City-Level Green New Deals

Abstract

The world faces ever worsening effects of climate change, which disproportionately impact under-resourced communities, immigrant communities, and communities of colour. In this context, the Green New Deal (GND) is a promising approach to simultaneously address the climate crisis and inequality through a program of targeted public investment. It is a visionary plan for governments to radically shift their climate policies to bring about a just transition. Extant literature on the GND primarily focuses on national plans and proposals, as well as the European Green Deal, and increasingly on the need for a Global GND. However, cities across the U.S. and globally have also been inspired to adopt their own GNDs. While there is a burgeoning literature on municipal climate action, the emergence of city-level GNDs has not been addressed. In this project, I begin to address this gap in the literature with a qualitative comparative analysis of the GNDs adopted in Boston and Los Angeles, including elite interviews with relevant policymakers and stakeholders. I discuss the reasons why each city adopted a GND as well as the factors that shaped them, highlighting the role of each city's mayor, C40's influence, and potential for replicability. I determine that GNDs are an impactful tool for cities to address climate, inequity, and justice. I also find that GNDs are more comprehensive, holistic, specific, and coordinated than previous municipal climate plans. I conclude by providing lessons for policymakers across North America in adopting their own city-level GNDs.