climate change.

That is why President Biden went to California to tour a coastal community that is working to safeguard their natural infrastructure – highlighting both the urgency of taking bold climate action and strengthening America’s resilience. During his visit, he previewed the Biden-Harris Administration’s latest actions to help communities adapt to the changing climate.

Through the President’s historic Investing in America agenda, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) launched a first-ever $575 million Climate Resilience Regional Challenge to help coastal and Great Lakes communities, including Tribal communities in those regions, become more resilient to extreme weather and other impacts of the climate crisis. The funding will support innovative coastal resilience and adaptation solutions, such as building natural infrastructure, planning and preparing for community-led relocation, and protecting public access to coastal natural resources, that protect communities and ecosystems from sea level rise, tidal flooding hurricanes, storm surge, among other severe climate impacts. The Challenge is part of the $2.6 billion in resilience funding for NOAA included in the Inflation Reduction Act, and is part of the President’s Justice40 Initiative.

In addition, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is investing $2.3 billion in states, Territories, Tribes, and the District of Columbia over the next five years to bolster grid resilience across the country. As part of this investment, California is set to receive $67.4 million in the coming days, with the ability to apply for additional funding in the future, to modernize its electric grid to reduce impacts from extreme weather, natural disasters, and wildfires, and to ensure the reliability of the state’s power sector.

The Biden-Harris Administration knows that effective climate resilience strategies must be locally tailored and community-driven. That is why the President is also announcing that later this year, he will bring together state, local, Tribal, and Territorial leaders – who are managing the lived impacts of climate change every day – for a White House Summit on Building Climate Resilient Communities. As part of the Summit, the Biden-Harris Administration will release a new National Climate Resilience Framework designed to advance U.S. Government actions, in alignment with non-Federal efforts, towards a shared vision of a climate-resilient nation.

These announcements build on the Biden-Harris Administration’s unprecedented commitment to strengthening America’s climate resilience.

Investing in Climate Resilience and Adaptation
President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is building communities that are not only resilient to the impacts of a changing climate, but also safer, more equitable, and economically stronger. The President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act together invest more than $50 billion in climate resilience and adaptation. This historic level of funding is already delivering real-world benefits while creating high-quality jobs that provide opportunities to community residents and offer a free and fair choice to join a union. The President’s investments are upgrading aging roads and bridges, providing tax credits for families to add more efficient appliances to their homes, restoring critical waterways, forests, and urban greenspaces, supporting resilient and climate-smart agriculture, bolstering water infrastructure across the American West, modernizing our electric grid, and funding research to develop the latest energy-storage technologies here in America.

Enhancing Drought Resilience Across the West
The Biden-Harris Administration is leading a whole-of-government effort to support drought-prone communities address the ongoing megadrought in the West. The Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law together include $15.4 billion to enhance drought resilience. Earlier this year, under President Biden’s leadership, the Department of the Interior and the seven Colorado River Basin states united around a historic consensus-based agreement to conserve water resources in the critical Colorado River System. 

Combating the Growing Threat of Wildfires
In addition to implementing a 10-year Wildfire Crisis Strategy that will limit the impact and severity of fires in coming years, the Administration is helping communities prepare for and respond to wildfires right now. Recent actions include investing $7 billion to expand the wildland firefighter workforce, remove hazardous fuels from millions of acres of forest, and bring online new technology to better locate and respond to fires. The Administration also launched a new Community Wildfire Defense Grant program that helps local communities develop and implement wildfire preparedness plans. In addition, the Administration is tackling the pronounced health effects of wildfire smoke. AirNow.gov and its specialized Fire and Smoke Map provide Americans with real-time information about smoke and air quality so people can make informed decisions about how to stay safe. The Environmental Protection Agency recently made $10 million available to support wildfire smoke preparedness in community buildings, and awarded an additional $9 million for strategies to reduce smoke impacts.

Protecting Communities from Extreme Heat
The Biden-Harris Administration is saving lives by reducing exposure to extreme heat events. Community investments through the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) are reducing cooling costs and funding cooling centers in public facilities. The U.S. Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Program recently announced $1 billion in grants to expand equitable access to trees and green spaces in urban communities, which will reduce heat-island effects and slash heating and cooling costs for residents. To better equip local officials and the public with robust and accessible information, the Administration launched Heat.gov, a centralized portal with real-time, interactive data and resources on extreme heat conditions, preparedness, and response.

Reducing Flood Risk for Households and Communities
Most homeowners’ and renters’ insurance does not cover flood damage. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Flood Insurance Program is helping communities proactively protect their homes, businesses, and belongings from unexpected flood damage. This includes providing guidance to communities on how they can mitigate their flood risk. President Biden also reinstated the Federal Flood Risk Management Standard, which ensures that Federal agencies are considering and managing current and future flood risks in order to build a more resilient nation.

Promoting Climate-Smart Buildings and Infrastructure
Buildings and infrastructure investments last for generations when done right, so it is critical to plan and build in ways that promote long-term decarbonization and climate resilience. President Biden’s National Initiative to Advance Building Codes is accelerating adoption of modern building codes that protect people from extreme-weather events and save communities an estimated $1.6 billion a year in avoided damages. The Administration is also making billions of dollars available to build climate-smart buildings and green infrastructure, through programs as such the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Program, the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Green and Resilient Retrofit Program, and the Department of Transportation’s PROTECT program.
 
Incorporating Climate Risk into Decision-Making
Extreme weather related to climate change threatens the U.S. economy and the financial security of families, businesses, and workers. President Biden’s Executive Order on Climate-Related Financial Risk ensures that climate risk and resilience actions are appropriately factored into the formulation and execution of the President’s Budget, thereby properly managing and protecting Federal funding on behalf of taxpayers. This includes formally accounting for the risks that climate change pose in the President’s Budget for the first time.
 
Advancing Environmental Justice
The most severe harms from climate change fall disproportionately on communities that are least able to prepare for, and recover from, those harms. President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative makes it a goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments, including investments in climate resilience, flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized and overburdened by pollution. The President’s Executive Order on Revitalizing Our Nation’s Commitment to Environmental Justice for All directs agencies to better protect overburdened communities from pollution and environmental harms, including climate change. President Biden also created a White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council to ensure that the voices, perspectives, and lived experiences of communities with environmental justice concerns are heard in the White House and reflected in Federal policies. The Council includes a working group focused on climate resilience.
 
Supporting and Learning from Tribal Communities
Climate change has a disproportionate impact on Tribal communities and heritage, and Tribal representation is key to climate resilience efforts. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides more than $200 million to support voluntary, community-led transition and relocation for Tribal communities severely threatened by climate change and accelerating coastal hazards. The Inflation Reduction Act includes Tribal-specific funding to support climate resilience and adaptation in Native communities. The Administration has also issued government-wide guidance and an accompanying implementation memorandum for Federal agencies on recognizing and including Indigenous Knowledge in Federal research, policy, and decision making.
 
Prioritizing Health and Safety
Climate and health outcomes are increasingly and inextricably linked. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, climate change is worsening asthma, cardiovascular disease, pest- and water-borne diseases, and other adverse health outcomes and chronic health conditions. President Biden established the first-ever Office of Climate Change and Health Equity in the Department of Health and Human Services to address the impact of climate change on the health of the American people. The Department’s Climate and Health Outlook index provides public data on climate and health projections to inform health professionals and the public.
 
Empowering Communities to Better Understand and Plan for Climate Risk
The Biden-Harris Administration is advancing actionable data, information, tools, and technical assistance to help people understand and address their climate risks. Specific steps include developing the Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation (CMRA) tool to help communities understand and plan for local climate-related hazards; updating sea-level rise scenarios for all U.S. states and territories (Sea Level Rise Viewer) so communities can easily assess changes in coastal flood risk; creating the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool (CEJST) to help identify communities that will benefit from programs included in the Justice40 Initiative; developing an action plan to ensure that Federal agencies are producing coordinated, actionable climate information for end users; and increasing support for regional applied science and services centers, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Climate Hubs.

Harnessing the Power of Nature
Nature holds some of our best solutions to fight climate change and support communities’ adaptation to climate-related risks. Healthy forests, wetlands, and grasslands can also slow climate change by capturing and storing carbon dioxide. The Administration is taking bold action to ensure we look to nature and fully deploy nature-based solutions by setting the first national conservation goal through the America the Beautiful Initiative, to conserve at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030, launching the America the Beautiful Challenge, which provided $91 million in funds in the first year to protect and restore biodiversity, help achieve our climate goals, and ensure all Americans have access to nature, and improving forest health through President Biden’s Executive Order on Strengthening the Nation’s Forests, Communities, and Local Economies.