Resource Oct 10, 2024

Inflation Reduction Act: Preparing parks for the future

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Passed in August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is the largest investment our country has made to cut climate pollution while preparing parks and communities from its impacts. $700 million has now been allocated to hire more staff and better prepare our parks’ natural, cultural and historic resources to withstand a changing climate. 

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Ākohekohe (crested honeycreeper) in Haleakala National Park.

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NPCA has long been a voice in the fight for more robust climate action for national parks. This historic bill finally became a reality thanks to our experts at NPCA, who advocated alongside millions of people demanding action on climate. NPCA and thousands of our members and supporters sent letters, made calls and traveled to Washington, DC, to urge elected officials to boost renewable energy and protect our parks from the impending effects of climate change. 

The Inflation Reduction Act came at a crucial time for national parks, which face natural disasters linked to human-caused climate change already. Record flooding buckled roads in Death Valley, enormous wildfires threaten Sequoia and its namesake trees and nonnative species, thriving in a warming climate, topple the ecological balance of Acadia National Park. These same climate disasters are devastating communities surrounding our parks as well. These effects spread across our nation and affect over 430 national park sites.

Report

Poll Shows Public Supports Inflation Reduction Act Funding for Climate Change

A new poll by the National Parks Conservation Association finds that most Americans support funding infrastructure that will help national parks withstand climate change.

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These weather events have not gone unnoticed. Most Americans – to the tune of 71% of them – are concerned about the future of U.S. national parks if more is not done to address climate change. And even more of them, nearly 4 in 5, support the IRA’s funding to the National Park Service to face climate change.

These IRA-funded projects throughout some of our most treasured and historically significant national parks respond directly to Americans’ concerns if more is not done to address climate change. In fact, 4 in 5 Americans support IRA’s funding to the National Park Service to rebuild green infrastructure.

Like our parks, the IRA is monumental. Yet twice as many projects were proposed than could be undertaken under the bill, demonstrating the demand for climate-conscious projects in national park sites.

To face climate change with our best resources, we need our national parks to thrive and lead the way. Americans are united over our public lands, making them a political solution as well as our physical way forward, demonstrating how places can rise to the unique and unprecedented challenges of the climate crisis. Learn more about the ongoing successes of IRA projects across the National Park System below.

More on the Inflation Reduction Act

Press Release Momentous Victory for Our National Parks and Communities in the Fight Against Climate Change Aug 2022 “This robust bill addresses the climate problem head-on by transitioning the nation to clean energy, reducing pollution, creating jobs and boosting the economy, all vital measures that will ensure our national parks and communities can thrive for generations to come.” - Theresa Pierno, NPCA’s President and CEO
Press Release National Park Service Announces Additional Projects to Prepare for Climate Change Feb 2024 “It is clear that parks across this country must respond to the urgent need for action and infrastructure as we face more severe, intense climate disasters… Parks need sustained funding to prepare for the future so they can thrive, not just survive.” –Chad Lord, NPCA’s Senior Director of Environmental Policy and Climate Change
Blog Post A Critical Moment for the Climate Aug 2022 | By Chad Lord The new Inflation Reduction Act would authorize nearly $1 billion for the National Park Service to respond to climate change, among its many benefits. Here’s what’s in the bill, what’s at stake — and what you can do.
Blog Post National Parks Are in Climate Distress. This Law is One Step Toward a Solution. Aug 2023 | By Daniel Hart, Lam Ho A year after its passage, 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act remains a historic climate investment in national parks. It can’t be the only one. 
Blog Post The Inflation Reduction Act Readies National Parks for Climate Change Oct 2024 | By Lam Ho From the mountains of Hawaii to East Coast grasslands, infusions of funding from 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act are preparing our national parks to fight the greatest threat to the National Park System: climate change.
Spreadsheet Inflation Reduction Act Park Projects in the Mid-Atlantic Enacted in August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act allocated close to $700 million to the NPS. This allocation would help recruit additional staff for national parks and enhance the resilience of national parks against climate challenges. Below is a list of funding allocated to Mid-Atlantic national parks in the Financial Year 2023.

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