Ceres Applauds Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Awards as a Key Moment for Environmental Justice and Clean Energy Investment

April 4, 2024 /3BL/ - Ceres congratulates the awardees of National Clean Investment Fund and Clean Communities Investment Accelerator, two programs under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund that are designed to accelerate additional private sector investment in cost-saving clean technology deployment across the U.S., especially in underinvested and environmentally overburdened communities. 

The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is a $27 billion program included in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to spur clean energy investment and economic revitalization in low-income and heavily polluted communities. The EPA today announced eight awardees for two of the fund’s three programs, including two that Ceres had supported in applying for the funds. The awardees will channel the funds to leverage additional private capital while providing accessible and affordable financing for clean technology that economically empowers communities across the U.S. 

“Ceres congratulates the awardees of these two game-changing clean energy financing programs,” said Zach Friedman, director of federal policy, Ceres. “The distribution of these funds marks a crucial moment in bringing the investment, jobs, economic revitalization, and pollution reduction that the Inflation Reduction Act has already begun to deliver to those that need them the most.  Innovative public-private partnerships will also be crucial to unlocking and leveraging additional private capital that will help ensure no community is left behind in the transition to an affordable, abundant, advanced clean economy. We applaud the EPA for its rigorous vetting process that ensures transparency and accountability, leading to the selection of these experienced awardees who will maximize the environmental, economic, and equity benefits of these investments in communities across the U.S.” 

Ceres wrote letters of support for two of the awardees, Climate United and Justice Climate Fund, and encouraged the EPA to go “above and beyond” the Justice40 goal of ensuring low-income and disadvantaged communities see at least 40% of the benefits from clean energy investment nationwide. Ceres also engaged in helping to shape the EPA’s guidance for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, submitting several recommendations to meet the fund’s environmental justice goals. 

“Ceres recognizes that the [Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund], along with other elements of the IRA, will offer critically needed public investment for the clean energy transformation and for supporting good-paying jobs, reduced energy costs, improving air quality and public health, and strengthening climate hazard resilience for underserved and environmentally overburdened communities,” Ceres wrote in a comment letter. 

About Ceres

Ceres is a nonprofit organization working with the most influential capital market leaders to solve the world’s greatest sustainability challenges. Through our powerful networks and global collaborations of investors, companies, and nonprofits, we drive action and inspire equitable market-based and policy solutions throughout the economy to build a just and sustainable future. For more information, visit ceres.org and follow @CeresNews. 

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