Representative Cortez's Green New Deal also calls for a more fair distribution of wealth, rather than just compartmentalized thinking in dealing with climate change. She gets flack for her ideas.
I haven't studied them fully, but I can see a need to address income inequality in relation to climate change because a lot of the things we need to do, like carbon taxes, are basically regressive taxes. They hit consumers. Workers driving to work, folks who can't afford to live close to the job and so forth. Most energy consumption is among the masses who create the mass market. Average people will probably be more apt to swallow the needed change if they felt they were getting a fair deal.
There are far less rich people, in total numbers, so their personal consumption as a class may not be that high even though their per capita consumption (per individual) can be really high. They also have more power in shaping society and how business is run. If the leaders would do their part, then the average consumer would feel better about doing his or her part as well. We need to bring back more of a sense that we are all in the same boat.
