Global Climate Change Diplomacy Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2887 To provide for certain Department of State actions relating to global climate change, 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 A BILL To provide for certain Department of State actions relating to global climate change, 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 ‘‘Global Climate Change 4 Diplomacy Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF STATE ACTIONS RELATING TO 6 GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE. 7 (a) CLIMATE CHANGE OFFICERS.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State shall 9 establish and staff Climate Change Officer positions. 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2887.IH H2887 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2887 IH Such Officers shall serve under the supervision of 1 the appropriate chief of mission or the Under Sec- 2 retary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Envi- 3 ronment of the Department of State, as the case 4 may be. The Secretary shall ensure each embassy, 5 consulate, and diplomatic mission to which such Of- 6 ficers are assigned pursuant to paragraph (2) has 7 sufficient additional and appropriate staff to support 8 such Officers. 9 (2) ASSIGNMENT.—Climate Change Officers 10 shall be assigned to the following posts: 11 (A) United States embassies, or, if appro- 12 priate, consulates. 13 (B) United States diplomatic missions to, 14 or liaisons with, regional and multilateral orga- 15 nizations, including the United States diplo- 16 matic missions to the European Union, African 17 Union, Organization of American States, Arctic 18 Council, and any other appropriate regional or- 19 ganization, and the United Nations and its rel- 20 evant specialized agencies. 21 (C) Other posts as designated by the Sec- 22 retary. 23 (3) RESPONSIBILITIES.—Each Climate Change 24 Officer shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2887.IH H2887 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2887 IH (A) provide expertise on effective ap- 1 proaches to— 2 (i) mitigate the emission of gases 3 which contribute to global climate change 4 and formulate national and global plans 5 for reducing such gross and net emissions; 6 and 7 (ii) reduce the detrimental impacts at- 8 tributable to global climate change, and 9 adapt to such impacts; 10 (B) engage and convene, in a manner that 11 is equitable, inclusive, and just, with individuals 12 and organizations which represent a govern- 13 ment office, a nongovernmental organization, a 14 social or political movement, a private sector 15 entity, an educational or scientific institution, 16 or any other entity concerned with— 17 (i) global climate change; the emission 18 of gases which contribute to global climate 19 change; or 20 (ii) reducing the detrimental impacts 21 attributable to global climate change; 22 (C) facilitate engagement by United States 23 entities in bilateral and multilateral cooperation 24 on climate change; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2887.IH H2887 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2887 IH (D) carry out such other responsibilities as 1 the Secretary may assign. 2 (b) RESPONSIBILITIES OF UNDER SECRETARY.—The 3 Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the 4 Environment of the Department of State shall, including 5 by acting through the Bureau of Oceans and International 6 Environmental and Scientific Affairs of the Department 7 of State— 8 (1) provide policy guidance to Climate Change 9 Officers established under subsection (a); 10 (2) develop relations with, consult with, and 11 provide assistance to relevant individuals and organi- 12 zations concerned with studying, mitigating, and 13 adapting to global climate change, or reducing the 14 emission of gases which contribute to global climate 15 change; and 16 (3) assist officers and employees of regional bu- 17 reaus of the Department of State to develop strate- 18 gies and programs to promote studying, mitigating, 19 and adapting to global climate change, or reducing 20 the emission of gases which contribute to global cli- 21 mate change. 22 (c) ACTIONS BY CHIEFS OF MISSION.—Each chief of 23 mission in a foreign country shall— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2887.IH H2887 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2887 IH (1) develop, as part of annual joint strategic 1 plans or equivalent program and policy planning, a 2 strategy to promote actions to improve and increase 3 studying, mitigating, and adapting to global climate 4 change, or reducing the emission of gases which con- 5 tribute to global climate change by— 6 (A) consulting and coordinating with and 7 providing support to relevant individuals and 8 organizations, including experts and other pro- 9 fessionals and stakeholders on issues related to 10 climate change; and 11 (B) holding periodic meetings with such 12 relevant individuals and organizations relating 13 to such strategy; 14 (2) hold ongoing discussions with the officials 15 and leaders of such country regarding progress to 16 improve and increase studying, mitigating, and 17 adapting to global climate change, or reducing the 18 emission of gases which contribute to global climate 19 change in a manner that is equitable, inclusive, and 20 just in such country; and 21 (3) certify annually to the Secretary of State 22 that to the maximum extent practicable, consider- 23 ations related to climate change adaptation and 24 mitigation, sustainability, and the environment were 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2887.IH H2887 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2887 IH incorporated in activities, management, and oper- 1 ations of the United States embassy or other diplo- 2 matic post under the director of the chief of mission. 3 (d) TRAINING.—Not later than 180 days after the 4 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 5 shall establish curriculum at the Department of State’s 6 Foreign Service Institute that supplements political and 7 economic reporting tradecraft courses in order to provide 8 employees of the Department with specialized training 9 with respect to studying, mitigating, and adapting to glob- 10 al climate change, or reducing the emission of gases which 11 contribute to global climate change. Such training shall 12 include the following: 13 (1) Awareness of the full range of national and 14 subnational agencies, offices, personnel, statutory 15 authorities, funds, and programs involved in the 16 international commitments of the United States re- 17 garding global climate change and the emission of 18 gases which contribute to global climate change, the 19 science of global climate change, and methods for 20 mitigating and adapting to global climate change. 21 (2) Awareness of methods for mitigating and 22 adapting to global climate change and reducing the 23 emission of gases which contribute to global climate 24 change that are equitable, inclusive, and just. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2887.IH H2887 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2887 IH (3) Familiarity with United States agencies, 1 multilateral agencies, international financial institu- 2 tions, and the network of donors providing assist- 3 ance to mitigate and adapt to global climate change. 4 (4) Awareness of the most frequently an- 5 nounced goals and methods of the entities specified 6 in subsection (a)(3)(B). 7 (e) CONTRACTING.—Contracting and agreements of- 8 ficers of the Department of State, and other United States 9 embassy personnel responsible for contracts, grants, or ac- 10 quisitions, shall receive training on evaluating proposals, 11 solicitations, and bids, for considerations related to sus- 12 tainability and adapting to or mitigating impacts from cli- 13 mate change. 14 (f) REPORTING.—Not later than 180 days after the 15 date of the enactment of this Act and biennially thereafter, 16 the Secretary of State shall submit to the Committee on 17 Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on 18 Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 19 that includes a detailed breakdown of posts at which staff 20 are assigned the role of Climate Change Officer, the re- 21 sponsibilities to which they have been assigned, and the 22 strategies developed by the chief of mission, as applicable. 23 (g) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 24 gress that climate diplomacy tools, including the establish- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2887.IH H2887 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2887 IH ment of Climate Change Officers and supporting staff 1 under this section, are critical for demonstrating the com- 2 mitment to include climate changes issues as core tenets 3 of foreign policy priorities, as well as preserving the 4 United States role as a global leader on climate change 5 action. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:19 Jun 18, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2887.IH H2887 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS