Elizabeth Warren, a US senator from Massachusetts, was recently one of the 10 presidential candidates that took part in CNN’s climate crisis town hall meeting. Her climate plan differs from her rivals in that it works for the most vulnerable. She focuses on the fact that citizens in poor areas are most affected by polluted air and water. Overall, she stresses that “climate change is real, is happening, and we are running out of time” so it is urgent we take bold action, now. We cannot wait, she says. “The United States is a world leader and we are leading in the wrong direction now. We have to go the other way!”
As the climate crisis escalates, America and the entire world has been facing “record floods, wildfires, and extreme storms that rip apart whole communities. People are dying. There are billions of dollars in damage. The air we breathe and the water we drink are being poisoned by dangerous amounts of pollution.”
Which is why she:
- Is an original supporter of the Green New Deal. Under the deal, the goal of net-zero domestic greenhouse gas emissions is to be reached as fast as possible so it commits the country to a 10-year mobilization through 2030.
- Has woven climate change throughout her policy proposals, because big, structural change need to take place across every sector, and they need to be sustained it over time.
Building on Governor Jay Inslee’s 10-year action plan to decarbonize the country’s electricity, vehicles, and buildings, she has put out a plan to achieve 100% clean energy in America in 10 years. However, it isn’t enough to just switch everything over to renewable energy – Warren believes that to really address America’s climate crisis head-on, environmental racism must be addressed. The government has to recognize that climate change doesn’t impact every community equally.
There is evidence that shows how communities of color, indigenous people, and low-income Americans are disproportionately impacted. For example, they are more likely to live in neighborhoods with toxic waste facilities, and more likely to be exposed to air pollution. In addition, when catastrophic storms roll through, these communities are supported with recovery that is slow, painful, and often lacking total support from the government.
A lot of good can come out of taking advantage of the opportunity “to marshal all of our resources and all of our people to unleash the best of American innovation and creativity to take it on.” Warren plans to do that by “employing millions of workers in good, union jobs with accompanying pay scales and benefits” and by “providing coal workers and others employed in the fossil fuel industry with financial security, including guaranteeing wage and benefit parity and early retirement benefits.” Doing so should alleviate the tension there has been between transitioning to a green economy and creating good, middle class, union jobs.
A Warren administration will “take on the racism and inequality embedded in the existing system and readjust the economic approach to ensure that communities of color and others who have been systematically excluded from the country’s fossil fuel economy are not left behind.”
A Warren administration will “prioritize resources and investments that’ll spur economic development for these communities while also protecting them from the harmful effects of climate change now.”
She concludes her speech by saying:
There is no one-size fits all approach to our climate crisis. As president, I promise you that we will confront climate change, but we won’t do it by turning our backs on the communities of color and the most vulnerable or on workers employed in the fossil fuel industry. We can lift up frontline communities, empower workers, and tackle climate change — all at the same time. This is the promise of the Green New Deal — and this is why I’m in this fight.
The post Elizabeth Warren Unveils Climate Change Plan That Works For The Vulnerable appeared first on Intelligent Living.
