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Preserving and Protecting the Nation’s Lands and

Waters for Climate Mitigation and Resilience

In the first days of his Administration, President Biden issued Executive Order 14008, “Tackling
the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad,” which called for a bold, all of government approach to
climate mitigation and resilience, including conserving, connecting, and restoring 30 percent of
our lands and waters by 2030. To meet the ambition of that conservation goal, the Biden-Harris
Administration launched America the Beautiful, a decade-long challenge to pursue a locally led
and voluntary nationwide effort to conserve, connect, and restore the lands, waters, and wildlife
upon which we all depend. In October of 2021, the Administration also stood up the Ocean
Policy Committee, which is working to develop the nation’s first ever Ocean Climate Action
Plan to recruit the natural capacity of the ocean in fighting the climate crisis.

On Earth Day 2022, President Biden took the next step and issued Executive Order 14072,
“Strengthening the Nation’s Forests, Communities, and Local Economies,” which called for
science-based, sustainable forest and land management; conservation of America’s mature and
old-growth forests; investment in forest health and restoration; and deployment of climate-smart
forestry practices and other nature-based solutions to improve the resilience of our lands, waters,
wildlife, and communities in the face of worsening climate impacts. At COP27 in Egypt, the
Biden-Harris Administration released the Nature-Based Solutions Roadmap for how the United
States can unlock the full potential of nature-based solutions to address climate change, nature
loss, and inequity.

The Inflation Reduction Act makes critical investments in the nation’s lands and waters to
protect ecosystems, encourage new economic activity around recreation, protect and restore
important carbon sinks, and make landscapes more resilient to wildfires. In addition, the law
invests in urban areas without adequate greenspace to mitigate heat island impacts and extreme
heat emergencies. This funding complements investments in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
for nature-based climate mitigation and resilience solutions, including significant resources for
coastal ecosystems and wildfire prevention and response.

Funding Overview

The Inflation Reduction Act recognizes the importance of conserving, connecting, and restoring
the nation’s coasts, marshes, forests, and landscapes as a means to sequester carbon and deploy
nature-based defenses to climate impacts. The law also prioritizes reducing the risks posed by
catastrophic wildfires. Highlights include:

• $2.6 billion to support coastal resilience and conservation, restoration, and
protection of coastal and marine habitat and resources, including fisheries. This
complements nearly $3 billion in funding in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that will
support vital ecosystems and the blue economy by reopening stream and river passage for
fish, restoring marsh habitats that buffer storm surge and flooding, protecting corals from
climate stress to serve as natural wave breaks that protect coastal economies, and
restoring habitat nationwide.

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