The Common Sense 'Extreme' Of The Green New Deal

This post was originally published in Forbes.

In what political analysts and journalists described as a “blue wave,” the Democrats regained control of the House of Representatives in the 2018 U.S. midterm elections. The actual wave that turned the tides in the House could perhaps be considered green as well as blue.

Among the incoming members of Congress are several outspoken proponents of green technologies and sustainability initiatives. Some of the new political generation, such as New York’s newly elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, are lending vocal support to grassroots environmental groups and championing the revival of the "Green New Deal".

A Labor Bill Through A Climate Change Lens

The Green New Deal is named after Franklin D. Roosevelt’s series of economic and social programs that pulled the U.S. out of the Great Depression. Although the exact details remain nebulous, it will form a comprehensive plan for addressing critical economic, social and environmental issues faced by the U.S. and the planet as a whole. The decade-old initiative has a strong focus on labor and is framed through the lens of climate change - stressing the need for a just transition that would benefit the poorest in society.

Ocasio-Cortez's plan calls for several measures that would modernize infrastructure and invest heavily in clean and renewable energy production. Among the measures is the decarbonization of the agricultural, manufacturing and transportation industries currently responsible for significant amounts of the country’s greenhouse gas emissions. The plan would upgrade all industrial and residential buildings to maximize energy efficiency and create a national smart grid.

In implementing these measures, the Green New Deal would position the U.S. as an international leader in exporting green technologies and assisting other nations to transition to carbon-neutral economies. Proponents argue that it would also help keep the world below the target of 1.5C degrees of warming.

Social and environmental issues cannot be completely separated. The Green New Deal seeks to address those issues with job guarantees, universal basic income and health care programs. It seeks to mitigate the effects of the entrenched racial, gender and economic inequalities that are contributing to the spread of poverty in the U.S.

Social and environmental issues are also intertwined with a country’s economy. The plan aims for large-scale public investment to improve the quality of life for disenfranchised citizens and stimulate the U.S. economy while also averting the devastating global outcomes of climate change. The proposal reflects the extent of the economic and social reforms needed to put the United States on the path of a prosperous future.

There is demonstrated evidence that job growth in clean energy fields is already robust. Even a conservative investment in a green economy could create over 15 million new jobs in as few as five years. The initiative makes sense for the current and impending U.S. job market. The long-term benefits would be even more significant. As fossil fuels are a finite resource, adopting alternative energy sources is ultimately inevitable. Implementing green technologies before fossil fuel scarcity approaches a crisis point would enable a smooth and productive transition to a new energy economy.

Critical Need For Cooperation In Global Efforts

While the labor and economic concerns associated with the Green New Deal are important, environmental sustainability will be the most notable impact of the legislation.

The reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is a critical component in limiting the increase of global temperatures. The central goal of the landmark 2015 Paris Climate Agreement was to rally the world’s nations in a unified effort to reduce emissions. As the second largest emitter of GHGs, the U.S.’s participation in the agreement is imperative. The country’s initial support was withdrawn after a change in the presidential administration, creating something of a vacuum in terms of the U.S.’s cooperation in the collective worldwide effort to combat climate change.

The withdrawal will not be effective until 2020, the year of the next presidential election, and another change in administration could re-cement the U.S.’s commitment to the endeavor. Yet given the ever-more urgent need for action, it is crucial for the U.S. to be working towards implementing a plan that will stand as a meaningful effort to curb conditions that contribute to climate change.

An Urgent Need For ‘Radical’ Action

Released in advance of the COP24 United Nations Climate Change Conference, the 2018 United Nations Environmental Emissions Gap Report makes it clear that current Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) are inadequate to bridge the emissions gap by the target date of 2030. The report asserts that “unprecedented and urgent action is required by all nations” to avert the catastrophic consequences of an undeterred rise in global temperatures. In other words, all countries need to be onboard to enact meaningful change in addressing this global threat.

Opponents of the Green New Deal, many with ties to the fossil fuel industry, cite the initiative as extreme, even radical. Yet when the world’s leading scientific minds assert that dramatic efforts are required to prevent a planetary catastrophe, perhaps “extreme” measures are precisely what we need. When taking circumstances into consideration, implementing a plan to move one of the world’s largest GHG emitters towards a clean and sustainable energy economy isn’t radical, it is just common sense.

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