Early Version of Ocasio-Cortez Green New Deal Touts Clean Power

by Ari Natter and Katia Dmitrieva (Bloomberg) Draft of plan calls for net-zero greenhouse gas emissions; Final Ocasio-Cortez resolution expected to be released soon -- Guaranteed jobs, health care, and housing are in a draft of the Green New Deal environmental package set to be unveiled by Democrats this week, but the proposal doesn’t explicitly include the ban on fossil fuels called for by some supporters.

Instead, the draft of the much anticipated resolution being crafted by Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York representative, and Ed Markey, a Massachusetts senator, calls for 100 percent power from “clean, renewable and zero emission energy sources.” While the proposal calls for reaching “net-zero greenhouse gas emissions,” it omits specific language sought by some progressives, who could feel betrayed after rallying behind the plan at an early stage.

“It’s setting us up for a long term transition away from fossil fuels,” Saikat Chakrabarti, the New York freshman lawmaker’s chief of staff, said in an interview. “We are saying net zero emissions. I can’t imagine how we do that without transitioning off of fossil fuel.”

The draft framework, a non-binding resolution that aims to firm up what had been a loosely defined legislative wish list to halt global warming, calls for a series of “Green New Deal Projects.” Those include a dramatic expansion of renewable energy, energy and water efficiency upgrades for all U.S. buildings, and an overhaul of the country’s transportation system to eliminate pollution and emissions from the sector “as much as technologically feasible,” with a nod to investment in zero-emission vehicles, public transit, and high-speed rail.

The proposal also calls for any forthcoming infrastructure legislation to address climate change, including by eliminating greenhouse gas emissions, a "guarantee of universal access to clean water," funding for community-projects to mitigate the damage caused by climate change, and a requirement that that Green New Deal projects create "high-quality union jobs." Another Green New Deal requirement: "enacting and enforcing trade rules, procurement standards, and border adjustments with strong labor and environmental protections to stop the transfer of jobs and pollution overseas and grow our domestic manufacturing."

At the same time inclusion of phrase clean energy leaves the door open the door to nuclear and carbon capture loathed by some in the environmental community. READ MORE