The State Department is offering up to a quarter million taxpayer dollars to an eligible nonprofit to teach Iraqi teenagers about climate activism.
Iraqi high schoolers could receive âEco Action Clubsâ bankrolled by taxpayers that will teach them how to advocate for environmental reform in their home country, according to a grant solicitation posted by the State Department earlier this month. The clubs will have several objectives, ranging from developing an âeco-agenda and action planâ which will generate âclimate change solutionsâ to running a social media campaign to increase awareness of the climate crisis.
âThe proposed project will consist of establishing and managing Eco Action Clubs in conjunction with six high schools in Baghdad and its surrounding areas,â a synopsis of the grant reads. âThe programs will serve to promote environmental diplomacy by building champions in climate advocacy for youth as well as youth leadership skills to carry out their initiatives.â
Environmental diplomacy, which the State Department says âhas always been a core part of our diplomacy,â refers to relying on international cooperation to solve issues related to climate change, pollution and other environmental hazards.
Under President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the State Department has disbursed a number of grants aimed at tweaking education in the Middle East in ways that align with the Democratic domestic agenda.
The Biden-Harris administration posted a $12 million grant solicitation seeking to provide Iraqi colleges with resources to fight climate change and teach gender studies in May 2023, the Washington Free Beacon reported. The State Department also set aside $15 million in April 2023 to create âgender scholarsâ programs at Middle Eastern universities that sought to âsupport students to advance and deepen their engagement in gender studiesâ and âincrease their participation in gender studies.â
The State Departmentâs new Iraqi climate program aims to identify and train 61 to 100 âyoung environmental championsâ to engage in climate advocacy, according to the grant solicitation. These students are explicitly called to activism, with the grant saying they will âadvocate for environmental reformâ in Baghdad.
Administrators paid by the State Department will teach members of the Iraqi Eco Action Clubs about climate change, water consumption awareness and deforestation, according to the grant document.
Iraq produced an average of 4.4 million barrels of oil per day in 2023, the sixth-highest output in the world, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. The State Department describes Iraq as a âkey partnerâ of the United States in the region.
The State Department did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundationâs request for comment.
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