[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 30 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







110th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 30

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 16, 2007

     Mr. Biden (for himself and Mr. Lugar) submitted the following 
  resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Senate 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, 
        therefore, have implications for the national security interests of the 
        United States;
Whereas the United States has the largest economy in the world and is also the 
        largest emitter of greenhouse gases;
Whereas the greenhouse gas emissions of the United States are 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 present 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 provides 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, strengthening the 
        scientific evidence that human activity contributes significantly to 
        global temperature increases;
Whereas President Bush, in the State of the Union Address given 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 overreliance of the United 
        States and the world on high-carbon energy;
Whereas the United States is a party to the United Nations Framework Convention 
        on Climate Change, done at New York May 9, 1992, and entered into force 
        in 1994 (hereinafter referred to as the ``Convention'');
Whereas, at the December 2005 United Nations Climate Change Conference in 
        Montreal, Canada, parties to the Convention, with the concurrence of the 
        United States, initiated a new dialogue on long-term cooperative action 
        to address climate change;
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 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 to counter 
        global climate change: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate 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 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 binding 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 Senate observer group, the 
        members of which shall be designated by 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.
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