‘Green Bank’ Network To Fund Climate Projects

A new ‘green bank’ network created by the Biden administration will provide low- or zero-interest loans to fund climate and clean energy projects, with a focus on historically underserved communities.

According to an article by Kristoffer Tigue in Inside Climate News, “Under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund—also known as the country’s first national green bank—eight community development banks and nonprofit organizations will receive that federal funding to go toward rooftop solar installations, energy efficiency upgrades and other projects that help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”

The program falls under the federal Justice40 initiative, which requires that 40 percent of benefits from certain federal programs go to disadvantaged communities. Carla Walker, director of environmental justice and equity for the World Resources Institute’s U.S. branch, calls the $20 billion investment “a crucial step toward addressing longstanding inequities and barriers to accessing much-needed capital for the communities that need it most.”