Green New Deal

Throughout the 1970s and 1990s, an economic policy to move the United States economy away from nonrenewable energy was developed by activists in the labor and the environmental movements. During this period, the concept of green politics emerged as a result of increasing awareness and concern surrounding issues of climate change. The public contended that the US needed to address the climate crisis with a large-scale initiative, similar to the New Deal that was implemented under the Roosevelt administration. This sparked the emergence of various proposals on an international scale, particularly in the UK coalition and the UN Environmental Programme. In the 1980s, the UN promoted the concept of "sustainable development" to frame environmentalism as an economic and social policy, contributing to later efforts by the UK such as the 2008 Climate Change Act. This act was a targeted, preemptive measure against climate change and contributed to a sustainability transition within the US. The Green New Deal ultimately emerged as a result of an increasingly political historical context that was undergoing a sustainability transition.

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:

If you have put a windmill in your yard or some solar panels on your roof, bless your heart. But we will only green the world when we change the very nature of the electricity grid – moving it away from dirty coal or oil to clean coal and renewables. And that is a huge industrial project – much bigger than anyone has told you. Finally, like the New Deal, if we undertake the green version, it has the potential to create a whole new clean power industry to spur our economy into the 21st century.

Friedman expanded upon the idea in his September 2008 book Hot, Flat, and Crowded. This approach was 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 internationally.

In early 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. …

In the context of the Green New Deal, environmental justice refers to the promotion of policies that recognize historical and ongoing injustices perpetuated against vulnerable populations such as communities of color, Indigenous populations, and low-income communities. Environmental justice also involves advocating for a just energy transition, job development, and the integration of economic policy and equity. Environmental justice is explicitly referenced as a crucial component of the Green New Deal, integrating various principles into its framework. Ensuring that communities of color, low-income populations, and Indigenous peoples are involved and represented within the policy of the Green New Deal is an important aspect of environmental justice. The Green New Deal commits to the equitable distribution of and access to resources, healthcare, and sustainable infrastructure in order to address systemic inequalities.

The 2019 United States congressional resolution Recognizing the duty of the Federal Government to create a Green New Deal introduced by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ed Markey advocated a "just transition", counteracting previous systemic injustices that had disproportionally hurt vulnerable communities. A “just transition” relies on increasing social and economic equity and access to opportunity which are crucial components of the Green New Deal and principles of environmental and social justice. Specifically, this equitable environmental transition relies on the even distribution of clean energy investments throughout various communities in order to address issues of historic oppression and the exacerbation of environmental damage for vulnerable populations. The integration of multiple sectors and investments in climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience offers approaches to including climate justice principles in the mission of decarbonization efforts. The central argument is that the Green New Deal for Public Housing offers a persuasive plan for simultaneously addressing inadequate housing, climate threats, and economic injustice that exposes millions of Americans to public health issues. The plan proposes to increase spending to allow for zero-carbon homes to thrive, whether through decarbonization unit upgrades or new homes. …

The Australian Greens have advocated for a "Green Plan", similar to the Green New Deal, since 2009. Deputy leader Christine Milne discussed the idea on the ABC's panel discussion program Q&A on February 19, 2009, and it was the subject of a major national conference of the Australian Greens in 2009.

In early May 2019, with rising concerns about the need for urgent global environmental action to reduce potentially catastrophic effects of climate change, a non-partisan coalition of nearly 70 groups launched the Pact for a Green New Deal (New Deal vert au Canada in French). With press conferences in Montreal, Toronto, and Vancouver, the coalition called for fossil fuel emissions to be halved by 2030. On May 16, 2019, the Green Party released a 5-page summary of their plan entitled "Mission: Possible: The Green Climate Action Plan".

In 2026, Avi Lewis, Leader of the New Democratic Party, proposed the implementation of a Green New Deal as a core part of his platform for leadership election.

On continental Europe, the European Spring coalition campaigned under the banner of a "Green New Deal" for the 2019 EU elections. In December 2019, the newly elected European Commission under Von der Leyen presented a set of policy proposals under the name European Green Deal. Compared to the United States plan, it has a less ambitious decarbonisation timeline, with an aim of carbon neutrality in 2050. The policy proposal involves every sector in the economy and the option of a border adjustment mechanism, a 'carbon tariff', is on the table to prevent carbon leakage from outside countries.

A pilot program for a four-day workweek, under development by Spain's Valencian Regional Government, has been described as a "helpful counter to ... fearmongering about the bleak, hamburger-free world climate activists are allegedly plotting to create with a Green New Deal."

In April 2020 the European Parliament called to include the European Green Deal in the recovery program from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The proposals were criticised for falling short of the goal of ending fossil fuels, or being sufficient for a green recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic. In its place, it has been proposed that the EU enacts a "Green New Deal for Europe", which includes more investment, and changes the legal regulation that enables global warming from coal, oil, and gas to continue.

In July 2021, the European Commission released its "Fit for 55" legislation package, which contains important guidelines for the future of the automotive industry; all new cars on the European market must be zero-emission vehicles from 2035. According to European Commissioner for Climate Action Frans Timmermans, "the best answer" to the 2021 global energy crisis is "to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels." ETS2 is the new EU Emissions Trading System that will enter into force in 2027 and, for the first time in history, will set a price for CO2 emissions from fuels used in the building and road transport sectors.