Connecticut awarding $8.8 million in grants for climate resilience projects. See who got awards.

Connecticut is awarding $8.8 million in grants through its first round of the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Climate Resilience Fund, according to Gov. Ned Lamont.

The grants are intended to help 21 “innovative climate resilience” plans and projects across 17 of the state municipalities, and councils of governments.

The goal is for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to provide “planning support to local governments, nonprofits, and others seeking to advance climate resilience projects,” with the idea of then allowing recipients to seek “federal funding for construction and implementation phases,” Lamont’s office said in a statement.

This includes DEEP using the funds to “catalyze Connecticut’s resilience project pipeline and ensure our communities are competitive for federal resources,” the statement said.

“Connecticut is already playing a leading role in addressing the challenge of climate change because making those investments means healthier people and a healthier environment, as well as new business opportunities,” Lamont said in the statement. “Planning for climate resilience requires preserving and protecting what we love about this state so that we can continue to be a great place for families with clean air and water and thriving communities.”

Lamont also noted the first round of funding will include more than 90% of funds going to “vulnerable communities that will feel the effects of climate change first and worst, including 10 municipalities that are designated by state statute as ‘environmental justice communities.’”

“Investing in reducing climate-changing emissions and preparing for future extreme storms and events by building community resilience is critical to Connecticut’s future, particularly for our most vulnerable communities,” DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes said, also in the statement. “Through this funding, DEEP is providing planning support to municipalities and nonprofits, and building the state’s resilience project pipeline to ensure our communities are well-positioned to compete for the historic federal funding available, that projects get built, and that our communities are better protected from climate-related impacts.”