II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3340 

To establish the Global Climate Change Resilience Strategy, to authorize 

the admission of climate-displaced persons into the United States, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 15, 2023 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mr. SANDERS, and Mr. BOOKER) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To establish the Global Climate Change Resilience Strategy, 

to authorize the admission of climate-displaced persons 

into the United States, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Climate Displaced Persons Act’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Findings; sense of Congress. 

Sec. 3. Definitions in the Immigration and Nationality Act. 


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Sec. 4. Required data collection and reporting. 

Sec. 5. Global Climate Change Resilience Strategy. 

Sec. 6. Training in climate change resilience. 

Sec. 7. Guidance on the humanitarian impacts of climate change. 

Sec. 8. Admission of climate-displaced persons. 

Sec. 9. Authorization of appropriations. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) In the second study of the Sixth Assessment 

4 Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 

5 Change (IPCC), issued in February 2022, the IPCC 

6 stated, based on scientific evidence, that the Earth’s 

7 climate is now changing faster than at any point in 

8 human and recent geologic history. 

9 (2) The Sixth Assessment Report of the IPCC 

10 and the Fourth National Climate Assessment, issued 

11 in November 2018, found that a changing climate 

12 is— 

13 (A) causing sea levels to rise; 

14 (B) contributing to an increase in wildfires 

15 and temperature extremes in some parts of the 

16 world; 

17 (C) contributing to an increase in heavy 

18 precipitation in certain locations; and 

19 (D) intensifying drought in many regions 

20 of the world. 

21 (3) Forced displacement and forced migration 

22 are increasing in the context of environmental 


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1 changes and climate-induced disruptions, including 

2 weather-related disasters, drought, food insecurity, 

3 and rising sea levels. 

4 (4) In 2022, flooding events caused 6 out of 10 

5 disaster displacements within countries, surpassing 

6 other types of disaster, according to the Internal 

7 Displacement Monitoring Centre. Such events in8 clude— 

9 (A) the weather phenomena affected by El 

10 Nin ̃o and La Nin ̃a, which have recently led to 

11 record levels of flood displacement in many 

12 countries, including Brazil, Nigeria, Sudan, 

13 South Sudan, and Somalia; 

14 (B) high-impact events, such as the Au15 gust 2022 floods in Pakistan, which displaced 

16 millions of people; and 

17 (C) floods impacting the most marginalized 

18 communities, such as refugees, internally dis19 placed persons, and returnee populations in 

20 northern South Sudan. 

21 (5) Sea level rise, both locally and globally, im22 perils low-lying communities around the world by 

23 threatening water supplies, accelerating coastal ero24 sion and loss of arable land, and inundating coastal 

25 areas. This phenomenon affects— 


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1 (A) low-lying areas of countries, such as 

2 Bangladesh, are threatened with land erosion, 

3 land loss, salinization, and other effects of sea 

4 level rise and extreme weather events; and 

5 (B) small-island-developing states, which 

6 are particularly vulnerable to sea level rise, 

7 which threatens their entire economies and 

8 territoriality. 

9 (6) Climate change is intensifying drought 

10 events and conditions in both severity and duration, 

11 which imperils agriculture and other livelihoods and 

12 can force families and communities to relocate tem13 porarily or permanently. Failed rainy seasons in the 

14 Horn of Africa have led to the worst drought condi15 tions on record in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya. 

16 (7) A 2022 World Food Program report on the 

17 Dry Corridor, a strip of land located in Central 

18 America that includes Guatemala, El Salvador, Hon19 duras, and Nicaragua, has found that in the re20 gion— 

21 (A) temperatures have been rising, with 

22 climate change projections for the Dry Corridor 

23 estimating an increase in temperature of up to 

24 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit by 2050 and 10.8 de25 grees Fahrenheit by 2100; 


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1 (B) rainfall has been dwindling and becom2 ing violently sporadic, with long-term droughts 

3 projected to become more severe by 2100 and 

4 intensifying by 27 to 73 percent across all 

5 months; 

6 (C) crop failure is becoming rampant with 

7 the expected intensification of heat waves, 

8 which are expected to affect basic grains and 

9 coffee production due to forest fires, lags in 

10 sowing, and increased pests; and 

(D) approximately 2 11 ⁄3 of the rural popu12 lation of the Dry Corridor live in poverty and 

roughly 3 13 ⁄4 of these people are living in extreme 

14 poverty with significant levels of malnutrition, 

15 with the average monthly income from farming 

16 and other livelihoods estimated at $177.60 per 

17 person, leaving little room to cover eventualities 

18 linked to droughts, pests, extreme weather 

19 events, or socioeconomic shocks. 

20 (8) Tropical storms, including hurricanes, cy21 clones, and typhoons, are extreme weather events 

22 fueled by climate change that can generate wide23 spread destruction and displacement. 

24 (9) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad25 ministration reported that 30 tropical systems were 


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1 reported during the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, 

2 making 2020— 

3 (A) the highest-ever recorded Atlantic hur4 ricane season; 

5 (B) the fifth consecutive year with an 

6 above-normal Atlantic hurricane season; and 

7 (C) 1 of the 18 above-normal seasons dur8 ing a 26-year span. 

9 (10) The negative effects of hurricanes on com10 munities can linger for years, as demonstrated by 

11 the lasting impacts on parts of Central America 

12 caused by Hurricanes Eta and Iota, which both 

13 made landfall in the same area in November 2020. 

14 (11) Combinations of extreme heat and humid15 ity may create wet-bulb temperatures that may 

16 render certain regions of the world uninhabitable in 

17 the coming decades. 

18 (12) In the second study of the Sixth Assess19 ment Report, issued in February 2022, the Intergov20 ernmental Panel on Climate Change affirmed with 

21 high-confidence that societal adaptations in the near 

22 term can help reduce the risks of climate change 

23 throughout the 21st century. 

24 (13) In the ‘‘Synthesis Report: Climate Change 

25 2023’’, the IPCC concluded— 


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1 (A) ‘‘There is a rapidly closing window of 

2 opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable 

3 future for all’’; and 

4 (B) ‘‘Deep, rapid and sustained mitigation 

5 and accelerated implementation of adaptation 

6 actions in this decade would reduce projected 

7 losses and damages for humans and eco8 systems’’. 

9 (14) The United States bears a dispropor10 tionate responsibility for climate change since an estimated 1 11 ⁄5 of all historical worldwide carbon dioxide 

12 emissions were released in the United States, which 

13 is greater than the amount of such emissions re14 leased in any other single country. 

15 (15) In the ‘‘Synthesis Report: Climate Change 

16 2023’’, the IPCC concluded, with high confidence, 

17 ‘‘Vulnerable communities who have historically con18 tributed the least to current climate change are dis19 proportionately affected.’’. 

20 (16) According to the United Nations Refugee 

21 Agency (UNHCR)— 

22 (A) 70 percent of refugees originate from 

23 countries on the front lines of the climate crisis; 

24 (B) climate change affects people inside 

25 their own countries; and 


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1 (C) climate change typically creates inter2 nal displacement before it begins displacing 

3 people across international borders. 

4 (17) The Global Compact on Refugees recog5 nizes that ‘‘climate, environmental degradation and 

6 natural disasters increasingly interact with the driv7 ers of refugee movements.’’. 

8 (18) The October 2021 White House Report on 

9 the Impact of Climate Change on Migration— 

10 (A) recommends that Congress should ex11 plore ‘‘the need for additional protections for 

12 individuals who can establish that they are flee13 ing serious, credible threats to their life or 

14 physical integrity as a result of climate 

15 change’’; and 

16 (B) states ‘‘[t]he United States should 

17 identify ways to apply existing protection 

18 frameworks in the context of climate change-re19 lated displacement and to identify gaps where 

20 the United States should forge new legal path21 ways to protection.’’. 

22 (19) As noted in a March 2023 report by the 

23 U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants’ 

24 International Refugee Assistance Project and the 

25 Human Security Initiative, many asylum seekers 


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1 have cited the destruction of their homes, agricul2 tural lands, and businesses due to climate-related 

3 causes as contributing to their decisions to flee, as 

4 these climate-related environmental disasters exacer5 bated their conditions of marginalization. 

6 (20) The United Nations Human Rights Coun7 cil has recognized that climate change poses an exis8 tential threat that has already negatively affected 

9 the fulfillment of human rights, specifically noting 

10 that— 

11 (A) ‘‘all States should, when taking action 

12 to address climate change, respect, promote and 

13 consider their respective obligations on human 

14 rights’’; and 

15 (B) ‘‘the adverse effects of climate change 

16 are felt most acutely by those segments of the 

17 population that are already in vulnerable situa18 tions owing to factors such as geography, pov19 erty, gender, age, indigenous or minority status, 

20 national or social origin, birth or other status 

21 and disability’’. 

22 (21) The effects of climate change also exacer23 bate social, economic, and political tensions within 

24 and among nations. 


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1 (22) The UNHCR Global Trends Report 2020 

2 found, ‘‘95 percent of all conflict displacements in 

3 2020 occurred in countries vulnerable or highly vul4 nerable to climate change. Disasters can also strike 

5 populations already uprooted by conflict, forcing 

6 them to flee multiple times, as was the case with [in7 ternally-displaced persons] in Yemen, Syria and So8 malia and refugees in Bangladesh.’’. 

9 (23) Climate-vulnerable states experiencing pro10 tracted conflict, such as Afghanistan or Yemen, can 

11 be affected by multiple climate-related threats simul12 taneously, such as— 

13 (A) drought and flooding events in Afghan14 istan; and 

15 (B) drought, desertification, and cyclones 

16 affecting Yemen. 

17 (24) In their 2022 report ‘‘Migration as a Cli18 mate Adaptation Strategy’’ USAID found— 

19 (A) ‘‘Migration has the potential to serve 

20 as an important adaptation and risk manage21 ment strategy for climate-impacted popu22 lations’’; 

23 (B) ‘‘Migration is not an adaptation strat24 egy available to everyone due to pre-existing 


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1 vulnerabilities, a lack of resources, or systemic 

2 inequalities’’; and 

3 (C) ‘‘Voluntary and proactive migration 

4 can benefit migrants, their households, sending 

5 communities, and receiving communities. Bene6 fits include livelihood diversification, increased 

7 income and remittances, and knowledge and 

8 skills transfer. Receiving communities can ben9 efit from an increased labor pool and an influx 

10 of migrant spending and support services.’’. 

11 (25) The Office of the United Nations High 

12 Commissioner for Human Rights has suggested that 

13 a person displaced across borders due to climate re14 lated events— 

15 (A) has the right to not be returned to a 

16 country where such person would have irrep17 arable harm to their right to life; 

18 (B) should be considered a victim of forced 

19 displacement; and 

20 (C) should be granted at least a temporary 

21 stay in the country where they have found ref22 uge. 

23 (26) Displaced individuals, including individuals 

24 affected by climate change, can seek protective stay 

25 in third countries through humanitarian pathways, 


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1 family reunification processes, labor-based visas, and 

2 other complementary pathways with a humanitarian 

3 focus. 

4 (27) Recognizing the human rights implications 

5 of climate change, countries have begun to explore 

6 humanitarian pathways for those displaced by cli7 mate-related environmental disasters, such as the 

8 Kampala Ministerial Declaration on Migration, En9 vironment and Climate Change and Argentina’s re10 cently announced humanitarian visa program. 

11 (28) A CARE International report, ‘‘Evicted by 

12 Climate Change: Confronting the Gendered Impacts 

13 of Climate-Induced Displacement’’, which was pub14 lished in July 2020, notes that— 

15 (A) ‘‘the climate crisis exacerbates gender 

16 inequality and makes it harder to achieve gen17 der justice’’; 

18 (B) ‘‘in 2018, more than half of the 41 

19 million people internally displaced were 

20 women’’; 

21 (C) ‘‘[p]oor women and children are up to 

22 14 times more likely to be killed than men by 

23 a climate-fueled disaster, such as a hurricane, 

24 typhoon, cyclone, or flood’’; and 


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1 (D) ‘‘[w]omen who are displaced by cli2 mate change related impacts often have less ac3 cess to relief resources’’. 

4 (29) Members of LGBTQ+ communities are 

5 disproportionately affected by institutional discrimi6 nation in the housing, employment, and health sec7 tors, which reduces their capacity to cope with the 

8 impacts of climate change. 

9 (30) Black immigrants and other immigrants of 

10 color face higher rates of displacement due to cli11 mate change, but are also more often discriminated 

12 against in immigration policies and systems. 

13 (31) A December 2019 Oxfam International re14 port found that climate-related events forced an esti15 mated 20,000,000 people from their homes every 

16 year during the previous decade. 

17 (32) A 2021 national intelligence estimate from 

18 the National Intelligence Council, entitled ‘‘Climate 

19 Change and International Responses Increasing 

20 Challenges to US National Security Through 2040’’, 

21 predicted ‘‘cross-border migration probably will in22 crease as climate effects put added stress on inter23 nally displaced populations’’. 

24 (33) A 2022 study by the Loss and Damage 

25 Collaboration found that an estimated 189,000,000 


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1 people in low income countries are impacted by ex2 treme weather events exacerbated by climate change 

3 every year. 

4 (34) An October 2023 United Nations Inter5 national Children’s Emergency Fund study found 

6 that 43,100,000 children in 44 countries were dis7 placed from 2016 to 2021 due to floods, storms, 

8 droughts, and wildfires. 

9 (35) Ecological Threat Register 2020, which 

10 was published by the Institute for Economics & 

11 Peace— 

12 (A) projects that climate-related threats 

13 will continue to cause significant displacement 

14 worldwide during the coming decades; and 

15 (B) stated that 19 countries, with a com16 bined population of 2,100,000,000 people, are 

17 most at risk for displacement given population 

18 growth, water stress, food insecurity, droughts, 

19 floods, cyclones, and rising temperature and sea 

20 levels. 

21 (b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con22 gress that the United States should— 

23 (1) reduce its domestic greenhouse gas emis24 sions on a scale and rate proportionate to its historVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Nov 29, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3340.IS S3340

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1 ical responsibility and in recognition of the urgency 

2 of the threat of climate change; 

3 (2) welcome the shared responsibility of climate 

4 change adaptation, global disaster risk reduction, re5 siliency building, and disaster response and recovery; 

6 (3) assist in providing durable solutions for cli7 mate-displaced persons; 

8 (4) aid other countries in their climate change 

9 mitigation efforts; and 

10 (5) work with the international community— 

11 (A) to establish a framework to share the 

12 responsibilities described in paragraphs (2) 

13 through (4); and 

14 (B) to ensure that the human rights of cli15 mate-displaced persons are acknowledged, re16 spected, protected, and fulfilled. 

17 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS IN THE IMMIGRATION AND NATION18 ALITY ACT. 

19 Section 101(a) of the Immigration and Nationality 

20 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)) is amended— 

21 (1) by striking paragraph (8) and inserting the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(8) The term ‘climate-displaced person’ means any 

24 person who— 


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1 ‘‘(A) is compelled to leave his or her habitual 

2 home, either within his or her country of nationality 

3 or in another country, due to— 

4 ‘‘(i) a climate-related environmental dis5 aster; or 

6 ‘‘(ii) the interaction of a climate-related 

7 environmental disaster with other factors, in8 cluding resource constraints, food insecurity, 

9 discrimination, persecution, or human rights 

10 abuses; and 

11 ‘‘(B) is unable to otherwise access a durable so12 lution, such as local integration or safe and vol13 untary returns to his or her habitual place of resi14 dence due to a climate-related environmental dis15 aster that— 

16 ‘‘(i) has rendered his or her habitual place 

17 of residence uninhabitable; or 

18 ‘‘(ii) has prevented safe integration or vol19 untary returns, including through targeted vio20 lence, discrimination, human rights abuses, food 

21 insecurity, and other forms of harm. 

22 ‘‘(8A) The term ‘climate-related environmental dis23 aster’— 

24 ‘‘(A) means a hydro-meteorological or other cli25 matic event related to the Earth’s climate that adVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Nov 29, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3340.IS S3340

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1 versely affects persons’ lives, livelihoods, or living 

2 conditions; and 

3 ‘‘(B) includes— 

4 ‘‘(i) sudden-onset hydro-meteorological 

5 events, including— 

6 ‘‘(I) flooding; 

7 ‘‘(II) windstorms; 

8 ‘‘(III) heatwaves; 

9 ‘‘(IV) extreme wet-bulb temperatures; 

10 ‘‘(V) violent storms, such as blizzards; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(VI) hurricanes, typhoons, or cy13 clones; 

14 ‘‘(ii) sudden-onset events that are exacer15 bated by conditions related to climate change, 

16 including wildfires, mudslides, and avalanches; 

17 ‘‘(iii) slow-onset events, including— 

18 ‘‘(I) sea level rise or coastal inunda19 tion; 

20 ‘‘(II) drought; 

21 ‘‘(III) desertification; 

22 ‘‘(IV) salinization; 

23 ‘‘(V) ocean acidification; 

24 ‘‘(VI) erosion; and 

25 ‘‘(VII) permafrost thaw; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) slow- and sudden-onset events with a 

2 relationship to climate change that is subse3 quently attributed by further scientific re4 search.’’; and 

5 (2) by amending paragraph (34) to read as fol6 lows: 

7 ‘‘(34) The term ‘designated application center’ means 

8 any United States embassy or consulate or other facility 

9 delegated by the Secretary of State to accept applications 

10 for climate-displaced person status under section 244A.’’. 

11 SEC. 4. REQUIRED DATA COLLECTION AND REPORTING. 

12 (a) DATA COLLECTION.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President shall ensure 

14 that the Department of Commerce, the Environ15 mental Protection Agency, the Department of State, 

16 the United States Agency for International Develop17 ment, the Office of the Director of National Intel18 ligence, the Department of Defense, the Department 

19 of Homeland Security, and other relevant Federal 

20 agencies collect, maintain, and publish data on dis21 placement caused by climate change. 

22 (2) SOURCES.—Sources of the data described in 

23 paragraph (1) shall include information from— 

24 (A) the International Organization for Mi25 gration; 


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1 (B) the United Nations Refugee Agency 

2 (UNHCR); 

3 (C) the United Nations Children’s Fund; 

4 and 

5 (D) other international organizations that 

6 are collecting such data. 

7 (3) DISAGGREGATION.—Data shall be collected, 

8 maintained, and published pursuant to paragraph 

9 (1) at sufficient levels of disaggregation to assess 

10 the disparities of the impacts of climate change on 

11 a variety of groups and populations, including 

12 disaggregation by race, ethnicity, pregnancy status, 

13 parental status, socioeconomic status, country of res14 idence, and other relevant demographics to assess 

15 and ensure the equitable application of this Act and 

16 the amendments made by this Act. 

17 (4) MITIGATION.—The data described in this 

18 subsection shall be used to mitigate externally-influ19 enced disparities in other countries to the extent fea20 sible. 

21 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 

22 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually there23 after, the President shall submit a report, in unclassified 

24 form, to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the SenVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Nov 29, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3340.IS S3340

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1 ate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House 

2 of Representatives that— 

3 (1) details the collection and analysis of the 

4 data described in subsection (a); and 

5 (2) may include a classified annex. 

6 (c) LIST OF CLIMATE-VULNERABLE COUNTRIES.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

8 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 

9 every 5 years thereafter, the Secretary of State, in 

10 consultation with the Department of Homeland Se11 curity, the United States Agency for International 

12 Development, and the National Oceanic and Atmos13 pheric Administration, shall compile a list of the 100 

14 most climate-vulnerable countries and other adminis15 trative entities through notice and comment rule16 making. 

17 (2) METHODOLOGY.—In compiling the list of 

18 climate-vulnerable countries pursuant to paragraph 

19 (1), the Secretary shall— 

20 (A) use the best available scientific re21 sources, including relevant data— 

22 (i) published by the Intergovernmental 

23 Panel on Climate Change; 

24 (ii) available through the World 

25 Bank’s Climate Risk Country Profiles; and 


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1 (iii) available through the Notre Dame 

2 Global Adaptation Initiative (ND–GAIN) 

3 Country Index; 

4 (B) consider the frequency and severity of 

5 climate-related environmental disasters; 

6 (C) consider the impact of both slow- and 

7 sudden-onset climate-related environmental dis8 asters; 

9 (D) consider the interaction of these cli10 mate-related environmental disasters with each 

11 country’s preparedness and resilience capacity, 

12 including physical and social infrastructure; and 

13 (E) consult with a committee of agency ex14 perts, including climate scientists, immigration 

15 and refugee lawyers, and adaptation specialists. 

16 SEC. 5. GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCE STRATEGY. 

17 Section 117 of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 

18 (22 U.S.C. 2151p) is amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (b)— 

20 (A) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ after ‘‘(b)’’; and 

21 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(2)(A) The President is authorized to furnish assist23 ance to programs and initiatives, including multilateral 

24 initiatives and funds that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) promote resilience among communities fac2 ing harmful impacts from climate change; 

3 ‘‘(ii) reduce the vulnerability of persons affected 

4 by climate change; 

5 ‘‘(iii) address permanent loss and damage faced 

6 by affected marginalized communities; 

7 ‘‘(iv) provide support for community recovery, 

8 reconstruction, and rehabilitation after climate-re9 lated environmental disasters; 

10 ‘‘(v) promote sustainable peace through co11 operation on efforts to protect the earth against en12 vironmental threats and to address and minimize cli13 mate change; and 

14 ‘‘(vi) support climate-resilient programming 

15 that promotes peacebuilding to avert conflict due to 

16 scarcity of resources caused by climate change, in17 cluding scarcity of water, food, and grazing areas. 

18 ‘‘(B) There shall be, in the Department of State, a 

19 Coordinator of Climate Change Resilience, who shall co20 ordinate the assistance authorized under subparagraph 

21 (A).’’; and 

22 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(d)(1) The Secretary of State, in coordination with 

24 the Administrator of the United States Agency for Inter25 national Development (referred to in this subsection as 


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1 ‘USAID’) and the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, 

2 shall establish a 10-year, comprehensive, integrated strat3 egy, which shall be known as the ‘Global Climate Change 

4 Resilience Strategy’, to mitigate the impacts of climate 

5 change on displacement and humanitarian emergencies. 

6 ‘‘(2) The Global Climate Change Resilience Strategy 

7 shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) focus on addressing slow-onset and rapid9 onset effects of climate change; 

10 ‘‘(B) consider the effects of climate change; 

11 ‘‘(C) describe the key features of successful 

12 strategies to prevent such conditions; 

13 ‘‘(D) include specific objectives and multisec14 toral approaches to the effects of climate change; 

15 ‘‘(E) describe approaches that ensure national 

16 leadership, as appropriate, and substantively engage 

17 with civil society, local partners, and the affected 

18 communities, including marginalized populations and 

19 underserved populations, in the design, implementa20 tion, and monitoring of climate change programs to 

21 best safeguard the future of those subject to dis22 placement; 

23 ‘‘(F) assign roles for relevant Federal agencies 

24 to avoid duplication of efforts, while ensuring that— 


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1 ‘‘(i) the Department of State is responsible 

2 for— 

3 ‘‘(I) leading the Global Climate 

4 Change Resilience Strategy; 

5 ‘‘(II) establishing United States for6 eign policy with respect to such strategy; 

7 ‘‘(III) advancing diplomatic and polit8 ical efforts with respect to such strategy; 

9 ‘‘(IV) guiding security assistance and 

10 related civilian security efforts to mitigate 

11 climate change threats; and 

12 ‘‘(V) providing overseas humanitarian 

13 assistance— 

14 ‘‘(aa) to respond to international 

15 displacement caused by climate 

16 change; and 

17 ‘‘(bb) to coordinate the pursuit of 

18 protection and durable solutions for 

19 climate-displaced persons, including 

20 resettlement into the United States; 

21 ‘‘(ii) USAID is— 

22 ‘‘(I) responsible for overseeing pro23 grams to prevent the effects of climate 

24 change; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) the lead implementing agency 

2 for— 

3 ‘‘(aa) providing overseas humani4 tarian assistance to respond to inter5 nal displacement and food insecurity 

6 caused by climate change; and 

7 ‘‘(bb) developing a related non8 security program policy related to 

9 building resilience and achieving re10 covery; and 

11 ‘‘(iii) other Federal agencies support the 

12 activities of the Department of State and 

13 USAID, as appropriate, with the concurrence of 

14 the Secretary of State and the USAID Admin15 istrator; 

16 ‘‘(G) describe programs that Federal agencies 

17 will undertake to achieve the stated objectives, in18 cluding descriptions of existing programs and fund19 ing by fiscal year and account; 

20 ‘‘(H) identify mechanisms to improve coordina21 tion between the United States, foreign govern22 ments, and international organizations, including the 

23 World Bank, the United Nations, regional organiza24 tions, and private sector organizations; 


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1 ‘‘(I) address efforts to expand public-private 

2 partnerships and leverage private sector resources; 

3 ‘‘(J) describe the criteria, metrics, and mecha4 nisms for monitoring and evaluating the programs 

5 and objectives in the Global Climate Change Resil6 ience Strategy; 

7 ‘‘(K) describe how the Global Climate Change 

8 Resilience Strategy will ensure that programs are 

9 conflict-sensitive, country-led and context-specific; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(L) describe how the Global Climate Change 

12 Resilience Strategy is a means for peacebuilding, 

13 and is incorporated into peacebuilding, and post-con14 flict plans and programs. 

15 ‘‘(3) Not later than 270 days after the date of the 

16 enactment of the Climate Displaced Persons Act, and an17 nually thereafter, the President shall submit a report to 

18 the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and 

19 the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Rep20 resentatives, based in part on the information collected 

21 pursuant to this section, that details the Global Climate 

22 Change Resilience Strategy. The report shall be submitted 

23 in unclassified form, but may include a classified annex, 

24 if necessary. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Not later than 180 days after the date of the 

2 enactment of the Climate Displaced Persons Act, the Sec3 retary of State and the Coordinator of Global Climate 

4 Change Resilience shall brief the Committee on Foreign 

5 Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign 

6 Affairs of the House of Representatives on the progress 

7 made towards implementing the Global Climate Change 

8 Resilience Strategy. 

9 ‘‘(5)(A) Not later than 270 days after the date of 

10 the enactment of the Climate Displaced Persons Act, and 

11 annually thereafter, the Comptroller General of the United 

12 States, in cooperation and consultation with the Secretary 

13 of State, shall publish a report evaluating the progress 

14 that the Federal Government has made toward incor15 porating climate change into policies of the Department 

16 of State and USAID and describing the resources that 

17 have been allocated for such purpose. 

18 ‘‘(B) The report required under subparagraph (A) 

19 shall assess— 

20 ‘‘(i) the degree to which the Department of 

21 State and USAID are— 

22 ‘‘(I) developing climate change risk assess23 ments; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) providing guidance to missions on 

2 how to include climate change risks in their in3 tegrated country strategies; 

4 ‘‘(ii) whether the Department of State and 

5 USAID have sufficient resources to fulfill the re6 quirements described in paragraph (2); and 

7 ‘‘(iii) any areas in which the Department of 

8 State and USAID may lack sufficient resources to 

9 fulfill the requirements described in paragraph (2).’’. 

10 SEC. 6. TRAINING IN CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENCE. 

11 (a) FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS.—Section 

12 708(a)(1) of the Foreign Service Act of 1980 (22 U.S.C. 

13 4028(a)(1)) is amended— 

14 (1) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 

15 the end; 

16 (2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period 

17 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

18 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(E) for Foreign Service Officers who will 

20 be assigned to a country from which climate21 displaced persons (as defined in section 

22 101(a)(8) of the Immigration and Nationality 

23 Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(8))) have been displaced, 

24 instruction on climate displacement, including 

25 the Global Climate Change Resilience Strategy 


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1 established pursuant to section 117(d) of the 

2 Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

3 2151p(d)).’’. 

4 (b) USCIS OFFICERS.—The Secretary of Homeland 

5 Security shall require U.S. Citizenship and Immigration 

6 Services officers who review applications for admission as 

7 a climate-displaced person (as defined in section 101(a)(8) 

8 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended by 

9 section 3) to receive instruction on climate displacement, 

10 including the Global Climate Change Resilience Strategy 

11 established pursuant to section 117(d) of the Foreign As12 sistance Act of 1961, as added by section 5. 

13 SEC. 7. GUIDANCE ON THE HUMANITARIAN IMPACTS OF 

14 CLIMATE CHANGE. 

15 Not later than 180 days after the date of the enact16 ment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 

17 of State shall provide guidance to each United States dip18 lomatic mission, in accordance with Executive Order 

19 13677 (79 Fed. Reg. 58229; relating to climate-resilient 

20 international development), to address the humanitarian 

21 impacts associated with climate change. 

22 SEC. 8. ADMISSION OF CLIMATE-DISPLACED PERSONS. 

23 (a) ADMISSION OF CLIMATE-DISPLACED PERSONS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 1 of title II of the 

25 Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1151 et 


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1 seq.) is amended by inserting after section 207 the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘SEC. 207A. CLIMATE-DISPLACED PERSONS. 

4 ‘‘(a) ADMISSION GOAL.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In addition to the refugees 

6 admitted pursuant to section 207, the number of cli7 mate-displaced persons who may be admitted to the 

8 United States under this section in any fiscal year 

9 (beginning with fiscal year 2024) shall be not fewer 

10 than the greater of— 

11 ‘‘(A) 100,000; or 

12 ‘‘(B) the number that the President deter13 mines pursuant to paragraph (2), before the be14 ginning of each such fiscal year, after appro15 priate consultation with Congress, to be justi16 fied by— 

17 ‘‘(i) the data collected through the 

18 process established pursuant to section 4 

19 of the Climate Displaced Persons Act; 

20 ‘‘(ii) other humanitarian concerns; or 

21 ‘‘(iii) other national interests. 

22 ‘‘(2) EFFECT OF NUMERICAL ADJUSTMENT.—If 

23 a significant climate-related environmental disaster 

24 occurs in 1 or more of the climate-vulnerable coun25 tries included on the most recent list compiled purVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:50 Nov 29, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3340.IS S3340

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1 suant to section 4(c) of the Climate Displaced Per2 sons Act or if the President determines that the 

3 number of climate-displaced persons who should be 

4 admitted to the United States in a fiscal year based 

5 on humanitarian concerns or other national interests 

6 is greater than the number set forth in paragraph 

7 (1)(A), the President shall— 

8 ‘‘(A) set the admissions level for climate9 displaced persons at the same time as the 

10 President determines the number of refugees 

11 who may be admitted in such fiscal year under 

12 section 207; and 

13 ‘‘(B) follow all of the procedures relating 

14 to refugee admissions under section 207, in15 cluding determinations of the President, after 

16 appropriate consultation with Congress, to fix 

17 the number of refugees to be admitted to the 

18 United States during the current period (not to 

19 exceed 12 months) in response to an emergency 

20 refugee situation. 

21 ‘‘(3) EQUITABLE ALLOCATION.—The President, 

22 in consultation with the Department of State, the 

23 Department of Homeland Security, the United 

24 States Agency for International Development, the 

25 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 


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1 and other relevant Federal agencies, shall establish 

2 a process by which admissions authorized under this 

3 section shall be allocated in an equitable manner, 

4 taking into consideration the list of 100 most cli5 mate-vulnerable countries and other administrative 

6 entities compiled pursuant to section 4(c) of the Cli7 mate Displaced Persons Act and the demographic 

8 data described in section 4(a) of such Act. 

9 ‘‘(b) ADMISSIBILITY; APPLICATIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

11 ‘‘(A) ADMISSIBILITY.—Subject to the nu12 merical limitation set forth in subsection (a), 

13 the Secretary of Homeland Security, pursuant 

14 to such regulations as the Secretary may pre15 scribe, may admit any climate-displaced person 

16 under this section who— 

17 ‘‘(i) is admissible; 

18 ‘‘(ii) is not described in paragraph 

19 (2); and 

20 ‘‘(iii) is not described in section 

21 208(b)(2). 

22 ‘‘(B) APPLICATIONS.—Any noncitizen de23 scribed in subparagraph (A), regardless of such 

24 noncitizen’s immigration status, may apply for 


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1 admission as a climate-displaced person if the 

2 noncitizen— 

3 ‘‘(i) is physically present in the 

4 United States; 

5 ‘‘(ii) arrives in the United States 

6 (whether or not at a designated port of ar7 rival and including a noncitizen who is 

8 brought to the United States after having 

9 been interdicted in international or United 

10 States waters); or 

11 ‘‘(iii) applies at a designated applica12 tion center. 

13 ‘‘(2) LIMITATIONS.—Except as provided in 

14 paragraph (3), a noncitizen may not apply for status 

15 as a climate-displaced person if— 

16 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Homeland Security 

17 determines that such noncitizen may be re18 moved, pursuant to a bilateral or multilateral 

19 agreement, to a country (other than the country 

20 of the noncitizen’s nationality or, in the case of 

21 a noncitizen having no nationality, the country 

22 of the noncitizen’s last habitual residence) that 

23 is outside of the zone in which the sudden or 

24 progressive change in the environment obliged 

25 the noncitizen to leave their residence, provided 


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1 that such determination does not violate the 

2 human rights obligations of the United States; 

3 ‘‘(B) the application is not filed within 1 

4 year after the date of the noncitizen’s arrival in 

5 the United States; or 

6 ‘‘(C) an earlier application by the noncit7 izen for climate-displaced person status has 

8 been denied. 

9 ‘‘(3) EXCEPTIONS.— 

10 ‘‘(A) UNACCOMPANIED NONCITIZEN CHIL11 DREN.—Paragraph (2) shall not apply to an 

12 unaccompanied alien child (as defined in section 

13 462(g) of the Homeland Security Act of 2002 

14 (6 U.S.C. 279(g))). 

15 ‘‘(B) CHANGED CIRCUMSTANCES.—Sub16 paragraphs (B) and (C) of paragraph (2) shall 

17 not apply if the noncitizen demonstrates, to the 

18 satisfaction of the Secretary of Homeland Secu19 rity, that— 

20 ‘‘(i) extraordinary circumstances pre21 vented the noncitizen from filing an appli22 cation within the period specified in para23 graph (2)(B); or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) changed circumstances materially 

2 affect the applicant’s eligibility for climate3 displaced person status. 

4 ‘‘(C) REFERRALS AUTHORIZED.—The Sec5 retary of State may accept applications sub6 mitted on behalf of eligible applicants for cli7 mate-displaced person status by qualified inter8 national agencies. 

9 ‘‘(4) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted 

10 under this subsection shall contain such information 

11 as the Secretary of State, in consultation with the 

12 Secretary of Homeland Security, determines to be 

13 necessary to determine whether the applicant is eli14 gible for admission as a climate-displaced person. 

15 ‘‘(5) FEES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

17 subparagraph (B), an applicant for climate-dis18 placed person status shall not be charged a fee. 

19 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—If a noncitizen has ap20 plied for, and been denied, climate-displaced 

21 person status on 2 or more previous occasions, 

22 the Secretary of Homeland Security may charge 

23 a reasonable fee for a third application and any 

24 subsequent applications, which shall set at a 


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1 level equal to the average cost of adjudicating 

2 such applications. 

3 ‘‘(c) TREATMENT OF CLIMATE-DISPLACED PER4 SONS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A noncitizen who qualifies 

6 for climate-displaced person status under this sec7 tion shall be eligible for resettlement assistance, en8 titlement programs, and other benefits available to 

9 refugees and asylees admitted pursuant to section 

10 207. 

11 ‘‘(2) TREATMENT OF CHILDREN AND

12 SPOUSE.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A spouse or a child 

14 (as defined in subparagraph (A), (B), (C), (D), 

15 or (E) of section 101(b)(1)) of a noncitizen who 

16 is granted climate-displaced person status 

17 under this section may, if not otherwise eligible 

18 for such status, be granted the same status as 

19 the climate-displaced person if accompanying, 

20 or following to join, such noncitizen. 

21 ‘‘(B) TREATMENT OF CHILDREN.—An un22 married noncitizen who seeks to accompany, or 

23 follow to join, a parent or guardian granted cli24 mate-displaced person status under this section, 

25 and who was younger than 21 years of age on 


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1 the date on which such parent or guardian ap2 plied for such status, shall continue to be classi3 fied as a child for purposes of this subsection 

4 and section 209(b)(3), if the noncitizen reaches 

5 21 years of age while such application is pend6 ing. 

7 ‘‘(d) DEFINED TERM.—In this section, the term 

8 ‘noncitizen’ means any person who is not a citizen or na9 tional of the United States.’’. 

10 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of con11 tents for the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

12 U.S.C. 1101 note) is amended by inserting after the 

13 item relating to section 207 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 207A. Climate-displaced persons.’’. 

14 (b) ADJUSTMENT OF STATUS.—Section 209(a)(1) of 

15 the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1159(a)) 

16 is amended, in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), 

17 by inserting ‘‘or 207A’’ after ‘‘207’’. 

18 (c) SAVINGS PROVISION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in section 207A of 

20 the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by 

21 subsection (a)(1), may be construed to affect the 

22 United States commitment to the United States Ref23 ugee Admissions Program. 

24 (2) ADDITIONAL PROTECTIONS.—The protec25 tions described in such section 207A are in addition 


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1 to the refugee admissions goal established by the 

2 Presidential determination described in subsection 

3 (a)(1)(B) of such section. 

4 SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

5 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

6 as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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