[House Report 116-41]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
116th Congress } { Rept. 116-41
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { Part 1
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CLIMATE ACTION NOW ACT
_______
April 18, 2019.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Engel, from the Committee on Foreign Affairs, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
together with
DISSENTING VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 9]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Foreign Affairs, to whom was referred the
bill (H.R. 9) to direct the President to develop a plan for the
United States to meet its nationally determined contribution
under the Paris Agreement, and for other purposes, having
considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment
and recommend that the bill do pass.
CONTENTS
Page
Report........................................................... 1
Purpose and Summary.............................................. 2
Background and Need for Legislation.............................. 2
Hearing.......................................................... 5
Committee Consideration.......................................... 6
Committee Oversight Findings..................................... 7
New Budget Authority, Tax Expenditures, and Federal Mandates..... 7
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate........................ 8
Non-Duplication of Federal Programs.............................. 9
Performance Goals and Objectives................................. 9
Congressional Accountability Act................................. 9
New Advisory Committees.......................................... 9
Earmark Identification........................................... 9
Section-by-Section Analysis...................................... 9
Dissenting Views................................................. 11
PURPOSE AND SUMMARY
The purpose of H.R. 9 is to direct the President to develop
a plan for the United States to meet its nationally determined
contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement (PA). The bill
prohibits the use of funds to advance the withdrawal by the
United States from the Agreement. It also requires the
President to submit to the appropriate congressional Committees
and make public a plan for the United States to meet its
nationally determined contribution under the Paris Agreement to
Congress 120 days after enactment. Finally, H.R. 9 requires the
President to file with Congress and make public annual updates
to the plan.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Climate change presents significant national and
international security threats to the United States in the near
term, and increasingly insurmountable threats to security
interests of the United States as the impacts of climate change
worsen.
In 2003, the Pentagon commissioned a report to examine how
an abrupt change in climate would affect our defense
capabilities. Its authors concluded that it ``should be
elevated beyond a scientific debate to a U.S. national security
concern.''
More recently, in 2012 and 2014, Department of Defense
Climate Change Adaptation Roadmaps stated that climate change
can serve as ``an accelerant of instability or conflict'' that
could have significant geopolitical impacts contributing to
``poverty, environmental degradation, the weakening of fragile
governments and food and water scarcity.''
In December 2017, Congress passed, and the President signed
into law the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year
2018, which states in Section 335(b) that ``climate change is a
direct threat to the national security of the United States.''
In January 2019, the Director of National Intelligence
delivered a worldwide threat assessment that ``climate
hazards'' including extreme weather, wildfires, droughts and
acidifying oceans are worsening, ``threatening infrastructure,
health, and water and food security.''
In March 2019, in response to the President's reported
plans to establish a commission to dispute military and
intelligence judgments on the threats posed by climate change,
58 former senior military and national security officials
signed a letter to the President warning him that ``[i]mposing
a political test on reports issued by the science agencies, and
forcing a blind spot onto the national security assessments
that depend on them, will erode our national security.''
When we face pressing and intensifying global security
threats like climate change, the United States is strongest
when we work shoulder-to-shoulder with our friends and partners
around the world.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) and the 2015 Paris Agreement are at the core of
international climate change cooperation.
The United States ratified the UNFCCC, with the advice and
consent of the Senate, in October 1992 (U.S. Treaty No. 102-
38). It was the first international treaty to acknowledge
``that change in the Earth's climate and its adverse effects
are a common concern of humankind.'' It also expressed concern
``that human activities have been substantially increasing the
atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, that these
increases enhance the natural greenhouse effect, and that this
will result on average in an additional warming of the Earth's
surface and atmosphere and may adversely affect natural
ecosystems and humankind.''
According the UNFCCC, ``[t]he ultimate objective of this
Convention and any related legal instruments that the
Conference of the Parties may adopt is to achieve, in
accordance with the relevant provisions of the Convention,
stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the
atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous
anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Such a
level should be achieved within a time-frame sufficient to
allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to
ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable
economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.''
On December 12, 2015, in Paris, the Parties to the UNFCCC
reached a landmark agreement designed to combat climate change
by accelerating and intensifying the actions needed to
strengthen the global response. A key goal of the Paris
Agreement--which was adopted under, and which is intended to
enhance the implementation of, the UNFCCC--is to hold the
increase in the global average temperature to well below 2
degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and pursue efforts
to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
At present, almost 200 Parties have signed the PA.
The PA contains several procedural requirements, including
the submission of a non-legally binding ``nationally determined
contribution'' to be regularly updated. NDCs set forth each
Party's intended emissions reduction targets and other
mitigation measures.
The U.S. nationally determined contribution is a reduction
of its greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent below a
2005 baseline in 2025.
The PA also includes a robust transparency system, which
involves reporting and review regarding Parties' inventories of
greenhouse gas emissions, as well as their progress toward the
implementation and achievement of NDCs. The details of this
transparency system were agreed to by all parties during the
December 2018 Conference of the Parties (COP) meeting in
Katowice, Poland--creating a landmark accountability mechanism
applicable to all parties. At the time, the State Department
noted that, ``[t]he outcome took a significant step toward
holding our economic competitors accountable for reporting
their emissions in a manner consistent with standards the
United States has met since the early 1990's.''
Finally, in terms of legal character, the Agreement
contains a mixture of legally binding and non-legally binding
provisions. The NDCs themselves are not legally binding, which
means that there is no legal obligation to achieve the
emissions targets or other mitigation measures therein.
However, various other aspects of the Agreement are legally
binding, including the obligations to submit and update NDCs,
as well as report and be reviewed on emissions inventories and
progress made in implementing and achieving NDCs.
On June 1, 2017, President Trump announced his intention to
withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement. Under the
terms of the PA, the withdrawal process cannot be initiated
until November 4, 2019, with effect on November 4, 2020 at the
earliest.
This legislation would ensure the United States remains a
party to the PA--an agreement supported by every other country
in the world.
The United States was once a global leader in pushing for
climate action, but the current Administration has largely
abandoned these efforts. As a result, our progress in reducing
emissions has dwindled and is now reversing itself. The
Environmental Protection Agency's latest data shows that
reductions in greenhouse gas emissions fell to just half a
percent in 2017. And according to the International Energy
Agency, U.S. carbon dioxide emissions actually rose by 3.1
percent in 2018.
At a time when the world desperately needs to decrease
emissions, ours are increasing. During a year in which more
dirty coal plants closed than almost any other in history, our
emissions surged. That means vast declines in coal use were not
enough to offset the other harms caused by this
Administration's policies--like its efforts to repeal the Clean
Power Plan, roll back vehicle emission standards, rescind
methane-flaring rules, weaken emission standards for brick and
tile manufacturers, withdraw a proposed rule reducing air
pollutants at sewage treatment plants, reverse a policy that
limits hazardous pollution from industrial sources, disband the
Particulate Matter Review Panel, end NASA's carbon monitoring
system, and yes, its announced intent to withdraw from the PA.
Some argue that the U.S is not a party to the PA because
the PA was never approved by the Senate. Not only is this
incorrect as a matter of international law, but it is incorrect
as a matter of U.S. law. The previous President had authority
to enter into the PA derived from the Constitution, the Senate-
approved United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,
and domestic law. The vast majority of international agreements
entered into by the U.S. are not approved by the Senate.
Furthermore, none of the four witnesses at our April 2 hearing
expressed any opinion in oral or written testimony about
whether the PA should have been submitted to the Senate for
ratification.
Some also argue that we should not further reduce emissions
without more aggressive action from China and India. But China
and India recognize both the problems and opportunities
presented by climate change, and are taking action. And, if no
country acts until every other country acts, no progress would
ever be made.
The Chinese government acknowledged in its most recent
comprehensive assessment of climate change that it is already
affected by worsening floods, more extreme droughts, diminished
fishery productivity and other ecological changes. It
recognizes that a warming climate will threaten the country's
agricultural production, make economically important cities
vulnerable to flooding and eventually dry out many of the
country's rivers.
Under the PA, China committed to leveling off its carbon
emissions around 2030, reducing carbon emissions per unit of
gross domestic product (GDP) by 60 to 65 percent from 2005
levels by 2030, and increasing the non-fossil share of its
primary energy to 20 percent. Beijing is moving aggressively to
reduce emissions and deploy clean energy technologies. Despite
being the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter since 2005,
China has created the world's largest carbon market, invested
approximately three times as much money into renewables as the
United States, and surpassed the United States in terms of both
the number of electric vehicles on the road and the number of
publicly available charging stations. According to one
independent study, China's emissions may have already peaked.
China is also embracing the nexus between climate and
security. In 2017, China signed a joint statement with the
European Union terming rising global temperatures ``a root
cause of instability.''
On the world stage, the Trump administration's anticipated
withdrawal from the Paris Agreement has created a global
leadership void that China has been keen to exploit.
Given its huge population and levels of inequality and
poverty, India stands to be one of the nations most
significantly affected by climate change. The IPCC report from
October 2018 says that the impact of a 1.5 degrees Celsius
increase in global temperatures will ``disproportionately
affect disadvantaged and vulnerable populations through food
insecurity, higher food prices, income losses, lost livelihood
opportunities, adverse health impacts, and population
displacements.''
Under the PA, India pledged to cut greenhouse gas intensity
by 30 to 35 percent from 2005 levels by 2030. By the same
deadline, India intends to generate 40 percent of its power
capacity from non-fossil fuel sources.
To meet these targets, India is investing heavily in solar
energy. In 2018, for the first time ever, new installations of
power using solar cells exceeded all other types of power, and
the country emerged as the world's third-largest solar power
market in 2018--surpassing Germany and Japan.
Using China and India as justifications for inaction risks
ceding global leadership and unrivaled economic opportunity on
this issue. It is indisputable that the whole world needs to do
more if we are to be spared from the worst impacts of climate
change, and the PA presents businesses and investors with an
historic opportunity by signaling a new global consensus that
the transition to a clean energy economy is underway.
It takes courage to experiment with new ways of doing
things, and to leave old habits behind. The United States has
always led on big global challenges, and now we must seize on
commitments from around the world and apply the unmatched
strength and ingenuity of the American government and private
sector to the problem of combating climate change.
HEARING
On April 2, 2019, the Full Committee held a hearing
entitled ``How Climate Change Threatens U.S. National
Security''. Witnesses included Vice Admiral Dennis V. McGinn,
USN (Ret), Former Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Energy,
Installations and Environment; The Honorable Sherri Goodman,
Former Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Environmental
Security; Mr. Paul Weisenfeld, Former Assistant to the
Administrator for the Bureau for Food Security, U.S. Agency for
International Development; Mr. Barry K. Worthington, Executive
Director, United States Energy Association. This hearing was
used to consider H.R. 9.
COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
Clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires the Committee to list each record vote
on the motion to report legislation and amendments thereto. On
April 9, 2019, the Committee marked up H.R. 9 pursuant to
notice, in open session. The Committee advises that there were
6 record votes taken on H.R. 9, including a motion by Mr. Engel
ordering H.R. 9 favorably reported to the House. The motion on
final passage of the bill was approved by a record vote of 24
ayes and 16 noes. The following are the record votes taken
during Committee consideration, including the names of those
members voting for and against:
Amendment: An amendment in the nature of a substitute,
offered by Mr. McCaul, which includes new findings, requires
the President to include a cost-benefit analysis in his plan to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions, requires the President to
notify Congress prior to submitting a new NDC on behalf of the
U.S. along with certain information about the impact of the
NDC, and removes the requirement that the United States honor
its commitments under the PA.
Disposition: NOT AGREED TO by a roll call vote of 16 ayes
and 21 noes.
Voting aye: McCaul, Chabot, Wilson, Perry, Yoho,
Kinzinger, Zeldin, Wagner, Mast, Curtis, Wright, Reschenthaler,
Burchett, Pence, Watkins, and Guest.
Voting no: Engel, Sires, Connolly, Deutch, Keating,
Cicilline, Bera, Espaillat, Lieu, Wild, Phillips, Omar, Allred,
Levin, Spanberger, Houlahan, Malinowski, Trone, Costa, Vargas,
and Gonzalez.
Amendment: An amendment offered by Mr. Curtis, requiring
the President's plan to describe how the U.S. NDC compares to
the NDCs of other nations.
Disposition: NOT AGREED TO by a roll call vote of 17 ayes
and 22 noes.
Voting aye: McCaul, Smith, Chabot, Wilson, Perry, Yoho,
Kinzinger, Zeldin, Wagner, Mast, Curtis, Wright, Reschenthaler,
Burchett, Pence, Watkins, and Guest.
Voting no: Engel, Meeks, Sires, Connolly, Deutch, Bass,
Keating, Bera, Castro, Espaillat, Lieu, Wild, Phillips, Allred,
Levin, Spanberger, Houlahan, Malinowski, Trone, Costa, Vargas,
and Gonzalez.
Amendment: An amendment offered by Mr. Wright, which delays
the effective date of the bill until the Secretary of State
certifies that China and Russia have each committed to
emissions reductions that are equivalent to those of the United
States.
Disposition: NOT AGREED TO by a roll call vote of 16 ayes
and 23 noes.
Voting aye: McCaul, Chabot, Wilson, Perry, Yoho,
Kinzinger, Zeldin, Wagner, Mast, Curtis, Buck, Wright,
Burchett, Pence, Watkins, and Guest.
Voting no: Engel, Meeks, Sires, Connolly, Deutch, Bass,
Keating, Cicilline, Bera, Castro, Espaillat, Lieu, Wild,
Phillips, Allred, Levin, Spanberger, Houlahan, Malinowski,
Trone, Costa, Vargas, and Gonzalez.
Motion: A motion to table Mr. Buck's appeal of the ruling
of the chair that his amendment was not germane.
Disposition: Motion to table AGREED TO by a roll call vote
of 23 ayes and 17 noes.
Voting aye: Engel, Meeks, Sires, Connolly, Deutch,
Keating, Cicilline, Bera, Castro, Titus, Espaillat, Lieu, Wild,
Phillips, Allred, Levin, Spanberger, Houlahan, Malinowski,
Trone, Costa, Vargas, and Gonzalez.
Voting no: McCaul, Smith, Chabot, Wilson, Perry, Yoho,
Kinzinger, Zeldin, Wagner, Mast, Curtis, Buck, Wright,
Burchett, Pence, Watkins, and Guest.
Amendment: An amendment offered by Mr. Zeldin, which delays
the effective date of the bill until the Senate approves the
Paris Agreement.
Disposition: NOT AGREED TO by a roll call vote of 17 ayes
and 24 noes.
Voting aye: McCaul, Smith, Chabot, Wilson, Perry, Yoho,
Kinzinger, Zeldin, Wagner, Mast, Curtis, Buck, Wright,
Burchett, Pence, Watkins, and Guest.
Voting no: Engel, Sharman, Meeks, Sires, Connolly,
Deutch, Keating, Cicilline, Bera, Castro, Titus, Espaillat,
Lieu, Wild, Phillips, Allred, Levin, Spanberger, Houlahan,
Malinowski, Trone, Costa, Vargas, and Gonzalez.
Motion: A motion by Mr. Engel to order H.R. 9 favorably
reported to the House (final passage).
Disposition: AGREED TO by a roll call vote of 24 ayes and
16 noes.
Voting aye: Engel, Sherman, Meeks, Sires, Connolly,
Deutch, Keating, Cicilline, Bera, Castro, Titus, Espaillat,
Lieu, Wild, Phillips, Allred, Levin, Spanberger, Houlahan,
Malinowski, Trone, Costa, Vargas, and Gonzalez.
Voting no: McCaul, Chabot, Wilson, Perry, Yoho,
Kinzinger, Zeldin, Wagner, Mast, Curtis, Buck, Wright,
Burchett, Pence, Watkins, and Guest.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS
In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII of Rules of
the House of Representatives, the committee reports that
findings and recommendations of the committee, based on
oversight activities under clause 2(b)(1) of House Rule X, are
incorporated in the descriptive portions of this report,
particularly in the `Background and Need for Legislation'
section.
NEW BUDGET AUTHORITY, TAX EXPENDITURES, AND FEDERAL MANDATES
In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of House Rule XIII and
the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (P.L. 104-4), the committee
adopts as its own the estimate of new budget authority,
entitlement authority, tax expenditure or revenues, and Federal
mandates contained in the cost estimate prepared by the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section
402 of the congressional Budget Act of 1974.
CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, April 15, 2019.
Hon. Eliot Engel,
Chairman, Committee on Foreign Affairs,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman:
The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed
cost estimate for H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Stephen
Rabent and Sunita D'Monte.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall.
Enclosure.
cc: Honorable Michael McCaul.
Ranking Member.
H.R. 9 would prohibit funds from being authorized to be
appropriated, obligated, or expended to take actions to
withdraw the United States from the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change's 21st Conference of Parties in
Paris, France (known as the Paris Agreement). CBO estimates
that the prohibition would have no significant effect on the
Federal budget because the costs to implement the withdrawal
under the Paris Agreement would be negligible.\1\ H.R. 9 also
would require the President to develop a public plan for the
United States to meet certain targets for greenhouse gas
emissions as agreed to under the Paris Agreement and how the
United States will confirm other parties to the Paris Agreement
are fulfilling their targets. That plan would be updated
annually. H.R. 9 does not require the United States to
implement the plan nor prescribe the scope or level of detail
required in the plan.
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\1\President Trump announced that the United States would withdraw
from the Paris Agreement in June 2017. However, under the Agreement the
earliest the United States can give official written notice of its
intent to withdraw is Novemember 2019 and the earliest that withdrawal
may take effect is one year after that notification.
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The costs to implement those provisions of H.R. 9 could
vary significantly depending on the level of effort Federal
agencies would devote to prepare the required plan. Agencies
could adapt previously developed plans to fulfill the bill's
requirements, such as those previously produced by the
Department of State or Environmental Protection Agency in
recent years. On the other hand, agencies may produce new plans
that provide specific actions, policy recommendations, and
regulatory and legislative proposals that also would fulfill
the bill's requirements. Based on information from the
Administration, CBO estimates that agencies would expend
minimal efforts to prepare the required plan at a cost of $1
million over the 2019-2024 period; such spending would be
subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
On April 15, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 9,
the Climate Action Now Act, as ordered reported by the House
Committee on Energy and Commerce on April 4, 2019. The two
bills are similar and CBO's estimates of the budgetary effects
are the same.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate is Stephen Rabent
and Sunita D'Monte. The estimate was reviewed by Theresa Gullo,
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
NON-DUPLICATION OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of House Rule XIII, the
committee States that no provision of this resolution
establishes or reauthorizes a program of the Federal Government
known to be duplicative of another Federal program, a program
that was included in any report from the Government
Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of
Public Law 111-139, or a program related to a program
identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance.
PERFORMANCE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The purpose of H.R. 9 is to direct the President to develop
a plan for the United States to meet its nationally determined
contribution under the Paris Agreement. The bill prohibits the
use of funds to advance the withdrawal by the United States
from the Agreement. It also requires the President to submit to
the appropriate congressional Committees and make public a plan
for the United States to meet its nationally determined
contribution under the Paris Agreement to Congress 120 days
after enactment. Finally, H.R. 9 requires the President to file
with Congress and make public annual updates to the plan.
CONGRESSIONAL ACCOUNTABILITY ACT
H.R. 9 does not apply to terms and conditions of employment
or to access to public services or accommodations within the
legislative branch.
NEW ADVISORY COMMITTEES
H.R. 9 does not establish or authorize any new advisory
committees.
EARMARK IDENTIFICATION
H.R. 9 contains no congressional earmarks, limited tax
benefits, or limited tariff benefits as described in clauses
9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of House Rule XXI.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short Title. This Act may be cited as the
``Climate Action Now Act.''
Section 2. Findings. This section establishes that in
Paris, on December 12, 2105, parties to the UNFCCC reached a
landmark agreement designed to combat climate change by
accelerating and intensifying the actions needed to strengthen
the global response. The PA contains several procedural
requirements, including the submission of a non-legally binding
``nationally determined contribution,'' to be regularly
updated. The U.S. nationally determined contribution is a
reduction of its greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent
below a 2005 baseline in 2025. On June 1, 2017, President Trump
announced his intention to withdraw the United States from the
Paris Agreement. Under the terms of the PA, the withdrawal
process cannot be initiated until November 4, 2019, with effect
on November 4, 2020 at the earliest.
Section 3. This section prohibits the use of funds to
advance the withdrawal by the United States from the Paris
Agreement.
Section 4. This section requires the President to submit to
the appropriate congressional
Committees and make public a plan for the United States to
meet its initial nationally determined contribution under the
Paris Agreement to Congress 120 days after enactment. In its
initial NDC, the United States committed to reducing greenhouse
gas emissions 26-28 percent below 2005 levels in 2025. This
section also requires the President to file with Congress and
make public annual updates to the plan.
Section 5. Definitions. This section defines the term
``Paris Agreement.''
DISSENTING VIEWS
H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act, misses an opportunity
to advance bipartisan solutions to address climate change.
Instead, the bill doubles down on commitments made unilaterally
by President Obama under the Paris Agreement to reduce United
States greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions years before China--the
world's largest GHG emitter--even begins to reduce emissions
under its own Paris commitments.
The Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change entered into force in 2016.
President Obama signed an instrument of acceptance of the
agreement on behalf of the United States without any role for
Congress. The President opted not to submit the agreement as a
treaty to the Senate for ratification, much less consult
Congress prior to submitting the U.S. nationally determined
contribution (NDC) to reduce domestic greenhouse gas emissions
by 26 to 28 percent below 2005 levels by 2025, which H.R. 9
attempts to codify into domestic law. According to an
analysis\1\ by the World Resources Institute of the top 100
greenhouse gas emitters, the United States is just one of
twelve countries to adopt the Paris Agreement through
unilateral action by the President, without any role for the
legislature.
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\1\ https://www.wri.org/publication/domestic-processes-joining-
paris-agreement
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At a hearing Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on April 2,
2019, entitled How Climate Change Threatens U.S. National
Security, witnesses and Members representing both political
parties shared a common view of the threat climate change poses
to the United States and the importance of technology and
innovation to addressing the challenge. Unfortunately, H.R. 9
does nothing to bolster research or promote innovation. In
fact, Democrats on the Foreign Affairs Committee voted
unanimously against an amendment to the bill that stated,
United States Government actions taken to address the challenge
of climate change should enjoy broad, bipartisan support,
including policies that promote private sector-led innovation
and technological advancement. Democrats on the committee also
voted down an amendment calling for the Senate to approve a
resolution of advice and consent to ratification of the Paris
Agreement, despite the fact that all four witnesses at the
April 2nd hearing--including threewitnesses invited by the
Democrat majority--expressed agreement that President Obama
should have submitted the Agreement to the Senate for
ratification.
President Obama's GHG pledge was submitted on behalf of the
United States without any economic justification or cost-
benefit analysis. The private sector was also not consulted
before the NDC was submitted to the United Nations.
Accordingly, Congress only has third party analyses to rely on,
one of which found that America's NDC could cost up to 2.7
million jobs and $250 billion in gross domestic product by
2025.\2\ This is why Republicans on the Foreign Affairs
Committee supported an amendment to H.R. 9 which would require
the President to notify Congress before submitting any future
NDCs, including with information such as an economic analysis,
an evaluation of the impact of the NDC on U.S. economic
competitiveness and national security interests, how it will
impact world energy markets, and what the NDC will mean for
U.S. international efforts to alleviate energy poverty.
Democrats unfortunately rejected this approach, preferring to
stick with a commitment that cannot be justified economically.
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\2\https://www.nera.com/content/dam.nera/publications/2017/170316-
NERA-ACCF-Full-Report.pdf
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On June 1, 2017, President Trump announced his intent to
withdraw the United States from the agreement but begin
negotiations to reenter either the Paris Accord or a really
entirely new transaction on terms that are fair to the United
States, its businesses, its workers, its people, its
taxpayers.\3\ Whether the United States remains a party to the
Paris Agreement or not, Republicans agree that addressing
climate change requires an international effort, which the
United States should lead as a role model for other countries.
The United States Energy Information Administration estimates
that United States energy-related carbon dioxide emissions
declined by 14 percent from 2005 to 2017, starting well before
the United States became a party to the Paris Agreement. This
impressive decline brought greenhouse gas emissions to their
lowest levels since 1992.\4\ A Republican-sponsored substitute
amendment to H.R. 9 would have required regular briefings to
Congress by the President on the status of any international
negotiations to address climate change.
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\3\https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/statement-
president-trump-paris-climate-accord/
\4\https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=36953
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America's impressive record of reducing GHG emissions
contrasts starkly with China and India, the world's largest and
third largest emitters, respectively, which plan to continue
increasing their emissions until 2030 under their commitments
pursuant to the Paris Agreement. Russia, the fourth largest
emitter, has not even ratified the Paris Agreement.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Instead of doubling down on a pledge that Congress had no
role in setting, that will have an unknown--and potentially
catastrophic--impact on the U.S. economy, and which will do
nothing to address China's (and other countries') growing
emissions, Republicans believe that Congress should work on
bipartisan legislation to boost research, advance technologies,
promote innovation, and develop real solutions to climate
change. The Climate Action Now Act falls short in all of these
categories.
MICHAEL T. McCAUL,
Ranking Member,
House Committee on Foreign
Affairs.
[all]