First ‘EJ4Climate’ Grant Program selects 15 winning Proposals from Across North America
Montreal, 22 February 2022 — Today, the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) selected the first EJ4Climate grant recipients.
“For our inaugural EJ4Climate grant cycle, we received applications from amazing projects working all across North America,” said Violaine Pronovost, CEC Grant Programs Coordinator. “The 15 winning projects address environmental justice in a diverse array of underserved and vulnerable communities in the entire region. They will have strong social and environmental impacts.”
The EJ4Climate selection committee chose 15 final projects, five per country, from over 375 proposals: 57 (15%) from Canada, 144 (38%) from Mexico, and 174 (47%) from the United States. Each selected project included active community involvement, an emphasis on promoting partnerships, a sound implementation plan and measurable objectives and activities that could be achieved within the project life cycle.
The selected projects meet the CEC Council’s strategic objectives for this program to support model environmental initiatives that will help build long-term partnerships and promote a shared responsibility and stewardship for the environment.
Work on the selected projects will begin in February 2022 and end in February 2024.
Congratulations to the following organizations:
Canada
- Toronto Environmental Alliance, project Community-led Climate Solutions for Vertical Communities
- The Resilience Institute, project Seeding the Future – Adaptation to Climate Impacts through Healthy Ecosystems and Traditional Plants in the Piikani First Nation
- Watershed Watch Salmon Society, project Increasing the Flood Resilience of Lower Fraser First Nations Communities, While Rebuilding Damaged Salmon Habitats
- Gitga’at First Nation, project Gitga’at Seafood Safety and Food Sovereignty in the Context of Climate Change
- Sahtú Renewable Resources Board, project Dene Béré Harvesting Programs for Women and Youth
Mexico
- Consejo Civil Mexicano para la Silvicultura Sostenible, project Rural Women Leaders in the Adaptation to Climate Change.
- Conservación de la Naturaleza en Oaxaca A.C., project Community Mangrove Restoration and Regenerative Ecotourism
- KO´OX TANI Fundacion para el desarrollo comunitario y la inclusión social, A.C., project Women Saving to Confront Cimate Change
- Guacamayas Calentanas A.C., project Environmental Restoration Strategies to Increase Resilience in Rural Areas that are Extremely Marginalized, as well as Important for Biodiversity
- Paisajes y Personas Resilientes A.C., project Community Participation in the Development of Cimate Change Resilience Strategies for Coastal Areas
United States
- Conservation Trust for North Carolina, project Seeding Resilience in Princeville II: Community-driven Adaptation to Climate
- Native Village of Eyak, project Sustainable Ecosystems and Resilient Economies through Mariculture
- Upper Gila Watershed Alliance, project Silver City Carboneers
- Common Ground Relief, project Marsh Restoration at Grand Bayou Indian Village
- Greater Baltimore Wilderness Coalition, project Turner Station Witness Trees
The CEC’s EJ4Climate grant program supports nonprofit and nongovernmental entities in Canada, Mexico and the United States that work closely with local and Indigenous communities to foster their resilience to climate change and climate-related impacts.
To learn more about EJ4Climate, visit www.cec.org/ej4climate.
The CEC announced 15 North American environmental justice and climate resilience projects to receive inaugural EJ4Climate grant.
About the CEC
The Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) was established in 1994 by the governments of Canada, Mexico and the United States through the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation, a parallel environmental agreement to NAFTA. As of 2020, the CEC is recognized and maintained by the Environmental Cooperation Agreement, in parallel with the new Free Trade Agreement of North America. The CEC brings together a wide range of stakeholders, including the general public, Indigenous people, youth, nongovernmental organizations, academia, and the business sector, to seek solutions to protect North America’s shared environment while supporting sustainable development for the benefit of present and future generations
The CEC is governed and funded equally by the Government of Canada through Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Government of the United States of Mexico through the Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales, and the Government of the United States of America through the Environmental Protection Agency.