Responsible Climate Action and American Competitiveness Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 407 To require a notification relating to the nationally determined contribution of the United States prior to any submission with respect to such contribution under article 4 of the Paris Agreement, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 21, 2021 Mr. MCCAUL (for himself, Mr. BURCHETT, Mrs. WAGNER, Mr. CHABOT, and Mr. WILSON of South Carolina) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to be subsequently de- termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To require a notification relating to the nationally determined contribution of the United States prior to any submission with respect to such contribution under article 4 of the Paris Agreement, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Responsible Climate 4 Action and American Competitiveness Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H407.IH H407 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 407 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds the following: 2 (1) The United States is a world leader in ad- 3 dressing climate change risks through private sector- 4 led innovation and technological advancement. 5 (2) The United States Energy Information Ad- 6 ministration estimates that United States energy-re- 7 lated carbon dioxide emissions, since peaking in 8 2007, have declined by an average of 1.3 percent per 9 year, starting well before the United States became 10 a party to the Paris Agreement. This decline 11 brought greenhouse gas emissions to their lowest lev- 12 els since 1992. 13 (3) Nuclear energy accounts for nine of the ten 14 highest-generating power plants in the United 15 States, and produces one-third the carbon dioxide 16 emissions of current solar technologies. 17 (4) According to the International Energy 18 Agency (IEA), in terms of carbon dioxide emissions, 19 the United States has conducted ‘‘the largest abso- 20 lute decline among all countries since 2000’’. 21 (5) President Obama unilaterally joined the 22 Paris Agreement without involving Congress, with- 23 out consulting outside stakeholders such as energy 24 companies, and without conducting a cost-benefit 25 analysis, including an analysis of how a United 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H407.IH H407 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 407 IH States nationally determined contribution (NDC) 1 would impact competitiveness with countries like the 2 People’s Republic of China (PRC) that threaten 3 United States national and economic security. 4 (6) A report prepared by NERA Economic Con- 5 sulting in 2017 found that meeting the commitments 6 President Obama made as part of the Paris Agree- 7 ment could reduce the United States gross domestic 8 product by $250,000,000,000 and eliminate 9 2,700,000 jobs by 2025. 10 (7) Despite being the world’s second largest 11 economy, the PRC was permitted to be classified as 12 a ‘‘developing country’’ for purposes of the Paris 13 Agreement and abused this classification when mak- 14 ing its NDC under the Paris Agreement. 15 (8) The PRC is the world’s largest emitter of 16 greenhouse gases, and according to the NDC sub- 17 mitted by the Chinese Communist Party, it will con- 18 tinue raising emissions until 2030. 19 (9) On September 22, 2020, CCP General Sec- 20 retary Xi Jinping announced his intention for China 21 to become carbon neutral by 2060, a full decade 22 later than the 2050 target date committed to by 23 other major economies. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H407.IH H407 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 407 IH (10) According to the IEA, coal-fired power 1 plants were the single largest emitter of carbon diox- 2 ide in 2018. China has dedicated over 3 $50,000,000,000 through the Belt and Road Initia- 4 tive to developing coal projects across 150 countries 5 in the past seven years, signaling a lack of genuine 6 intent to combat climate change. 7 (11) During Paris negotiations, then-Secretary 8 of State John Kerry acknowledged that even if all 9 the developed world, which in this context does not 10 include China, cut carbon dioxide emissions to zero, 11 it would not offset the emissions coming from the 12 rest of the globe. 13 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION WITH RESPECT TO 14 THE PARIS AGREEMENT. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall notify Con- 16 gress not fewer than 30 days prior to submitting, pursuant 17 to article 4 of the Paris Agreement, any nationally deter- 18 mined contribution (NDC) on behalf of the United States. 19 (b) MATTERS TO BE INCLUDED.—The notification 20 required by subsection (a) shall include the following: 21 (1) A detailed economic justification of the 22 NDC. 23 (2) A cost-benefit analysis of the NDC. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H407.IH H407 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 407 IH (3) An analysis of the NDC’s anticipated effect 1 on global carbon dioxide emissions. 2 (4) A description of how the United States will 3 utilize numerous energy sources, including but not 4 limited to nuclear, fossil fuel, and renewable tech- 5 nologies, to achieve the NDC. 6 (5) A description of how the NDC will promote 7 availability of diversified energy supplies and a well- 8 functioning global market for energy resources, tech- 9 nologies, and expertise for the benefit of the United 10 States and United States allies and trading part- 11 ners. 12 (6) An analysis of the NDCs submitted with re- 13 spect to the Paris Agreement by the Government of 14 the People’s Republic of China and the Government 15 of the Russian Federation, the anticipated effects on 16 their respective domestic carbon dioxide emissions, 17 and the anticipated effects on their respective global 18 competitiveness. 19 (7) A description of how the NDC will support 20 United States efforts to counter malign Chinese and 21 Russian influence and domination over energy sup- 22 ply chains. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H407.IH H407 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 407 IH (8) A description of how the NDC will support 1 United States international efforts to alleviate en- 2 ergy poverty. 3 (9) A description of how the NDC will impact 4 United States global economic competitiveness. 5 (10) A description of how the NDC will impact 6 United States national security interests. 7 (c) CONGRESSIONAL REVIEW.—Any NDC submitted 8 pursuant to article 4 of the Paris Agreement shall be 9 treated as a rule for the purposes of chapter 8 of title 10 5, United States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Congres- 11 sional Review Act’’). 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:20 Feb 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H407.IH H407 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS