[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 9 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 9

  Expressing the sense of Congress that there is a climate emergency 
   which demands a massive-scale mobilization to halt, reverse, and 
                  address its consequences and causes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 27, 2023

  Mr. Sanders (for himself, Ms. Warren, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Markey, Mr. 
 Booker, and Mr. Welch) submitted the following concurrent resolution; 
  which was referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the sense of Congress that there is a climate emergency 
   which demands a massive-scale mobilization to halt, reverse, and 
                  address its consequences and causes.

Whereas the 8 warmest years on record have now occurred since 2014, with 2016 as 
        the hottest year recorded, and each of the past 4 decades have been 
        warmer than the one preceding;
Whereas global atmospheric concentrations of the primary global warming 
        pollutant, carbon dioxide--

    (1) have increased, primarily due to human activities, including the 
burning of fossil fuels and deforestation, by 40 percent since 
preindustrial times, from 280 parts per million to 415 parts per million;

    (2) are rising at a rate of 2 to 3 parts per million annually; and

    (3) must be reduced to not more than 350 parts per million, and likely 
lower, ``if humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which 
civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted'', according 
to former National Aeronautics and Space Administration climatologist Dr. 
James Hansen;

Whereas global atmospheric concentrations of other global warming pollutants, 
        including methane, nitrous oxide, and hydrofluorocarbons, have also 
        increased substantially since preindustrial times, primarily due to 
        human activities, including the burning of fossil fuels;
Whereas climate science and observations of climate change impacts, including 
        ocean warming, ocean acidification, floods, droughts, wildfires, and 
        extreme weather, demonstrate that a global rise in concentrations of 
        global warming pollutants is already having dangerous impacts on human 
        populations and the environment;
Whereas, with the current 1.1 degrees Celsius of warming above preindustrial 
        levels, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration finds that 
        climate change is already increasing the frequency of extreme weather 
        and other climate-related disasters, including drought, wildfire, and 
        storms that include precipitation;
Whereas the overall costs of these disasters for the United States in 2022 was 
        roughly $165,000,000,000, the third highest recorded total costs, 
        including 18 separate weather and climate disasters which cost at least 
        $1,000,000,000 each and caused at least 474 direct or indirect known 
        fatalities;
Whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finds that there are 
        wide-ranging, acute, and fatal public health consequences from climate 
        change that impact communities across the United States;
Whereas, according to the National Climate and Health Assessment of the United 
        States Global Change Research Program, climate change is a significant 
        threat to the health of the people of the United States, leading to 
        increased--

    (1) temperature-related deaths and illnesses;

    (2) air quality impacts;

    (3) extreme weather events;

    (4) numbers of vector-borne diseases;

    (5) waterborne illnesses;

    (6) food safety, nutrition, and distribution complications; and

    (7) mental health and well-being concerns;

Whereas environmental and public health threats from climate change and climate 
        disasters are not randomly distributed and disproportionately affect 
        low-income communities and communities of color;
Whereas the consequences of climate change are felt most severely by frontline 
        communities and endanger populations made especially vulnerable by 
        existing exposure to extreme weather events, such as children, the 
        elderly, and individuals with pre-existing disabilities and health 
        conditions;
Whereas individuals and families on the frontlines of climate change across the 
        United States, including territories, living with income inequality and 
        poverty, institutional racism, inequity on the basis of gender and 
        sexual orientation, poor infrastructure, and lack of access to health 
        care, housing, clean water, and food security are often in close 
        proximity to environmental stressors or sources of pollution, 
        particularly communities of color, indigenous communities, and low-
        income communities, which--

    (1) are often the first exposed to the impacts of climate change;

    (2) experience outsized risk because of the close proximity of the 
community to environmental hazards and stressors, in addition to 
collocation with waste and other sources of pollution; and

    (3) have the fewest resources to mitigate those impacts or to relocate, 
which will exacerbate preexisting challenges;

Whereas climate change holds grave and immediate consequences not just for the 
        population of the United States, including territories, but for 
        communities across the world, particularly those communities in the 
        Global South on the frontlines of the climate crisis that are at risk of 
        forced displacement;
Whereas the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and the intelligence 
        community have identified climate change as a threat to national 
        security, and the Department of Homeland Security views climate change 
        as a top national security risk;
Whereas the climatic changes resulting from global warming above 1.5 degrees 
        Celsius above preindustrial levels, including changes resulting from 
        global warming of more than 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial 
        levels, are projected to result in irreversible, catastrophic changes to 
        public health, livelihoods, quality of life, food security, water 
        supplies, human security, and economic growth;
Whereas, even with global warming up to 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial 
        levels, the planet is projected to experience--

    (1) a significant rise in sea levels;

    (2) extraordinary loss of biodiversity; and

    (3) intensifying droughts, floods, wildfires, and other extreme weather 
events;

Whereas, according to climate scientists, addressing the climate emergency will 
        require a just phase-out of the use of oil, gas, and coal in order to 
        keep the carbon that is the primary constituent of fossil fuels in the 
        ground and out of the atmosphere;
Whereas, in 2022, some of the largest oil and gas companies in the world 
        reported record annual profits and rewarded shareholders with buybacks 
        while knowingly exacerbating the ongoing climate crisis;
Whereas the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has 
        determined that limiting warming through emissions reduction and carbon 
        sequestration will require rapid and immediate acceleration and 
        proliferation of ``far-reaching, multilevel, and cross-sectoral climate 
        mitigation'' and ``transitions in energy, land, urban and rural 
        infrastructure (including transport and buildings), and industrial 
        systems'';
Whereas, in August 2022, the United States took its single most aggressive 
        action to tackle the climate crisis and transition to create renewable 
        energy solutions when Public Law 117-169 (commonly known as the 
        Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 and referred to in this preamble as the 
        ``IRA'') was signed into law by President Biden;
Whereas the IRA includes $369,000,000,000 for energy security and climate 
        change, including investments in disadvantaged communities, projects 
        that repurpose retired fossil fuel infrastructure and employ displaced 
        workers, and setting the United States on course for a renewable energy 
        transition as soon as possible;
Whereas the IRA creates new environmental justice block grants, establishes 
        renewable energy financing, provides funding for Tribal communities to 
        boost climate resilience, makes it more affordable to purchase energy 
        efficient and electric appliances, incentivizes domestic manufacturing 
        of renewable energy technologies, and will boost the renewable energy 
        economy;
Whereas the passage of the IRA is projected to reduce global warming emissions 
        in the United States between 31 percent to 44 percent below 2005 levels 
        by 2030;
Whereas the United Nations Environment Programme still found in October 2022 
        that the existing commitments made in the Nationally Determined 
        Contributions since the 2015 Paris Climate Conference are insufficient 
        to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius;
Whereas urgent governmental action is still required to address the severe 
        environmental, economic, social, public health, and national security 
        threats posed by the climate crisis;
Whereas the massive scope and scale of action necessary to stabilize the climate 
        will continue to require unprecedented levels of public awareness, 
        engagement, and deliberation to develop and implement effective, just, 
        and equitable policies to address the climate crisis;
Whereas the United States has a proud history of collaborative, constructive, 
        massive-scale Federal mobilizations of resources and labor in order to 
        solve great challenges, such as the Interstate Highway System, the 
        Apollo 11 moon landing, Reconstruction, the New Deal, and World War II;
Whereas the Constitution of the United States protects the fundamental rights to 
        life, liberty, property, and equal protection of the laws, and a climate 
        system capable of sustaining human life is fundamental to a free and 
        ordered society and the preservation of those fundamental rights;
Whereas 18 national governments across the world and the European Union have 
        declared a climate emergency, as well as the State of Hawaii and more 
        than 190 cities, counties, and local jurisdictions in the United States;
Whereas the United States maintains existing resources and international 
        commitments for bilateral and multilateral assistance to support 
        economically emerging countries, including the Green Climate Fund, the 
        Clean Technology Fund, the Adaptation Fund, the Least Developed 
        Countries Fund, and the International Sustainable Landscapes programs, 
        which should be supported with robust funding levels;
Whereas President Biden also maintains existing Executive authority under the 
        National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the 
        Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), the Outer Continental Shelf 
        Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.), the Naval Petroleum Reserves 
        Production Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 6501 et seq.), the Federal Water 
        Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), the various Acts 
        concerning rivers and harbors, the Natural Gas Act (15 U.S.C. 717 et 
        seq.), and the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.) that can be used 
        to address the ongoing climate crisis;
Whereas, under these existing authorities, the President can phase down the rate 
        of fossil fuel production on Federal lands and in Federal waters, limit 
        gas exports, halt approval of new fossil fuel infrastructure projects, 
        establish national limits for greenhouse gases, and decarbonize 
        transportation;
Whereas a national climate emergency declaration would further unlock the broad 
        powers of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), the 
        Defense Production Act of 1950 (50 U.S.C. 4501 et seq.), and the Robert 
        T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 
        et seq.);
Whereas such a declaration can be used to further reduce greenhouse gas 
        emissions, address environmental injustice, invest in large scale 
        mitigation and resiliency projects, create additional jobs with family-
        sustaining wages and benefits, and ensure a just transition to a 
        renewable energy economy;
Whereas such a declaration will allow the United States to further mobilize 
        domestic industry, ramp up domestic manufacturing of renewable energy 
        technologies, and deploy resilient energy infrastructure;
Whereas such a declaration can also reinstate the ban on crude oil exports, 
        suspend offshore fossil fuel leases, curb fossil fuel imports, and stop 
        the hundreds of billions of dollars in investments in fossil fuel 
        projects abroad while taking additional steps toward strengthening our 
        emergency preparedness for thousands of high-risk communities;
Whereas such a declaration necessitates the adoption of policies and processes 
        rooted in principles of racial equity, self-determination, and 
        democracy, as well as the fundamental human rights of all people to 
        clean air and water, healthy food, and adequate land, education, and 
        shelter, as promulgated in the 1991 Principles of Environmental Justice;
Whereas frontline communities, Tribal governments and communities, people of 
        color, and labor unions must be equitably and actively engaged in a 
        national climate emergency declaration, in such a way that aligns with 
        the 1996 Jemez Principles of Democratic Organizing, and prioritized 
        through local climate mitigation and adaptation planning, policy, and 
        program delivery so that workers in the United States, and the 
        communities of those workers, are guaranteed a strong, viable economic 
        future; and
Whereas the United States has an obligation, as a primary driver of accelerated 
        climate change, to mobilize at emergency speed to ensure the safest 
        climate and environment possible, not just for communities of the United 
        States but for communities across the world, particularly those on the 
        frontlines of the climate crisis which have least contributed to the 
        crisis, and to account for global and community impacts of any actions 
        the United States takes in response to the climate crisis: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) climate change caused by human activities, which 
        increase emissions of greenhouse gases, constitutes a climate 
        emergency that--
                    (A) severely and urgently impacts the economic and 
                social well-being, health, safety, and national 
                security of the United States; and
                    (B) demands that the President wield both existing 
                authorities and emergency powers to ensure a national, 
                social, industrial, and economic mobilization of the 
                resources and labor of the United States at a massive 
                scale to mitigate and prepare for the consequences of 
                the climate emergency for current and future 
                generations; and
            (2) nothing in this concurrent resolution constitutes a 
        declaration of a national emergency for the purposes of any Act 
        of Congress authorizing the exercise, during the period of a 
        national emergency or other type of declared emergency, of any 
        special or extraordinary power.
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