A Planet to Win

In October 2018, the IPCC published a report warning that the world would warm 1.5o C by 2040 without massive emissions reductions by 2030, with results more devastating than previously imagined. In November the charismatic democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won election to Congress and stated that a Green New Deal would be a top priority. A week later, activists with the Sunrise Movement occupied Nancy Pelosi's office,calling for action on climate in the form of a Green New Deal. The Green New Deal is now a buzzword thrown around to signal the need for climate action--but no one quite knows what it means.

A Planet to Win explores what a Green New Deal could look like and draws the connection between climate change and capitalism, arguing that in order to confront one we must confront the other. With concrete proposals, such as ending subsidies for fossil fuel companies and funding a just transition to renewable energy, expanding public housing and transit, a fair and sustainable trade regime, and a job guarantee program that emphasizes climate-friendly work, the authors offer a daring set of ideas to confront climate chaos and create a more equitable society.

Recognizing that inequality and climate politics are utterly inseparable, A Planet to Win draws on the inspiring history of environmental justice movements and sets out a bold framework for the transformative possibilities of a Green New Deal.

About the Authors

Kate Aronoff is a Fellow at the Type Media Center and a Contributing Writer at the Intercept. She is the co-editor of We Own the Future and author of The New Denialism. Her writing has appeared in the Guardian, Rolling Stone, Harper’s, In These Times, and Dissent.

Alyssa Battistoni is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University and an Editor at Jacobin. Her writing has appeared in the Guardian, n+1, the Nation, Jacobin, In These Times, Dissent, and the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Daniel Aldana Cohen is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, where he directs the Socio-Spatial Climate Collaborative, or (SC)2. His writing has appeared in the Guardian, Nature, the Nation, Jacobin, Public Books, Dissent, and NACLA.

Thea Riofrancos is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Providence College and the author of Resource Radicals. Her writing has appeared in the Guardian, n+1, Jacobin, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Dissent, and In These Times. She serves on the steering committee of DSA’s Ecosocialist Working Group.