Targeting Environmental and Climate Recklessness Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 5625 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 JANUARY 16, 2020 Ms. ESCOBAR (for herself and Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Financial Services, Oversight and Reform, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently deter- mined 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 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:24 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5625.IH H5625 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 5625 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress makes the following findings: 2 (1) There is strong global support for actions 3 that limit the severity of climate change. 4 (2) On September 18, 2019, more than 200 5 representatives of environmental groups, human 6 rights groups, indigenous peoples, workers, and aca- 7 demia adopted a declaration calling on governments 8 to urgently address environmental damage, including 9 by increasing the pressure on those most responsible 10 for climate change. 11 (3) The United States Government has devel- 12 oped and implements targeted measures to restrict 13 access to the United States financial system for spe- 14 cific individuals and entities involved in conduct in- 15 cluding malicious cyber-enabled activity, transnation- 16 al organized crime, narcotics trafficking, terrorism, 17 proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, human 18 rights abuse, and corruption. Those conduct-based 19 measures apply globally and are not focused on any 20 specific country. 21 (4) As of the date of the enactment of this Act, 22 the United States Government seeks to apply exist- 23 ing sanctions authorities against individuals and en- 24 tities engaged in wildlife trafficking. On January 30, 25 2018, the Office of Foreign Assets Control des- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:24 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5625.IH H5625 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 5625 IH ignated an organization for engaging in illicit activi- 1 ties including the trafficking of endangered and vul- 2 nerable animals such as black bears, pangolins, ti- 3 gers, rhinoceroses, and elephants. 4 (5) Climate change has disproportionate impact 5 on poorer communities and individuals in less devel- 6 oped countries. Targeted measures against individ- 7 uals and entities most responsible for exacerbating 8 climate change could help ensure that efforts to ad- 9 dress climate change do not worsen global inequal- 10 ity. 11 (6) Development of carbon-intensive electrical 12 power plants is continuing across the developing 13 world through new foreign investments, despite 14 broad awareness of the dangers. 15 (7) The current investment plans of countries 16 likely to receive significant foreign energy invest- 17 ments may lead to an excess build-out of fossil fuel 18 assets and create carbon ‘‘lock-in’’ absent urgent ac- 19 tion. 20 (8) Governments that are investing in or direct- 21 ing foreign investment toward legacy fossil fuel en- 22 ergy generation often lack the incentive to formulate 23 more efficient or sustainable national energy policies. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:24 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5625.IH H5625 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 5625 IH Those governments are thus likely to default to es- 1 tablished but harmful forms of energy generation. 2 (9) 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 (10) Corruption is especially harmful when indi- 7 viduals who abuse positions of influence for personal 8 gain can simultaneously cause great damage to the 9 global commons by facilitating significant increases 10 in the emission of, or decreases in the absorption of, 11 greenhouse gases. 12 (11) Deforestation is doubly damaging because 13 it undercuts the absorption of carbon dioxide, while 14 also raising greenhouse gas emissions. 15 (12) According to the Intergovernmental Panel 16 on Climate Change, most pathways to limit warming 17 to well below 2 degrees Celsius require reduced de- 18 forestation in concert with reforestation, afforesta- 19 tion, and bioenergy efforts. 20 (13) From 2013 to 2019, some of the largest 21 financial institutions in the world provided tens of 22 billions of dollars in financing to entities either di- 23 rectly or indirectly deforesting the largest rainforests 24 in the world. Most financial institutions have no in- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:24 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5625.IH H5625 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 5625 IH ternal policy covering dealings in key forest-risk 1 commodities. 2 (14) On September 22, 2019, 130 financial in- 3 stitutions worth $47,000,000,000,000 collectively, 4 representing 1⁄3 of the global industry, signed on to 5 the United Nations-backed Principles for Respon- 6 sible Banking, committing to strategically align their 7 businesses with the goals of the agreement of the 8 parties to the United Nations Framework Conven- 9 tion on Climate Change, done at Paris December 12, 10 2015, and entered into force November 4, 2016 (in 11 this Act referred to as the ‘‘Paris Climate Agree- 12 ment’’), and the Sustainable Development Goals 13 adopted by all United Nations member countries in 14 2015. 15 (15) Illegal deforestation causes environmental 16 harm while promoting criminal activity. In the Bra- 17 zilian Amazon, criminal networks with the capacity 18 to coordinate large-scale extraction, processing, and 19 sale of timber deploy armed personnel to protect 20 their interests. They regularly kill and threaten peo- 21 ple who stand in the way of criminal activity, includ- 22 ing members of indigenous communities and envi- 23 ronmental enforcement officials. Perpetrators of vio- 24 lence are rarely brought to justice. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:24 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5625.IH H5625 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 5625 IH (16) Between 2002 and 2017, 1,558 people in 1 50 countries were killed for defending their environ- 2 ments and lands. Environmental defenders currently 3 face a wave of violence that includes threats of phys- 4 ical harm, intimidation, and criminalization. 5 (17) Policies and measures to address climate 6 change must also promote human rights, thereby ad- 7 vancing equality, justice, and dignity for all, in line 8 with the Sustainable Development Goals of the 9 United Nations. 10 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON A COMPREHENSIVE AP- 11 PROACH TO ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE. 12 It is the sense of Congress that— 13 (1) the restrictive measures described in this 14 Act are only one component of the comprehensive 15 approach needed to address climate change and miti- 16 gate its effects; 17 (2) the United States Government must ensure 18 through law and regulation that United States enti- 19 ties are not engaged in any of the egregious behav- 20 iors for which foreign persons may be targeted 21 under this Act; 22 (3) the United States Government must recom- 23 mit to the Paris Climate Agreement and commit to 24 any successor agreement; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:24 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5625.IH H5625 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 5625 IH (4) the United States Government must fulfill 1 its pledges to the Green Climate Fund and promote 2 international efforts to support climate change adap- 3 tation and mitigation; 4 (5) the United States Government must work 5 proactively with foreign governments, including by 6 offering positive incentives, to address climate 7 change and to promote economic development in 8 ways that do not needlessly increase carbon emis- 9 sions or increase the risk of corruption; 10 (6) the restrictive measures described in this 11 Act should be employed if engagement has failed to 12 prevent significant actions that exacerbate climate 13 change; and 14 (7) given broad international support for coun- 15 tering climate change, the Secretary of State should 16 encourage the governments of other countries to im- 17 plement restrictive measures that are similar to the 18 provisions of this Act in order to increase the effec- 19 tiveness of actions taken by the United States to 20 combat significant actions that exacerbate climate 21 change, including related corruption and human 22 rights violations. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:24 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5625.IH H5625 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 5625 IH SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ENGAGEMENT WITH THE 1 PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. 2 It is the sense of Congress that— 3 (1) the United States Government should en- 4 courage the People’s Republic of China to follow 5 through on its stated intentions to reduce the nega- 6 tive environmental impacts of Chinese foreign invest- 7 ment, including investments provided through the 8 Belt and Road Initiative; 9 (2) the United States Government should nego- 10 tiate a binding agreement to end fossil fuel subsidies 11 with major economies including the People’s Repub- 12 lic of China; 13 (3) the United States Government should build 14 on the successes of existing engagement with the 15 People’s Republic of China through the United 16 States-China Clean Energy Research Center and 17 other initiatives to launch new cooperative efforts; 18 (4) the United States Government should en- 19 gage in expanded dialogue with the People’s Repub- 20 lic of China to ensure that development finance in- 21 stitutions do not undermine global decarbonization 22 efforts; and 23 (5) the United States Government should work 24 with the People’s Republic of China to develop and 25 adopt safeguards to promote low-carbon, climate-re- 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:24 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5625.IH H5625 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 5625 IH silient investments over high-carbon, climate risk-in- 1 ducing investments, particularly in emerging and de- 2 veloping economies in the Indo-Pacific, Africa, and 3 Latin America. 4 SEC. 5. STATEMENT OF POLICY ON APPLICATION OF GLOB- 5 AL MAGNITSKY SANCTIONS TO CLIMATE- 6 LINKED CORRUPTION AND HUMAN RIGHTS 7 ABUSES. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—It is the policy of the United 9 States to consider— 10 (1) any act of corruption related to a covered 11 activity (as defined in section 6(h)) to be corruption, 12 as that term is used in Executive Order 13818 (50 13 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking the property 14 of persons involved in serious human rights abuse or 15 corruption); and 16 (2) any violation of internationally recognized 17 human rights committed against an individual de- 18 scribed in subsection (b) to be a serious human 19 rights abuse, as that term is used in that Executive 20 Order 13818. 21 (b) INDIVIDUALS DESCRIBED.—An individual de- 22 scribed in this subsection is an individual— 23 (1) seeking to protect the environment, public 24 health, or community land rights; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:24 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5625.IH H5625 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 5625 IH (2) seeking to expose, or raise awareness of, en- 1 vironmental damage; or 2 (3) obliged to leave the individual’s habitual 3 home due, in whole or in part, to sudden or progres- 4 sive change in the environment that adversely affects 5 the individual’s life or living conditions. 6 SEC. 6. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO SIG- 7 NIFICANT ACTIONS THAT EXACERBATE CLI- 8 MATE CHANGE. 9 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 10 gress that the President should employ the authorities 11 provided by this section to prioritize action against, and 12 deterrence of, egregious behaviors that undermine efforts 13 to limit the increase in global average temperature to 1.5 14 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. 15 (b) IN GENERAL.—The President may impose one or 16 more of the sanctions described in subsection (c) with re- 17 spect to any foreign person the President determines, 18 based on credible information— 19 (1) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to 20 have directly or indirectly engaged in, a covered ac- 21 tivity, including a government official who approves 22 or implements policies or acts that serve to promote 23 a covered activity; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:24 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5625.IH H5625 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 5625 IH (2) to have acted or purported to act for or on 1 behalf of, directly or indirectly, any foreign person in 2 a matter relating to a covered activity, including for 3 or on behalf of a government official described in 4 paragraph (1); 5 (3) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or 6 provided financial, material, or technological support 7 for, or goods or services to or in support of, a cov- 8 ered activity; or 9 (4) to be owned or controlled by a foreign per- 10 son described in paragraph (1). 11 (c) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions that 12 may be imposed with respect to a foreign person under 13 subsection (b) are the following: 14 (1) INADMISSIBILITY TO UNITED STATES.—In 15 the case of a foreign person who is an individual— 16 (A) ineligibility to receive a visa to enter 17 the United States or to be admitted to the 18 United States; or 19 (B) if the individual has been issued a visa 20 or other documentation, revocation, in accord- 21 ance with section 221(i) of the Immigration and 22 Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), of the visa 23 or other documentation. 24 (2) BLOCKING OF PROPERTY.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:24 Jan 17, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5625.IH H5625 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with B [Text truncated for display. 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