(AGENPARL) – gio 29 febbraio 2024 Issued: Feb 29, 2024 (1:01pm EST)
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EPA Advances Climate Action in the Virgin Islands
EPA awards Virgin Islands Energy Office a $500,000 Climate Pollution Reduction
Planning Grant
 NEW YORK – (February 29, 2024)  The U.S Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) is directly investing in strategies to reduce climate pollution and
build clean energy economy across the US Virgin Islands through the
ground-breaking Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). EPA Regional Administrator Lisa
F. Garcia joined Virgin Islands Energy Office Director Kyle D. Fleming, and
others today to celebrate the official award of a half million dollars to the
Virgin Islands Energy Office under EPA’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grant
Program, a program funded through IRA. 
Earlier this year, EPA awarded a $500,000 Climate Pollution Reduction Planning
Grant to the Virgin Islands Energy Office (VIEO) which will provide support
for USVI’s climate planning process. VIEO will use the planning grant to
design a climate action plan for USVI that may include a variety of measures
to reduce GHG emissions from across key sectors. Those sectors include
electricity generation, industry, transportation, buildings,
agriculture/natural and working lands, and waste management. This award will
help USVI identify greenhouse gas reduction opportunities and quantify the
benefits of energy efficiency programs.  
  
“Caribbean islands have unique opportunities to tackle climate change which
is why EPA is happy to be here in St. Thomas to celebrate with the Virgin
Islands Energy Office receiving this planning grant,” said EPA Regional
Administrator Lisa F. Garcia. “People living in the U.S. Virgin Islands
understand the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emission sources and this
funding is an important step forward in our joint efforts to reduce the
impacts of climate change.   
“The Climate Pollution Reduction Planning Grant award marks a transformative
step forward for the U.S. Virgin Islands in our fight against climate change.
The program is not just an investment in our environment but a commitment to
our future. I am immensely proud of the Virgin Islands Energy Office (VIEO)
and VIEO Director Fleming for securing this planning grant, which will aid in
creating a more sustainable and resilient Virgin Islands,” said
Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett. 
  
“The US Virgin Islands are situated on the front lines of climate change and
face the most immediate and severe consequences of rising sea levels, extreme
weather events, and environmental degradation,” said Virgin Island Energy
Office Director Kyle D. Fleming. “Strategically planning and implementing
effective pollution reduction strategies is not merely an option but a
critical imperative for the territory’s sustainable development. Through the
successful award of the CPRG planning funds, the Virgin Islands Energy Office
strives to be the catalyst of safeguarding our vulnerable ecosystem while
preserving our economic viability & cultural heritage for generations to
come.”  
  
In September 2023, EPA launched a $4.6 competition for the second phase of the
CPRG program, the Climate Pollution Reduction Implementation Grants. This
funding can be used to implement projects and initiatives identified in the
Priority Climate Action Plans (PCAP) that were developed by CPRG planning
grant recipients. Approximately $300 million will be specifically reserved for
Climate Pollution Reduction Implementation Grants for territories and Indian
Nations. The Virgin Islands Energy Office and other territorial agencies will
be eligible to receive this implementation funding because USVI has opted in
to receive the planning grant. 
If you would like to learn more about the CPRG Program, please visit this
webpage.  
  
To learn more about CPRG training, tools, and technical assistance, please
visit this webpage.