Climate Security Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 745 To establish the position of Climate Security Envoy within the Department of State, who shall develop policies to address security concerns with climate change and serve as a liaison with other Federal agencies and international partners on climate security issues, to express concern with, and improved preparedness for, growing security issues in the Arctic, to establish the position of Special Representative for the Arctic, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MARCH 12, 2019 Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. COONS, Mr. UDALL, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. KAINE, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MERKLEY, Mr. BOOKER, and Mr. SCHATZ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To establish the position of Climate Security Envoy within the Department of State, who shall develop policies to address security concerns with climate change and serve as a liaison with other Federal agencies and international partners on climate security issues, to express concern with, and improved preparedness for, growing security issues in the Arctic, to establish the position of Special Representative for the Arctic, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S745.IS S745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 745 IS SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 1 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Climate Security Act 2 of 2019’’. 3 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 4 Congress finds that— 5 (1) the impacts of climate change are— 6 (A) worsening natural disasters and global 7 water, food, health, and energy insecurities; 8 (B) contributing to the conditions that lead 9 to intrastate and interstate conflict, state insta- 10 bility, and state failure; and 11 (C) straining United States and allied mili- 12 tary readiness, operations, and strategy; 13 (2) the impacts of climate change on sea level 14 and on the Arctic region are among the most signifi- 15 cant current and projected impacts of climate 16 change on national and international security; 17 (3) during the administrations of George H. W. 18 Bush, William J. Clinton, George W. Bush, and 19 Barack H. Obama, various departments and agen- 20 cies of the Federal Government initiated actions to 21 prepare for and reduce climate-change-related risks 22 to national security; 23 (4) the Intelligence Community, the Depart- 24 ment of Defense, the Department of State, a broad 25 range of national security experts and organizations, 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S745.IS S745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 745 IS and key allies of the United States have concluded 1 that— 2 (A) the impacts of climate change already 3 present a strategically significant risk to the 4 United States and our allies and partners; and 5 (B) this risk will increase over time; 6 (5) the collaboration of the National Oceanic 7 and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of 8 the Navy, the Department of the Air Force, the De- 9 partment of Energy, the National Aeronautics and 10 Space Administration, and the National Science 11 Foundation on the National Earth System Pre- 12 diction Capability provides accurate global analysis 13 and prediction capabilities for the physical environ- 14 ment that enhances response and prevention strate- 15 gies to national security threats; 16 (6) comprehensive action must be taken to en- 17 sure that the response of the United States and of 18 our key international partners is commensurate with 19 the scale of the existing and projected climate-re- 20 lated risks to national and international security; 21 (7) these responses should include actions— 22 (A) to reduce the contributions to climate 23 change caused by human activity; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S745.IS S745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 745 IS (B) to adapt to and to increase resiliency 1 to the impacts of climate change; and 2 (8) the United States requires, but does not 3 now have, comprehensive and effective whole of gov- 4 ernment, whole of nation, and international strate- 5 gies to address existing climate-related security risks 6 and anticipated increases in such risks. 7 SEC. 3. CLIMATE SECURITY ENVOY. 8 Section 1 of the State Department Basic Authorities 9 Act of 1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a) is amended— 10 (1) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub- 11 section (i); and 12 (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol- 13 lowing: 14 ‘‘(g) CLIMATE SECURITY ENVOY.— 15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 days 16 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 17 President shall appoint, by and with the advice and 18 consent of the Senate, a Climate Security Envoy, 19 who shall serve within the Office of the Secretary of 20 State. 21 ‘‘(2) DUTIES.—The Climate Security Envoy— 22 ‘‘(A) shall develop a climate security policy 23 in accordance with paragraph (3); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S745.IS S745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 745 IS ‘‘(B) shall coordinate the integration of the 1 climate security policy into applied strategies 2 across programmatic and regional bureaus and 3 into the Department of State’s decision-making 4 processes; 5 ‘‘(C) shall serve as a key point of contact 6 for other Federal agencies, including the De- 7 partment of Defense, the Department of Home- 8 land Security, and the Intelligence Community, 9 on climate security issues; 10 ‘‘(D) shall use the voice, vote, and influ- 11 ence of the United States to encourage other 12 countries and international multilateral organi- 13 zations to support the principles of the climate 14 security policy implemented under paragraph 15 (3); 16 ‘‘(E) shall perform such other duties and 17 exercise such powers as the Secretary of State 18 shall prescribe; and 19 ‘‘(F) may not perform the functions of the 20 Special Envoy for Climate Change to the 21 United Nations or serve as the United States 22 negotiator in any international fora to address 23 climate change. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S745.IS S745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 745 IS ‘‘(3) CLIMATE SECURITY POLICY.—The Climate 1 Security Envoy shall develop and implement a cli- 2 mate security policy that includes requirements for 3 the Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, 4 the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, embassies, 5 regional bureaus, and other offices with a role in 6 conflict avoidance, prevention and security assist- 7 ance, or humanitarian disaster response, prevention, 8 and assistance to assess, develop, budget for, and 9 (upon approval) implement plans, policies, and ac- 10 tions— 11 ‘‘(A) to enhance resilience to the effects of 12 climate change as a principal means of reducing 13 the risk of conflict and instability; 14 ‘‘(B) to evaluate specific added risks to 15 certain regions and countries that are— 16 ‘‘(i) vulnerable to the effects of cli- 17 mate change; and 18 ‘‘(ii) strategically significant to the 19 United States; 20 ‘‘(C) to account for the impacts on human 21 health, safety, stresses, reliability, food produc- 22 tion, fresh water and other critical natural re- 23 sources, and economic activity; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S745.IS S745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 745 IS ‘‘(D) to coordinate the integration of cli- 1 mate change risk and vulnerability assessments 2 into the decision-making process on foreign as- 3 sistance awards; 4 ‘‘(E) to advance principles of good govern- 5 ance by encouraging foreign governments, par- 6 ticularly nations that are least capable of cop- 7 ing with the effects of climate change— 8 ‘‘(i) to conduct climate security eval- 9 uations; and 10 ‘‘(ii) to facilitate the development of 11 climate security action plans to ensure sta- 12 bility and public safety in disaster situa- 13 tions in a humane and responsible fashion; 14 and 15 ‘‘(F) to evaluate the vulnerability, security, 16 susceptibility, and resiliency of United States 17 assets and interests abroad. 18 ‘‘(4) REPORT.—The Climate Security Envoy 19 shall regularly report to the Secretary of State on 20 activities described in paragraphs (2) and (3) to in- 21 tegrate climate concerns into agendas and program 22 budget requests. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S745.IS S745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 745 IS ‘‘(5) RANK AND STATUS OF AMBASSADOR.— 1 The Climate Security Envoy shall have the rank and 2 status of Ambassador at Large. 3 ‘‘(6) DEFINED TERM.—In this subsection, the 4 term ‘climate security’ means the effects of climate 5 change on— 6 ‘‘(A) United States national security con- 7 cerns and subnational, national, and regional 8 political stability; and 9 ‘‘(B) overseas security and conflict situa- 10 tions that are potentially exacerbated by dy- 11 namic environmental factors and events, includ- 12 ing— 13 ‘‘(i) the intensification and frequency 14 of droughts, floods, wildfires, tropical 15 storms, and other extreme weather events; 16 ‘‘(ii) changes in historical severe 17 weather, drought, and wildfire patterns; 18 ‘‘(iii) the expansion of geographical 19 ranges of droughts, floods, and wildfires 20 into regions that had not regularly experi- 21 enced such phenomena; 22 ‘‘(iv) global sea level rise patterns and 23 the expansion of geographical ranges af- 24 fected by drought; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S745.IS S745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 745 IS ‘‘(v) changes in marine environments 1 that effect critical geostrategic waterways, 2 such as the Arctic Ocean, the South China 3 Sea, the South Pacific Ocean, the Barents 4 Sea, and the Beaufort Sea.’’. 5 SEC. 4. ENHANCING UNITED STATES UNDERSTANDING ON 6 GLOBAL CLIMATE DISRUPTIONS. 7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall conduct peri- 8 odic comprehensive evaluations of present and ongoing 9 disruptions to the global climate system that analyze— 10 (1) the intensity, frequency, and range of nat- 11 ural disasters; 12 (2) the scarcity of global natural resources, in- 13 cluding fresh water; 14 (3) global food, health, and energy insecurities; 15 (4) conditions that contribute to— 16 (A) intrastate and interstate conflict; 17 (B) political and economic instability; 18 (C) migration of vulnerable and under- 19 served populations; 20 (D) state failure; and 21 (E) gender based violence; and 22 (5) United States and allied military readiness, 23 operations, and strategy. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S745.IS S745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 745 IS (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of the evaluations con- 1 ducted under subsection (a) shall be— 2 (1) to support the practical application of sci- 3 entific data and research on climate change’s dy- 4 namic effects around the world towards improving 5 resilience, adaptability, security, and stability in the 6 face of growing global environmental risks and 7 changes; 8 (2) to ensure that the strategic planning and 9 mission execution of United States international de- 10 velopment and diplomatic missions adequately ac- 11 count for heightened and dynamic risks and chal- 12 lenges associated with the effects of climate change; 13 (3) to improve coordination between United 14 States science agencies conducting research and 15 forecasts on the causes and effects of climate change 16 and United States national security agencies; and 17 (4) to better understand the effects of global 18 climate disruptions on all genders, thereby leading to 19 better, more sustainable, and targeted solutions. 20 (c) SCOPE.—The evaluations conducted under sub- 21 section (a) shall— 22 (1) examine developing countries’ vulnerabilities 23 and risks associated with global, regional, and local- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S745.IS S745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 745 IS ized effects of climate change, including utilizing 1 gender analysis; and 2 (2) assess and make recommendations regard- 3 ing necessary measures to mitigate risks and reduce 4 vulnerabilities associated with effects, including— 5 (A) sea level rise; 6 (B) freshwater resource scarcity; 7 (C) wildfires; and 8 (D) increased intensity and frequency of 9 extreme weather conditions and events, includ- 10 ing flooding, drought, and extreme storm 11 events, including tropical cyclones. 12 (d) REPORT.—The President shall— 13 (1) compile a report containing a summary of 14 the results of the evaluations conducted under this 15 section; and 16 (2) make such report available to the public. 17 SEC. 5. TRANSPARENCY. 18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Any commission, advisory panel, 19 or committee designated by the President to examine or 20 evaluate climate security (as defined in section 1(g)(6) of 21 the State Department Basic Authorities Act of 1956, as 22 added by section 3) shall comply with the Federal Advi- 23 sory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S745.IS S745 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 745 IS (b) WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS.—Section 1 2302(b)(8)(A) of title 5, United States Code, is amend- 2 ed— 3 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘, or’’ and insert- 4 ing a semicolon; 5 (2) by redesignating clause (ii) as clause (iii); 6 and 7 (3) by inserting after clause (i) the following: 8 ‘‘(ii) a deliberate manipulation, mis- 9 judgment, removal, or obfuscation of, or 10 failure to take into account, data and in- 11 formation critical to fulsome or accurate 12 national security assessment and planning; 13 or’’. 14 (c) ACCESSIBILITY OF PROCESSES.—The President 15 shall ensure that the draft and final reports, studies, and 16 policy recommendations relating to climate security re- 17 search that are compiled by entities working under the di- 18 rection of the Federal Government are made available to 19 the public. 20 SEC. 6. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ARCTIC SECURITY. 21 It is the sense of Congress that— 22 (1) the rapidly changing Arctic environment— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:05 Mar 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILL [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]