“Green New Deal” to Have Council Hearing

With a “Green New Deal” Congressional resolution receiving national attention, the Council is set to hold a public hearing on similar local resolution.

The proposed City Council would declare a, “climate emergency,” and call for the creation of a, “Green New Deal,” to, “guarantee of high-paying, good-quality jobs with comprehensive benefits,” and set a goal of eliminating greenhouse gas emissions in the city by 2030.

The local resolution is set to have a public hearing in the Council’s Consolidated Subcommittee on February 21, 2019. The hearing is at 7:00pm in City Hall.

The federal proposal, introduced by New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) proposes a series of policy goals to create good paying jobs in a process of converting the economy away from greenhouse emissions. In general terms, it proposes eliminating greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, while creating broad-based prosperity by making new investments in industry, infrastructure, health care and communities.

The City Council resolution was introduced by Ald. Aram Ayalon (D-3), Ald. Eva Magnuszewski (D-AL), Ald. Richard Reyes (D-AL) and Ald. Brian Keith Albert (D-2), Ald. Daniel Salerno (R-AL) and Ald Don Naples (R-4). Ald. Magnuszewski is the Council President.

The proposal says that, “the death and destruction already wrought by global warming of approximately 1°C demonstrate that the Earth is already too hot for safety and justice as attested by increased and intensifying wildfires, floods, rising seas, diseases, droughts and extreme weather.”

The resolution seeks to have New Britain become one of, “a growing list of cities, districts and counties across the world have,” that, “have recently declared or officially acknowledged the existence of a climate emergency.”

Saying that, “restoring a safe and stable climate requires an emergency mobilization on a scale not seen since World War II to reach zero greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors at wartime speed,” the resolution adds that, “fairness demands a guarantee of high-paying, good-quality jobs with comprehensive benefits for all and many other tenants of a Green New Deal effort as the mobilization to restore a safe climate is launched.”

The proposal calls for the creation of a task force to, “catalyze a just transition and climate emergency mobilization effort.” The resolution does not provide for who would serve on the task force.

The resolution would set a goal for New Britain, “with appropriate financial and regulatory assistance from State and Federal authorities, end citywide greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible and no later than 2030.”

Under the proposal the city of New Britain would also call on the state and federal governments, to “a just transition and climate emergency mobilization effort to reverse global warming by restoring near pre-industrial global average temperatures and greenhouse gas concentrations.”