Bill Text: HI SCR108 | 2022 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Affirming Hawaii's Ongoing Commitment To The Goals Of The Paris Climate Agreement And United Nations Sustainable Development Goals And Endorsement Of The Fossil Fuel Non-proliferation Treaty.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2022-06-06 - Certified copies of resolutions sent, 06/06/22. [SCR108 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2022-SCR108-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.C.R. NO. |
108 |
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THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
H.D. 1 |
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SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
AFFIRMING HAWAI‘I'S ONGOING COMMITMENT TO THE GOALS OF THE PARIS CLIMATE AGREEMENT AND UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS AND ENDORSEMENT OF THE FOSSIL FUEL NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY.
WHEREAS, the scientific consensus is clear that human activities are primarily responsible for accelerating global climate change, and that the climate crisis now represents one of the preeminent threats to global civilization; and
WHEREAS, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported in 2018 that we must achieve net zero in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the middle of this century in order to have a reasonable chance of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius; and
WHEREAS, the IPCC released its Sixth Assessment Report from Working Group II, which was approved by one hundred ninety-five member states, in February 2022, and the summary for policy makers notes that there is high confidence that "the rise in weather and climate extremes has led to some irreversible impacts as natural and human systems are pushed beyond their ability to adapt"; and
WHEREAS, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guteres responded, "The IPCC is an atlas of human suffering...according to current commitment, global emissions are set to increase almost 14 percent....It will destroy any chance of keeping 1.5 alive...coal and other fossil fuels are choking humanity"; and
WHEREAS, the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2021 adopted landmark legislation, Resolution 48/13, recognizing that a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a human right; and
WHEREAS, changes in Hawaii's climate are already being felt, as evidenced by rising sea levels, coastal inundation, ocean warming as well as coral bleaching, heightened risk of wild fires, and increasing severe storms; and
WHEREAS, the entire community is impacted by the health and safety risks of fossil fuel expansion, particularly those who also face socioeconomic and health inequities, including low-income families, those experiencing homelessness, people of color and indigenous peoples, youth, seniors, those experiencing mental and physical disabilities, and people with health conditions; and
WHEREAS, youth and future generations have the most to lose from a lack of immediate action to stop fossil fuel expansion as they face major and lifelong health, ecological, social, and economic impacts from prolonged and cumulative effects of climate change, including food and water shortages, infectious diseases, and natural disasters; and
WHEREAS, the Paris Climate Agreement is silent on coal, oil, and gas, an omission with respect to the supply and production of fossil fuels (the largest source of GHG) that needs to be collectively addressed by other means; and
WHEREAS, the Glasgow Climate Pact provided for incremental improvements, only calling for a phase down, not a phase out, of coal; and
WHEREAS, global governments and the fossil fuel industry are currently planning to produce about one hundred twenty percent more emissions by 2030 than what is needed to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and avert catastrophic climate disruption, and such plans risk undoing the work of the State to reduce GHG emissions; and
WHEREAS, the fossil fuel industry is currently claiming over fifty percent of coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic recovery funding from senior levels of government in the Group of Twenty, thereby siphoning away recovery funding badly needed by cities and other industries; and
WHEREAS, the construction of new fossil fuel infrastructure and expanded reliance on fossil fuels expose communities to untenable risks to public health and safety at the local and global levels; and
WHEREAS, the economic opportunities presented by a clean energy transition far outweigh the opportunities presented by an economy supported by expanding fossil fuel use and extraction; and
WHEREAS, the community is committed, as part of the climate emergency response, to a just energy transition and to ambitious investments in the green infrastructure and industries that will create jobs and rapidly decarbonize the economy; and
WHEREAS, Hawaii recognizes that it is the urgent responsibility and moral obligation of wealthy fossil fuel producers to lead efforts to end fossil fuel development and to manage the decline of existing production; and
WHEREAS, a new global initiative is underway calling for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty that would end new fossil fuel exploration and expansion, phase out existing production in line with the global commitment to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, and accelerate equitable transition plans; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2022, the House of Representatives concurring, that this body affirms the State's ongoing commitment to the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and greenhouse gas reduction targets as called for by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and pledges to meet its proportionate greenhouse gas reductions under the Paris Climate Agreement; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the State and each county are requested to formally endorse the call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the United States government is urged to support the initiative for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the United Nations Secretary General and High Commissioner for Human Rights, President and Vice President of the United States, President Pro Tempore of the United States Senate, Majority and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate, Speaker and Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives, members of the Hawaii congressional delegation, Governor, and Mayor of each county.
Fossil Fuels; Climate Change; Non-Proliferation Treaty; Paris Climate Agreement; United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
