Bill Text: IL SR0419 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges the State of Illinois to play an important role in addressing climate change.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Failed) 2021-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SR0419 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2019-SR0419-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, Evidence from thousands of studies connect | ||||||
3 | increasing atmospheric greenhouse gas
(GHG) concentrations | ||||||
4 | with escalating annual average temperatures, shrinking sea | ||||||
5 | ice, melting
glaciers, rising sea levels/temperatures, and | ||||||
6 | increasing atmospheric water vapor, all of which
connect to | ||||||
7 | extremes in global climate; and
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8 | WHEREAS, These increasing climate extremes threaten both | ||||||
9 | current and future ecological system
sustainability upon which | ||||||
10 | health and well-being depend; and
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11 | WHEREAS, These influences reach beyond State and national | ||||||
12 | boundaries with implications for all
humanity but | ||||||
13 | disproportionately affect the most vulnerable; and
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14 | WHEREAS, The interaction of political, economic, and | ||||||
15 | cultural factors influence resource
availability and related | ||||||
16 | resilience of families and communities, with a higher risk of | ||||||
17 | adverse
health consequences borne by geographic areas with | ||||||
18 | fewer economic resources and greater
health disparities; and
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19 | WHEREAS, Climate-related health risks tend to worsen | ||||||
20 | health conditions, which increases
chronic and infectious | ||||||
21 | diseases, injuries and premature life-loss from |
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1 | physical/psychosocial
disabilities, trauma from separation of | ||||||
2 | families, disruption of healthcare and social services,
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3 | infectious disease vulnerability, risk of dehydration and | ||||||
4 | inadequate nutrition, heat stress,
and psychological and | ||||||
5 | adjustment disorders; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Unchecked continuation of current climate trends | ||||||
7 | undermine the sustainability of
water systems, agricultural | ||||||
8 | production, and biodiversity, contributing to basic resource
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9 | depletion, famine, social disruption, population | ||||||
10 | displacement/emigration, increased potential for
violent | ||||||
11 | conflict, and decreased regional and global stability; and
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12 | WHEREAS, The vulnerability of the Midwest and the State of | ||||||
13 | Illinois is a microcosm of these influences
from increasing | ||||||
14 | heat, humidity, precipitation, flooding, soil erosion, | ||||||
15 | sedimentation, property
damage, late-season drought, invasive | ||||||
16 | species, pests, and plant diseases, leading to reduced
air and | ||||||
17 | water quality, biodiversity, agricultural productivity, and | ||||||
18 | worker safety/productivity, all of
which jeopardize human | ||||||
19 | health, agriculture, transportation, manufacturing/commerce,
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20 | recreation/tourism, and economic vibrancy; and
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21 | WHEREAS, Many of these consequences can be prevented or | ||||||
22 | substantially minimized through
interventions that | ||||||
23 | dramatically reduce GHG emissions, such as decreased reliance |
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1 | on carbon-based
fuels (i.e. gas, oil and coal) and energy waste | ||||||
2 | and increased energy conservation and reliance on
renewable | ||||||
3 | energy sources (i.e. wind, solar and potentially nuclear | ||||||
4 | fusion); and
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5 | WHEREAS, Such a paradigm shift in the consumption and | ||||||
6 | production of energy is not just a
necessity but an opportunity | ||||||
7 | for innovation, job creation, and substantial environmental | ||||||
8 | and related
health, economic, social and national security | ||||||
9 | benefits, all of which represent co-benefits in
addition to | ||||||
10 | reducing the risk of climate change; and
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11 | WHEREAS, Solutions to securing a more sustainable global | ||||||
12 | environment lie exclusively in the
domain of individual and | ||||||
13 | collective actions aimed at holding global average temperature
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14 | increases to well below 2°C (3.6°F), above preindustrial | ||||||
15 | levels, and to pursuing efforts to limit
such temperature | ||||||
16 | increases to 1.5°C (2.7°F); and
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17 | WHEREAS, Cities, urban areas, and states represent unique, | ||||||
18 | scalable incubators for innovation to
counteract climate | ||||||
19 | change, especially since policies adopted in such | ||||||
20 | jurisdictions typically have
the most immediate impact on the | ||||||
21 | daily lives of their residents; and
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22 | WHEREAS, Paramount to a coordinated, collective response |
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1 | to this threat is an acknowledgment
of the risk it represents | ||||||
2 | for all humankind and the urgency to apply best available | ||||||
3 | science-based
interventions; and
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4 | WHEREAS, The physical sciences have established this | ||||||
5 | understanding, but the social sciences
are critical in | ||||||
6 | translating this knowledge to adaptive and mitigative actions | ||||||
7 | to match the need,
and one of public health strengths is | ||||||
8 | functioning effectively at the nexus of the physical and
social | ||||||
9 | sciences; therefore, be it
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10 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | ||||||
11 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the State of Illinois | ||||||
12 | should play an important role in addressing
climate change by | ||||||
13 | taking the following steps: | ||||||
14 | (1) Encourage local and State elected leaders (i.e. | ||||||
15 | mayors, county board chairs/executives and governors) to | ||||||
16 | officially endorse and engage in the respective
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17 | commitments, momentum, and resources available through | ||||||
18 | Climate Reality Mayors,
Climate Resolution for County | ||||||
19 | Executives, and the U.S. Climate Alliance; | ||||||
20 | (2) Urge implementation of public and/or | ||||||
21 | public-private collaborative alternative financing
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22 | opportunities to encourage green development and climate | ||||||
23 | resilient infrastructure; | ||||||
24 | (3) Conduct, encourage, and support advocacy, |
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1 | education, and public awareness on
the threat from climate | ||||||
2 | change and its solutions; | ||||||
3 | (4) Establish support for and funding of research, | ||||||
4 | surveillance, reporting, and tracking of
climate-related | ||||||
5 | health effects; | ||||||
6 | (5) Expand State and local preparedness and its funding | ||||||
7 | for disaster readiness and
response to effectively assist | ||||||
8 | in climate-related event resilience and
rapid recovery; | ||||||
9 | and | ||||||
10 | (6) Promote green energy production and energy | ||||||
11 | efficiency in all public policies and
practices, while | ||||||
12 | disincentivizing reliance on carbon-based fuels and | ||||||
13 | utilizing as examples
new and rehabilitated public | ||||||
14 | facilities.
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