EPA seeks public input on Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 amended the Clean Air Act to create the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, a new program which will deploy $27 billion in competitive grants to mobilize financing for clean energy and climate projects that reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions, especially in disadvantaged communities. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund includes: 

• $7 billion for competitive grants to enable low-income and disadvantaged communities to deploy or benefit from zero-emission technologies, including distributed technologies on residential rooftops;
• nearly $12 billion for competitive grants to eligible entities to provide financial and technical assistance to projects that reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions; and
• $8 billion for competitive grants to eligible entities to provide financial and technical assistance to projects that reduce or avoid greenhouse gas emissions in low-income and disadvantaged communities. 

U.S. EPA recently announced a coordinated stakeholder engagement strategy to help shape the implementation of this first-of-its-kind fund. The strategy includes:

• soliciting expert input on key program design questions from the Environmental Financial Advisory Board (EFAB);
• issuing a public Request for Information to enable communities and the public to comment on the Fund’s design and implementation (comments due by December 5);
• launching a stakeholder listening session series to enable key stakeholders including green banks, community finance institutions, environmental justice communities, state and local governments, clean energy advocates, labor, and others to provide input directly to EPA staff on the implementation of the Fund. The listening sessions are scheduled for November 1 and November 9 from 6-8 pm CT; and
• creating a website as a one-stop shop for information on the implementation of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund.

These initial engagements will help ensure the Fund’s design and implementation reflect input from a variety of diverse stakeholders to ensure the full economic and environmental benefits of this historic investment are realized by all people, particularly those who have been most burdened by environmental, social, and economic injustice.