On Monday, $197,181,796 over the next five years through its Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program.
鈥淲e鈥檙e funding projects that reduce exposure to extreme heat, improve air quality, reduce energy costs burdens for lower income households and improve climate resilience,鈥� EPA Regional Administrator Casey Sixkiller said.
At a press conference in Southeast Portland Monday, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek applauded the coordination that resulted in the EPA announcement and said the investment will help ensure that the state meets its climate goals.
鈥淲e have a strong record here in Oregon, a strong track record of implementing measures to reduce emissions,鈥� she said. 鈥淥ur state is well positioned to quickly and efficiently invest these climate pollution reduction investments to support sustainable and transformative approaches to tackling the climate crisis.鈥�
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to reduce emissions in three sectors 鈥� buildings, transportation and waste and materials management.
鈥淥regon is one of only 25 grantees selected across the country,鈥漇ixkiller said at the press conference where the funding was announced. 鈥淎nd our award to Oregon will be the largest our agency makes here in the Pacific Northwest.鈥�
The was also selected to receive nearly $38 million that would fund projects like residential energy efficient retrofits and adding renewable energy infrastructure like solar panels.
The investment in Oregon recognizes the role the state plays as a leader in the Pacific Northwest and across the country in reducing carbon emissions and addressing climate change, Sixkiller said.
Oregon鈥檚 building, transportation and waste and materials sectors are responsible for nearly 70% of the state鈥檚 greenhouse gas emissions, according to DEQ. Programs aimed at reducing emissions from the building and transportation sectors are slowly growing throughout the state.
Leah Feldon, director of DEQ, said EPA chose to fund the agency鈥檚 proposal because it would expand climate, pollution and resiliency programs already in place.
Those include Oregon鈥檚 , which has run out of funding two years in a row. Earlier this year, the program only had enough money to . Other programs include and the expansion of a h.
With federal support to expand those programs, Feldon predicted Oregon鈥檚 effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions will accelerate.
鈥淲e estimate these initiatives will result in a reduction of 1.2 million metric tons of greenhouse gasses by 2030 and 6.5 million metric tons by 2050,鈥� she said.
That鈥檚 the equivalent of removing emissions of more than 1.5 million gas powered vehicles by 2050, according to the EPA.
Environmental and climate groups applauded the progress Oregon has already made on the climate crisis. Nora Apter, director of programs at the Oregon Environmental Council, said the state was in part successful in its bid for EPA funding because it .
But she said more work is needed.
Recently, the that outlines how. It called on the state to increase climate action and resiliency programs, like the ones DEQ proposed to the EPA, to provide relief to Oregon鈥檚 most vulnerable communities.
鈥淎s we celebrate this critical down payment for Oregon, we must be clear-eyed that this one-time investment will not solve all of our funding needs,鈥� Apter said. 鈥淟ooking to the 2025 legislative session, it is vital that our policymakers provide continued funding to keep our successful climate and community programs sustainably running into the future.鈥�
The Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program will provide $5 billion in funding for programs across the U.S. through the Inflation Reduction Act. It targets community-driven projects that reduce carbon emissions and help the transition to more renewable energy.
DEQ expects to begin using the EPA funds mid-Spring 2025.
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