One of the largest efforts to relocate communities that are facing an urgent threat from climate change will be made by the Biden administration.
The three communities will each get $25 million to move their key buildings onto higher ground and away from rising waters with the expectation that homes will follow. The federal government will give more money to the tribes.
Joseph John Jr., a council member in Newtok, a village in southwest Alaska, said that he got goose bumps when he heard that the village had received money. The money will be used to relocate inland. It will be a big deal to us.
The project funded by the Interior Department acknowledges that a lot of places in the United States can no longer be protected against the effects of a warming planet. The spending is intended to create a plan for the federal government to help other communities move away from vulnerable areas.
The Saudi plan. Despite the scientific consensus that the world must move away from fossil fuels to avoid the worst consequences of global warming, Saudi Arabia is using lobbying, research funding and diplomatic activity to keep oil at the center of the world economy.
The people are being tracked. Climate TRACE uses data from satellites to track emissions from power plants, oil fields and cargo ships. A hyperlocal Atlas of the human activities that are altering the planet's chemistry has been created by the group.
Climate threats in the U.S. The effects of climate change are already far-reaching and worsening throughout the United States, posing risks to virtually every aspect of society. The United States has warmed more quickly than the rest of the world over the past 50 years.
Relocating whole communities is one of the most aggressive forms of adaptation to climate change. relocation may save money in the long run by reducing the amount of damage from future disasters along with the cost of rebuilding after those disasters.
Relocating is disruptive. The small coastal village of Isle de Jean Charles was given $48 million by the Obama administration to be relocated to the Gulf of Mexico. People started moving into their new homes this year after residents struggled to agree on where the new village should be.
It's difficult to decide which places to help first. The Bureau of Indian Affairs held a contest in which tribal nations applied for money to relocate. The bureau wouldn't say which tribes were chosen to help relocate, only that five received funding.
The process that led to the announcement of the $25 million awards was more transparent. There was no process for applying. The Bureau of Indian Affairs considered tribes that had already done some degree of planning for relocation and applied five criteria, including the amount of risk they currently faced and their readiness to move.
Newtok, a village on the shore of the Kuskokwim River that is losing 25 to 50 feet of land annually to erosion, was one of the tribes that received $25 million.
If eight other tribes decide to relocate, they will each get $5 million. The Chitimacha Tribe, in Louisiana, and the Yurok Tribe, in Northern California, are included.
Bryan Newland is an assistant secretary for Indian affairs at the Interior Department. The Bureau of Indian Affairs will benefit from the new funding because it will be able to coordinate its relocation efforts with other agencies.
Mr. Newland is a member of the Bay Mills Indian Community. We have to make sure that the tribes are able to exist.
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