Regional Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan (Climate Pollution Reduction Grant)

Regional Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan (Climate Pollution Reduction Grant)

The Compact is leading the development of a regional greenhouse gas reduction plan that will cover the four-county region, inclusive of Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach counties. The plan will be developed in two phases. The initial phase, or ‘Priority Climate Action Plan’, was completed in March of 2024. The final, comprehensive plan (‘Comprehensive Climate Action Plan’) will be complete in the Summer of 2025. 

The opportunity to develop a first-of-its kind regionally comprehensive greenhouse gas reduction plan has been made possible through the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act. Through the CPRG, each of the largest 67 most populous metropolitan areas in the country were eligible for a $1 million planning grant, inclusive of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Given the long-term and considerable partnership across the four Compact counties, the Compact’s climate mitigation plan covers the entire geographic scope of the Compact region, inclusive of Monroe County. The grant was officially awarded on August 4, 2023.

Plan Grant Components

The four-year planning grant will result in the development of a Priority Climate Action Plan and a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan for the four-county region, inclusive of a regional greenhouse gas (GHG) inventory, regional emission projections and GHG reduction targets, and a comprehensive set of measurable/quantified mitigation strategies, programs, policies, and projects commensurate with regional emission reduction targets. An analysis of other federal funding opportunities available to support strategies identified will be conducted. Further, the plan will include a comprehensive benefits analysis to ascertain community benefits beyond emission reduction, as well as specific analysis of the benefits that will accrue to historically disadvantaged and low- and moderate-income communities. Finally, a workforce planning analysis will also be conducted to identify economic development needs, challenges, and opportunities.

Priority Climate Action Plan

The Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) is now available!

The PCAP report, the first deliverable under the planning grant, covers the entire geographic extent of the four-county Southeast Florida Region (Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, and Palm Beach counties), the 109 municipalities within this four-county region, as well as the Miccosukee and Seminole Tribal Governments jurisdictions. The region contains a population of nearly 6.2 million people.

The priority greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction measures contained within this PCAP should be construed as broadly available to any entity within this geographic extent eligible for receiving funding under the EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program.

Next Steps

The Compact has begun work on the second phase of the planning grant, the development of the Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP), which will be complete by December 1, 2025. The CCAP will include all significant GHG sources/sinks across all economic sectors, and will provide comprehensive strategies and emission reduction measures to achieve science-based emission reduction goals.

On behalf of the Compact, WSP is hosting a series of virtual workshops to identify and capture a comprehensive suite of emission reduction projects, programs, policies/code changes among agencies and partners in the region. These emission reduction initiatives can have short-term (2030) and long-term (2050) implementation timeframes and do not need to be captured in current planning documents. The emissions reduction and other benefits of these initiatives will be quantified, and relevant funding opportunities to support implementation will be identified, where available. Your input is critical to developing a comprehensive and ambitious regional plan. 

Please consider sharing these workshops with other agency partners who may be interested. These workshops are intended for subject matter experts and key stakeholders. Please register for the workshops using the hyperlinks below; you may register for more than one workshop as relevant to your expertise and area of focus.

Transportation accounts for 53% of GHG emissions

Commercial energy use accounts for 16% of GHG emissions  

Residential energy use accounts for 15% of GHG emissions  

Agriculture accounts for 9% of GHG emissions

Solid waste accounts for 4% of GHG emissions

Carbon Sequestration to offset the GHG emissions

  • Carbon Sequestration. Wednesday, November 20: 10:00 am – 11:00 am ET 
    Trees, plants, soil, and the ocean are natural carbon sinks, absorbing carbon from the atmosphere, likely released from the above sources. We invite partners that help design, maintain, and permit tree canopy, environmental resources, and maintain water quality like parks & recreation, state, county, and city departments of transportation, and others. 

Additionally, we will host invitation-only workshops for Tribal Government, Airport, Port, and energy organizations. 

The workshops will be interactive. Additional information will be sent to registrants at least 2-weeks before the workshop. We request that attendees prepare in advance to participate in the workshop.  

Workshop Agenda: 

  1. Introduction
  2. Overview of the Priority and Comprehensive Climate Action Plan
  3. Interactive Workshop
    – Impactful GHG reduction measures within the sector
    – Review challenges and opportunities
    – Discuss implementable long-term GHG reduction goals
  4. Next Steps

If you have any questions regarding registrations, you may reach out to Jordyn at jordyn.gross@wsp.com