U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Marcia Fudge and Deputy Secretary Adrianne Todman spoke at the 27th UN Climate Conference (COP27) about what actions their agency has taken to reduce its energy and carbon footprint.
HUD’s climate action plan, initially introduced at COP26 in response to President Joseph Biden’s executive order on tackling the climate crisis at home and abroad, was discussed at the first ministerial meeting on urbanization and climate change.
“The United States has taken bold action to protect our climate future over the past year,” Fudge said. “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.”
Throughout 2022, HUD invested in programs like the green and resilient retrofit program, allocating $1 billion to support energy and water efficiency retrofits and climate resilience for HUD-assisted multifamily properties. The agency stated the investment will improve the stock of affordable housing available to many low and extremely low-income families, often in marginalized communities.
Other actions include the partnering with local leaders under the HUD Climate Communities Initiative to help cities respond to the climate crisis; committing to the creation of an equitable decarbonization plan to aid the agency in meeting the U.S.’s goal to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050; updating the Community Development Block Grant – Discovery Recovery grant requirements to include a greater emphasis on climate mitigation, equity, and green building; aligning building and substantial rehabilitation incentives and requirements with energy efficiency and equitable decarbonization goals; and making available nearly $590 million for programs to assess and remediate lead-based paint and other housing-related health hazards.
“HUD is committed to working to build resilient communities and to address the effects of climate change” Todman said. “We applaud the convening of the Ministerial Meeting on Urbanization and Climate Change at COP27.”
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