The much-hyped Green New Deal, which laid out the broad strokes of a U.S. transition to green energy by 2030, failed in Congress. But its champions haven’t given up. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York and other like-minded legislators are working on a series of smaller bills to achieve the same end. What GND proponents emphasize is that addressing climate change could be a comprehensive fix—not just for warding off an environmental catastrophe, but for a host of interlinked societal problems, including economic inequality. Why? Because jobs in the clean energy, efficiency, and environmental sectors offer higher salaries than the US average, according to a new Brookings report. In fact, for jobs in these sectors, the Brookings researchers find that hourly wages are anywhere from 8 to 19 percent higher than the national average wage. And for entry-level jobs at the bottom of the pay spectrum, they find a $5 to $10 per hour pay premium compared to other jobs. Obviously this doesn’t mean that a full transition to green energy will result in higher-paying jobs for everyone, but it does display yet another reason to support the goals of the Green New Deal.
Why the Green New Deal can help to fix economic inequality in America
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