I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7946 
To require the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration to establish a Climate Change Education Program, and 
for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 11, 2024 
Mrs. DINGELL (for herself, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. PINGREE, Mr. PANETTA, Ms. 
NORTON, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. CASTOR 
of Florida, and Ms. PRESSLEY) introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to 
the Committee on Education and the Workforce, for a period to be subse-
quently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To require the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration to establish a Climate 
Change Education Program, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Climate Change Edu-
cation Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
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(7) The effect on the climate, positive or nega-
tive, of each of those 3,500,000 students lasts be-
yond a lifetime. 
(8) Those students need to be prepared to im-
plement changes in professional and personal prac-
tices, to support and help develop new technology 
and policy, and to address the coming social and 
economic challenges and opportunities arising from a 
changing climate. 
(9) It has been demonstrated that the people of 
the United States overwhelmingly support teaching 
students about the causes, consequences, and poten-
tial solutions to climate change in all 50 States and 
more than 3,000 counties across the United States. 
(10) Only 30 percent of middle school science 
teachers and 45 percent of high school science teach-
ers understand the extent of the scientific consensus 
on climate change. 
(11) Section 4002(a) of the America COM-
PETES Act (33 U.S.C. 893a(a)) requires the Na-
tional Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to 
‘‘conduct, develop, support, promote, and coordinate 
formal and informal educational activities at all lev-
els’’. 
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(12) The existing Environmental Literacy Pro-
gram of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration was established in 2005 by the Bush 
administration as a backbone to an agency effort to 
advance sound environmental education for children 
and adults. 
(13) Expanding the popular Environmental Lit-
eracy Program (less than 5 percent of applications 
in 2020 received funding) to include climate edu-
cation for professional educators and students is 
within the established expertise of the National Oce-
anic and Atmospheric Administration and will effec-
tively leverage critical resources for foundational 
learning and career preparation. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION.—The term 
‘‘climate change education’’ means nonformal and 
formal interdisciplinary learning at all age levels 
about— 
(A) climate change, climate adaptation and 
mitigation, climate resilience, and climate jus-
tice; and 
(B) the effects of climate change, climate 
adaptation and mitigation, climate resilience, 
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and climate justice on the environmental, en-
ergy, social, and economic systems of the 
United States. 
(2) CLIMATE JUSTICE.—The term ‘‘climate jus-
tice’’ means the fair treatment and meaningful in-
volvement of all people, regardless of race, color, cul-
ture, national origin, or income, with respect to the 
development, implementation, and enforcement of 
policies and projects to ensure that each person en-
joys the same degree of protection from the adverse 
effects of climate change. 
(3) CLIMATE
LITERACY.—The term ‘‘climate 
literacy’’ means competence or knowledge of climate 
change, its causes and impacts, and the technical, 
scientific, economic, and social dynamics of prom-
ising solutions. 
(4) ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE.—The term ‘‘en-
vironmental justice’’ means the fair treatment and 
meaningful involvement of all people, regardless of 
race, color, culture, national origin, or income, with 
respect to the development, implementation, and en-
forcement of environmental laws, regulations, and 
policies to ensure that each person enjoys— 
(A) the same degree of protection from en-
vironmental and health hazards; and 
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(B) equal access to any Federal agency ac-
tion on environmental justice issues in order to 
have a healthy environment in which to live, 
learn, work, and recreate. 
(5) ENVIRONMENTAL
JUSTICE
COMMUNITY.— 
The term ‘‘environmental justice community’’ means 
a community with significant representation of com-
munities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal 
and indigenous communities that experiences, or is 
at risk of experiencing, higher or more adverse 
human health or environmental effects as compared 
to other communities. 
(6) GREEN ECONOMY.—The term ‘‘green econ-
omy’’ means an economy that results in improved 
human and economic well-being and social equity by 
significantly reducing environmental risks and eco-
logical scarcities. 
(7) INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION.—The 
term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ has the 
meaning given the term in section 101 of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001). 
(8) LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY; STATE EDU-
CATIONAL AGENCY.—The terms ‘‘local educational 
agency’’ and ‘‘State educational agency’’ have the 
meanings given those terms in section 8101 of the 
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Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7801). 
(9) 
NONFORMAL.—The 
term 
‘‘nonformal’’ 
means, with respect to learning, out-of-school edu-
cational programming carried out by nonprofit orga-
nizations and public agencies. 
(10) NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATION.—The term 
‘‘nonprofit organization’’ means an organization de-
scribed in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue 
Code of 1986 and exempt from taxation under sec-
tion 501(a) of that Code. 
SEC. 4. CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION PROGRAM. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Administrator of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration shall establish a Climate 
Change Education Program within the Office of Edu-
cation of the Administration to— 
(1) increase the climate literacy of the United 
States by broadening the understanding of climate 
change, including possible long-term and short-term 
consequences, disproportionate impacts of those con-
sequences, and potential solutions; 
(2) apply the latest scientific and technological 
discoveries, including through the use of the sci-
entific assets of the Administration, to provide for-
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