Full Text of HR0490 100th General Assembly
HR0490 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 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
| 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
| 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 | 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 | 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 | 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
| 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
| 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
| 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
| 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 | 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 | 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
| 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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