2023-2024 Regular Session HR 504 PN 3549 Bill Text (HTM)

PRINTER'S NO. 3549

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE RESOLUTION

No.

504

Session of

2024

INTRODUCED BY WEBSTER, HILL-EVANS, RABB, HOHENSTEIN, PIELLI,

CONKLIN, HOWARD, SANCHEZ, CEPEDA-FREYTIZ, OTTEN, MADDEN,

BOYD, SCHLOSSBERG AND KHAN, JULY 30, 2024

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY,

JULY 30, 2024

A RESOLUTION

Directing the Joint State Government Commission to conduct a

study on the projected costs in Pennsylvania of climate

change adaptation and resilience measures needed to mitigate

the projected impacts of certain climate-change-related

events.

WHEREAS, Weather and climate disasters, which can include

events such as winter storms, wildfire events, tornado

outbreaks, heat and cold wave events, tropical cyclones,

droughts, flooding events and hail events, cause extreme damage

across the United States every year; and

WHEREAS, Calendar year 2023 had the largest number of

billion-dollar disasters in United States history; and

WHEREAS, In 2023, the cost of the damage caused by climate

and weather disasters in the United States was at least $92.9

billion, with 28 separate weather and climate events costing at

least $1 billion each; and

WHEREAS, Increasing global temperatures are resulting in

higher intensity and more frequent hurricanes, droughts and heat

waves and are changing precipitation patterns and the length of

wildfire seasons; and

WHEREAS, Experts predict that the cost of climate change

adaptations will cost Pennsylvanians at least $15 billion by

2040, which will stem from the need to adjust to increased

precipitation and flooding, as well as the need to adapt to

higher temperatures; and

WHEREAS, This Commonwealth's already-deteriorating

infrastructure will experience exacerbated deterioration due to

climate change; and

WHEREAS, Pennsylvanians who are low-income, rural or a part

of vulnerable populations will be especially susceptible to the

impact of climate change; and

WHEREAS, Climate change impacts vital Commonwealth

industries, namely agriculture, with changing and intensifying

weather patterns that threaten the livelihoods of farmers; and

WHEREAS, As current climate and weather disasters are already

resulting in human migration, worsening climate change is

predicted to increase human migration as the frequency of

climate and weather disasters intensifies; and

WHEREAS, It is in the best interest of the House of

Representatives to be prepared for the consequences of climate

change in order to successfully preserve and protect

Pennsylvania's people, environment and infrastructure; and

WHEREAS, The Shared Socioeconomic Pathway and the

Representative Concentration Pathway are climate modeling tools

that can be used to predict how the climate might change in the

future and how those changes could impact global society,

demographics and economics; and

WHEREAS, With these tools, scientists can make predictions

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about the potential cost of adapting to a planet heavily

impacted by climate change; and

WHEREAS, Analyzing and evaluating climate risk will allow the

House of Representatives to be better prepared for future severe

weather events and the cost of climate change; therefore be it

RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives direct the Joint

State Government Commission to conduct a comprehensive study on

the projected costs in Pennsylvania of climate change adaptation

and resilience measures and the cost of the impact of climate

change on the public health and well-being of Pennsylvanians and

the natural, built and social environments of Pennsylvania; and

be it further

RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission study

shall utilize either the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways or

Representative Concentration Pathways as described by the

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change to study the climate

change adaptation and resilience measures needed to mitigate the

projected impacts for at least two different future scenarios;

and be it further

RESOLVED, That the study must identify what research, data,

modeling, stakeholder engagement and other resources are needed

in order to:

(1) Estimate costs for mid-century, late-century and

end-of-century, using 2024 dollars as a baseline.

(2) Estimate costs related to hazards, including, but

not limited to, precipitation and heat and the impacts of

precipitation and heat on soil and lakes.

(3) Provide an analysis of the projected costs and

impacts of additional hazards like flooding, drought, sea

level rise, wildfires, high-wind events, extreme cold and

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vector-borne illnesses.

(4) Provide analyses of how these hazards and impacts

are experienced differently by Pennsylvanians based on

demographics, including race, gender, ability and age, as

well as economic status and geography.

(5) Identify methods for understanding and making

decisions about the trade-offs between the financial and

social costs to mitigate climate risks and the level of risk

reduction achieved;

and be it further

RESOLVED, That the study must also identify what research,

data, modeling, stakeholder engagement and other resources are

needed in order to estimate the costs of climate change impacts

on:

(1) Pennsylvania's natural environment, including

impacts on:

(i) Working lands and natural lands.

(ii) Water, including surface waters, tidal waters,

rivers, drinking water and Lake Erie.

(iii) Air, including, but not limited to, surface

temperature and air quality.

(iv) The biodiversity of this Commonwealth's biomes.

(2) This Commonwealth's built environment, including

impacts on:

(i) Residential, commercial and public buildings.

(ii) Critical infrastructure, including the

infrastructure that manages storm water, wastewater,

drinking water, transportation, electricity, gas and

communications technologies.

(3) This Commonwealth's social environment, including

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impacts on:

(i) Human settlement and migration.

(ii) Statewide and regional economies, including

impacts on industries like recreation, tourism,

agriculture and forest products.

(iii) Public health, including impacts related to

emergency response, asthma, heat exposure and vector-

borne illnesses;

and be it further

RESOLVED, That, to prepare the study, the Joint State

Government Commission shall engage subject-area experts and

other stakeholders, as needed, to contribute to the study; and

be it further

RESOLVED, That the Joint State Government Commission issue a

report with its findings and recommendations no later than 12

months after the adoption of this resolution to the following:

(1) The President pro tempore of the Senate.

(2) The Speaker of the House of Representatives.

(3) The Majority Leader and the Minority Leader of the

Senate.

(4) The Majority Leader and the Minority Leader of the

House of Representatives.

(5) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the

Appropriations Committee of the Senate.

(6) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the

Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives.

(7) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the

Environmental Resources and Energy Committee of the Senate.

(8) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the

Environmental Resources and Energy Committee of the House of

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Representatives.

(9) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the

Finance Committee of the Senate.

(10) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the

Finance Committee of the House of Representatives.

(11) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the

Health and Human Services Committee of the Senate.

(12) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the

Health Committee of the House of Representatives.

(13) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the

Transportation Committee of the Senate.

(14) The chairperson and minority chairperson of the

Transportation Committee of the House of Representatives.

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