About

Pathways to the Future: air quality

The Climate Pollution Reduction Grant (CPRG) program is an important opportunity for the Richmond region to support green development while lowering harmful air pollution.    

Administered by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the CPRG program was established by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to fund the development and implementation of local and state climate action plans.

 

Key CPRG Grant Program Steps

  • Due March 1, 2024

    • Near-term, implementation-ready, priority greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction measures

    • Prerequisite for implementation grant

  • Due April 1, 2024

    • Applications for implementation grants corresponding to PCAP priorities

  • Due December 2025

    • Near- and long-term GHG emission reduction goals and strategies

    • Emissions reduction targets for 2030 and 2050

    • Impact assessment on low-income and disadvantaged communities

    • Workforce development analysis

  • Due in 2027

    • Updated analyses and plans

    • Progress and next steps for key metrics

In 2023, the EPA distributed planning grants to states, local governments, tribes, and other entities to develop and implement Priority Climate Action Plans (PCAP) and Comprehensive Climate Action Plans (CCAP). PlanRVA received $1 million to develop a plan for the Richmond Metro Statistical Area.

 

The Pathways to the Future: Air Quality Plan is a roadmap for tackling damaging air pollution while supporting the creation of good jobs, investing in communities, and improving public health by reducing exposure to harmful air pollution. 

Where we are now: The Comprehensive Climate Action Plan  

PlanRVA and its partners submitted the first phase, the Priority Climate Action Plan (PCAP) to the EPA on March 1, 2024, leveraging feedback from the community and local data in the transportation and waste sectors. More than 800 people in the region engaged in the process.

Now, the organization is focusing on phase 2: its Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP), which will detail long-term strategies across all sectors of the economy to lower air pollution. Your perspective is critical for this plan.   

Sectors in the plan include: agriculture and working lands, buildings, industry, energy, transportation and waste. 

The plan will also incorporate an analysis of current and projected pollution emissions and will establish reduction targets for 2030 and 2050.

The region’s CCAP is due to the EPA in December 2025.

PlanRVA fielded an online survey and hosted a series of public events to collect community input during the spring and summer of 2024. Our community report is available now!

Community feedback: Key to developing the CCAP 

PlanRVA and its locality partners are focused on collecting community feedback during the planning process, with an emphasis on engaging overburdened and historically underinvested communities throughout the region. 

PlanRVA organized a series of intercepts, focus groups, and community ideation sessions in 2024, in addition to an online survey, to hear from people living in the region about their ideas for reducing climate pollution. Your feedback will be shared with workgroups developing the measures for the plan. Check out the Community Feedback page to see the results of this effort.

Sign up to stay informed about community engagement updates.

A critical resource for the region’s future 

When it comes to reducing harmful air pollution, it’s important we have a shared vision and plan for the region. Pathways to the Future: Air Quality will guide regional partners in future actions to mitigate dangerous air contaminants.   

This plan represents one of the first opportunities to collect and aggregate data related to local sources of air pollution, along with strategies to reduce impacts.