Targeting Environmental and Climate Recklessness Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3245 To authorize the imposition of sanctions with respect to significant actions that exacerbate climate change, to reinforce comprehensive efforts to limit global average temperature rise, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 14, 2021 Ms. ESCOBAR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Ju- diciary, Financial Services, Oversight and Reform, and Ways and Means, 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 concerned A BILL To authorize the imposition of sanctions with respect to significant actions that exacerbate climate change, to reinforce comprehensive efforts to limit global average temperature rise, 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 ‘‘Targeting Environ- 4 mental and Climate Recklessness Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3245.IH H3245 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3245 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress makes the following findings: 2 (1) Climate change is imposing significant dam- 3 age on communities in the United States and abroad 4 in the form of severe weather events, wildfires, heat 5 waves, droughts, flooding, ocean acidification, and 6 other threats to public health and safety. Scientists 7 expect these effects to grow in frequency and inten- 8 sity in the coming decades. Low-income communities 9 and communities of color bear a disproportionate 10 impact of climate-related damages. 11 (2) Collectively, the international community 12 needs to limit global warming to under 2.7 degrees 13 Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels in order to 14 avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate 15 change. Under the current trajectory, the world will 16 fail to meet this target and will experience warming 17 that exceeds 3 degrees Celsius by the end of the cen- 18 tury. In many regions of the world, warming of aver- 19 age temperatures has already surpassed 3 degrees 20 Fahrenheit. 21 (3) To limit global warming to under 1.5 de- 22 grees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the world 23 needs to reach net-zero global emissions by 2050, 24 which will require making drastic reforms to global 25 economic systems to mitigate greenhouse gas emis- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3245.IH H3245 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3245 IH sions, reduce deforestation, reduce dependency on 1 coal, adapt to unavoidable changes in the climate, 2 and ensure a just transition. 3 (4) The goals articulated in the United Nations 4 Paris Climate Agreement depend on collective action 5 involving the entire international community. 6 Progress made by one economic actor can be re- 7 duced or cancelled out if another economic actor 8 emits significant greenhouse gas emissions into the 9 Earth’s atmosphere. 10 (5) Coal produces the highest intensity of 11 greenhouse gas emissions of any fuel source. The 12 International Energy Agency estimates that coal is 13 responsible for nearly 1⁄3 of global warming. The 14 United Nations Secretary General has repeatedly 15 urged countries to stop financing coal and to pledge 16 not to build new coal-fired power plants. 17 (6) Subcritical coal-fired power plants continue 18 to be developed, especially in Southeast Asia and as 19 part of the Belt and Road Initiative of the People’s 20 Republic of China, despite broad awareness of the 21 dangers and the growing availability of economically 22 superior alternatives. Additionally, coal mining is 23 frequently associated with a wide range of human 24 rights abuses, such as forced evictions and land 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3245.IH H3245 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3245 IH grabbing, water and air pollution, and violations of 1 the rights of indigenous people and workers. 2 (7) Alternatives to carbon-intensive electrical 3 power generation are now available and technological 4 advancements continue to strengthen the economic 5 competitiveness of such alternatives. 6 (8) Internationally, several economic actors con- 7 tinue to pursue activities, such as development of 8 new subcritical coal-fired power plants and deforest- 9 ation that contribute to dangerous levels of green- 10 house gas emissions. In addition to carrying a sig- 11 nificant climate risk, many of these activities are as- 12 sociated with serious human rights abuses, acts of 13 corruption, and environmental injustice against In- 14 digenous communities, communities of color, and 15 other communities that have historically faced 16 marginalization and discrimination. 17 (9) The United States Government has devel- 18 oped and implements targeted measures to restrict 19 access to the United States financial system for spe- 20 cific individuals and entities whose actions threaten 21 or run counter to United States national interests. 22 The United States Government has deployed these 23 measures in response to terrorism, proliferation of 24 weapons of mass destruction, transnational orga- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3245.IH H3245 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3245 IH nized crime, narcotics trafficking, malicious cyber- 1 enabled activity, wildlife trafficking, serious human 2 rights abuses, and acts of corruption. While Presi- 3 dent Joseph R. Biden has further centered climate 4 solutions in foreign policy, as of the date of the en- 5 actment of this Act, the United States Government 6 has not used these measures to target and deter 7 reckless, climate-destroying behavior. 8 (10) President Biden has indicated that com- 9 bating the climate crisis is a top domestic and for- 10 eign policy priority and has taken steps including 11 the creation of a Special Presidential Envoy for Cli- 12 mate, collaborating with other countries to establish 13 worldwide solutions and reduce the impact of climate 14 change, striving to achieve a net-zero economy in the 15 United States by 2050, producing a plan to end 16 international financing for fossil fuel projects, and 17 emphasizing the need of pursuing an entirely clean 18 energy economy. 19 (11) President Biden has made it a priority to 20 counter environmental injustices in the United 21 States and abroad, and plans on implementing com- 22 munity-led approaches as well as Federal protections 23 and regulations that will support those community 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3245.IH H3245 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3245 IH members whose land and health have been negatively 1 impacted by climate change. 2 (12) The climate crisis has led to a surge of 3 civic engagement, activism, and protests across the 4 world. At the same time, reprisals against environ- 5 mental defenders are on the rise. Front Line De- 6 fenders reported that of the 331 human rights de- 7 fenders killed for their work in 2020, 69 percent 8 were killed for speaking up about Indigenous, land, 9 or environmental rights. In 2020, Global Witness re- 10 ported than an average of 4 environmental defenders 11 had been killed every week since the Paris Climate 12 Agreement was signed in December 2015. Thou- 13 sands of other environmental defenders are targeted 14 each year with reprisals in the form of enforced dis- 15 appearances, torture, sexual violence, criminaliza- 16 tion, and smear campaigns. 17 (13) As a result of corruption and illegally 18 issued permits for forest clearance, only approxi- 19 mately 50 percent of tropical forest destruction is 20 defined as ‘‘illegal’’ under local country laws. Criti- 21 cally, violations of land rights and the free, prior, 22 and informed consent and rights of Indigenous peo- 23 ple can be overlooked if the only criterion applied is 24 legality. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3245.IH H3245 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3245 IH (14) Illegal deforestation is a significant driver 1 of the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Crimi- 2 nal networks with the capacity to coordinate large- 3 scale extraction, processing, and sale of timber de- 4 ploy armed personnel to protect their interests. 5 Those criminal networks regularly attack and 6 threaten members of Indigenous communities, en- 7 forcement officials, and other environmental defend- 8 ers. Perpetrators of such violence are rarely brought 9 to justice. 10 (15) Policies and measures to address climate 11 change must also promote human rights, thereby ad- 12 vancing equality, justice, and dignity for all, in line 13 with the Sustainable Development Goals of the 14 United Nations. 15 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON A COMPREHENSIVE AP- 16 PROACH TO ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE. 17 It is the sense of Congress that— 18 (1) the targeted measures described in this Act 19 are only one component of the comprehensive ap- 20 proach needed to address climate change and miti- 21 gate its effects; 22 (2) the United States Government must ensure 23 through law and regulation that entities in the 24 United States are not engaged in or complicit in any 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3245.IH H3245 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3245 IH of the egregious behaviors for which foreign persons 1 may be targeted under this Act; 2 (3) the United States Government must fulfill 3 its pledges to the Green Climate Fund and promote 4 international efforts to support climate change adap- 5 tation and mitigation; 6 (4) the United States Government must work 7 proactively with foreign governments, including by 8 offering positive incentives, to address climate 9 change and to promote economic development in 10 ways that do not needlessly increase carbon emis- 11 sions or increase the risk of corruption; 12 (5) the targeted measures described in this Act 13 should be employed if engagement has failed to pre- 14 vent significant actions that exacerbate climate 15 change; and 16 (6) given broad international support for coun- 17 tering climate change, the Secretary of State should 18 encourage the governments of other countries to im- 19 plement targeted measures that are similar to the 20 provisions of this Act, and the Secretary of the 21 Treasury should support implementation of such 22 measures, in order to increase the effectiveness of 23 actions taken by the United States to combat signifi- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3245.IH H3245 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3245 IH cant actions that exacerbate climate change, includ- 1 ing related corruption and human rights violations. 2 SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ENGAGEMENT WITH THE 3 PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. 4 It is the sense of Congress that— 5 (1) the United States Government should con- 6 tinue to hold the People’s Republic of China ac- 7 countable for its human rights abuses, violations of 8 international law, coercive and unfair economic prac- 9 tices, and military aggression, and should do so 10 while also pursuing opportunities to cooperatively 11 address the existential threat of climate change; 12 (2) the United States Government should en- 13 courage the People’s Republic of China to follow 14 through on its stated intentions to reduce the nega- 15 tive environmental impacts of Chinese foreign invest- 16 ment, including investments provided through the 17 Belt and Road Initiative; 18 (3) the United States Government should nego- 19 tiate a binding agreement to end fossil fuel subsidies 20 with major economies including the People’s Repub- 21 lic of China; 22 (4) the United States Government should build 23 on the successes of existing engagement with the 24 People’s Republic of China through the United 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3245.IH H3245 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3245 IH States-China Clean Energy Research Center and 1 other initiatives to launch new cooperative efforts; 2 (5) the United States Government should en- 3 gage in expanded dialogue with the People’s Repub- 4 lic of China to ensure that development finance in- 5 stitutions do not undermine global decarbonization 6 efforts; and 7 (6) the United States Government should work 8 with the People’s Republic of China to develop and 9 adopt safeguards to promote low-carbon, climate-re- 10 silient investments over high-carbon, climate risk-in- 11 ducing investments, particularly in emerging and de- 12 veloping economies in the Indo-Pacific, Africa, and 13 Latin America. 14 SEC. 5. STATEMENT OF POLICY ON APPLICATION OF GLOB- 15 AL MAGNITSKY SANCTIONS TO CLIMATE- 16 LINKED CORRUPTION AND HUMAN RIGHTS 17 ABUSES. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—It is the policy of the United 19 States to consider— 20 (1) any act of corruption related to a covered 21 activity (as defined in section 6(i)) to be corruption, 22 as that term is used in Executive Order 13818 (50 23 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking the property 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:05 Jun 15, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3245.IH H3245 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3245 IH of persons involved in serious human rights abuse or 1 corruption); and 2 (2) any violation of internationally recognized 3 human rights committed against an individual de- 4 scribed in subsection (b) to be a serious human 5 rights abuse, as that term is used in Executive 6 Order 13818. 7 (b) INDIVIDUALS DESCRIBED.—An individual de- 8 scribed in this subsection is an individual who— 9 (1) advocates for the protection of the environ- 10 ment, public health, Indigenous rights, or commu- 11 nity land rights; 12 (2) investigates, exposes, or raises awareness of 13 harm or corruption related to natural resource use; 14 or 15 (3) is obliged to leave the individual’s habitual 16 home due, in whole or in part, to sudden or progres- 17 sive change in the environment that adversely affects 18 the individual’s life or living conditions. 19 SEC. 6. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO SIG- 20 NIFICANT ACTIONS THAT EXACERBATE CLI- 21 MATE CHANGE. 22 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is th [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]