[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 158 (Thursday, November 15, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Pages S11956-S11958]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. KERRY (for himself, Mr. Stevens, Mr. Hollings, Mr. Inouye, 
        and Mr. Akaka):
  S. 1716. A bill to speed national action to address global climate 
change, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Commerce, Science, 
and Transportation.
  Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, I rise before you today to introduce the 
Global Climate Change Act of 2001. I am pleased to have Senators 
Stevens, Hollings, Inouye, and Akaka join me as original cosponsors.
  We face a fundamental environmental challenge. Scientists have warned 
that pollution and deforestation are raising atmospheric concentrations 
of greenhouse gases, raising global temperatures and altering the 
world's climate system with adverse and potentially catastrophic 
implications for the global environment. And, while sea levels rise, 
species extinction, drought, disease migration and other potential 
impacts cannot be known with certainty, we know enough to understand 
that the threat of harm is real and that worst-case scenarios under 
current ``business-as-usual'' practices are disastrous.
  The best indicator that other nations believe action is desperately 
overdue is the conclusion of an agreement to implement the Kyoto 
Protocol last week in Marrakesh, Morocco. Incredibly, the Marrakesh 
Accords, under which rules for compliance and international greenhouse 
gas emissions trading were reached, were concluded without U.S. 
support.
  Although the Administration abandoned the Kyoto process in March, to 
our national detriment, it is critical that the United States map out a 
clear path to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the economy. In 
the Commerce Committee we have held several hearings to examine the 
science and the solutions to global warming. We have heard testimony 
about the potential for wind and other renewable energy to provide our 
nation the power it needs emissions free. We have heard from companies 
leading the push for hydrogen fuel cells to provide distributed 
generation and transportation energy with low emissions. And we've

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heard from automakers designing the technology for more fuel efficient 
cars. The Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over of the Corporate 
Average Fuel Economy, CAFE, program and will continue a series of 
hearings on the issue that was delayed by the attacks of September 11. 
The United States must assert itself as a leader in research, 
development and deployment of these and other technologies.
  The Global Climate Change Act of 2001 would help us move down a path 
of scientific understanding, research, policy innovation and 
technological innovation. The bill will complement other legislation 
under consideration in other Senate committees for reducing our 
greenhouse gas emissions, as well as legislation to improve CAFE in the 
Commerce Committee. The Global Climate Change Act of 2001 will also 
provide a solid technical basis upon which to build any future 
greenhouse emissions tracking, reduction, or trading programs.
  The bill contains provisions aimed at bringing the world-class 
science, technology, and planning expertise of the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, the National Institute of Standards 
and Technology, NIST, and other Department of Commerce programs to bear 
on this problem, whether it is in climate observation, measurement and 
verification, information management, modeling and monitoring, 
technology development and transfer, or hazards planning and 
prevention.
  First, the bill would endorse the elevation of climate change issues 
in the Administration, identifying the Office of Science and Technology 
Policy, OSTP, as the coordinating entity in the White House. An 
interagency task force on global climate change action chaired by the 
Secretary of Commerce would be responsible for developing a multi-
faceted climate change action strategy, including development of 
mitigation approaches.
  Second, it would create an emissions reporting system to ensure 
accurate measurement, reporting, and verifica-tion of greenhouse gas 
emissions, which is essential to any efforts to reduce our emissions. 
The bill utilizes the technical capabilities of the NIST and NOAA to 
establish uniform and credible new measurement methods and 
technologies. It establishes a mandatory reporting system for 
greenhouse gas emissions for entities operating in the U.S. with 
significant emissions. The system will maximize completeness, accuracy 
and transparency and minimize costs for covered entities. It will be 
designed to ensure interoperability of any U.S., state or international 
system of reporting and trading greenhouse gas emissions. It would also 
require Commerce to issue annual reports showing greenhouse gas 
emissions and trends, including areas where reductions have occurred.
  Third, the bill would ensure that we in Congress get the best 
independent scientific and technical expertise in our climate change 
oversight role. The bill would create a Science and Technology 
Assessment Service that would provide ongoing science and technology 
advice to Congress. Since the Office of Technology Assessment, OTA, was 
eliminated in 1995, experts agree that Congress has suffered from lack 
of ongoing, credible advice. While some objected to the OTA structure, 
all agree that expert technical advice for Congress is essential to 
ensuring we hold up our end in efforts to make progress on this 
important issue. Congressional requests for advice are overburdening 
the National Academy of Sciences and threatening to compromise its 
independent stature. The bill would economize on resources and 
personnel by utilizing the administrative services of the Library of 
Congress and the expertise of the National Research Council, and 
provide an ongoing separate service to Congress that will not threaten 
compromise NAS's independent role.

  Fourth, the bill revises the Global Change Research Act of 1990 and 
the National Climate Program Act, so that interagency and Commerce 
Department programs focus on improving detection, modeling and regional 
impact assessments and are better managed to provide useful information 
to government decisionmakers and managers. In addition, the legislative 
changes would direct improvements in atmospheric monitoring and 
establish a new integrated coastal and ocean observing system to ensure 
we understand and predict the role of oceans in climate. Finally, it 
would create an integrated program office for the USGCRP within the 
Office of Science and Technology Policy to ensure budget coordination, 
using models established under the multiagency National Oceanographic 
Partnership Program and the NPOESS, polar satellite, convergence 
process.
  Fifth, the bill addresses a critical component of reducing greenhouse 
gas emissions: technology innovation. The bill is aimed at increasing 
the Department of Commerce's technology innovation role in reducing 
greenhouse gas emissions. Specifically, it would utilize the Advanced 
Technology Program, ATP, to promote and commercialize energy efficient 
technologies and the Manufacturing Extension Program for small 
manufacturers. This section would also direct NIST to develop methods 
and technologies, including process improvements, that can be used in a 
variety of sectors to reduce production of greenhouse gases.
  Finally, we must admit that even if we stopped all greenhouse gas 
emissions tomorrow, the effects of climate change and variability will 
not end. It is in our interest to undertake assessments and actions now 
that will help us address safety and infrastructure issues that will 
likely accompany climate variability and change in the future. There is 
currently no way for State governments or coastal communities to plan 
for change on a 20-50 year time horizon. The bill would require NOAA to 
evaluate vulnerability of regions of the United States, particularly 
coastal regions, to effects of climate change, including drought and 
sea level rise, and develop a strategy for helping states deal with the 
issues. The bill also directs NOAA to work with NASS to develop remote 
sensing technologies that will help coastal managers identify hazards 
and make intelligent planning decisions.
  This legislation neatly rolls into one package key components of any 
national plan to address climate change: coordinated research, 
monitoring, reporting and verification, mitigation technology, impact 
assessment, and adaptation planning. This package is but one of many I 
hope to see my colleagues in Congress develop to help the United States 
reduce the threat of global climate change now. The Climate Change 
meetings in Marrakesh last week show that other nations are ready to 
act. We can, and must, do the same, even without leadership from this 
Administration.
  Mr. HOLLINGS. Mr. President, I am pleased to join Senator Kerry as a 
cosponsor of the Global Climate Change Act of 2001. The Senate Commerce 
Committee has worked hard to ensure that the Federal Government has the 
best research and information possible about global warming, as well as 
other types of climate changes. Our investments are bearing fruit and 
we are identifying ways to focus our research to help us make decisions 
now and in the decades ahead.
  During the 1980s, a number of us on the Committee became increasingly 
concerned about the potential threat of global warming and loss of the 
ozone layer. In 1989, I sponsored the National Global Change Research 
Act, which attracted support from many members still serving on the 
Commerce Committee. In 1990, after numerous hearings and roundtable 
discussions, Congress enacted the legislation, thereby creating the 
U.S. Global Climate Research Program.
  When we passed the Global Change Research Act, we knew it was the 
first step in investigating a very complex problem. We placed a lot of 
responsibility in NOAA, the scientific agency best suited to monitor 
and predict ocean and atmospheric processes. We need to renew this 
ocean research commitment to ensure we better understand the oceans, 
the engines of climate. The so-called ``wild card'' of the climate 
system, the oceans are capable of dramatic climate surprises we should 
strive to comprehend.
  I am glad to report that the research accomplished under the National 
Global Change Research Act has led to increased understanding of global 
climate change, as well as regional climate phenomena like El Nino/
Southern Oscillation, ENSO. We now have a better understanding of how 
the Earth's oceans, atmosphere, and land surface

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function together as a dynamic system, but we cannot stop there. Only 
recently, NOAA measured an important increase in temperature in all the 
world's oceans over a 40 year period. We need to understand the causes 
and how that will affect us. All this research ensures that federal and 
state decision-makers get better information and tools to cope with 
such climate related problems as food supply, energy allocation, and 
water resources.
  While we have learned an astonishing amount about climate and other 
earth/ocean interactions in only a decade, we have other critical 
questions that require further research to answer. Many of these 
questions are relevant not only to improving our scientific 
understanding, but also to contributing to our future social and 
economic well-being. For example, climate anomalies during the past two 
years, most directly related to the 1997-1998 El Nino event, have 
accounted for over $30 billion in impacts worldwide. When impacts from 
the recent floods in China are included, these direct losses could rise 
to $60 billion. This most recent El Nino claimed 21,000 lives, 
displaced 4.5 million people, and affected 82 million acres of land 
through severe flood, drought, and fire. When we better understand the 
global climate system, and its relationship to regional climate events 
like El Nino, we may be able to find ways, such as improved forecasting 
and early warning--to avoid some of the severe impacts.
  Understanding these and other impacts of climate change at the 
regional level is a critical step in preparing for these changes. We 
must maintain our commitment to research and further refine our 
existing modeling capabilities. The second critical need is planning 
for sea level rise and other inevitable results of climate change. It 
is costly in human lives and real dollars to manage our response in a 
crisis mode. Just as we needed to modernize our National Weather 
Service, we need to strengthen and modernize our National Climate 
Service, which can help the U.S. predict and plan for climate events. 
This includes establishing a national ocean and coastal observing 
system using the expertise and resources of a variety of federal 
agencies. In addition, this bill will help our coastal communities at 
risk from future climate-related hazards create plans that will help us 
adapt to such changes without catastrophic disruptions experienced in 
Alaska by my friend Senator Stevens.
  Not only do we need continued support for technological research and 
development, we must also consider the method in which this information 
is delivered to Congress. Before it was abolished in 1995, the Office 
of Technology Assessment, OTA, was responsible for providing Congress 
with balanced, independent scientific and technological advice. Since 
1995, the function of the National Academy complex, particularly the 
National Research Council, NRC, has been forced to expand its role in 
providing research and information to Congress. However, the NRC 
studies have their limitations. The reports, often slow and expensive, 
provide limited opportunity for formal input and review by affected 
parties. Furthermore, unlike OTA, they often make specific 
recommendations rather than laying out a range of alternative policy 
options.
  The problems addressed by Congress are becoming increasingly complex. 
Science and technology play a crucial role in addressing problems in 
energy, defense, aviation and the environment. Without a permanent, 
non-partisan source of independent scientific and technical policy 
analysis, Congress become lost in the wealth of information provided by 
scientists, think tanks, and interest groups. The Global Climate Change 
Act of 2001 addresses this problem by creating a service that would 
provide ongoing science and technology advice to Congress, but avoid 
the criticisms leveled at OTA. It would economize on resources and 
personnel by utilizing the administrative services of the Library of 
Congress and the expertise of the National Research Ccouncil. 
Congressional requests for advice are overburdening NRC and threatening 
to compromise its independent stature as it is increasingly asked to 
fill the role of OTA. This provision would defer to NRC as the source 
of outside, unbiased advice and experts, but also provide an ongoing 
separate service to Congress. This service would also be asked to 
review the report of the Climate Change Action Task Force.
  The Global Climate Change Act of 2001 demonstrates that the Committee 
on Commerce, Science and Transportation is serious about climate 
change, and I commend this Act to you.

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