US grants to tackle climate change

The funding for this first ever round of Coastal Community Resilience Grants was made available through Governor Patrick’s US$50m investment in climate change initiatives and will be awarded to Barnstable, Boston, Brewster, Gloucester, Hingham, Hull, Oak Bluffs, Provincetown, Salem and Weymouth.

“These projects will result in important, on-the-ground strategies for climate preparedness in coastal communities, keeping residents, homes, businesses and natural resources safer up and down our coastline,” said Rick Sullivan, secretary, Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA).

The goal of this new programme, administered by EEA’s Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM), is to provide financial and technical resources for advancing new and innovative local efforts to increase awareness of climate impacts, identify vulnerabilities and implement measures to increase community resilience.

“Erosion, flooding and storm damage are serious problems in coastal communities, and with changing climate and sea level rise, the challenges posed by these hazards are projected to worsen and broaden,” added Bruce Carlisle, CZM director.

The town of Barnstable will receive US$52,560 for its project Community Rating System Application Assistance and Outreach, while Boston will receive US$86,000 for Designing the Rising Tide: A Climate Change Preparedness Competition for Boston Harbour”.

Brewster will receive one of the largest grants of US$200,000 for Building Coastal Resilience. Oak Bluffs will also receive US$200,000 for Pump Station Hazard Mitigation, and Provincetown will receive US$100,000 for its beach stabilisation project.

Gloucester, Hingham and Hull will each receive US$50,000, US$44,461 and US$41,250, respectively.