The nearly $1 billion fund, established by the Inflation Reduction Act, aims to make low-income multifamily housing become more energy and water efficient, and more resilient to climate-driven impacts and disasters. “Our mission is to make sure that low-income people are participants in what we believe is going to be one of the biggest climate-focused projects across this country,” Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Marcia L. Fudge told the Washington Post. The program also has the authority to lend out as much as $4 billion, and establishes an initiative to collect and assess data on energy and water consumption in multifamily dwellings.
Low-income housing is often hit the hardest by climate impacts, one of the reasons being these communities tend to be concentrated in flood-prone areas and residents typically do not have disaster insurance. “The people who are harmed [by disasters] are disproportionately poor,” Fudge added. “The people who cannot afford flood insurance … these are the people who actually need more attention than the others.” (The Hill, Washington Post $)