{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://troycarter.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-carter-praises-50-million-climate-action-initiatives-new-orleans", "Congressman Carter Praises $50 Million for Climate Action Initiatives in New Orleans", "2024-07-22", "2024", "2024-07", "Democrat", "House", "LA", "Troy A. Carter", "C001125", "troycarter.house.gov", "troycarter", "https://troycarter.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 Today, Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-LA) announced new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funding for the City of New Orleans through the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) Program. New Orleans will receive $49,975,589 to support greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction measures over the next five years, strengthening our commitment to environmental sustainability and climate resilience. This was made possible because of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which Congressman Carter proudly helped craft and voted for.\n\n\u201cI'm excited to announce this grant, which is a monumental step for environmental and climate resilience efforts. It will enable New Orleans to implement critical greenhouse gas reduction measures, reinforcing our commitment to sustainability and the well-being of all Louisianians,\u201d said Rep. Carter. \u201cIt will also help significantly reduce the city's carbon footprint, promote economic and green job growth, and create a healthier environment. The planned projects, including reforesting underserved neighborhoods to combat urban \u2018heat islands,\u2019 expanding the Blue Bikes bike-sharing program, enhancing energy efficiency in municipal buildings, and providing residents with subsidies to install solar on their homes, demonstrate a comprehensive approach to achieving substantial GHG reductions and improving the quality of life in New Orleans.\u201d\n\nThis grant will fund seven key projects focused on high-impact, climate pollution reduction initiatives, helping New Orleans to achieve its climate goals while enhancing the quality of life for Louisianians. The initiatives include:\n\nBlue Bikes Expansion: Increasing the bike share fleet from 800 to 2000 and extending services to historically underserved areas.\n\nCommercial Building Benchmarking Program: Implementing personnel and software to manage energy benchmarking for commercial buildings.\n\nE-Bike Rebates Program: Offering 3000 point-of-sale e-bike rebates over five years, with additional subsidies for low-to-moderate-income (LMI) residents.\n\nMunicipal Building Decarbonization: Upgrading energy efficiency in 41 city buildings and installing rooftop solar panels on 14 municipal properties.\n\nProtected Bikeways: Constructing six miles of protected bikeways adjacent to downtown New Orleans.\n\nReforestation Plan: Planting 7500 trees in underserved neighborhoods over five years.\n\nSolar for All (SFA) Local Subsidies: Providing subsidies for 1400 solar installations for LMI households, supplementing state SFA funding.\n\n\u201cPresident Biden believes in the power of community-driven solutions to fight climate change, protect public health, and grow our economy. Thanks to his leadership, the Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program will deliver unprecedented resources to states, local governments, and Tribes to fund the solutions that work best in their communities,\u201d said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. \u201cSelected recipients have put forward ambitious plans to advance sustainable agriculture, deploy clean industrial technologies, cut emissions and energy costs in homes and commercial buildings, and provide cost- and energy-efficient heating and cooling to communities, creating economic and workforce development opportunities along the way.\u201d\n\n\u201cAs New Orleans works to reduce our emissions contributing to climate change, this substantial funding will fuel seven pivotal greenhouse gas reduction measures that align with a cross section of goals from the City\u2019s Climate Action Plan and the Southeastern Louisiana Priority Climate Action Plan (SELA PCAP),\u201d said Mayor LaToya Cantrell. \u201cThis grant represents a significant investment in the health and resilience of our city and reaffirms our commitment to environmental stewardship and social equity. We are excited to lead the way in advancing our climate goals, improving the quality of life for our residents, and setting a powerful example for other cities to follow. Thank you to the EPA and our partners for their unwavering dedication to making New Orleans a more sustainable city.\"\n\nBackground\n\nThe EPA selected 25 applications to fund a diverse range of projects in 30 states at the state, local, and Tribal levels. These selections are an important milestone for the CPRG program, accelerating ambitious climate pollution reduction measures designed by state, local, and Tribal governments to achieve significant GHG reductions by 2030 and beyond.\n\nMore information about the CPRG program and the official funding announcement for New Orleans can be found here.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-07T21:24:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://troycarter.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-carter-praises-50-million-climate-action-initiatives-new-orleans"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 4.074153956025839, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}