Bill Text: HI HCR170 | 2016 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: ERS; Fossil Fuels; Sustainability; Renewable Energy; Investment
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-03-29 - Report adopted. referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 1 with none voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Har, Ing, Kong, Luke, Saiki, Thielen, Tokioka excused (7). [HCR170 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2016-HCR170-Introduced.html
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.C.R. NO. |
170 |
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
urging the employees' retirement system and employer–union health benefits trust fund to divest from fossil fuel investments.
WHEREAS, the State of Hawaii has a strong and necessary commitment to sustainability; and
WHEREAS, the State has adopted the goal of meeting 40 percent of its energy needs through renewable energy sources by 2030; and
WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii System, the Hawaii's largest institution of higher learning and research, has adopted Executive Policy 4.202, which sets a university goal of carbon neutrality by 2050; and
WHEREAS, Hawaii is particularly vulnerable to the effects of global warming; and
WHEREAS, continued rising of sea levels caused by global warming threaten to erode State beaches and dramatically alter shorelines; and
WHEREAS, continued increases in ocean temperatures caused by global warming may cause irreversible harm to ocean ecosystems, including the widespread bleaching of coral and increased stress for native plants and animals; and
WHEREAS, higher average temperatures caused by
global warming may also increase the incidence of heat-related illnesses such
as dengue fever and cholera; and
WHEREAS, global warming has also affected global weather patterns, leading
to periods of drought and flooding worldwide, and to disruptions in tradewind
and rainfall patterns in the State; and
WHEREAS, fossil fuel usage is often cited by scientists as a primary driver of global warming; and
WHEREAS, many of the world's leaders have taken steps to curb fossil fuel usage and global warming, such as in December, 2015, when an international agreement was reached at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris to limit global warming to below two degrees centigrade; and
WHEREAS, many countries have adopted and will continue to adopt laws that address climate change, evidenced by the over 800 laws that address climate change worldwide today, nearly double the amount since 2009; and
WHEREAS, many of these laws, regulations, and restrictions regarding fossil fuel usage will undoubtedly have effects on the value of coal, oil, and gas companies; and
WHEREAS, the value of fossil fuel stocks has already decreased by nearly one-third in the past two years; and
WHEREAS, the New York State Retirement Fund lost at least $5.3 billion from their investments in top coal, oil, and gas companies; and
WHEREAS, fossil fuel stock prices face further valuation concerns due to restrictions on fossil fuel reserve consumption set by international global warming goals adopted during the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference; and
WHEREAS, financial experts, including the Executive Director for Supervisory Risk and Regulatory Operations of the Bank of England, Paul Fisher; former United States Treasury Secretary, Hank Paulson; former Securities and Exchange Commissioner Bevis Longstreth; and analysts at Citigroup, AXA Investment Managers, Goldman Sachs, Standard and Poor's, and HSBC have warned of a looming carbon financial bubble; and
WHEREAS, the declining value of fossil fuel stocks may pose an ongoing problem for investors given the global push toward renewable energy; and
WHEREAS, two of the largest pension funds in the nation, California's CalPERS and CALSTRS, have divested from holdings in coal mining companies in response to legislation adopted by the California State Legislature; and
WHEREAS, it is clear that divestment from holdings in fossil fuels is not only fiscally sound, but also in the best interest of the State's marine and terra environments; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2016, the Senate concurring, that the Employees' Retirement System and Employer–Union Health Benefits Trust Fund are urged to divest all holdings in companies and stocks with a majority interest in fossil fuels no later than the year 2021; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Employees' Retirement System and the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Employer–Union Health Benefits Trust Fund.
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OFFERED BY: |
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ERS; EUTF; Fossil Fuels; Sustainability; Renewable Energy; Investment