Biden delivers on major campaign promise with American Climate Corps

Today, President Biden delivered on a major promise of his 2020 campaign by announcing the creation of the American Climate Corps. The Executive Order, modeled after the “Civilian Conservation Corps” of the New Deal era that put millions of people to work on public lands, will create over 20,000 jobs for individuals across six federal agencies including the U.S Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior. 

“The American Climate Corps is a historic chance to put people to work advancing conservation projects and building resilience in areas hit first and worst by climate disaster,” said Paul Sanford, Director of Policy Analysis at The Wilderness Society. “This program makes good on one of President Biden’s major campaign promises to tackle the climate crisis with bold action, and will lend capacity to federal agencies in need of additional workforce. Climate change requires a whole-of-government response, and we're pleased that President Biden is taking this large, historic step to address the most pressing issue of our time.” 

As part of President Biden’s ambitious commitment to tackle the climate crisis, the Corps program will engage a new generation of 20,000 diverse Americans in conservation, clean energy, resilience and environmental justice efforts through a paid training program, with opportunities for high-quality, well-paying jobs in both the public and private sectors upon program completion.

Additionally, the American Climate Corps will strengthen the Biden administration’s commitment to equity and environmental justice by prioritizing underserved communities, including the energy communities that powered the nation for generations, and projects that help meet the administration’s Justice40 goal. 

The White House has launched a new website where anyone interested in joining or supporting the American Climate Corps can sign up to learn more: www.whitehouse.gov/climatecorps.

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For media inquiries, contact Jen Parravani at jparravani@tws.org or (202) 601-1931