Maryland Delegation Announces $93 Million to Fight Climate Change As Landmark Report Warns of Devastating Global Impacts

Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Ben Cardin, and Congressmen Steny H. Hoyer, Dutch Ruppersberger, John Sarbanes, Kweisi Mfume, Anthony Brown, Jamie Raskin and David Trone (all D-Md.) announced $93,289,392 in federal funding from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to strengthen Maryland’s ability to prevent and respond to climate change related natural disasters.

“Climate change is here,” the lawmakers said. “As we see an uptick in extreme weather-related emergencies, such as storms and coastal and inland flooding, this new federal funding will ensure our communities can withstand and mitigate the impacts of climate change. We must confront the urgent demands of a changing climate, and Team Maryland will continue working to secure additional funding to meet the immediate needs of our state’s infrastructure.”

This announcement is particularly timely: earlier this week, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released the Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis report, the most recent assessment of climate science to confirm the impacts are widespread and rapidly intensifying. 

The award is funded through the Disaster Relief Fund under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. The delegation previously announced nearly $3 million in federal funding from FEMA to invest in flood prevention and hazard mitigation efforts.