In late 2020, the Climate 21 Project tapped the expertise of more than 150 experts with high-level government experience, including nine former cabinet appointees, to deliver actionable advice for a rapid-start, whole-of-government climate response coordinated by the White House and accountable to the President.

The memos below contain the Climate 21 Project’s recommendations for 12 White House offices, federal departments, and federal agencies, as well as cross-cutting recommendations on personnel and hiring.

Importantly, the Climate 21 Project was not offering a policy agenda. Rather, the memos below contained recommendations intended to help the President hit the ground running and build the capacity of his administration to tackle the climate crisis quickly with the existing tools at hand.

The recommendations were focused in scope on areas where the contributors had the most expertise—and did not address important work by additional federal departments and agencies.