Hamilton discusses climate resolution in House Environmental Affairs Committee
INDIANAPOLIS – Yesterday, State Representative Carey Hamilton (D-Indianapolis) discussed her Climate Resolution, which was heard in the House Environmental Affairs Committee.
House Resolution 18 urges the Legislative Council to create a bipartisan task force for the purpose of recommending public policy action to help build resilient communities and combat climate change.
Hamilton and other key stakeholders spoke on the importance of the resolution during committee, and renewed the call for the state legislature to study and address the impacts of climate change.
“Climate change presents Indiana with both a grave threat and tremendous opportunity,” Hamilton said. “We can take action now, and reap significant community and economic benefits, or we can continue to fall behind and pay the price of inaction.
“As we heard yesterday, both our agriculture sector and our communities would benefit from policies that help build resilience. We also learned from Indiana’s auto workers and solar businesses that they would benefit from policies that jump-start a renewable energy economy, including manufacturing renewable energy technologies and electric cars in Indiana.
The proposed task force would be charged with making recommendations on the following:
- Setting a renewable energy target
- Supporting resilience in our agricultural sector and communities
- Growing Indiana's clean energy manufacturing sector
- Decreasing carbon emissions from vehicles
- Strengthening the circular economy
- Supporting public-private partnerships in developing, financing and implementing climate resilient infrastructure
“I’m glad my colleagues of the House Environmental Affairs Committee were willing to listen to me and other experts outline the facts about climate change,” Hamilton continued. “I hope we can work together to study and address these issues to build resilient communities across our state, and become a leader in the fight against climate change.”
Last month, Hamilton hosted the first Youth Climate Action Day at the Statehouse. Hundreds of students from across the state convened to call for action from state legislators to address climate change now. Yesterday’s hearing was a small first step in that direction.