[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 453 Introduced in House (IH)]








109th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 453

  Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the need for the United 
States to address global climate change through the negotiation of fair 
                and effective international commitments.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 25, 2006

   Mr. Carnahan (for himself and Mr. Leach) submitted the following 
     concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
                        International Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the need for the United 
States to address global climate change through the negotiation of fair 
                and effective international commitments.

Whereas there is a scientific consensus, as established by the Intergovernmental 
        Panel on Climate Change and confirmed by the National Academy of 
        Sciences, that the continued buildup of anthropogenic greenhouse gases 
        in the atmosphere threatens the stability of the global climate;
Whereas there are significant long-term risks to the economy and the environment 
        of the United States from the temperature increases and climatic 
        disruptions that are projected to result from increased greenhouse gas 
        concentrations;
Whereas the potential impacts of global climate change, including long-term 
        drought, famine, mass migration, and abrupt climatic shifts, may lead to 
        international tensions and instability in regions affected and thereby 
        have implications for the national security interests of the United 
        States;
Whereas the United States, as the largest economy in the world, is also the 
        largest greenhouse gas emitter;
Whereas the greenhouse gas emissions of the United States are currently 
        projected to continue to rise;
Whereas the greenhouse gas emissions of developing countries are rising more 
        rapidly than the emissions of the United States and will soon surpass 
        the greenhouse gas emissions of the United States and other developed 
        countries;
Whereas reducing greenhouse gas emissions to the levels necessary to avoid 
        serious climatic disruption requires the introduction of new energy 
        technologies and other climate-friendly technologies, the use of which 
        results in low or no emissions of greenhouse gases or in the capture and 
        storage of greenhouse gases;
Whereas the development and sale of climate-friendly technologies in the United 
        States and internationally presents economic opportunities for workers 
        and businesses in the United States;
Whereas climate-friendly technologies can improve air quality by reducing 
        harmful pollutants from stationary and mobile sources, and can enhance 
        energy security by reducing reliance on imported oil, diversifying 
        energy sources, and reducing the vulnerability of energy delivery 
        infrastructure;
Whereas other industrialized countries are undertaking measures to reduce 
        greenhouse gas emissions, which provide the industries in those 
        countries with a competitive advantage in the growing global market for 
        climate-friendly technologies;
Whereas efforts to limit emissions growth in developing countries in a manner 
        that is consistent with the development needs of those countries could 
        establish significant markets for climate-friendly technologies and 
        contribute to international efforts to address climate change;
Whereas the United States Climate Change Science Program launched by President 
        George W. Bush concluded in April 2006 that there is no longer a 
        discrepancy between the rates of global average temperature increase 
        observed at the Earth's surface and in the atmosphere, thereby 
        strengthening the scientific evidence that human activity contributes 
        significantly to global temperature increases;
Whereas President Bush, in his State of the Union Address in January 2006, 
        called on the United States to reduce its ``addiction'' to oil and focus 
        its attention on developing cleaner, renewable, and sustainable energy 
        sources;
Whereas President Bush has launched the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean 
        Development and Climate to cooperatively develop new and cleaner energy 
        technologies and promote their use in fast developing nations like India 
        and China;
Whereas the national security of the United States will increasingly depend on 
        the deployment of diplomatic, military, scientific, and economic 
        resources toward solving the problem of the over-reliance of the United 
        States and the world on high-carbon energy;
Whereas, at the December 2005 United Nations Climate Change Conference in 
        Montreal, Canada, parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on 
        Climate Change, with the concurrence of the United States, initiated a 
        new dialogue on long-term cooperative action to address climate change;
Whereas the United States is a party to the United Nations Framework Convention 
        on Climate Change, done at New York on May 9, 1992, and entered into 
        force in 1994 (hereinafter referred to as the ``Convention'');
Whereas the Convention sets a long-term objective of stabilizing greenhouse gas 
        concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous 
        anthropogenic interference with the climate system;
Whereas the Convention establishes that parties bear common but differentiated 
        responsibilities for efforts to achieve the objective of stabilizing 
        greenhouse gas concentrations;
Whereas an effective global effort to address climate change must provide for 
        commitments and action by all countries that are major emitters of 
        greenhouse gases, developed and developing countries alike, and the 
        widely varying circumstances among the developed and developing 
        countries may require that such commitments and action vary; and
Whereas the United States has the capability to lead the effort against global 
        climate change: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),  
That it is the sense of Congress that the United States should act to 
reduce the health, environmental, economic, and national security risks 
posed by global climate change and foster sustained economic growth 
through a new generation of technologies, by--
            (1) participating in negotiations under the United Nations 
        Framework Convention on Climate Change, done at New York on May 
        9, 1992, and entered into force in 1994, and leading efforts in 
        other international fora, with the objective of securing United 
        States participation in agreements that--
                    (A) advance and protect the economic and national 
                security interests of the United States;
                    (B) establish mitigation commitments by all 
                countries that are major emitters of greenhouse gases, 
                consistent with the principle of common but 
                differentiated responsibilities;
                    (C) establish flexible international mechanisms to 
                minimize the cost of efforts by participating 
                countries; and
                    (D) achieve a significant long-term reduction in 
                global greenhouse gas emissions; and
            (2) establishing a bipartisan observer group in the House 
        of Representatives and the Senate, the members of which shall 
        be designated by the chairman and ranking member of the 
        Committee on International Relations of the House of 
        Representatives and the chairman and ranking member of the 
        Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, to--
                    (A) monitor any international negotiations on 
                climate change; and
                    (B) ensure that the advice and consent function of 
                the Senate is exercised in a manner to facilitate 
                timely consideration of any applicable treaty submitted 
                to the Senate.
                                 <all>