PROVIDENCE – A new municipal climate resilience program has been launched by the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank and The Nature Conservancy, the organizations announced Monday.
The Resilient Rhody Municipal Resilience Program will provide technical assistance and the ability to apply for implementation funds.
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As part of the program, The Nature Conservancy will support municipalities in completing a climate vulnerability assessment and in creating a prioritized list of actionable plans and projects through the Community Resilience Building process, a scale-able collaborative process.
After completing the program, municipalities will be eligible to apply for implementation funds from the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank. Municipalities will also be designated as a “Resilient Rhody Municipality” upon successful completion of the program.
The program supports the goals outlined by Gov. Gina M. Raimondo in her Climate Resilience Action Strategy released in 2018. The program was also called Resilient Rhody.
“The infrastructure bank’s expanded mandate allows us to provide competitive financing to a wide variety of infrastructure projects throughout Rhode Island,” stated Jeffrey Diehl, executive director and CEO of the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank. “The bank looks forward to working more closely with cities and towns to finance more climate resilience infrastructure projects and develop specific resilience plans for communities through the municipal resilience project.”
The organizations said all municipalities in Rhode Island are eligible to participate but only three would be selected for the first round of the program.
“Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges we face,” stated Raimondo. “It threatens both our natural resources and our public health. I’m committed to continuing to grow our state’s climate resilience effort, and I thank the infrastructure bank and The Nature Conservancy for their work on the Municipal Resilience Program.”
The submission deadline is March 29. Details of the request for proposals may be found online.
Chris Bergenheim is the PBN web editor. Email him at Bergenheim@PBN.com.
