[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 70 (Thursday, April 22, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2180-S2181]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 8--RECOGNIZING THAT THE CLIMATE CRISIS IS 
  DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTING THE HEALTH, ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY, AND 
 FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF CHILDREN, EXPRESSING THE SENSE OF CONGRESS THAT 
   RENEWED LEADERSHIP BY THE UNITED STATES IS NEEDED TO ADDRESS THE 
   CLIMATE CRISIS, AND RECOGNIZING THE NEED OF THE UNITED STATES TO 
 DEVELOP A NATIONAL, COMPREHENSIVE, AND SCIENCE-BASED CLIMATE RECOVERY 
 PLAN TO PHASE OUT FOSSIL FUEL EMISSIONS, PROTECT AND ENHANCE NATURAL 
 SEQUESTRATION, AND PUT THE UNITED STATES ON A PATH TOWARD STABILIZING 
                           THE CLIMATE SYSTEM

  Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mr. Booker, Mr. Markey, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. 
Whitehouse, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Padilla, Ms. Warren, Mrs. Murray, and Mr. 
Sanders) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works:

                             S. Con. Res. 8

       Whereas a stable climate system at the founding of the 
     United States allowed human life and human civilization to 
     flourish;
       Whereas the United States was founded on the deeply rooted 
     principle of securing ``the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves 
     and our Posterity'';
       Whereas the Constitution of the United States protects the 
     fundamental rights to life, liberty, property, and equal 
     protection of the laws;
       Whereas a climate system capable of sustaining human life--
       (1) is fundamental to a free and ordered society; and
       (2) is preservative of fundamental rights, including the 
     rights to life, liberty, property, personal security, family 
     autonomy, bodily integrity, and the ability to learn, 
     practice, and transmit cultural and religious traditions;
       Whereas the Federal Government sets the energy policy of 
     the United States, which has resulted in a national energy 
     system in which approximately 80 percent of the energy in the 
     United States comes from fossil fuels;
       Whereas the national fossil fuel-based energy system has 
     led to carbon dioxide emissions from the United States 
     constituting more than \1/4\ of cumulative global carbon 
     dioxide emissions;
       Whereas the United States is the largest producer of oil 
     and gas in the world, due in substantial part to the Federal 
     Government--
       (1) opening up Federal public land and water for fossil 
     fuel extraction; and
       (2) actively supporting fossil fuel energy;
       Whereas there is an overwhelming scientific consensus 
     that--
       (1) human-caused climate change is occurring; and
       (2) the rate of global heating and ocean acidification as 
     of April 2021 is a result of the buildup of atmospheric 
     greenhouse gas emissions, primarily carbon dioxide emissions, 
     largely from the combustion of fossil fuels;
       Whereas atmospheric carbon dioxide levels of over 400 parts 
     per million as of April 2021 have caused a dangerous 
     planetary energy

[[Page S2181]]

     imbalance, equivalent to the quantity of energy of exploding 
     more than 400,000 atomic bombs of the kind dropped on 
     Hiroshima, Japan, per day, 365 days per year, across the 
     planet;
       Whereas the latest climate science and real-world 
     observations of that energy imbalance demonstrate that the 
     approximately 1 degree Celsius of warming that has already 
     occurred as a result of human-caused climate change is 
     already dangerous and negatively affecting all aspects of 
     society and the economy of the United States;
       Whereas the last time that atmospheric concentrations of 
     carbon dioxide were over 400 parts per million--
       (1) the seas were 70 to 90 feet higher;
       (2) Greenland had no ice; and
       (3) coral reefs suffered a major extinction;
       Whereas similar conditions will result if the United States 
     does not drastically reduce carbon dioxide emissions and 
     naturally sequester excess concentrations of atmospheric 
     carbon dioxide during the 21st century;
       Whereas climate change is a threat to national security, as 
     climate change contributes to and exacerbates global 
     instability and conflict;
       Whereas the generation of today's children was born into a 
     climate system made hazardous to their health and well-being 
     because of human-caused climate change;
       Whereas children are uniquely vulnerable to human-caused 
     climate change because of their developing bodies, higher 
     exposure to air, food, and water per unit of body weight, 
     unique behavior patterns, dependence on caregivers, and 
     longevity on the planet;
       Whereas human-caused climate change is a public health 
     emergency that is adversely impacting the physical and mental 
     health of children through--
       (1) extreme weather events;
       (2) rising temperatures and increased heat exposure;
       (3) decreased air quality;
       (4) altered infectious disease patterns;
       (5) food and water insecurity; and
       (6) other effects;
       Whereas the best scientific information available projects 
     a 15- to 30-foot rise in sea level by the year 2100 if 
     current trends continue, with ever greater rises and 
     acceleration in subsequent centuries, resulting in increased 
     erosion and the loss of land, causing the loss of 
     communities, homes, infrastructure, agriculture, and coastal 
     ecosystems for children affected, until such time as levels 
     of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are dramatically reduced 
     and steps are taken to cool the upper portion of the ocean;
       Whereas infant mortality increases 25 percent on extremely 
     hot days, with the first 7 days of life representing a period 
     of critical vulnerability;
       Whereas heat illness is a leading cause of death and 
     illness in high school athletes, with nearly 10,000 episodes 
     of heat illness occurring annually;
       Whereas 8.4 percent of children suffer from allergic 
     rhinitis, and the ragweed pollen season in North America has 
     grown 13 to 27 days longer since 1995 due to higher 
     temperatures and greater atmospheric carbon dioxide levels;
       Whereas children are especially susceptible to air 
     pollution given their developing lungs, higher ventilation 
     rate, and higher levels of physical activity;
       Whereas children exposed to smoke from wildfires, which 
     have increased in frequency and severity due to rising 
     temperatures and droughts, suffer substantial--
       (1) eye symptoms; and
       (2) upper and lower respiratory symptoms that lead to 
     increased rates of asthma-related hospitalizations and 
     emergency room visits;
       Whereas long-term exposure to fine particulate matter, 
     including from sources of air pollution and smoke from 
     wildfires, is associated with higher COVID-19 mortality 
     rates;
       Whereas extreme weather events can negatively impact the 
     mental health of children due to--
       (1) family loss or separation;
       (2) school interruption;
       (3) scarcities of food, water, and shelter; and
       (4) public service outages;
       Whereas, without immediate steps to address human-caused 
     climate change, the health effects of climate change on 
     children will--
       (1) increase in severity and in terms of the number of 
     children impacted; and
       (2) cost the United States billions of dollars per year by 
     the end of the 21st century;
       Whereas children will largely shoulder the costs of human-
     caused climate change;
       Whereas further increases in global temperature will saddle 
     children with an enormous, perhaps incalculable, cost burden, 
     undermining their economic security and the economic security 
     of the United States;
       Whereas children are deserving of special consideration and 
     protection with respect to human-caused climate change;
       Whereas children on the frontlines of human-caused climate 
     change across the United States and globally have risen up 
     and called upon government leaders around the world to take 
     concrete, science-based, and equitable action--
       (1) to address human-caused climate change; and
       (2) to ensure environmental and climate justice for their 
     generation and future generations, including children from 
     vulnerable communities that have borne the brunt of climate 
     change;
       Whereas children within environmental justice communities, 
     including communities of color, low-income communities, and 
     indigenous communities, that have contributed the least to 
     emissions--
       (1) have long suffered from systemic environmental racism 
     and social and economic injustices;
       (2) are disproportionately burdened by adverse health or 
     environmental effects; and
       (3) are subjected to disproportionate energy burdens;
       Whereas members and children from frontline and 
     environmental justice communities, who are more likely to 
     reside in areas with greater exposure to air pollution, are 
     disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic;
       Whereas global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations 
     must be reduced to less than 350 parts per million by the end 
     of the 21st century, with further reductions thereafter, to 
     restore the energy balance of the planet, stabilize the 
     climate system, and protect the ice sheets and oceans for 
     posterity;
       Whereas existing and future adverse public health and other 
     impacts and costs to children and the United States can be 
     significantly mitigated if the United States acts promptly to 
     reduce emissions from fossil fuels in the United States;
       Whereas numerous experts have concluded that there are 
     multiple technically and economically feasible pathways to 
     place all sectors of the economy of the United States on an 
     emissions-reduction path consistent with returning global 
     atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million by 2100;
       Whereas producing energy in the United States with non-
     carbon emitting sources will result in energy costs within 
     the range of recent experience, ultimately saving consumers 
     money and stabilizing the cost of energy, while increasing 
     the number of jobs in the energy sector; and
       Whereas multiple Federal departments and agencies can 
     exercise authority delegated by Congress to prevent and 
     respond to climate change, including--
       (1) the Department of Energy;
       (2) the Department of the Interior;
       (3) the Department of Agriculture;
       (4) the Environmental Protection Agency;
       (5) the Department of Commerce; and
       (6) the Department of State: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 
     concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that--
       (1) renewed leadership by the United States is needed 
     immediately to address the human-caused climate crisis that 
     is disproportionately affecting the health, economic 
     opportunity, and fundamental rights of the children of the 
     United States; and
       (2) there is an urgent human-caused climate crisis that--
       (A) has inspired children across the United States to 
     organize and demand immediate government action to protect 
     their fundamental rights from the perils of climate change; 
     and
       (B) demands a national, comprehensive, science-based, and 
     just climate recovery plan that--
       (i) is prepared by Federal departments and agencies 
     pursuant to delegated authority over energy and climate 
     policy; and
       (ii) upholds the fundamental rights of children and puts 
     the United States on a trajectory consistent with reducing 
     global atmospheric carbon dioxide to less than 350 parts per 
     million by 2100.

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