It's Monday, the president Joseph Biden announced a $600 million investment for climate resiliency projects across the country and an additional $67 million to help build power lines to support California's transition to 100 percent clean electricity by 2045.
During his visit to Baylands Nature Preserve, one of the largest tracts of virgin wetlands remaining in the San Francisco Bay, the president emphasized the need to accelerate projects to fight climate change.
“Throughout our history, we are the only nation in the world that emerged from the crisis stronger than it entered. We're doing it again here on the climate crisis. When I think of the weather, I think of jobs. When I think of climate, I think of innovation. When I think about the weather, I think about turning danger into progress," Biden said.
During his speech, the President recalled that last year alone, natural disasters in the United States caused $165 billion in damage, but worsening impacts are not inevitable.
He added that, starting tomorrow, the Department of Commerce will launch the first and largest competitive Regional Climate Resiliency Challenge to provide $600 million to Great Lakes and coastal communities that are building projects to protect themselves against the impacts of climate change. from sea level rise, flooding and storm surges.
Biden also stressed that later this year, the first White House summit will be held that will bring together local, state, tribal and territorial leaders focused on climate change resilience.
It is, he said, will include a roadmap for how the various climate actions being taken will build more climate-resilient communities across the United States, saving lives and homes and providing peace of mind.
In that sense, he pointed out, his administration is taking the most aggressive climate action in history, focused on mitigation, which means investments in the development of clean energy, reducing dependence on fossil fuels, and in resilience, with which communities can better withstand the impacts of climate change and extreme weather conditions.
He explained that with a combination of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act and the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act, more than $50 billion has been invested so far in climate resiliency; nearly $9 billion to make transportation infrastructure more resilient by raising roads and bridges above projected flood zones; and $13 billion to reduce the risk of wildfires and improve the health of forests and pay firefighters who risk their lives every day.
In turn, he explained that 15 thousand 400 million have been invested for the mitigation of the drought, 6 thousand 600 million dollars in restoration of the coastal resilience of the reefs and the construction of other infrastructures to mitigate the damage of storms.
Plus more than $17 billion through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act to bolster the resiliency of coastal water and waterway infrastructure, including funding to address food, flooding, storms, hazards hurricanes, and restore coastal ecosystems.
Nearly $20 billion in funding for precision irrigation and cover crop planting, plus $1 billion from America the Beautiful Challenge to accelerate local conservation efforts.
While $3.5 billion has been directed to reduce or eliminate the risk of repeat flood damage to buildings, another $1 billion to fund mitigation measures that increase the resilience of communities, such as supporting the adaptation of hazard resistant building codes.
For his part, California Governor Gavin Newsom, who accompanied the president during his visit to the Bay Area, highlighted the importance of projects and investments that address the climate crisis.
“Wildfires, heat waves, and extreme swings from drought to flooding in California show how climate change is affecting our communities. There is no better partner in the fight against climate change than President Biden, who is making unprecedented investments and addressing this crisis with urgency. This new federal funding will support our ongoing climate action to protect our coastal communities from the rising oceans and generate the clean energy we need."
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