Clean energy economy

How Elizabeth Warren would create a clean energy economy

By ERIC WOLFF

Sen. Elizabeth Warren ‘s (D-Mass.) aims to turn the United States into a clean energy manufacturing powerhouse. This is Warren‘s second climate proposal, the first would require the military to make its non-combat bases go net-zero emissions by 2030.

What would the plan do?

Warren‘s three-part plan would use the federal procurement process to spread clean energy technologies and improve the lives of workers to advance clean energy, pump billions into research and development, and create an office designed to sell U.S. clean energy products around the world.

How would it work?

Warren would spend $1.5 trillion over 10 years in direct federal spending on clean energy technology in an effort to stimulate demand for American-made, zero-emission products. The program, called the “Green Industrial Mobilization”, dovetails with the economic goals of the Green New Deal by mandating that companies with federal contracts pay employees no less than $15 an hour, provide 12 weeks of paid family leave, and guarantee collective bargaining rights.

She would also pump in $400 billion over 10 years on clean energy research and development, creating a National Institutes of Clean Energy, modeled on the National Institutes for Health. New products developed in this program would then be made in the U.S.A.

And finally she would commit $100 billion to help other countries purchase the new products developed and produced in the U.S.

How much would it cost?

$2 trillion

How would she pay for it?

That hefty price tag will be funded partly through her plan to tax corporations based on the net income reported to share holders, along with ending oil and gas fuel subsidies and closing some corporate tax loopholes.

What have other Democrats proposed?

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee proposes spending $3 trillion in federal money over 10 years to leverage an additional $6 trillion in investment.

Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke unveiled his vision for the government and private sector to spend $5 trillion over 10 years on clean energy infrastructure.

Former Vice President Joe Biden proposed spending $1.7 trillion over 10 years to leverage $5 trillion in private, state, and local investments into clean energy.

Who would it help?

The plan tries to fuse together the interests of labor unions and green activists who have been at odds over mining, drilling, and pipeline construction for years. The heavy emphasis on domestic manufacturing may appeal to unions, and she’s hoping to keep environmentalists happy by stimulating clean manufacturing.

Who opposes it?

Warren’s big-tent environmental vision may collapse without any specific carbon dioxide reduction targets. Even moderate green groups like the Environmental Defense Fund have argued that analogous Republican efforts to invest in research and development of new low-emission technology are inadequate on their own to address the climate crisis. Green groups argue that emissions can be reduced with existing technology.

And with that hefty price tag, Warren’s plan would surely be opposed by most, if not all, Republicans.