The Green New Deal is an umbrella term for a set of policies geared towards dealing with climate change on a massive scale.
Like the 1930s New Deal after which it is named, it aims to mobilize an economy-wide transformation to meet the challenges of a warming world.
The Green New Deal was proposed as federal legislation in 2019 by Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, Sen. Ed Markey, and others. Since then, state-level legislation geared towards Green New Deal principles, such as state funding to retrofit homes in Pennsylvania and bills to make bus transit free in Boston, have been successful passed. Organizations such as the Sunrise Movement and teachers unions across the country have also struggled to make the Green New Deal’s vision of a decarbonized future a reality.
