First, there's lots to like: Paris commitment; zero-carbon public transportation in all cities; sustainable housing; retrofit buildings; union jobs; renewable energy; transition to EVs; environmental justice (although this is *extremely* vague). But there are also big problems:
1. Why does this plan need to be framed in the language of "growth"? The US economy does not need more GDP. And in any case, "sustainable growth" is not a thing.
2. The US economy needs to be decarbonized by 2030, not 2050 (particularly given the USA's outsized responsibility for excess historical emissions). This can be feasibly accomplished by scaling down industrial energy use in order to enable a faster transition to renewables.
3. EVs are great, but only if we also reduce aggregate private car use. The Biden-Harris plan sounds like it wants to *expand* the auto industry rather than scale it down.
4. The call for "climate-smart agriculture" tends to be code for agribusiness solutions like heat-resistant GMOs and intensification. What we need is regenerative, agroecological farming methods to restore soils and biodiversity. (And an end to industrial beef production).
5. Where is the public job guarantee? Where is the plan for ecological regeneration? Where is the commitment to reduce the USA's resource use? Where is the commitment to ecological standards on imports?
6. But the worst part is that this plan doesn't actually mention the need to end fossil fuels. That is unacceptable. Biden-Harris have a long way to go, and this won't happen unless we push them. Join and/or donate to @sunrisemvmt and @DemSocialists to support the movement.
You can follow @jasonhickel.
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