Kayah Swanson, kayah.swanson@sierraclub.org
Denver, Colo. – Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that Colorado and the Denver Regional Council of Governments were awarded $328 million in funding from the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program.
The award includes $199 million to the Denver Regional Council of Governments (DRCOG) and $129 million to the Colorado Energy Office (COE) for their Colorado Decarbonization Accelerator. The funds will implement community-driven solutions that tackle the climate crisis, reduce air pollution, advance environmental justice and accelerate America’s clean energy transition.
“This is huge news for the Front Range and Colorado overall,” said Margaret Kran-Annexstein, Director of the Sierra Club Colorado Chapter. “These funds will help drastically lower our carbon emissions while also helping families lower their utility bills through energy efficiency and weatherization support. We look forward to working with DRCOG and the Colorado Energy Office to implement these funds effectively for our communities.”
The DRCOG funding will be used to reduce emissions from both residential and commercial buildings while increasing energy and resource efficiency in the Denver metro area. DRCOG’s grant will help achieve a region-wide goal of net-zero building-sector emissions by 2050. The funding for COE’s Decarbonization Accelerator will be used to reduce methane emissions from landfills, coal mines and natural seepage, and support decarbonization of large commercial buildings and acceleration of local greenhouse gas reduction policies and projects.
A full list of recipients of CPRG implementation grants can be found here. All 25 of the climate pollution reduction efforts selected to receive funding align closely with the goals and missions of the Sierra Club’s campaigns, from working to decarbonize the industrial sector, to efforts to electrify homes and buildings, and invest in clean public transportation and zero emission vehicles.
“This funding will be a game-changer for states, cities, and regions working to tackle climate change head-on and improve health outcomes for their communities and the people who call them home,” said Ben Jealous, Executive Director of the Sierra Club. “The Inflation Reduction Act continues to deliver for the American people, and these transformational awards will expand access to clean air and clean water, and move us closer to meeting the mark in the fight to stave off the very worst of the climate crisis.”
The EPA estimates that the proposed projects would reduce greenhouse gas pollution by as much as 971 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2050, roughly the emissions from 5 million average homes’ energy use each year for over 25 years.
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About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.