Towards Just, All-Of-Society Climate Action: An Inventory of Federal Climate Workforce Development, Education, Training, and Engagement Programs

Society-wide engagement, workforce, and education programs for mobilizing the public towards just climate action are critical to addressing climate change and the other intersecting crises of our time. To meet the scale and urgency of these crises - and to meet its climate and justice commitments - the U.S. federal government needs to support these efforts nationwide. The introduction of Executive Order 14008: Tackling the Climate Crisis At Home and Abroad has steered federal agencies towards public climate action in an unprecedented way, with major strides being made towards climate justice and workforce development, but there is still a long way to go. This session will present the results of the first ever inventory of U.S. federal climate education, engagement, and workforce programs across all federal departments and independent agencies, covering programs both existing and proposed in the 2022 budget. The inventory covers all aspects of climate work, from K-12 education to applied science, workforce development to Tribal resilience. Additionally, the inventory tracks cross-cutting themes important to the Biden administration and theUnited Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC): equity and justice, gender sensitivity, and intergenerational equity. With this foundation, the Biden administration and non-federal partners can begin coordinating resources, sharing best practices, and ensuring that all of society is receiving the knowledge, opportunities, and support to take action on climate.