Can Hawaii afford climate change lawsuit settlement?
"The state doesn't have money sitting around that can be used for settlements like this," said Sheila A. Weinberg, founder and CEO of Truth in Accounting. "To pay for this settlement, taxes will have to be raised or services and benefits will have to be cut. The other option is to even underfund the pension and retiree health care benefits even more."
Hawaii is the first to settle a climate change lawsuit, but it may not be the last. The case may set a precedent in other states where young people have filed lawsuits over climate concerns, according to an op-ed written by Cara Horowitz, executive director of the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the institute's communications director, Evan George.
READ MOREReport challenges health of city of Longview finances — but not by standard measures
A report by the nonprofit organization Truth in Accounting arrived the week early voting started for the Longview mayoral election in May.
That assessment, though, was based off old information and uses a standard that Truth in Accounting established that measures government finances differently than is accepted practice.
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