113 HR 1943 IH: Super Pollutant Emissions Reduction Act of 2013
U.S. House of Representatives
2013-05-09
text/xml
EN
Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.
1.This Act may be cited as the
Super Pollutant Emissions Reduction
Act of 2013
or the SUPER Act of 2013
.
2.
(a)Congress
makes the following findings:
(1)Carbon dioxide is
estimated to account for 55 to 60 percent of anthropogenic radiative forcing
(or manmade global warming), while the remainder is driven by non-carbon
dioxide climate pollutants, primarily short-lived climate pollutants. These
short-lived climate pollutants, or super pollutants, have shorter
atmospheric lifespans than carbon dioxide but cause much more warming per
molecule, and in many cases the emissions are growing much faster than carbon
dioxide.
(2)Several of the
short-lived climate pollutants are also potent air pollutants that harm human
health and reduce crop yields. Reducing these pollutants can save thousands of
lives every year in the United States and millions globally, while also
increasing agricultural production.
(3)International efforts to address
short-lived climate pollutants are underway, including the Climate and Clean
Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants, led by the Department
of State and the United Nations Environment Programme, the Global Methane
Initiative, and the negotiation of amendments to the Montreal Protocol on
Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
(4)Many of the
technologies to reduce short-lived climate pollutants already exist, but
adoption of such technologies has been slow.
(5)The Federal
Government has a number of programs and initiatives some of which aim to, or
the outcomes of which, reduce emissions of short-lived climate pollutants, but
these programs are scattered across multiple agencies and there is insufficient
coordination to maximize reductions of these pollutants. In February 2012, the
Government Accountability Office published an annual report,
Opportunities to Reduce Duplication, Overlap and Fragmentation, Achieve
Savings, and Enhance Revenue, which examined the efficiency and efficacy
of government programs, including those that address diesel emissions that
contain black carbon, a short-lived climate pollutant.
(6)Executive Order
13514 requires Federal agencies to develop plans for reducing
hydrofluorocarbons and methane, but few agencies have focused on these
compounds in their annual Strategic Sustainability Performance Plans.
(7)Because of their short atmospheric
lifetimes, reducing global emissions of short-lived climate pollutants can
quickly cut the rate of global temperature rise in half, by 2050, and help
stabilize global temperatures below 2 °C above pre-industrial temperatures by
2100, when combined with reductions of global emissions of carbon dioxide.
Cutting short-lived climate pollutants along with carbon dioxide can also
reduce the rate of projected global sea-level rise by half and total sea-level
rise by a third. Steps to reduce short-lived climate pollutants are likely to
have air quality and public health benefits as well.
(b)The
purpose of this Act is to—
(1)coordinate and
optimize the Federal Government’s existing efforts to address short-lived
climate pollutants;
(2)reduce overlap and
duplication of such efforts; and
(3)encourage Federal
operations, programs, policies, and initiatives to reduce short-lived climate
pollutants by—
(A)ensuring that the coordinated Federal
programs are effective and forward-looking in their efforts to control
short-lived climate pollutants;
(B)ensuring
coordination of such Federal operations, programs, policies, and initiatives
with State, local, regional, tribal, and industry efforts; and
(C)supporting such
State, local, regional, tribal, and industry efforts.
3.Task force on
super pollutants
(a)Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the President shall establish the Task Force
on Super Pollutants (referred to in this section as the Task
Force).
(b)The
Task Force shall—
(1)review existing
and potential policies and measures that promote reduction of short-lived
climate pollutants, in part by identifying and evaluating programs and
activities of the Federal government that contribute, or could contribute, to
such reduction;
(2)identify and
recommend specific existing Federal programs and activities evaluated under
paragraph (1) that are unnecessarily duplicative and can be consolidated to
achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness;
(3)identify gaps
where programs do not exist, and recommend focused programs and activities to
fill these gaps to achieve reductions of short-lived climate pollutants, with
an emphasis on industry standards and public-private partnerships where
possible;
(4)identify, compile,
evaluate, and develop best practices for reductions of short-lived climate
pollutants, including by—
(A)identifying and
evaluating both domestic and international best practices and standards
practiced and set by governments, industry in each sector listed in subsection
(c)(5), standards bodies, and other relevant institutions; and
(B)identifying and
evaluating cost-effective mitigation projects, strategies, and policies at the
State, local, and tribal level, with the greatest potential for reduction of
short-lived climate pollutants; and
(5)not later than 18 months after the date of
enactment of this Act, submit to Congress a report on the findings and
recommendations developed under paragraphs (1) through (4).
(c)The
task force established under subsection (a) shall include representatives
of—
(1)all relevant
Federal agencies, including—
(A)the Secretary of
Energy;
(B)the Administrator
of the Environmental Protection Agency;
(C)the Secretary of
the Interior;
(D)the Secretary of
Transportation;
(E)the Secretary of
Agriculture;
(F)the Secretary of
State;
(G)the Secretary of
Commerce; and
(H)the Secretary of
Health and Human Services;
(2)relevant offices
and councils within the Executive Office of the President, including—
(A)the Office of
Management and Budget;
(B)the Office of
Science and Technology Policy; and
(C)the Council on
Environmental Quality;
(3)State, local, and
tribal governments or associations;
(4)academic and
non-governmental organizations with expertise in short-lived climate
pollutants; and
(5)relevant industry
organizations, representing at least the following sectors:
(A)Energy supply and
transmission, including fossil fuels.
(B)Solid
waste.
(C)Transportation.
(D)Chemical
manufacturing and user industries.
(E)Agriculture.
(F)Wastewater.
(G)Buildings.
(H)Other sectors as
determined appropriate by the President.
(d)In
this Act, the term short-lived climate pollutant means any of the
following:
(1)Black
carbon.
(2)Methane.
(3)Hydrofluorocarbons.
(4)Tropospheric ozone
and its precursors.
(5)Emissions from
banks of ozone-depleting substances.