Building Climate Resilience with the EPA: How Federal Funding Helps Our Climate

Today on 2 Degrees Out West we'll be learning what federal funding is available to address climate change, how it's distributed, how WRA has helped our region Over the past 4 years there's been something unprecedented happening in the federal government, and it's impacted our work at WRA for the better.

The United States government has been investing in climate solutions.

In 2022, with the help of the Biden Administration, Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, or IRA. It calls for an investment of over $783 billion dollars in climate change related infrastructure.

It's also the largest investment in infrastructure in general in the United States since the Eisenhower Administration. To put that into context, The Eisenhower Administration was largely responsible for the Interstate Highway system as we know it today. The Inflation Reduction Act was and is a landmark legislation.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Act also passed with the help of the Biden Administration in 2021 set aside $550 billion to help with climate resilient infrastructure projects.

The combined spending of 1.3 trillion dollars on climate infrastructure from just those two pieces of legislation is unprecedented in US history. Given the urgency of the climate crisis, it can't come soon enough.

It has promised jobs but also a future where we consider climate change and what’s best for the natural world when we build our infrastructure.

So, where is all that money going? More importantly - how does it affect you and how will it help us address climate change and its effects?

2 Degrees Out West is a podcast from Western Resource Advocates, an environmental conservation organization that's focused on the Interior West. WRA works across seven states to protect our climate, land, air, and water. WRA protects and advocates for Arizona, Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Nevada, Montana, and Wyoming.

2 Degrees out West is a podcast for advocates and decision makers who want to fight climate change and its impacts across the West.

On 2 Degrees Out West we talk with climate experts and advocates to bring you stories, experiences, and insights from their work in the places we call home.

It is Hosted by Dave Papineau

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