The American Climate Corps was a national service of the US government focused on

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

prevention. It was launched in September 2023 by the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...

, and is a government interagency project between the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA ) is an American scientific and regulatory agency charged with Weather forecasting, forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, Hydrography, charting the seas, ...

and the Departments of Labor, Interior, Agriculture,

Energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...

, and

AmeriCorps AmeriCorps ( ; officially the Corporation for National and Community Service or CNCS) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government that engages more than five million Americans in ...

. The service planned to recruit 20,000 young people, and train them for public service or the private sector. On January 20th, 2025,

President Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021. ...

canceled the Climate Corps via executive order:

All activities, programs, and operations associated with the American Climate Corps, including actions taken by any agency shall be terminated immediately. Within one day of the date of this order, the Secretary of the Interior shall submit a letter to all parties to the 'American Climate Corps Memorandum of Understanding' dated December 2023 to terminate the memorandum, and the head of each party to the memorandum shall agree to the termination in writing.

Forest Corps

The Climate Corps has a 5-year, $15 million partnership through the

US Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...

for establishing a Forest Corps with a highest priority of confronting the

wildfire A wildfire, forest fire, or a bushfire is an unplanned and uncontrolled fire in an area of Combustibility and flammability, combustible vegetation. Depending on the type of vegetation present, a wildfire may be more specifically identified as a ...

crisis. The Forest Corps plans to employ 80 people aged 18–26 beginning in the summer of 2024. These positions requiring no prior education or experience will pay a compensation package of lodging, transportation, clothing, a living allowance, and health benefits equivalent to $15 per hour.

Career skills training program

The

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear w ...

will allocate $10 million in

grants Grant or Grants may refer to: People * Grant (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Grant (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters ** Ulysses S. Grant (1822–1885), the 18th president of the U ...

to support

classroom A classroom, schoolroom or lecture room is a learning space in which both children and adults learn. Classrooms are found in educational institutions of all kinds, ranging from preschools to universities, and may also be found in other place ...

instruction and

on-the-job training On-the-job training (widely known as OJT) is an important topic of human resource management. It helps develop the career of the individual and the prosperous growth of the organization. On-the-job training is a form of training provided at the wo ...

for individuals seeking industry-related

certification Certification is part of testing, inspection and certification and the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestatio ...

s in energy efficient building technologies. Grant applicants must submit a community benefits plan by 27 November 2023. The plan must explain how the proposal will contribute to local community and labor support, workforce development, diversity, equity, inclusion, and initiatives for economic and

environmental justice Environmental justice is a social movement that addresses injustice that occurs when poor or marginalized communities are harmed by hazardous waste, resource extraction, and other land uses from which they do not benefit. The movement has gene ...

Initial operation and further expansion

Building from the existence and success of other climate corps programs such as SEI's Climate Corps and California Climate Action Corp, the American Climate Corps is expected to begin functioning in April 2024 with several hundred members. The tasks are not defined precisely, but will "likely include things like installing solar panels, restoring vulnerable habitats, and fire hazard prevention." The needed skills will strongly differ between the different tasks: some tasks will need only "skills like communications, conflict resolution, teamwork, critical thinking, problem-solving, reliability," while others will require also

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

. According to the Biden administration, in the first year the number of participants is expected to be 20,000, with 50,000 more added each year by 2031. However, this plan is strongly opposed by Republicans. On

Earth Day Earth Day is an annual event on April 22 to demonstrate support for environmental protection. First held on April 22, 1970, it now includes a wide range of events coordinated globally through earthday.org (formerly Earth Day Network) includin ...

2024, in

Prince William Forest Park Prince William Forest Park is a National Park Service (NPS) site in the U.S. state of Virginia within Prince William County (and very partially Stafford County), located adjacent to the Marine Corps Base Quantico near the town of Dumfries. Est ...

created by the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government unemployment, work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was ...

, Biden officially launched the corps' website, in which people can apply for the available jobs. 2,000 jobs were already available when the declaration was made. More than 42,000 people expressed interest in participating. The first class of members was sworn in, in mid June 2024. By the end of that month, the number of members in place was expected to reach 9,000.

References

External links

*
Archived website
{{Authority control 2023 establishments in the United States Biden administration initiatives Climate change policy in the United States Organizations based in Washington, D.C. Climate Corps National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration United States Department of Agriculture United States Department of Energy United States Department of Labor United States Department of the Interior

Forest Corps

Career skills training program

Initial operation and further expansion

See also

References

External links