85R20032 BPG-D     By: Raymond H.C.R. No. 127       CONCURRENT RESOLUTION          WHEREAS, Climate change is a complex issue with important   implications for economic stability, national security, and public   health for future generations of Texans; and          WHEREAS, United States Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, in   his confirmation hearing, acknowledged the "complex issue" of   climate change; he stated: "I came to my personal position over   about 20 years as an engineer and a scientist, [and] understanding   the evolution of the science, came to the conclusion a few years ago   the risk of climate change does exist, and that the consequences   could be serious enough that action should be taken"; and          WHEREAS, In February 2017, the Climate Leadership Council   released a compelling report outlining the conservative case for   addressing climate change; the international research and advocacy   group's members include one of the Lone Star State's most respected   native sons, former U.S. secretary of state James Baker, as well as   members of the Ronald Reagan administration and both Bush   administrations, namely Martin Feldstein and N. Gregory Mankiw,   former chairs of the President's Council of Economic Advisers,   Henry M. Paulson Jr., former secretary of the treasury, George P.   Shultz, former secretary of state, and Thomas Stephenson, former   ambassador to Portugal and now a partner at Sequoia Capital; the   organization's other members are Rob Walton, longtime chair of   Walmart, and Ted Halstead, founder, president, and CEO of the   Climate Leadership Council and founder of the New America think   tank; and          WHEREAS, The council's report states that evidence of climate   change is too powerful to ignore; although the extent of human   influence on climate is debated, the risks posed are such that the   world needs a kind of "insurance policy," the authors warn; climate   solutions based on sound economic analysis would build prosperity,   benefit working Americans, reduce regulations, and protect our   natural heritage; and          WHEREAS, In the Reagan era, economists conducted a   cost-benefit analysis to assess the risks of the growing hole in the   ozone layer, and the president then threw his weight behind a   landmark treaty, the Montreal Protocol, which implemented a   pragmatic, market-based solution to the environmental problem;   Mr. Baker, Mr. Shultz, and the other members of the Climate   Leadership Council support a similar conservative,   limited-government approach to climate change, and economists of   diverse viewpoints today concur that the economic benefits of   grappling with climate change greatly outweigh the costs; for   instance, while no single natural disaster can be attributed to   climate change, it has increased the risk of catastrophic events   such as Superstorm Sandy, Hurricane Ike, Hurricane Rita, and   Hurricane Katrina, which affected the entire Gulf Coast region; in   2016, the National Centers for Environmental Information recorded   15 weather and climate disaster events that each exceeded $1   billion in costs, the largest being the Louisiana flooding and   Hurricane Matthew, which both inflicted an estimated $10 billion in   damage; and          WHEREAS, Many of the nation's leaders have spoken out about   the need to address climate change, including former vice president   Al Gore, who said, "Solutions to the climate crisis are within   reach, but in order to capture them we must take urgent action today   across every level of society"; former president Barack Obama   stated that "the shift to a cleaner energy economy won't happen   overnight, and it will require tough choices along the way. But the   debate is settled. Climate change is a fact. And when our   children's children look us in the eye and ask if we did all we could   to leave them a safer, more stable world, with new sources of   energy, I want us to be able to say yes, we did"; another former   president, Bill Clinton, explained that "climate change is more   remote than terror but a more profound threat to the future of the   children and the grandchildren and the great-grandchildren I hope   all of you have. . . .  It's the only thing we face today that has   the power to remove the preconditions of civilized society"; and          WHEREAS, Climate change will negatively impact agriculture,   coastal cities, and political stability in already-volatile   regions of the world, and such developments could imperil our   American way of life; leaders in Washington, D.C., should   investigate how best to mitigate the dangers to ensure a stable,   prosperous future for the generations to come, for as the current   U.S. secretary of defense, General James Mattis, declared, "Climate   change is impacting stability in areas of the world where our troops   are operating today"; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas   hereby respectfully urge the United States Congress to conduct a   cost-benefit analysis regarding the risks of climate change and   appropriate measures to address those risks; and, be it further          RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official   copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to   the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of   Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the   members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that   this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a   memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.