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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0494.035 2018-2020 P/COL/IUCEL 6911411. 444 Muras.hige, Laura kEs. 322-fG] From: Renee Jenkinson <rjenkinson@hpa.edu> Sent: Wednesday, October 02, 2019 8:51 AM To: Council Testimony Subject: Hawaii County Climate Emergency Resolution Testimony Attachments: Resolution Endorsing the Declaration of a Climate Emergency.pdf Thank you. Renee Jenk bison n Sustainability Director C=, « ubaY tl • —C_ 444 Comm. NR. .. Ref.To: 1"1COW ckl 1 Ref. Date OCT 1 6 Z019 i i RESOLUTION ENDORSING THE DECLARATION OF A CLIMATE EMERGENCY AND EMERGENCY MOBILIZATION EFFORT TO RESTORE A SAFE CLIMATE WHEREAS,in April 2016 world leaders recognized the urgent need to combat climate change it by signing the Paris Agreement,agreeing to keep global warming"well below 2'C above pre-industrial levels"and to"pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5'C;" WHEREAS,the death and destruction already wrought by current average global warming of I'C demonstrate that the Earth is already too hot for safety and justice,as attested by increased and intensifying wildfires, floods,rising seas,..diseases,droughts,and extreme weather; WHEREAS,according to the United Nations' Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty, 1.5"�C of global warming could expose 504 million people to water poverty,36 million people to food insecurity because of lower crop yields,and 4.5 billion people to heat waves; WHEREAS, in October 2018,the United Nations released a special report which projected that limiting warming to even the dangerous 1.5°C target this century will require an unprecedented transformation of every sector of the global economy by 2030; WHEREAS,climate change and the global industrialized economy's overshoot of ecological limits are driving the Sixth Mass Extinction of species,could devastate much of life on Earth for many millennia, and may pose as great a risk to humanity as climate change,according to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services; WHEREAS,the United States of America has disproportionately contributed to the climate and ecological emergencies and thus bears an extraordinary responsibility to rapidly solve these crises; WHEREAS, in July 2019,U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders,Representative Earl Blumenauer,and Representative Alexandia Ocasio-Cortez introduced a concurrent Congressional resolution to declare a national climate emergency in the United States,calling for a"national,social, industrial,and economic mobilization of the resources and labor of the United States at a massive scale to halt,reverse,mitigate, and prepare for the consequences of the climate emergency and to restore the climate for future generations;" WHEREAS,restoring a safe and stable climate requires a Climate Mobilization,an emergency mobilization on a scale not seen since World War I I in order to reach zero greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors of the economy;to rapidly and safely drawdown and remove all the excess carbon from the atmosphere at emergency speed and until safe,pre-industrial climate conditions are restored;and to implement measures to protect all people and species from the consequences of abrupt climate breakdown; WHEREAS,such necessary measures to restore a safe climate include: a) A rapid,just,managed phase-out of fossil fuels; b) Ending greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible to establish a zero-emissions economy; c) A widespread effort to safely drawdown excess carbon from the atmosphere; d) A full transition to a regenerative agriculture system;and e) An end to the Sixth Mass Extinction through widespread conservation and restoration of ecosystems; WHEREAS,justice requires that frontline and marginalized communities,which have historically borne the brunt of the extractive fossil-fuel economy,participate actively in the planning and implementation of this mobilization effort and that they benefit first from the transition to a climate-safe economy; WHEREAS,the massive scope and scale of action necessary to stabilize the climate and biosphere will require unprecedented levels of public awareness,engagement,and deliberation to develop and implement effective,just,and equitable policies to address the climate emergency; WHEREAS, Waimea and Hawai'i County can act as a global leader through initiating an emergency Climate Mobilization to convert to an ecologically,socially,and economically regenerative local economy at emergency speed,as well as advocating for regional,national,and international efforts necessary to reverse global warming and the ecological crisis; NOW BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED, Waimea and Hawaii County declares that a climate and ecological emergency threatens our city,region,state,nation,civilization,humanity and the natural world; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,Waimea and Hawai'i County commits to a county wide mobilization effort to reverse global warming and the ecological crisis,which,with appropriate financial and regulatory assistance from State and Federal authorities,ends county wide greenhouse gas emissions as quickly as possible and no later than 2030 and immediately initiates an effort to safely draw down carbon from the atmosphere,ensuring a just transition for residents and accelerating adaptation and resilience strategies in preparation for intensifying local climate impacts; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,the Waimea and Hawai'i County Council directs that an all-staff meeting be held to educate Waimea and Hawaii County staff on the latest climate science and the mobilization of resources needed in response within two weeks of the date of this resolution; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,the Waimea and Hawaii County Council directs all County Departments,proprietaries,and commissions to report back within 30 days of the date of the all-staff meeting referenced above on maximum emergency reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from their operations feasible by the end of 2030; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,the Waimea and Hawaii County Council directs the County to report back on the feasibility for the rapid phase out of fossil fuel production, power generation,and use within county limits,including immediate changes to building codes, local ordinances,and permitting processes to prevent the construction of new local fossil fuel infrastructure; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,the Waimea and Hawai'i County Councils direct the Department of Planning to report back on opportunities for radical greenhouse gas and co-pollutant emissions reductions and greenhouse gas drawdown opportunities through updates to the General Plan and Community Plan, including metrics that prioritize the decrease of fossil fuel use and climate-adaptive land use planning; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,the Waimea and Hawai'i County Council directs the Mayor and Emergency Management Department to report back on opportunities and funding to address the climate and ecological emergency and its impacts through existing hazard mitigation programs; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,Waimea and Hawai'i County directs the County Clerk to work with the existing sustainability staff to include greenhouse gas and co-pollutant impact statements,greenhouse gas and co-pollutant reduction and greenhouse gas drawdown statements in all relevant Council motions, much as it currently includes fiscal impact statements; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,the Waimea and Hawaii County directs the Office of Legislative Analysis to work with the Office of Administration to report back within 60 days on the establishment of a Climate Emergency Mobilization department manager to oversee the city-wide mobilization effort,with all necessary powers to coordinate Waimea and Hawai'i County climate and environment programs including the development of a 10-year"Climate Mobilization Action Plan"to guide the climate emergency response,as well as all climate mitigation,resilience,adaptation,engagement,education, advocacy,and research and development programs; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,the County commits to engaging our residents in public deliberations on the climate emergency,which will directly inform the creation of the Hawai'i County Climate Mobilization Action Plan in order to accomplish this city-wide climate mobilization effort as well as to ensure a just transition with the full democratic participation of the residents of Hawai'i County; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,the Hawai'i County commits to keeping the concerns of frontline and marginalized central to all Climate Emergency Mobilization program planning processes and to inviting and encouraging such communities to actively participate in the development and implementation of this Climate Mobilization Action Plan and all climate mobilization efforts; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,the Hawaii County recognizes that the full participation, inclusion, support,and leadership of community organizations, faith communities,youth, labor organizations, academic institutions, indigenous groups,and racial,gender,family, immigrant and disability justice and organizations and other allies are integral to the climate emergency response and mobilization efforts; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,the Hawai'i County joins a national-wide call for a regional,national, and international climate emergency mobilization effort focused on rapidly catalyzing a mobilization at all levels of government to reverse global warming and the ecological crisis; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED,with the concurrence of the Mayor,that by the adoption of this Resolution,the County hereby includes in its 2019 and 2020 Federal Legislative Program,support for H.Con.Res.52 and S.Con.Res.22,"Expressing the sense of Congress that there is a climate emergency which demands a massive-scale mobilization to halt,reverse,and address its consequences and causes," as well as any legislation that would initiate a national emergency-speed mobilization to reverse global warming and the ecological crisis,as described in the text of this Resolution; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, Hawai'i County calls on the State of Hawai'i,the United States Congress,the President of the United States,and all governments and people worldwide to declare a climate emergency, initiate a Climate Mobilization to reverse global warming and the ecological crisis, and provide maximum protection for all people and species of the world;and, BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, in furtherance of this resolution,the Hawai'i County shall submit a certified copy of this resolution to Federal,state,county elected officials and relevant agencies and request that all relevant support and assistance in effectuating this resolution be provided. i Name Address Affiliation RANy a " vw-P Name Address Mbadon J PAC I to A 1. .w s Al InC.Shol AL �. i. ✓ UO i... .3 f ol i Q ', hhro s ,,"', i i Nanie Address Affiliation y # f f y 3 4 g �.. 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