Climate Change Diplomacy and Development Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 5040 To require the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a strategy of the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development to address the global climate change crisis, improve the energy and resource efficiency of the Department, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 17, 2020 Mr. CARDIN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations A BILL To require the Secretary of State to submit to Congress a strategy of the Department of State and the United States Agency for International Development to address the global climate change crisis, improve the energy and resource efficiency of the Department, 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 ‘‘Climate Change Diplo- 4 macy and Development Act of 2020’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5040.IS S5040 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 5040 IS SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 1 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 2 ings: 3 (1) The planet risks increasingly catastrophic 4 impacts unless global average temperatures are lim- 5 ited to no more than 2 °C, aiming for 1.5 °C above 6 preindustrial levels. 7 (2) According to the Intergovernmental Panel 8 on Climate Change’s Special Report on 1.5 °C, lim- 9 iting warming to no more than 1.5 °C requires fast 10 mitigation of both CO2 and non-CO2 climate pollut- 11 ants, as well as the protection and expansion of for- 12 ests and other sinks that remove and store CO2, 13 along with other strategies for removing CO2 and 14 other climate pollutants. 15 (3) Forced displacement and forced migration 16 are increasingly caused or exacerbated by environ- 17 mental changes and climate-induced disruptions. 18 (4) The United National Human Rights Coun- 19 cil has recognized that climate change poses an exis- 20 tential threat that has already had a negative impact 21 on the fulfillment of human rights. 22 (5) To have a chance at limiting warming to 23 1.5 °C and avoiding increasingly severe impacts 24 from climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel 25 on Climate Change (IPCC) concluded that global net 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5040.IS S5040 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 5040 IS anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions must fall by 1 45 percent from global 2010 levels by 2030 and 2 reach net-zero by 2050. 3 (6) Failure to act on the climate crisis leads to 4 higher levels of warming and exposes all regions of 5 the world to potentially catastrophic insecurity and 6 destabilization that could cause a breakdown of 7 economies, social systems, and political institutions 8 in ways that are likely irreversible. It is in the inter- 9 est of the United States to place a high priority on 10 strengthening the global response to the threat of 11 climate change. 12 (7) United States leadership and ingenuity are 13 central to solving the climate crisis. The United 14 States must act urgently, guided by science, and in 15 concert with the international community to signifi- 16 cantly reduce emissions, prepare for climate impacts, 17 and drive progress through international negotia- 18 tions to maintain a livable climate for today and fu- 19 ture generations. 20 (8) The United States can also build strong sci- 21 entific and security partnerships and reinforce the 22 United States ability to lead on other key global pri- 23 orities through climate diplomacy. These efforts can 24 foster climate security while creating new opportuni- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5040.IS S5040 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 5040 IS ties for United States leadership, economic growth, 1 and innovation. 2 (9) The United States is a Party to the United 3 Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 4 (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Convention’’), as 5 agreed to by the advice and consent of the Senate 6 on October 7, 1992, and should remain actively en- 7 gaged in the Convention. 8 (10) In Paris, on December 12, 2015, parties 9 to the Convention reached a landmark agreement to 10 strengthen the global response to the threat of cli- 11 mate change by keeping a global temperature rise 12 well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels and to 13 pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even 14 further to 1.5 °C. 15 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con- 16 gress that the United States should— 17 (1) utilize multilateral and bilateral foreign as- 18 sistance to promote low-carbon, climate-resilient de- 19 velopment, including supporting greater participa- 20 tion of women in the development and implementa- 21 tion of climate policies that are gender-responsive; 22 and 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5040.IS S5040 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 5040 IS (2) advance clean energy and climate resilience 1 through budgeting and operations of United States 2 Government facilities abroad. 3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 4 In this Act: 5 (1) ADAPTATION.—The term ‘‘adaptation’’ 6 means an adjustment in natural or human systems 7 to a new or changing environment that exploits ben- 8 eficial opportunities or moderates negative effects. 9 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT- 10 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com- 11 mittees’’ means— 12 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 13 and the Committee on Appropriations of the 14 Senate; and 15 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 16 the Committee on Appropriations of the House 17 of Representatives. 18 (3) CLEAN ENERGY.—The term ‘‘clean energy’’ 19 means any electricity generation, transmission, stor- 20 age, heating, cooling, industrial process, or manufac- 21 turing project the primary purpose of which is the 22 deployment, development, or production of an energy 23 system or technology that avoids, significantly re- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5040.IS S5040 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 5040 IS duces, or sequesters emissions of greenhouse gas or 1 other pollutants. 2 (4) CLIMATE CHANGE.—The term ‘‘climate 3 change’’ means anthropogenic changes in average 4 weather conditions that persist over multiple decades 5 or longer, and encompasses both increases and de- 6 creases in temperature, as well as shifts in precipita- 7 tion, changing risk of certain types of severe weather 8 events, and changes to other features of the climate 9 system. 10 (5) CLIMATE SECURITY.—The term ‘‘climate 11 security’’ has the meaning given such term in sec- 12 tion 120 of the National Security Act of 1947 (50 13 U.S.C. 3060). 14 (6) MITIGATION.—The term ‘‘mitigation’’ 15 means measures to reduce the amount or speed of 16 future climate change, including by reducing emis- 17 sions of heat-trapping gases or removing carbon di- 18 oxide from the atmosphere. 19 (7) RESILIENT.—The term ‘‘resilient’’ means 20 the capability to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, 21 or recover from significant multihazard threats with 22 minimum damage to social well-being, health, the 23 economy, or the environment. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5040.IS S5040 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 5040 IS SEC. 4. STRATEGY FOR GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE DIPLO- 1 MACY AND DEVELOPMENT. 2 (a) STRATEGY.—Not later than one year after the 3 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 4 in coordination with the Administrator of the United 5 States Agency for International Development (USAID), 6 shall— 7 (1) develop, in consultation with the Secretary 8 of Treasury, the Secretary of Defense, the Office of 9 the Director of National Intelligence, the heads of 10 any other relevant Federal departments or agencies, 11 and domestic and international civil society and or- 12 ganizations with experience researching or imple- 13 menting policies and programs dealing with the cli- 14 mate crisis, a ‘‘Joint Department of State and 15 USAID Strategy to Address the Global Climate 16 Change Crisis’’ (in this section referred to as the 17 ‘‘Strategy’’); 18 (2) designate the Department of State’s Bureau 19 of Oceans and International Environmental and Sci- 20 entific Affairs to coordinate Department of State 21 and USAID efforts to guide United States foreign 22 policy related to global climate change in order to— 23 (A) confront risks to United States na- 24 tional security, including geopolitical, commer- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5040.IS S5040 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 5040 IS cial, economic, environmental, financial, and 1 health interests; 2 (B) advance United States prosperity; and 3 (C) restore United States leadership 4 through climate change diplomacy; and 5 (3) submit to the appropriate congressional 6 committees the Strategy. 7 (b) ELEMENTS.—The Strategy developed pursuant to 8 subsection (a) shall at a minimum— 9 (1) include an assessment of the global threat 10 of climate change, including geographic or country 11 prioritization based on the assessed threat to the 12 United States and its allies; 13 (2) identify Department of State and USAID 14 goals, objectives, and priorities for United States 15 policy on climate change to protect United States 16 national security (including the interests specified in 17 subsection (a)(2)(A)), including— 18 (A) examining how the United States will 19 engage diplomatically and utilize foreign assist- 20 ance to ensure parties to the United Nations 21 Framework Convention on Climate Change col- 22 lectively move toward a pathway consistent with 23 holding the increase in the global average tem- 24 perature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5040.IS S5040 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 5040 IS levels and pursuing efforts to limit the tempera- 1 ture increase to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial lev- 2 els, taking into account each country’s domestic 3 circumstances and capabilities; 4 (B) outlining an approach to utilize multi- 5 lateral and bilateral foreign assistance to pro- 6 mote low-carbon, climate-resilient development; 7 (C) integrating into diplomatic fora and 8 development programs issues related to gender 9 and the impacts of climate change on the most 10 vulnerable countries and communities; 11 (D) articulating guidelines for inter- 12 national finance flows consistent with a path- 13 way toward low greenhouse gas emissions and 14 climate-resilient development; 15 (E) mobilizing public and private sector fi- 16 nance to support low-carbon, climate-resilient 17 development, including through the Green Cli- 18 mate Fund; and 19 (F) reflecting the input of other executive 20 branch agencies, as appropriate; 21 (3) describe the coordination mechanisms with- 22 in the Department of State and USAID, including 23 diplomatic missions, for developing and imple- 24 menting efforts to advance United States global cli- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5040.IS S5040 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 5040 IS mate change foreign policy, including with regard to 1 climate security policy, conflict mitigation, economic 2 policy, and geographic policy parameters; 3 (4) describe how the Department of State plans 4 to build on any existing frameworks, policies, or pro- 5 grams to— 6 (A) adapt or expand existing Department 7 programs, projects, activities, or policy instru- 8 ments based on existing authorities for the spe- 9 cific purpose of addressing or mitigating the ef- 10 fects of global climate change; 11 (B) consider how compliance with inter- 12 national climate agreements affects the global 13 economy, including in terms of employment, 14 trade, and investment; and 15 (C) identify the need for any new Depart- 16 ment programs, projects, activities, or policy in- 17 struments for the specific purpose of addressing 18 or mitigating the effects of global climate 19 change and describe the steps and resources 20 necessary to establish such programs, projects, 21 activities, or instruments, noting whether such 22 steps or resources would require new statutory 23 authorities; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5040.IS S5040 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 5040 IS (5) demonstrate how the President’s Budget for 1 State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs 2 (SFOPs) allocates resources in support of the Strat- 3 egy, including for Department of State and USAID 4 operations and foreign assistance programs, includ- 5 ing security assistance. 6 (c) FORM.—The Strategy shall be submitted in un- 7 classified form, but may include a classified annex as ap- 8 propriate. 9 (d) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than three months 10 after the submission of the Strategy, the Secretary of 11 State and the Administrator of the United States Agency 12 for International Development shall begin implementing 13 the Strategy. 14 (e) CONSULTATION.—Not later than 90 days after 15 the date of the enactment of this Act and not less often 16 than annually thereafter, the Secretary of State and Ad- 17 ministrator of the United States Agency for International 18 Development shall jointly consult with the appropriate 19 congressional committees regarding the development and 20 implementation of the Strategy. 21 (f) CLIMATE CHANGE DIPLOMACY REPORTING RE- 22 QUIREMENT.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 240 days 24 after the submission of the Strategy, and annually 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:07 Jan 21, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5040.IS S5040 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 5040 IS thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit to the 1 appropriate congressional committees a report that 2 outlines progress that the Department of State and 3 USAID have made regarding implementation of the 4 Strategy. 5 (2) FORM.—The reports required under para- 6 graph (1) shall be submitted in unclassified form, 7 but may include a classified annex as appropriate. 8 SEC. 5. CLIMATE-CONSCIOUS BUDGETING AND OPER- 9 ATIONS OF DEPARTMENT OF STATE AND 10 UNITED STATES AGENCY FO [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]