RESOLUTION NO. _________, SERIES 2020
TITLE
A RESOLUTION FOR 100% CLEAN RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY FOR METRO GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS BY 2030, 100% CLEAN ENERGY FOR METRO GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS BY 2035 AND 100% CLEAN ENERGY COMMUNITY-WIDE BY 2040 (AS AMENDED).
BODY
SPONSORED BY: COUNCILMEMBERS COAN, GEORGE, AND HOLLANDER
WHEREAS, "clean renewable electricity" is defined as electricity that: (1) can be extracted, generated, transported, and consumed with neutral carbon emissions or no emissions at all, and with no current or future significant threat to life and the natural environment; and (2) is generated and stored from renewable resources, which are naturally replenished on a human timescale, such as sunlight, wind, geothermal, tides, and, conditionally, bio-matter and various forms of hydropower. "Clean energy" encompasses electricity, transportation, buildings, and food systems; and
WHEREAS, according to the Sierra Club, "[a] community is powered with 100% renewable energy when the amount of energy generated from the renewable energy source equals or exceeds 100% of the annual energy consumed within the community."
WHEREAS, overwhelming scientific evidence affirms the existence of climate change and that the primary cause of recent climate change is human combustion of fossil fuels; and
WHEREAS, climate change has already brought devastating impacts in our nation and globally and, if unchecked, will fundamentally undermine the stability of economic, natural, and social systems, including the possibility of massive disruptions to human life on Earth; and
WHEREAS, more frequent and severe flooding, storms, and droughts in our own region pose similar threats to the stability of the local environment and economy, including human health effects; and
WHEREAS, there is no credible path to a safe climate that includes continued long-term combustion of fossil fuels and the proliferation of new fossil fuel infrastructure; and
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