Political parties hold varying, changing views on climate change

Green New Deal

Democrats have proposed the Green New Deal to encourage clean energy and limit dependence on fossil fuels. The bill addresses  climate change by encouraging a 100 percent shift to clean energy by 2030. Businesses that follow Green New Deal standards will be provided low-interest loans.

In early 2019, the Green New Deal was sent to Congress. However, the bill failed to advance in the Senate.

Republicans take issue with the Green New Deal because it will require trillions of dollars. Traditionally, Republicans are concerned about spending taxpayer money on renewable energy. However, young Republicans are beginning to break away from these beliefs. A November Pew Research survey showed that more than half of adult Republicans under 38 believe that the government should be doing more to reduce the effects of climate change.

Students have varying opinions on whether the Green New Deal should be passed.

“Pass it,” said senior Carolina Alfaro, a strong believer in enforcing immediate action on the issue of climate change. Junior Tristan Fredrick is more skeptical.

“I think the Green New Deal is a bad idea to try and solve the issues such as climate change because destroying the economy, in the process, would cause a ton of other issues,” Fredricks said.

Senior Katelyn Harvey understands both sides of the spectrum.

“I think it’s a good idea in theory, and action should definitely be taken to end climate change, but I don’t know if it’s a good plan because of how people would react to the heavy price tag,” Harvey said.

Paris Agreement

In November, President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Climate Accords. The other two countries not in the agreement are Syria, in ruins after a civil war, and Nicaragua.

In 2016, 197 countries have joined this agreement to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by reducing the emission of gases. The agreement stated that by the end of the century, the rise in global temperature should remain well under 2 C. However, since 1880, the global temperature has increased 1.5 F, according to the U.S. Global Change Research Program.

Though the federal government has pulled out of the agreement, 400 mayors representing 70 million Americans across the country have agreed to comply with the Paris Agreement. Dallas is one of these cities.

Locally, Dallas has made efforts to meet the Paris Agreement emission reduction targets.  The city has reduced 4 million tons of carbon emissions by relying more on renewable and alternative sources of energy.