Hawaii will become the second state in the nation after California to put money and attention into reducing global warming.

Lawmakers on Thursday approved a bill aimed at lowering greenhouse emissions in Hawaii to 1990 levels by the year 2020.

The emissions are blamed for world wide climate changes, including melting Arctic icebergs resulting in flooding and changes in sea levels, officials said.

"We have committed resources to actually commit ourselves both addressing global warming in Hawaii and sending a symbol to the rest of the country because, if we don't get control of global warming, the health impacts are going to be catastrophic both for the country and the world," said House Health Chairman Rep. Josh Green.

"We will be the second state in the nation with an enforceable limit on the amount of global warming that we put into the atmosphere, so this is really the most significant legislation in years in regards to our environment," said Hawaii Sierra Club Director Jeff Mikulina.

The bill appropriates $500,000 over each of the next two years for the project, officials said.