FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 6, 2024
Contact: Prerna Jagadeesh, pjagadeesh@greennewdealnetwork.org
Green New Deal Movement celebrates 5-year anniversary in February, beginning with 5th Birthday Party on Tuesday in DC
Led by the Green New Deal Network, activists from across the movement will celebrate the successes achieved over the past five years and launch the next chapter of the movement
Washington, D.C. – Five years after the Green New Deal was first introduced in Congress, the Green New Deal Network will bring together climate organizers, labor activists, community members, and Members of Congress including Sen. Markey and Rep. Jayapal to celebrate the progress achieved so far and launch the next phase of the Green New Deal fight at today’s 5th Birthday Party for the Green New Deal. Visuals at the event will include an art timeline of the Green New Deal movement in the last 5 years around the walls and a large piñata.
SPEAKERS: Kaniela Ing, Green New Deal Network, Sen. Markey, Rep. Jayapal, Oscar Villalobos, DC Green New Deal Coordinator, and more
WHAT: 5th Birthday Party for the Green New Deal
WHEN/WHERE: 6:30pm, The Ugly Mug
RSVP: email pjagadeesh@greennewdealnetwork.org
Also today, Green New Deal Network National Director Kaniela Ing will be speaking at Senator Ed Markey’s press conference to commemorate the 5th anniversary of the Green New Deal at 12:00pm at the Senate swamp.
These events will kick off a month-long 5-Year Anniversary celebration led by Green New Deal Network spotlighting how organizers in the Green New Deal movement have already secured hundreds of billions of dollars in climate spending at the federal, state, and local levels and transformed the narrative on climate solutions in a few short years. Events will include a rally in Pittsburgh featuring Representative Summer Lee on February 22nd and a mass mobilization call on February 29th.
As President Biden runs for re-election and pivots towards shoring up his support with the young voters and voters of color who were so integral to his 2020 victory, The Green New Deal Network is calling for Biden to commit to winning the remaining 90% of the Build Back Better Act (which 99% of Congressional Dems voted to pass in 2021) and an additional $1 trillion over the course of the next 4 years for GND-style policies.
“When our movement birthed the Green New Deal in 2018, we entered a new era in climate governance where we shifted the climate conversation from planet to people, environment to economy, from what we have to give up to what we will gain: better jobs, cleaner air, and economic freedom,” said Kaniela Ing, National Director of the Green New Deal Network. “We knew that our movement was inextricably linked with racial, gender, social, and economic justice – so we banded together to defeat the era of government budget cuts, corporate influences, and inequitable policies. Since then, we have elected GND Champions into the halls of power, passed the largest climate bill in our history, and secured billions of dollars in climate justice spending across states. What we have accomplished is just the start in the fight and the movement for a Green New Deal.”
“Five years ago, we set out a bold vision to fight the climate crisis through investing in the strength and wellbeing of our communities. Our fight for the Green New Deal has been fueled by voices all across the country, calling for a government that puts people over profit, creates millions of good paying Green jobs, and mobilizes every part of our society to act with the urgency that meets the scale of the climate crisis we face,” said Michele Weindling, Political Director of the Sunrise Movement. “This bold vision for the Green New Deal is the reason we have secured some of the largest climate wins in history over the last few years, but as US fossil fuel production reaches new records, we know our communities need and deserve more to secure a livable future for all. That is why we will never stop fighting until we win the Green New Deal in full.”
“Five years ago, the vision of a Green New Deal spurred by young people, and climate-impacted frontline communities launched a tectonic shift in the climate movement. Building on decades of environmental justice, communities’ resistance to being relegated as sacrifice zones for polluted air and water, and the climate crisis, led a broad coalition to come together across sectors to demand real climate justice solutions now. Since then, our movements have secured victories, including historic environmental justice investments,” said Adrien Salazar, Policy Director, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance. “But the federal government continues to support fossil fuels and false climate solutions, and the fight for climate justice must continue. Ensuring racial justice, a just energy transition for workers and communities, and human rights, including protecting the rights of Indigenous peoples, and land and water defenders, must be part of winning a real Green New Deal.”
“As we celebrate 5 years of the Green New Deal, we believe that our communities must be empowered to lead the renewable energy transition across the U.S. From passing a landmark climate justice bill in the country in 2019, the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), until today, New York continues to lead communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis,” said Monique Fitzgerald, Climate Justice Organizer with Long Island Progressive Coalition and NY Renews. “Now, the NY Renews coalition’s People’s Climate Justice Budget models how we must fund frontline neighborhoods first. Our communities have identified $1 billion in frontline-led, shovel-ready projects from across the state for projects we can launch or grow in 2024. It’s time we break down barriers to ensuring equitable access to state and federal climate funding. Getting the money we need to launch the People’s Climate Justice Budget in New York is central to securing climate justice and a Green New Deal.”
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About the Green New Deal Network
The Green New Deal Network is the hub of the GND, bringing together frontline communities, labor organizers, and climate activists from all across the country to drive massive public investments towards a Green New Deal at all scales of government. The Green New Deal Network is a national campaign with an expansive network of member organizations and a governing table of steering committee members: Climate Justice Alliance, Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, The Movement for Black Lives, People’s Action, Sunrise Movement, Working Families Party, and US Climate Action Network.