Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) reintroduced the Green New Deal, a resolution which claims to solve climate change within the next decade by drastically reshaping the American economy.
The text of the resolution calls for the United States to meet all power demand through renewable and zero-emission sources, upgrade all existing buildings in the nation to achieve maximum energy efficiency, and overhaul the transportation system to remove carbon emissions to the greatest extent possible. The Green New Deal was initially proposed four years ago by the two lawmakers when Ocasio-Cortez entered Congress for the first time.
“When we first introduced the Green New Deal, we were told that our vision for the future was too aspirational. Four years later, we see core tenets of the Green New Deal reflected in the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest ever federal investment in fighting climate change, with a focus on creating good, green jobs. But there is still much, much more to do,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement. “Today’s reintroduction marks the beginning of that process of strengthening and broadening our coalition, and of laying the policy groundwork for the next fight.”
The lawmakers said the Inflation Reduction Act, which allocated some $369 billion to climate and green energy initiatives, has a number of “shortcomings” with respect to “addressing health and racial justice, supporting sustainable and affordable housing, building a robust care economy, improving public transit, and investing in American education and schools.”
The version of the Green New Deal released on Thursday did not include a price tag, while the legislation introduced four years ago would have cost between $53 trillion and $94 trillion, according to an analysis from the American Action Forum. The text of the new resolution, however, claims that the package would help to prevent $1 trillion in damage to infrastructure and coastal real estate emerging from the effects of climate change.
“In the four years since we first introduced the Green New Deal, the tides of our movement have risen and lifted climate action to the top of the national agenda,” Markey added. “We succeeded in securing historic progress through the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and now we have an obligation to honor the origins of that success.”
Other sponsors of the Green New Deal include prominent lawmakers such as Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
President Joe Biden endorsed the Green New Deal amid his campaign for the White House three years ago, asserting that the package is a “crucial framework for meeting the climate challenges we face.” Critics say that actions from the administration have since discouraged fossil fuel production, reducing the supply of affordable energy and stifling the economy.
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The White House has meanwhile established a “whole-of-government effort” to reduce carbon emissions and incentivize green energy production. Beyond the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, both of which allocated substantial funds for climate initiatives, regulators have introduced new emissions rules for household appliances such as gas stoves and proposed new vehicle emissions standards to incentivize the adoption of electric cars.