Bill Text: IL HR0490 | 2017-2018 | 100th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges Governor Rauner to immediately join the United States Climate Alliance.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 17-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-06-26 - Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Anna Moeller [HR0490 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2017-HR0490-Introduced.html
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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Global climate change refers to the recent and | ||||||
3 | ongoing rise in global average temperature near Earth's | ||||||
4 | surface, caused mostly by increasing concentrations of | ||||||
5 | greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, resulting in changing | ||||||
6 | global climate patterns; and
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7 | WHEREAS, The scientific community overwhelmingly agrees | ||||||
8 | that the main cause of the current global warming trend is | ||||||
9 | human expansion of greenhouse gasses, which causes warming that | ||||||
10 | results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth | ||||||
11 | toward space; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Effects of global climate change, each of which we | ||||||
13 | are already experiencing, include: hotter than normal | ||||||
14 | temperatures, drought, insect outbreaks, an increasing number | ||||||
15 | of wildfires and other natural disasters, declining water | ||||||
16 | supplies, reduced agricultural yields, health impacts in | ||||||
17 | cities due to excessive heat, and flooding and erosion in | ||||||
18 | coastal areas; and
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19 | WHEREAS, In order to mitigate the effects of global | ||||||
20 | warming, in 2015, 195 nations entered into the Paris Climate | ||||||
21 | Agreement, based upon the United Nation's Framework Convention | ||||||
22 | on Climate Change, which, for the first time, brought all |
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1 | nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to | ||||||
2 | combat climate change and adapt to its effects; as such, the | ||||||
3 | Paris Climate Agreement chartered a new course in the global | ||||||
4 | climate effort; and
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5 | WHEREAS, The Paris Agreement's central aim is to strengthen | ||||||
6 | the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping | ||||||
7 | a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees | ||||||
8 | Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to | ||||||
9 | limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees | ||||||
10 | Celsius; additionally, the agreement aims to strengthen the | ||||||
11 | ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate | ||||||
12 | change; and
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13 | WHEREAS, On June 1, 2017, President Trump announced that | ||||||
14 | the United States would be exiting the Paris Climate Agreement, | ||||||
15 | joining Syria and Nicaragua as the only two countries not party | ||||||
16 | to the Agreement; and
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17 | WHEREAS, President Trump's decision to abandon the | ||||||
18 | agreement for environmental action signed by 195 nations is a | ||||||
19 | remarkable rebuke to heads of state, climate activists, | ||||||
20 | corporate executives, and most importantly, American citizens | ||||||
21 | across the nation; the Paris Agreement was intended to bind the | ||||||
22 | world community into battling rising temperatures in concert, | ||||||
23 | and the departure of the Earth's second-largest polluter is a |
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1 | major setback; and
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2 | WHEREAS, According to a Yale University Study conducted in | ||||||
3 | 2016, over 50% of Americans in each state believe in the | ||||||
4 | effects of global warming, including 73% of people in the State | ||||||
5 | of Illinois; according to the same study, an estimated 65% of | ||||||
6 | people in Illinois support the Paris Climate Agreement; and
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7 | WHEREAS, In response to President Trump's announcement to | ||||||
8 | exit the Paris Climate Agreement, nine states, including, | ||||||
9 | California, New York, Massachusetts, Washington, Connecticut, | ||||||
10 | Rhode Island, Vermont, Oregon, and Hawaii have joined to form | ||||||
11 | the United States Climate Alliance, in order to implement the | ||||||
12 | provisions of the Paris Climate Agreement; furthermore, the | ||||||
13 | United States Climate Alliance is being joined at the city | ||||||
14 | level by 187 mayors of major cities, including Los Angeles, | ||||||
15 | Boston, New York, and Chicago; therefore, be it
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16 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
17 | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
18 | urge Governor Rauner to immediately join the nine other states | ||||||
19 | in the United States Climate Alliance; and be it further
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20 | RESOLVED, That as governor of a state that supports the | ||||||
21 | Paris Climate Agreement by an overwhelming majority of 65%, we | ||||||
22 | request that Governor Rauner join with both Democratic and |
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1 | Republican governors from the aforementioned states, to stand | ||||||
2 | up for the people of the State of Illinois and join the United | ||||||
3 | States Climate Alliance; and be it further
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4 | RESOLVED, That the State of Illinois is urged to develop a | ||||||
5 | plan for the State to achieve 100% clean energy by 2045; it | ||||||
6 | should include the lowest cost measures available to meet the | ||||||
7 | energy needs of the State; low income citizens should be | ||||||
8 | included in the benefits derived, including quality careers | ||||||
9 | adhering to local source hiring for workers displaced by fossil | ||||||
10 | fuel reduction, equitable access through ownership and | ||||||
11 | benefits to new opportunity for historically marginalized | ||||||
12 | communities, and affordable clean energy options; and be it | ||||||
13 | further
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14 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
15 | delivered to Governor Rauner, United States Senator Richard | ||||||
16 | Durbin, United States Senator Tammy Duckworth, and the entire | ||||||
17 | Illinois Congressional Delegation.
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