Policies succeed when they have local buy in, especially from communities that are directly impacted by such policies. Climate change will impose asymmetrical costs across communities. Arguably, policies to mitigate climate change must take into account the concerns of these communities. For its legitimacy, this process of discovering preferences should take place through a deliberative process. Top down policies, even if effective, might not be legitimate and therefore face local resistance.
This is where climate justice (CJ) movement organizations, which both represent local communities directly impacted by climate change and are accountable to them, come into the discussions on the Green New Deal (GND).