On Wednesday, Oct. 4, Green New Deal at UC San Diego rallied in front of Geisel Library and announced their new goals for the 2023-24 school year.
“We started in 2019 with four central demands that we made major progress on,” sixth-year Ph.D. student and Fossil-Free Research campaign lead Adam Cooper said. “So it’s time to redefine those and outline the next steps on fossil fuel finance on campus, decarbonization, and teaching about the carbon crisis.”
Previous demands from the Green New Deal have called for the decarbonization of UCSD, the removal of Chase Bank from campus, and a statement from Chancellor Pradeep Khosla committing to a campus energy conversion to all-electric. The Green New Deal was largely successful in applying pressure, as consistent protests from the organization led to the Chase Bank in Price Center being replaced with the University Credit Union and Khosla verbally announcing his commitment to electrify campus by 2030.
In his speech, Cooper outlined the five new goals that the Green New Deal hopes to achieve this academic year:
- To mandate climate justice as a general education requirement
- Khosla’s formal written commitment to a carbon-free campus by 2030
- Increased oversight or a ban on research collaborating with fossil fuel companies
- Getting a non-profit, coalition-powered electric grid on the 2024 San Diego ballot, effectively ousting San Diego Gas & Electric as the sole provider of energy in San Diego
- Serving as an ally to labor unions and coalition members on campus
