Democratic Lawmakers Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez And Sen. Ed Markey Unveil Their Green New Deal Resolution (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty)
No matter which candidate wins the US presidential election, the Green New Deal is likely to remain central to debates about climate policy. It’s past time for news coverage to spell out what a Green New Deal is and is not, how the various versions of it would work in practice, how much money it would cost up front (and save in the long run), and above all what it would mean to people’s daily lives.
In a word, journalists must demystify the Green New Deal. Towards that end, Covering Climate Now has pulled together some useful background reading and viewing. Some of the information below is dated, but all of the stories are informative in their interrogation of how the Green New Deal might transform life as we know it. Together, they might inspire your own reporting about the Green New Deal.
For more, check out our Climate Politics reporting guide and the list of books in the ‘Dig Deeper’ section of the Resources tab on this site.
***Know of a great piece that’s missing? Send it as a tip to editors@coveringclimatenow.org, with the subject “Addition for your Green New Deal collection.”
CBS NEWS: How Joe Biden’s climate plan compares to the Green New Deal | October 2020
CBS’s chief climate correspondent Jeff Berardelli breaks down the key differences between Joe Biden’s climate plan and the more progressive and far-reaching Green New Deal. Biden’s plan “isn’t everything, but it isn’t nothing at all,” one young activist tells CBS; nevertheless, according to an expert, the plan is “the most aggressive climate change plan of any presidential candidate in US history.”
Read the story.
THE WASHINGTON POST: This is how Biden’s climate plan stacks up to the Green New Deal | October 2020
Similar to the above, environmental reporter Dino Gandoni outlines the differences between Biden’s plan and the Green New Deal. “The two diverge in size and scope,” he writes, “but both are about tackling cutting emissions while creating jobs.”
Read the story.
INSIDECLIMATE NEWS: Green New Deal package | May 2020
By and large, missing from the political landscape is a credible climate action plan from conservatives. (Experts say Republican proposals to plant a trillion trees by 2050 in lieu of cutting emissions are counter-scientific and insufficient to meet the threat.) But some young Republicans have drafted the “American Climate Contract” as the conservative response to the Green New Deal, James Bruggers reports. The plan hasn’t been adopted by party elders and is also judged insufficient by critics, but the story gives a sense of the ideas that might eventually form a conservative response to climate change.
Read the story.
THE GUARDIAN: What is the European Green Deal and will it really cost €1tn? | March 2020
Fiona Harvey and Jennifer Rankin unpack Europe’s ambitious version of the Green New Deal, which seeks to “transform the 27-country bloc from a high- to a low-carbon economy, without reducing prosperity and while improving people’s quality of life, through cleaner air and water, better health and a thriving natural world.”
Readthe story.
THE AMERICAN PROSPECT: Green New Deal package | December 2019
The American Prospect published a robust package of Green New Deal stories which collectively dive into the many implications of a Green New Deal for American life and livelihoods. The package includes pieces on how the Green New Deal could impact trade, the economy, and US public works; stories about how cities and states are already leading the way; a review of how Green New Deal-like policies are already transforming countries abroad; and a look back at the lasting legacy of the original New Deal.
VOX:What’s actually in the Green New Deal, explained with a video | June 2019
In a 7:30 video, Alvin Chang and Dion Lee break down what the Green New Deal is, why science necessitates something like it, and what exactly a “new deal” for the environment would entail.
Watch the video.
THE INTERCEPT: A Message From the Future With Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez | April 2019
In a 7:35 video narrated by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and illustrated by Molly Crabapple, The Intercept challenges the idea that climate disaster is a foregone conclusion, asking the question, “What if we decided not to drive off the climate cliff?”
Watch the video.
THE INTERCEPT: Who’s Afraid of the Green New Deal | February 2019
Kate Aronoff, climate reporter and co-author of A Planet to Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal, digs into the people and political forces on both sides of the aisle resisting the Green New Deal—and the interests informing their approach to the proposal.
Read the story.
VOX: The Green New Deal, explained | December 2018 (updated March 2019)
Similar to the above but in written form, David Roberts explores at length the Green New Deal’s origins, the people and forces of change popularizing it, and ultimately its political prospects.
Read the story.
THE INTERCEPT: With A Green New Deal, Here’s What the World Could Look Like for the Next Generation | December 2018
Aronoff envisions a world several decades on from the passage of a Green New Deal. It is a calmer world, complete with better health outcomes, a stronger economy, and a much-improved quality of life. Of course, the Green New Deal is no guarantee, so Aronoff has also reported out the present political dynamics between those who support and oppose the proposal.
Read the story.