Title
Affirming the City of Philadelphia's ongoing commitment to the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, endorsing the call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, urging the federal government to support this initiative by entering into treaty discussions, and committing the City to prioritizing a fair and equitable clean energy transition.
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WHEREAS, The scientific consensus is clear that human activities are primarily responsible for accelerating global climate change and that the climate crisis represents one of the greatest threats to global civilization; and
WHEREAS, Changes in Philadelphia's and Pennsylvania's climate are already being felt, with longer and hotter summers, warmer winters, rising heights on local waterways and intensified flooding, increasingly unhealthy air quality linked with exposure to wildfire smoke, and a decline in biodiversity and ecological habitat; and
WHEREAS, Our communities are experiencing adverse health effects and the safety risks of fossil fuel expansion, particularly those who also face socioeconomic and health inequities as well as communities on the frontlines of environmental injustice; and
WHEREAS, Our youth and future generations have the most to lose from a lack of immediate action to stop fossil fuel expansion as they face major and lifelong health, ecological, social, and economic impacts from the prolonged and cumulative effects of climate change, including food and water shortages, sharp increases in infectious diseases, natural disasters, geopolitical instability, and warfare; and
WHEREAS, Burning coal, oil, and gas is the greatest producer of greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gasses are warming our atmosphere, destabilizing our weather patterns, intensifying natural disasters, creating extreme heat, supercharging forest fires and threatening human health. The Paris Climate Agreement is silent on the need to phase out these greenhouse gas producers to keep global warming at or below 1.5?C....
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