Description
Full RFP Name: Implementation Grants for Community Resilience
Minnesota’s climate is changing – it is happening here and now and will continue well into the future. We see the harmful effects in communities across our state today, from our own health and safety to overwhelmed infrastructure, damaged property, dying trees and culturally important native species, and the inability of population centers to cool off overnight. Climate trends identified through monitoring over decades of changes in temperature and precipitation, snow depth, and lake ice, storms and droughts, our growing season, and more show that Minnesota is becoming warmer and wetter, with more damaging rains, and cold weather warming. More extreme heatwaves and extended periods of drought alternating with intense precipitation are expected in the future.
The Minnesota Climate Action Framework defines resilience (to climate change) as “The capacity of individuals, communities, businesses, buildings, infrastructure or the natural environment to prevent, withstand, respond to, and recover from disruptive events and continue to perform despite persistent stresses imposed by climate change.”
During the 2023 Legislative Session, ongoing funding was appropriated in the Omnibus Environment, Natural Resources, Climate, and Energy bill H.F. 2310, Article 1, Sec. 2, Subdivision 2(k) to support communities in planning and implementing projects for climate resiliency and water infrastructure that will allow for adaptation for a changing climate. The funding in this RFP provides an opportunity for communities to address implementation needs for publicly owned community assets that need to be installed, upgraded, or hardened for resilience and continuity of operations and/or to protect public health during extreme weather and the ongoing impacts of Minnesota’s changing climate.
This grant encourages climate resilience projects that also include other public benefits, such as creating a community amenity, reducing impervious surfaces, providing pollutant treatment, or increasing energy efficiency. This grant also encourages meaningful involvement with the community, for example, by providing engagement opportunities beyond the regularly scheduled council meetings.