Green New Deal
Congress must pass a Green New Deal in order to transform our energy system to 100% renewable energy and create 20 million thriving wage, union jobs to transition the U.S. economy from dirty energy and boost our economy. The Green New Deal must prioritize communities disproportionately affected by climate change, including under-resourced groups, communities of color, indigenous, people with disabilities, children and the elderly.
Because cars are one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts should heavily invest in infrastructure such as weatherization, high-speed rail, electrified public transit, and active transportation like E-bikes to help people get out of cars. The Green New Deal should also provide full, permanent and entitlement funding for water and sanitation infrastructure across the country, including Tribal lands and reservations.
Civilian Climate Corps
The addition of a Civilian Climate Corps (CCC) would employ hundreds of thousands of people with living-wage jobs in conservation and climate resiliency efforts, such as forest management and green infrastructure. While the new CCC was promised by the federal government, it has yet to become a reality. We need a Civilian Climate Corps to address the existential threat of the climate crisis and facilitate lasting change.
Shifting Away from Dirty Energy
Ensuring a habitable planet for future generations requires that we stop investing in new dirty energy projects altogether, especially on indigenous and protected lands, and shift to clean, renewable energy projects. Although the current administration vowed to take bold climate action, it recently approved 3,091 new oil drilling permits. All federal oil and gas tax subsidies should end and be diverted to subsidizing clean energy solutions. Fossil fuel companies must be held accountable for the pollution they create, and the government must divest from the fossil fuel industry.
Just Transition
The transition to a clean energy future must empower the communities most affected by pollution and ensure that workers have unionized, thriving-wage jobs. No one should be left behind. A just transition is based on the principle that workers, communities and Indigenous Peoples have a fundamental human right to clean air, water, land, and food in their workplaces, homes, schools, and environment.
A just transition requires a significant investment in education and job training. The costs of achieving sustainable development, a healthy economy and a clean environment should not be borne by current or future victims of environmental and economic injustices and unfair free trade policies.
Environmental Justice
Communities of color are disproportionately affected by environmental toxins produced by the fossil fuel industry. Los Angeles remains the largest urban oil field in the country; about 580,000 LA county residents live less than a quarter-mile from an active oil well, and even more live close to an abandoned oil well. Many of these oil wells sit in close proximity to Black and Latine neighborhoods. As a result, LA residents experience air, water, and soil pollution from these toxins that have detrimental, life-threatening effects on their health. It is crucial to address the harmful consequences that vulnerable communities face through supporting justice initiatives that put people over profit and guarantee all residents access to clean, water, and soil.
