Bay Area receives $42 million to combat climate change

The Bay Area will be receiving tens of millions of dollars of funding to plant trees and combat climate change, as a result of the Inflation Reduction Act.

The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service, and is part of the 102.8 million dollar grant awarded to the state.

According to data from U.S. Senator Alex Padilla’s office, San Francisco and Oakland will be receiving 12 million dollars and eight million dollars, respectively, to plant trees and create climate-ready urban spaces.

Planting and maintaining trees can filter out pollution, reduce energy consumption, lower temperatures, and provide more access to green spaces in our communities.

This funding could continue reversing the “tree equity” gap in Bay Area cities. In the case of San Francisco, uneven tree coverage is rooted in historical policies that made it difficult to plant trees in redlined districts.One consideration: the types of trees municipalities will plant. As we saw with heavy rainfall last winter — some trees can have difficulty weathering storms.

Other Bay Area municipalities which will receive funding include: Berkeley, Concord, Petaluma, and Santa Cruz, which were all awarded a million dollars each.