The system through which localities must apply for relief funding after a disaster like a hurricane or flooding often stands in the way of low-income communities and communities of color from receiving the aid they deserve and need, E&E reports. “It’s a really daunting and complex program,” Amelia Muccio, director of mitigation at Hagerty Consulting Inc., an emergency management firm, told E&E. “There is a barrier to entry.” The Biden administration said it would double funding for climate pre-mitigation and relief, but the barrier to receiving those funds still poses a real problem for communities that lack the staff and expertise, or money to hire a consultant, needed to navigate the competitive post-disaster application system.

“There are a lot of areas that are communities of color or low-income communities that are very much threatened by climate change,” Adam Gordon, executive director of Fair Share Housing Center in New Jersey, told E&E. “Many are neighborhoods in cities or suburban areas or larger rural communities.” (E&E $)