The White House on Wednesday unveiled an innovative climate jobs training program claims to bring 20,000 people into the workforce within its first year working on projects such as the restoration of land, improving communities’ ability to withstand natural disasters, and using green energy.
The American Climate Corps is modeled after a program which employed millions of people throughout the Great Depression. Biden’s climate policy adviser Ali Zaidi told reporters that the program’s objectives go beyond than addressing climate change.
“We’re creating opportunities for good-paying jobs and lifetimes of involvement in creating communities that are more fair and sustainable, as well as durable,” Zaidi said.
It will provide a salary to participants and the majority of posts will not require previous knowledge. The administration is also preparing new regulations to make participants more able to be able to work in the federal government after the completion of the program.
The announcement was in the works for a while
Biden initially called on the government to come up with the means to create an “civilian Climate Corps” through an executive decision within the first week of his presidency. Biden said that he was hopeful that the new corps could “mobilize the future generation of resilience and conservationists and increase the number of affordable training opportunities and decent jobs.”
The concept of a climate organization was born with environmental activists from progressive groups which included those led by youth Sunrise Movement.
“We require many millions, particularly young people, to perform the crucial task of preventing climate catastrophes and establishing a fair and sustainable new economy,” stated Varshini Prakash who is the group’s executive director who has provided advice to members of the White House on climate issues.
“I am happy to announce that the White House has been responsive to the demands of our generation for an Climate Corps and that President Biden acknowledges that this is only the beginning of constructing the future climate workforce,” Prakash told reporters.
Biden has been attacked by climate activists of the younger generation.
In his first year in office, Biden named tackling climate change as one of his top goals, and set the goal of cutting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to less than half the level of 2005 at the year’s end.
The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act — approximately $369 billion worth of climate spending and incentives -is expected to bring the country closer to achieving this goal.
However, Biden has been a target of intense criticism from certain sections from the environment movement specifically following his approval of a huge-scale drilling project dubbed Willow within northern Alaska. This decision was in direct contradiction to his campaign pledge to stop any drilling that is proposed on federal land, and polls showed a decrease in his ratings of approval on climate change.
Since the time, Biden been barred federal drilling on millions of acres of federal land as a way of getting back young environmentally conscious voters who played a crucial part in his coalition.
Climate Corps is a bit more modest than some had hoped. Climate Corps is more modest than what many had hoped for
Democratic lawmakers, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y. along with Senator. Ed Markey, D-M.A. The two lawmakers had proposed additional money for the climate corps program, but this was not the case, which means the program will be smaller than earlier programs..
It’s also smaller than the predecessor program: it was the Civilian Conservation Corps, a New Deal-era program that lasted for ten years, employing millions to restore public lands as well as creating infrastructure for the nation’s national parks.
Another key distinction that is also significant. Although the Conservation Corps primarily employed young white men The White House says that the American Climate Corps is designed to recruit participants from communities who are most affected by climate change.
Copyright 2023 Copyright NPR. For more information, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDEwMjQ0ODM1MDEzNDk4MTEzNjU3NTRhYg004))
