PRINTER'S NO. 740
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.90
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY WEBSTER, MALAGARI, WAXMAN, HILL-EVANS, PIELLI,
MADDEN, FREEMAN, OTTEN, MAYES, SANCHEZ, SCHLOSSBERG AND
HOWARD, FEBRUARY 24, 2025
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL AND NATURAL RESOURCE
PROTECTION, FEBRUARY 24, 2025
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
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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 this
Commonwealth'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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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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(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) This Commonwealth'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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(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 and Natural Resource Protection Committee of
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(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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