Dear Friend,
This week, I shared with you about my participation in the March to End Fossil Fuels Parade in New York City…
When I talk to people about climate, the most common response I hear is climate despair. We march and march, people say, but nothing changes.
I am not here to feed you false optimism or tell you that everything’s going to be fine, but I do want to show you why there is reason for hope – if we stand up.
I recently read about a major climate victory that has some important lessons.
After a campaign led by the Democratic Socialists of America, New York State passed the Build Public Renewables Act, a major step toward a Green New Deal. The BPRA puts the publicly owned New York Power Authority in charge of building renewable energy.
While Republicans ignore climate change, and Democrats propose free market solutions through subsidies and tax incentives, we can only solve the climate catastrophe if we have direct public investment in renewable energy.
Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act is much better than nothing, but it mainly consists of market incentives rather than the public investment reminiscent of Democratic Party I grew up knowing.
We need a Green New Deal, a core pillar of which is public investment in renewable energy. |
The BPRA did not pass because the ruling Democrats in New York felt like passing it. In fact, they fought it tooth and nail, but they lost. The BPRA passed because of a fighting campaign that was not afraid to expose the hypocrisy of pro-fossil fuel Democrats. The organizers even ran primaries against Democrats who refused to back their measure. The DSA, along with major labor unions and other progressive groups that got on board, organized for years and finally won this landmark victory.
The lesson here is that we can win – we can stop the climate apocalypse – but only if we organize and demand our government lead a transition to renewable energy. As President, I will lead this effort.
All of this is doable but we need to do it now. Let’s create the climate break-through we all know in our hearts is possible. |
