The UC Green New Deal (GND) outlines significant policies the UC must take to reduce carbon emissions to avert the worst consequences of the climate crisis disproportionately felt by the most affected people and areas (MAPA). Below is a brief summary of the over 140 UC-focused specific potential solutions proposed in the full UC Green New Deal Policy Platform.
In accordance with what science supports and what justice demands, we call for:
- Environmental Justice measures that promote a just transition for the UC community to sustainable educational, living and working environments, while addressing the disproportionate effects of climate change on Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.
- Energy system decarbonization and a rapid transition to renewable energy at each UC campus.
- Transportation policies that rapidly decrease emissions from commuting and travel while promoting health.
- Housing, construction, and land use policies promoting affordable housing, water justice, green construction, fire safety, and respect for the land sovereignty of Indigenous peoples.
- Food systems at UC to be re-envisioned by increasing sustainable sourcing and reducing the consumption of animal products.
- Waste and procurement accountability systems that promote reuse, recycling, and composting toward a zero-waste system.
- Labor practices that use union labor, guarantee a living wage, and justice for workers impacted by the change from an extractive to a regenerative economy.
- Accountability and transparency in the way UC is governed, including extending UC’s commitment to divesting from fossil fuels.
- Education and practical training about climate to be offered across the UC system that includes the scientific, social, geopolitical, and economic dimensions of the crisis, centered on the voices of the dispossessed.
- Funding possibilities to pay for the UC Green New Deal from federal, state, legislative, and philanthropic sources.
The finalized UC GND Policy Platform is available here. A 1-page summary of the UC GND can be found here.
UC GND Policy Platform Endorsements
- Green New Deal at UCSD
- UC Green New Deal Coalition
- Let’s Green CA!
- UC Santa Cruz Climate Coalition
- UC Berkeley Green New Deal
- University Professional and Technical Employees (UPTE) CWA 9119
- California Nurses Association (CNA)
- The University of California Graduate and Professional Council