Biden-Harris Administration invests $60 million to build a climate-ready workforce through Investing in America agenda

June 11, 2024

Funding from NOAA’s Climate-Ready Workforce initiative will support training and jobs to accelerate climate resilience

Today, the Department of Commerce and NOAA announced $60 million in funding to help train and place people in jobs that advance a climate-ready workforce for coastal and Great Lakes states, Tribes and Territories as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda under the Inflation Reduction Act. To date, awards like these from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda have created more than 270,000 jobs across the country.

The funding will support nine projects around the nation, with $50 million going directly to the projects and $10 million for technical assistance to support the grantees.

These funds, part of NOAA’s Climate-Ready Workforce initiative, will allow NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Program, Climate Program Office and Office for Coastal Management to fund sectoral partnerships that will develop and implement job training programs. These programs will include wraparound services to help make training opportunities more accessible.

“Thanks to the leadership of President Biden, this major investment in public, private and educational organizations will train workers from around our coasts and help them find good-paying jobs that strengthen climate resilience and local economies,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “Climate change accelerates the need for a new generation of skilled workers who can help communities address a wide range of climate impacts including sea level rise, flooding, water quality issues and the need for solutions such as renewable energy.”

Modeled after the Economic Development Administration’s successful Good Jobs Challenge, the Climate-Ready Workforce initiative is uniquely focused on preparing and placing people in good jobs that will advance climate resilience nationwide, ensuring coastal communities are prepared for the worst impacts of climate change. The program will also assist employers in developing a 21st-century workforce that is climate literate and skilled at addressing climate challenges.

“Our goal of building climate resilience across the nation depends upon creating a trained, well-paid and supported climate-ready workforce,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “Each of these projects in coastal, Tribal and Territorial communities is tailored to tackle the most pressing climate needs of their communities and will focus on recruiting people for training and jobs from disadvantaged communities that are disproportionately affected by climate change impacts.”

Today’s announcement builds on more than $50 billion of resilience investments across the President’s Investing in America Agenda, which includes investments designed to ensure communities across the country are prepared for the worst impacts of climate change.

Nine projects located across the country were selected through a competitive process.

Selected Projects

Download a complete list of the funded projects and descriptions here.

The Climate-Ready Workforce for Coastal States, Tribes and Territories Initiative advances the Biden-Harris Investing in America agenda in multiple ways.

First, this work is a component of the $3.3 billion investment in NOAA’s Climate-Ready Coasts and Communities Initiative through the Inflation Reduction Act to help American communities prepare, adapt and build resilience to weather and climate events. Visit NOAA’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act websites to learn how NOAA is collaborating with communities to build a Climate-Ready Nation and to see current and future funding opportunities.

“Sea Grant and our partners are pleased to address these critical workforce development needs to support our coastal and Great Lakes communities across the nation,” said Jonathan Pennock, director of NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Program. “Sea Grant is uniquely positioned to help meet these needs through our emphasis on regional and place-based partnerships, leveraging local expertise and resources to make a meaningful impact on coastal communities.”

Second, the Climate-Ready Workforce initiative also advances the Department of Commerce’s workforce agenda, which focuses on preparing workers with the education and skills necessary to accelerate the development and deployment of critical and emerging technologies, which are essential to U.S. economic competitiveness and national security. As first developed under the Good Jobs Challenge and now through the Climate-Ready Workforce Initiative, the Department’s approach to workforce investment programs is employer-led, worker-centric and focused on equity.

Third, every awarded project supports communities that have been identified as disadvantaged by the Climate and Economic Justice Screening Tool, including Tribes and other communities on the frontline of the climate crisis. This program advances President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which sets a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal climate, clean energy, affordable and sustainable housing and other investments flow to disadvantaged communities that have been historically marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution and intensifying climate impacts.

Ensuring American workers have the skills and training necessary to tackle the climate crisis is critical, which is why President Biden Launched the American Climate Corps – a groundbreaking, workforce training and service initiative that will put tens of thousands of young Americans to work fighting the impacts of climate change.

“Our climate is changing rapidly and the demand for authoritative climate information, tools, knowledge and resources is growing to keep pace,” said Benjamin DeAngelo, Climate Program Office acting director. “These Climate-Ready Workforce projects will enable the equitable provision of climate services in the form of job creation across a diverse range of communities and economic sectors.”