9082-19 - Support Climate Change Plans

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Anderson, Bullock, George, Litten, RESOLUTIONNO. 9082 -19 BY: O'Leary, O'Malley, Rader A Resolution to endorse various plans to address climate change, a pressing problem already affecting Lakewood. WHEREAS climate scientists worldwide are in near- unanimous agreement that the earth is warming rapidly and to a degree that is perilous to human civilization, to numerous species, and to the global ecosystem; and WHEREAS human activity is a significant contributor to climate change, especially through the accelerating combustion of fossil fuels that create carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases as a byproduct; and WHEREAS climate change poses a serious threat to the United States, including the City of Lakewood, in terms of the economy, public health, and environment, as the recent Fourth National Climate Assessment makes clear; and WHEREAS a prompt and major shift toward zero - emissions generation is a necessary cornerstone to any meaningful response to climate change; and WHEREAS the labor and environmental coalition known as the Bluegreen Alliance, comprised of Steelworkers, Sierra Club, Utility Workers and many other unions and environmental organizations has authored the Solidarity for Action Plan to address the dual crises of climate change and increasing economic inequality by calling for rapid greenhouse gas emissions reductions, ambitious and strategic public investments to rebuild and modernize America's infrastructure, and increasing workers' right to organize and fairness to workers and communities in all such actions; and WHEREAS the Green New Deal Resolution (H.R. 109) recognizes the duty of the U.S. federal government to rapidly achieve net -zero greenhouse gas emissions through a fair and just transition for all communities and workers by creating millions of good, high -wage jobs; and WHEREAS the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (H.R. 763) has been introduced in Congress and would establish a steadily increasing fee on fossil fuels at their point of entry into the economy; such a fee would be straightforward and uses free - market mechanisms to incentivize the shift to greater energy conservation and renewable sources of energy; and WHEREAS such a policy would protect lower- and middle- income households, as the dividend would allow more millions of American households, many here in Lakewood, to benefit financially from this policy; the policy would also create jobs, as the dividend puts money back into local economies; and WHEREAS climate change is as much a local problem as it is a global problem, requiring local solutions such as adding renewable energy infrastructure such as roof top solar to municipal buildings. Solar has become economically viable, allowing the City of Lakewood to reduce dependency on grid power; and