U.S. presidential hopeful Cory Booker unveiled a $3 trillion plan to address climate change on Tuesday, vowing to reach a 100% clean energy economy by 2045 by sharply curbing fossil fuels while investing heavily in renewable energy sources.
The plan also calls for a new White House-coordinated “Environmental Justice Fund” that would focus on defending at-risk communities from environmental threats, including a nationwide lead remediation program to replace all lead water pipes for schools and residences.
Booker’s home of Newark, New Jersey, where he served as mayor for seven years, has been grappling with lead contamination in its water supply in recent weeks.
“We are facing a dual crisis of climate change and economic inequality,” Booker said. “Without immediate action, we risk an incredible human toll from disasters, health impacts, rising national security threats, and trillions of dollars in economic losses.”
Booker says ‘The reality is that we can’t afford not to act. We spend more than $100 billion each year solely on the health impacts of burning fossil fuels, and have spent $450 billion on climate-related disasters in the last three years alone. A recent paper in the National Bureau of Economic Research found that the U.S. economy could shrink by more than 10 percent by 2100 if we don’t act decisively on climate change.’