CC Resolution No. 18-094 Declaring a Climate EmergencyRESOLUTION NO. 18-094
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
CUPERTINO DECLARING A CLIMATE EMERGENCY
WHEREAS, in April 2016 world leaders from 175 countries recognized the
threat of climate change and the urgent need to combat it by signing the Paris
Agreement, agreeing to keep warming "well below 2°C above pre-industrial
levels" and to "pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to l.5 °C";
WHEREAS, the death and destruction already wrought by global warming
of approximately 1 °C demonstrate that the Earth is already too hot for safety as
a ttes ted by increased and intensifying wildfires, floods, rising seas, diseases,
droughts and extreme weather;
WHEREAS, the United States of America has disproportionately
contributed to the climate and ecological crises and has repeatedly obs tructed
global efforts to transition toward a sustainable economy, and thus bears an
extraordinary responsibility to rapidly solve these crises. (Gillis, Justin and
Popovich, Nadja. "The U.S. Is the Biggest Carbon Polluter in History. It just
Walked Away from the Paris Climate Deal" Neiu York Tim es , 1 June 2017. )
WHEREAS, justice requires that frontline communities, which have historically
borne the brunt of the extractive fossil-fuel economy, participate actively in the
planning and implementation of this mobilization effort at all l evels of
government and that they benefit first from the transi ti on to a renewable energy
economy;
WHEREAS, the City of Cupertino strives to be a leader in combatting
climate change, and together with our regional bay area communities, we have the
insight, drive, capacity and capital to take a moral s tand and do all we can to
restore a safe climate within our own boundaries and on behalf of our plenary
community;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Council of the City of
Cupertino recognizes and declares that we face a Climate Emergency that
threatens our city, region, state, nation, civiliza ti on, humanity and the natural
world;
Resolution 18-094
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the Cupertino City Council calls for an
emergency mobilization effort to end citywide greenhouse gas emissions as
quickly as possible, educate residents about climate change, and work to advocate
for a mass mobilization at the local, state, national, and g lob al levels; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the City of Cupertino commits to keeping the
considerations of disadvantaged communities central to all climate emergency
mobilization planning processes, and to inviting and encouraging these
communities to directly advocate for their specific needs and equity in the
environmental justice process;
BE .IT FURTHER RESOLVED, the City of Cupertino calls on the State of
California, United States of America and all governments and peoples worldwide
to initiate an emergency mobili zation effort to mitigate climate change, stop rising
greenh ouse gas emissions, and immediately initiate an effort to safely draw down
carbon from the atmosphere.
PASSED AND ADOPTED at a special meeting of the City Council of the
City of Cupertino this 18th day of September, 2018, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
ATTEST:
Members of the City Council
Paul, Sinks, Chang, Scharf, Vaidhyanathan
None
None
None
APPROVED:
Grace Schmidt, City Clerk ~cy Paul, May,o 1
City of Cupertin
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