WHEREAS, a 2018 report from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that in 2017 the planet had warmed by 1°C (1.8°F) above pre-industrial levels and is accelerating to reach 1.5°C (2.7°F) in 20 to 30 years; and
WHEREAS, the IPCC Report further states that to limit global temperature increase to 1.5°C (2.7°F), Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions from human activities must fall to 45% of 2010 levels by 2030; and
WHEREAS, the overwhelming scientific consensus that global warming results from human activities, primarily deforestation and GHG emissions from fossil fuel use; and
WHEREAS, globally there is an exponential increase in natural disasters driven by more energy in the atmosphere from global warming; and
WHEREAS, Vermont is currently experiencing rising temperatures and more intense storms with measurable negative impacts on health, water quality, farms, and forests; and
WHEREAS, Hartford has three rivers flowing through it, and therefore, is disproportionately affected by extreme rain and snow thaw events; and
WHEREAS, Hartford roads face degradation from higher temperatures, active damage from storms, and operational impacts from flooding, fires, and landslides; and
WHEREAS, more frequent and increasingly violent storms are disrupting water supplies and causing wastewater to be released into rivers and lakes; and
WHEREAS, to achieve such reductions will require rapid transformational change across all sectors toward energy efficiency, renewable energy, and more resilient development; and
WHEREAS, the climate emergency is adversely affecting the health and wellbeing of millions of people, and is threatening the lives and livelihoods of billions with malnutrition, floods, destructive winds and precipitation, tsunamis, species extinction, landslides, extreme heat and cold, droughts, wildfires, increases in ground-level ozone, and infectious diseases; and
WHEREAS, the climate emergency disproportionately affects the most disadvantaged members of society;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Town of Hartford and Town of Hartford School District jointly declare that a climate emergency exists which threatens local, regional, national, and international communities, with a real and immediate danger to human health and safety; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Town of Hartford and Town of Hartford School District both make mitigation of global warming and adaptation to the effects thereof a defining focus for planning, funding, and action; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Town of Hartford and Town of Hartford School District commit to reducing town-wide GHG emissions by 45% below 2010 levels by 2025 and achieving net-zero GHG emissions by 2030; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Hartford’s response to the climate emergency be just and equitable, especially with respect to the most vulnerable and impacted members of society; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that both the Selectboard and the School Board will take into account the fiscal impacts of the climate emergency, balancing costs of action and inaction on the climate, environment, local economy, human health and safety; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Town of Hartford and Town of Hartford School District will produce an action plan by the end of September 2020 that identifies action steps in response to the climate emergency and explains how progress will be tracked and measured; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Town of Hartford and Town of Hartford School District will update the public annually on progress toward the mitigation and adaptation goals; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Selectboard and School Board issue a call to action to all residents and businesses of Hartford to take steps toward eliminating fossil fuel use, such as weatherizing buildings; installing efficient electric heating, cooling, and renewable generation systems; walking, biking, public transit, and switching to electric vehicles; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Selectboard and School Board call on state, national, and international leaders to declare a climate emergency, to enact just and equitable policies to eliminate fossil fuel use and other efforts to halt global warming as quickly as possible, and to fully prepare for those effects of the climate emergency to which we fail to avoid.