Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s ambitious Green New Deal was unveiled on February 7. Here’s everything you need to know.
Before she was sworn into office on January 3, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez started talking about the need for a Green New Deal — a sweeping proposal that would radically change the U. S., taking us from dependence on fossil fuels to a renewable energy-based economy in just 12 years. Hype has grown, but details of the plan have been scarce — until now. This morning, Ocasio-Cortez released a resolution, developed alongside Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey, which outlines not only goals and aspirations of the Green New Deal, but specific policy proposals.
Before this morning’s unveiling, the GND was already gaining in popularity, with most Democratic candidates for president publicly supporting the initiative, but it’s important to build upon that popularity with more prescriptive language: the GND cannot just be an abstraction if it’s going to work.
