Acting Deputy Secretary Daniel-Davis Highlights Progress in Advancing Nature Based Solutions, Clean Energy Future at COP29

Date: Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Contact: [email protected]

BAKU, Azerbaijan - Acting Deputy Secretary Laura Daniel-Davis today - at the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Baku - highlighted the progress made under the Biden-Harris administration towards addressing climate change and economic inequity through nature-based solutions. She also spotlighted the Department's work strengthen Tribal communities by funding the electrification of homes with clean, renewable energy.

Acting Deputy Secretary Daniel-Davis joined the Building Climate Resilience through Nature-based Solutions event at the U.S. Center, where officials from across the federal government highlighted partnerships with international and U.S. stakeholders to accelerate the accessibility and implementation of locally-led, nature-based solutions, which apply natural processes as a robust and durable way to reduce natural disaster risks to communities and support climate adaptation.

In remarks to the group, Acting Deputy Secretary Daniel-Davis announced that the Department is launching an enhanced digital Nature-Based Solutions Roadmap in partnership with Duke University. This resource will serve as a user-friendly, accessible publicly available guide for practitioners and site users to learn about opportunities to incorporate nature-based solutions in their work, including over 400 case studies of nature-based solutions projects taking place in the United States and internationally, by Department staff, partners and other key organizations advancing nature-based solutions.

In addition to advancing the use of nature-based solutions, the Department is also publishing guidance for Implementing Landscape-Level Approaches to Resource Management as well as Best Practices for Incorporating Climate Change Science into Department of the Interior Analyses, Consultations, and Decision Making.

Acting Deputy Secretary Daniel-Davis met with officials from the International Union for Conservation of Nature today to discuss their shared goals of advancing nature-based Solutions, Landscape Approaches, Ecosystem Connectivity, and Indigenous Knowledge.

Through President Biden's Investing in America agenda, the Interior Department is stewarding an overall $2 billion over five years in new investments to put people to work improving millions of acres and restoring our nation's lands and waters. The Department's Restoration and Resilience Framework is guiding these historic investments to catalyze coordination and drive transformational outcomes across our existing programs and initiatives. Additionally, the Department is rolling out a new interactive StoryMap today, focusing on these investments.

Acting Deputy Secretary Daniel-Davis also joined U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to deliver remarks at USDA's event, The Inflation Reduction Act: Changing the Trajectory for Climate-Smart Agriculture and Forestry, Energy Transition, and Rural Economies. She discussed the Department's first-of-its-kind Tribal Electrification Program, which was launched with a $150 million investment from the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest ever investment in climate.

In only its second year, the program is providing financial and technical assistance to 23 Tribes to connect homes in Tribal communities to transmission and distribution that is powered by clean energy; provide electricity to unelectrified homes through zero-emissions energy systems; transition electrified homes to zero-emissions energy systems; and support associated home repairs and retrofitting necessary to install these systems. In addition, the program supports clean energy workforce development opportunities in Indian Country and is a critical step toward the goal of electrifying all homes in the United States with clean energy sources.

###