Green New Deal

The Green New Deal (GND) is a proposed United States economic stimulus package that aims to address climate change and economic inequality. The name refers to the New Deal, a set of social and economic reforms and public works projects undertaken by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in response to the Great Depression. The Green New Deal combines Roosevelt's economic approach with modern ideas such as renewable energy and resource efficiency. In the 116th United States Congress, it is a pair of resolutions, House Resolution 109 and S. Res. 59, sponsored by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA). On March 25, 2019, Markey's resolution failed to advance in the U.S. Senate in a margin of 0-57, with most Senate Democrats voting 'present' in protest of an early vote called by Republicans. Throughout the 1970s and 1990s an economic policy to move the United States economy away from nonrenewable energy was developed by multiple activists. An early use of the phrase 'Green New Deal' was by journalist Thomas Friedman. He argued in favor of the idea in The New York Times and The New York Times Magazine. In January 2007, Friedman wrote:.mw-parser-output .templatequote{overflow:hidden;margin:1em 0;padding:0 40px}.mw-parser-output .templatequote .templatequotecite{line-height:1.5em;text-align:left;padding-left:1.6em;margin-top:0} This approach was subsequently taken up in Britain by the Green New Deal Group, which published its eponymous report on July 21, 2008. The concept was further popularized and put on a wider footing when the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) began to promote it. In the spring of 2008, author Jeff Biggers launched a series of challenges for a Green New Deal from the perspective of his writings from coal country in Appalachia. Biggers wrote, 'Obama should shatter these artificial racial boundaries by proposing a New “Green” Deal to revamp the region and bridge a growing chasm between bitterly divided Democrats, and call for an end to mountaintop removal policies that have led to impoverishment and ruin in the coal fields.' Biggers followed up with other Green New Deal proposals over the next four years. On October 22, 2008, UNEP's Executive Director Achim Steiner unveiled a Global Green New Deal initiative that aims to create jobs in 'green' industries, thus boosting the world economy and curbing climate change at the same time. The Green Party of the United States and Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein proposed a 'Green New Deal' beginning in 2012. The Green New Deal remains officially part of the platform of the Green Party of the United States. In 2006, a Green New Deal was created by the Green New Deal Task Force as a plan for one hundred percent clean, renewable energy by 2030 utilizing a carbon tax, a jobs guarantee, free college, single-payer healthcare, and a focus on using public programs.