The $1-trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) signed into law Nov. 15 includes funding for “nature-based” infrastructure, a sign of the growing bipartisan support among lawmakers and federal officials for approaching flood control and other climate change-related projects by working with natural systems, rather than trying to control them, according to current and former officials at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
IIJA allocates $47 billion for climate-resiliency projects, which include not only flood and coastal projects but also infrastructure to shore up protection from the extreme storms, droughts and wildfires associated with the climate crisis.