Sustainable Futures and Green New Deals: Overview and Policy Directions

This chapter addresses the critical challenges of climate change and the necessary policy directions for sustainable futures through Green New Deals (GNDs). Climate change is causing severe health, economic, and environmental issues, including heat-related illnesses, food insecurity, droughts, and rising sea levels. Current efforts to meet the Paris Agreement goals are falling short, with potential temperature rises of 3 °C to 3.5 °C by 2100. Emphasizing the importance of a global approach to GNDs, it highlights their potential to address social, economic, and environmental injustices. The historical and political contexts reveal the evolution of GNDs from the 2006 concept in the United States to varied adaptations worldwide. Key policy proposals focus on the need for international cooperation, just transition strategies, effective engagement across ideological divides, sustainable financing models, and robust progress measurement frameworks. While GNDs offer transformative potential, achieving their goals requires overcoming significant political, economic, logistical, and technological challenges.