‘Green New Deal’ to tackle ‘triple crunch’ of credit, oil price and climate crises

There have been calls for green 'New Deal's from both sides of the Atlantic over the last few months. Over here most references have been made to one in particular, written by a Travelling Wilburys-style grouping of alternative thinkers and presented by the think tank, new economics foundation (nef).

I won't attempt to explain what the Deal is, as, unsurprisingly, they can do a better job of that themselves. What I will do is copy and paste a very short summary and encourage you to read it yourself. (I assure you that this is to ensure clarity and accuracy and certainly not down to laziness.)

Copied summary:

The Green New Deal is a response to the credit crunch and wider energy and food crises, and to the lack of comprehensive, joined-up action from politicians. It calls for:

• Massive investment in renewable energy and wider environmental transformation in the UK, leading to:
• The creation of thousands of new green collar jobs
• Reining in reckless aspects of the finance sector – but making low-cost capital available to fund the UK’s green economic shift
• Building a new alliance between environmentalists, industry, agriculture, and unions to put the interests of the real economy ahead of those of footloose finance
  
  Click here for more on nef's Green New Deal
  

Knowing very little about economics or joined-up thinking in practical terms and relying largely on an idealistic 'this sounds nice' attitude, I'd be keen to hear what you think. So, add comments as you please.

Becky