U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia L. Fudge [1] recently addressed the 27th U.N. Climate Conference (COP27) [2] at the first-ever Ministerial Meeting on Urbanization and Climate Change [3], discussing the topic of climate change.
“The United States has taken bold action to protect our climate future over the past year,” said HUD Secretary Fudge. “At HUD, we’re implementing our climate action plan, including improving efficient and resilient building standards to help low-and-moderate income residents benefit from the transition to clean energy. Global challenges require coordinated solutions. This first-ever ministerial is an important step toward protecting our climate future.”
HUD has taken actions to reduce the agency’s energy and carbon footprint while putting our nation’s communities on the path towards a more equitable, efficient, and sustainable housing infrastructure. At last year’s COP26, HUD released its Climate Action Plan [4] in response to President Biden’s Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad [5]. HUD has been implementing this broad approach to the climate crisis that reduces climate pollution; increases resilience to the impacts of climate change; protects public health; delivers environmental justice; and spurs well-paying union jobs and economic growth.
“HUD is committed to working to build resilient communities and to address the effects of climate change” added HUD Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman [6]. “We applaud the convening of the Ministerial Meeting on Urbanization and Climate Change at COP27.”
HUD has taken the following steps:
- Green and Resilient Retrofit Program: HUD received $1 billion from the historic Inflation Reduction Act [7], the most significant domestic climate action in U.S. history, for the Green and Resilient Retrofit Program [8]. This will make funding available to support energy, water efficiency retrofits and climate resilience of HUD-assisted multifamily properties. This investment will improve the stock of affordable housing available to many low and extremely low-income families, often in marginalized communities, making it more energy efficient, healthier, and more resilient to extreme weather events.
- HUD Climate Communities Initiative: HUD, in partnership with local leaders, launched a suite of resources, support, and tools to help cities respond to equitably the climate crisis. This includes a climate resilience toolkit, implementation models, peer-to-peer learning opportunities, stakeholder engagement with underserved communities, and direct support to a cohort of climate cities.
- Mapping a Path Forward: HUD has committed to the creation of an Equitable Decarbonization Roadmap which will help establish a path for HUD’s portfolio to meet the nation’s climate commitment of reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, in a way that does not unduly burden low- and moderate-income households.
- Strengthening Resilience: HUD has updated CDBG-Disaster Recovery grant [9] requirements to include a greater emphasis on climate mitigation, equity, and green building. This year, the agency created a Citizen Participation and Equitable Engagement Toolkit [10] to aid CDBG-DR grantees in centering equity in disaster recovery programs through an enhanced citizen participation process.
- Green Building and Electrification: HUD will continue aligning building and substantial rehabilitation incentives and requirements with energy-efficiency and equitable decarbonization goals, including requirements around achieving green building standards in new construction and substantial renovations.
- Good Green Jobs: HUD is working to implement the Inflation Reduction Act’s once-in-a generation investments that will serve low-income homeowners and renters, while also creating job opportunities for residents. This law will help address deep and long-standing inequities that have left tens of millions of Americans struggling to access affordable, energy-efficient, and resilient housing.
- Healthy Housing: HUD announced the availability of nearly $590 million for programs to assess and remediate lead-based paint and other housing related health hazards. This funding will enable communities to mitigate the impacts of unhealthy housing, preserve affordable housing, enable older adults to stay in their homes, and to ensure that future generations can reach their full potential.