Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JAMES J. KENNEDY
District 22 (Middlesex, Somerset and Union)
Assemblyman TIM EUSTACE
District 38 (Bergen and Passaic)
Assemblyman ANDREW ZWICKER
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Assemblywoman ELIZABETH MAHER MUOIO
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblyman JOHN F. MCKEON
District 27 (Essex and Morris)
Assemblyman REED GUSCIORA
District 15 (Hunterdon and Mercer)
Assemblywoman JOANN DOWNEY
District 11 (Monmouth)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman Pinkin, Assemblyman Wisniewski, Assemblywomen Quijano, Jasey and Assemblyman Johnson
SYNOPSIS
Condemns President Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. from Paris Climate Accord.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Assembly Resolution condemning President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord.
Whereas, The Paris Climate Accord, also known as the "Paris Agreement," is a landmark international agreement reached in 2015 between 195 countries aimed at reducing carbon emissions, slowing rising global temperatures, and helping countries deal with the effects of climate change; and
Whereas, The Paris Agreement ended the strict differentiation between developed and developing countries that characterized earlier efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and replaced it with a common framework that commits all participating countries to put forward their best efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and
Whereas, The agreement reaffirmed the goal of limiting global temperature increase well below 2 degrees Celsius, while urging further efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius; and
Whereas, The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has concluded that the rising global temperature is very likely due to a corresponding increase in the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere produced by human activity and is causing Earth’s climate to change; and
Whereas, The climate change caused by rising global temperatures will likely: increase the frequency, severity, and duration of heat waves, creating a greater risk for heat-related illnesses and deaths, especially among the elderly, very young, disabled, and poor; increase the intensity of hurricanes creating stronger peak winds and increased rainfall; increase the risk of flooding within storm-affected areas and increase the risk of drought in areas located outside storm tracks; and continue to decrease the size of polar ice sheets and land-based glaciers, causing sea levels to rise and contribute to enhanced coastal erosion, coastal flooding, and the loss of coastal wetlands; and
Whereas, Under the Paris Agreement, every participating country agreed to submit an individual plan to tackle its greenhouse gas emissions and to report regularly on its emissions and progress made in implementing and achieving its nationally determined contributions; and
Whereas, President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from this landmark agreement will seriously weaken global efforts to avoid drastic climate change; and
Whereas,
Given the devastating effects of raising global temperatures, it is critical
that this country remain in the Paris Climate Accord in order to globally reduce
carbon emissions, slow rising global temperatures, and help countries deal with
the effects of climate change; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House condemns President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the President and Vice-President of the United States, every member of Congress elected from this State, the Governor of New Jersey, and the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
STATEMENT
This resolution condemns President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord.
The accord, also known as the "Paris Agreement," is a landmark international agreement reached in 2015 between 195 countries aimed at reducing carbon emissions, slowing rising global temperatures, and helping countries deal with the effects of climate change. It is critical that this country remain a participant in this global effort to reduce carbon emissions.