Der globale Green New Deal: Warum die fossil befeuerte Zivilisation um 2028 kollabiert - und ein kühner ökonomischer Plan das Leben auf der Erde retten kann

by Jeremy Rifkin

An urgent plan to confront climate change, transform the American economy, and create a green post-fossil fuel culture.

A new vision for America’s future is quickly gaining momentum. Facing a global emergency, a younger generation is spearheading a national conversation around a Green New Deal and setting the agenda for a bold political movement with the potential to revolutionize society. Millennials, the largest voting bloc in the country, are now leading on the issue of climate change.

While the Green New Deal has become a lightning rod in the political sphere, there is a parallel movement emerging within the business community that will shake the very foundation of the global economy in coming years. Key sectors of the economy are fast-decoupling from fossil fuels in favor of ever cheaper solar and wind energies and the new business opportunities and employment that accompany them. New studies are sounding the alarm that trillions of dollars in stranded fossil fuel assets could create a carbon bubble likely to burst by 2028, causing the collapse of the fossil fuel civilization. The marketplace is speaking, and governments will need to adapt if they are to survive and prosper.

In The Green New Deal, New York Times bestselling author and renowned economic theorist Jeremy Rifkin delivers the political narrative and economic plan for the Green New Deal that we need at this critical moment in history. The concurrence of a stranded fossil fuel assets bubble and a green political vision opens up the possibility of a massive shift to a post-carbon ecological era, in time to prevent a temperature rise that will tip us over the edge into runaway climate change. With twenty-five years of experience implementing Green New Deal–style transitions for both the European Union and the People’s Republic of China, Rifkin offers his vision for how to transform the global economy and save life on Earth.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Environment, Economics, Climate Change, Science, Sustainability

Hardcover

First published September 10, 2019

About the author

American economic and social theorist, writer, public speaker, political advisor, and activist.

Reviews

[Daniel Cunningham · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some interesting and hopeful ideas around financing projects with e.g. pension money bogged down by the entire rest of the book which is a collection of half-truths, mistakes, naivete, bad math, self-promotion, and ignorance.

Which shouldn't be a surprise. This is Rifkin's schtick, this is his game. He was wrong e.g. 20 years ago on fuel cells (which, given another 20 years, will probably be ready for widespread usage.) He got smacked down in the 80's by, amongst others, no less than Stephen Gould for his ignorance on evolution and genetics. He's at it again, wildly promoting plans and ideas supported by little more than conjecture and promises, with a handful of cherry-picked evidence.

We need to deal with fossil fuels and carbon. We need to prepare for climate change as already baked in. We need something like a "green new deal." But with friends like these, who needs enemies?

[Brandon Pytel · Rating 5 out of 5]

What happens when the carbon bubble pops, leaving trillions of dollars of stranded assets in the ground? This Great Disruption is bound to happen, according to Rifkin, by the end of the 2020s should humanity have any hope for survival. This happens through legally mandated targets, the promotion of competitive renewables and stopping fossil fuel handouts.

What will replace the fossil fuel civilization is the Third Industrial revolution, a replacement of the 20th-century fossil-fuel culture that will rely on smart infrastructure and renewables to lead the charge of the biggest divest/invest campaign in capitalist history. This is tough because nearly everything we produce is reliant on this fossil fuel economy: fertilizers, construction materials, heat, light, packaging, etc.

If Klein’s On Fire was a moral and idealistic argument, Rifkin’s GND is a practical somewhat step-by-step plan to implement the GND across society, namely starting with infrastructure: Internet of Things, 24/7 hour traffic, interconnectivity, retrofits, a Sharing Economy -- is already happening on the Internet, Social Media and in research – and overall, a more efficient system that doesn’t rely on the fuel combustion system, which because of pure physics, wastes most of the energy in heat transfer.

The EU is already starting this, and if the US doesn’t get its act together, it will fall behind; it’ll also take federal, state and local govts to make it happen, something that might scare off transitional capitalists, but also a robust private-public partnership. One of the major things I got from this book is the new energy system, not one that is centralized but one that feeds into the grid home-by-home because of how solar and wind energy works, empowering individuals and local communities not massive industries – the great democratization of power, as Rifkin calls it.

Transportation-wise, Rifkin argues we need a shift from gasoline-powered cars to electric and fuel cell vehicles, more shared vehicle services and self-driving cars. Agriculturally, we need carbon farming, which we already know how to do, and the preservation of public lands and the end of fossil fuel leases.

In sum, we need to shift our thinking from the age of progress to the age of resilience. We’ve had a good run and now have no other choice to shift into this third industrial revolution, relying on a new era of frontier thinking and empowerment of individuals.

[Dr. Tobias Christian Fischer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sehr gut geschrieben und viele Zukunftsaussichten, die Hoffnung machen. Der Erfolg hängt von unserer Infrastruktur und Denkweise ab.

[Giorgia Monni · Rating 4 out of 5]

Molto interessante specialmente la prima parte, ho avuto più difficoltà a seguire la seconda ma nel complesso una lettura illuminante sulla questione del cambiamento climatico.

[Paul Kuntze · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a pleasure to read. Jeremy Rifkin gives a sparkling picture of a glorious interconnected zero energy future and I'm definitely a fan. And the man seems to be such an international insider that his predictions might actually be spot on.
However, the book does have a series of considerable weak points. The author doesn't argue very much for his future vision but just sort of tells a story. Maybe he goes in more detail in his book "the third industrial revolution", which I still have to read. The problem is, when he actually does argue for things, he doesn't do it with enough congruency, so the book lacks the punch all of his conclusions could have when comprehensley brought together. Also, he sometimes seems to be mixing up whether climate protecting policy or economic forces will uproot a given industry, which annoyed me a bit as that makes a world of a difference.
There is also a significant lack on the economic side of things. He missinterpretes Marx, doesn't seem to be using much of Keynesianism to support his argument (even though it would lend itself so well!) and does not even appear to be aware of modern monetary theory.
On the brighter side, he did teach me a lot about how market forces actually favour renewable energy and that we are at a tipping point on the market, even if one did not care about the environment. That the costs of renewable energy are below fossile fuels on some metrics already is something I just wasn't aware of, and that really made this book worthwhile.
Additionally, he really lays down a comprehensive plan for the Green New Deal (in the US at least), which does give the book a more concrete character. All together, it was a very enjoyable read, despite some dissapointments.

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just like with the Mayan Calendar Hoax, the World is going to end soon. Only Rifkin's god can help you, and all it takes is to accept Rifkin as the true prophet. So damn unoriginal, yet an old tried and true method to start a cult, some of them very successful.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I kept wanting this to be a different book - so the low rating might be a tad unfair. I’m already sold on the general sentiment of the Green New Deal. This book seems to be written for skeptics who ascribe to mainstream economic thought. Waxing poetic on the Internet of Things and excitedly describing how new models will upend everything (yet depend on an “army of little capitalists”), definitely has its role in mobilizing sufficient political and economic interest. But, given the author’s broad experience, I was hoping for some insight into what barriers will need to be overcome and the political economy of resistance. Instead it seems change happened after a couple conversations with world leaders and some hand waving, flattening what surely was a complex and challenging process.

[Ashley Gleiter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I learned a lot reading this book, and am impressed by the candor of the message regarding climate change and the imperatives that are our new reality, while making the case for hope for the future of humanity. His explanation of a Green New Deal supported by a smart digital Third Industrial Revolution was thorough, compelling, and actionable - backed by examples from the EU and China. I hope many more people take the time to hear what Jeremy Rifkin has to say, and even more so, I hope they listen.

[George Florin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting read, especially since it tackles one of the most pregnant issues in the world right now, which is global warming and the reduction in fossil fuels.

The author comes with a few tactics which can be applied by the United States, but also by other individual countries, in order to reduce the amount of fossil fuel used for powering up the economy. Many of them include the creation of new structures in the taxation and subsidies systems, but also the improving of current infrastructure, which costs taxpayers billions of dollars every year.

It also talks about the advantages of using regenerating energy sources, like the sun and the wind and advocates for cost reductions in these areas, especially since bills take a lot of money from the end consumer, money that could be used in other areas of life.

An interesting correlation I found to be in the autobiography of Henry Ford. He also mentioned the possibility of creating a car with an electric engine, but that would require a lot of work, which at the time (1910s) was a bit overwhelming for the industry, as well as for Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. Therefore, he went with the internal combustion engine, fueled by petrol, a tradition that is being used today as well, over 100 years later.

I believe that in a few years (10-15 years), many households will be powered by regenerating energy sources. Therefore, their life in general will become better, with a bigger available income, maybe more possibilities of job changes in the new areas of science and why not, a more breathable air.

[Filippo Pasqui · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lettura che non ho gradito quanto le altre letture dell’autore, ma questo non toglie il fatto che Rifkin rimane tra le menti più incoraggianti del panorama intellettuale internazionale.

È un libro che riassume il pensiero dell’economista: prende spunto dalla effettiva preparazione dei paesi mondiali per affrontare l’emergenza climatica. In particolare viene evidenziato come gli attori principali della seconda rivoluzione industriale in realtà non si sono ancora resi conto che siamo dentro a una terza rivoluzione industriale da ormai un decennio. Di conseguenza propone tutta una serie di soluzioni su come entrarvi auspicando una certa fretta nel farlo, utilizzando una lungimiranza e un occhio esperto che in pochi hanno.
È da decenni che Rifkin è immerso in temi collegati all’economia della condivisione, all’energia sostenibile, al ripensamento dei tratti consumistici della società e questo periodo di fermento in cui si discute di temi ambientali pare essere cascato proprio a fagiolo per la pubblicazione di questo libro.

Ammetto che non è stata una lettura leggerina, a tratti può risultare addirittura soporifera per chi non mastica determinati argomenti tecnici sul tema. Ma sicuramente può essere una guida utile per chi vuole entrare dentro all’argomento e farsi un’idea su come stiamo affrontando l’emergenza climatica.
Piccolo spoiler: l’Europa sembrerebbe che abbia tutte le carte in regola per ottenere le redini di questo cambiamento socioculturale che stiamo vivendo.

[Jens Odinga · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars for the good ideas in this book. But I found it very hard to not get annoyed by his evangelic broadcast of egocentric importance. He could have summed up the book describing his 23 key initiatives and save many to plow through his record of meetings with heads of state to blow his own horn. Also to save life on earth, much more is needed than to decarbonize our economies - with again all the focus on our species above all others - although many of his (?) ideas are good. I wish him luck with his meetings and saving the planet, but have more faith in our new generations. Goodbye Jeremy.

[Jason Knoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a read Mr. Rifkin's book, "The European Dream" a while back, so I was really looking forward to this book. While quite informative, the language was very technical, which might deter some from reading it. Additionally, I wasn't a big fan of Mr. Rifkin's name-dropping (ie "so and so read my book and invited me to speak). Finally, while the book's subtitle makes it clear the focus is on economics, it lacks a thorough discussion on social inclusion, which is essential when talking about the former subject. That said, politicians and policymakers would do well to read this book.

[Franz The Mountaineer · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is very clear that we are going through an era of Climate Change. Madrid itself is expected to reach the temperatures of Marrakech in a couple of years.

Jeremy Rifkin summarizes this very clearly, we shall adapt and move away as far as we can from fossil fuels and become more sustainable and regenerate the planet ASAP.

Jeremy, again, very well done. Thanks for this amazing read!

[Malik Nazahim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for anyone interested in policy making!

[Jennifer Liu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really intrigued and hooked by the ideas that Rifkin brought up in the first few chapters of the book. As someone who doesn't know what the Green New Deal entails, it was a great way to get acquainted with the ideas behind it as well as the basis for what the Third Industrial Revolution will look like. I think he broke up the information really well for those who are not familiar with the subject, although it was slightly repetitive for someone who has a bit of background in renewable energy/electrification and the importance of decarbonization. I was glad to see that he brought up the issue of stranded assets because I think that is a vital components that construction companies, oil/gas industry, and city leaders aren't taking into account when they think about building out new infrastructure/structures that will quickly become obsolete with our fast-changing world.

What I was a little disappointed in was Part II of the book. I was hoping he would go into how we could really instill this "biosphere consciousness" that he claims that our generation is moving towards in people that might not think that climate change is that big of a deal. I also wanted to know how he thought it would be best to engage industry leaders-- since he mostly just touches on how we should cut tax credits for fossil fuel companies and make them responsible for emissions. (which is good, but seems like the bare minimum) There were hard numbers and 23 items that the federal/state governments could incorporate, which I hope city and state leaders will read and begin to incorporate in their policies and plans for the future since we have such a limited timeline to address this problem.

[Ibraheem Ali · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very dense but essential reading if you want to learn about a social, economic and political paradigm we can use to minimize the damage of the climate crisis

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A VARIETY OF PROPOSALS FOR CHANGE

Author Jeremy Rifkin wrote in the Introduction to this 2019 book, “This book will share my experience over the past two decades in the European Union and … in the People’s Republic of China, helping both governments prepare their Green New Deal-style transitions into a zero-carbon third Industrial Revolution (TIR). I hope and expect that the grassroots movement for a Green New Deal now spreading across America will find it useful as the United States crafts its green, post-carbon Third Industrial Revolution infrastructure mitigate climate change and create a more just and humane economy and society.” (Pg. 10)

He recounts, “The wakeup call came in the November 2018 national elections in the United States. A younger generation of congresspersons came to Washington … passionately committed to a radical redirection of the American economy to address climate change while simultaneously creating new green businesses and employment that will ensure a more equitable distribution of the fruits of life. In November, young protesters… stormed the halls of Congress and staged sit-ins… The protesters were joined by Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez [AOC]… [who] called for the creation of a select committed … tasked with the mission of creating a ‘Green New Deal’ for America… Election officials are sensing a sea change in public opinion that is quickly moving the issue of climate change from near obscurity to make it the central issue facing the American people.” (Pg. 2-3)

He notes, “Given that solar and wind are now cheaper than coal and head-to-head with oil and natural gas, and within just a few years will be far cheaper… the upfront financial commitment to decouple from the fossil fuels and reinvest in renewable energies is, simply speaking, a smart business decision.” (Pg. 55)

He states, “The Renewable Energy Internet is comprised of five foundational pillars, all of which have to be phased in simultaneously for the system to operate efficiently. First, buildings will need to be refurbished to make them more energy efficient… Second, ambitious targets must be set to replace fossil fuels and nuclear power with solar- and wind-generated energy… Third, storage technologies… will need to be embedded at local generation sites… Fourth, advanced meters and other digital technology will need to be installed in every building … Fifth, parking spaces will need to be equipped with charging stations..” (Pg. 57)

He suggests, “While the shift to green-powered electric vehicles is a transformational event … the accompanying shift to driverless autonomous vehicles in car-sharing services will have a comparable impact on changing the way we organize mobility and logistics in society.” (Pg. 82) Later, he advises, “transitioning the built environment away from the fossil fuel culture and toward a green renewable energy culture, by necessity, must provide equally powerful carrots and sticks to ensure success.” (Pg. 92) He adds, “the Green New Deal infrastructure is a much about a change of consciousness as it is about a change in infrastructure.” (Pg. 99)

He points out, “Of the … nations that enjoy some carbon wealth … in fossil fuels… most of them derive more than half their revenues from oil, gas, and coal. These are also among the poorest countries in the world, and ten of them are … regions in crisis, with failed states and authoritarian regimes. The potential of hitting the wall with stranded assets and loss of carbon revenue would be devasting for these countries.” (Pg. 131)

He observes, “every pension fund investment decision, regardless of its short-term return, has consequences that need to be considered, because those consequences could undermine the mid-term and long-term economic well-being of the workers whose funds are being invested.” (Pg. 159)

He says, “Much of the smart infrastructure … is going to come online because of the generous tax credits and other incentives combined with the exponentially falling cost curve of the infrastructure components and processes. In the Green New Deal, infrastructure is potentially participatory and democratized and always metamorphosing into new patterns if overseen by commons governance rather than private corporations in each region.” (Pg. 181)

He notes, “The inseparable relationship between climate change and a growing public health emergency has become real for the … people … who have been subjected to the hurricanes, floods, droughts, and wildfires caused by climate change. Aside from the immediate threat… there is the secondary effect caused by the contamination of water… Unfortunately, this is happening at the same time that the municipalities have been selling off their freshwater and sanitation systems to private companies who are often reluctant to upgrade antiquated water, sewage, and drainage systems for fear of declining profit margins.” (Pg. 199-200)

He proposes, “There is… an alternative course that would allow Green New Deal public-private partnerships to flourish… [The] ‘energy service company’ (ESCO). It’s a radical approach … that relies on what’s called ‘performance contracting’ to secure profits … Performance contracts so away entirely with seller/buyer markets, replacing them with provider/user networks in which the ESCO takes 100 percent of the responsibility for financing all of the work and secures a return on its capital investment based on its success in generating the new green energies and energy efficiencies being contracted. The emergent public-private partnership … puts the technical expertise and best practices of private enterprise at the service of the public.” (Pg. 196)

He recommends ‘Twenty-Three Key Initiatives of the Green New Deal,’ such as “First, the federal government should impose an impose an immediate … rising carbon tax… Second, the federal government should … [eliminate] fossil fuel subsidies… Third, the federal government … with the fifty states, should … deploy a seamless national smart power grid… to provide green electricity capacity… Fourth… tax credits and other incentives to encourage the accelerate installation of solar and wind technologies… Eighth, federal and state tax credits should be granted for the purchase of electric vehicles… Ninth… tax credits for installing electric charging stations… Thirteenth… finance the upgrading of all water systems, sewage systems, and stormwater drains… Twenty-third, the US government should join with the European Union… China, and all other willing countries in a … collaboration to … implement the universal codes, regulations, standards, and incentives and penalties that need to be put in place to enable both global interconnectivity and transparency in the … operation of a smart green global infrastructure.” (Pg. 223-230)

He concludes, “Climate change now puts every community in the world in harm’s way in a continuous disaster mode… Let me be very clear about the timetable for ushering in a global Green New Deal and the transition into a smart Third Industrial Revolution… [which] can likely be built out in twenty years---a single generation… By 2040, we should be there is each and every one of us pulls our own weight… as part of a community and nationwide commitment… living off the fossil fuel deposits of the carboniferous era … gave us a false sense of an open-ended and unlimited future where everything was possible with little price to pay… Climate change is now the bill come due… We need to be hopeful that we can get there in time. This is the Green New Deal I believe in.” (Pg. 243-244)

This book will be of great interest to anyone studying environmental issues, and the Green New Deal.

[Cassandra]

I'm doing a new thing where I don't give stars. This book was OK. I am sold on the Green New Deal, and more interested in the details of what the infrastructure will do more exactly and how exactly it can be built. I believe we each have something to contribute, and I wanted to know what that should be. This book did not answer my questions. Instead, the book focused on explaining the concepts of Peer Assemblies, Pension Funds, Union Labor, Stranded Assets.

As a Green Tech person, it was mostly too surface level for me. I wish it had started with and addressed each of the 23 tenants of a Green New Deal that it lists at the end. The finance parts were most outside of my comfort zone - and are a focus of this book, so I am glad I read it, but I would go back in time to tell myself to read only a few sections: Chapter 5, the sub section "Finding the Money" in Chapter 6, and the subsections "Peer Assembly Governance" & "The Twenty-Three Key Initiatives of the Green New Deal" in Chapter 7. Or I would just hand myself some of the reports cited in the book.

The basic gist: Peer Assemblies and Pension Funds and Union Labor can build out and manage the distributed renewable electricity infrastructure, retrofitted and electrified buildings, smart cities, internet of things, 100% organic food supply, circular economy, and shared electric vehicles. There will be some kind of amorphous workforce preparation. The infrastructure can be built piecemeal by cities, municipalities, states and the federal government.

Why will we do this? Because of Stranded Assets (and increasing climate disaster threatening our lives and livelihoods.)

My main gripes were: It read like that first half of an introduction in a research paper - the part you write just to make it sound like what you are doing is important before you get into the real discussion. Descriptions of IoT and AI made them sound like magic cure-alls. Some examples of business actions are things I consider greenwashing or PR or very long time horizons. The citations and examples were too rarely used to establish principles or models for thinking and approaching a problems. They were mostly used to cite numbers like $2 trillion dollars! 5 years delayed! Double the budget! 80% by 2035!

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Critics have complained that the Green New Deal lacks details. Well, if you want details, this book will satisfy. Rifkin is a long-time green consultant to big corporations and has worked with governments in Europe and China on their plans to move their economies onto 100% clean energy, connecting isolated projects into a unified whole through "smart" infrastructure, what Rifkin calls the Third Industrial Revolution.

The book concludes with shovel-ready plans for a new US government, which Rifkin assumes will take office in 2021, to work with states and localities to implement a Third Industrial Revolution in twenty years, while cutting emissions fast enough to meet the 2030 deadline set by scientists.

Overall, Rifkin is confident that fossil fuelled business will collapse on its own in the next decade or so, even without much government help, just because solar and wind will become so much cheaper than fossil fuels, the invisible hand of the market will do the right thing for the climate based on cost and benefit alone. I'm not sure I share his optimism and I think it would be prudent to do enough politics to get fossil fuel companies out of the way.

Also, Rifkin does love tech and the first part of the book puts much stock in the Internet of Things, the blockchain, and the zero marginal cost of clean energy. In the end, Rifkin is a booster for more tech and more business to solve the environmental and social problems that tech and business have done a big part to create. Will it work, or is it safer to pursue a lower-tech approach? The verdict for me is still out and I think it can't hurt to try to green the economy through the most advanced communications and automation technology. That's certainly the approach that big business and most governments will want to hear.

Packed with numbers, Rifkin's plan is the perfect answer to anybody who says we can't get off fossil fuels fast enough to save the climate or that we can't afford to build all the new stuff we'll need. I hope at this time next year, a new president and Congress are meeting with Rifkin about getting started on ways to make it happen.

[Ptrav · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately, anybody who lived long enough (and has better-than-a-goldfish mental retention) has seen this all.

Dr. Paul Ehrlich, 1970, Stanford Uni: "The oceans will be as dead as Lake Erie in less than a decade... America will be subject to water rationing by 1974 and food rationing by 1980..."
Result in 2020: The oceans are alive. No food and water rationing in the US so far. Lake Erie is recovering. The lake's fish population accounts for an estimated 50% of all fish inhabiting the Great Lakes.

Dr. George Kukla, 1972, Brown Uni: "The present rate of cooling seems fast enough to bring glacial temperatures in about a century... It seems reasonable to prepare the agriculture and industry for possible alternatives and to form reserves..."
Result in 2020: What global cooling?

President Carter's advisors in 1977: "The world oil would disappear in the first decade of the 21 century".
Result in 2020: Check the gas station.

Dr. James Hansen, 1988, NASA: "We have considered cases ranging from business as usual, which is scenario A, to draconian emission cuts, scenario C, which would totally eliminate net trace gas growth by year 2000..."
Result in 2020: "Business as usual" scenario has been followed, the Earth is not Venus, New York is still above the water, and we are still alive.

Nobel Laureate Al Gore in 2009: "New computer modeling suggests the Arctic Ocean may be nearly ice-free in summer as early as 2014..."
Result in 2020: Check the NASA space photos.

Bachelor of Economics Jeremy Rifkin, 2019: "Fossil Fuel Civilization Will Collapse by 2028"?
Yeah, right!

Unlike the fundamental "Limits to Growth", this book has not addressed even the basic arithmetic.
Surely, our civilization has many problems, but it, most definitely, will not end in 2028.

[Lanier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let’s begin at the ending:

Rifkin’s The Green New Deal
Following Up

Coronavirus effects on the Green New Deal


It’s been nearly nine years:

https://www.rockefellerfoundation.org...

Deutsche Bank and The Rockefeller Foundation Release Building Energy Retrofit Study^

https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-d...

In this piece we’re still handling it state-by-state, which is doomed for failure until all 50 are unified, on board and using Peer Assemblies and other governance bodies addressing the 23 points listed above

Creating a Road Map for a “Green New Deal”
Osita Nwanevu
November 19, 2018


$9,200,000,000,000
Is doable when looking at costs of Renewables getting cheaper and more efficient as time goes by

Plus

When THESE ALL Happen:
-Tax Credits,
-Deductions and other incentives
-Graduated Penalties
-Grants and Low-Interest Loans

Pretty much everything they’ve done for Fossil Fuels Industrial Complex for almost a century.

Acceleration of adoption of Renewables, Investments and Training within these next 3 years let alone the next 15!

We could reach Zero-Emission sooner than ever - support

Thanks Elon!
Thanks China!
You wanted competition for your Capitalist Hearts, you got it.
With FCEL and Nikola(questionable scam? - I don’t think so) and NIO and Denmark and Germany’s wind turbines
The Race is ON!!

OK: let’s now recap the 23 steps necessary for are richer, cleaner more equitable world. May seem repetitive, as six or so have been summarized above -

The 23 Key Initiatives of The Green New Deal
7:10.26

US Gub’mint
- Rise in Carbon Tax (rebates to individuals / the other half to Gub’mint to use for Infrastructure
- Quick phase down of $15 BILLION in annual FF subsidies)
- Deploy a Nationwide SMART Power Grid by 2030, maturing by 2040
- All gub’mints supply Tax Credits for renewables installations
- All gub’mints supply Tax Credits for the Storage of energy
- All gub’mints introduce Broadband and the Internet of Things - prioritizing at risk regions (Appalachia, Inner Cities, Delta regions 1st Nationer areas)
- Data Centers to receive Tax Credits for using or installing 100% renewables on or around their centers allowing them autonomous functions OFF-Grid should environmental or cyber terror attacks occur
- Grants, Vouchers and Credits for those buying EVs and using other non-fossil products with a Tax Hike on those still driving combustibles engines - Eliminating sale of all FF vehicles by 2030
- All gub’mints supply Tax Credits for Charging Stations WITH escalating Tax Hikes for those NOT providing service
- Federal Gub’mint should hand over all Gub’mint mandated lands for Green use - Procurement towards Zero-Net Energy by soon
- State and federal Gub’mints plans to phase out Petro-Chemical plants - introducing organic
-
- 92
- -6:40
- Sleepy sleep time -

22:53
7:16.30
92%
11th
- state and federal Gub’mints need to phase out petrochemical agriculture and phase in organic and ecological agricultural while boosting local markets production over next 20 years END GOAL: 100% Organic Certification by 2040
- A: state and federal Gub’mints - Deep subsidies and incentives for a speedy transformation
- state and federal Gub’mints - Tax Credits and incentives to Farmers Carbon farming and to reforest and Rewild marginalized land to capturing and sequestering CO2 from the atmosphere - capturing and sequesterin land and serve as Carbon Capture Sinks while reprioritizing use of Public Lands by reforesting where applicable to capture and sequester CO2 emissions
- All Gub’mints prioritize the upgrade of all water systems; sewer and storm water drains to be resilient and resistant to withstand major climate events by 2040 AND Cisterns in drought areas for long-term back-ups WHEN Power Grid is disabled via natural disasters or cyber terrorists AND return all privately owned or run water companies back to municipalities to ensure public oversight and control of water
- All - Mandate circularity processes in supply chains
- State and Fed - Employ Military Wxpenditures without compromising national or state security for federal troops and state national guards to manage climate-related national disaster responses and relief missions
- Fed - Establish National Green Bank to establish state, county and municipal Green Banks to leverage funds from National GB = Slush Funds for Pension Funded Scaled Green Infrastructure Buildouts (restabilization AFTER cyber or natural attacks) - 50% of all electricity should be coming from renewable Energies by 2030 with 100% by 2040
- Pension Funds Capital to finance state, fed, and municipal, county specializing utilizing Unions wherever and whenever possible - only 11% of workers are protected by unions the future Green Contracts must be open to unionization or collective bargaining rights - prioritizing shifting and retraining workers soon to be “stranded” in dead industries
- Education for yewts Peace Corps and Americorps, Vista-like programs sponsored by state and fed Gub’mints to aid in yewts’ transitional stages
GreenCorps, ClimateCorps and ConservationCorps Infrastructure Corps will provide a living wage to HS graduates apprenticeships with nationally approved institutions to mobilize a SMART Green New World work force
Disaster Response Training - 1st Responders
State National Guards

19th
- All Gub’mints should prioritize Green new Deal opportunities in disenfranchised communities - grants, low-interest loans and other incentives upgrade Public Health Services
- All Gub’mints should produce More equitable tax laws reducing the vast disparities between the super rich and the poverty stricken - revenues can be used to advance infrastructure and other transitional phases
- All Gub’mints- reprioritize Funding and substantial increases R&D technologies and 3rd Industrial Revolution + Deployment from FF based to biologically produced - harness best minds
- Accelerated Time Frame regulations codes and standards for seamless integration of broadband renewable energy power generation and distribution, autonomous monitoring and
- The US Gub’mint should join with the EU and China and any other nation already actively striving for halting this 1.5% increase in earth’s temperatures or atmospheric Doomsday - Collaboration to identity, support and implement the Universal regulations, codes, standards, incentives and penalties enabled global transparency

Peer Assembly Gub’mints
7:24:35
94%

Keys to 1st and 2nd Industrial Revolutions Can’t be those of The 3rd Green Industrial Revolution

Infrastructures were:
Centralized
Closed Intellectual Property
Vertically Integrated - for stockholders to have reasonable ROIs from finding, extraction, transport and other logical costs.

OK - so, let’s begin...

[STEPHEN PLETKO!! · Rating 4 out of 5]

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A CASE FOR ENDING BUSINESS-AS-USUAL

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"This book will share my experience over the past two decades in the European Union and, more recently, in the People's Republic of China, helping both governments prepare their Green New Deal-style transitions into the zero-carbon Third Industrial Revolution...

I hope and expect that the grassroots movement for the Green New Deal now spreading across America will find it useful as the United States crafts its green, post-carbon Third Industrial Revolution infrastructure to mitigate climate change and create a more just and humane economy and society."

The above (in italics) comes from this important and well-written book by Jeremy Rifkin. He is an American economic and social theorist, writer, public speaker, political advisor, and activist. Rifkin is an advisor to the European Union, the People's Republic of China, and heads of state around the world. He has taught at the Executive Education program at the University of Pennsylvania since 1995 and is president of the Foundation of Economic Trends (in Washington, DC). Rifkin is also the author of twenty books (which have been translated into more than thirty-five languages).

The Green New Deal plan (first mentioned by a journalist in 2007) are proposals that call for public policy to address climate change along with achieving other social aims like job creation and reducing economic inequality. The name refers back to the "New Deal," a set of social and economic reforms and public works prospects undertaken by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in response to the U.S. economic Great Depression that began in 1929 (and lasted to circa 1939).

The Green New Deal plan continues Roosevelt's economic approach with modern ideas such as renewable energy and resource efficiency.

Since the early 2010s and especially since 2018, other proposals for a Green New Deal plan have arisen both in the United States and internationally.

This book is Rifkin's proposal for the Green New Deal plan. It essentially presents an endorsement of the efforts to remake a doomed fossil fuel economy before it's too late and runaway climate change sets in. Runaway climate change will render the planet uninhabitable.

In the book's final chapter (entitled "Mobilizing Society: Saving Life on Earth"), Rifkin proposes his "Twenty-Three Key Initiatives of the Green New Deal."

There's quite a bit of economics as well as climate change information presented in this book. I found for myself that the economics presented was accessible and well-presented. However, those without some economics background may have difficulty with this book.

Finally, the only problem I had with parts of this book including Rifkin's Green New Deal is that there is dependence on wishful-thinking. As well, I feel that Rifkin underestimates the fossil fuel industry and its tactics. However, his point that something must be done immediately is well taken.

In conclusion, Jeremy Rifkin proposes his economic ideas for a Green New Deal that we need at this critical moment in history. I leave you with this book's final words:

"Living off the fossil fuel deposits of the carboniferous era for more than two centuries gave us a false sense of an open-ended and unlimited future where everything was possible and with little price to pay. We came to believe that we are the masters of our fate and that the Earth is here for our taking. We failed to see that there is always an entropy bill for what ever takes place on this planet. We call this era The Age of Progress.

Climate change is now the bill come due.

We are entering a new epoch and a new journey. The Age of Resilience is now before us. How we adapt to the new planetary reality that faces us will determine our future destiny as a species.

We are fast approaching a biosphere consciousness. We need to be hopeful that we can get there in time.

This is the Green New Deal I believe in."

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(2019; introduction; 2 parts or 7 chapters; main narrative 245 pages; acknowledgments; notes; index)

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[Hank · Rating 1 out of 5]

It is not reasonable to propose to utterly upend our lives without providing extensive justification and relatively detailed plans.

For example, in How the World Really Works, Vaclav Smil lays out simply and concisely how fossil fuels are used in production of fertilizers, steel and cement and for transportation clearly demonstrating the cost to humanity of giving them up.

Perhaps because he’s made his career as a political consultant and organizer rather than a scientist or engineer, Mr. Rifkin, on the other hand, tends to cherry pick figures, such as declining costs of renewable energy infrastructure without actually grounding them with any relation to competing sources in genuinely practical terms. For example, when he refers to the need to back up solar and wind power generation facilities with fossil fuel facilities for those days when the wind doesn’t blow or the sun is blocked by clouds as an “urban myth” however provides only declining battery production costs as evidence while giving no indication of actual battery capacity in current or planned implementations that would actually expose such an assertion to be mythical.

If you prefer being beaten or the head with a thousand repetitions of phrases such as “the third industrial revolution” (an earlier book by the author which he states was quite popular with senior members of the Chinese government, but which is unfortunately no longer listed among audio or e-book listings of the NYC public library…) or “stranded assets” (a hypothetical concept for which no actual cases are forwarded in the book) or “near zero marginal cost” (forgetting that someone actually has to incur significant costs to get us to such a state) then this is the book for you. Finding little value in such poorly supported propagandistic rhetoric myself, though, I can’t recommend it.

Though this is the first of his books that I’ve read, it seems clear that the author goes in heartily for catchy gimmicks, such as the internet of things and the sharing economy, etc. which are fast waning only a few years since this book was published.

In my working career I have had many encounters with these sorts of fast talkers who can dress anything up in a catchy power point in order to collect their fee or bonus before they move on to the next mark. Give me a true practitioner who actually knows how things work, like Vaclav Smil every time. You can’t solve a problem until you’ve defined it properly and while both authors agree on the gravity of the climate change currently under way, this book doesn’t even begin to approach a genuine definition of what needs doing to truly reduce emissions, let alone any sort of plan.

As for batteries, though I may be reading between his lines a bit, I’m inclined to agree with Mr. Rifkin that individual ownership probably makes more sense as a foundation for transition to reliance on renewable power production than centralized utility storage (they certainly don’t seem to be developing reliable storage capacity anywhere in the world today) he must also realize that such ownership would have to include control and that individuals would be very unlikely to sell their power precisely at the times it is most precious.

[Daria · Rating 4 out of 5]

The "Green new deal" book builds upon Rifkin's previous works but also tells a very comprehensive story.
I appreciate that he gives the EU all the credit it deserves for today's near-zero marginal costs for solar and wind in particular. Indeed, it was the EU's leadership in setting legally binding targets for renewables that boosted a number of measures at Member States' level that in turns fostered the flood of money into green technologies R&D. Probably not many people are aware of the EU's 20-20-20 by 2020, which stood for 20% green energy in the final energy mix, 20% more energy efficiency and 20% lower carbon emissions compared to 1990's levels.
I won't go into too much details on part 1 since Riflin has a separate book covering what he calls the Third Industrial Revolution. His vision for this is a society powered by electricity, in which every building, be it a business or homeowner, is a potential energy producer, connected in a smart distributed grid which is capable of demand response in real time. In this world, vehicles are electric and fuel cell (for long range travel) and in fact transportation is regarded as a service with personal car ownership at record low levels - to be honest, I can see this happening already in the very near future - I miself take my e-bike everywhere, in good or bad weather, and with rise of popularity of UBER and other short term car rental services, some of which allow you to drive the car for only a few minutes at a time, this future is just a matter of time. One of the more shocking figures which I still think about after finishing this book is the estimation that car-sharing services could eliminate 80% of the vehicles currently on the road while providing the same, or better, mobility at a lesser cost.
I find that the book did not sufficiently address the hard-to-abate sectors such as steel making, for instance. While fiber-based biological substitutes may be possible for plastic packaging, there will not be such an alternative for steel, for instance. Carbon capture and storage for these sectors might be the only solution so to forget about CCS altogether might be a mistake going forward.
One of the things that stood out to me from the book was the idea of pension funds as one of the driving financing factors for the transition needed. As a 31-year-old I hardly thing about my pension but this was truly intriguing and it actually made me curious about where all the money that I am putting away goes. Perhaps one of my favorite quotes from the book is this one: by having billions of dollars in perbsion funds to be invested in green infrastructure, "it would not only help secure the retirement of 73 million American workers but also ensure the well-being of their heirs in a climate change world."
Overall, I enjoyed this book.

[Coleman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Most books on climate change are about the history, science, and possible outcomes of the phenomenon, so it's nice to see more books coming out with possible solutions. The "Green New Deal" is one such solution, and Rifkin goes to great lengths to explain why fossil fuels are doomed and the Green New Deal is the best path forward to jumpstart a third industrial revolution and save our planet from disaster.

To summarize as best as I can: The fossil fuel economy costs to much. Coal, oil, and natural gas get post-tax subsidies in the form of environmental damages from energy consumption (ie poor air quality, wildfires, hurricanes, etc.). Plus, these fuels are now more expensive to consume than solar and wind thanks to technological advancements in renewable energy, and are creating stranded assets in the form of wells, pipelines, and aging powerplants that are currently being built but will hardly be used in the future as global demand for these fuels decreases. Places like China and the EU are jumping on the renewable energy train while the U.S. lags behind, even though investment firms, insurance companies, and individual states already see the writing on the wall. Rifkin goes into all of this great detail to use as proof that we need a green new deal.

This green new deal includes a rising carbon tax paired with dividends to be distributed to the people (My volunteer organization, Citizens' Climate Lobby, is working on legislation to enact this portion right now! Click here to learn how you can help!), elimination of fossil fuel subsidies, tax subsidies for power generation on homes and storage technology, an outright ban on drilling for fossil fuels on public lands, job training for the new green energy economy, and much much more.

Rifkin is excited for this bold future with good reason, I just find his writing to be on the dry side. If you're interested in an overview of what the GND would look like, you can skip to the last 20 pages of this book. The early portions are mainly to prove why the GND is necessary in the first place (Argued from an economic perspective rather than environmental), which is important. It's just that he has a tendency to use buzzwords and phrases like "The Internet of Things" that gave me post-traumatic flashbacks to required reading from my MLIS. He also has a tendency to take China at their word when they say they're going to do something, you know, since that country's always been perfectly honest lately.

Overall, Rifkin's ideas and the GND are bold, unrealistic, and probably politically unpopular. On the other hand, they're also the best path forward for our survival.

[Adrian Stefan Tudor · Rating 3 out of 5]

# The Book in 3 Sentences

1. Insightful information about the world's green energy plans and strategy.
2. Switch from fossil fuels and gas to wind/solar green energy
3. Technological advances, cheap green energy, how smart grids will replace old ones, and how IoT will contribute to the overall transition from fossil fuel to green energy.

# Impressions

The book, though not capturing the recent 2020 events with the Covid situation, is an interesting read that makes you think about the environment, the future of our planet and what measures we have to take in order to avoid a global catastrophe. The transition from fossil fuel to green energy is the answer. And with the cost of Green energy generation decreasing every year, it's not any more cost-effective to continue using fossil fuels. The Third Technological Revolution is here, but in order to avoid tipping over the 1.5 degrees Celsius rise in the Earth’s temperature and achieve the transition to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, we need to act fast.
There is a lot of information about the measures that countries around the world are taking in order to switch from investing/supporting the fossil fuel industry to clean energy. Germany is one of the countries at the top of this list that is making this transition, and they should be looked like a model for other states that have to make these changes.

# Who Should Read It?

If you are interested in where the energy industry is heading considering the urgency of global warming, governmental awareness/progress, and technological enhancements, then this is a book you should definitely read.

# How the book impacted me?

How my life/behavior/thoughts/ideas have changed as a result of reading the book.

- Raising awareness about the irreversible impact on the climate if we don’t act and change our current habits.
- Being even more conscious about the environment.
- Reducing our carbon footprint is in our hands and we need to act now. Eating less meat is one way to help.
- Looking for companies/ stocks that are producers of green energy to invest in.

# Top 3 quotes from the book

- Doing well by doing good -Benjamin Franklin
- The major economic transformations in history share a common denominator. They all require three elements, each of which interacts with the others to enable the system to operate as a whole: a communication medium, a power source, and a transportation mechanism.

[Robert Narojek · Rating 5 out of 5]

I waited a long time for the latest book by Jeremy Rifkin and with great joy sat down to read "The Green New Deal" because his view of climate, civilization and its evolution over the last 10,000 years and his very calm and pragmatic approach to broadly understood economics are this what mankind badly needs, and has been waiting for at least several decades. I must admit that, as always, the author did not disappoint. The book is very addictive and, above all, gives great concrete advice on what else can be done to save the homo sapiens species from extinction.

I believe that for some readers Rikin's book may seem like a hopeless "call in the wilderness" for immediate changes to the prevailing economic paradigm of the world. However, I am also convinced that the author anticipated the change of tenant of 1600 Pensylvania Ave. and it was only on this that he built his undisguised albeit modest optimism about the necessary changes. Of course, this book is primarily aimed at American readers, because, as the data shows, it is the only one of many world powers that does not keep up with the rest of the world. There is nothing else but to hope that the current president, Joe Biden, will want to follow the path so detailed and even technically described by Rifkin. I must admit I am very tempted to send him one copy for careful reading.

On the other hand, speaking quite seriously, seeing that some of the first decrees of POTUS concerned the emphasis on the shift of direction of the United States on climate issues (the Paris Agreement, Keystone), I remain a moderate optimist that the Americans will follow the author's call for a mobilization of forces and resources similar to that of the Second World War when the entire industry shifted to meeting the challenges of the war in just a few months.

[Georgina Brooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was really interesting. Rifkin essentially takes you through what needs to happen on a macro level in the next 12 years if we are to avoid irreversable climate change that leads to mass population destruction and ushers in the next great extinction. It's difficult to comprehend that right now our political leaders are sitting on a ticking time bomb that dictates how many more generations the Earth can comfortably hold. It made me realise what a precipice we are on.
The silly thing is, there's very little as an individual we can do, it basically depends on whether world leaders are able to work globally to impose infrastructure on a level and timeframe similar to the industrial revolution to enable the world to pivot away from fossil fuel based energy to green erengyy like wind and sun.
There are a couple of bits of good news: the largest single amount of capital is in deferred salary in the form of pensions, and these increasingly are not being invested for profit but for the long term benefit of the employee, which has resulted in pensions 'divesting' from fossil fuels which are a risky investment and invested in green energy. I hadn't really thought about the potential capital of my pension. The other good news is that China and Europe have demonstrated they can divest large sections of their economy. The real problem is the States, and whether Biden will be able to mobilise government to vote through the infrastructure needed in the terms he has in office....

Very thought provoking stuff...

[Petr Vrchota · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kniha ekonoma Jeremy Rifkina nabízí pohled na řešení klimatické krize, když analyzuje americkou koncepci Nové zelené dohody a srovnává ji se Zelenou dohodou pro Evropu. Ukazuje, jak je celoplanetárně důležité přejít na bezuhlíkovou cirkulární ekonomiku, která nás nasměruje do třetí průmyslové revoluce, přičemž v knize hovoří, že v blízké době narazíme na mezní bod konce fosilní energetiky. Nastiňuje důležitost zavedení konkrétních opatření, v závěru představuje celkem 23 opatření (např. vytvoření efektivní přenosové soustavy napříč regiony a kontinenty, podporu větrné a solární energie, daňové úlevy a subvence pro rozvoj bezemisní zelené energie, zavedení uhlíkové daně a organických postupů v zemědělství, legislativní opatření pro podporu komunitní energetiky apod.). Rifkin mluví o tom, že na úrovni obcí, měst, regionů a států je potřeba vytvořit tzv. komunity rovných, tedy lidí, kteří budou vypracovávat akční plán a sledovat dodržování harmonogramu. V závěru ukazuje, že je důležité, aby se světové mocnosti jako USA, EU a Čína spojily ve společném úsilí, odhodily své geopolitické ambice a vytvořily silnou bezemisní spolupráci. Jakkoli tato myšlenka zní logicky, světové uspořádání se od vydání této knihy se výrazně proměnilo spíše směrem k geopolitickému soupeření, ekonomickému protekcionismu, sobeckému národnímu zájmu a vzrůstajícím výdajům na obranu. Bude zajímavé sledovat, jak se v tomto soupeřivém světě podaří tváří v tvář výzvám spojeným s klimatickou krizí najít společnou řeč.

[John Leemhuis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeremy Rifkin's book, "The Green New Deal", walks through the facts around climate change that draw us to the inevitable conclusion that the human race is on a path that will send us over a cliff unless drastic measures are taken immediately.

Rifkin points to the Paris Agreement and the crucial tipping point that will occur if we do not take action to keep the Earth's temperature from increasing beyond 1.5 degrees C. While traditional fossil fuel industries seem to keep marching blindly forward, the emergence of green technologies that are now cost competitive reveal that there is not only hope that the negative consequences of reliance on fossil fuels can be countered but that the death of the fossil fuel industry and the move to renewable energy sources like wind and solar is inevitable. The question is whether our planet can make that transition quickly enough to minimize the damage caused by our reliance on fossil fuels.

Rifkin lays out his plan, "The Green New Deal", for accomplishing the monumental task of transitioning from a fossil fuel based economy to a renewable energy based economy - the Third Industrial Revolution. His proposal is not entirely academic or theoretical since he brings years of experience on these very issues in helping develop and implement transition plans in both Europe and China. "The Green New Deal" is important and worthwhile reading to better understand the mess we are in and how we must proceed to put our global house in order.