Bill Text: HI SR26 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Declaring A Climate Emergency And Requesting Immediate And Accelerated Action To Address The Climate Crisis And Limit Global Warming To 1.5 Degrees Celsius.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 7-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-02-27 - Referred to AEN/WTL. [SR26 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2020-SR26-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	26
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

DECLARING A CLIMATE EMERGENCY AND REQUESTING IMMEDIATE AND ACCELERATED ACTION TO ADDRESS the CLIMATE CRISIS AND LIMIT GLOBAL WARMING TO 1.5 DEGREES CELSIUS.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, climate change is an urgent unfolding crisis that presents a serious threat to global stability and human existence; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2018, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a special report on the impacts of global warming and the need to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions well before 2030 to hold warming to 1.5 degrees celsius and avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change; and

 

     WHEREAS, also in 2018, the United States' Fourth National Climate Assessment made clear that climate change will wreak havoc across the United States, and the current pace and scale of national climate action is not sufficient to prevent substantial damage to the economy, environment, and human health in the coming decades; and

 

     WHEREAS, throughout the United States, communities of color, low-wage workers, and low-income communities have been on the frontline of longstanding environmental injustices and have historically borne the brunt of the fossil fuel economy; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State is already suffering from impacts of climate change in the form of increases in wildfires, higher air and ocean temperatures, coastal erosion from sea level rise, and extreme rain events; and

WHEREAS, the State will suffer increased and more severe impacts of climate change if global greenhouse gas emissions are not significantly reduced; and

 

     WHEREAS, climate change will continue to make basic human necessities such as food, housing, healthcare, transportation, and energy more expensive and difficult to maintain, adding additional pressure to the State's high cost of living; and

 

     WHEREAS, to stay within 1.5 degrees celsius, major populations throughout the world will need to significantly reduce their per capita emissions by 2030, and Hawaii has already taken some steps toward this goal; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii remains a global climate action leader by establishing a goal to reach one hundred percent carbon neutrality by 2045; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2020, that the State of Hawaii hereby declares a state of climate emergency, given that the climate crisis poses a serious and urgent threat to the well-being of Hawaii, its inhabitants, and its environment; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that to meet the State's ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, the Hawaii Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission is urged to make recommendations for addressing key climate issues; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that as the State works on climate issues, it is urged to continue to advance climate adaptation efforts to address unavoidable current and future climate impacts; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, mayors of

each county, and each member of the Hawaii Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Commission.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Climate Emergency; Climate Crisis; Global Warming