Miami (EFE)
Harris made the announcement on the same day that US President Joe Biden signed an executive order creating the White House Office of Environmental Justice.
“We have to talk about the climate crisis, which poses a profound threat to the world. I don’t have to tell anyone that hurricanes are getting stronger,” said the vice president, who mentioned Hurricane Ian, which in September 2022 caused catastrophic damage in southwest Florida.
Harris spoke in front of a group of students from the University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Sciences, located on Virginia Key in Miami Bay, where he toured with Andrew Baker. , professor of marine biology and ecology, as well as students from the center.
Founded in 1940, the Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Sciences has become one of the world’s leading academic institutions for oceanographic and atmospheric research. Its campus includes two NOAA laboratories and a high school dedicated to marine and scientific technology.
UM Rosenstiel researchers have been studying slowing ocean currents, aquaculture to replenish and protect fisheries, and how to repopulate dying coral reefs.
Benefit for 149 coastal communities
The coastal resiliency funding announced by Harris is targeting 149 coastal communities in 30 states to prepare for increased flooding.
Sea level rise and more intense storms, a proposal by the US Department of Commerce.
This is financial support for projects that want to reach 30 coastal states and territories through the Climate Prepared Coasts initiative.
Which is sponsored by the National Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA, in English).
According to a statement from the Department of Commerce, these projects are funded by the Biden-Harris Administration’s landmark Bipartisan Infrastructure Act (BIL) and supported by the Inflation Reduction Act.
The item includes $477 million for 149 nature-based infrastructure projects in 30 coastal states and territories.
fight against climate change
These projects want to “respond to extreme weather events, pollution, and marine debris,” as well as “restore coastal habitats to help wildlife and humans thrive,” the statement details.
Another $46 million is coming through NOAA’s National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s National Coastal Resiliency Fund for projects that will help coastal communities prepare for increased coastal flooding, sea level rise, and larger storms. intense.
Similarly, $39.1 million goes to the 34 state and territory coastal zone management programs and 30 national estuarine research reserves that work in partnership with NOAA under the Coastal Zone Management Act.
“These investments will create jobs while protecting people, communities and ecosystems from the threats of climate change, and help our nation take the steps it needs to become more resilient and build a clean energy economy,” he said at the statement Gina Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce.
Florida, among the most affected
Southeast Florida, and especially the city of Fort Lauderdale, some 40 kilometers north of Miami, which are among the US areas most vulnerable to global warming and sea level rise, are still suffering the consequences of a rain front with record rainfall that caused severe flooding last week.
Harris was joined in Florida by Democratic Reps. Frederica Wilson, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick and Jared Moskowitz.
During his visit, he conducted a television interview with the Hispanic channel Telemundo.
On March 8, Harris visited Miami Beach and championed the importance of embracing a “new clean energy economy” plus “technology, innovation and creativity.”