House Resolution 115 - Introduced HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 115 BY ISENHART , GASKILL , NIELSEN , OLDSON , STAED , and PRICHARD A Resolution urging the Governor of Iowa to take all 1 necessary actions for the State of Iowa to become a 2 member of the United States Climate Alliance. 3 WHEREAS, 195 countries signed the Paris Agreement 4 on Climate Change, which aims to strengthen the global 5 response to the threat of climate change, including by 6 holding the increase in the global average temperature 7 to less than 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial 8 levels; and 9 WHEREAS, the United States signed the Paris 10 Agreement, which builds upon the United Nations 11 Framework Convention on Climate Change and recruits 12 governments to the common cause of ambitiously 13 combatting climate change by limiting global 14 temperature increases, by dealing with climate impacts, 15 and by adapting to its effects; and 16 WHEREAS, the current presidential administration has 17 announced its intent to withdraw the United States from 18 the Paris Agreement; and 19 WHEREAS, only international cooperation to reduce 20 greenhouse gas emissions can mitigate climate 21 impacts; and 22 WHEREAS, 15 states and the Commonwealth of Puerto 23 Rico have joined the United States Climate Alliance, 24 committing to the goal of reducing greenhouse gas 25 emissions consistent with the goals of the Paris 26 Agreement; and 27 -1- LSB 6200YH (6) 87 js/rn 1/ 4

H.R. 115 WHEREAS, the Iowa Climate Change Advisory Council, 1 which was created by the Iowa Department of Natural 2 Resources, submitted proposals to the Governor and the 3 General Assembly addressing a full range of policies 4 and strategies, including the cost-effectiveness of the 5 strategies and multiple scenarios designed to reduce 6 statewide greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent or 7 more by 2050; and 8 WHEREAS, since the council’s report, researchers and 9 educators from nearly every Iowa college and university 10 have jointly produced annual statements on the impact 11 of climate change on Iowans; and 12 WHEREAS, the United States Climate Alliance agenda 13 includes addressing matters critical to Iowa’s future, 14 including advanced transportation, natural and working 15 lands, the role of utilities, appliance efficiency 16 standards, the competitiveness of renewable energy, 17 clean energy financing, insurance risk, pollution 18 control, and community resilience; and 19 WHEREAS, Iowa’s participation in the United States 20 Climate Alliance will help the state achieve the goals 21 of the Iowa Energy Plan developed under the leadership 22 of then Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds by the Iowa 23 Economic Development Authority and the Iowa Department 24 of Transportation, which aspires to collaborate 25 locally, grow sustainably, and lead nationally, 26 consistent with the aspiration that now is the time to 27 continue to build on Iowa’s energy-related successes 28 by charting a sustainable and predictable course for 29 tomorrow; and 30 -2- LSB 6200YH (6) 87 js/rn 2/ 4

H.R. 115 WHEREAS, the General Assembly and former Governor 1 Terry E. Branstad approved legislation moving the 2 Iowa Energy Center to the Iowa Economic Development 3 Authority, strengthening the capacity of state 4 government to implement the Iowa Energy Plan and 5 to provide national leadership in the modern energy 6 sector; and 7 WHEREAS, the Iowa Economic Development Authority’s 8 City Energy Management Program works with participating 9 communities to create energy action plans, establish 10 the financial case to invest in energy efficiency, 11 and develop a steady source of funding for energy 12 efficiency projects; and 13 WHEREAS, the Iowa Utilities Board and Office of 14 Consumer Advocate have maintained an ongoing Energy 15 Efficiency Collaborative, and the board has opened 16 an inquiry into the potential for widespread use of 17 distributed energy resources in Iowa; and 18 WHEREAS, Iowa’s public universities have engaged 19 in a five-year project funded by the National Science 20 Foundation to build Iowa’s research capacity in 21 sustainable energy systems, supporting studies in 22 bioenergy, wind energy, energy utilization, and energy 23 policy in partnership with the state’s community 24 colleges, private colleges, school districts, 25 government agencies, and industries; and 26 WHEREAS, Iowa State University’s Bioeconomy 27 Institute, which supports Iowa agriculture in the 28 state’s quest for sustainable sources of fuel, energy, 29 chemicals, and material, and other researchers are part 30 -3- LSB 6200YH (6) 87 js/rn 3/ 4

H.R. 115 of the New Carbon Economy Consortium launched by the 1 Center for Carbon Removal, a partnership of research 2 institutions with the goal of removing carbon dioxide 3 from the atmosphere and converting it into valuable 4 products and services; and 5 WHEREAS, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources 6 has successfully led an interagency, public-private 7 stakeholder group to coordinate development of efforts 8 to reduce carbon emissions in Iowa and regionally in 9 accordance with the federal Clean Power Plan; and 10 WHEREAS, as elected officials representing 11 legislative districts, members of the House of 12 Representatives are willing to convene constituents and 13 stakeholders to collaborate locally and are willing 14 to partner with the executive branch to make the Iowa 15 Energy Plan a reality, thereby helping Iowa do its 16 part to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement; NOW 17 THEREFORE, 18 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, 19 That the House of Representatives urges Governor 20 Kim Reynolds to take all necessary actions for the 21 State of Iowa to become a member of, participate in, 22 and maintain membership in the United States Climate 23 Alliance. 24 -4- LSB 6200YH (6) 87 js/rn 4/ 4