U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael S. Regan recently announced the second round of the Commission for Environmental Cooperation's EJ4Climate EPA website grant program during the 29th Council Session of the CEC in Merida, Mexico.
Regan made the announcement alongside Mara Luisa Albores Gonzalez, Mexico's Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, and Steven Guilbeault, Canada's Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, according to a July 18 EPA news release.
“As the impacts of the climate crisis grow more severe, it’s more urgent than ever that we prioritize protections for our most vulnerable communities and develop durable, community-driven solutions," Regan said in the release. "I’m so proud to join our CEC partners as we launch the second round of the EJ4Climate grant program and support projects that foster climate resilience and advance environmental justice across North America."
According to the release, this new cycle will prioritize environmental education projects that aim to strengthen climate change resilience. The cycle will also be supported by $2 million in grant funding, including $1 million from the EPA.
Additionally, Regan and his North American colleagues announced a series of additional funding commitments during the council session, the release reported. These commitments include efforts to improve the climate change resilience of North American communities and addressing threats to food security by expanding the EPA's knowledge of traditional Indigenous agricultural techniques and agricultural systems.
The CEC was first established by the U.S., Canadian and Mexican governments in 1994 under the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, according to the release.
