PlanRVA completes first phase of EPA’s Climate Reduction Grants Program 

PlanRVA completed the Priority Climate Action Plan, (PCAP), on March 1st, 2024, as part of the first phase of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Climate Pollution Reduction Grants (CPRG) program. 

The CPRG program provides funding to states, local governments, Tribes, and territories to develop and implement plans for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other harmful air pollution. The PCAP identifies high priority, ready-to-implement, GHG reduction measures that will provide significant GHG reductions and other benefits to the Richmond region metropolitan statistical area (MSA). There’s a focus in this planning effort to engage with and direct benefits to low-income disadvantaged communities (LIDACs) in alignment with the Justice 40 initiative. 

The PCAP signifies the first GHG inventory done in the region and was developed with the direction of a steering committee made up of stakeholders from across our localities and input from affected communities. There was high public interest in a GHG reduction plan, with over 800 responses received on an MSA-wide GHG emissions survey, which asked how people are impacted by pollution from transportation and waste. To engage with LIDACs more specifically during the limited timeframe, in-person outreach was conducted near libraries serving LIDACs to supplement the online community survey. The survey was available in Spanish as well as English, and 34% of respondents reported income below statewide median income levels. Extensive outreach was done with community organizations who serve local and regional communities, which resulted in partnership discussions and facilitated focus groups.  

The PCAP identifies the following seven priority measures that are implementation-ready to reduce GHG emissions in the short- and long-term: