Biden Harris Administration Announces Nationwide Environmental Justice Climate Corps
New American Climate Corps partnership between AmeriCorps and EPA will advance environmental justice while preparing young people for good-paying environmental justice careers.WASHINGTON, D.C. - AmeriCorps, the federal agency for national service and volunteerism, today joined the Environmental Protection Agency in announcing Environmental Justice Climate Corps – a new partnership to engage hundreds of young Americans in helping communities across the country develop and carry out pollution reduction and climate resilience projects as they gain skills and experience for good paying clean energy and climate careers.This new American Climate Corps program – the largest environmental partnership in AmeriCorps’ history and EPA’s first nationwide service effort – represents the Biden-Harris Administration’s latest commitment to taking historic action to address climate change and advance environmental justice. Announced one year ago and launched in June, the American Climate Corps has already engaged more than 15,000 young people – putting the program on a path to meet President Biden’s goal of engaging 20,000 members in the first year, several months ahead of schedule. The Environmental Justice Climate Corps will engage more than 250 AmeriCorps members serving with VISTA over the next three years in full-time, yearlong service terms supporting EPA’s goals to cut pollution, create jobs, and lower energy costs. Members will serve across the country, helping organizations in disadvantaged and other low-income communities access federal resources to carry out locally driven projects to reduce pollution, increase community climate resilience, improve public health and safety, and build community capacity to address environmental justice and climate challenges. Projects will include providing technical assistance to organizations seeking federal funding, as well as helping communities invest new funds into community-based projects.“Low-income communities and communities of color are disproportionately impacted by the most severe harms of climate change – whether that’s air pollution, extreme temperatures, or flooding,” said Michael D. Smith, CEO, AmeriCorps. “Through this groundbreaking partnership with EPA, we will target resources to underserved communities where they are needed most, while putting hundreds of young people from those communities on a path to environmental justice careers.”“Our partnership is a first-of-its-kind effort within the federal government to expand pathways into environmental justice careers,” said EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan. “This program will create opportunities for young people through President Biden’s American Climate Corps that will help folks in overburdened communities access and benefit from historic funding secured under the President’s Investing in America agenda.”This new program is the latest and largest partnership developed under the American Climate Corps - a groundbreaking initiative to put a new, diverse generation of young Americans to work fighting the impacts of climate change today while gaining the skills they need to join the growing clean energy and climate-resilience workforce of tomorrow. 15,000 American Climate Corps members are serving across the country - conserving and restoring public lands and waters, bolstering community resilience, deploying clean energy, implementing energy efficient technologies, advancing environmental justice and more. Recognizing that environmental justice and poverty reduction are closely intertwined and that low-income communities are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, this partnership advances the mission and statutory purpose of the AmeriCorps VISTA program. Established in 1964 as Volunteers in Service to America and now part of AmeriCorps, the VISTA program builds capacity in nonprofit organizations and public agencies to empower individuals and communities in overcoming poverty. Consistent with the Administration’s goal of ensuring American Climate Corps opportunities are accessible to people of any socio-economic background, members will receive an enhanced living allowance, alongside a comprehensive set of benefits including: health care, childcare, student loan forbearance and interest repayment, relocation expenses, training and professional development, non-competitive eligibility for federal service, and a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award currently valued at $7,395 that can be used to pay down student loans or tuition for higher education, or a cash award after service. In total, this living allowance is equivalent to receiving more than $25 per hour throughout the term of service. This initiative builds on the success of three other AmeriCorps partnerships developed over the past year as part of the American Climate Corps: the AmeriCorps NCCC Forest Corps partnership with the USDA Forest Service, the Working Lands Climate Corps partnership with the USDA Natural Resources and Conservation Service, and Energy Communities AmeriCorps partnership funded by the Department of Interior, the Department of Commerce, the Appalachian Regional Commission, and private philanthropy. Altogether these initiatives represent a $33 million investment that will support more than 500 new ACC positions over the coming years in addition to the Environmental Justice Climate Corps. AmeriCorps serves as the coordinating hub of the American Climate Corps – partnering with other federal agencies; tribal, state, and local governments, and nonprofits around the country to engage Americans to mitigate the impacts of climate change, build climate resilience in communities across the country, while building the clean energy, conservation, and climate resilience workforce of tomorrow. Applications for the Environmental Justice Climate Corps will open in early 2025, with the first cohort of members starting later that year. This program will aim to recruit members from communities overburdened impacts of climate change. To sign up for updates on the program, visit EPA’s website. To learn more about AmeriCorps VISTA, or to view other service opportunities, visit the VISTA website.EDITORS NOTE: AmeriCorps CEO Smith and EPA Administrator Regan will share more information about the Environmental Justice Climate Corps during NYC Climate Week at the Solutions House “Answers Only” session on Wednesday, Sept. 25 at 9 a.m. ET. Refer to the White House Fact Sheet for more information.
