Biden-Harris Administration Announces over $3 Million to the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to Cut Climate Pollution, Accelerate Clean Energy Transition
Funded by the Administration’s Investing in America Agenda, EPA has selected 34 highly competitive Tribal and territory Climate Pollution Reduction Grants applications nationwide
Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the Office of the Mayor of the Municipality of Saipan in the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) has been selected to receive a $3,122,794 Climate Pollution Reduction Grant as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda.
The CNMI project will support an initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by modernizing lighting systems, instituting key policy changes, and fostering workforce development. The project will enhance energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas pollution across the residential, small business, and government sectors across the municipality of Saipan by transitioning to LED bulbs, helping reduce the use of fossil fuels that power most of the islands' electricity generation.
“The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants being unveiled today will deliver essential resources to CNMI for local solutions that can provide national examples for how to transition off of fossil fuels,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “These investments, which deliver on the Biden-Harris Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, will create jobs and reduce the emissions fueling climate change.”
“As typhoons strike more frequently and with greater force, as the ocean warms -- killing the coral reefs and marine life we rely on -- and as sea level continues to rise, the need to cut greenhouse gas emissions grows more obvious and more urgent,” said Congressman Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan. “I congratulate Saipan Mayor ‘RB’ Camacho and his team on their successful competition for over $3 million to reduce CO2 and other greenhouse gas pollution and protect our environment in the Marianas. And I am grateful to President Biden and Vice President Harris for their leadership in passing the Inflation Reduction Act—the largest US government response to the threat of climate change to date—making this grant possible.”
Across the United States, the EPA selected 34 highly competitive applications to fund projects across 31 Tribal Nations, 2 Tribal consortia, and one territory -- CNMI -- to implement community-driven solutions to tackle the climate crisis, reduce air pollution, advance environmental justice, and accelerate the clean energy transition.
Thanks to funding from the Biden-Harris Administration's historic Inflation Reduction Act, these grants will support the implementation of greenhouse gas reduction measures identified by Tribal and territorial communities. When estimates provided by all selected applicants nationwide are combined, the proposed projects will reduce harmful greenhouse gas pollution by over 7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by 2050 – equivalent to the carbon dioxide emitted from nearly 1.4 million homes' electricity use for one year.
Today's announcement marks the latest investment under this first-of-its-kind, nearly $5 billion Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program. In July, the EPA announced $4.3 billion for CPRG Implementation Grants General Competition selected applicants. In 2023, the EPA provided $250 million in planning grants, which served as the basis for greenhouse gas reduction measures proposed in the CPRG implementation grant applications.
The selected applications will target greenhouse gas pollution from six sectors of the economy, focusing on the transportation, electric power, and commercial and residential buildings sectors while spurring workforce development and job creation in Indian Country and CNMI.
Today's announcement and ongoing CPRG technical support for planning grant recipients are consistent with President Biden's Executive Order 14112 on Reforming Federal Funding and Support for Tribal Nations to Better Embrace Our Trust Responsibilities and Promote the Next Era of Tribal Self-Determination. The Executive Order demonstrates the Biden-Harris Administration's respect for Tribal sovereignty and its commitment to ushering in the next era of Tribal self-determination by directing agencies to reform federal programs for greater Tribal Nations autonomy over how Tribes can invest federal funding. The Executive Order directs agencies to make federal funding less burdensome and more accessible for Tribal Nations.
The Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program also advances President Biden's Justice40 Initiative, which aims to ensure 40% of the benefits of specific federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
EPA made its Tribes and Territories Competition selections after reviewing 110 applications that requested more than $1.3 billion in funding. The agency expects to award funds under both the Tribes and Territories Competition and the General Competition later this year once all legal and administrative requirements are satisfied.
See the complete list of selected applications, and learn about the CPRG program.
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