Small states lose out on climate adaptation funds - POLITICO

Small states lose out on climate adaptation funds - POLITICO

Small states lose out on climate adaptation funds

Some small states are missing out on millions of federal dollars to build resilience to climate change because they lack the staff to fill out the paperwork.

Since 2021, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has disbursed about $4 billion to states to fund projects like sea walls, emergency shelters and improved drainage systems, writes Thomas Frank.

An E&E News analysis found that half of that money has gone to just five states: California, Florida, New York, North Carolina and Washington.

In contrast, 24 smaller states together have been awarded less than 5 percent of the money allocated through the program known as Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities.

“Some states don’t have the people, time or resources” to apply for the grants, said Victoria Salinas, an associate administrator for resilience at FEMA.

The disparity illustrates the difficulty that the Biden administration faces in helping the country’s poorest regions prepare for intensifying disasters like floods, wildfires and hurricanes.

States simply needed to file applications in time to receive some of the funding, but more than $58 million has gone unclaimed, Tom’s analysis found. Mississippi and West Virginia, for example, did not apply this year for the $2 million that FEMA set aside for each state.

But such set-aside funds are a small portion of the program. Most of the funding is offered through competitive grants with a matching requirement that obligates local governments to pay 25 percent or 10 percent of the project cost. That means a local government must find hundreds of thousands of dollars from its own pocket to secure millions in federal dollars, which could be prohibitive for many rural or low-income communities.

FEMA has begun helping some communities and tribes with the application process. But if the funding discrepancy persists, experts say, it could exacerbate existing inequities as climate-fueled disasters ravage vulnerable neighborhoods.

“We’re seeing year after year that there are many communities that are low-capacity or rural that are just not getting this money,” said Kristin Smith, a climate expert at the Headwaters Economics research group in Montana.

It’s Monday — thank you for tuning in to POLITICO’s Power Switch. I’m your host, Minho Kim. Power Switch is brought to you by the journalists behind E&E News and POLITICO Energy. Send your tips, comments, questions to

Today in POLITICO Energy’s podcast: Kelsey Tamborrino talks about the energy legacy of Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), who announced his retirement last week.

Power Centers

Congress debates whales

An endangered whale is at the center of a new political fight brewing in Congress. Republican lawmakers are moving forward with legislation that would slow down the Biden administration’s plan to set aside more than 28,000 square miles in the Gulf of Mexico as critical habitat for the Rice’s whale, writes Rob Hotakainen.

The whales face growing threats from offshore oil and gas developments, but Republicans say the proposed habitat would impede fossil fuel production. Conservative groups are also making the whale an issue in the 2024 presidential campaign, releasing advertisements railing against an “E-ZPass lane for whales.”

EU commits to climate damages fund

Ahead of the United Nations climate summit — known as COP28 — the European Union has promised a “substantial financial contribution” to the international fund designed to help developing nations hit with climate-fueled disasters, writes Zia Weise.

Earlier this month, negotiators reached a fragile agreement on the so-called loss and damage fund, after months of acrimony over basics such as which countries should pay and where the fund would reside. The U.S successfully pushed for that agreement to include a provision that says contributions into the fund are voluntary.

UAE attempts to restrict media covering COP28

The United Arab Emirates briefly published a media guide urging journalists to refrain from criticizing the country and its seven monarchies during the United Nations climate summit, writes Corbin Hiar.

When Corbin asked UAE officials for comment about the restrictive media policy, the document was soon removed. A UAE spokesperson for COP28 said the document was “an old guide” that was ”posted erroneously.”

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Exxon Mobil announced plans to drill wells in Arkansas for lithium, marking the oil giant’s first foray into producing electric vehicle battery metals.

Virginia Democrats are expected to use their new legislative majority to fight Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s effort to pull his state out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade program for Northeastern states.

The State Department said the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should provide a full estimate of carbon emissions from a proposed natural gas pipeline in the latest sign of friction between the independent commission and the Biden administration.

That’s it for today, folks! Thanks for reading.

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