Bernie Sanders Unveils
$16 Trillion Climate Change Plan
On August 22, presidential candidate Bernie
Sanders formally announced his new climate
focused proposal dubbed The Green New Deal. The ambitious plan declares climate change a
national emergency and proposes the commitment
of $16.3 trillion to address the issue. That is significantly larger amount than any
plan released by his Democratic opponents. In his plan, Sanders proposes reaching
100 percent renewable energy by 2030
and total decarbonization by 2050. Sander’s also proposes the transformation
of America’s agricultural system by investing
in small, family run farms over corporations. Another large aspect of the plan is the creation
of 20 million jobs with strong benefits and safety
standards, effectively ending unemployment. According to Sanders, The Green New Deal will pay
for itself over a 15-year-period by scaling back military
spending and creating taxes for the fossil fuel industry. If successful, the proposal estimates that the United
States will save $70.4 trillion in the next 80 years.