Urgency to slow and ultimately stop climate change and its damaging environmental effects has long been a top agenda item for Democrats on Capitol Hill.

Now they have more leverage since becoming the majority party in the House of Representatives and climate change is getting more attention.

This week a resolution calling for a Green New Deal, which includes energizing the U.S. economy, was introduced by Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

The plan isn’t legislation, but is intended as a roadmap for Congress to tackle the issue of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and the resulting environmental damage.

Here’s what it’s about:

Who Backs It?

Four presidential candidates—Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)—are co-sponsors, according to the Washington Post. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who may also run for president, also backs the plan. A total of nine senators and 60 members of the House so far support the measure.

What Are the Goals?

The main target is to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions within 10 years.

This includes creating 100% renewable energy production, upgrades to infrastructure, and all existing buildings, support for sustainable agriculture, a shift from air travel and gasoline cars to mass transit, and creation of resiliency to climate change-related disasters.

But the plan is even bigger than a carbon-neutral U.S. in a decade. Ocasio-Cortez told NPR that the Green New Deal is about social justice, meaning it would create millions of jobs, as well as provide access to clean water and healthy food for everyone.

How Much Would It Cost?

The plan has no budget, but its goals and programs would likely run into the trillions of dollars. Ocasio-Cortez told NPR she envisions a combination of taxation and deficit spending to enable the plan, with economic growth justifying the expenditure.

“For every one dollar invested in infrastructure we get six dollars back,” she said, also noting when the GOP-controlled Congress passed the massive tax cut in 2017 and claimed future economic growth, “they had no evidence to say that these things were going to happen.”

What Would the Plan Actually Do?

As a non-binding resolution, the Green New Deal does nothing in itself—and would probably not pass the Republican-controlled Senate or get a signature from Donald Trump. Even if it did pass, there are no specific programs described.

长期以来，民主党议员一直非常重视应对气候变化及其对环境产生的破坏性影响，最终目标是完全消除气候变化的负面影响。

如今民主党已占据众议院多数席位，也就有更多手段推动气候变化受关注。

本周，马萨诸塞州的民主党参议员艾德·马基与纽约州民主党众议员亚历山德里亚·奥卡西奥·科特斯共同推出名为“绿色新政”的决议，其中包括提升美国经济的举措。

这项计划并未成为法案，主要为美国国会应对减少温室气体排放及其环境影响问题制定路线图。

以下是绿色新政的要点：

谁支持？

《华盛顿邮报》称，绿色新政得到了四位总统候选人，也是四位参议员的支持，包括新泽西州民主党议员柯瑞·布克、纽约州民主党议员陆天娜、加州民主党议员贺锦丽和马萨诸塞州议员伊丽莎白·沃伦。另外，有可能竞选总统的佛蒙特州参议员伯尼·桑德斯也支持该计划。迄今为止，共有九位参议员和60位众议院支持此计划。

有何目标？

主要目标是，在十年内，让温室气体排放量降为零。

实现目标包括一些具体措施，如进行百分百生产可再生能源、升级基础设施和所有建筑，支持可持续农业，从坐飞机和汽油汽车改为乘坐公共交通工具，提升应对气候变化引发灾难的能力等。

然而，这项计划的意图还不止是在十年内让美国实现碳中性。奥卡西奥-科特斯向美国国家公共电台（NPR）表示，绿色新政还要努力实现社会公义，意味着可增加数以百万的就业岗位，也为所有人提供清洁的水源和健康的食物。

成本几何？

绿色新政没有预算，不过相关目标和项目可能耗资几万亿美元。奥卡西奥-科特斯向NPR透露，希望通过征税和赤字财政支出推行计划，经济增长将证明前期投入均是合理的。

她说：“我们投入基础设施的每一美元都可以得到六美元的回报。”她指出，2017年共和党人把持的国会通过了大规模减税法案，还声称未来可促进经济增长，“却没有任何证据证明真的会发生。”

有何现实作用？

作为无法律约束力的决议，绿色新政只是一纸空文，而且可能无法通过共和党人掌控的参议院，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普也可能不会签字。即便顺利通过，该计划也没有提出具体的项目。（财富中文网）

译者：Pessy

审校：夏林