[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1781 Introduced in Senate (IS)]




107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1781

 To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a voluntary national 
 registry system for greenhouse gases trading among industry, to make 
changes to United States Global Change Research Program, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            December 6, 2001

  Mr. McCain (for himself and Mr. Brownback) introduced the following 
 bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 
                      Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of Commerce to establish a voluntary national 
 registry system for greenhouse gases trading among industry, to make 
changes to United States Global Change Research Program, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Emission Reductions Incentive Act of 
2001''.

SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    The table of contents of this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title.
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
Sec. 3. Findings.
                   TITLE I--MARKET-BASED INITIATIVES.

Sec. 101. Market-based initiatives.
Sec. 102. Implementing panel.
Sec. 103. Definitions.
                     TITLE II--FEDERAL INITIATIVES

Sec. 201. United States global change research program.
Sec. 202. Federal initiatives.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Based upon recent scientific assessments, the global 
        average surface temperature has increased over the 20th century 
        by about 0.6 degree Celsius.
            (2) Based upon recent scientific assessments, emissions of 
        greenhouse gases and aerosols due to human activities continue 
        to alter the atmosphere in ways that are expected to affect the 
        climate.
            (3) Climate change is a problem with unique 
        characteristics. It is a global, long term and involves complex 
        interactions between climatic, environmental, economic, 
        political, institutional, social, and technological processes.
            (4) There is no single path to a low emission future and 
        countries and regions will have to choose their own path.
            (5) The effectiveness of climate change mitigation can be 
        enhanced when climate policies are integrated with the non-
        climate objectives of national and sectoral policy development 
        and be turned into broad transition strategies to achieve the 
        long-term social and technological changes required by both 
        sustainable development and climate change mitigation.
            (6) Co-coordinated actions among countries and sectors may 
        help to reduce mitigation cost, address comprehensiveness 
        concerns, potential conflicts with international trade rules, 
        and carbon leakage.
            (7) Further research is required to strengthen future 
        assessments and to reduce uncertainties as far as possible in 
        order that sufficient information is available for policy 
        making about responses to climate change, including research in 
        developing countries.
            (8) The ability of humans to adapt to and cope with climate 
        change depends on such factors as wealth, technology, 
        education, information, skills, infrastructure, access to 
        resources, and management capabilities.
            (9) The effects of climate change are expected to be 
        greatest in developing countries in terms of loss of life and 
        relative effects on investment and economy. Most less developed 
        regions are especially vulnerable because a larger share of 
        their economies are in climate-sensitive sectors and their 
        adaptive capability is low due to low levels of human, 
        financial, and natural resources, as well as limited 
        institutional and technological capability.
            (10) Improvements of systems and methods for long-term 
        monitoring and understanding the consequences of climate change 
        and other stresses on human and natural systems are important 
        elements in the Nation's ability to resolve climate change 
        problems.

                   TITLE I--MARKET-BASED INITIATIVES

SEC. 101. MARKET-BASED INITIATIVES.

    (a) Establishment of Registry for Voluntary Trading Systems.--The 
Secretary of Commerce, through the Undersecretary for Technology, shall 
establish a national voluntary registry system for greenhouse gas 
trading among industry under which emission reductions are assigned 
unique identifying numerical codes by the registry. Participation in 
the registry shall be voluntary. Any entity conducting business in the 
United States may register its emission results, including emissions 
generated outside of the United States, on an entity wide basis with 
the registry, and may utilize the services of the registry.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of the national registry are--
            (1) to encourage voluntary actions to reduce greenhouse gas 
        emissions and increase energy efficiency;
            (2) to enable participating entities to record voluntary 
        greenhouse gas emissions reductions; in a consistent format 
        that is supported by a third party verification;
            (3) to encourage participants involved in existing 
        partnerships to be able to trade emissions reductions among 
        partnerships;
            (4) to further recognize, publicize, and promote 
        registrants making voluntary reductions;
            (5) to recruit more participants in the program; and
            (6) to help various entities in the nation establish 
        emissions baselines.
    (c) Functions.--The national registry shall carry out the following 
functions:
            (1) Referrals.--Provide referrals to approved providers for 
        advice on--
                    (A) designing programs to establish emissions 
                baselines and to monitor and track greenhouse gas 
                emissions; and
                    (B) establishing emissions reduction goals based on 
                international best practices for specific industries 
                and economic sectors.
            (2) Uniform reporting format.--Adopt a uniform format for 
        reporting emissions baselines and reductions established 
        through the Director of the National Institute of Standards and 
        Technology.
            (3) Record maintenance.--Maintain a record of all emission 
        baselines and reductions verified by qualified independent 
        auditors.
            (4) Encourage participation.--Encourage organizations from 
        various sectors to monitor emissions, establish baselines and 
        reduction targets, and implement efficiency improvement and 
        renewable energy programs to achieve those targets.
            (5) Public awareness.--Recognize, publicize, and promote 
        participants that--
                    (A) commit to monitor their emissions and set 
                reduction targets;
                    (B) establish emission baselines; and
                    (C) report on the amount of progress made on their 
                annual emissions.
    (d) Transfer of Reductions.--The registry shall allow for the 
transfer of ownership of any reductions realized in accordance with the 
program.
    (e) Future Considerations.--Any reductions achieved under this 
program shall be credited against any future mandatory greenhouse gas 
reductions required by the government. Final approval of the amount and 
value of credits shall be determined by the agency responsible for the 
implementation of the mandatory greenhouse gas reduction program. The 
Secretary of Commerce shall by rule establish an appeals process, that 
may incorporate an arbitration option, for resolving any dispute 
arising out of such a determination made by that agency.

SEC. 102. IMPLEMENTING PANEL.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established within the Department of 
Commerce an implementing panel.
    (b) Composition.--The panel shall consist of--
            (1) the Secretary of Commerce or the Secretary's designee, 
        who shall serve as Chairperson; and
            (2) 1 expert in the field of greenhouse gas emissions 
        reduction, certification, or trading from each of the following 
        agencies--
                    (A) the Department of Energy;
                    (B) the Environmental Protection Agency;
                    (C) the Department of Agriculture;
                    (D) the National Aeronautics and Space 
                Administration; and
                    (E) the Department of Commerce.
    (c) Experts and Consultants.--Any member of the panel may secure 
the services of experts and consultants in accordance with the 
provisions of section 3109 of title 5, United States Code, for 
greenhouse gas reduction, certification, and trading experts in the 
private and non-profit sectors and may also utilize any grant, 
contract, cooperative agreement, or other arrangement authorized by law 
to carry out its activities under this subsection.
    (d) Duties.--The panel shall--
            (1) implement and oversee the implementation of this 
        section;
            (2) promulgate--
                    (A) standards for certification of registries and 
                operation of certified registries; and
                    (B) standards for measurement, verification, and 
                recording of greenhouse gas emissions and greenhouse 
                gas emission reductions by certified registries;
            (3) maintain, and make available to the public, a list of 
        certified registries; and
            (4) issue rulemakings on standards for measuring, 
        verifying, and recording greenhouse gas emissions and 
        greenhouse gas emission reductions proposed to the panel by 
        certified registries, through a standard process of issuing a 
        proposed rule, taking public comment for no less than 30 days, 
        then finalizing regulations to implement this act, which will 
        provide for recognizing new forms of acceptable greenhouse gas 
        reduction certification procedures.
    (e) Certification and Operation Standards.--The standards 
promulgated by the panel shall include--
            (1) standards for ensuring that certified registries do not 
        have any conflicts of interest, including standards that 
        prohibit a certified registry from--
                    (A) owning greenhouse gas emission reductions 
                recorded in any certified registry; or
                    (B) receiving compensation in the form of a 
                commission where sources receive money for the total 
                number of tons certified;
            (2) standards for authorizing certified registries to enter 
        into agreements with for-profit persons engaged in trading of 
        greenhouse gas emission reductions, subject to paragraph (1); 
        and
            (3) such other standards for certification of registries 
        and operation of certified registries as the panel determines 
        to be appropriate.
    (f) Measurement, Verification, and Recording Standards.--The 
standards promulgated by the panel shall provide for, in the case of 
certified registries--
            (1) ensuring that certified registries accurately measure, 
        verify, and record greenhouse gas emissions and greenhouse gas 
        emission reductions, taking into account--
                    (A) boundary issues such as leakage and shifted 
                utilization; and
                    (B) such other factors as the panel determines to 
                be appropriate;
            (2) ensuring that--
                    (A) certified registries do not double-count 
                greenhouse gas emission reductions; and
                    (B) if greenhouse gas emission reductions are 
                recorded in more than 1 certified registry, such 
                double-recording is clearly indicated;
            (3) determining the ownership of greenhouse gas emission 
        reductions and recording and tracking the transfer of 
        greenhouse gas emission reductions among entities (such as 
through assignment of serial numbers to greenhouse gas emission 
reductions);
            (4) measuring the results of the use of carbon 
        sequestration and carbon recapture technologies;
            (5) measuring greenhouse gas emission reductions resulting 
        from improvements in--
                    (A) power plants;
                    (B) automobiles (including types of passenger cards 
                and light duty trucks produced in the same model year);
                    (C) carbon re-capture, storage and sequestration, 
                including organic sequestration and manufactured 
                emissions injection, and or storage.
                    (D) other sources;
            (6) measuring prevented greenhouse gas emissions through 
        the rulemaking process and based on the latest scientific data, 
        sampling, expert analysis related to measurement and 
        projections for prevented greenhouse gas emissions in tons 
        including--
                    (A) organic soil carbon sequestration practices;
                    (B) forest preservation and re-forestation 
                activities which adequately address the issues of 
                permanence, leakage and verification; and
            (7) such other measurement, verification, and recording 
        standards as the panel determines to be appropriate.
    (g) Certification of Registries.--A registrant that desires to be a 
certified registry shall submit to the panel an application that--
            (1) demonstrates that the registrant meets each of the 
        certification standards established by the panel under 
        subsections (d) and (e); and
            (2) meets such other requirements as the panel may 
        establish.
    (h) Annual Report.--Within 1 year after the date of enactment of 
this Act and biennially thereafter, the panel shall report to the 
Congress on the status of the program established under this section. 
The report shall include an assessment of the level of participation in 
the program and amount of progress being made on emission reduction 
targets.

SEC. 103. DEFINITIONS.

    In this title:
            (1) Greenhouse gas.--The term ``greenhouse gas'' includes--
                    (A) carbon dioxide;
                    (B) methane;
                    (C) hydro fluorocarbons;
                    (D) perfluorocarbons;
                    (E) nitrous oxide; and
                    (F) sulfur hexafluoride.
            (2) Baseline.--The term ``baseline'' means--
                    (A) the greenhouse gas emissions, determined on an 
                entity-wide basis for the participant's most recent 
                previous 3-year annual average of greenhouse gas 
                emissions prior to the date of enactment of this Act; 
                or
                    (B) if data is unavailable for that 3-year period, 
                the greenhouse gas emissions as of September 30, 2002, 
                (or as close to that date as such emission levels can 
                reasonably be determined). In promulgating regulations 
                under this title, the panel shall take into account 
                greenhouse gas emission reductions or off-setting 
                actions taken by any entity before the date on which 
                the registry is established.
            (3) Certified registry.--The term ``certified registry'' 
        means a registry that has been certified by the panel as 
        meeting the standards promulgated under section 202(d) and (e).
            (4) Greenhouse gas emissions.--The term ``greenhouse gas 
        emissions'' means the quantity of greenhouse gases emitted by a 
        source during a period, measured in tons of greenhouse gases.
            (5) Greenhouse gas emission reduction.--The term 
        ``greenhouse gas emission reduction'' means a quantity equal to 
        the difference between--
                    (A) the greenhouse gas emissions of a source during 
                a period; and
                    (B) the greenhouse gas emissions of the source 
                during a baseline period of the same duration as 
                determined by registries and entities defined as owners 
                of emission sources.
            (6) Kyoto protocol.--The term ``Kyoto protocol'' means the 
        Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on 
        Climate Change (including the Montreal Protocol to the 
        Convention on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer).
            (7) Panel.--The term ``panel'' means the implementing panel 
        established by section 202(a).
            (8) Registrant.--The term ``registrant'' means a private 
        person that operates a database recording quantified and 
        verified greenhouse gas emissions and emissions reductions of 
        sources owned by other entities.
            (9) Source.--The term ``source'' means a source of 
        greenhouse gas emissions.

                     TITLE II--FEDERAL INITIATIVES

SEC. 201. UNITED STATES GLOBAL CHANGE RESEARCH PROGRAM.

    (a) Support Personnel.--Section 102(d) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 
2932(d)) is amended to read as follows:
    ``(d) Global Change Research Program Support Office.--
            ``(1) In general.--There is within the Office of Science 
        and Technology Policy a Global Change Research Program Support 
        Office.
            ``(2) Director.--The Office shall be headed by a Director 
        who reports to the Director of the Office of Science and 
        Technology Policy.
            ``(3) Functions.--The Director shall--
                    ``(A) report to the Director of the Office of 
                Science and Technology Policy;
                    ``(B) provide administrative and technical support 
                to the Chairperson of the Committee; and
                    ``(C) review the innovation process and identify 
                barriers to the transfer of climate change 
                technologies.''.
    (b) Functions.--Section 102(e) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 2932(e)) is 
amended--
            (1) by striking ``and'' at the end of paragraph (6);
            (2) by striking ``programs.'' in paragraph (7) and 
        inserting ``programs;'';
            (3) by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:
            ``(8) coordinate with the Secretary of State to reach 
        international agreements on climate change research; and
            ``(9) develop a plan for an experimental program for 
        climate change research in a controlled environment.''.
    (c) Strategic Plan.--Section 104 of that Act (15 U.S.C. 2934) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(g) Strategic Plan; Revised Implementation Plan.--The Chairman of 
the Council, through the Committee, shall develop a strategic plan for 
the United States Global Change Research Program for the 10-year period 
beginning in 2002 and submit the plan to the Congress within 180 days 
after the date of enactment of the Emission Reductions Incentive Act of 
2001. The Chairman, through the Committee, shall also submit a revised 
implementation plan under subsection (a).''.
    (d) Committee Guidance.--Section 105(a) of that Act (15 U.S.C. 
2935(a) is amended by adding at the end ``The Committee shall also 
provide, as part of the annual request for appropriations of the 
Science and Technology Policy Institute at the National Science 
Foundation, an annual request for appropriations to cover any other 
funding deemed necessary by the Committee to ensure a comprehensive 
research and development program is being administered by the 
government or to cover any research and development areas not being 
covered by any of the Federal agencies. For any research and 
development area not being covered by any of the agencies, the support 
office, through the Committee, shall determine the best means of 
conducting the research.''.

SEC. 202. FEDERAL INITIATIVES.

    (a) Scholarships.--The Director of the National Science Foundation 
shall establish a scholarship program for post-secondary students 
studying global climate change, including capability in observation, 
analysis, modeling, paleoclimatology, consequences, and adaptation.
    (b) Vehicle Plan.--The Assistant Secretary of Technology Policy at 
Department of Commerce shall develop a plan to accelerate the 
introduction of highly efficient, low-emission vehicles through 
government incentives and government purchasing power. The plan shall 
be coordinated through the Department's Partnership for a New 
Generation of Vehicles. The plan shall be submitted to the Senate 
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of 
Representatives Committee on Science within 6 months after enactment of 
this Act.
    (c) Partnership for a New Generation Vehicle (PNGV).--The Assistant 
Secretary for Technology shall work within the resources available to 
the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles to--
            (1) refine the charter and goals of the Partnership for a 
        New Generation of Vehicles to better reflect the current 
        societal needs and the ability of a cooperative, pre-
        competitive government-industry research and development 
        program to address these needs successfully; and
            (2) develop a detailed systems-modeling effort to quantify 
        the fuel economy penalty associated with using different 
        technologies to meet the emission requirements.
    (d) Technology Transfer.--
            (1) Study.--The Assistant Secretary of Technology Policy at 
        Department of Commerce shall conduct a study of technology 
        transfer barriers, best practices, and outcomes of technology 
        transfer activities at Federal laboratories related to the 
        licensing and commercialization of energy efficient 
        technologies. The study shall be submitted to the Senate 
        Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and House 
        Science Committee within 6 months after the date of enactment 
        of this Act. The Assistant Secretary shall work with the 
        existing interagency working group to address identified 
        barriers.
            (2) Agency report to include information on technology 
        transfer income and royalties.--Paragraph (2)(B) of section 
        11(f) of the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 
        (15 U.S.C. 3710(f)) is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' after the semicolon in 
                clause (vi);
                    (B) by redesignating clause (vii) as clause (ix); 
                and
                    (C) by inserting after clause (vi) the following:
                            ``(vii) the number of fully-executed 
                        licenses which received royalty income in the 
                        preceding fiscal year for climate-change or 
                        energy-efficient technology;
                            ``(viii) the total earned royalty income 
                        for climate-change or energy-efficient 
                        technology; and''.
            (3) Increased incentives for development of climate-change 
        or energy-efficient technology.--Section 14(a) of the 
        Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 
        3710c(a))is amended--
                    (A) by striking ``15 percent,'' in paragraph (1)(A) 
                and inserting ``15 percent (25 percent for climate 
                change-related technologies),''; and
                    (B) by inserting after ``$150,000'' each place it 
                appears in paragraph (3) ``($250,000 for climate 
                change-related technologies)''.
    (e) Report on United States Impact of Kyoto Protocol.--Within 6 
months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 
Commerce shall submit a report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, 
Science, and Transportation and the House Committee on Science on the 
effects that the Kyoto Protocol will have on--
            (1) United States industry and its ability to compete 
        globally;
            (2) international cooperation on scientific research and 
        development; and
            (3) United States participation in international 
        environmental climate change mitigation efforts and technology 
        deployment.

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