Green New Deal, Public Sympathy and Tangible Experience Are Important

Choe Jong-su (Research Fellow, LH Land and Housing Institute)

The New Deal projects generally involve large-scale construction projects, so they do not usually align with the concept of "green," which signifies eco-friendliness. However, these two seemingly incompatible words have come together, forming what is called the "Green New Deal." It feels somewhat like a warm iced Americano, making its meaning not immediately clear.

Since the Green New Deal is ultimately a New Deal project, it evokes images of large-scale SOC (Social Overhead Capital) projects. However, the government has clearly stated that large-scale civil engineering SOC projects like the Four Major Rivers Project from the era of green growth are not the target. This reflects a concern to avoid repeating the past mistake where green growth overly emphasized the New Deal aspect, resulting in a "green" label in name only.

The dictionary definition of New Deal is "a new policy." In the 1930s, to overcome the economic depression caused by the Great Depression, U.S. President Roosevelt proposed a new policy, the New Deal, aimed at economic stimulus.

The New Deal needed to revive the stagnant economy and provide immediate jobs for citizens whose livelihoods were under threat. These jobs had to be accessible to vulnerable groups and ordinary people so they could easily enter and earn money.

Many of the recently proposed items are unfamiliar "insurmountable walls" to the majority of the public. Some items are not really "new policies" but projects that have been promoted under different names. Under the current Green New Deal policy, simply changing the label is unacceptable. New Deal projects that only resonate with a few citizens and benefit specific interest groups will inevitably cause conflicts, just like the Four Major Rivers Project.

Considering the demands of the times, the Green New Deal is undoubtedly linked to greenhouse gas reduction projects. Electric and hydrogen vehicles, renewable energy, carbon point systems, and low-carbon buildings are presented as major reduction measures, but these projects have limitations in creating jobs that citizens can immediately feel.

Then, what is the way to catch three rabbits at once: responding to climate change, creating urgently needed jobs, and stimulating the economy?

At a recent meeting, the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport mentioned that significant greenhouse gas reduction and economic effects are possible through green remodeling. However, no specific methods for green remodeling were presented.

As a method that can be implemented immediately, I propose eco-friendly green remodeling using water and plants. Rooftop greening and vertical greening can reduce a building’s energy consumption, and according to data, the exterior wall temperature of a building can drop by nearly 15℃ with vertical greening. By storing and utilizing rainwater, flood damage can be reduced while also expecting a heatwave mitigation effect through evapotranspiration. According to research results from the LH Research Institute where I work, spraying water on road surfaces can reduce temperatures by 2 to 3℃.

We have painful experience from past attempts to promote projects similar to the Green New Deal, and the scars have not yet healed. The biggest reason for failure was the lack of sufficient public consensus. Criticism that the benefits of large-scale New Deal projects went mainly to some construction companies rather than ordinary citizens is also hard to avoid. This New Deal must be a policy that the public can participate in and empathize with, not one led solely by the government or corporations.

The green of eco-friendliness and the New Deal of large-scale SOC projects may be like a warm iced Americano that cannot coexist. Our government has proposed the Green New Deal as an alternative. Although the exact concept of the Green New Deal has not been established, it is understood as a policy to solve economic stimulus and job creation through large-scale investments in climate and environmental aspects.

Unlike the development era, the green of eco-friendliness becoming a new economic stimulus measure is an inevitable trend of the times. The remaining question is what items to include.

Surprisingly, the answer may be simple. It is only necessary to confirm whether the items align with the purpose of the Green New Deal, whether they are eco-friendly, and whether they can create jobs and distribute income.

I hope that green remodeling of urban spaces using water and vegetation can catch the three rabbits of climate change response, job creation, and economic stimulus.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.