Theย Climate Program Office of theย National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrationย (NOAA) has awarded USD 15.2 million to support climate science and community resilience across the United States. As part of the program, NOAA will fund a total of 63 new and innovative projects that it thinks will improve the nationโs resilience against the climate crisis.ย
โThe window of time to avoid costly, deadly and irreversible future climate impacts is quickly closing,โ said US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. โThe Biden-Harris Administration is committed to bold action and these new awards from NOAA are critical economic and research investments that will improve data, tools and resources needed to mitigate the impacts of climate change while building better, more resilient communities across America.โ
ALSO READ: Interview with Richard DalBello, Director of NOAAโs Office of Space Commerce
Bidenโs climate agenda
The fight against climate change and building community resilience tops the Biden Administrationโs agenda.ย The historic Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 approved by the US Senate in August was, asย The Washington Postย put it, theย biggest burst of spending in U.S. history to tackle global warming.ย The package authorizes USD 370 billion in clean energy and climate investments over the next 10 years, with a commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below 2005 levels by the end of this decade. the billion-dollar commitment from the worldโs biggest cumulative carbon emitter at last is expected to signal a historic shift in the energy market. And this alone is a cause for big cheer.ย
ALSO READ: Why the Inflation Reduction Act is a Big Deal for the Geospatial Industry
Earlier, asย we noted, the Presidentโs budget request for 2023 continuedhispush for more spending across agencies on climate change, clean energy and conservation. And what was encouraging is the geospatial and satellite technologies would continue to play a pivotal role in these initiatives.ย
While the Budget proposed an investment of USD 2.3 billion for next-generation weather satellites atย NOAA, the agencyโs total budget requisition was USD 6.9 billion, a 20% increase from the 2021 enacted levels, to support programs focused on wind energy, habitat restoration, oceans and coastline protection.ย
Current NOAA project
Over the next year, universities, other research institutions and agency partners across the country will conduct newly funded projects in partnership with NOAA programs, laboratories and research centers.ย
โThese grants will spur the knowledge and innovation needed to tackle the climate crisis, which is a top priority for the Department of Commerce and NOAA,โ said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad. โThese new NOAA investments are essential to improve understanding of climate change, how to mitigate increasing impacts and bolster community resilience. All of these substantive steps work together towards our goal of building a Climate-Ready Nation.โ
The new funding supports a broad spectrum of new climate research. These include improving understanding ofย wildfire pollutantsย at transition zones where wilderness meets the city; efforts to strengthen the understanding and management ofย droughtโs impact on ecosystems, and buildingย tribal drought resilienceย in tribal nations; or assessing the financial aspects of and capacity forย adaptation in rural communities.ย There is also provision for supporting theย management of National Marine Sanctuaries and Marine National Monuments through better understanding of climate variability and change in the sanctuary system; and improving modeling ofย atmospheric aerosolsย and refining understanding of these aerosolsโs role in potential climate intervention.ย
This yearโs awards address some new priorities, including a competition focusing on tribal nations for the first time through theย National Integrated Drought Information System. Additionally, this year marks the first round of grants awarded as part of theย Earth’s Radiation Budget program.ย
