Julian Castro unveils climate plan centered on Green New Deal principles

[TexasTowelie]

by Alex Samuels, Texas Tribune


Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro on Tuesday began rolling out his campaign’s $10 trillion plan to address climate change, an initiative that aims to have all electricity in the U.S. be clean and renewable by 2035.

In a statement, the former mayor of San Antonio said his proposal centers on principles of the Green New Deal, an ambitious and controversial plan spearheaded by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York. Over the course of the next decade, Castro is calling for “immediate and significant” reduction in greenhouse gas emissions until the country achieves net-zero emissions by 2045 at the latest.

“Right now, the climate crisis is already devastating our communities, our homes, and our families,” Castro said in a statement. “Severe storms, deadly hurricanes, massive floods, extreme droughts, and wildfires are now a normal occurrence, destroying homes and businesses, and shrinking our economy.”

If elected, he said his first executive action will be to rejoin the Paris Climate Agreement that President Donald Trump withdrew the country from in 2017. Over the next decade, Castro is calling for significantly reducing carbon emissions by transitioning off of fossil fuels to clean energy

Read more: https://www.texastribune.org/2019/09/03/julian-castro-climate-plan-green-new-deal/