White House Summit on Building Climate Resilient Communities
On Thursday, September 28th, President Biden is holding the White House Summit on Building Climate Resilient Communities to amplify the leadership of climate resilience practitioners nationwide.
This Summit was announced by President Biden earlier this summer, and will amplify the leadership of climate resilience practitioners nationwide – the construction workers, educators, resource managers, city and state resilience officers, local and Tribal leaders, and many others who are striving to help their communities adapt to today’s climate impacts and prepare for future climate risks.
The Summit will also explore how federal programs and funding, including the more than $50 billion secured for climate resilience through President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, can support leaders and practitioners nationwide in building communities that are not only resilient to the impacts of a changing climate, but also more safe, healthy, equitable, and economically strong.
Speakers during the event will include:
- Deputy Administrator Jainey Bavishi, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- Secretary Deb Haaland, U.S. Department of the Interior
- Senior Advisor to the President Mitch Landrieu
- Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Rachel Levine, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Chair Shelley C. Lowe (Navajo), National Endowment for the Humanities
- Chair Brenda Mallory, White House Council on Environmental Quality
- Senior Advisor to the President John Podesta
- Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, Madison, WI
- Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall
- National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi
Today’s actions include:
Boosting Climate Resilience in Buildings
Transitioning the Building Sector to Zero Emissions. The Department of the Treasury issued guidance this week on the 45L new energy efficient home tax credit that offers up to $5,000 to eligible contractors who construct, reconstruct, or rehabilitate an energy efficient home to meet EPA Energy Star Certification and DOE’s Zero Energy Ready Homes Certification. This comes on the heels of the Department of Energy opening applications for $400 million for states and territories to adopt and implement building energy codes that reduce utility bills, increase efficiency, lower greenhouse gas emissions that fuel the climate crisis, and make buildings more resilient to climate disaster.
Strengthening the Power Grid for States and Tribes. The Department of Energy (DOE) is announcing the eighth cohort of its Grid Resilience State and Tribal Formula Grants. This cohort includes $167.7 million in awards from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law across 11 states, 2 territories, and 20 Tribes. With this cohort, DOE has now awarded more than $748 million to modernize the electric grid to reduce impacts of climate-driven extreme weather and natural disasters, while also ensuring power sector reliability.
Promoting Climate Resilient Building and Energy Codes and Standards. The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Mitigation Framework Leadership Group, which works with federal agencies to advance hazard risk reduction across the nation, is issuing a set of Federal best practices for incorporating latest consensus-based codes and above-code standards to achieve climate resilience and greenhouse gas reduction in physical assets that are funded with federal dollars. This publication is a product of the National Initiative to Advance Building Codes.
Advancing Federal Agency Leadership in Climate Adaptation Planning. Federal agencies are taking action to build a resilient government through the implementation of their Climate Adaptation Plans, which are roadmaps that agencies developed to adapt physical assets and operations to climate risk. The White House Council on Environmental Quality and Office of Management and Budget are directing agencies to use a data-driven, climate science-based approach to evaluate their climate risk and develop resilience and adaptation strategies that will ensure more resilient federal operations and a resilient workforce.
Strengthening Local Engagement and Partnerships
Establishing New Community Climate Resilience Centers. The Department of Energy is announcing the recipients – in Arizona, California, Maryland, Michigan, and North Carolina – of a combined $5 million to establish Climate Resilience Centers. These centers will improve the use and utility of DOE climate science and engagement with local communities to address local climate resilience challenges while also supporting Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Minority Serving Institutions.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Climate Adaptation Partnerships program (CAP/RISA) is announcing eight new awards totaling approximately $3.9 million. Funded projects will work cross-regionally – in flood-impacted communities everywhere from Hawai’i and the U.S. Caribbean to the East Coast and in wildfire-impacted communities in Colorado and New Mexico – over the next three to four years to test, scale, and transfer knowledge that builds national adaptation capacity. Projects will also generate locally relevant knowledge and strategies to reduce risks from flooding and wildfires in frontline communities. NOAA will grow support for equitable adaptation by extending the reach of the CAP/RISA network to the Central Midwest (Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska). This is the first time there has been a CAP/RISA program in this region. This new CAP/RISA will focus on engaging Tribal Nations and women farmland owners in a community of learning about inland climate adaptation and community resilience. In alignment with the Administration’s policy goals, philanthropic organizations are leveraging new federal funding from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and committing resources to advance actions that help communities plan for and adapt to a changing climate. A dozen philanthropic organizations have invested more than a combined $800 million in complementary climate resilience priorities – and are committed to continuing to work with the federal government, communities, and local leaders on opportunities to further advance shared policy priorities and climate resilience goals.
Bolstering Workforce and Community Benefits
The Department of Labor is awarding $16 million to support organizations in 12 states as they pilot strategies to improve job quality and increase the availability of good jobs in the critical sectors of climate resilience, care, and hospitality. The Critical Sectors Job Quality grants being announced today will enable recipients to design and deploy programs that align with the Good Jobs Principles developed by the Departments of Labor and Commerce, leveraging workforce strategies, such as sector partnerships with workers and employers, to create good climate resilience jobs to benefit workers and employers. Programs will expand career awareness, provide training, and improve access to quality jobs within the climate resilience sector for historically underrepresented and underserved communities.
NOAA will award $12.7 million through its Climate Smart Communities Initiative (CSCI) to help communities protect people, property, infrastructure, economies and natural resources from climate-related hazards. CSCI will work to support communities by helping them to identify and use climate science data and tools needed to understand their exposure to climate-related hazards, and to use that information to create and implement climate resilience plans.
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is announcing the Pacific Islands Cultural Initiative, a $1.3 million investment to fortify cultural heritage and resilience in the U.S. Pacific Islands. In August 2023, NEH awarded $2 million to cultural and educational organizations, Tribal Nations, and municipalities through its new Cultural and Community Resilience and Climate Smart Humanities Organizations programs, which support community-based and strategic planning efforts to safeguard cultural resources and foster cultural resilience against the impacts of climate change.
The Office of Climate Change and Health Equity and Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is launching a new Climate and Health Outlook Portal. Built on the data underlying the HHS Climate and Health Outlook, the Portal features interactive county-level maps with heat, wildfire, and drought forecasts for the current month, along with individual-level climate health risk factors. This tool, being released in initial beta form, is designed for emergency response and health care professionals to support planning and preparation for the potential impacts of these climate hazards and assist the public with learning more about the climate-related health risks they may face in their county.
Ensuring Resilient Lands and Waters
The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation is announcing up to $328 million in funding available through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and annual appropriations to help make Western communities more resilient to drought and climate change, including in the Colorado River Basin. Funding will support grants for water desalination, water recycling and reuse, and small water storage projects. In addition, earlier this week, NOAA announced availability of $2 million in funds through the National Integrated Drought Information System to support Tribal Nations in addressing current and future drought risk on Tribal lands across the western United States.
Earlier this week, the Wildland Fire Management and Mitigation Commission, established by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, released a report recommending improvements to Federal policies related to preventing, mitigating, suppressing, and managing wildland fires, as well as rehabilitating affected lands.
Earlier this week, the Department of the Interior’s National Park Service and the nonprofit American Forests signed a five-year agreement to help return the threatened whitebark pine to its range in the northern Rockies. At least half of all whitebark pines have died in recent decades due to threats including climate change, negatively affecting the long-term outlook for this critical keystone plant species. The new partnership, made possible through funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, will support restoration activities in national parks where whitebark pine grow – making whitebark pine ecosystems more resilient to climate impacts – and advance the Interior Department’s National Seed Strategy.
Opportunities to Counter the People's Republic of China's Control of Critical Mineral Supply Chains
The purpose of this hearing is to examine opportunities to counter the People’s Republic of China’s control of critical mineral supply chains through increased mining and processing in the United States as well as international engagement and trade.
Witnesses:- Tommy P. Beaudreau, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior
- Dr. Daniel Yergin, Vice Chairman, S&P Global
- Mark Compton, Executive Director, American Exploration & Mining Association
Examining Solutions to Address Beverage Container Waste
Subcommittee hearing on plastics.
Witnesses:- Susan Collins, President, Container Recycling Institute
- Jules Bailey, President & CEO, Oregon Beverage Recycling Cooperative
- Steve Alexander, President & CEO, Association of Plastic Recyclers
Regulating Small Offshore Energy Producers
Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Supply Chains hearing: “Energy Independence: How Burdensome Regulations are Crushing Small Offshore Energy Producers”
Chair: Wesley Hunt (R-Texas)
Witnesses:- Mike Minarovic, Chief Executive Officer, Arena Energy, LLC
- Paul Danos, Chairman of the Board, National Ocean Industries Association
- Alex Epstein, President, Center for Industrial Progress
- Kathleen Nisbet Moncy, Chief Operating Officer, Goose Point Oyster
Investigating the Role of Electric Infrastructure in the Catastrophic Maui Fire
Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) announced a hearing on the recent tragic fires in Maui, Hawaii.
Letter from House Energy & Commerce Committee to Hawaii officials
Witnesses:
Panel I- Shelee Kimura, President & CEO, Hawaiian Electric
- Leodoloff R. Asuncion, Jr., Chairman, Hawaii Public Utilities Commission
- Mark B. Glick, Chief Energy Officer, Hawai’i State Energy Office
- Representative Ed Case (HI-01)
- Representative Jill Tokuda (HI-02)
Greenbuild International Conference + Expo Day 3
The Greenbuild International Conference + Expo is specifically designed to keep participants at the forefront of the industry covering sustainability, resilience, health, and wellness in the spaces where we live, work, learn and play.
| 7:00 am-8:00 am | Morning Wellness Activities |
|---|---|
| 8:30 am -10:00 am | USGBC Celebration of Fellows with Ali Zaidi |
| 10:00 am-10:45 am | Thursday Keynote with Bill McKibben (remote) |
| 10:00 am -4:00 pm | Expo Hall Open |
| 11:15am -12:15pm | Expert Series |
| 11:15am-3:00pm | Conference Track Sessions Day 3 |
| 12:15pm-1:45 pm | Women in Green Luncheon |
| 7:00pm | The Greenbuild Gala |
Water as a Trust Resource: Examining Access in Native Communities
Oversight hearing on “Water as a Trust Resource: Examining Access in Native Communities”
Witnesses:- Bryan Newland, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC
- Benjamin Smith, Deputy Director, Indian Health Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Crystalyne Curley, Speaker, Navajo Nation Council, Window Rock, AZ
- Valerie Nurr’araaluk Davidson, President & CEO, Alaska Native Tribal Health
- Kali Watson, Chairman, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
- Professor Heather Tanana, Initiative Lead, Universal Access to Clean Water for Tribal Communities Project, San Clemente, CA
POSTPONED: The State of Flood Insurance in America
COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING, AND URBAN AFFAIRS SUBCOMMITTEE ON SECURITIES, INSURANCE, AND INVESTMENT will meet in OPEN SESSION, HYBRID FORMAT to conduct a hearing on “The State of Flood Insurance in America.” The hearing has been postponed.
Witness:- Douglas E. Quinn, Executive Director, American Policyholder Association
Oversight of the Securities and Exchange Commission
Full committee oversight hearing.
Witness:- Gary Gensler, Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission
Climate-Related Disclosures On March 21, 2022, the SEC proposed a 500-page climate disclosure rule that would require publicly traded firms to disclose detailed emissions data and climate risk management strategies. Among other details, the rule would also mandate certain publicly traded firms to disclose direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions emanating from their supply chains
Reauthorization of the Brownfields Program
The Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, and Critical Materials will hold a hearing on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing is entitled “Revitalizing American Communities: Ensuring the Reauthorization of EPA’s Brownfields Program.”
Witnesses
Panel I:- Barry Breen, Principal Deputy Assistant Administrator, Office of Land and Emergency Management, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
- Christian Bollwage, Mayor, Elizabeth, NJ, on behalf of the Conference of Mayors and the National League of Cities
- Tammy Shifflett Tincher, Greenbrier County Commission, on behalf of National Association of Counties
- Lesly Melendez, Executive Director, Groundwork Lawrence, on behalf of the National Brownfields Coalition
- Pat Ford, Director of External Affairs & Business Development, Frontier Group of Companies, Buffalo, NY
The Committee has been working to develop legislation to reauthorize the EPA Brownfields Program and to make statutory improvements to the brownfields law in CERCLA. While the IIJA provided advanced funding for EPA’s Brownfields Program, the formal authorization of the program in CERCLA is set to expire in 2023. The Discussion Draft is a work in progress and the objective of this hearing is to analyze the provisions in the Discussion Draft and to explore whether additional revisions to the law are necessary. Currently the Discussion Draft includes the following provisions:
RURAL BROWNFIELDS SHOWCASE: Amends CERCLA section 104(k)(7) to provide grants in each of fiscal years 2025 and 2026 to five communities – three representing a non-suburban population of 50,000 or less and two representing a non-suburban population of 50,001 to 100,000 persons. It would also provide technical assistance to help those communities secure a CERCLA section 104(k) grant or loan that will promote environmental protection and restoration, economic development, job creation, community revitalization, and public health protection through the assessment, cleanup, or sustainable reuse of brownfields in the community. The program would sunset after a status report in Fiscal Year 2029.
BROWNFIELDS PROGRAM OVERSIGHT: Creates a new requirement for the EPA to conduct an annual internal audit of its Brownfields program and its awards. It would direct EPA to report to Congress on the findings, as well as would require the Office of Inspector General to investigate biennially the EPA brownfields program, to evaluate the operation of the program and the use of Federal funds by it, and report to Congress. One half of one percent of all funding authorized for CERCLA section 104(k) would be allocated to the OIG for oversight activities.
LOCAL CONCURRENCE: Amends CECRLA section 104(k)(5) to make the concurrence of local governing officials in an application a condition of EPA awarding a brownfields site characterization and assessment, cleanup, or multipurpose grant or loan.
PRIVATE PARTIES: Adds a private, for-profit organization that otherwise meets the same qualifications as an eligible entity as an eligible entity under the Brownfields program.
FUNDING AUTHORIZATIONS: Authorizes appropriations for five years, from fiscal year 2024 through fiscal year 2028, for CERCLA sections 104(k) and 128. The Discussion Draft intentionally does not identify a funding amount for either CERCLA sections 104(k) or 128 to permit discussion about what would constitute their appropriate funding levels.