Moving Forward with a Green New Deal: Lessons from East Asia
Mary Alice Haddad
Proponents of the Green New Deal (GND) in the United States are facing a hostile political climate, and they should look to East Asia to discover how to achieve their goals, such as extensive investment in renewable energy, rapid development of smart grids, development of sustainable food systems, updated and extended public transport, increased international collaboration on climate change, as well as corporate tax reform, free preschool, single-payer health care, etc.
These accomplishments were not achieved all at once, but rather over time and building on success. By focusing on specific policies and crafting them in ways that could appeal to political conservatives, East Asia’s environmentalists have been able to create lasting, pro-climate and pro-society legislation. The experience of climate activists in Japan and South Korea offer examples of what GND supporters should and should not do.
Japan’s Poisoned Partisanship—an example to avoid
In 2009 the Democratic Party of Japan won an historic victory over the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, which had dominated Japanese politics for more than fifty years. They had grand plans to reduce the power of the bureaucracy, improve health care, and strengthen climate policy.
The DPJ tried to implement their entire agenda all at once and failed. A mere three years after their historic victory, the DPJ was kicked out and the LDP returned to power. Prime Minister Abe has now become one of Japan’s longest-serving Prime Ministers.
The implications for GND supporters and Democrats are clear: Don’t try to do everything at once. After the LDP regained power, Japan’s environmentalists reverted to their previous strategies for working with conservative governments and were much more successful. They have turned conservative Prime Minister Abe into a climate champion, and they are promoting even more ambitious policies at the local level (e.g., Tokyo’s emissions trading scheme).
South Korea’s Green Growth Agenda—an example to emulate
Historically, South Korean politics has been even more polarized that U.S. politics (two of its last three Presidents were impeached, and the third is serving a 15 year sentence for corruption), and yet, it has become a global champion of GND-related agendas. During the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Korea in 2008, newly elected President Myung-Bak Lee laid out a “low carbon, green growth” vision for Korea’s next sixty years. As a political conservative and a businessman, his plan focused on government investment in green technology, greater energy security through renewable energy, and international engagement. These initiatives have grown over time, leading Korea to become a global environmental leader.
What happened when the liberals took over in 2017? They did not dismantle pro-business “green growth,” instead re-orienting it toward pro-social “green growth.” As President Jae-in Moon eloquently articulated during an October 2018 speech, “Public-private cooperation projects will not be confined to environmental achievements alone. These projects will be implemented in a way that enhances inclusiveness in our society such as job creation, inequality resolution and the spread of green technologies.” As championed by the GND, good environmental policy can also address social inequality, poverty, and health issues.
How can GND supporters apply South Korea’s experience? Since Republicans control the Senate and the Oval Office, GND supporters should begin by crafting bills that can be supported by Republicans. Bills with titles like “Energy for the 21st Century” or “Innovation for the Future” should be able to gain bipartisan support. After all, most wind power installations are located in “red” districts and renewable energy sources offer the cheapest energy to most rural Republican districts. Perhaps, like South Korea’s liberals, Democrats can pursue their social welfare agenda after they gain more political power, and by then, hopefully, their climate agenda will be well on its way.
Start Now, Start Local
A final lesson that Green New Deal proponents can learn from East Asia’s environmental advocates is that they do not need to wait to gain national-level power to make important changes at the local level. Cities are huge contributors to climate change, responsible for 75% of global emissions, which means that city-level action can have large results. Tokyo reduced its energy consumption more than 20 percent between 2000 and 2015, with the industrial and transportation sectors making astounding 41 percent and 42 percent reduction respectively. Since Tokyo’s emissions are about the same as Austria’s, Tokyo’s reductions (or increases) are globally significant even without national-level change.
Furthermore, once an idea has been proven at the local level, it is easier to make the case that it should be scaled to become national policy. Perhaps the largest example is China’s carbon market, which began in 2011 as a pilot program in seven cities and provinces. It has already helped the country increase its carbon intensity by more than 45% over 2005 levels, and the market should be operational at the national level in 2020, when it will become the largest carbon market in the world. Korea is piloting smart-grids on Jeju Island with the anticipation that the new technology will be expanded to the rest of the peninsula in coming years.
In the US, ambitious climate policy is already being championed at the local level, and not just in “blue” states. A number of Republican governors (e.g., Charlie Baker of Massachusetts and Ron DeSantis of Florida) are making significant climate change policy at the state level. Many of the mayors who signed the Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy are Republican, and all mayors who signed were reelected in 2019, irrespective of party affiliation.
GND supporters can learn useful lessons from their counterparts in East Asia: Seek incremental policy success that begins with pro-environmental and pro-business measures, aim ambitious policy initiatives at the local level, and builds on success over time. Climate change is urgent, and failure is not an option. GND supporters need to chart a political path that will lead to success, even if it doesn’t happen all at once.
Mary Alice Haddad is a Professor of Government, East Asian Studies, and Environmental Studies at Wesleyan University.