A climate activist group, known for its radical stance, has thrown its support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
This endorsement comes several months after the Biden administration declared that the organization would be the beneficiary of a hefty $50 million in public funds.
The Green New Deal Network (GNDN), as reported by Inside Climate News, is a coalition advocating for a swift shift away from fossil fuels and a complete overhaul of American society to ensure economic, racial, and social equity for all. The Climate Justice Alliance (CJA), a left-leaning climate group with a hardline approach, is a part of GNDN's steering committee. The CJA was earmarked as a recipient of a $50 million grant from an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) program focused on "environmental justice" in December 2023.
The CJA's role is to distribute the $50 million to other organizations that are working on initiatives related to "environmental justice" under the EPA program. The CJA's radical views extend beyond climate and energy, advocating for the end of fossil fuels and nuclear power. The group also asserts that "the path to climate justice travels through a free Palestine," and features numerous pro-Palestine protest placards on its website, some of which include images of convicted cop killer Assata Shakur and calls for prison abolition and police defunding.
Republican lawmakers have expressed their apprehensions about the EPA program and the CJA in particular, arguing that recipients of taxpayer money, such as the CJA, may be too partisan to be trusted with public funds. EPA Administrator Michael Regan, in a statement to Congress earlier in July, claimed that his agency has not sent "one dime" to the CJA, despite the group being explicitly listed as a recipient on the EPA's website and press releases.
The EPA anticipates that the activist group and other grant recipients will initiate sub-grant competitions and start distributing funds to other entities by fall this year.
Other members of the GNDN's steering committee include the Sunrise Movement, the Movement for Black Lives, and the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance, according to the GNDN's website. Notably, the GNDN refrained from endorsing President Joe Biden in the 2024 cycle before he withdrew from the race under pressure from top Democratic donors and congressional leadership, as per Inside Climate News.
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