In January, many people establish goals for the year and according to Forbes, improving health is one of the top resolutions for 2024. This is true for the staff at Centralina who will focus on health by helping to build strong, sustainable communities as part of the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program. This U.S. Environmental Protection Agency program provides funding for local governments to support plans and programs that reduce the release of greenhouse gasses (GHG) and foster a low carbon economy. These projects will also support infrastructure improvement, energy and waste management systems, transportation systems and the development of energy efficient buildings.
Our first step is to create a Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) that will include a baseline of GHG emissions and short-term reduction strategies. Nine project categories have been proposed as part of the PCAP:
Collaboration & Leadership: Leadership development and capacity building across communities, organizations and businesses
Energy Generation: Replacement of fossil fuels with unlimited, renewable and clean alternatives
Finance & Innovation: Increase and encourage participation with access to address climate inequities, programs and initiatives
Healthy & Resilient Homes & Buildings: More efficient design and construction standards to modify buildings for energy savings
Industry & Resource Management: Reusing resources through a circular economy to reduce waste and greenhouse gas emissions
Transportation: Reducing travel amount and emission levels from transportation sector
Urban Greening: Nature-based solutions for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and climate threats
Food Systems: Supports and advocates for food and agriculture advancements andaccess to affordable, quality food
Community Resilience: Aid in a community’s sustained ability to respond to adverse situations
By organizing projects that need funding under these categories, staff can build out priorities and strategies in the PCAP to ensure that interested organizations can determine whether projects of local interest may be a good fit for implementation grant funding.
Get Involved
If you have questions about this initiative, contact Megan Upchurch at mupchurch@centralina.org.
