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, with an initial phase complete in March of 2024 and a final, comprehensive plan 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 are 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 will cover the entire geographic scope of the Compact region, inclusive of Monroe County. The grant was officially awarded on August 4, 2023.
The planning work advanced under this grant will position all local and tribal governments in the four-county region to be competitive to apply directly for the next phase of discretionary awards (a $4.6 billion in funding) to implement mitigation projects and strategies that are developed under the regional plan. The EPA has released the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for implementation grants, which can be found here.
Plan 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.
How to Engage
If you are an interested stakeholder or member of the public:
- Attend a public stakeholder workshop: Dates for public stakeholder workshops will be released soon.
- Provide feedback via survey: Stay tuned for an upcoming survey to receive community feedback on plan priorities.
If you are a government entity that has authority to implement greenhouse gas mitigation measures (policies, plans, programs, or projects):
- Implementing Agency Informational Webinar Recording — on December 5, 2023, an informational webinar was hosted regarding the EPA CPRG grant. The Webinar provided a briefing on the recently completed regional greenhouse gas inventory for SEFL, the relationship between the planning grant and implementation grants under the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant Program, implementing agency engagement in the plan development, and guidance on how to complete the survey.
- Please complete the implementing agencies survey by January 5, 2024. The information you provide will help us assemble GHG reduction measures agencies have already identified for potential inclusion in the Plan. Those with closest knowledge of specific greenhouse gas reduction measures (projects, policies, programs) within your agency should complete the survey.