Global Alliance for a Green New Deal: Too Much Old Grey

The notion of a ‘Green New Deal’ is receiving considerable support. It has been reflected in the formation of a Global Alliance for a Green New Deal, its statement representative of what is being variously proposed around the world. This paper takes the Alliance as a case study, arguing that ‘Green New Dealism’ still does not get to grips with the breadth and depth of the ecological crunch. The paper below is written for activists in the cause of the sustainable common good so references are given in the form of links to material posted on the Internet. Hopefully, then, relevant evidence and arguments will be quickly accessible and recycled into further development of the really green case. A variety of references have been provided so that it might be more likely that material needed to refute some specific point being made by the ‘other side’ can be located. 

The document is in the form of a compressed PDF below

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Summary

• The Global Alliance for a Green New Deal ‘package’ is certainly better than conventional development strategies but remains significantly flawed in many ways.
• The fundamental issue of growth, including its population component, is badly addressed.
• Far too much is expected of ‘alternative’ technologies, including renewable energy sources.
• Too much is blamed solely on the ‘Rich North’ / ‘White West’.
• Similarly, too much blame is attached to the financial sector, ignoring the unsustainable burden of the ‘real economy’ of production and consumption.
• The threat from the ‘tragedy of the commons’ is evaded while there is unwarranted silence on the menace of human numbers.
• Overall, the “Deal’ fails to recognise the need for quite substantial overall degrowth to a steady-state economy in dynamic balance with the rest of nature.