[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1760 Introduced in House (IH)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1760

To mitigate the effects of black carbon emissions in the United States 
                       and throughout the world.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 26, 2009

   Mr. Inslee (for himself, Mr. Welch, and Mr. Honda) introduced the 
   following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
  Commerce, and in addition to the Committees on Foreign Affairs and 
 Science and Technology, for a period to be subsequently determined by 
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To mitigate the effects of black carbon emissions in the United States 
                       and throughout the world.

    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 ``Black Carbon Emissions Reduction Act 
of 2009''.

SEC. 2. BLACK CARBON.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Black carbon is a particulate pollutant that 
        contributes significantly to warming of the Earth's climate 
        system by absorbing radiation, converting it into heat, and 
        releasing heat energy into the atmosphere. The atmospheric 
        residence of black carbon is usually less than 2 weeks, making 
        this pollutant an important candidate for policy action to 
        immediately mitigate global warming, including the threat of 
        abrupt climate change.
            (2) Black carbon has a particularly detrimental impact on 
        snow and ice-covered surfaces, such as the Arctic and the 
        Tibetan Plateau, by reducing surface reflectivity and 
        accelerating melting.
            (3) Black carbon is a component of particulate matter 
        regulated under the Clean Air Act, however it is not explicitly 
        regulated as a global warming agent under United States law or 
        by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change or 
        other international instruments.
            (4) Through existing clean air programs, the United States 
        has substantially reduced black carbon emissions, but more can 
        be done.
            (5) Internationally, governments should help spur 
        technological innovation and energy technology deployment in 
        countries where major black carbon emissions still occur 
        through industrial activities, vehicle emissions, agriculture 
        and forestry practices, and residential cooking and heating.
            (6) Human exposure to black carbon is a serious threat to 
        public health in both developed and developing countries. 
        Actions to reduce exposure to black carbon will produce 
        immediate and significant public health benefits.
            (7) Taking immediate cost-effective and technologically 
        feasible action to significantly reduce black carbon emissions 
        will help protect the Arctic and other areas that are 
        imminently threatened by warming.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to immediately take action to reduce black carbon 
        emissions;
            (2) to identify cost-effective ways to achieve additional 
        reductions of domestic and international black carbon 
        emissions;
            (3) to achieve the public health and environmental benefits 
        of reduced black carbon emissions, including contributing to a 
        reduction in the rate of global warming; and
            (4) to take action to protect areas particularly affected 
        by black carbon emissions, such as the Arctic.
    (c) Definitions.--As used in this Act:
            (1) The term ``Administrator'' means the Administrator of 
        the Environmental Protection Agency.
            (2) The term ``black carbon'' means the light-absorbing 
        component of carbonaceous aerosols.
    (d) Black Carbon Abatement Report.--Not later than one year after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall, in 
consultation with other appropriate Federal agencies, submit to 
Congress a report regarding black carbon emissions. The report shall 
include the following:
            (1) A summary of the current research that identifies--
                    (A) an inventory of the major sources of black 
                carbon emissions in the United States and throughout 
                the world, including--
                            (i) an estimate of the quantity of current 
                        and projected future emissions; and
                            (ii) the net climate forcing of the 
                        emissions from such sources, including 
                        consideration of co-emissions of other 
                        pollutants;
                    (B) effective and cost-effective control 
                technologies, operations, and strategies for additional 
                domestic and international black carbon emissions 
                reductions, such as diesel retrofit technologies on 
                existing on-road and off-road engines and programs to 
                address residential cookstoves, forest burning, and 
                other agriculture-based burning;
                    (C) potential metrics quantifying the climatic 
                effects of black carbon emissions, including its 
                radiative forcing and warming effects, that may be used 
                to compare the climate benefits of different mitigation 
                strategies, including an assessment of the uncertainty 
                in such metrics; and
                    (D) the public health and environmental benefits 
                associated with additional controls for black carbon 
                emissions.
            (2) Recommendations regarding--
                    (A) development of additional emissions monitoring 
                techniques and capabilities, modeling, and other black 
                carbon-related areas of study;
                    (B) areas of focus for additional study of 
                technologies, operations, and strategies with the 
                greatest potential to reduce emissions of black carbon; 
                and
                    (C) actions, in addition to those identified by the 
                Administrator pursuant to subsections (e) and (f), the 
                Federal Government may take to encourage or require 
                reductions in black carbon emissions.
    (e) Domestic Black Carbon Mitigation.--Not later than one year 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator, taking into 
consideration the public health and environmental impacts of black 
carbon emissions, including the effects on global warming, the Arctic, 
and other snow and ice-covered surfaces, shall propose regulations 
under the existing authorities of the Clean Air Act to reduce emissions 
of black carbon or propose a finding that existing regulations 
promulgated pursuant to such Act adequately regulate black carbon 
emissions. Not later than two years after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Administrator shall promulgate final regulations under the 
existing authorities of the Clean Air Act or finalize the proposed 
finding.
    (f) International Black Carbon Mitigation.--
            (1) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of 
        enactment of this section, the Administrator, in coordination 
        with the Secretary of State and other appropriate Federal 
        agencies, shall transmit a report to Congress on the amount, 
        type, and direction of all present United States financial, 
        technical, and related assistance to foreign countries to 
        reduce, mitigate, and otherwise abate black carbon emissions.
            (2) Other opportunities.--The report required under 
        paragraph (1) shall also identify opportunities and 
        recommendations, including action under existing authorities, 
        to achieve significant black carbon emission reductions in 
        foreign countries through technical assistance or other 
        approaches to--
                    (A) promote sustainable solutions to bring clean, 
                efficient, safe, and affordable stoves, fuels, or both 
                stoves and fuels to residents of developing countries 
                that are reliant on solid fuels such as wood, dung, 
                charcoal, coal, or crop residues for home cooking and 
                heating, so as to help reduce the public health, 
                environmental, and economic impacts of black carbon 
                emissions from these sources by--
                            (i) identifying key regions for large-scale 
                        demonstration efforts, and key partners in each 
                        such region; and
                            (ii) developing for each such region a 
                        large-scale implementation strategy with a goal 
                        of collectively reaching 20,000,000 homes over 
                        5 years with interventions that will--
                                    (I) increase stove efficiency by 
                                over 50 percent (or such other goal as 
                                determined by the Administrator);
                                    (II) reduce emissions of black 
                                carbon by over 60 percent (or such 
                                other goal as determined by the 
                                Administrator); and
                                    (III) reduce the incidence of 
                                severe pneumonia in children under 5 
                                years old by over 30 percent (or such 
                                other goal as determined by the 
                                Administrator);
                    (B) make technological improvements to diesel 
                engines and provide greater access to fuels that emit 
                less or no black carbon;
                    (C) reduce unnecessary agricultural or other 
                biomass burning where feasible alternatives exist;
                    (D) reduce unnecessary fossil fuel burning that 
                produces black carbon where feasible alternatives 
                exist;
                    (E) reduce other sources of black carbon emissions; 
                and
                    (F) improve capacity to achieve greater compliance 
                with existing laws to address black carbon emissions.
    (g) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this Act.
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