Technology

Read more about fighting climate change and innovation in my Discovery Project Proposal

Investment in and employment of innovative technology is a vital tool in protecting our planet. Providing green energy at a low cost is a high priority for the U.S., and a Canadian company I find interesting, General Fusion, is even making its own. It plans to create a commercially viable nuclear-fusion-energy plant, which would be inherently safe, use less land that typical energy production, and produce no emissions other than harmless helium. This is something we should keep an eye on, learn from, and consider an inspiring example for what’s possible here.

Advances in transportation (which accounts for 23% of CO2 emissions) — especially the use of batteries — would make great strides in cutting down harmful emissions. Similarly, manufacturing accounts for 30% of emissions, and the use of promising technology that captures this CO2 and turns it into fuel could lessen the strain of industry on the environment.

Skeptics of climate change and opponents of pro-environment policy insist that green technology is prohibitively expensive or complicated, but nothing could be further from the truth. Innovative companies from urban farmers to giants like Tesla have proven that green technologies and energy are economically viable across the board, at all scales and in every industry. The answers are already here, they cost less than ever and actually save us money, and there is no downside to embracing innovation — fiscally or otherwise. 

Blue New Deal for Oceans and Resilience

Read more about my Living Shorelines Proposal in Untapped New York

Roughly 70% of our planet is covered by the ocean and 40% of Americans live on coast lines. While the ocean is severely threatened, it can also be a major part of the climate solution – from providing new sources of clean energy to supporting a new future of ocean farming. More than 90% of global fish stocks are fully exploited or overfished. The ocean has absorbed 93% of the heat trapped by greenhouse gasses, warming the waters, disrupting migration patterns, bleaching coral reefs, and fueling sea level rise. Around 30% of the carbon pollution we have pumped into the air has been absorbed in our oceans, leading to ocean acidification, changing the very chemistry of seawater. And pollution from land – whether from manufacturing, agricultural runoff, or plastic waste – is causing dead zones in our waterways and Great Lakes. We must pass Senator Warren’s Blue New Deal to fight climate change, provide resilience, restore our oceans and wetlands, and create high-quality union jobs in the process.

Finance

We must catalyze a Green Infrastructure Bank to deploy $1 trillion in federal funding to catalyze $10 trillion in private sector innovation and infrastructure investment in climate technologies at home and abroad over ten years. The bank will collaborate with states and the private sector to deploy U.S. capital to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and decrease climate risks faster than current market conditions allow.

Agriculture

By partnering with and incentivizing the agricultural community to invest in climate safe agricultural methods, we can concurrently support our farmers, our climate, and our future. The agricultural community is currently leading the way in innovative carbon reduction strategies. We must partner with farmers, ranchers, and foresters to increase the effectiveness of initiatives that increase the health of our soil, forrests, wetlands, as well as those farming our lands. By offering financial incentives for farmers to invest in zero-emission energy, we can encourage farmers to lower their emissions while enhancing the longevity of their land. We must invest in early stage agricultural research by creating a new research agency at the Department of Agriculture called ARPA-TERRA. Through the agency we will finance the development of innovative and climate friendly agricultural technologies to expand economic competitiveness, sequester carbon, fight infectious disease, and build economic opportunities for farmers, ranchers, and rural communities. The impacts of incentivizing climate-friendly agricultural technology are far reaching. Not only will these incentives help our planet, but they will provide economic stability to producers, reduce food waste by enabling us to safely fast-track innovative agricultural technologies to market, and encourage local and regional food systems.

Racial Justice

As the global climate continues to change, minorities bear more than their share of the burden of risks from climate change and pollution. Communities of color and low-income communities face an increased vulnerability because of the compounded stresses of ongoing heat, poor air quality, flooding, and mental health stress. Combating climate change is more than about stopping rising temperatures: it is an economic and social issue and a successful approach will acknowledge the interconnectedness of these networks. For me, this is something that should not and cannot be forgotten when we develop and evaluate policy around limiting the inevitable impact of climate change

Make Polluters Pay

We must pass a Carbon Fee and Dividend, which would place a steadily rising fee on carbon emissions and distribute that money back to households as a monthly dividend. This approach is simpler and more straightforward than other carbon tax or cap-and-trade proposals, and provides an incentive for voters to support political action targeting carbon emissions. Additionally, we must look at putting a mechanism for a methane fee and dividend. Finally, we must pass a Border Carbon Adjustment Fee to prevent companies from avoiding carbon fees by shifting production to countries that do not place a price on carbon.