10/14/19 City Council Agenda Packet - Meeting

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RESOLUTION NO. _____ A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF THE YOUTH-LED CLIMATE STRIKE EUGENE, OREGON ON SEPTEMBER 20 BEGINNING A WEEK OF CLIMATE AWARENESS ACTIONS THROUGH SEPTEMBER 27, 2019, DECLARING A CLIMATE EMERGENCY, AND CALLING FOR FULL IMPLEMENTATION OF THE EUGENE OREGON CLIMATE RECOVERY ORDINANCE (CRO) AND OTHER IMMEDIATE MEASURES TO RESTORE A SAFE CLIMATE. The City Council of the City of Eugene finds that: A. On April 22, 2016, world leaders from 174 countries and the European Union recognized the threat of climate change and the urgent need to combat 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. B. On October 8, 2018, the United Nations International Panel on Climate Change released a special report which projected that limiting warming to the 1.5°C target this century will require an unprecedented transformation of every sector of the global economy over the next 12 years. C. World Wildlife Fund’s 2018 Living Planet report finds that there has been a 60% decline in global wildlife populations between 1970 and 2014. D. According to the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, human activity has already severely altered 40% of the marine environment, 50% of inland waterways, and 75% of the planet’s land, and it is projected that half-to-one million species are threatened with extinction. E. The United States of America has disproportionately contributed to the climate emergency and has repeatedly obstructed global efforts to transition toward a green economy, and thus bears an extraordinary responsibility to rapidly address these existential threats. F. Prompt transition to sustainable economic practice is critical for providing a healthy biosphere and watersheds, and for sustaining ecosystems for human populations as well as for Earth’s other complexly interrelated species. G. Marginalized populations in Eugene, Oregon and worldwide, including people of color, immigrants, indigenous communities, low-income individuals, people with disabilities, and the unhoused are disproportionately affected by climate change, and will continue to bear an excess burden. H. Addressing climate change fairly requires transitioning from fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy that is ecologically sustainable and equitable for all people. Resolution -- Page 1 of 2 October 14, 2019, Meeting – Item 4