The Green New Deal Network is a coalition of 15 left-progressive nonprofit organizations that coordinate advocacy efforts in support of the so-called Green New Deal and similar radical environmentalist legislation. ¹

The proposed Green New Deal includes a ban on the use and development of conventional energy, government funding for a complete transition to environmentalist energy sources, the implementation of racial quotas and gender equity standards in government contracts created by the policy, and increased labor regulations to encourage unionization and raise minimum wages. ² Critics of the Green New Deal have estimated that it could cost tens of trillions of dollars through only the first decade of its implementation. ³

Background

The Green New Deal Network is a coalition of major left-of-center organizations that advocates and campaigns for Green New Deal-aligned legislation at all levels of government. The Green New Deal Network advocates for policy that subsidizes the use of environmentalist energy sources and bans the use of conventional energy. The Green New Deal also requires that jobs created by the legislation will be for unionized employees and include left-of-center racial and gender equity standards in hiring. ⁴

The Green New Deal is advertised by proponents as environmentalist policy, though it supports a broad far-left agenda which includes the implementation of government-controlled healthcare and an increase in the federal minimum wage. ⁵ Then-chief of staff for left-wing U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) Saikat Chakrabarti admitted that the Green New Deal was designed to be a far-left “how-do-you-change-the-entire-economy” plan. ⁶

The Green New Deal has been criticized by politicians from the right and the left for including a wide range of policies unrelated to environmentalism. ⁷

Member Organizations

Green New Deal Network is comprised of 15 national, left-of-center organizations. ⁸ Members include high-profile environmentalist organizations, such as the Climate Justice Alliance, Greenpeace, the Indigenous Environmental Network, the Sierra Club, the Sunrise Movement, and the U.S. Climate Action Network. The network also includes other far-left organizations with broader left-of-center policy agendas, including the Center for Popular Democracy, the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, Indivisible, the Movement for Black Lives, MoveOn, People’s Action, the Right to The City Alliance, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), and the Working Families Party. ⁹

THRIVE Agenda

The THRIVE Agenda is a project of the Green New Deal Network that campaigns for the THRIVE Act, far-left legislation that would prevent the privatization of current public sector industries, grant five years of back wages and employment benefits for individuals who hypothetically could have earned more, guarantee bailouts for local governments if they exceed their budgets, and increase funding for social services like government-run health care. ¹⁰ The bill has been endorsed by over 250 left-of-center organizations and sponsored by over 90 U.S. Representatives and 11 Senators. ¹¹

The Green New Deal Network also supports legislation associated with the THRIVE Agenda and its eight pillars. ¹² The eight pillars include subsidizing environmentalist energy projects, banning conventional energy, implementing racial and gender equity standards in employment, establishing reparations programs for native Americans and other ethnic minorities, and increasing unnamed “public services” to ensure equal outcomes among different racial and ethnic groups. ¹³

The Green New Deal Network created THRIVE Agenda to support the THRIVE Act because it claims it is “a once-in-a-generation chance for Congress to pass a transformational economic recovery package,” create unions jobs, and implement radical environmentalist policy. ¹⁴

The THRIVE Agenda supports the THRIVE Act as a way of “distributing power” by spending $1 trillion to create jobs that prioritize the hiring of unemployed people, ethnic minorities, women, and indigenous people. The Green New Deal network has called the act a form of reparations for “systemic racism” and “environmental injustice,” claiming that government funding to transition America’s infrastructure to rely solely on environmentalist energy will create jobs. ¹⁵

The THRIVE Agenda also claims the THRIVE Act’s policy resembling the PRO Act will increase worker representation. ¹⁶ Critics of the PRO Act and the aligned changes to labor laws in the THRIVE Act claim that the provisions violate the privacy of workers, decrease worker representation, and compel workers to pay union dues despite a declining interest in unions among workers themselves. ¹⁷

Advocacy

The Green New Deal Network has supported the Civilian Climate Corps, which is a proposed bill that would subsidize environmentalist energy projects to replace the use of conventional energy. The bill has been criticized for being “nothing more than a giveaway to Big Labor, overeducated failures to launch, and the radical Left.” The bill also seeks to create apprenticeship programs registered through the Department of Labor, empowering labor unions, and calls for “explicit anti-racist language” in programming. ¹⁸

Members of the Green New Deal Network have staged protests outside of members of Congress’ local offices, opposing bipartisanship on Green New Deal legislation. The members have been described as “trying to push [President Joe] Biden to the left” with environmentalist policy, encouraging mainstream Democrats to adopt left-wing Green New Deal legislation and avoid compromising on environmental proposals. ¹⁹

In the days following President Joe Biden’s 2020 election, the Green New Deal Network wrote a letter to President Biden, asking for him to declare a national climate emergency. Under the declaration, the Green New Deal Network called for the president to ban conventional energy projects, replace them with environmentalist energy initiatives, and issue “an executive order that requires federal agencies to secure informed tribal consent from Indigenous nations” when considering energy development projects. ²⁰

In May 2021, the Green New Deal Network held an “emergency rally” to protest the Biden administration’s proposed comprise with congressional Republicans on his infrastructure-related legislation. The activists criticized any compromise on environmentalist and Green New Deal policy. White House Special Climate Envoy John Kerry explained that the compromise was necessary because carbon capture technology is not yet available, preventing the attainment of environmentalist emissions goals. Green New Deal Network activists protested, claiming that waiting for such technology is reliant on a “mythical future” and demanding far-left regulations to prevent climate change. ²¹

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2. “General 4.” Green New Deal Network. Accessed July 1, 2021. https://www.greennewdealnetwork.org/noclimatecarejustice-nodeal.
3. Holtz-Eakin, Douglas, Dan Bosch, Ben Gitis, Dan Goldbeck, and Philip Rossetti. “The Green New Deal: Scope, Scale, and Implications.” AAF, February 25, 2019. https://www.americanactionforum.org/research/the-green-new-deal-scope-scale-and-implications/.
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10. “THRIVE ACT SECTION-BY-SECTION SUMMARY.” Green New Deal Network, n.d. PDF can be accessed here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5fd39d62ad43c8365ea78fac/t/605e670569407f6b117e573c/1616799604106/THRIVE_Act_section-by-section_summary.pdf
11. “Act.” THRIVE Agenda. Green New Deal Network, November 24, 2020. https://www.thriveagenda.com.
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13. “The THRIVE Agenda.” THRIVE Agenda. Accessed June 29, 2021. https://www.thriveagenda.com/agenda.
14. “THRIVE ACT SECTION-BY-SECTION SUMMARY.” Green New Deal Network, n.d. PDF can be accessed here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5fd39d62ad43c8365ea78fac/t/605e670569407f6b117e573c/1616799604106/THRIVE_Act_section-by-section_summary.pdf
15. “THRIVE ACT SECTION-BY-SECTION SUMMARY.” Green New Deal Network, n.d. PDF can be accessed here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5fd39d62ad43c8365ea78fac/t/605e670569407f6b117e573c/1616799604106/THRIVE_Act_section-by-section_summary.pdf
16. “THRIVE ACT SECTION-BY-SECTION SUMMARY.” Green New Deal Network, n.d. PDF can be accessed here: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5fd39d62ad43c8365ea78fac/t/605e670569407f6b117e573c/1616799604106/THRIVE_Act_section-by-section_summary.pdf
17. Kovacs, Trey. “The Case against the Protecting the Right to Organize Act.” Competitive Enterprise Institute, August 26, 2019. https://cei.org/studies/the-case-against-the-protecting-the-right-to-organize-act/.
18. Ludwig, Hayden. “Far-Left Activists Disinter FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps . . . for Global Warming?” Capital Research Center. Capital Research Center, June 25, 2021. https://capitalresearch.org/article/far-left-activists-disinter-fdrs-civilian-conservation-corps-for-global-warming/.
19. Korte, Cara. “Progressives Protest Biden’s Bipartisan Attempt to Pass Infrastructure Plan.” CBS News. CBS Interactive, June 4, 2021. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/biden-infrastructure-bipartisan-compromise-progressives/.
20. Summers, Juana. “Progressives Gear Up For Broad New Push On Climate Action.” NPR. NPR, January 13, 2021. https://www.npr.org/2021/01/13/956192132/progressives-gear-up-for-broad-new-push-on-climate-action.
21. Lavelle, Marianne. “With Trump Gone, Old Fault Lines in the Climate Movement Reopen, Complicating Biden’s Path Forward.” Inside Climate News, May 28, 2021. https://insideclimatenews.org/news/01062021/with-trump-gone-old-fault-lines-in-the-climate-movement-reopen-complicating-bidens-path-forward/.