No surprises, there's already been plenty of critical spin about lack of detail in the Green New Deal, a whole economy climate proposal, since it's release by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Ed Markey in February in USA. The Green New Deal is not a bill, legislation or a policy proposal, but a congressional resolution. And this resolution is the first step to getting a shared understanding of the climate problem and what's necessary to actually solve it.
The architects of Green New Deal are a think tank known as New Consensus and it's ostensibly their charter to develop the policy to support the Deal. The Green New Deal is a road map that the think tank intend to have in place for the 2020 election, with the idea that the Democrats will win power and immediately set about executing the plan (which would have been socialised well ahead of the election). In simple terms, to outline:
The big deal of the Green New Deal is that it requires an immediate end to fossil fuels and the construction of an entire green energy infrastructure - something that will both kill & create a pile of new jobs, infrastructure and industries.
A key principal of the Deal is that it is too late to incrementally move away from fossil fuels - rather, we have to move dramatically and immediately. Zero emission means zero oil, natural gas or coal. The deal proposes that the move will need to offset the inevitable loss of jobs with guaranteed employment & income, health care, retraining. And finally it requires the economy to be rebuilt to ensure that all people (Americans in this case) have equality.
The first step in the plan is the “100 percent Clean Energy for America Plan.” It lays out three high-level targets for 2030:
Collectively, electricity, transportation, and buildings are responsible for 70 percent of US carbon emissions.
There are many people getting behind change. Many more in numbers and influence than the historical holders of power & our financial wallet, but even those guarding financial wallets are starting to flex. A great example of this financial power was the recent announcement by the Investor Group on Climate Change. The group controls half the world's investment assets and ahead of the G20, they put global governments on notice that their investments would follow those governments committed to the Paris agreements on Climate Action.
Money isn't the only currency when it comes to influence, communication and gathering support. Naomi Klein wondered what a future would look like if we actually chose to radically change course in line with the Green New Deal and save our future and ourselves. Like Damon Gameau and 2040, she focused on an un-dystopian future where we didn't all end up running blindly off the climate cliff - an endless line of lemmings, too stupid to find a way to turn right or left. Naomi Klein got with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortex and illustrator Molly Crabapple, among others, and created a “green dream” film, inspired by the explosion of utopian art produced during the original Green New Deal. (The images in this article are from the short film, A Message from the Future with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.) Please share the film far and wide along with every and any explanation of what the Green New Deal is trying to achieve as it all counts.
The Democrats, or at least those from New Consensus, believe that the kind of change we need has to come from government and the rules of engagement have to be changed by government. But what happens if the Democrats don't win in 2020? Will that be end of it all? Or will the USA will find itself at odds with the rest of the world - more so than right now? The New Consensus think tank knows that by socialising this concept, the idea is out there and that has the effect of validating it over time even if Republications and climate sceptics don't back it immediately. As the climate deteriorates consistently, suspicion of the need to change, especially when there is a road map, will turn into support.
And there are many big influencer supporters, increasingly banding into a growing alignment. People like Greta Thunberg, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Naomi Klein, Al Gore, Lauren Powell, Kim Jackson, Hansjörg Wyss, Julie Wriggly, Nicola Sturgeon, Katrin Jakobsdóttir, David Attenborough, James Bolag, Damon Gameau, Katharine Viner and literally thousands more, pushing the boundaries across all manner of climate action actions. Alignment will happen even among those with different opinions of how to solve the planet crisis problem because small differences will be less bothersome as the need to make a differences grows. This group is already a virtual & powerful interlinked set of arms around the planet so you can imagine what is going to happen when they flex. I know where I'll be standing.
No matter what happens next, as the Green New Deal is socialised and changes start to occur, the genie is out of the bottle and it's just a matter of time, as climate change bites harder and we feel consequences.
This is brilliant. Love the film and explanation. Thank you. Sharing widely. Tuesday, 24 September 2019