A “Green New Deal” is a mass mobilization of resources to make the changes by 2030 that can lead to a carbon neutral economy by 2050.
This means moving swiftly to electric cars and heating and 100% clean, renewable energy by 2030, plus completing changes to industry and agriculture by 2050.
Nothing short of this will achieve the required cuts to greenhouse gas emissions in the timescale we have left.
A GND will require as much as $9 trillion of investment over the next 30 years, or as much as $300 billion per year.
But that’s not a cost as much as a capital investment, since it will be recouped by future sales of electricity, electric vehicles, electric public transport fares, and other income.
A GND would produce enormous savings, millions of jobs, and other benefits, including healthier air.
A GND would require many green-collar workers: PV installers, wind turbine construction workers, electric car and bus production line workers, etc.
A GND must also have a large number of experts in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) to solve some highly complex and technical problems like large-scale battery storage, more efficient solar panels, zero emission airplane fuels, etc.