GND action at the state level avoids obstacles at the federal level – success paves the way for subsequent federal action.

In 2018, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change set a deadline: Snuff greenhouse gas emissions 45 percent by 2030 to keep warming from creeping past 1.5 degrees Celsius, the threshold beyond which lie the worst consequences of an overheated planet. Technologically, the scientists pointed out, we have the tools to make such a drastic clamp-down happen, but we’ve struggled to put them to work.

The past two years have provided an especially dire preview of what may come if we don’t. In 2019, wildfires flared in southern California and eastern Australia, destroying homes and habitats. And already 2020 has seen more fires Down Under, massive flooding in the Southeast, and Antarctic temps hitting close to 70 degrees Fahrenheit in February—accelerating melting and pushing up sea levels worldwide.

In the US, 2019’s proposed Green New Deal, the brainchild of Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY) and Edward Markey (MA), presented the most ambitious climate blueprint to ever cross lawmakers’ desks. The resolution—inspired by both FDR’s sweeping 1930s social and economic safety net and modern, groundbreaking climate policies in progressive states like California—called for a transformation of energy, economic, and social structures. The grand plan aims to slash greenhouse gas emissions by switching to 100 percent renewable energy by 2030, while providing a safety net for displaced workers, increasing the efficiency of buildings, and decarbonizing agriculture and manufacturing. Recognizing that climate change often hurts low-income communities the most, it also addresses income inequality through goals like providing training opportunities for a new wave of green jobs.

Washington has not yet answered the GND’s call to action. Bills that would advance objectives like making buildings more efficient and curbing emissions have sputtered, the US has no federal renewable-energy target, and the current administration has overwritten emissions-reduction efforts like former president Barack Obama’s plan to phase out coal.

The state level, however, is a different story. In the absence of a federal mandate, local governments and institutions are stepping up. “Since the Green New Deal, we’ve seen more [state] governments put forth more policies,” says Ben Beachy, Director of Sierra Club’s Living Economy Program. At least 20 states have adopted, or are considering, a 100 percent renewables requirement for electric utilities, according to a report last year from EQ Research, and 100 cities have done so, too. A few governments, including those representing Maine, Los Angeles, and New York City, branded their policies as Green New Deal avatars. In others, the influence is more covert.

As states pursue fixes tailored to their individual priorities—from phasing out coal-fired power to getting more electric vehicles on the road—the GND doctrine is gaining momentum, climate policy experts say. State initiatives can light the way for the specific federal policies needed to realize Green New Deal goals, such as electric vehicle rebates or a carbon tax, says Rob Klee, a professor at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies and a former commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. “To me that’s exciting; it’s showing the potential to create a functioning government and policy that actually works.”