Rapid Response to Climate Impacts Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2888 To help prevent emerging events exacerbated by climate change, which threat- en national and international security, by enhancing United States Gov- ernment capacities to prevent, mitigate, and respond to such events, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 28, 2021 Mr. KEATING (for himself and Ms. KAPTUR) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con- cerned A BILL To help prevent emerging events exacerbated by climate change, which threaten national and international secu- rity, by enhancing United States Government capacities to prevent, mitigate, and respond to such events, 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 ‘‘Rapid Response to Cli- 4 mate Impacts Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:36 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2888 IH SEC. 2. CLIMATE IMPACTS TASK FORCE. 1 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of State shall 2 establish a Climate Impacts Task Force (referred to in 3 this section as the ‘‘Task Force’’) with the mandate to— 4 (1) monitor climate and related impacted social 5 conditions to anticipate and prevent climate and en- 6 vironmental stressors from evolving into national se- 7 curity risks; 8 (2) strengthen the efforts of the Department of 9 State and the United States Government to act 10 proactively to mitigate the human harms and poten- 11 tial for national security risks resulting from emerg- 12 ing events exacerbated by climate change; and 13 (3) assist other Federal departments and agen- 14 cies, foreign partners, and multilateral organizations 15 in their efforts to do the same. 16 (b) LEADERSHIP.—The Secretary of State shall des- 17 ignate a senior career official, as appropriate, of the De- 18 partment of State to serve as the Chair of the Task Force. 19 Such official shall report to the Secretary of State. 20 (c) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Under the direction of the 21 Chair, the Task Force shall— 22 (1) meet regularly to ensure that events exacer- 23 bated by climate change and the risk of emerging 24 events exacerbated by climate change throughout the 25 world are adequately considered and addressed; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:36 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2888 IH (2) facilitate the development and execution of 1 policies and tools to enhance the capacity of the 2 United States to prevent and respond to emerging 3 events exacerbated by climate change worldwide; 4 (3) monitor developments throughout the world 5 that heighten the risk of emerging events exacer- 6 bated by climate change; 7 (4) identify gaps in United States foreign policy 8 related to the prevention of and response to emerg- 9 ing events exacerbated by climate change with re- 10 spect to certain regions or particular countries; 11 (5) incorporate lessons learned from past 12 United States efforts to prevent and respond to 13 emerging events exacerbated by climate change and 14 other impacts that are comparable in scope or sever- 15 ity; 16 (6) provide the Secretary of State with rec- 17 ommendations and potential improvements to poli- 18 cies, programs, resources, and tools related to the 19 prevention of and response to emerging events exac- 20 erbated by climate change; 21 (7) coordinate the Department of State’s en- 22 gagement in interagency processes led by the Na- 23 tional Security Council that share the Task Force’s 24 objectives; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:36 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2888 IH (8) conduct outreach not less frequently than 1 biannually, with representatives of nongovernmental 2 organizations dedicated to the prevention of and re- 3 sponse to emerging events exacerbated by climate 4 change and other appropriate parties, to— 5 (A) receive assistance relating to the Task 6 Force’s efforts to address emerging events exac- 7 erbated by climate change and develop new or 8 improved policies, programs, resources, and 9 tools; and 10 (B) provide a public understanding of the 11 work of the Task Force; 12 (9) in carrying out paragraphs (1) through (8), 13 focus on particular ways for the United States to de- 14 velop, strengthen, and enhance its capabilities to— 15 (A) monitor, receive early warning of, and 16 coordinate responses to potential emerging 17 events exacerbated by climate change; 18 (B) engage allies and partners, including 19 multilateral and regional institutions, to build 20 capacities and mobilize action for preventing 21 and responding to emerging events exacerbated 22 by climate change; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:36 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2888 IH (C) encourage the deployment of civilian 1 advisors to prevent and respond to emerging 2 events exacerbated by climate change; 3 (D) increase the capacity of and develop 4 doctrine for the United States Foreign Service, 5 civil service, Armed Forces, development profes- 6 sionals, and other actors to engage in the full 7 spectrum of activities to prevent and respond to 8 emerging events exacerbated by climate change; 9 (E) develop and implement tailored foreign 10 assistance programs that address and mitigate 11 the risks of emerging events exacerbated by cli- 12 mate change; 13 (F) ensure intelligence collection, analysis, 14 and sharing of appropriate information; and 15 (G) address any other issues that the Task 16 Force determines appropriate; 17 (10) in carrying out paragraphs (1) through 18 (8), receive support from bureaus and offices of the 19 Department of State, as the Secretary of State de- 20 termines appropriate; and 21 (11) facilitate annual coordination between the 22 Department of State, the Department of Energy, 23 and the Environmental Protection Agency to ensure 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:36 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2888 IH international and domestic climate change objectives 1 are aligned. 2 (d) COMPOSITION.—The Task Force shall— 3 (1) seek to ensure that its efforts complement 4 and support interagency processes led by the Na- 5 tional Security Council that share the Task Force’s 6 objectives; and 7 (2) operate with regular consultation and par- 8 ticipation of designated representatives, at the As- 9 sistant Secretary level or higher, of— 10 (A) the Department of State; 11 (B) the United States Agency for Inter- 12 national Development; 13 (C) the Department of Defense; 14 (D) the Department of Commerce; 15 (E) the Department of the Treasury; 16 (F) the Department of Energy; 17 (G) the Central Intelligence Agency; 18 (H) the Office of the Director of National 19 Intelligence; 20 (I) the United States Mission to the 21 United Nations; 22 (J) the National Security Council; 23 (K) the Environmental Protection Agency; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:36 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2888 IH (L) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 1 Administration; 2 (M) the National Aeronautics and Space 3 Administration; 4 (N) the United States Geological Survey; 5 and 6 (O) such other executive departments, 7 agencies, or offices as the Chair may designate. 8 (e) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the date 9 of the enactment of this Act and every two years there- 10 after for the following ten years, the Secretary of State, 11 in consultation with the Task Force, shall submit to the 12 Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on 13 Appropriations of the Senate and the Committee on For- 14 eign Affairs and the Committee on Appropriations of the 15 House of Representatives an unclassified report, with a 16 classified annex if necessary, that includes— 17 (1) a review, in consultation with the des- 18 ignated representatives specified in subsection (d), 19 consisting of— 20 (A) an evaluation of the efficacy of current 21 efforts based on United States and locally iden- 22 tified indicators, including capacities and con- 23 straints for United States Government-wide de- 24 tection, early warning and response, informa- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:36 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2888 IH tion-sharing, contingency planning, and coordi- 1 nation of efforts to prevent and respond to 2 emerging events exacerbated by climate change; 3 (B) an assessment of the funding expended 4 by relevant Federal departments and agencies 5 on emerging events exacerbated by climate 6 change and the legal, procedural, and resource 7 constraints faced by the Department of State 8 and the United States Agency for International 9 Development throughout respective budgeting, 10 strategic planning, and management cycles to 11 support the prevention of and response to 12 emerging events exacerbated by climate change; 13 (C) current annual global assessments of 14 emerging events exacerbated by climate change; 15 (D) recommendations to further strength- 16 en United States capabilities described in sub- 17 paragraph (A); and 18 (E) consideration of analysis, reporting, 19 and policy recommendations by civil society, 20 academic, and other nongovernmental organiza- 21 tions and institutions to prevent and respond to 22 emerging events exacerbated by climate change; 23 (2) recommendations to ensure shared responsi- 24 bility by— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:36 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2888 IH (A) enhancing multilateral mechanisms for 1 preventing, mitigating, and responding to 2 emerging events exacerbated by climate change; 3 and 4 (B) strengthening regional organizations; 5 and 6 (3) the implementation status of the rec- 7 ommendations included in the review under para- 8 graph (1). 9 (f) BRIEFINGS AND MATERIALS.—The Chair and 10 members of the Task Force shall, not less frequently than 11 annually, provide briefings and materials to the Com- 12 mittee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Com- 13 mittee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives. 14 (g) REPORT BY THE DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTEL- 15 LIGENCE.—The Director of National Intelligence is en- 16 couraged to include, in his or her annual (or more often 17 as appropriate) unclassified testimony, accompanied by a 18 classified annex, if necessary, to Congress on threats to 19 United States national security— 20 (1) a review of countries and regions at risk of 21 emerging events exacerbated by climate change; and 22 (2) whenever possible, specific identification of 23 countries and regions at immediate risk of emerging 24 events exacerbated by climate change. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:36 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2888 IH (h) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 1 gress that rapid and robust climate change response mech- 2 anisms, including the establishment of the Task Force, are 3 critical for ensuring other countries remain accountable to 4 their climate action commitments as well as preserving the 5 national security and economic interests of the United 6 States. 7 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:36 Jun 11, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2888.IH H2888 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS