WASHINGTON (Nexstar) — Lawmakers who support the Green New Deal say despite skepticism from many, the platform is moving forward and they plan to continue pushing for new green initiatives.
Progressives such as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez say 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act made big parts of their Green New Deal a reality.
“We have started to win,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “We have highlighted important issues ranging from education to renewable agriculture to show that a better way is possible.”
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., additionally says a Green New Deal for the health care industry is their next focus “for a health care system that puts people and our planet before pollution and profits.”
Markey says the health care sector accounts for 8.5% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
“Our health providers are trying to heal patients, but the health care system is part of what makes them sick,” Markey said.
The goal of the health care Green New Deal is to make the industry more energy-efficient and to make health care more accessible — especially in communities of color that are most impacted by climate change and pollution.
The push from progressives comes as Republicans, including Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., want to defund recently passed climate policies.
“They’re saying that the health sector is unhealthy. That makes no sense to me,” Capito said. “This whole demand and regulate to these kinds of goals is going to end up hurting us in the end because everything becomes more expensive, less accessible.