Bill Text: VA HJR724 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Green New Deal; recognizing need for clean energy economy.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 23-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-02-05 - Left in Commerce and Labor [HJR724 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2019-HJR724-Introduced.html
WHEREAS, on November 23, 2018 the Federal Government under President Trump issued a climate study detailing the massive threat that climate change poses to the American economy and underscoring the need for immediate climate emergency action at all levels of government;
WHEREAS, on October 8, 2018, the United Nations released a special report which projected that limiting warming to the 1.5°C target this century will require an unprecedented transformation of every sector of the global economy over the next 12 years;
WHEREAS, the term "Just Transition" is a framework for a fair shift to an economy that is ecologically sustainable, equitable, and just for all its members;
WHEREAS, Just Transition strategies were first forged by a "blue-green" alliance of labor unions and environmental justice groups who saw the need to phase out the industries that were harming workers, community health, and the planet, while also providing just pathways for workers into new livelihoods;
WHEREAS, fairness demands the protection and expansion of workers' right to organize as well as a guarantee of high-paying, high-quality jobs with comprehensive benefits for all as the mobilization to restore a safe climate is launched;
WHEREAS, marginalized populations worldwide including in Virginia, including people of color, immigrants, indigenous communities, low-income individuals, and people with disabilities, and the unhoused are already disproportionately affected by the effects of climate change, and will continue to bear an excess burden as temperatures increase, oceans rise, and disasters worsen;
WHEREAS, justice calls for climate resilience that addresses the specific experiences, vulnerabilities, and needs of marginalized communities within our Commonwealth, who must be included and supported actively engaging in climate resilience planning, policy, and actions;
WHEREAS, justice requires that frontline and fenceline communities, which have historically borne the brunt of the extractive fossil-fuel economy, participate actively in the planning and implementation of this mobilization effort at all levels of government and that they benefit first from the transition to a renewable energy economy;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, this body hereby supports the movement Green New Deal Virginia, focused on retooling the Commonwealth's economy with solutions that center on equity and justice;
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, Green New Deal Virginia is commended for building a broad coalition intent on elevating issues at the intersection of economic, social, and environmental Justice.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, this body hereby endorses the following tenets of Green New Deal Virginia:
· A just and equitable 100% renewables plan that leaves no workers or communities behind.
· Direct Large investments & job-training programs in renewables, including, where available, Union sponsored job training programs already in existence, building an energy efficient smart-grid, residential and commercial energy efficiency, and more.
· Clean water and air for all Virginians.
· Investments in local-scale agriculture in communities across Virginia.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, Green New Deal Virginia is encouraged to continue organizing a state-wide just transition and climate emergency mobilization collaborative effort focused on transforming our Commonwealth's economy and rabidly catalyzing a mobilization at all levels of government to restore a safe climate.
