Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announces the new green contract: NPR

That there is a cold snap or a hole in an Antarctic glacier or a terrifying new report, it seems that the dangers that the Climate change is weighing on humanity are now constant.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., And Senator Ed Markey, D-Mass., Believe that they have an early solution. On Thursday, they introduce a framework defining what they call a "green New Deal" – what they predict as a set of gigantic policy measures that would recast the US economy and hopefully it eliminate all the carbon emissions of the United States.

It's a very big one –

"Even the solutions we've considered big and bold are far from the scale of the problem we're facing with climate change," Ocasio-Cortez said in a statement. NPR, Steve Inskeep, in an interview Thursday Morning Edition .

She added, "This could be part of a larger solution, but no one has yet defined what this larger solution would imply. It's really what we're trying to do." Green New Deal. "

What is the Green New Deal?

In a very general way, the legislation on the "Green New Deal" presented by Ocasio-Cortez and Markey sets the goals of drastic measures to reduce carbon emissions through the economy of the production of electricity to transport through agriculture. At the same time, it aims to create jobs and stimulate the economy.

In this sense, the proposal emphasizes that it aims to achieve its ambitious goals while paying particular attention to groups such as the poor, the disabled and minorities that may be disproportionate. affected by massive economic transitions such as those demanded by the Green New Deal.

It is important to note that it is a non-binding resolution, which means that even if it were to be adopted (more details on the ensuing challenges), it would not create a new solution. programs. Instead, this could potentially confirm the feeling of the House that this should be done in the coming years.

Lawmakers enact non-binding resolutions for reasons as simple as congratulating the Super Bowl winners and sending political messages – for example, telling the president that they disapproved of his trade policy, such as the Senate did it in the summer of 2018.

What are the specificities of this framework?

The bill calls for "ten-year national mobilizations". towards the achievement of a series of objectives set out in the resolution.

Among the most important, the agreement provides "to meet 100% of the demand for electricity in the United States through clean, renewable and zero emission energy sources". The ultimate goal is to completely stop using fossil fuels and to move away from nuclear energy.

In addition, the framework, as it is described in the legislation as well as in the "FAQs" of the Ocio-Cortez Office, calls for the realization of many other ambitious goals:

• "improve all existing buildings" of the country to improve energy efficiency;
• working with farmers "to eliminate pollution and greenhouse gas emissions … as much as technically possible" (while supporting family farms and promoting "universal access to healthy food ");
• "Reorganizing Transport Systems" to Reduce Emissions – Including Developing Electric Car Manufacturing, Building "Charging Stations Everywhere" and Developing High-Speed ​​Rail at a Scale Where Air Transport Stops to become necessary ";
• Guaranteed employment "with basic salary, adequate family and sick leave, paid vacation and retirement security" for every American;
• "High quality health care" for all Americans.

In other words, the Green New Deal framework brings together great ideas related to climate change. A wish list of progressive economic proposals that, taken together, would affect almost all Americans and change the economy.

Are these ideas feasible?

Proponents of the Green New Deal agree that saving the world from the disastrous consequences of climate change requires aggressive action.

And some of the goals of the Green New Deal are actually aggressive. For example, Ocasio-Cortez told NPR that "in 10 years we are trying to become carbon neutral"

According to Jesse Jenkins, a postdoctoral researcher at the Kennedy School of Harvard, this goal could be inaccessible. 19659008] "We must really aim for a net carbon economy at zero by around 2050, which in itself is a huge challenge and will require much faster carbon reductions than those achieved historically. ", did he declare. "It may be a little too early to target 2030".

Similarly, the removal of fuel engines from roads or the extension of the high-speed train to largely eliminate air travel would require nothing less than to revolutionize transportation.

Similarly, some of the most progressive economic policies – universal health care and the guarantee of employment, for example – although popular among some Democrats, would be also very difficult to implement and integrate. 19659008] In addition, the implementation of all these policies could cost billions of dollars in billions of dollars.

Overall, the Green New Deal is a vague framework – it does not specify how implement these policies.

The idea is rather that Ocasio-Cortez and Markey "immediately begin work on the Green New Deal Bills in order to materialize the plan outlined in this resolution" [19659008] And again, all this is hypothetical – it would be difficult to implement and potentially extremely expensive … if was adopted.

The idea of ​​a Green New Deal has also begun. with Ocasio-Cortez?

Not at all.

While the Green New Deal has become in recent years the center of political discussions of Progressive Democrats, the idea of ​​a Green New Deal itself is well past a decade Environmentalists were talking about it already in 2003, when the term appeared in an article of San Francisco Chronicle on an environmentalist conference

. He gained popularity with a 2007 article New York Times column of Thomas Friedman, where he used the phrase to describe the scale of investments in energy that It would be necessary to slow down large-scale climate change.

This phrase was also used for the stimulus measures adopted by President Obama in 2009, which amounted to about $ 90. billions of environmental initiatives.

While the idea gained ground in Europe and the Green Party, it was not until after the 2016 election that it really gained popularity on the left in the United States [19659044] (Vox & # 39; s Dave Roberts has a deeper history here.)

This last iteration is different both by the political energy it has amassed than by the sheer scope it takes. Even though it was a product of the progressive activist community, Ocasio-Cortez may have been the most visible advocate of the plan and helped it to attract more people. The country's attention.

Will it be adopted?

This seems unlikely.

Yes, there is a bit of energy left – some Democrats in the House have already said that they would support the bill. It seems, however, that House leaders do not prioritize this idea as these more liberal Democrats want it to – President Nancy Pelosi has upset Green New Dealers by not giving them the kind of committee they want develop policies.

In addition, it is easy to see how dangerous the bill might be for moderate Democrats in the House, many of whom are from elastic districts and may not want to touch such a progressive proposal.

Among Republicans – even those worried about climate change – the package, with its liberal economic ideas, will also likely be a non-strategist.

"It's going to take somebody to prove to me how that can be accomplished because it looks for me, as in the foreseeable future we're going to use a substantial amount of fossil fuels," he said. Francis Rooney, Co-Chair of the Bipartite Working Group on Climate Solutions, to the NPR. The text of the Green New Deal has been published.

On his side, Rooney is favoring a carbon tax, a policy that he has helped to propose to a bipartisan group of legislators. in November. The information provided by the Ocasio-Cortez office indicates that the Green New Deal could include a carbon tax, but that this would be "only a tiny part" of the overall policy.

Meanwhile, there is little chance that a Green New Deal will get a Senate vote under Republican control.

If that does not happen and is not even binding, why is it worth talking about?

It is worth talking about because it is already a political question. A powerful idea among Democrats.

Presidential candidates are already asked if they support the idea of ​​a Green New Deal, which means it's easy to see that the issue becomes a litmus test for some voters in the 2020 congressional and presidential elections. .

For the more liberal Democrats, the prospect of such an ambitious economic and environmental package at the center of the 2020 campaign could be particularly stimulating. [19659008] "I think the Democratic Party has developed a really strange instinct for not being passionately intentional," said Sean McElwee, co-founder of the progressive think tank Data for Progress. "Most political people are enthusiastic enough to introduce themselves and vote for you, and I think that a Green New Deal and Medicare for All are ideas big enough to spark people's enthusiasm and allow them to vote for you. "

Ocasio-Cortez says for its part that a policy like the New Green Deal could spark voters' enthusiasm to make lobby members of Congress to support them.

"I think when the debate is on a wide range of issues, the public plays an important role, which is why the public has to call its congressman and tell him," It's something It does not matter, "she told NPR:" What I trust is the ability of my colleagues to change, evolve, adapt and listen to their constituents. "

., It's easy to see how a Green New Deal litigation test could turn against him, endangering some Democrats – especially

But it's not just a matter of national politics.Energy at the national level for a Green New Deal could spur efforts in cities and states. "Governor of New York , Andrew Cuomo, for example, advocated a Green New Deal da In his state.

Apart from politics, it is clear that climate change remains an imminent threat – a threat to which the world has not yet

"It is an important legislation because it's a huge problem [expletive]! We will all die, "said McElwee." Every week, it seems like the risks of climate change are becoming more real and the damage to humanity is getting bigger and bigger, which means we have to to do more. "