Seattle directs climate funding to frontline communities facing heat flooding and pollution

Seattle, Washington – This week, city officials said that Seattle is giving about $1 million to community-led projects that would help people who are most at risk from climate change. The money will go toward a number of local projects that aim to solve environmental problems while also helping neighborhoods who have traditionally had the most environmental problems establish leadership, skills, and resilience.

The city’s Environmental Justice Fund has given $934,616 to 12 community-based groups, KOMO NEWS reported. The awards went to projects that focused on adapting to climate change, teaching people about the environment, developing youth leadership skills, taking care of land, and training workers. City officials say the idea is to make sure that the people who are most affected by climate change are also the ones who come up with the solutions.

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The money goes to programs that help or are led by Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color, as well as immigrants, refugees, low-income individuals, youth, and elders. These groups are more likely to be affected by high heat, flooding, and air pollution, and these risks are likely to get worse as climate change speeds up.

There was a lot of demand for the money. The city got 52 offers for over $3.8 million, which is a lot more than the money it had available. Seattle has given more than $3.8 million to 82 projects that were made in direct partnership with frontline communities since the Environmental Justice Fund started in 2018.

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A large part of this year’s funding, $180,000, is going to projects in the Duwamish Valley, which includes the neighborhoods of South Park and Georgetown. Industrial pollution, a higher danger of flooding, and few job possibilities have long been problems in the area, making it a focus for environmental justice efforts.

The subsidies help organizations that promote food and environmental justice, restore wetlands, teach older people about the environment, and hold training for immigrant workers to help them avoid harmful chemicals. There were also a number of projects that focused on youth, such as paid internships, climate education, and healing camps for Indigenous and BIPOC youth.

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The Office of Sustainability and Environment, along with Seattle’s Environmental Justice Committee, which is made up of community members who have worked with a wide range of underserved and diverse communities, examined the applications.

Seattle’s Payroll Expense Tax pays for the Environmental Justice Fund. It is part of the city’s larger Equity and Environment Agenda and Green New Deal programs.