Seattle received the C40/Bloomberg Philanthropies “United in Building a Movement” award for its efforts to advance the Green New Deal, which are funded through the JumpStart Seattle progressive payroll tax initiative sponsored by Councilmember Mosqueda.
“Cities are poised to experience some of the most dynamic on-the-ground realities of climate change, including the effects of smoke, flooding, and extreme weather on our large populations and our infrastructure, as well as climate migration, which will result in millions of people from around the world seeking safety, services, and stability in our communities. Creating climate-resilient cities requires connecting the dots between affordable housing, zoning, and health; energy use, good union jobs, and community-driven economic development; transportation, access to services, schools, and green space; and racial equity — to ensure that our city investments and policies work together to help our communities thrive while welcoming new neighbors as climate change intensifies.
“Seattle’s Green New Deal investments will help establish these connections to eliminate economic inequities and increase equity, bolster community resilience, and minimize the city’s impact to climate change. We are happy to join cities around the world that are stepping up to establish a bottom-up equitable response to climate change. Our efforts in Seattle are led by frontline and fenceline communities, and this honor goes to the advocates and communities that have worked to build this vision, as well as the broad coalition that fought to create a dedicated funding stream for the Green New Deal, along with affordable housing, equitable development, and economic resilience investments, through the JumpStart progressive payroll tax.”