The U.S. EPA announced that 45 states and dozens of metropolitan areas submitted priority climate action plans as part of applying for the agency’s Climate Pollution Reduction Grants program. The program, created through the Inflation Reduction Act, makes $4.6 billion in competitive grant funding available for governments to implement the measures their plans describe.

Under a previous program phase, EPA distributed $250 million to governments to help them develop their plans. Recipients included 45 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, 80 metropolitan statistical areas, four territories and more than 200 tribes and tribal consortia.

“The diversity of ideas and ambitious initiatives from all across the country reflect the seriousness that states and metropolitan areas are bringing to the work of cutting pollution, acting on climate change, and meeting their local objectives,” Jennifer Macedonia, deputy assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation, said in a statement last week. “These climate action plans demonstrate substantial progress for states and local governments, in coordination with their communities, to chart their path forward — building healthy communities and competitive local economies where climate solutions can thrive.”

Comprehensive climate action plans are due by the second half of 2025 for most grantees. Those plans will include a broader array of measures to reduce greenhouse gases.