Green New Deal resolution unveiled by Democrats Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and Ed Markey

The wait is over. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., are ready to formally introduce a resolution Thursday for a “Green New Deal.”

There’s been a lot of talk about a Green New Deal recently. The broad idea — a plan which can function as a way to both fight climate change and act as an economic stimulus — is not new. But it has become a hot political topic recently, even as its parameters have remained largely undefined.

Now, we have a starting point. NPR has a copy of the nonbinding resolution. Download it here (PDF). While it’s sure to be the subject of much debate, we’ll take a quick look at some of the key points thus far.

What’s In It?

The proposed Green New Deal calls for a 10-year “national mobilization”, which includes a number of identified “goals and projects.”

These include: “meeting 100 percent of the power demand in the United States through clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources,” repairing and upgrading the infrastructure of the U.S., building smart power grids, and a number of projects concentrated around the reduction of eliminating pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, among many other goals.

The resolution also seeks to overhaul transportation systems in the U.S. “as much as is technologically feasible.” It calls for investment in “zero-emission vehicle infrastructure and manufacturing,” “clean, affordable and accessible” public transportation, and high-speed rail.

Beyond the high-minded climate-focused goals, the framework calls for “guaranteeing a job with a family-sustaining wage, adequate family and medical leave, paid vacations, and retirement security” and “high-quality health care” for all Americans.

So yes, there are a lot of bold, lofty goals involved, but that’s to be expected. After all, anything on a small scale wouldn’t accurately constitute the ambitious promise of a Green New Deal.

Just The Beginning

It’s obviously a long, long way toward actual legislation of any kind, but some prominent fellow Democrats are offering their early support for the resolution:

https://twitter.com/JStein_WaPo/status/1093499920693243904

But even among Democrats, there’s some skepticism. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Politico the Green New Deal was a “suggestion.” Pelosi said,

“The green dream or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it is, but they’re for it right?”

Now, people will have at least some idea of what it is, or what it wants to be. Ocasio-Cortez and Markey plan on formally introducing the resolution on 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

It’s also worth noting that states are making similar pushes on their own. For instance, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced New York’s Green New Deal initiative in January, and the state recently announced its first transaction in large-scale renewables.