Climate Change

FEMA will now consider climate change when it rebuilds after floods

A policy change from the disaster recovery agency will “integrate current and future changes in flooding based on climate science” to assess where and how to construct future buildings.

A House funding bill would make recent federal firefighter pay raises permanent

The House Appropriations Committee is set to advance a spending package Tuesday that would codify recent temporary pay raises for federal wildland firefighters into law and fund them to the tune of $330 million.

Biden administration announces new rule to protect workers from heat-related illnesses

A new White House rule would require employers to monitor workers’ heat exposure, provide cool-down areas and take other steps for personnel in 35 million heat-related jobs.

Forest Service will partially refund federal firefighters’ rent in government-owned housing

The decision to provide a 50% refund to wildland firefighters at the GS-10 level who reside in government-owned housing will affect roughly 5,500 employees.

Senate bill aims to streamline how agencies respond to wildfires

Much like the workforce-focused wildfire bill introduced last week in the House, the EMBER Act draws its provisions from the recommendations of a recent bipartisan commission report.

Agencies spell out how climate change will affect their employees and what they’ll do to protect them

The Biden administration is looking to protect federal workers and agency missions in the fact of extreme weather.

Feds invest $60M to boost local climate resilience and workforce development

The Climate-Ready Workforce initiative looks to place individuals in good-paying jobs that help advance coastal communities’ climate resilience.

Lawmakers unveil a new plan to revamp federal wildfire prevention and mitigation

The Modernizing Wildfire Safety and Prevention Act would create a new Middle Fire Leaders Academy to rapidly bolster the ranks of federal wildland firefighters.

Court dismisses criminal charges against federal firefighter arrested while conducting official duties

The arrest and subsequent indictment of a federal supervisor doing his job had caused panic within the workforce and has some concerned the damage will be difficult to reverse.

Can Biden’s new jobs program to fight climate change attract women and people of color?

The American Climate Corps program aims to recruit a diverse workforce. But it will face challenges including low pay, the need for child care, and historic discrimination against women in the trades.

New rule cements sustainability mandate for federal buyers

A new update to the Federal Acquisition Regulation is meant to help the government meet goals for net-zero procurement by 2050.

Biden’s environmental justice scorecard offers more questions than answers

The White House's own environmental justice progress report gives little insight into the green benefits delivered to disadvantaged communities.

Nuclear regulators should weigh climate change risk to power plants, report says

A GAO report found the Nuclear Regulatory Commission needs to factor more risk from the impact of more extreme natural events in how it licenses the safety of power plants. 

“It feels impossible to stay”: The U.S. needs wildland firefighters more than ever, but the federal government is losing them

Highly skilled firefighters are the last line of defense against wildfires, but that line is fraying because the government decided long ago that they’re not worth very much.

Lawmakers, employee groups call for a permanent increase in federal firefighter pay

Under current measures implemented by the Biden administration, federal wildland firefighters will face yet another “pay cliff” this fall.