As the number of Democrats vying for the White House shrinks, candidate Bernie Sanders rolled out a plan Aug. 22 for tackling climate change that aims to power 100% of the U.S. electricity and transportation sectors with renewable resources by 2030.
Vermont U.S. Sen. and Democratic primary contestant Bernie Sanders released his climate change plan Aug. 22, 2019. |
The plan, dubbed the Green New Deal after the climate platform backed by many progressive and Democratic lawmakers, also seeks to stop construction of new nuclear power plants and would place a moratorium on license renewals for existing U.S. nuclear facilities.
The proposal is one of many from Democratic White House hopefuls that promote reduced reliance on fossil fuels. But by targeting a complete transition to renewables by 2030, Sanders' plan is far more sweeping than the climate strategy released by Democratic frontrunner Joe Biden, which includes investments in advanced nuclear reactors, carbon capture technologies for coal- and natural gas-fired plants, and renewable resources.
"To get to our goal of 100 percent sustainable energy, we will not rely on any false solutions like nuclear, geoengineering, carbon capture and sequestration, or trash incinerators," Sanders' campaign said.
Not many specifics
The plan did not include many specifics on how the power sector will reach 100% renewables by 2030 but does call for expanding the federal power marketing administrations, or PMAs, to build new solar, wind and geothermal sources. Sanders wants to create a new PMA for states and regions not currently served by the four existing PMAs and the Tennessee Valley Authority. Those five entities provide electricity to customers in 33 states mostly in the West and Southeast, with much of the Upper Midwest and Northeast not served by such entities.
Sanders' plan would set aside $1.52 trillion to build new renewable power and $852 billion for new energy storage capacity, which together with a federal renewable energy standard from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency "will fully drive out non-sustainable generation sources," the framework said. Other pillars of his climate strategy include spending $526 billion on a modern smart grid and directing the EPA to regulate all types of greenhouse gases, including methane and hydrofluorocarbons, under the Clean Air Act.
Sanders also wants to fully electrify and decarbonize the transportation sector, including by offering grants to low- and moderate-income families and small businesses to purchase new electric vehicles and creating a trade-in program for older cars. The federal government would also spend $85.6 billion to build a national network of EV charging infrastructure.
In addition, Sanders' Green New Deal includes calls for "massive investments" in research and development for energy storage, EVs and making plastics more sustainable; the U.S. rejoining the Paris Agreement on climate change; providing $200 billion to help developing countries with clean energy construction and climate adaptation; and incentivizing farmers to build "ecologically regenerative farming systems" to reduce emissions and sequester carbon dioxide.
The Vermont senator said the plan would create 20 million jobs across the steel, automotive, energy, and sustainable agriculture industries, among other sectors, and would support displaced fossil fuel workers by giving them five years of unemployment insurance, a wage guarantee and other benefits, including priority job placements. The initiative also contains a social justice component that would set aside $40 billion for a Climate Justice Resiliency Fund to help under-resourced communities prepare for and recover from climate impacts.
The $16.3 trillion plan would "pay for itself over 15 years," according to Sanders, in part by "making the fossil fuel industry pay for their pollution, through litigation, fees, and taxes, and eliminating federal fossil fuel subsidies."
Revenue would also come from the PMAs' wholesale energy sales, which Sanders said the government would collect between 2023 and 2035, after which electricity from those operations "will be virtually free, aside from operations and maintenance costs." Other sources of revenue include "scaling back military spending on maintaining global oil dependence" and additional income tax money from the newly created green jobs.
Altogether, the plan hopes to slash U.S. carbon emissions by 71% by 2030 and help less-industrialized nations cut their carbon output by 36% from 2017 levels by 2030.
Achieving Sanders' renewable goals will be difficult, however. The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory has said the U.S. could get up to 80% of its electric power from renewable resources by 2050 but not without extensive investment in additional transmission capacity and expanded manufacturing of solar panels and other equipment.
Reaction
Environmental groups praised Sanders' Green New Deal, with the League of Conservation Voters saying "voters across the country are demanding that the next president have a bold agenda to tackle the climate crisis and there is a lot to like in this plan."
The American Petroleum Institute, which represents U.S. oil and gas producers, blasted the proposal.
"Pitting important environmental goals against working families who rely on affordable American energy is a false choice," API spokesperson Scott Lauermann said. "While some may use attacks on natural gas and oil to energize their political base, our industry will remain focused on providing the energy that powers America's economy and modern lifestyle, while also continuing to lower carbon emissions beyond their current generational low."
Democrats hoping to face off against President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential race have all crafted ambitious plans to deal with climate change. Former U.S. Vice President Biden, who has frequently polled at the top of the Democratic field, has said he will sign executive orders and push for legislation to achieve a "100% clean energy economy" and net-zero emissions by 2050. Another leading contender, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., has proposed a $2 trillion investment in clean energy technology research, development and manufacturing and to halt new fossil fuel leases on public lands.
The rollout of Sanders' climate plan comes as two major Democratic primary contestants have dropped out of the 2020 race. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who made climate change the top issue of his campaign, pulled out of the race Aug. 21 amid low odds of reaching the necessary polling threshold to qualify for the next round of primary debates. On Aug. 15, former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper announced he was no longer for running for president but shared plans days later to run for the Colorado U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican Cory Gardner.

