U.S President Barrack Obama announced Tuesday some initiatives that will help mitigate and prevent the ill effects of climate change.
The proposal for the mitigation measures were outlined in the president's 2015 Budget Proposal submitted to the Congress. These measures include more funding for satellites used in monitoring weather disturbances, revising government expenditure in preventing wildfires, and a $1 billion resiliency fund intended to help communities deal with the adverse effects of climate change.
The $1 billion resiliency fund is part of a larger $56 billion plan proposed by the White House. This plan includes increased spending on training teachers, renovating national parks, and upgrading the nation's electric supply. The resiliency fund will be used to assist communities in dealing with climate-change related disasters such as intense drought, wildfires, and extreme flooding.
"We are beginning to recognize that the climate is changing, despite the efforts we are taking to affect the trajectory," head of the Environmental Protection Agency, Gina McCarthy, told Bloomberg.
"The president has great hope that the Congress will see the resiliency fund as having great impact on communities across the United States," she added.
As early as now, disagreement over this proposed fund was being expressed by members of the Congress. Louisiana Senator David Vitter, who is a Republican, criticized the fund, calling it part of the plan which "wastes taxpayer dollars".
On the other hand, director of climate strategy at the Center for American Progress, Daniel J. Weiss, stated that he is worried that the Congress will disapprove the resiliency fund.
"It's a great place to begin this discussion, but will the Republican-led House of Representatives fund anything with the word 'climate' in it," he said to Bloomberg.
John Podesta of the Center of American Progress was the one who first thought of the resiliency fund. The fund could be sustained by creating a stable source of revenue such as imposing stricter fees on oil imports and electricity from fossil fuels.
