Can the Green New Deal work in the US?

Michele (Yes)

Yes, the Green New Deal (GND) (originally proposed at the start of 2019 by House representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez) can work in the United States, but it needs attention. The GND was proposed as a non-binding resolution in the House of Representatives, but since its introduction, the only action the House has taken on the resolution is to refer it to several different committees and their subcommittees. No additional hearings have been held, no expert testimony has been presented, and over two years later, the House has still not outlined its plans for moving forward on the resolution. The Senate even voted about one month after its introduction to defeat the resolution, a move that Senate Democrats declared was a 'sham' vote. 

The GND highlighted how some legislative action must be taken to quickly and efficiently address climate change through national legislation. Doing so will also create new high-quality union jobs with year-on-year growth potential and clean up the air we breathe and the water we drink. As discussed in the GND Fact Sheet, 'this is our Moonshot,' our Interstate Highway System, our World War II mobilization. The GND is not just an expenditure; it's a massive investment in our society, economy, environment, and children's future. Over 90% of Democrats and over 50% of Republicans support the GND. Millions of members and supporters of over 600 environmental groups support most of the ideas outlined in the GND. Americans should want to lead in the race against cutting emissions to ensure a habitable world for future generations. The question is not can the GND work in the United States but whether the goals and actions be completed in time to prevent catastrophic damage to our planet.

Suzanne (No)

Nancy Pelosi called the GND a 'Green Dream.' But it's more than dreamlike—it's a large-scale, centralized-government nightmare that promises more prosperity for bureaucrats than citizens. Not only was the GND evaluated at the time to be an economically disastrous plan projected to cost $93 trillion while devastating every household and business nationwide, but it's also amoral—reimagining a socialist America, all for the sake of a global non-emergency.

The GND requires systematically dismantling industries, individual freedom, and independence while offering no fossil-free alternative technology to execute its lofty aspirations. People everywhere need cars, planes, and boats for work, travel, and trade. Food production, distribution, winter heating, summer cooling, life-saving medical services, and industries across the globe all require fossil fuels. The GND wishes to abolish it. Fossil fuels are cheap and affordable, with some scientists saying they don't negatively contribute to climate change but might actually be positive for the environment. If environmental elites were serious about attaining clean energy, they would look to the existing solution—Nuclear—which accounts for nearly 20% of America's energy generation as of 2021. 

But the GND isn't actually concerned with climate change. The promises of guaranteed and 'free' entitlements within the plan are a way officials will make Americans dependent on a government nanny state. Pinning it on climate panic makes the public easily manipulated by the people in power. Big problems need big programs. Big programs need big budgets. Big budgets need big power to execute them. The GND propagated as 'investment,' is just another name for socialism—which has never worked anywhere and relies on promises of grandeur, intimidation, and calls for urgency.