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State-Federal American Climate Corps Partnership

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Background | Mutual State-Federal Commitments | State Commitments | Federal Commitments | Participants

Background

Since taking office, President Biden has delivered on the most ambitious climate, clean energy, conservation, and environmental justice agenda in history. President Biden signed into law the largest investment in climate action ever, protecting more than 21 million acres of public lands and water. The President also advanced the Justice40 Initiative, which directs 40 percent of the benefits from key federal investments toward disadvantaged communities. As part of this historic commitment to tackle the climate crisis, President Biden promised to mobilize the next generation of clean energy, conservation, and resilience workers.

In September 2023, President Biden took executive action to launch the American Climate Corps — a workforce training and service initiative that will ensure more young people have access to the skills-based training necessary for good-paying careers in the clean energy and climate resilience economy. The American Climate Corps will mobilize a new, diverse generation of more than 20,000 Americans, putting them to work conserving and restoring our lands and waters, bolstering community resilience, deploying clean energy, implementing energy efficient technologies, and advancing environmental justice, all while creating pathways to high-quality, good-paying clean energy and climate resilience jobs in the public and private sectors after they complete their paid training program.

The American Climate Corps will focus on equity and environmental justice — prioritizing communities traditionally left behind. These communities include energy communities that powered our nation for generations, leveraging the talents of all members of our society, and prioritizing projects that help meet the Administration’s Justice40 goal.

The federal government recognizes it cannot realize the promise of the American Climate Corps alone. In announcing the American Climate Corps, President Biden called on tribal, state, and local governments, labor unions, nonprofit service allies, the private sector, and philanthropy to collaborate with the federal government to expand skills-based training partnerships to ensure our nation has the workforce necessary to meet our climate goals.

States have long been partners and innovators in national service with environmental programs already in place. In recognition of the compelling opportunity and need for climate-focused service efforts, thirteen states have launched state-level Climate Corps. These State Climate Corps are statewide service initiatives that have a climate focus, generally aligned with the state’s climate goals. They combine state-level service and climate leadership to help accelerate and scale climate action through national service efforts.

In recognition of the critical role State Climate Corps play alongside the American Climate Corps, the Biden Administration declared that State Climate Corps will act as American Climate Corps “Implementing Partners” — organizations or entities who are delivering American Climate Corps programs in partnership with the Biden-Harris Administration. Partnership between states and the federal government is an important step to:

  • Leverage the American Climate Corps as a means to increase the flow of federal funding to states.
  • Realize greater American Climate Corps success because it’s more aligned with community needs.
  • Strengthen the reach and strength of the American Climate Corps by tapping the expertise and infrastructure of State Climate Corps.
  • Inspire new states to launch their own State Climate Corps initiatives.

To cement this partnership, the Biden Administration is launching a formal State-Federal American Climate Corps Partnership through the following commitments. The federal government and State Climate Corps partners will work closely together to ensure success in this shared endeavor to advance the American Climate Corps.

Mutual State-Federal Commitments

To ensure widespread implementation of the American Climate Corps, thereby expanding climate action at the community level and offering opportunities for Americans to get involved with climate solutions, the American Climate Corps Implementation team in partnership with State Climate Corps, jointly commit to:

  • Collaborate to enhance implementation and harmonization of American Climate Corps and State Climate Corps programming, including by sharing resources, and leading practices related to state and federal program implementation.
  • Support impactful approaches and share information to enable state and federal participants to support progress toward established goals, identify challenges, and address roadblocks.
  • Leverage partnerships to increase awareness and engagement with the American Climate Corps and State Climate Corps, to realize equitable benefits to both communities served by the American Climate Corps and those serving in the American Climate Corps, delivery of climate support to communities hardest hit by climate change, and ensure a compelling, common experience for participants with strong employment opportunities following service.
  • Work together to identify resources, investments, and support to extend and scale climate corps efforts across the country.


In support of these commitments and to operationalize this partnership, participants mutually agree to:

  • Hold monthly coordination meetings — These will be dedicated conversations to identify activities, share outcomes, and troubleshoot implementation efforts.
  • Collaborate on communications — Support aligned communications and branding resources to link state climate corps to the American Climate Corps. As appropriate, the American Climate Corps team will work with State Climate Corps to identify opportunities for coordination around virtual or in-person events at key program milestones.
  • Solidify program designation pathway — Develop language to enable State Climate Corps to engage and approve new programs within the state as part of the American Climate Corps for the purposes of federal resource access.
  • Streamline recruitments — State Climate Corps will work to centralize collection of state climate corps positions and actively utilize the American Climate Corps Recruitment Hub.
  • Model language for use of federal and/or state funds — Where possible, State Climate Corps will support model language to integrate the American Climate Corps into federal programs. Similarly, the American Climate Corps team will support states to develop model language for integration of State Climate Corps into state programming.

State  Commitments

Each State Climate Corps is as unique as the communities they serve. However, it is important to identify and advance shared values and approaches that offer a more consistent experience for participants and communities, and allow for a greater collective impact for all Americans.

In support of this shared effort, participating State Climate Corps agree that their programs will strive to align with and support the American Climate Corps and each other in the following ways.

  • Build upon existing partnerships and initiate new partnerships
    • Include state leadership in state initiatives inclusive of the state service commission, at least one other agency tasked with climate action responsibilities, and one or more active service programs. Where possible, include support from the Governor’s Office.
    • Have existing or planned partnerships with community, environmental justice, clean energy industry, workforce, and climate organizations that can advance their proposed service, workforce, and member support activities.
  • Reflect a comprehensive approach to tackling climate change
    • Focus service on climate mitigation and/or adaptation efforts that align with local, state and/or national climate goals, especially those that work towards “conserving and restoring our lands and waters, bolstering community resilience, deploying clean energy, implementing energy efficient technologies, and advancing environmental justice.”
    • Where a state climate plan exists, seek to align service activities with plan goals and/or encourage individual programs to align with relevant local or tribal plans.
  • Compensate American Climate Corps members
    • Offer members, or work towards offering members, the equivalent of $15 an hour through a living allowance in addition to other benefits, such as an AmeriCorps Education Award, food, transportation, or other supportive services that are recommended, as necessary, to ensure member success. Where this is not yet economically feasible, have a strategy in place to move towards that goal.
  • Provide a pathway to employment
    • In support of the notion that service can be a powerful catalyst for leadership, support “pathways to high-quality, good-paying clean energy and climate resilience jobs in the public and private sectors” through activities such as career pathway plans that instills essential work skills in members; industry recognized certifications and/or credentials, pre-apprenticeships, registered apprenticeships (as appropriate to the program model or focus area); and job placement and post-service transition support.
  • Look like America
    • Implement equitable and inclusive recruitment and retention practices to help attract and support members that represent the diversity of America.
    • Prioritize recruitment from, and investment in, both rural and urban communities that have been hit hardest by environmental justice issues to open new opportunities to disadvantaged communities.
  • Serve all of America’s communities
    • Prioritize support for, and with, historically disadvantaged communities, environmental justice communities, and those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

Further, as state-level initiatives, State Climate Corps agree to respectively and collectively:

  • Explore opportunities to formally embed and sustain State Climate Corps through executive and legislative action and funding.
  • Collaborate across state lines, to enhance State Climate Corps standards and practices to offer participants, communities, and the country a more cohesive climate corps, while also respecting and supporting state variation in design and delivery.

Federal Commitments

The Biden Administration recognizes the importance of leveraging its authorities and resources across agencies to tackle the climate crisis in a way that accelerates community responses to climate change. This is especially important among underserved and impacted communities most at risk. The federal government can empower states to advance their climate response and foster a new generation of climate leaders, while creating good-paying jobs.

In support of this, the federal government commits to:

  • Enable State Climate Corps directly, and specific programs within their umbrella, to access all benefits and opportunities of the full American Climate Corps. This can include recruitment portals, civil service hiring, training curriculum and other opportunities.
  • Utilize the Partnership Working Group to identify and deploy technical and financial assistance that can be marshaled to strengthen State Climate Corps capacities and impact.
  • Maintain consistent and open dialogue with state partners to understand opportunities for the federal government to align with, and enhance, State Climate Corps activities.
  • Leverage additional public and private-sector partnerships to accelerate progress.
  • Integrate American Climate Corps programs and opportunities for participation in federally-funded projects.

In support of this shared effort, participating State Climate Corps agree that their programs will strive to align with and support the American Climate Corps and each other in the following ways.

  • Build upon existing partnerships and initiate new partnerships
    • Include state leadership in state initiatives inclusive of the state service commission, at least one other agency tasked with climate action responsibilities, and one or more active service programs. Where possible, include support from the Governor’s Office.
    • Have existing or planned partnerships with community, environmental justice, clean energy industry, workforce, and climate organizations that can advance their proposed service, workforce, and member support activities.
  • Reflect a comprehensive approach to tackling climate change
    • Focus service on climate mitigation and/or adaptation efforts that align with local, state and/or national climate goals, especially those that work towards “conserving and restoring our lands and waters, bolstering community resilience, deploying clean energy, implementing energy efficient technologies, and advancing environmental justice.”
    • Where a state climate plan exists, seek to align service activities with plan goals and/or encourage individual programs to align with relevant local or tribal plans.
  • Compensate American Climate Corps members
    • Offer members, or work towards offering members, the equivalent of $15 an hour through a living allowance in addition to other benefits, such as an AmeriCorps Education Award, food, transportation, or other supportive services that are recommended, as necessary, to ensure member success. Where this is not yet economically feasible, have a strategy in place to move towards that goal.
  • Provide a pathway to employment
    • In support of the notion that service can be a powerful catalyst for leadership, support “pathways to high-quality, good-paying clean energy and climate resilience jobs in the public and private sectors” through activities such as career pathway plans that instills essential work skills in members; industry recognized certifications and/or credentials, pre-apprenticeships, registered apprenticeships (as appropriate to the program model or focus area); and job placement and post-service transition support.
  • Look like America
    • Implement equitable and inclusive recruitment and retention practices to help attract and support members that represent the diversity of America.
    • Prioritize recruitment from, and investment in, both rural and urban communities that have been hit hardest by environmental justice issues to open new opportunities to disadvantaged communities.
  • Serve all of America’s communities
    • Prioritize support for, and with, historically disadvantaged communities, environmental justice communities, and those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

Further, as state-level initiatives, State Climate Corps agree to respectively and collectively:

  • Explore opportunities to formally embed and sustain State Climate Corps through executive and legislative action and funding.
  • Collaborate across state lines, to enhance State Climate Corps standards and practices to offer participants, communities, and the country a more cohesive climate corps, while also respecting and supporting state variation in design and delivery.

Participants

State

Current State Climate Corps Partners include

  • Arizona
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Illinois
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • North Carolina
  • Vermont
  • Washington

Federal

Federal partners are represented by the American Climate Corps Hub Team.

Coordination

The State-Federal American Climate Corps Partnership is coordinated by America’s Service Commissions in partnership with the California Volunteers Fund.