Climate Pollution Reduction Grant
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and State Energy Office is partnering with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure the health and well-being of North Carolinians and to support initiatives to mitigate climate destabilization through the reduction of harmful air pollutants, also known as greenhouse gases (GHG).
North Carolina has a clear and vested interest to improve resilience from increased storm frequency and intensity, to produce reliable and affordable clean energy, and to improve the air quality in NC. Additionally, much of NC’s infrastructure is increasingly vulnerable to changing climatic conditions.
As a part of the Inflation Reduction Act, the Climate Pollution Reduction Grant program provides states, local governments, territories and tribes with funds to develop and implement plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other harmful air pollutants.
In 2024, North Carolina submitted multiple applications for an implementation grant. The EPA awarded a bipartisan multi-state coalition led by the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources $421 million to support conservation and restoration of natural lands across North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland.
NC Climate Plans
As part of the CPRG planning program, North Carolina is required to develop a Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) and a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP). The PCAP identifies the state's highest priority greenhouse gas reduction measures. The CCAP will update and expand upon North Carolina’s existing climate strategies, ensuring these documents align with the latest available science, modeling, and best practices.
CPRG Timeline
DEQ received a $3 million award in July 2023 for planning activities. The CPRG planning grant and process will cover all of NC and includes ways to reduce greenhouse gas and other air pollutants in two phases:
- Development of a Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) to identify near-term and high impact projects and strategies to reduce GHG and other air pollutant emissions.
- Development of a Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) to implement a longer-term statewide plan to reduce GHG and other air pollutant emissions.
The PCAP was developed with stakeholder and public engagement and identifies North Carolina’s highest priority greenhouse gas reduction measures and the path to ensure equitable implementation for the benefit all North Carolinians.
On April 1, 2025, NC DEQ and the SEO submitted a grant totaling nearly $200 million to support priority, shovel ready projects across the state that could produce significant reductions in greenhouse gases as outlined in the PCAP. EPA did not fund DEQ's implementation workplan.
The North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR) did receive an award of $421,238,074 and is leading a four-state coalition to protect and restore wetlands and forests on natural and working lands. DNCR will receive $50,000,000 to protect and restore wetlands and forests on natural and working lands in NC. The coalition will also allocate funds to the Maryland Department of the Environment, the South Carolina Office of Resilience, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), and the Virginia DEQ.
The second deliverable of the CPRG program is the Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP).
The CCAP will update and expand upon North Carolina’s existing climate strategies, ensuring that these planning documents align with the latest available science, modeling, and best practices. This plan will align with existing goals and requirements for reducing GHG emissions and increasing clean energy generation. This plan will cover all source sectors of the GHG inventory. The CCAP must be submitted to EPA by December 2025.
The CCAP planning document will contain current and projected GHG emissions levels and benefits.