[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 88 (Monday, May 22, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S3072]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 17--EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT 
THE UNITED STATES SHOULD WITHDRAW FROM THE PARIS AGREEMENT, ADOPTED IN 
                             DECEMBER 2015

  Mr. PAUL (for himself, Mr. Inhofe, Mr. Wicker, Mr. Risch, Mr. Enzi, 
Mr. Hatch, and Mr. Cruz) submitted the following concurrent resolution; 
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations:

                            S. Con. Res. 17

       Whereas the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate 
     Change (in this resolution referred to as the 
     ``Convention''), adopted in May 1992, entered into force in 
     1994 and is being implemented;
       Whereas the Paris Agreement, adopted in December 2015, is 
     another attempt by the Convention's ``Conference of Parties'' 
     to globally address climate change, similar to the Kyoto 
     Protocol, the Durban Platform, the Copenhagen Accord, and the 
     Cancun Agreements, all of which have failed to meaningfully 
     slow global carbon emissions;
       Whereas the Paris Agreement fails to consider adequately 
     economies that would be negatively impacted by measures to 
     respond to climate change, including those found within the 
     United States, as addressed in Article 4, Paragraph 10 of the 
     Convention;
       Whereas the Paris Agreement has not been submitted to the 
     United States Senate for review and ratification;
       Whereas the Paris Agreement could result in serious harm to 
     the United States economy, including significant job loss, 
     increased energy and consumer costs, risks to grid 
     reliability, or any combination thereof;
       Whereas, by using the free market, the United States has 
     significantly reduced carbon dioxide emissions to the lowest 
     they have been in 15 years, and the United States energy-
     related carbon dioxide emissions are projected to remain 
     below 2005 levels through 2040, while such emissions in the 
     developing world are projected to grow to 120 percent above 
     2005 levels by 2040;
       Whereas the People's Republic of China is the world's 
     largest emitter of carbon dioxide and, in accordance with the 
     2014 agreement with the United States entered into during the 
     Barack Obama presidency, intends to increase its coal 
     consumption until 2030;
       Whereas the Republic of India announced that, 
     notwithstanding the Paris Agreement, it will continue its 
     reliance on coal and plans to double the nation's coal output 
     within the next 5 years;
       Whereas, according to an October 2015 MIT Technology Review 
     report, increased coal consumption in the Republic of India 
     will negate any global efforts to limit carbon dioxide, 
     regardless of anything that the United States does to 
     decrease its emissions; and
       Whereas the emissions reduction goals of the Paris 
     Agreement cannot be met without the global development and 
     deployment of new technologies that are not currently in 
     commercial existence or economically viable: Now, therefore, 
     be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that the United 
     States should withdraw from the Paris Agreement, adopted in 
     December 2015.

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