Climate Pollution Reduction Implementation Grants
Overview | Climate Pollution Reduction Implementation Grants | FAQs | SPC Regional CPRG Project Information: Data Entry Form | Public Comment Form |
Overview
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced $4.6 billion in new competitive funding through the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants Program (CPRG) to develop and implement actionable greenhouse gas emissions reduction measures.
The CPRG program consists of two phases:
- Planning Grant Phase
- Implementation Grant Phase
The CPRG implementation grants build on $250 million in planning funds that the EPA awarded to organizations across the country. Our organization received a $1 million dollar CPRG planning grant for the Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area to create a Regional Climate Pollution Reduction Plan. Our planning process is currently underway, and will cover the 10 county region within Southwestern Pennsylvania, including the City of Pittsburgh.
Our Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) was due on March 1, 2024 and has been submitted to the EPA. Local governments within our region with an interest in reducing climate pollution were required to coordinate their implementation project(s) prior to the PCAP submission deadline. This step was to ensure that any proposed implementation grant project’s emissions reduction strategy was included in our Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP). Projects that are not specifically outlined in our regional PCAP will not be eligible for funding consideration. Please contact us if you have a project to submit for the regional implementation grant application prior to the April 1, 2024 submission deadline; we will confirm if your project’s emissions reduction strategy is referenced in our PCAP. Thank you!
Regional Priority Climate Action Plan for SWPA
Climate Pollution Reduction Grants
The goal of the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants Program, or CPRG, is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, while creating high-quality jobs and bringing the benefits of emissions-reduction projects to local communities. Only government entities and tribes are eligible to apply. The CPRG program includes two phases:
Planning Phase
The planning phase of the CPRG program is designed to provide aid to recipients to develop their climate pollution reduction plans. Recipients will quantify the greenhouse gas emissions in their area and develop a two-part climate action plan for emission reductions, covering six sectors: electricity generation, industry, transportation, buildings, agriculture, and waste management.
The Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) for states and Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) was due March 1, 2024. For tribes and territories it is April 1, 2024. All regional emissions-reduction measures must be included in the PCAP for consideration in the implementation phase of this funding program. The PCAP will include::
- An initial inventory of greenhouse gas emissions in the planning grant recipient’s geographic territory
- Actions to reduce those emissions
- Benefits analysis of low-income and disadvantaged communities
The Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) is due two years after the award of the planning grant. The CCAP for states and MSAs are due mid-2025. Tribes and territories can submit up until the end of the grant period. This comes after the PCAP and will provide a long-term projection of emissions-reduction measures and their efficacy, including:
- A comprehensive inventory of GHG emissions and reduction projections and targets
- Actions to reduce the emissions
- Workforce analysis
- Low-income and disadvantaged communities analysis
- Large-scale benefits analysis
Implementation Phase
The implementation phase of the CPRG program is a competition between eligible applicants, including those entities who received a planning grant. There are two separate competitions: one between states and municipalities, and a second between tribes and territories.
The purpose of this phase is to implement the emissions-reduction measures outlined in the Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP). Grantees who are awarded funding during this phase will use it to implement their proposed project’s emissions-reduction measures.
Project candidates within our region with an interest in reducing climate pollution were required to coordinate with our team to ensure that any proposed strategies were included in our submitted Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP), which was due on March 1, 2024, as part of the planning grant phase. Following receipt of project candidates through our project intake form, we have begun crafting a regional application that supports these initiatives and other similar projects throughout the 10-county region.
FAQs
The CPRG Implementation Grant applications are due on April 1, 2024. The Comprehensive Climate Action Plan is due two years after the awarding of the planning grant. States and MSAs are due mid-2025, while tribes and territories may submit theirs until the end of the grant period. Please note that for the implementation grants, eligible applicants were encouraged to submit an optional Notice of Intent to Participate to the EPA by February 1, 2024. SPC has submitted the NOIP to EPA for our pending regional application.
The purpose of the CPRG program is to address multiple important issues at once. The ideal CPRG application will provide quality jobs, improve our environment, address disadvantaged and burdened communities, and lower energy costs.
Program objectives include the following:
- Implement ambitious measures that will achieve significant & cumulative greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions by 2030 and beyond
- Achieve substantial community benefits (such as reduction of criteria and hazardous air pollutants), particularly in low-income and disadvantaged communities.
- Complement other funding sources to maximize these GHG reductions and community benefits.
- Pursue innovative policies and programs that are replicable and can be “scaled up” across multiple jurisdictions.
- A new, stand-alone method of GHG reduction that will be implemented solely through CPRG funding
- Expansion of an ongoing or pre-existing GHG reduction effort
- A new GHG reduction measure which has been partially-funded, and which can be fully implemented through the addition of CPRG funding
SPC Regional CPRG Project Information: Data Entry Form
The purpose of this intake form is to identify and coordinate project candidates that can guide the creation of a regional CPRG-IG application.
Project candidates within our region with an interest in reducing climate pollution were required to coordinate with our team to ensure that any proposed strategies were included in our submitted Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP), which was due on March 1, 2024, as part of the planning grant phase. Following receipt of project candidates through our project intake form, we have begun crafting a regional application that supports these initiatives and other similar projects throughout the 10-county region.
As noted above, projects which are not specifically outlined in our regional PCAP will not be eligible for funding consideration. Please contact us at cprg@spcregion.org if you have a project to submit for the regional implementation grant application prior to the April 1, 2024 submission deadline; we will confirm if your project’s emissions reduction strategy is referenced in our PCAP. Thank you!
Public Comment Form
For more information, please contact Cathy Tulley, our Manager of Environmental Programs at cprg@spcregion.org.