Youth across the nation have been descending on congressional offices to demand a Green New Deal. In a single day last month, young people organized by the Sunrise Movement visited over 100 representatives to call for a bold economic plan to tackle the twin crises of climate change and inequality.
And the action is yielding quick results. From newly elected representatives to long-standing congressional leaders, members of Congress are elevating the call for a Green New Deal. We’re witnessing a major boost of momentum for a transformative idea that has been gaining steam for years.
What exactly is a Green New Deal, and why has the Sierra Club been pushing for it alongside a broad array of allies? In short, it’s a plan to help us transition from an economy built on exploitation and fossil fuels to one driven by dignified work and clean energy. (For examples of specific Green New Deal policies that the Sierra Club supports, click here for our Green New Deal platform.)
A Green New Deal starts from this premise: The status quo economy leaves millions behind. While padding the pockets of corporate polluters and billionaires, it exposes working-class families, communities of color, and others to stagnant wages, toxic pollution, and dead-end jobs. The climate crisis only magnifies these systemic injustices, as hard-hit communities are hit even harder by storms, droughts, and flooding. Entrenched inequality, meanwhile, exacerbates the climate crisis by depriving frontline communities of the resources needed to adapt and cope.
Climate change and inequality are inextricably linked. We cannot tackle one without addressing the other. A Green New Deal would take on both.
To tackle the climate crisis at the speed that justice and science demand, a Green New Deal would mobilize vast public resources to upgrade our infrastructure, revitalize our energy system, retrofit our buildings, and restore our ecosystems. In so doing, a Green New Deal would cut climate pollution while creating millions of family-sustaining jobs, expanding access to clean air and water, raising wages, and building climate resilience. To counteract inequality, those benefits would go first and foremost to the working-class families and communities of color that have endured the brunt of the fossil fuel economy.
A Green New Deal offers a loud retort to politicians who try to divide us by telling us to choose between jobs or the environment. In fact, this approach to climate change would create a new generation of good union jobs. Whether building a smart renewable energy grid, weatherizing homes, or manufacturing components for light rail, millions of workers will lead the transition to a clean energy economy. At the same time, a Green New Deal would help low-income families slash costs by offering more energy-efficient homes, access to affordable wind and solar power, and more reliable options for low-cost public transportation.
A Green New Deal would not only cut climate pollution but also deliver clean air and water by replacing lead pipes, cleaning up hazardous waste sites, and overhauling stormwater systems that produce toxic runoff. And it would build climate resilience by helping communities build bridges that can withstand floods, restore wetlands that buffer hurricanes, and shield coastlines from sea level rise.
Momentum for a Green New Deal has soared thanks to this month’s youth mobilization, but it didn’t start there. As we described in September, broad local coalitions across the country have been winning local policies that achieve the three major goals of a Green New Deal: creating good jobs, cutting climate and local pollution, and counteracting racial and economic inequity. As Donald Trump desperately tries to divide us, Sierra Club chapters have been joining forces with unions, racial justice groups, and other partners to score policy wins in recent months and years that chart the path for a Green New Deal. From Illinois to California to Georgia, the success of these local coalitions offers a model for bold policy change.
The Green New Deal got another shot of momentum after last month’s elections. A poll conducted amid the election showed that voters across the country overwhelmingly support a Green New Deal -- 66 percent back the idea, while just 12 percent oppose it. Indeed, such support has helped alter the makeup of Congress. The new Democrat-led House of Representatives will include vocal Green New Deal champions like Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) -- the youngest woman elected to Congress, Ilhan Omar (MN-5) and Rashida Tlaib (MI-13) – the first Muslim-American women to serve, and Deb Haaland (NM-1) -- one of the first Native American women to hold office on Capitol Hill.
At the state level, at least seven climate-denying governors were voted out of office. Meanwhile, Democrats gained complete control of the state Senate, state House, and governor’s office in six states, opening the gates for state leaders to seize the opportunity to advance more local Green New Deal policies. And in Portland, Oregon, voters overwhelmingly passed a clean energy ballot initiative that will create good jobs by training workers to weatherize homes, install renewable energy, and build green infrastructure. The plan -- an example of what a national Green New Deal could look like -- was championed by communities of color and will be paid for by big retail corporations.
Within days of the election, youth catapulted a Green New Deal back into the spotlight by walking into congressional offices and calling on the election night winners to act boldly in the next Congress.
And they have a real opportunity to do so. For example, the next Congress is likely to take up legislation to renew our crumbling infrastructure. If done right, infrastructure legislation could be a major plank of a national Green New Deal by boosting family-sustaining jobs and low-emissions transit, expanding access to clean water and renewable energy, and helping communities become more climate-resilient. Congress also should develop a plan to weatherize homes across the country, which would cut energy costs and climate pollution, while creating hundreds of thousands of union jobs. And they should pass a new “Buy Clean” law to ensure that the government spends our tax dollars on products that were manufactured with low pollution and high wages. The list of Green New Deal opportunities goes on.Â
As momentum for a Green New Deal continues to grow, the Sierra Club is redoubling its support for this ambitious initiative. In state legislatures, we’ll continue to work with a broad array of partners to push pro-climate, pro-jobs, pro-equity policies that make clear that a Green New Deal is real, not hypothetical. And we’ll continue asking our members of Congress to take a stand for the bold economic transformation that we urgently need.