A Green New Deal to Save People and the Planet

Friends of the Earth U.S. outlines a platform for a Green New Deal designed to address the climate crisis by transforming economic systems, phasing out fossil fuels, and establishing just energy and food systems based on community control and social equity.

• Friends of the Earth U.S. argues that the climate crisis stems from an economic system of increasing consumption that treats human rights, such as energy, food, air, and water, as commodities. They call for a systemic remake of financial and economic structures to prioritize people and the planet, noting the United States' role as the largest historical climate polluter and its ecological debt to the Global South.
• The organization proposes a comprehensive strategy to cut greenhouse gas emissions, which includes the rapid phase-out of fossil fuel extraction and burning, ending subsidies for fossil fuels and unproven technologies like carbon capture and storage or small modular nuclear reactors, and fully decarbonizing the transportation system by investing in renewable-powered public transit and phasing out combustion engines.
• The platform advocates for a transition to 100 percent renewable energy and ecological food systems. This involves investing in solar, wind, and geothermal energy, ensuring public and community ownership of power infrastructure, and shifting subsidies away from industrial animal agriculture (CAFOs) toward organic and regenerative practices.
• Friends of the Earth U.S. rejects several specific climate and energy solutions on the grounds of environmental or social risk, including carbon trading schemes, large-scale hydroelectric dams, biofuels, biomass, waste-to-energy projects, and climate geoengineering techniques such as solar radiation management.
• A 'just transition' is defined as transforming the economy toward energy democracy and food sovereignty. This includes promoting small- and mid-scale organic food production, guaranteeing family-sustaining wages and worker rights to organize, and ensuring that frontline communities and workers are included in the Green New Deal process from planning to implementation.

APA

Fox, A. (2019). A Green New Deal to Save People and the Planet. Friends of the Earth. https://foe.org/blog/green-new-deal-save-people-planet/

Chicago

Fox, Audrey. A Green New Deal to Save People and the Planet. Friends of the Earth, 2019. https://foe.org/blog/green-new-deal-save-people-planet/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Fox |first1=Audrey |title=A Green New Deal to Save People and the Planet |publisher=Friends of the Earth |date=10 January 2019 |url=https://foe.org/blog/green-new-deal-save-people-planet/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{fox2019green, author = {Fox, Audrey}, title = {{A Green New Deal to Save People and the Planet}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth}, year = {2019}, month = jan, url = {https://foe.org/blog/green-new-deal-save-people-planet/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }