Hickenlooper opposes Green New Deal: Resolution sets ‘unachievable’ goals

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D), a 2020 presidential candidate, came out against the Green New Deal on Tuesday, saying that he supports the “concept,” but feels the resolution “sets unachievable goals.”

In an op-ed published Tuesday in The Washington Post, Hickenlooper said the scope of the resolution introduced by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) was too wide for the technology currently available to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

{mosads}”The resolution sets unachievable goals. We do not yet have the technology needed to reach ‘net-zero greenhouse gas emissions’ in 10 years. That’s why many wind and solar companies don’t support it,” Hickenlooper wrote.

“In addition to technological barriers, the Ocasio-Cortez-Markey resolution sets the Green New Deal up for failure by shifting away from private decision-making and toward the public sector — including multiple provisions with little connection to reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” he continued.

Hickenlooper pointed to provisions of the Green New Deal resolution that called for a federal jobs guarantee — a program that would provide any American with a job — as unrealistic.

“This provision, along with others, would produce a massive expansion of government that would likely be far too expensive and complex to execute effectively in the urgent time frame we are facing,” he wrote.

Solving climate change, Hickenlooper contended, involves engaging with the private sector and the nation’s top universities to spur innovation.

The former Colorado governor announced his 2020 White House bid earlier this month, citing President Trump in his campaign video as “a crisis that threatens everything we stand for.” He left office in January after serving two terms.

Other 2020 candidates including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) have announced their support for the Green New Deal resolution. Former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D), another 2020 hopeful, expressed support earlier this year for the “concept” of a Green New Deal.