Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s journey to Congress began with personal tragedy and political awakening. After witnessing Hurricane Maria devastate Puerto Rico in 2017, including the death of her own grandfather, she traveled to Standing Rock, North Dakota, to witness firsthand how fossil fuel infrastructure threatened Indigenous communities. These experiences inspired her to run for Congress on a platform centered around a transformative climate initiative called the Green New Deal, which she framed as comparable to major historical mobilization efforts.
The momentum for climate action accelerated in late 2018 when international climate scientists released a landmark report indicating that limiting global warming required cutting emissions nearly in half by 2030. This urgent timeline energized young activists, particularly the Sunrise Movement, who staged a high-profile sit-in at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office demanding climate action. Ocasio-Cortez joined the demonstration and encouraged organizers to push for the Green New Deal, framing climate investment as an opportunity to create quality employment and build a better future.
The nascent movement quickly gained traction among diverse groups working on climate and environmental issues. By March 2019, a broad coalition including youth organizers, environmental justice advocates, and policy experts convened in Washington to develop the Green New Deal framework alongside Senator Ed Markey. Though the gathering revealed tensions within the movement about representation and inclusion, it demonstrated how grassroots activism had successfully elevated climate change as a central political priority, proving that collective action could drive meaningful systemic change.
Originally reported by Livescience →
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