Climate Institute receives $675,000 grant to improve air quality

In a continued state-led effort to help drive down greenhouse gas emissions, the Washington Department of Ecology awarded a $675,000 grant to the university’s Institute for Climate, Water and the Environment, along with Spokane’s local government and a local environmental organization.

This grant, titled “Improving Air Quality for Overburdened Populations in Spokane and Spokane Valley,” is aimed at providing solutions for poor air quality in low-income communities. The money will help replace 10 diesel park maintenance units with zero-emission electric alternatives, pay for the purchase and distribution of 400 portable air cleaners and create a community engagement program to educate and offer solutions for low-income communities harmed by poor air quality.

“With this grant, Gonzaga University is fulfilling its Jesuit mission by working with community partners to raise awareness and bring cleaner air to disadvantaged communities in Spokane,” said Jon Isacoff, chair and professor of environmental studies and sciences at GU and the grant’s principal investigator, in a press release.

Diesel park maintenance units are major contributors to poor air quality, emitting pollutants and increasing carbon dioxide emissions that leave neighborhoods with poor air quality, Isacoff said in an email.

The state’s Department of Ecology pointed to Hays Park in Northeast Spokane as an example, where the community faced environmental harms from diesel-based machinery. As a result, electric, zero-emission alternatives will be provided.

Furthermore, the creation and distribution of 400 portable air cleaners will provide in-home air quality relief to low-income communities. Because some communities can’t afford air safety technology, this new grant will provide the communities in need with improved air quality.

“Low income people are the least able to afford these [air cleaners],” Isacoff said in an email. “During times of bad air quality, this makes them most affected. These four hundred units will help improve air safety for some of the most vulnerable Spokane and Spokane Valley residents.”

Along with new, climate-focused technology, The Lands Council will conduct multiple community presentations and surveys that will help residents further understand sources of air pollution that affect their neighborhoods. The Lands Council, along with the city of Spokane, is included in the partnership with GU that was awarded this grant. The Lands Council will also take the lead in distributing the air cleaners.

“This funding empowers our community members most burdened by air pollution to take action in protecting their health,” Lands Council Executive Director Amanda Parrish said. “By distributing 400 in-home air filters, we’re addressing an urgent need for cleaner indoor air, especially during wildfire season, while ensuring that those who can’t afford full home HVAC upgrades still have access to vital air quality relief. This project is all about resilience and giving people the tools to safeguard their well-being.”  

The project stems from the Washington State Climate Commitment Act, the state’s effort to decrease greenhouse gas emissions, which was signed into law in 2021 under then-Gov. Jay Inslee and affirmed at the ballot in 2024. The act “caps and reduces greenhouse gas emissions from Washingtons’ largest emitting sources and industries,” according to the Department of Ecology’s official website. 

GU’s Institute for Climate, Water and the Environment has received 22 grants and over $22 million in funds in its continued fight against climate change. More information about the institute can be found on GU’s website.

This new grant is another chapter in the institute’s mission, which has an “abiding commitment to a just society and care for the planet,” as found in its mission statement. The institute received a $19.9 million grant back in July of 2024, which supported projects focused on reducing pollution and addressing environmental challenges in the Spokane community.

Kyle Sweeney is a staff writer.