Boston (April 4, 2024) – Today, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety and co-author of the National Climate Bank Act, released the following statement today after the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $20 billion across eight awardees for the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund’s National Clean Investment Fund and Clean Communities Accelerator. These investments will unleash tens of billions of dollars in private investments so communities can take climate action while providing economic and job opportunities.

The fund will dedicate $14 billion, or more than 70 percent of the selections, towards disadvantaged communities. The Fund is also estimated to reduce up to 40 million metric tons of pollution a year and transform the $20 billion from Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund into $150 billion in public and private investments. The selected awardees will create a national network of community-led financial institutions which will provide low-cost financing for climate and clean energy projects, including in disadvantaged communities.

“After more than a decade of hard work, our vision to create a national climate bank is a reality. Thanks to the $20 billion we secured in the Inflation Reduction Act, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund will draw on the experience of public, semi-public, and non-profit community leaders to unleash tens of billions of dollars to deliver more than money, but also justice, to disadvantaged communities in Massachusetts and across the country.

“As the single largest climate investment in the Inflation Reduction Act, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund will cut emissions, protect health, and create job and economic opportunities so that communities won’t just survive, but thrive, for generations to come. Even more than money, the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is delivering hope – hope for justice and for a livable future. I applaud the Environmental Protection Agency’s work to quickly stand up this critical program while ensuring transparency and collaboration.” 

Senator Markey has been a longtime supporter of climate banks. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is based on Senator Markey’s National Climate Bank Act, introduced with Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06), which would provide $100 billion to an independent nonprofit bank to support communities, leverage private investments, and cut emissions. Then-Representative Markey first introduced legislation in 2009 for a national climate bank as part of the Waxman-Markey bill, the only comprehensive climate legislation to pass a chamber of Congress. 

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