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“Colorado communities hit hardest by environmental harms are getting new investments through government grants aimed at empowering residents to make their spaces healthier to live in.
Starting this week, eight groups across the state, including the nonprofit run by Grevious, will begin receiving support from Colorado’s Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE).
Colorado created these environmental justice grants in 2022 when state lawmakers decided to take money collected through fines and penalties against air pollution violators and pay it directly to affected communities working on solutions.
In the past, the money collected through air pollution penalties and fines went into Colorado’s general fund to pay for overall government operations. But starting in 2022, Colorado lawmakers set up a “community impact cash fund” so that a portion of that money could start going to communities.
Colorado has collected more than $17 million total through air penalties and fines since 2022, according to data provided by the CDPHE.
A breakdown of those funds by year shows Colorado is collecting more as time goes on. So far in 2024, Colorado has collected more than $10 million, compared to just under $5 million in 2023 and $1.8 million in 2022.”
Launched on June 1, 2017 by the governors of Washington, New York, and California to help fill the void left by the previous administration’s decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Paris Agreement, the Alliance has grown to include 24 governors from across the U.S. representing approximately 60% of the U.S. economy and 55% of the U.S. population. Governors in the Alliance have pledged to collectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 26-28% below 2005 levels by 2025, at least 50-52% below 2005 levels by 2030, and collectively achieve overall net-zero greenhouse gas emissions as soon as practicable, and no later than 2050.
The Alliance’s states and territories continue to demonstrate that climate action goes hand-in-hand with economic growth, job creation, and better public health. While reducing collective greenhouse gas emissions by 19%, Alliance members increased their collective GDP by 30%. The coalition’s states and territories are employing more workers in the clean energy sector, achieving lower levels of dangerous air pollutants, and preparing more effectively for climate impacts and executing more pre-disaster planning than the rest of the country.
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