The North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) recently announced the EJ4Climate 2022 Grant Winners.
The EJ4Climate program had 15 grant winners, including five in the United States which will receive $2 million in grant funds to advance their ideas, according to a press release by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
"I'm proud to join my Canadian and Mexican counterparts in congratulating the selections for the first CEC grants for community-based action to protect against the impacts of climate change in our most vulnerable communities,” EPA Assistant Administrator for International and Tribal Affairs, Jane Nishida, said in the release. “The EJ4Climate grant program supports President (Joe) Biden’s objective to address environmental justice and foster climate resilience through the CEC.”
EJ4Climate grants fund underserved and overburdened communities, as well as Indigenous communities, in Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. as they prepare for climate-related impacts, the release stated.
The five U.S. winners are:
- Native Village of Eyak (Alaska) – The grant will be used to develop sustainable mariculture in Prince William Sound to address the decline traditional food sources.
- Common Ground Relief (Louisiana) – The grant will be used to address coastal flooding concerns Grand Bayou Indian Village.
- Greater Baltimore Wilderness Coalition (Maryland) – The grant will be used to build community resilience and encourage children to plant trees.
- Upper Gila Watershed Alliance (New Mexico) – The grant will be used to support elementary school-based food resilience labs and soil restoration technologies to reduce risks associated with climate-related fire, drought, and extreme heat.
- Conservation Trust for North Carolina (North Carolina) – The grant will be used to convert vacant areas to green infrastructure and community gardens, as well as the construction of a trail near the Tar River.
