For the air we breathe, for the water we drink, for the people we love, and the places we call home, we need a Green New Deal.
The Green New Deal is more than just one bill.
It’s a vision for the future that stops the climate crisis, creates millions of good, union jobs, and ensures a livable future for all people. It’s the world we’ve always dreamed of, and the world we deserve. It’s rooted in the truth that every person has a right to clean air and water, protection from disaster, access to healthy food, and the promise of a comfortable life, no matter the color of their skin or where they were born.
We will do this by transforming every aspect of American society and our economy to meet 100% clean and renewable energy in the next 10 years.
The Green New Deal means there is brightness ahead.
A world where communities don’t have to fend for themselves in times of crisis, but are instead provided resources and support to thrive.
A world where our jobs don’t hold us hostage, solely for our survival, but allow us to prosper and achieve meaning.
A world where every worker not only has a voice through their union but earns their full worth.
A world where healthcare isn’t the business of a few, but a human right free and accessible to all.
A world where we don’t continue legacies of injustice against others but redress and heal them.
A world where young people aren’t trapped in fear and debt but are guaranteed education and the right to dream in safety.
Together we can win a world where work is fulfilling, where our water and air are clean and crisp, where the places we call home are here to stay, and the natural beauty of our earth is around for generations to come.
The Green New Deal has four pillars that define it.
- Stopping climate change (by moving our economy to run on 100% clean energy),
- Creating millions of good paying union jobs,
- Investing in racial and economic justice, and
- Reimagining our government to work for everyday people
Each of these are critical to the Green New Deal. This is the only way we can truly stop the climate crisis and take care of people along the way.
OUR SUCCESS
OUR GND WINS
In just a few years, our movement not only propelled climate into the national conversation, but we’ve had some pretty big wins towards the Green New Deal.
IRA
For the first time in modern American history, we overcame the political stalemate that has surrounded climate change, and pushed President Biden and Congress to pass the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate bill in U.S. history – and still a compromise on a compromise. It jumpstarts the era of clean energy, but gives handouts to the very worst in the fossil fuel industry. It’s not the Green New Deal, but it was a vital step towards the climate action we need, and wouldn’t have been possible without us.
LOCAL GREEN NEW DEALS
GND CHAMPIONS
To meet the scale of the crisis, we need elected officials at every level of government to fight for the Green New Deal. Not only have we elected the Squad and other Green New Deal champions to Congress, but Sunrise and our partners developed a pledge to organize politicians into supporting the Green New Deal.
CAMPAIGNS
WE’RE WORKING FOR A GREEN NEW DEAL
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How will you pay for it?
The short answer to ‘how we will pay for’ the Green New Deal is easy. We’ll pay for it just as we pay for all else: Congress will authorize necessary spending, and Treasury will spend. This is how we do it – always has been, always will be. The question isn’t how you pay for it, the question is how you prioritize it. We have the money, we just spend it on tax breaks for billionaires instead of the health of our democracy, our people and our planet. The costs to stop climate change pale in comparison to the financial burdens later if we fail to act.
Why do you call it the Green New Deal?
There actually is precedence in American history for the transformation of the economy we propose – the New Deal. We know it’s possible. It’s just about building the political will to get us there.
What do you say to people who think a Green New Deal as laid out in the resolution is unrealistic?
- The Green New Deal is common sense – we’re facing a massive crisis, and we need to transform our economy and our society to prevent it. We can use this as an opportunity to create millions of good jobs, and secure a livable future for our generation and our future.
- The folks detached from reality are the politicians who take fossil fuel money, propose tepid solutions to a mounting crisis, and expect our generation to applaud while we careen into catastrophe. The best scientists in the world are sounding the alarm and telling us we have just a few years to get on the right track. It’s time to wake up, write a plan, and get to work.
Our Allies
The Green New Deal is gaining unprecedented momentum. Cities and towns across the country have passed legislation in the frame of the Green New Deal. Over 100 members of Congress have co-sponsored Sen. Markey and Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s resolution. Nearly all the major 2020 Democratic Presidential contenders said they back the Green New Deal.