Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., and a Democratic presidential candidate, argues that a challenge as big as climate change requires the contribution of every American, from big cities to rural communities. (AP Photo/J. David Ake, File) ▲

In a sweltering barn in Shenandoah, Iowa, I glimpsed the path to a better future. A young man thanked me for organizing an event in his community because, he said, "people tend to forget about us." Then he asked how the Midwest could be part of the solution to climate change.

When it comes to our changing climate, too many Americans have been overlooked — or pitted against each other — for too long. Farmers are told that agricultural emissions are exacerbating the crisis, without hearing how they can be part of the solution. Workers in industries whose fossil fuels and steel built the America we live in now hear that their livelihoods endanger the planet, without being shown how they can thrive in a clean energy economy.

But as that kid in a barn in the middle of the rural Midwest indicated, even in the most far-flung places in America there is a hunger to confront our climate crisis. A challenge this big — among the biggest challenges that humanity has faced — cannot be resolved by beating Americans over the head or telling them they're part of the problem. That's why as president I'll invite every American — from big cities as well as from rural communities — to join in a national project to tackle our climate crisis before it tackles us. Everyone must be able to picture how they can contribute.

With rural America on the front lines of climate change, we'll empower rural communities with the tools to revitalize economies, build climate resilience and spur innovation. My administration will create 1,000 Regional Innovation Clusters to launch a new generation of rural entrepreneurs with a focus on creating jobs, which can include clean jobs that will combat climate change.

We'll establish next-generation Regional Resilience Hubs supported with $5 billion in annual grants focused on rural communities. And with scientists indicating our soil can absorb as much carbon as the entire global transportation system emits, we'll put American farmers at the center of our climate revolution — doubling agricultural R&D and dedicating nearly $50 billion over a decade — by investing in soil management and other techniques.

Growing up in the shadow of rusting Studebaker plants in South Bend, I've seen firsthand how industrial decline saps the spirit of a community. And I've also seen how our communities can summon their energies to move forward into a brighter future. So with communities like Akron and Lordstown leading the way, we'll launch a 21st-century Industrial Revolution to modernize our manufacturing and invest in mass transit.

We'll offer loan guarantees to retool existing automobile and power-train assembly lines so they can produce the zero-emissions cars and trucks of the future, and boost domestic manufacturing of advanced batteries and propulsion technologies. And we'll invest billions in innovative funds to build more energy-efficient and resilient infrastructure. These efforts could create more than 3 million high-paying clean energy jobs over the coming decade, and ensure that the United States becomes a net-zero emissions economy by 2050.

Bringing every American into a cleaner future also means prioritizing those displaced by the changing energy landscape. So when we set a price on carbon to discourage the pollution accelerating climate change, we'll balance the cost by giving that money back as a dividend to working Americans. And instead of subsidizing harmful fossil fuels, we'll provide $200 billion over 10 years for economic development, training and transition programs for communities and workers that currently rely on oil, coal and gas for their livelihoods.

If we get this right, our climate future could be magnificent. A schoolteacher could buy Climate Action Bonds, modeled on World War II war bonds, that will allow every American to own a piece of our clean energy future. Those bonds might finance an entrepreneur working to unleash advanced biofuels or capture carbon in steel and cement. As part of our new call to national service, a recent high-school graduate could enlist in our Climate Corps, gaining valuable skills and knitting together Americans from all walks of life while helping to make our communities more resilient and sustainable.

For too long, Washington has approached our climate crisis with denial, division and delay. When I'm president that will change. Together, we can meet the challenge of our time with the urgency and unity it demands.

Buttigieg is the mayor of South Bend, Ind., and a Democratic candidate for president.