RES 322 Draft 02 2018-2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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WHEREAS, in 2017 eight scientists published the BioScience journal article, "World Scientists' Warning to Humanity: A Second Notice" which included 15,364 signatories from scientists representing 184 countries formally supporting the work, declaring humans have pushed Earth's ecosystems to their breaking point and that we are well on the way to ruining the planet, as climate change and the global economy's overshoot of ecological limits are driving the sixth mass extinction of species, which could devastate much of life on Earth for the next 10 million years; and WHEREAS, the United States has disproportionately contributed to the climate and extinction emergencies (see the Global Carbon Project's Cumulative CO2 emissions data hasps://ourwor1dindata.orglgrapher/cum it I ative-co-emissions) and has repeatedly obstructed global efforts to transition toward a green economy, and thus bears an extraordinary responsibility to rapidly address these existential threats; and WHEREAS, restoring a safe and stable climate requires a whole-of-society Climate Mobilization at all levels of government, on a scale not seen since World War II, to reach zero greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors at emergency speed, to rapidly and safely draw down or remove all the excess carbon from the atmosphere and to implement measures to protect all people and species from the consequences of abrupt climate change; and WHEREAS, actions to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions and/or draw down greenhouse gases may include improving resilience to the effects of climate change, i.e. Targeting food security in our region that is a critical action in the face of climate change, which will continue to place added pressure on existing food and water resources; and WHEREAS, ensuring the safety and wellbeing of our citizens is the prime directive of our local governments, and the cumulative impacts of climate change upon Hawai`i will be particularly severe over the next several decades; and WHEREAS, according to the Fourth National Climate Assessment, climate change impacts in the Pacific Islands are expected to amplify existing risks and lead to compounding economic, environmental, social,and cultural costs. In some locations,climate change impacts on ecological and social systems are projected to result in severe disruptions to livelihoods that increase the risk of human conflict or compel the need for migration. Early interventions, already occurring in some places across the region, can prevent costly and lengthy rebuilding of communities and livelihoods and minimize displacement and relocation; and WHEREAS, as cited by the Climate Mobilization Project, a rapidly growing list of over 1000 cities, districts, counties, and local governments across the world representing over 221 million people collectively have declared or officially acknowledged the existence of a global climate emergency and have committed to action to drive down emissions at emergency speed; and