Green New Deal

The Green New Deal is a package of ideas, first set out in a nonbinding House resolution introduced by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Ed Markey in February 2019, that links action on climate change to economic and social goals. The resolution called for a ten-year national mobilization to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, create millions of high-wage jobs, invest in infrastructure and clean energy and ensure justice for communities affected by pollution. It also referred to social goals such as health care and housing.

It was modeled on Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal. The resolution was not legislation and never passed; in the Senate, in 2019, it was brought up for a vote and failed after Republicans forced the vote while most Democrats voted "present." Its ideas influenced later proposals, such as parts of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which provided large incentives for clean energy through tax credits.

Supporters see it as a framework that matches the scale of the climate challenge and links environmental and economic justice. Opponents, including most Republicans and some moderate Democrats, argue that it would be enormously costly, would give the federal government large control over the economy, goes beyond climate to unrelated spending and would hurt energy workers and consumers; critics have called it socialist. See also net zero.