Green New Deal Analysis – the Interconnectedness of Climate and Environmental Justice
The Green New Deal (GND) proposals are one of the principal globally-recognized actions addressing climate change and social justice, that call upon public policies to achieve each step. It references Franklin D. Roosevelt’s New Deal, which was designed to achieve social, economic, and environmental reform in response to the Great Depression. This plan eventually became popular in history for its driving force of modern innovation, including renewable energy projects, upgrading of infrastructure, economic and social justice, as well as resource efficiency (French et al, 2013).
In more recent years, proposals for an updated “Green New Deal” have grown more prevalent on a global scale. There are many promising aspects of its newest resolutions in the U.S. which seem to be technologically and infrastructurally feasible from the outside. However, some have voiced concerns arguing that its degree of ambition and precarious political appeal are completely different stories. It is important to evaluate major governmental policy shifts such as this one, especially with its profound impacts on the health of the rest of the world. When selecting the most salient and sustainable approaches to the Green New Deal, it is imperative that environmental justice must be placed at the center and forefront of the framework, after a long history of being overlooked and dismissed. Ultimately, all actions must function interdependently in Biden’s Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution and Environmental Justice.
It is important to recognize that these seemingly holistic GND resolutions that the Biden administration proposes are a result of years of Indigenous and grassroots activism, involving a wide range of communities uniting and raising their voices in the name of having safe lands, waters, and living conditions. The truth behind this ongoing structural conflict is that the only way to thrust the strongest blow to the system is through engaging in constant social pressure through these grassroots movements of environmental justice.
In the sections of Agriculture, Conservation, and Environmental Justice, the Biden-Harris Administration is launching a new process for stakeholder engagement which encompasses agricultural and forest landowners, fishermen, Tribes, territories, and local officials into conversations within the climate justice movement (Doshi, 2021). Biden is moving past the denialism of environmental injustice- crucially focusing on Indigenous leadership in managing lands, waters, and people.
The Administration is also seeking to place particular protection on farmers and ranchers (generationally, mainly composed of people of color), in the process of transitioning out of fossil fuels, as well as forwarding sustainable agriculture endeavors. At the same time, the program aims to generate new sources of revenues, and empower farmers to utilize this technology to maximize renewable energy, water, and production efficiency, create newly-funded jobs, equitable opportunities, and safer living conditions for agricultural workers (Plan for Climate Change and Environmental Justice: Joe Biden, 2021).
President Biden and Representative Haaland are also committing to permanently protect the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and focus on the “30 by 30” conservation framework, in order to address conservation issues. This ambitious goal would rely on Biden’s executive power to designate and protect new monuments, and ban industries such as drilling, mining, and timber harvesting in public lands.
In privately owned-lands, where ⅔ of endangered species exist globally, it would be integral to ensure that the 30 by 30 plan works in an interconnected way by allowing native land owners to lead in these efforts of conservation of biodiversity protection, as well as forwarding sustainable agriculture innovation. This aspect has been particularly emphasized by Representative Haaland, which reveals that congressional allies seem to understand that all conservation goals only live with the support and sovereignty of tribal nations and environmental justice (Doshi, 2021).
In terms of these steps, some have defined the GND not as a plan, but rather, “a statement of goals”, characterized by their broad and very ambitious nature. Although many are in favor of these goals, obstacles lie in securing a stable base of political and financial support. Even after bringing marginalized voices to the table in the processes of climate change planning, reversing the impacts of environmental injustice itself is an enormous feat to take on in and of itself. On a global scale, it is known that there are massive legal fees involved in fighting against environmental racism and injustice- which can be an extremely difficult hurdle to overcome within lower-income minority groups (Amanda, 2017). In a review of 210 judicial review cases between 2005 and 2009, over half did not proceed due to costs (Cost Barriers to Environmental Justice, 2011).
There is a significant challenge in rallying more people to get behind these endeavors of allowing the Indigenous to lead and become successful in the light they deserve. Thus, it will be Biden’s responsibility to follow through and be transparent with citizens about milestones and setbacks. These setbacks could include mishaps in adopting sovereignty-affirming principles that are not accessible and specific to each tribe, or not adequately supporting Indigenous networks with enough funding and flexibility within their management and protection practices. Using Indigenous populations around the world as a “poster child” for reasons to protect conservation is profoundly harmful (Egan, 2021). It strips them of their complex identities, needs, and situations.
In the process of enabling Indigenous leadership, we must recognize the degree of which indigenous communities have been most severely impacted by environmental hazards. It is poignantly known that America’s colonization and imperialism was fueled by uprooting Indigenous Native Americans and people of color from their lands- often through extreme violence, and genocide (Sonnenblume, 2016). It is time to truthfully face the fallout from these actions that continue in a deepened way in today’s world.
Audiences must learn the proven benefits, strengths, and positive stories behind Indigenous leadership, in order to fully politically support the ideals of the Indigenous being able to lead and become successful. According to Sahir Doshi, author of The Biden Administration’s Conservation Plan Must Prioritize Indigenous Leadership, there is a wealth of research on the universal scientific benefits of Indigenous-led conservation works, including: greater amounts of biodiversity (more carbon sequestration, reduced deforestation, and mitigation), more efficient methods of managing pollution hazards, more resilience against natural disasters, and slower mass extinction rates on lands managed by Indigenous communities, as compared to areas that are under federal control, as indicated in the UN’s Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services 2019 Report (Doshi, 2021). In terms of social benefits, positive socio-economic outcomes are seen across the board, due to how people are given the opportunity to participate equally in the designing, implementation of technology and strategies (Pew Charitable Trusts, 2015). With tribal sovereignty existing at the heart of these efforts and programs, it is revealed that it cannot thrive if it Indigenous people are marginalized and cast aside by stakeholders.
Returning to Biden’s prioritization of environmental, social, and economic justice in conjunction with striving for climate justice, these goals are important because we all have moral obligations to undo these patterns of exploitation, displacement, and deepening of inequities and injustices. The US government has failed to sustainably manage public lands in a way that is trustworthy and consistent with treaties and trusts with tribal nations (National Congress of American Indians, 2018). This lack of responsibility on behalf of the US government aggravates the global state of climate change and has been a sorely missed opportunity to engage respectfully with Indigenous peoples, who are the original and best stewards of their natural resources, conservation practices, and recognition of biodiversity. (Doshi, 2021).
The GND proposes an adequate vision in the right direction for embodying environmental justice more than ever before, especially in conversations surrounding conservation and fossil fuel reduction. However, will this vision be carried through in the holistic way that it seems to propose? There must be accountability, transparency, and active participation from all stakeholders to consistently follow through with their proposed plans and strategies. Specific actions that the Administration could pursue in these plans should be prioritizing tribal homeland restoration, exploring creative new ideas to recognize the success of Indigenous-led conservation, creating a system of co-production of knowledge and research, and integrating meticulous consultation in congruence with Tribal sovereignty (Doshi, 2021). Above all, we must honor equal inclusion and communication in conversations surrounding the complexity of the climate crisis, and a vital priority given to those who are deliberately excluded.
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