The Green New Deal (GND) has been making waves in the news for months. This week, the Republican Senate rejected a nonbinding resolution of the GND in an unprecedented vote that Democratic lawmakers called a political stunt. As the 2020 US presidential race gradually heats up and anthropomorphic climate change worsens, the GND will surely be more hotly debated. Here is an overview of what the GND is, why it is so politically controversial, its potential drawbacks, and where it might go.

So far the GND is just an idea, inspired by President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal, to move the country away from fossil fuel reliance and toward 100% renewable energy in order to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. It doesn't have a concrete legislative blueprint yet. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) of New York, a key cosponsor, has offered a variety of policy proposals: major solar, wind, and hydroelectric upgrades to infrastructure, electricity grids, and transportation systems, a federal jobs guarantee, and universal single payer healthcare. Because the resolution is still in the drafting stage, it is possible that items like nuclear power incentives and a carbon tax pricing mechanism could be added in the future.

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No discussion of the GND is complete without Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), a new economic theory that has rocketed into mainstream stardom and garnered bipartisan criticism. MMT essentially states that sovereign governments like the US are not constrained in spending by tax receipts, but real resources. That's why the GND doesn't include raising taxes but would make Congress spend the money through keystrokes. AOC and other architects believe taxes don't need to be levied because there are enough idle real resources available to harness. The estimated price tag is up to a whopping $90 trillion over its proposed lifetime, but MMT scholars expect the deflationary parts like Medicare for all and jobs guarantee will prevent high inflation.

The GND has been heavily criticized by both conservative and moderate politicians. Moderates decried the price tag and lack of roles for high-tech options like nuclear and hydrogen energy. Fox News (FOXA  ) pundits have twisted it ideologically and claimed that the GND will outlaw cows, burgers, and airplanes, ideas that are not in the GND resolution. President Donald Trump said he dreams of campaigning against AOC and the GND in 2020. On the Democratic side, at least five major presidential candidates have signaled support for a GND, and all candidates acknowledge the challenge of climate change.

The popular support for the GND seem to be high among the American electorate. The popularity is understandable, as it includes universal healthcare and green renovations. Because the GND was brainstormed as a response to a 2018 United Nations scientific study that suggests climate change will be irreversible for humans in 12 years, timing is crucial to its supporters. Therefore, the GND and climate policy could prove to be one of the most contentious points along partisan lines in upcoming elections.

The author does not hold any positions in any of the securities above.