Global Green New Deal: 10 ways to secure a fairer, better future for all

Our ability to grow food, find shelter during climate disasters – and even our rights – are under threat as the climate crisis impacts everything we depend on to survive and thrive. 

Legacies of colonialism  

Yet, the impacts of climate breakdown and ecological collapse are not felt equally, nor is this inequality an accident — it's rooted in our global economic and political systems.  

The climate crisis stems from centuries of colonialism and imperialism, where the Global North extracted resources, land, and labour from the Global South, fuelling Global North industrialisation and fossil-fuel-driven economies, while concentrating wealth and power in the hands of a few. 

The poorest and most marginalised — particularly in the Global South, along with working-class communities in the Global North — bear the brunt of climate breakdown as a direct continuation of exploitation that still drives the global economy today. They have done the least to cause the climate crisis, yet are the most vulnerable to climate disaster. 

Breaking the cycle  

A truly just transition to fairer, greener societies – that puts people and planet first — is urgently needed.  It must address inequality, which is rooted in the exploitation and destruction of the planet, while ensuring people’s right to live well.  A full remaking of our world is needed. This is our vision of a Global Green New Deal. 

10 areas of intervention: 

1.  The Global North must pay its fair share to keep global heating below 1.5°C

We must cut emissions rapidly while tackling inequality, with a global heating rise of 1.5°C or less serving as a guardrail against the worst impacts of climate breakdown. But with global temperatures already surpassing 1.5°C for the first time in 2024, urgent action is more necessary now than ever. 

 The Global North must take the lead in cutting emissions — without relying on unproven technologies and false ‘solutions’ to do so, such as carbon offsetting, which in reality is a licence to carry on polluting. Global North countries are responsible for 57% of cumulative carbon emissions since 1850, while the world’s least developed countries contributed just 0.4%.    

2.  Guaranteeing everyone’s right to energy: transitioning to publicly owned renewable energy systems 

Our global energy system drives inequality, overconsumption, and ecological destruction. Over two billion people globally lack access to clean cooking, while here in the UK, many face skyrocketing energy bills. To stay within 1.5°C and respect planetary limits, fossil fuels must be swiftly and fairly phased out — yet their use continues to rise globally. 

We need public, democratic energy systems that prioritise people, empower communities, and eliminate wasteful consumption by the super-rich and industry. 

3.  Protecting people’s ability to live with safety and dignity as the climate crisis intensifies 

Climate breakdown exposes deep-rooted inequalities which leave communities vulnerable. In the Global South, billions lack basic protections such as insurance, while in richer Global North countries, social protections are shrinking. Over 4.1 billion people worldwide do not have access to essential services such as healthcare, food, housing and transport, which support climate resilience. Insecure, low-paid work deepens these injustices. 

Living wages or universal basic income, strong public services, and safe working conditions – supported by unions – are all essential to protect people from the climate crisis. 

4. Securing everyone’s right to land, food and water 

The global food system is both highly vulnerable to climate breakdown, while driving it – emitting a third of all greenhouse gases. Floods, droughts, and shifting weather patterns threaten food production, while industrial agriculture — driven by big corporations — exploits land, water, and people for profit. This corporate dominance of our food systems deepens inequality, restricting people’s access to essential resources while driving ecosystem collapse. 

Dismantling corporate control and embracing peasant agroecology  –  farming that centres farmers and workers’ rights and preserves biodiversity  –  can cut reliance on fossil fuels, restore balance to land and water systems, and ensure everyone’s right to food. 

5. Respecting planetary limits 

Earth's biodiversity — its forests, oceans, and ecosystems – provide us with food, water, and medicine. Yet we’re in a biodiversity crisis—with species disappearing at an alarming rate. Worse still, so-called climate ‘solutions’ like large-scale mineral extraction for electric vehicles are making things worse. 

The super-rich continue to exploit the planet’s resources, while ordinary people struggle to meet basic needs. Ecological justice means recognising Indigenous communities as rightful stewards of our planet, decolonising land and governance, and rejecting false climate ‘solutions’, which only harm the planet. 

6. Urgently redistributing wealth and resources

For too long, wealth has flowed from the Global South and workers to big corporations and the super-rich in the Global North, deepening inequality. 

 The wealth and resources to pay for a just, ecological transition exist — they must be redistributed fairly to fund necessary changes and compensate exploited communities through reparations. 

This isn’t  charity — it’s about accountability, redressing past harms to create a fairer future for all. 

7. Transforming the global economy: trade, tax and debt

Today's global economy only benefits the wealthiest 1%, deepening inequality and dependence on fossil fuels.  

In many Global South countries, up to 15% of government revenue goes to repaying foreign debt, leaving little money for action on climate. While tax breaks and subsidies for fossil fuel corporations, along with unfair trade rules, push Global South countries towards carbon-heavy industries. 

To reclaim wealth for people and the planet, we need a radical overhaul: ending fossil fuel subsidies, rewriting unjust trade deals, and cancelling illegitimate foreign debts. 

8. Ending false solutions

Big corporations and the super-rich are pushing so-called ‘solutions’ to the climate crisis such as carbon offsetting and biodiversity credits, which don’t work and are a licence to carry on polluting and profiting. Instead,the root causes of biodiversity loss must be tackled – biodiversity is not a commodity to be traded or exploited; it is a living system that includes all forms of life. Achieving this requires Indigenous and peasant leadership and knowledge to ensure conservation efforts are community-led and truly support both biodiversity and climate resilience. 

9. Guaranteeing people’s right to stay – or to move when staying isn’t possible 

Movement is a natural part of life, yet today’s policies criminalise those fleeing climate devastation, while in the Global North, rich, predominantly white citizens move freely.  

 People’s right to stay must be protected – by building climate resilience through social protections, public services, and access to food and energy. And the right to move safely must be protected when staying isn’t an option, with border militarisation rejected. 

10. We must defend and extend democracy to prevent the slide into fascism   

 The super-rich and fossil fuel corporations are influencing governments more than ever. Authoritarian regimes are using the deepening climate crisis as an excuse to silence dissent and divide communities. Repressive protest laws, shaped by fossil fuel interests, criminalise resistance.The super-rich plan for their own survival while vulnerable communities suffer. 

Where the unelected super-rich control policy, protesting injustice becomes a crime, and public power is privatised. Democracy itself is under attack.  Climate justice is inseparable from the fight to defend democracy. 

Where next? 

To achieve a just, equitable, and ecological transition to fairer, greener societies through a Global Green New Deal, we must confront the roots of climate collapse — inequality, our fragmented relationship with nature, and a socio-economic system steeped in centuries of exploitation.  

To secure the future we deserve, we must build collective power and create a path rooted in justice and dignity — towards a fairer, better world for all.