On September 28, 2023, NOAA announced $12.7 million in IRA funds for the Climate-Smart Communities Initiative. This initiative will accelerate the creation of inclusive and equitable climate resilience plans in communities while lowering the cost of implementing these plans. The program will prioritize under-resourced, historically marginalized communities.
The funding was awarded to a consortium of climate adaptation experts led by the Climate Resilience Fund, which will co-develop equitable climate resilience plans with local governments and organizations over the next four years. When choosing communities, the initiative will prioritize FEMA’s Community Disaster Resilience Zones, which are jurisdictions that contain high risk as well as underserved populations. Resilience planning will help protect people, property, infrastructure and natural resources from climate-related hazards.
The Climate-Smart Communities Initiative will work with selected communities to co-produce equitable, funding-ready resilience plans. The program will support efforts to get each plan funded or financed so that it reaches the implementation phase.