Campaign Aims to Unleash Local Power by Winning $1T for Budget-Strapped Local Governments to Organize Environment Projects

Contact: Johanna Kichton, [email protected], 202.660.0605

WASHINGTON, D.C.—People’s Action today launched a new climate justice campaign, Local Green New Deal, with a joint petition, video, and new Green New Deal federal legislation alongside U.S. Reps. Cori Bush, D-Mo. and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, and other progressive organizations.

“Science tells us that we only have 9 years left to decarbonize and avert climate catastrophe. President Biden’s American Jobs Plan is a good start, but many cities and tribes are ready to push even farther. We must empower them to take the lead,” People’s Action Climate Justice Campaign Director Kaniela Ing said. “This is not a big-city or blue-state problem. And the solutions––mass transit, regenerative farms, and manufacturing solar via high-paying jobs––are popular everywhere.”

People’s Action’s Local Green New Deal Campaign Goals include:

• Organize and empower 250 local elected officials to push farther than Biden’s Build Back Better Plan and support a Green New Deal by 2022;
• Advance ambitious local green new deal policies in 25 localities by 2023;
• Pass a “Green New Deal for Cities” to move $1 trillion into local governments and tribes independent of their  state governments by 2025; and
• Ensure stimulus funds are directed to climate justice whenever appropriate.
  

Earlier this month, People’s Action’s member organizations took actions across the country to urge Congress to pass a $10 trillion package that transforms climate, care, jobs, and justice. 

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People’s Action is a national network of 40 state and local grassroots, power-building organizations in 30 states, united in fighting for justice. We operate the largest progressive rural organizing project in the country. People’s Action and its member organizations coordinated one of the biggest distributed organizing programs in rural areas this past election season.