Rural Communities to Benefit from Historic Federal Investment
The $369 billion package of climate and energy programs puts us on the path, both in Wisconsin and beyond, to build more resilient landscapes for current and future generations.
MADISON – President Joe Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which is the single largest investment the federal government has made to address climate issues in American history. The $369 billion package of climate and energy programs puts us on the path, both in Wisconsin and beyond, to build more resilient landscapes for current and future generations.
The Act ensures that local communities will be at the forefront of these climate solutions by directing funds toward climate-smart agriculture, coastal habitat restoration, and land conservation. This affirms the crucial role that agricultural producers and landowners play in building climate resiliency.
Some Inflation Reduction Act highlights that will benefit Wisconsinites include:
More than $20 billion to support climate-smart agriculture practices.
$5 billion in grants to support healthy, fire resilient forests, forest conservation, and urban tree planting.
$2.6 billion in grants to conserve and restore coastal habitats and protect communities that depend on those habitats.
Environmental and Climate Justice Block Grants, funded at $3 billion, to invest in community-led projects in disadvantaged communities and community capacity building centers to address disproportionate environmental and public health harms related to pollution and climate change.
"Wisconsin's conservation legacy shows that large-scale federal investments protect not only our natural resources, but also the people who live in the places most impacted by climate change," said Christina Anderson, WI Land+Water's Climate Resilience Program Manager. "Through the Inflation Reduction Act, Wisconsin's farmers and forestland owners will have the resources to build local resiliency and adapt to the rapidly changing climate."
WI Land+Water thanks President Biden, Sen. Tammy Baldwin, and Reps. Ron Kind, Gwen Moore, and Mark Pocan for their continued support of priorities critical to both conservation and agriculture; and looks forward to working with Wisconsin's entire congressional delegation on future climate initiatives.