Berkeley student gov: $93 TRILLION Green New Deal is 'ultimately financially wise'
The complete abolition of all California gas, oil, and coal production was listed as one of the goals.
UC-Berkeley's student government passed a resolution supporting the "intent" of AOC's Green New Deal.
Students at the University of California, Berkeley passed a resolution proclaiming their support of “sweeping climate reform” and the “intent” of New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Green New Deal, despite the plan’s whopping $93 trillion price tag.
UC-Berkeley student government representatives passed the resolution with unanimous consent, affirming the Berkeley student body’s endorsement of “the intent and purpose of the Green New Deal to rapidly and significantly lower carbon emissions across the economy,” and calling on the U.S. federal government to adopt “an aggressive, economy-wide approach to lower U.S. carbon emissions by 55% by 2030 and to reach carbon neutrality by 2050, prioritizing the use of cost-efficient solutions.”
The text of the resolution listed several specific goals including the achievement of “net-zero greenhouse gas emissions through a fair and just transition for all communities and workers, including adequately addressing disproportionate pollution burdens placed on frontline communities” and the complete abolition of all California gas, oil, and coal production.
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The resolution also emphasizes the importance of “promoting justice and equity by repairing historic, stopping current, and preventing future oppression” of groups such as “migrant communities,” “women,” and “low-income people,” and asserts that the negative impacts of climate change disproportionately impact “underserved frontline communities,” which are “the least equipped to react.”
While the students acknowledged the estimated $600,000 per household price tag of the Green New Deal, they assert that the cost “can be significantly reduced while still reaching aggressive climate goals if only the most cost-effective emissions reductions are implemented,” adding that the “large upfront costs” will actually “boost GDP through green jobs” and ultimately “save money in avoided damages from the effects of climate change.”
For these reasons, the Berkeley representatives say, the upfront spending for these types of reforms is “ultimately financially wise.”
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University spokesman Dan Mogulof emphasized to Campus Reform that the university’s student government is “an entirely independent entity from the University, both legally and financially.”
“The democratically elected student representatives have every right and ability to pass resolutions of their choosing,” Mogulof added. “As is always the case, the University’s administration does not have and will not have a position regarding legislative proposals that may come before Congress.”
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