I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2310 
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 1, 2021 
Mrs. DINGELL (for herself, Ms. BROWNLEY, Ms. PINGREE, Ms. PRESSLEY, 
Mr. PANETTA, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. COHEN, Ms. NORTON, 
Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. MORELLE, Mr. GALLEGO, and Mr. HUFFMAN) in-
troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En-
ergy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Education and 
Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion 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’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) The evidence for human-induced climate 
change is overwhelming and undeniable. 
(2) Atmospheric carbon can be significantly re-
duced through conservation, by shifting to renewable 
energy sources such as solar, wind, tidal, and geo-
thermal, and by increasing the efficiency of build-
ings, including domiciles, and transportation. 
(3) Providing clear information about climate 
change, in a variety of forms, can remove the fear 
and the sense of helplessness, and encourage individ-
uals and communities to take action. 
(4) Implementation of measures that promote 
energy efficiency, conservation, and renewable en-
ergy will greatly reduce human impact on the envi-
ronment. 
(5) Informing people of new technologies and 
programs as they become available will ensure max-
imum understanding and maximum effect of those 
measures. 
(6) More than 3,000,000 students graduate 
from high schools and colleges in the United States 
each year, armed with attitudes, skills, and knowl-
edge about the climate that inform their actions. 
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(7) The effect on the climate, positive or nega-
tive, of each of those 3,000,000 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 and 45 
percent of high school science teachers understand 
the extent of the scientific consensus on climate 
change. 
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— 
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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 
(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 
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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 
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 
501(a) of that Code. 
SEC. 4. CLIMATE CHANGE EDUCATION PROGRAM. 
The Administrator of the National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration shall establish a Climate 
Change Education Program to— 
(1) increase the climate literacy of the United 
States by broadening the understanding of climate 
change, including possible long-term and short-term 
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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-
mal and nonformal learning opportunities to individ-
uals of all ages, including individuals of diverse cul-
tural and linguistic backgrounds; and 
(3) emphasize actionable information to help 
people understand and promote implementation of 
new technologies, programs, and incentives related 
to climate change, climate adaptation and mitiga-
tion, climate resilience, climate justice, and environ-
mental justice. 
SEC. 5. GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—As part of the Climate Change 
Education Program established under section 4, the Ad-
ministrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad-
ministration shall establish a program to make grants to 
the following: 
(1) State educational agencies, in partnership 
with local educational agencies and local nonprofit 
organizations, for the implementation of aspects of 
State climate literacy plans for grades 4 through 12 
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formal and informal climate change education 
that— 
(A) are aligned with State education 
standards; 
(B) ensure that students graduate from 
high school with climate literacy; and 
(C) include at least 1 of the following: 
(i) Relevant teacher training and pro-
fessional development. 
(ii) Integration of key climate change 
concepts into State education standards 
for science, technology, engineering, and 
mathematics (STEM), civics and social 
studies, and other relevant subject areas 
during the next revision of such standards. 
(iii) Development of climate change 
education educational frameworks and 
model curricula and curation and dissemi-
nation of existing climate change cur-
riculum materials. 
(iv) Creation of applied learning 
project-based models, such as models mak-
ing optimum use of green features im-
provements to school facilities, such as en-
ergy systems, lighting systems, water man-
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agement, waste management, and school 
grounds improvements. 
(v) Incorporation of climate change 
mitigation and green technologies into new 
and existing career and technical education 
career tracks and work-based learning ex-
periences, including development of part-
nerships with labor organizations, trade or-
ganizations, and apprenticeship programs. 
(2) Institutions of higher education and net-
works or partnerships of such institutions to engage 
teams of faculty and students to develop applied cli-
mate research and deliver to local communities di-
rect services related to local climate mitigation and 
adaptation issues, with priority given to projects 
that— 
(A) foster long-term campus-community 
partnerships; 
(B) show potential to scale work beyond 
the grant term; 
(C) are inclusive for all segments of the 
population; and 
(D) promote equitable and just outcomes. 
(3) Professional associations and academic dis-
ciplinary societies for projects that build capacity at 
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