President Joe Biden has taken executive action to establish the “Climate Corps” program, responding to mounting pressure from environmental advocates. This initiative, unveiled on Wednesday, is designed to provide paid training opportunities to 20,000 young individuals, equipping them with the skills needed for high-paying careers in clean energy, conservation, and climate-related fields.
The approval of the Climate Corps program follows a previous attempt to create a similar initiative last year, which faced opposition from Republicans.
According to a fact sheet released by the White House, the Climate Corps program aims to engage a new generation by “putting them to work conserving and restoring our lands and waters, enhancing community resilience, deploying clean energy solutions, implementing energy-efficient technologies, and advancing environmental justice.” Simultaneously, the program aims to create pathways to high-quality, well-compensated positions in the public and private sectors, following the completion of participants' paid training programs.
Today, we are mobilizing the next generation of clean energy, conservation, and climate resilience workers.
Join us at https://t.co/dp0NctSzPp pic.twitter.com/vKjvLalUbV
— President Biden (@POTUS) September 20, 2023
Crucially, the initiative is grounded in principles of equity, with a focus on prioritizing communities that have historically been underserved. The fact sheet notes that as of the announcement, ten states are in the process of launching their own Climate Corps programs. Five states, including California, Colorado, Maine, Michigan, and Washington, have already initiated similar programs. Ali Zaidi, White House climate adviser, disclosed that five additional states are set to introduce their versions of the Climate Corps program.
While the exact cost and funding details of the program have not yet been disclosed, the Biden administration has pledged a broad array of benefits to support the transition to clean energy, particularly through the provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act passed in 2022.
As the 2024 U.S. presidential elections draw nearer, the Biden administration is positioning itself as a formidable contender committed to fulfilling climate objectives. Earlier this month, the administration took the significant step of halting oil drilling on ten million acres of land in Alaska, canceling leases that had been approved during the preceding Trump administration.
