California Announces $20 Million in Funding to Protect California Communities from Extreme Heat
Funded through the Governor’s 2022-23 climate budget, the new grant will fund projects helping communities, especially California’s most vulnerable, adapt to extreme heat
SACRAMENTO – The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research announced yesterday $20 million in funding for the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program, which will support the development of projects that build resilience to extreme heat.
As 2023 marked the hottest year ever on record, California’s communities will continue to experience extreme heat events with increasing intensity, duration, and frequency. By 2050, average heat-health events are projected to last two weeks longer in the Central Valley and occur four to ten times more often in the Northern Sierra region while extreme heat events in urban areas are projected to cause two to three times more heat-related deaths. The Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program will keep communities safe from the impacts of extreme heat through investments in extreme heat action plans, mechanical and natural shade, building and surface reflectance, passive or low-energy cooling, and more.
The Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program will fund both planning efforts and implementation projects that keep communities safe from the impacts of extreme heat. Potential planning projects include conducting studies, developing comprehensive extreme heat action plans, forging new partnerships, and supporting under-resourced community-based organizations or other local partners. Potential implementation projects include implementing awareness campaigns, providing resources, and building infrastructure to promote community resilience to extreme heat.
“The Governor’s climate agenda takes historic action to address climate crisis, with extreme heat resilience at the very center of these investments,” said Samuel Assefa, Director of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research, which administers the grant. “The Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program is a first-of-its-kind initiative that will empower California’s communities to build essential projects and partnerships, safeguarding residents and vital systems from the impacts of extreme heat.”
The Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Grant will support a growing movement of community-based organizations, local and regional governments, California tribes, and academic institutions working together to bring communities immediate relief and build long-term resilience to extreme heat. The Grant will support extreme heat job creation, foster placemaking and place-keeping, and improve the health outcomes of the Californians who extreme heat disproportionately impacts.
The Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program is part of the Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resilience Program and is distinct from other ICARP grants because of its singular focus on community resilience to extreme heat. OPR recently announced awards of another ICARP grant, the Regional Resilience Grant, to enhance climate change resilience on a regional scale. Additionally, OPR also announced the public comment period for the ICARP Adaptation Planning Grant Round 2 Draft Guidelines. The Adaptation Planning Grant funds local governments, community-based organizations, tribes, and academic institutions’ work assessing and minimizing an array of local climate hazards, including extreme heat.
Read more about the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program on the OPR website.
