Super Pollutants Act of 2015

Summary: Super Pollutants Act of 2015 This bill requires the President to establish the Interagency Task Force on Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Mitigation. The Task Force must report on federal agencies' plans for reducing those pollutants, including: (1) black carbon (soot emissions), (2) methane, and (3) hydrofluorocarbons with high global warming potential (high-GWP HFC). The Department of State must develop a comprehensive plan to reduce black carbon emissions from international shipping, which must include a roadmap toward helping countries reduce fine-particle emissions from shipping. While acting as chairperson of the Arctic Council, the Secretary of State must: (1) lead an effort to reduce black carbon through an Arctic-wide aspirational black carbon goal, and (2) encourage observers of that Council to adopt national black carbon emissions reduction goals and mitigation plans. The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) must: (1) prioritize black carbon mitigation activities as part of aid distribution activities; (2) give special emphasis to projects that produce substantial environmental, gender, livelihood, and public health benefits; and (3) work with the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves to help developing nations establish thriving markets for clean and efficient cooking solutions. The State Department must provide technical assistance to aid international efforts in reducing black carbon emissions from diesel trucks, 2-stroke engines, diesel generators, and industrial processes. The Department of Energy (DOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must: (1) evaluate the availability of high-GWP HFC alternatives, and (2) report on a plan for revising regulatory barriers that prevent the use of those alternatives. The bill amends the Clean Air Act to prohibit the manufacture of any uncharged hydrochlorofluorocarbon-22 air-conditioning condensing equipment for residential use. The EPA must study and report on the most effective method to minimize the inadvertent release of HFC-134a from automotive air conditioning recharge kits when the recharge container is not being used. The State Department, DOE, the EPA, and the Department of Commerce must provide to other countries technical guidance on containing emissions from gas drilling, landfills, coal mining, and agriculture. The Government Accountability Office must identify: (1) the types of equipment throughout the production value chain that are most likely to have high leak rates, and (2) voluntary efforts on replacing or monitoring those types of equipment.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Super Pollutants Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) short-lived climate pollutants account for 40 percent 
        of global warming impacting the atmosphere, even though those 
        pollutants account for a much smaller percentage of warming 
        agents, by weight;
            (2) reducing short-lived climate pollutant emissions 
        could--
                    (A) prevent more than 2,000,000 premature deaths 
                each year, according to the United Nations Environment 
                Programme (UNEP);
                    (B) prevent more than 30,000,000 tons of crop 
                losses each year, according to UNEP;
                    (C) cut the rate of sea-level rise by 25 percent, 
                according to the National Center for Atmospheric 
                Research and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography;
                    (D) cut the rate of warming by up to 0.6 degrees 
                Celsius by 2050, according to UNEP; and
                    (E) significantly contribute toward the overall 
                global target of holding increased warming below 2 
                degrees Celsius;
            (3) the United States is--
                    (A) 1 of the largest consumers of 
                hydrofluorocarbons in the world; and
                    (B) providing significant innovation in the 
                development of low global warming potential (low-GWP) 
                alternatives;
            (4) the United States could serve as a leader and exemplar 
        of responsibly phasing down hydrofluorocarbon production and 
        consumption;
            (5)(A) the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the 
        Ozone Layer has been an extraordinarily successful model for 
        protecting the stratospheric ozone layer and achieving 
        significant climate protection cobenefits; and
            (B) since that treaty was signed in 1987, there has been a 
        98-percent reduction in ozone-depleting substances; and
            (6) the interagency Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions, 
        released in March 2014, outlines a proactive agenda for 
        reducing methane leakage and waste throughout the United States 
        economy.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Short-lived climate pollutant.--The term ``short-lived 
        climate pollutant'' means--
                    (A) black carbon;
                    (B) methane; and
                    (C) high global warming potential 
                hydrofluorocarbons (referred to in this Act as ``high-
                GWP HFC'').
            (2) Task force.--The term ``Task Force'' means the 
        Interagency Task Force on Short-Lived Climate Pollutant 
        Mitigation established under section 4(a).

SEC. 4. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE ON SHORT-LIVED CLIMATE POLLUTANT 
              MITIGATION.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the President shall establish a task force, to 
be known as the ``Interagency Task Force on Short-Lived Climate 
Pollutant Mitigation''.
    (b) Membership.--The members of the Task Force shall include the 
head of each relevant Federal department or agency (or a designee), 
including the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, 
the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, the Department of 
the Interior, the Department of State, the Department of 
Transportation, the Environmental Protection Agency, the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the United States Agency 
for International Development.
    (c) Duties.--The Task Force shall--
            (1) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
        report that includes--
                    (A) the plans of the relevant departments or 
                agencies for meeting the goals established in section 2 
                of Executive Order 13514 (October 5, 2009) (74 Fed. 
                Reg. 52117) to reduce hydrofluorocarbons, methane, and 
                related indirect emissions (including tropospheric 
                ozone) by the Federal Government; and
                    (B) specific plans of the relevant departments or 
                agencies--
                            (i) to purchase cleaner alternatives to 
                        high-GWP HFC whenever feasible; and
                            (ii) to transition over time to equipment 
                        that uses safer and more sustainable 
                        alternatives to high-GWP HFC;
            (2) review the policy recommendations made by--
                    (A) the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task 
                Force;
                    (B) the Interagency Strategy to Reduce Methane 
                Emissions;
                    (C) the report to Congress regarding black carbon 
                dated March 2012; and
                    (D) the Council on Climate Preparedness and 
                Resilience;
            (3) incorporate into the action plan of the Task Force any 
        appropriate proposals or recommendations made by the entities 
        or reports referred to in paragraph (2) that are relevant to 
        short-lived climate pollutants;
            (4) identify relevant Federal programs that are or could be 
        addressing the reduction of short-lived climate pollutants in 
        the United States and worldwide;
            (5) identify overlapping and duplicative programs 
        addressing short-lived climate pollutants that would benefit 
        from consolidation and streamlining;
            (6) identify gaps and serious deficiencies in United States 
        programs targeted at short-lived climate pollutants, including 
        those that can be achieved through a combination of assessment, 
        scientific research, monitoring, and technological development 
        activities, with an emphasis on industry standards and public-
        private partnerships;
            (7) in developing recommendations, consult with affected 
        stakeholders in private industry; and
            (8) not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of 
        this Act, submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 
        report describing the findings and recommendations resulting 
        from the activities described in paragraphs (2) through (7).

SEC. 5. REDUCTION OF BLACK CARBON EMISSIONS.

    (a) Comprehensive Plan.--
            (1) In general.--Through the membership of the United 
        States in the International Maritime Organization, the 
        Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of 
        Transportation, the Secretary of Commerce, the Administrator of 
        the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Commandant of the 
        Coast Guard, shall develop a comprehensive plan to reduce black 
        carbon emissions, based on appropriate emission data from 
        oceangoing vessels provided on a voluntary basis, from 
        international shipping through--
                    (A) a clean freight partnership;
                    (B) the inclusion of limits on black carbon; and
                    (C) efforts that include protection of access to 
                critical fuel shipments and emergency needs of coastal 
                communities.
            (2) Roadmap.--A principal objective of the plan developed 
        pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be the establishment, in 
        coordination with the Department of Transportation, of a 
        roadmap toward helping countries reduce fine-particle emissions 
        (PM&lt;INF&gt;2.5&lt;/INF&gt;) in the shipping sector through--
                    (A) the installation of advanced emissions 
                controls; and
                    (B) the reduction of sulfur content in fuels.
    (b) Black Carbon Emissions Reduction Goals.--Acting as chairperson 
of the Arctic Council, the Secretary of State shall--
            (1) lead an effort to reduce black carbon through an 
        Arctic-wide aspirational black carbon goal; and
            (2) encourage observers of the Arctic Council (including 
        India and China) to adopt national black carbon emissions 
        reduction goals and mitigation plans.
    (c) Climate and Clean Air Coalition.--Through the membership of the 
United States in the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-
Lived Climate Pollutants, the Secretary of State is encouraged--
            (1) to work with the Coalition to craft specific financing 
        mechanisms for the incremental cost of international black 
        carbon mitigation activities; and
            (2) to request that the Coalition produce a report 
        describing black carbon mitigation financing options.
    (d) Black Carbon Mitigation Activities.--
            (1) Prioritization.--The Administrator of the United States 
        Agency for International Development, in cooperation with the 
        Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall--
                    (A) prioritize black carbon mitigation activities 
                as part of official development assistance and 
                programmatic activities;
                    (B) give special emphasis to projects that produce 
                substantial environmental, gender, livelihood, and 
                public health benefits, including support for clean-
                burning cookstoves and fuels; and
                    (C) work with the Global Alliance for Clean 
                Cookstoves to help developing nations establish 
                thriving markets for clean and efficient cooking 
                solutions.
            (2) Emissions reductions.--The Secretary of State, in 
        collaboration with the Administrator of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency and the Secretary of Transportation, shall 
        provide additional aid to international efforts to reduce black 
        carbon emissions from diesel trucks, 2-stroke engines, diesel 
        generators, and industrial processes by providing technical 
        assistance--
                    (A) to help developing nations lower the sulfur 
                content of diesel fuels;
                    (B) to expand access to diesel particulate filters;
                    (C) to provide vehicle manufacturers with low-
                emission engine designs; and
                    (D) to develop other mitigation activities, 
                including energy efficiency alternatives for generators 
                and industrial processes.

SEC. 6. GLOBAL REDUCTIONS IN HIGH-GWP FLUORINATED GASES.

    (a) Sense of Congress.--
            (1) Actions by environmental protection agency.--It is the 
        sense of Congress that the Administrator of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency should--
                    (A) amend any regulations issued under section 608 
                of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7671g)--
                            (i) to include hydrofluorocarbons; and
                            (ii) to expand initiatives relating to the 
                        recovery and reclamation of hydrofluorocarbons;
                    (B) cooperate with the Secretary of Energy in 
                considering modifications to the Energy Star program 
                established under section 324A of the Energy Policy and 
                Conservation Act (42 U.S.C. 6294a) to include 
                refrigerant systems that--
                            (i) achieve best-in-class energy efficiency 
                        savings; and
                            (ii) use low global warming potential 
                        refrigerants and foam-blowing agents; and
                    (C) remove high-GWP HFC from the Significant New 
                Alternatives Policy Program authorized under section 
                612(c) of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7671k(c)) for 
                applications in which the Administrator has identified 
                other alternatives that--
                            (i) are currently or potentially available;
                            (ii) reduce the overall risk to human 
                        health and the environment; and
                            (iii) take into consideration cost-
                        effectiveness.
            (2) Sense of senate.--It is the sense of the Senate that 
        United States leadership and full support of an amendment to 
        the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone 
        Layer, done at Montreal September 16, 1987, should ensure a 
        smooth, technically feasible global transition away from high-
        GWP HFC.
    (b) Study on High-GWP HFC Alternatives.--Not later than 2 years 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy and 
the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in 
collaboration with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, 
shall--
            (1) evaluate the availability of high-GWP HFC alternatives; 
        and
            (2) submit to Congress a report that--
                    (A) identifies--
                            (i) the standards or regulatory barriers 
                        that are preventing the use of alternatives to 
                        high-GWP HFC in the United States that are in 
                        widespread use in other countries;
                            (ii) any standards or regulations requiring 
                        revision; and
                            (iii) any actions necessary to revise those 
                        standards or regulations; and
                    (B) establishes a plan for revising the standards 
                referred to in paragraph (1) in the shortest 
                practicable timeframe.
    (c) Prohibition of HCFC-22 Air Conditioning Condensing Equipment.--
            (1) In general.--Section 605 of the Clean Air Act (42 
        U.S.C. 7671d) is amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(e) HCFC-22 Air Conditioning Condensing Equipment.--Effective 1 
year after the date of enactment of the Super Pollutants Act of 2015, 
it shall be unlawful for any person to manufacture any uncharged 
hydrochlorofluorocarbon-22 air conditioning condensing equipment for 
residential use.''.
            (2) Rulemaking.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency shall promulgate regulations--
                    (A) to carry out the amendment made by paragraph 
                (1); and
                    (B) to reduce the allocation of HCFC-22 consumption 
                allowances commensurate with anticipated decreased 
                demand resulting from the prohibition of uncharged 
                condensing equipment under subsection (e) of section 
                605 of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7671d) (as added by 
                paragraph (1)).
    (d) R-134a Automotive Air Conditioning Recharge Kits.--
            (1) Study.--The Administrator of the Environmental 
        Protection Agency shall conduct a study to determine the most 
        effective method to minimize the inadvertent release of HFC-
        134a from automotive air conditioning recharge kits at any time 
        during which the recharge container is not being used.
            (2) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Administrator shall submit to 
        Congress a report that contains the results of the study 
        conducted pursuant to paragraph (1).

SEC. 7. REDUCTION OF METHANE EMISSIONS.

    (a) Technical Guidance.--The Secretary of State, the Secretary of 
Energy, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, and 
the Secretary of Commerce shall--
            (1) provide to other countries technical guidance regarding 
        containment of emissions from gas drilling, landfills, coal 
        mining, and agriculture in engaging with other governments, 
        including trade delegations, under the auspices of 
        international initiatives, such as the Global Shale Gas 
        Initiative of the Department of State and the Global Methane 
        Initiative; and
            (2) collaborate with--
                    (A) the Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership of 
                the World Bank; and
                    (B) the Global Methane Initiative, Natural Gas STAR 
                Program, the Climate and Clean Air Coalition Oil and 
                Gas Methane Partnership, and other voluntary reduction 
                programs of the Environmental Protection Agency.
    (b) GAO Report.--
            (1) In general.--The Comptroller General of the United 
        States shall conduct a study that identifies--
                    (A) the types of equipment throughout the 
                production value chain that are most likely to have 
                high leak rates; and
                    (B) voluntary efforts on replacing or monitoring 
                those types of equipment.
            (2) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
        enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 
        States shall submit to Congress a report that contains the 
        results of the examination conducted pursuant to paragraph (1).
    (c) Sense of Congress Regarding Financing Conditions.--It is the 
sense of Congress that, in evaluating gas and oil-related projects for 
financial support, the heads of the United States Export-Import Bank 
and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation should condition 
financing for those projects on--
            (1) the deployment of the best technology, methods, and 
        management practices for detecting and repairing leaks of 
        methane throughout the oil and gas production, processing, 
        transportation, and distribution system;
            (2) the minimization of venting and inefficient or 
        unnecessary flaring; and
            (3) the deployment of best technology, methods, and 
        management practices for reducing emissions of other air 
        pollution, especially--
                    (A) volatile organic compounds; and
                    (B) hazardous air pollutants.