A quick video that explains the GND from Vox
As climate change becomes an increasingly popular topic, up for political (and, unfortunately, partisan) debate, mentions of the so-called “GND” have risen. This mysterious “GND,” or Green New Deal, seems to be amorphous, without substantial legislative backing. Yet the Green New Deal could prove instrumental in the United States’ fight against climate change.
Although the Green New Deal’s policy is not fleshed out, its intent is clear: to create policy that would prioritize massive investments in renewable energy, clean-energy jobs, and infrastructure meant both to boost the economy in an equitable way (combating environmental racism and related injustices) and fight climate change.
The Green New Deal isn’t really that new. The term was first coined in 2007 by New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman; yet it lost steam in the following years. In 2016, however, the GND surged to the forefront of political consciousness as Jill Stein and Bernie Sanders both included versions of the GND in their political platforms. Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez of New York has made the GND a central focus of her agenda.
As part of the enactment of the GND, Ocasio-Cortez proposed the creation of a “Select Committee on a Green New Deal”. With the support of activist group The Sunrise Movement, Ocasio-Cortez pushed the committee’s commitment on Democratic Congress members. However, the committee’s creation was essentially cut off by Speaker of the House (House Minority Leader at the time) Sarah Pelosi, who denied the committee subpoena power and headed it with Rep. Kathy Castor of Florida, who seemed dispassionate about the GND in general. In essence, the committee was weak, with no legislative power.
However, Ocasio-Cortez’s GND did not just call for the creation of a committee. It also required that those members of the committee have no funding from fossil fuel companies, and charged the committee with the creation of a plan to decarbonize the economy and create a federal job guarantee. Now, a policy shop called New Consensus is working to translate the aspirational goals proposed by Ocasio-Cortez into real, workable policy. According to a timeline given in March 2019 to The Hill, New Consensus’ recommendations should be available in early 2020.
In recent months, the Democratic focus has shifted away from the GND (which technically failed to pass in the Senate last February) and towards smaller, more concrete bills under the GND umbrella. According to several senators, this will make the objectives of the GND more accessible; rather than passing a single sweeping piece of legislation, senators can focus on doing research and implementing tangible parts of the GND to truly make an impact.
For more resources on the subject, visit:
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/21/climate/green-new-deal-questions-answers.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OMGQoXEVE0
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/21/us/politics/green-new-deal.html