Midwest Matters

Since May of 2023, the Midwest Climate Collaborative has hosted Federal Funding Fridays (FFF) nearly every week. These are informal calls where we gather to share insights on federal funding opportunities, discuss common challenges, and celebrate shared successes. To date, we’ve had over 300 individuals and organizations, with an average of 25+ weekly attendees. Some calls are geared toward knowledge sharing on several opportunities and others feature special guests that can provide insights into areas of interest.  A few highlights from 2024:

Unprecedented amounts of federal funds are being rolled out for climate action through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). This document examines how to leverage federal funds and use the grants process to implement priority climate projects in the Midwest. It describes the need for charting a “funding map” that identifies gaps in the region and aims to help navigate the funding landscape, particularly for smaller, under-resourced and capacity-constrained communities, by building funding pathways to regional and national opportunities.

In August 2022, the Biden Administration signed into legislation the landmark Inflation-Reduction Act (PUBLIC LAW 117–169—AUG. 16, 2022). This legislation, in addition to billions in grant funding and tax credits, includes two categories of home rebates: Home Efficiency Rebates (HOMES) and Home Electrification and Appliance Rebates (HEAR).  HOMES Retrofitting single-family homes under HOMES has three […]

The Midwest Climate Collaborative is officially tracking climate commitments! Across the Midwest, various cities, institutes of higher education, and cultural organizations have begun putting together climate action plans to decrease their own impact. What does the spreadsheet track? The spreadsheet tracks climate commitments on a broad scale (ex: emissions reduction goals), but also dives into […]

By Kyle Jacobs, class of ’24 Washington University The transportation sector accounts for nearly 30% of emissions in the United States making it the largest GHG emitting sector in the United States. In light of this the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) has published two scorecards: one in 2021 and one just […]