87R572 SME-D     By: Raymond H.C.R. No. 9       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, In February 2017, the Climate Leadership Council   released a compelling report outlining the conservative case for   addressing climate change; the publication's coauthors 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 and Hurricanes Ike, Rita, Katrina, and   Harvey; in 2019, the National Centers for Environmental Information   recorded 14 weather and climate disaster events that each exceeded   $1 billion in costs, marking the fifth consecutive year in which 10   or more billion-dollar weather and climate disaster events have   impacted the United States; 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 former 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 87th 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.