EPA Launches Environmental Justice Grant Program

A new federal grant program dubbed Community Change Grants is making roughly $2 billion in funding available to communities for projects that address environmental justice, reports Ysabelle Kempe in Smart Cities Dive.

The program seeks to address criticism that climate funding is “difficult to access” for underresourced communities through technical assistance and a rolling application process.

“The grants can be used to support a wide range of efforts, the EPA said, including workforce development, indoor air pollution reduction and deployment of low- and zero-emissions technologies.” The grants are open to local governments and nonprofit organizations.

The EPA says it used public input to craft the program based on the needs of smaller communities and organizations. “The oral presentation opportunity, for example, is a new format ‘responsive to community requests to engage with EPA in more accessible ways,’ the agency said.”