A new report from the Center for American Progress (CAP) examines how rural communities with strong economic ties to the coal industry can manage the transition away from fossil fuels toward a diversified economy and resilient local budgets. The report, informed by interviews with local and federal officials, finds that while coordination with federal agencies is effective, these partnerships face challenges due to a complex and siloed federal assistance system. There is currently no unified rural policy or approach for this type of transition assistance.
The absence of a single federal policy framework to guide transition planning places risks on workers and local governments due to disruptive closures of coal-fired power plants and coal mines. Local and federal officials highlight the need for flexible funding mechanisms to provide comprehensive support, as well as the need to streamline and better coordinate federal programs.
The report recommends establishing a National Transition Corporation as the most efficient way to achieve necessary coordination and delivery of federal programs. This corporation would also manage a new federal endowment to provide stable and predictable revenue for communities in transition. The proposed corporation would have three main roles: employing staff who would act as “navigators” to coordinate agencies and build trust with local communities, delivering reliable revenue streams, and streamlining and coordinating federal transition programs.
“A new transition and rural development corporation would offer the kind of help these rural communities need to make the transition to clean energy,” said Mark Haggerty, senior fellow at CAP and co-author of the report. “It would provide a coherent vision and strategy for connecting the people, resources, and reforms necessary to address this transition holistically.”
For more information or to speak with an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at [email protected].
Read the report: “Achieving Federal Program Coordination Through a National Transition Corporation” by Sophia Corridan and Mark Haggerty
