At our recent Annual Meeting, members voted to support the resolution below, to be presented at the LWVMA Convention in Westford with other Leagues from around the state.
Climate Emergency Resolution
Unanimously approved by LWVMA Environmental Action and Advocacy Committee, May 22, 2019 for submission to the LWVMA Convention, June 7-8, 2019.
Whereas on October 8, 2018, the United Nations released a special report that projected that limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius this century will require an unprecedented transformation of every sector of the global economy over the next 12 years; and
Whereas on November 23, 2018, the U.S. Fourth National Climate Assessment was issued, which detailed the massive threat that climate change poses to the American economy and underscored the need for emergency climate action at all levels of government; and
Whereas the death and destruction already wrought by global warming of approximately 1.1 degrees Celsius above late 19th century levels demonstrate that Earth is already too hot for safety and justice, as attested by rising seas, increased and intensifying wildfires, floods, diseases, droughts and extreme weather; and
Whereas one million animal and plant species are now threatened with extinction, according to a sweeping new United Nations report, driving the sixth mass extinction of species and – if reached – would require 10 million years for recovery; and
Whereas the impacts of climate change and ocean acidification include increasingly a rise in sea levels resulting in flooding and the displacement of thousands of coastal businesses and residences, damage to marine ecosystems and food sources, extreme weather events, devastating wildfires, and introduction of new vectors for infectious disease, increased asthma and other human health-related problems; and
Whereas climate change has a disproportionate effect on communities that typically have fewer resources for adapting to climate change and so consequently are the most vulnerable to displacement, adverse health effects, job loss, property damage and other effects of climate change; and
Whereas the world’s leading climate scientists predict that serious impacts of climate change will catastrophically worsen if prompt action is not taken to curb emissions; and
Whereas restoring a safe and stable climate requires a “climate mobilization” on an extraordinary scale at all levels of government to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions; and
Whereas in the absence of effective federal engagement, it is the responsibility of the individual states and municipalities to take immediate leadership actions to address climate change; and
Therefore, be it resolved,
We, member of the LWV Newton, MA, call upon the LWVMA Board to advocate for declaration of ‘Climate Emergency’ and urgent relevant action by state and local governments.