Baker-Polito Administration Awards Over $32 Million in Climate Change Funding to Cities and Towns Bringing Total Investment to $100 Million
97% of Communities Now Participating in Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program
Williamsburg — The Baker-Polito Administration today announced $32.8 million in grants to cities and towns through the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs’ (EEA) Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness (MVP) Program, continuing its historic investment in building climate change resilience throughout the Commonwealth. The grant program, which was launched in 2017 as part of Governor Baker’s Executive Order 569, provides communities with funding and technical support to identify climate hazards, develop strategies to improve resilience, and implement priority actions to adapt to climate change. With today’s announcement, the Administration has now awarded $100 million to 97% of the Commonwealth’s cities and towns through the MVP program.
“Since we started the program in 2017, the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness Program has played a large role in helping cities and towns across the state fight climate change by investing $100 million in 341 municipalities, or 97% of the Commonwealth’s communities,” said Governor Charlie Baker. “With this latest round of MVP funding, we are making the single largest investment in the program by directing nearly $33 million towards critical climate resilience projects throughout Massachusetts.”
“This is the sixth round of MVP funding, and we are making a major push forward by funding more climate resilience implementation projects than ever before,” said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. “It has been rewarding to see projects move through the phases from planning to design to construction and implementation over the last five years, and we are starting to see the tangible difference these projects are making in our communities as we prepare for a changing climate.”
The MVP Program pairs local leadership and knowledge with a significant investment of resources and funding from the Commonwealth to address ongoing climate change impacts, such as inland flooding, increase in storm events, sea level rise, drought, and extreme temperatures. Of the $32.8 million in grants announced, $32.6 million was awarded to 73 municipal projects that build local resilience to climate change in the Commonwealth’s sixth round of MVP Action Grant funding. Additionally, $157,700 was awarded to six towns to pursue a community-led planning process to identify vulnerabilities to climate change and priority actions. When complete, these municipalities will be eligible for the next round of implementation funding.
“Every year the real need for climate resilience funding becomes even more important for our municipal partners, who have remained steadfast in their commitment to the hard work of preparing their communities for climate change,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Beth Card. “It is extremely gratifying to see more dollars than ever before being put towards local projects, such as drought mitigation, stormwater and culvert upgrades, and land acquisitions, which will have numerous positive impacts on the state’s residents for many years to come.”
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