Focus

A Green New Deal

by Jack Humphrys

Comparisons with the 1930s Great depression abound in the multiple crises the world is going through. One interesting development out of Britain is the Green New Deal which was launched by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) in July 2008.

Drawing on evidence from the International Governmental Panel on Climate Change a small group of activists including a Green member of the European Parliament, journalists (eg. Larry Elliot, Economics Editor of The Guardian) and activist scholars (eg. Anne Peddifer, author of The Coming First World Debt, 2006) concluded that by 2016/2017 that if no significant structural reforms are taken now, the concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will be irreversible and will lead to a catastrophic two degree increase in the earth’s temperature by 2050.

Drawing on U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal in the Great Depression, in which his government carried out reforms in a 100 day period, that alleviated suffering, carried out significant social reforms and saved U.S. capitalism (See Anthony Ashbolt, “Rescue the Public Schools not the Corporate Profiteers” in this issue of Australian Options) they launched their 100 months campaign to turn back Climate Change. Calling themselves The Green New Deal Group they argue that if the structural reforms outlined below are put in place by 2016/2017(100 months from July 2008) the world will be in a better position to win the war against Climate Change.

In criticizing the conspicuous consumption and rampant growth of the rich nations they use in some of their writing WW2 analogies to outline the urgency of a war on climate change. Given the financial crisis, high oil and food prices, plus the challenge of averting dramatic climate change the Green New Deal Group do not see war analogies out of place. Cuba, after the fall of the Soviet Union and its subsidised oil, is also used as a modern example of how to adjust to major crisis, plan and survive.

The proposed Green New Deal involves pressing the present government on major structural reform in Britain. This includes a visionary plan for low energy system, a massive greens job programme for a vast environmental reconstruction and establishing an Oil Legacy Fund, paid for by a windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas companies. As well, developing alternative fuels and minimizing corporate tax evasion by clamping down on tax havens and corporate financial reporting are also part of the plan. Regulating the domestic financial system and breaking up the discredited financial system complete the national reform picture.

Internationally, the Green New Deal group urge the British government to restore a sustainable economic and financial environment that will ensure environmental sustainability, involving three elements. Firstly, all nations would have greater independence over their economic policy. Secondly, setting an international target for greenhouse gas concentrations that keeps the earth’s temperature rises below 2 degrees by 2050 is a priority. Thirdly, poor countries would be given assistance to develop without increasing global warming by massive aid in the area of renewable energy technology and other areas of climate change adaptation.

While our history suggests we should be careful of imitating overseas models of development, there is much here the Rudd government could use to confront the global situation. Not to say that there can’t be improvements to the Green New Deal- for example, there is not a member of organised labour on the organizing group. Also are large financial institutions, even those that are discredited, likely to accept being broken up? History often shows that economic crises lead to increased concentration of economic power by a few large firms in an industry.

Further Information:

Source: Australian Options, Issue 55, Summer 2008/09, p. 36.

 

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