US DOE enlists Robert Downey Jr to recruit climate heroes

The campaign to recruit "Earth's mightiest climate heroes" features an animated video voiced by Granholm and Downey.

"Earth. It's big, it's round, it's home. You know it, you love it, you live on it - but folks, from this perspective things are starting to look a little dire, climatologically speaking," Downey - whose on-screen characters have included Iron Man, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Dolittle - says in the opening scene.

"You might have seen me at one of my many day jobs - billionaire superhero, world's greatest detective, alpaca wrangler. But now I've got this sweet new office over at the Department of Energy," he says, adding that he has been "putting in some crazy some crazy hours helping out the Clean Energy Corps" before offering a cup of coffee to "Madam Secretary" Granholm.

Granholm then goes on to outline how the Clean Energy Corps is "looking for folks to help us with pretty much everything" as it deploys the investment under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to meet the nation's goals of a carbon-free power sector by 2035 and a decarbonised economy by 2050.

The Clean Energy Corps - described by the Department of Energy (DOE) as "a team of dedicated individuals who are determined to use their skills and their know-how to save the planet" - is made up of staff from more than a dozen offices across the department including current employees and new hires, who will work together to research, develop, demonstrate, and deploy solutions to climate change. The department has launched a dedicated applicant portal as part of a streamlined application process that will allow applicants to "align their talents with their passions by indicating specific areas of interest" and allow hiring managers to review candidate profiles simultaneously.

"We are reaching out to the nation's diverse talent, at every stage of their careers, to join the Clean Energy Corps as global leaders in the fight against climate change.  And we thank Robert Downey Jr., for joining us in this effort," Granholm said, following the launch of the campaign.

"I found the perfect summer job! And, if I commit for a lifetime, it can help guarantee a habitable planet for generations to come," said Downey, who is the founder of the not-for-profit Footprint Coalition. "Not to boast, but I think I'm civilian employee #001."

Anyone interested in joining the Clean Energy Corps can submit their resume, skills, and areas of interest at energy.gov/cleanenergycorps.