Dozens of states are rolling out new climate plans to tackle planet-warming pollution in preparation to compete for billions of dollars of funding in President Joe Biden’s signature climate bill.
Forty-seven states and territories, including deeply red states like Alaska, Missouri, Montana, Utah and Alabama, are planning to install solar panels, replace aging oil-powered boilers with energy-efficient electric ones, install more electric vehicle charging stations, plant trees and implement farming practices to store carbon pollution in the soil.
States are hoping to pay for these upgrades using $4.6 billion in money from the Inflation Reduction Act, which the Environmental Protection Agency will roll out in the coming months.
Even as the Biden administration has moved aggressively to try to curb climate pollution, the approach from states has been piece-meal with just 33 states so far having their own climate action plans. That more than 10 are joining is significant, said Jennifer Macedonia, a deputy assistant administrator at the EPA.
“This is quite remarkable and new to have this breadth of coverage,” Macedonia told CNN. “This is quite unprecedented in terms of comprehensive climate action plans across states, and we also have metropolitan areas covering the country as well.”
Five states declined to compete for the federal climate funds: Florida, Iowa, Kentucky, South Dakota and Wyoming.
But those states have cities and metropolitan areas that raised their hands for the funding, including Jacksonville, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Tampa in Florida; Cedar Rapids and Des Moines in Iowa; Louisville and Lexington in Kentucky; Rapid City in South Dakota; and Cheyenne in Wyoming.
Over 96% of the US population will be covered by a climate action plan,…
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