Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the White House Tribal Nations Summit at the Interior Department on Nov. 30, 2022.

Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the White House Tribal Nations Summit at the Interior Department on Nov. 30, 2022. Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Here Are the Climate Programs Tribal Nations Can Access

A new guide from the White House outlines funding options available under the Inflation Reduction Act.

The White House released a guide on Tuesday explaining how Tribal Nations and communities can take advantage of the millions of dollars in climate programming set aside for them in the Inflation Reduction Act, which took effect in August. 

“For far too long, federal programs and resources to develop clean, affordable, and reliable energy have been inaccessible to Native communities,” said John Podesta, senior adviser to the president for Clean Energy Innovation and Implementation. The guide describes current and pending programs as well as the available funding and timelines for such:

Whitehouse.gov

Further updates will be published on www.CleanEnergy.gov

In addition, there are billions of dollars in competitive grants and other funding from the Inflation Reduction Act that Tribes and Tribal entities can apply to for assistance. These involve clean energy development and manufacturing, pollution reduction, conservation and nature-based resilience and climate-friendly agriculture. 

Additionally, “as non-taxable entities, Tribes generally have not benefited from clean energy tax credits designed to incentivize clean energy deployment,” said the White House in a statement. “Now, the Inflation Reduction Act allows Tribes to receive direct payments in lieu of tax credits, allowing them to get money back on their clean energy investments,” which the guide also outlines. Most tax incentives that were either established or modified by the Inflation Reduction Act took effect in 2023.