Kamala Harris announces $1 billion in grants to address climate change during a Miami visit

The White House is making more than $1 billion available to states to address flooding and extreme heat exacerbated by climate change.

Vice President Kamala Harris announced the grant program Monday at Florida International University in Miami with Deanne Criswell,

the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and other officials.

Harris called climate change an “immediate” and “urgent” crisis as she detailed Biden administration efforts to respond to disasters such as deadly flooding in Kentucky and wildfires ravaging her home state of California.

"And here’s how it will work," Harris said. "So local governments apply for these grants. They tell us which projects will be most impacted and together we build those projects."

The competitive grants will help communities across the nation prepare for and respond to climate-related disasters.

Harris says the U.S. government is already partnering with groups in Miami-Dade on $50 million to protect low-lying neighborhoods from flooding caused by sea rise and hurricane storm surges.

Harris said last week's deadly flooding in Kentucky made clear the country is facing a climate crisis.

"The takeaway was clear," Harris said. "As the climate crisis gets worse, extreme weather will pose a rapidly growing danger to a rapidly growing number of communities."

Harris also says the administration has made it a priority to fight social and economic inequities exposed by climate change.

The announcement came after Harris visited the National Hurricane Center for a briefing about increasing risks from hurricanes.

WLRN reporter Nancy Klingener contributed to this report.

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