Federal Green New Deal resolution proposed

Two members of Congress have introduced a resolution framing the "Green New Deal," a suite of programs aimed at addressing both global climate change and domestic economic challenges.

The Green New Deal resolution is offered by New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey. A copy of the 14-page document posted by NPR bears the formal title, "Resolution Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal." In a blog post on her House website, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez describes the Green New Deal as "a 10-year plan to create a greenhouse gas neutral society that creates unprecedented levels of prosperity and wealth for all while ensuring economic and environmental justice and security," to be achieved "through a World War 2 scale mobilization."

In a lengthy preamble, the resolution cites findings in the October 2018 "Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 °C" released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the November 2018 Fourth National Climate Assessment report that human activity is the dominant cause of observed climate change over the past century, with harmful effects. The preamble also asserts that because the United States has historically been responsible for 20 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions through 2014 and has a high technological capacity, the nation must take a leading role in reducing emissions through economic transformation. It cites economic stagnation, income inequality, and systemic racial, regional, social, environmental, and economic injustices as having been exacerbated by climate change, pollution, and environmental destruction.

Based on these findings, the resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that "it is the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal" to achieve five key goals: achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions through a fair and just transition for all communities and workers; creating millions of good, high-wage jobs and ensuring prosperity and economic security for all people of the U.S.; investing in the nation's infrastructure and industry to sustainably meet the challenges of the 21st century; securing clean air and water, climate and community resiliency, healthy food, access to nature, and a sustainable environment, for all people of the U.S. for generations to come; and promoting justice and equity by reversing historic oppression of "frontline and vulnerable communities."

The resolution calls for accomplishing these goals through a 10-year national mobilization that would require a list of 14 specific industrial and infrastructure projects, including upgrading infrastructure to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions as much as technologically feasible; meeting 100 percent of domestic power demand through clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources; developing energy-efficient, distributed, and "smart" power grids; improving building energy efficiency; expanding renewable energy manufacturing; and overhauling the transportation system. The resolution also expresses 15 supporting principles for social and economic justice and security.

The concept of a "Green New Deal" is not new, with similar concepts proposed as early as 1998, and the phrase "Green New Deal" first surfacing in public discourse in 2007. In addition to the proposed federal resolution, states may also consider "Green New Deal" legislation. For example, a list of Maine legislative requests includes the title of a bill proposed by state Representative Chloe Maxmin has proposed a bill listed as LR 1034, "An Act To Establish a Green New Deal for Maine."