National Association of Service and Conservation Corps

• The White House promises that the corps “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.” By helping Americans get entry-level green jobs, such as solar panel installation and home insulation, it will equip thousands more young Americans to tackle the complex challenges posed by climate change.
• As a scholar who researches and teaches about the history of U.S. volunteer service programs, I believe that the American Climate Corps will not provide anything radically new.
• Rather, it will largely offer the same experiences and work opportunities as an array of programs that already exist.

New Deal echoes

• That New Deal program put unemployed – and mainly white – young men to work on public lands across the country to counter the devastating unemployment of the Great Depression.
• The Biden administration aims to make its new corps far more inclusive in terms of gender, race and ethnic diversity.
• Rather than alleviating a short-term employment crisis, like its Depression-era predecessor, the American Climate Corps will emphasize launching careers.
• The American Climate Corps, according to the details available, will mobilize far fewer participants than the CCC.

Network of similar programs already in place

• There are about 150 similar conservation service programs in the U.S., all connected through the National Association of Service and Conservation Corps.
• Known as the Corps Network, this patchwork includes 150 programs that give young adults and veterans opportunities to engage in service work on public lands and in rural and urban communities.
• One of the oldest programs in what’s known as the Corps Network is the Student Conservation Association, founded in 1957.
• Its emphasis on conserving land and water overlaps with the work existing state programs already do.

Scant objective evidence

• Many of them survey their participants, who regularly say they enjoyed the experience.
• Participants also cite a sense of personal growth, greater familiarity with environmental concerns and stronger leadership skills.

Better pay? Great opportunities?

• The low pay, which ranges from about US$16,000-$30,000 a year, can mean that they’re not an option for many recent college grads who might otherwise be interested.
• Full-time AmeriCorps volunteers are also eligible to apply for grants to pay for their education or to make student loan payments on top of their earnings.
• American Climate Corps backers argue it should pay a living wage as a form of “climate justice.” It’s unclear whether the American Climate Corps will do that.

Answers to operational questions TBD

• For example, California, Michigan, Maine, Washington and Colorado already have their own climate corps.
• Perhaps most importantly, it’s yet to be determined whether the American Climate Corps’ service work will differ from those state initiatives and similar programs.