For the first time in nearly a decade, climate change has seemingly reemerged as a key component of the Democratic agenda thanks in large part to progressive newcomers’ promotion of the Green New Deal. The Green New Deal outlines a series of sweeping policy goals to combat the effects of climate change, including a vast reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, greater energy efficiency, and significant investments in green technology. One would be hard pressed to find a more ambitious environmental policy proposal.
Critics charge the Green New Deal is far too vague to be taken seriously. Proponents of the Green New Deal have yet to specify how, exactly, they intend to accomplish many of their lofty policy goals, although Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently floated a 70% tax on the wealthy to fund the plan. Still others characterize the Green New Deal as being too extreme, adding that the plan would require an unprecedented expansion of the country’s environmental bureaucracy.
But both criticisms are a bit premature given that we are only days into the new legislative session. The Green New Deal is not intended to be a prescriptive policy proposal but more a rallying cry for Democrats to finally get serious about climate change. It seeks to reframe climate change as an economic opportunity by calling attention to the various types of jobs and industries that could thrive in a truly green economy. Indeed, progressives implicitly acknowledged the lack of substance associated with parts of the plan by suggesting the creation of a special committee to develop a more comprehensive policy design.
There is, however, one flaw in the Green New Deal that cannot be chalked up to the notoriously vague nature of policy ideas hatched during a political campaign. Specifically, the Green New Deal makes little to no mention of climate adaptation and resilience. This omission is problematic for at least three reasons. First, it ignores the harsh reality that many of the most serious consequences of climate change—drought, heat waves, flooding—are now unavoidable. Effective climate governance necessitates more than just emissions control and renewable energy. Policymakers must also reduce the risks associated with the myriad of climate-related hazards already plaguing communities across the country.
Second, adaptation represents a golden opportunity for Democrats to broaden the existing climate coalition. Climate change policy has historically lacked salience among voters and even many rank-and-file Democrats. While there has been growing consensus that climate change is a real problem deserving of government attention, it is often difficult to rally groups around some of the most popular climate mitigation strategies, like carbon markets and clean energy plans. Simply put, many individuals struggle to conceptualize how these programs will actually improve their day-to-day lives. Adaptation turns this perception on its head by funding easily observable projects that address immediate community concerns. From the construction of new seawalls in flood-prone communities to the creation of cooling zones in urban heat islands, adaptation projects improve resilience, underscore the immediate impacts of climate change, and allow incumbent politicians to deliver goods and services back to their districts.
Finally, adaptation is likely the most politically feasible response to climate change, at least with a Republican-controlled White House and Senate. Democratic leaders have already signaled their desire to make climate resiliency, as well as investments in clean energy, a key component in any infrastructure package introduced during the upcoming session. Proponents of the Green New Deal should capitalize on the growing momentum toward an infrastructure bill and advocate for provisions to fund adaptation projects at the state and local level. A key victory in the infrastructure debate would signal the viability of the Green New Deal and position Democrats to attack some of their more controversial climate mitigation goals should they regain control of the Senate and White House in the coming years.
Big problems require big ideas. Climate change is no exception. The Green New Deal has resuscitated the national climate change debate by offering a bold new vision for addressing one of the greatest existential threats of our lifetime. While bringing this vision to reality will require nothing short of a herculean political effort, carving out space for adaptation could go a long way toward broadening support for the Green New Deal while ensuring communities are better equipped to deal with the disastrous and regrettably unavoidable consequences of decades of partisan gridlock and inaction.