This article was originally published by Verite News.
New Orleans-area environmental and climate justice groups may be on track to win federal grants for air quality monitoring, solarization, weatherization and more because of a new program announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency late last year There is.
A group of environmental and climate justice organizations in New Orleans and Houston will provide $50 million in grants directly to other nonprofits in EPA’s Region 6 that are trying to clean up their communities and reduce greenhouse gas use. chosen to give. Region 6 consists of Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and 66 tribal nations.
The funding is part of a $600 million program called the Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Grants Program, which selected 11 organizations to provide grants to nonprofits across the country on behalf of the EPA. It will fund environmental and climate justice efforts in communities hardest hit by pollution and the impacts of climate change, including stronger and more frequent storms and hotter, longer-lasting heat waves. It’s part of a larger push by the Biden administration.
In addition to these funds, the program also brings something else that environmental and climate change leaders have been demanding for decades. It is a direct investment in local communities that bypasses the state government. Bob Bullard, founder of Texas Southern University’s Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice, one of the organizations chosen to be Region 6’s grant makers, said this is a way for governments to respond to the demands of long-marginalized groups. He said it will be especially helpful in states that have been ignored.
“This program will bypass states that have a bad track record and a terrible history of neglecting especially poor communities, Black and brown communities, and communities on the border with polluting industries,” he told Verite News. It’s designed,” he said.
Other organizations selected to distribute grants in Region 6 are Houston and New Orleans-based groups HBCU-CBO Gulf Coast Equity Consortium, HBCU Climate Change Consortium, and Community Tasks of the National Black Environmental Justice Network success. Mr. Bullard is the founder and leader of three New Orleans-based organizations, along with New Orleans native Beverly Wright, founder and executive director of the Deep South Environmental Justice Center. Wright could not be reached for comment by the time of publication.
Mr. Wright and Mr. Bullard have worked closely together for decades on a variety of environmental and climate issues affecting the Gulf Coast.
Bullard said there are many projects and initiatives that these funds could be used for. “When you look at the environmental challenges that communities of color and low-income communities face, there are a lot of similarities when you talk about issues around emergency preparedness and disaster resilience,” he said. Stated. “We’ve been talking about jobs and workforce development in terms of green jobs, greenhouse gas reduction, energy efficiency, weathering, air monitoring, and addressing fenceline communities.”
The EPA said it expects to begin disbursing grants to nonprofits this summer. Bullard said he hopes to begin distributing funds as soon as they are available. Region 6 organizations interested in receiving grants may respond to a call for applications from grantmaking organizations scheduled for later this year.