II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 938 

To require the President to declare a national emergency relating to climate 

change under the National Emergencies Act, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 23, 2021 

Mr. SANDERS introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Environment and Public Works 

A BILL 

To require the President to declare a national emergency 

relating to climate change under the National Emergencies Act, 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘National Climate 

5 Emergency Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘Climate Emergency Act 

6 of 2021’’. 

7 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

8 Congress finds that— 

9 (1) 2010 to 2019 was the hottest decade on 

10 record; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 938 IS

1 (2) global atmospheric concentrations of the 

2 primary global warming pollutant, carbon dioxide— 

3 (A) have increased by 40 percent since 

4 preindustrial times, from 280 parts per million 

5 to 415 parts per million, primarily due to 

6 human activities, including burning fossil fuels 

7 and deforestation; 

8 (B) are rising at a rate of 2 to 3 parts per 

9 million annually; and 

10 (C) must be reduced to not more than 350 

11 parts per million, and likely lower, ‘‘if humanity 

12 wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on 

13 which civilization developed and to which life on 

14 Earth is adapted,’’ according to former Na15 tional Aeronautics and Space Administration 

16 climatologist, Dr. James Hansen; 

17 (3) global atmospheric concentrations of other 

18 greenhouse gases, including methane, nitrous oxide, 

19 and hydrofluorocarbons, have also increased sub20 stantially since preindustrial times, primarily due to 

21 human activities, including burning fossil fuels; 

22 (4) climate science and observations of climate 

23 change impacts, including ocean warming and acidi24 fication, floods, droughts, wildfires, and extreme 

25 weather, demonstrate that a global rise in temperaVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:42 Apr 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S938.IS S938

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 938 IS

1 tures of 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial lev2 els is already having dangerous impacts on human 

3 populations and the environment; 

4 (5) the 2018 National Climate Assessment 

5 found that climate change due to global warming 

6 has caused, and is expected to cause additional, sub7 stantial interference with and growing losses to 

8 human health and safety, infrastructure, property, 

9 industry, recreation, natural resources, agricultural 

10 systems, and quality of life in the United States; 

11 (6) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad12 ministration has determined that climate change is 

13 already increasing the frequency of extreme weather 

14 and other climate-related disasters, including 

15 drought, wildfire, and storms that include precipita16 tion; 

17 (7) climate-related natural disasters have in18 creased exponentially over the past decade, costing 

19 the United States more than double the long-term 

20 average during the period of 2014 through 2018, 

21 with total costs of natural disasters during that pe22 riod of approximately $100,000,000,000 per year; 

23 (8) the Centers for Disease Control and Preven24 tion have found wide-ranging, acute, and fatal public 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 938 IS

1 health consequences from climate change that im2 pact communities across the United States; 

3 (9) the National Climate and Health Assess4 ment of the United States Global Change Research 

5 Program identified climate change as a significant 

6 threat to the health of the people of the United 

7 States, leading to increased— 

8 (A) temperature-related deaths and ill9 nesses; 

10 (B) air quality impacts; 

11 (C) extreme weather events; 

12 (D) numbers of vector-borne diseases; 

13 (E) waterborne illnesses; 

14 (F) food safety, nutrition, and distribution 

15 complications; and 

16 (G) mental health and well-being concerns; 

17 (10) the consequences of climate change already 

18 disproportionately impact frontline communities and 

19 endanger populations made especially vulnerable by 

20 existing exposure to extreme weather events, includ21 ing children, the elderly, and individuals with pre-ex22 isting disabilities and health conditions; 

23 (11) individuals and families on the frontlines 

24 of climate change across the United States, includ25 ing territories, living with income inequality and povVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:42 Apr 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S938.IS S938

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 938 IS

1 erty, institutional racism, inequity on the basis of 

2 gender and sexual orientation, poor infrastructure, 

3 and lack of access to health care, housing, clean 

4 water, and food security are often in close proximity 

5 to environmental stressors or sources of pollution, 

6 particularly communities of color, indigenous com7 munities, and low-income communities, which— 

8 (A) are often the first exposed to the im9 pacts of climate change; 

10 (B) experience outsized risk because of the 

11 close proximity of the community to environ12 mental hazards and stressors, in addition to 

13 collocation with waste and other sources of pol14 lution; and 

15 (C) have the fewest resources to mitigate 

16 those impacts or to relocate, which will exacer17 bate preexisting challenges; 

18 (12) according to Dr. Robert Bullard and Dr. 

19 Beverly Wright, ‘‘environmental and public health 

20 threats from natural and human-made disasters are 

21 not randomly distributed, affecting some commu22 nities more than others’’, therefore a response to the 

23 climate emergency necessitates the adoption of just 

24 community transition policies and processes available 

25 to all communities, which include policies and procVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:42 Apr 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S938.IS S938

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 938 IS

1 esses rooted in principles, as described in the 17 

2 Principles of Environmental Justice written and 

3 adopted at the First National People of Color Envi4 ronmental Leadership Summit held on October 24 

5 through 27, 1991, in Washington, DC, of racial and 

6 socio-economic equity, self-determination, and de7 mocracy, as well as the fundamental human right of 

8 all people to clean air and water, healthy food, 

9 health care, adequate land, education, and shelter; 

10 (13) climate change holds grave and immediate 

11 consequences not just for the population of the 

12 United States, including territories, but for commu13 nities across the world, particularly those commu14 nities in the Global South on the frontlines of the 

15 climate crisis, which are at risk of forced displace16 ment; 

17 (14) communities in rural, urban, and suburban 

18 areas are all dramatically affected by climate 

19 change, though the specific economic, health, social, 

20 and environmental impacts may be different; 

21 (15) the United States Department of State, 

22 Department of Defense, and intelligence community 

23 have identified climate change as a threat to na24 tional security, and the Department of Homeland 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 938 IS

1 Security views climate change as a top homeland se2 curity risk; 

3 (16) climate change is a threat multiplier with 

4 the potential— 

5 (A) to exacerbate many of the challenges 

6 the United States already confronts, including 

7 conflicts over scarce resources, conditions con8 ducive to violent extremism, and the spread of 

9 infectious diseases; and 

10 (B) to produce new, unforeseeable chal11 lenges in the future; 

12 (17) in 2018, the United Nations Intergovern13 mental Panel on Climate Change projected that the 

14 Earth could warm 1.5 degrees Celsius above 

15 preindustrial levels as early as 2030; 

16 (18) the climatic changes resulting from global 

17 warming above 1.5 degrees Celsius above 

18 preindustrial levels, including changes resulting from 

19 global warming of more than 2 degrees Celsius 

20 above preindustrial levels, are projected to result in 

21 irreversible, catastrophic changes to public health, 

22 livelihoods, quality of life, food security, water sup23 plies, human security, and economic growth; 

24 (19) in 2019, the United Nations Intergovern25 mental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 938 IS

1 Ecosystem Services found that human-induced cli2 mate change is pushing the planet toward the sixth 

3 mass species extinction, which threatens the food se4 curity, water supply, and well-being of billions of 

5 people; 

6 (20) according to climate scientists, limiting 

7 warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above 

8 preindustrial levels, and likely lower, is most likely 

9 to avoid irreversible and catastrophic climate change; 

10 (21) even with global warming up to 1.5 de11 grees Celsius above preindustrial levels, the planet is 

12 projected to experience— 

13 (A) a significant rise in sea levels; 

14 (B) extraordinary loss of biodiversity; and 

15 (C) intensifying droughts, floods, wildfires, 

16 and other extreme weather events; 

17 (22) according to climate scientists, addressing 

18 the climate emergency will require an economically 

19 just phase-out of the use of oil, gas, and coal in 

20 order to keep carbon, which is the primary con21 stituent of fossil fuels, in the ground and out of the 

22 atmosphere; 

23 (23) the United Nations Intergovernmental 

24 Panel on Climate Change has determined that lim25 iting warming through emissions reduction and carVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:42 Apr 14, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S938.IS S938

pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 938 IS

1 bon sequestration will require rapid, and immediate, 

2 acceleration and proliferation of ‘‘far-reaching, 

3 multilevel, and cross-sectoral climate mitigation’’ 

4 and ‘‘transitions in energy, land, urban and rural in5 frastructure (including transport and buildings), and 

6 industrial systems’’; 

7 (24) in the United States, massive, comprehen8 sive, and urgent governmental action is required im9 mediately to achieve the transitions of those systems 

10 in response to the severe existing and projected eco11 nomic, social, public health, and national security 

12 threats posed by the climate crisis; 

13 (25) the massive scope and scale of action nec14 essary to stabilize the climate will require unprece15 dented levels of public awareness, engagement, and 

16 deliberation to develop and implement effective, just, 

17 and equitable policies to address the climate crisis; 

18 (26) the Constitution of the United States pro19 tects the fundamental right to life, liberty, property, 

20 and equal protection of the laws; 

21 (27) a climate system capable of sustaining 

22 human life is fundamental to a free and ordered so23 ciety, and is preservative of fundamental rights, in24 cluding the right to life, liberty, property, personal 

25 security, family autonomy, bodily integrity, and the 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 938 IS

1 ability to learn, practice, and transmit cultural and 

2 religious traditions; 

3 (28) the United States has a proud history of 

4 collaborative, constructive, massive-scale Federal 

5 mobilizations of resources and labor in order to solve 

6 great challenges, including the Interstate Highway 

7 System, the Apollo 11 Moon landing, Reconstruc8 tion, the New Deal, and World War II; 

9 (29) the United States stands uniquely poised 

10 to substantially grow the economy and attain social 

11 and health benefits from a massive mobilization of 

12 resources and labor that far outweigh the costs of 

13 inaction; 

14 (30) millions of middle class jobs can be created 

15 by raising labor standards through project labor 

16 agreements and protecting and expanding the right 

17 of workers to organize so that workers in the United 

18 States and the communities of those workers are 

19 guaranteed a strong, viable economic future in a 

20 zero-emissions economy that guarantees good jobs at 

21 fair union wages with quality benefits; 

22 (31) frontline communities, Tribal governments 

23 and communities, people of color, and labor unions 

24 must be equitably and actively engaged in the cli25 mate mobilization, in a way that aligns with the 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 938 IS

1 Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing written 

2 and adopted at the Working Group Meeting for 

3 Globalization and Trade held on December 6 

4 through 8, 1996, in Jemez, Mexico, and prioritized 

5 through local climate mitigation and adaptation 

6 planning, policy, and program delivery so that work7 ers in the United States, the communities of those 

8 workers, are guaranteed a strong, viable economic 

9 future; 

10 (32) a number of local jurisdictions and govern11 ments in the United States, including New York 

12 City and Los Angeles, and across the world, includ13 ing the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, 

14 Portugal, and Canada, have already declared a cli15 mate emergency, and a number of State and local 

16 governments are considering declaring a climate 

17 emergency; 

18 (33) State, local, and Tribal governments must 

19 be supported in efforts to hold to account those ac20 tors whose activities have deepened and accelerated 

21 the climate crisis and who have benefitted from de22 layed action to address the climate change emer23 gency and to develop a fossil fuel-free economy; 

24 (34) a collaborative response to the climate cri25 sis will require the Federal Government to work with 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 938 IS

1 international, State, and local governments, includ2 ing with those governments that have declared a cli3 mate emergency, to reverse the impacts of the cli4 mate crisis; and 

5 (35) the United States has an obligation, as a 

6 primary driver of accelerated climate change, to mo7 bilize at emergency speed to restore a safe climate 

8 and environment not just for communities of the 

9 United States, including territories, but for commu10 nities across the world, particularly those on the 

11 frontlines of the climate crisis who have least con12 tributed to the crisis, and to account for global and 

13 community impacts of any actions it takes in re14 sponse to the climate crisis. 

15 SEC. 3. EMERGENCY DECLARATION. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President shall declare a na17 tional emergency under section 201 of the National Emer18 gencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1621) relating to climate change. 

19 (b) RESPONSE.—In response to the national emer20 gency declared under subsection (a), the President shall 

21 ensure that the Federal Government— 

22 (1) invests in large-scale mitigation and resil23 iency projects, including projects that— 

24 (A) upgrade public infrastructure to ex25 pand access to clean and affordable energy, 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 938 IS

1 transportation, high-speed broadband, and 

2 water infrastructure, with a particular focus on 

3 public systems; 

4 (B) modernize and retrofit millions of 

5 homes, schools, offices, and industrial buildings 

6 to reduce pollution and energy costs; 

7 (C) invest in public health in preparation 

8 for, and in response to, increasingly extreme cli9 mactic events; 

10 (D) protect and restore wetlands, forests, 

11 public land, and other natural climate solutions; 

12 (E) create opportunities for farmers and 

13 rural communities, including by bolstering re14 generative agriculture and investing in local and 

15 regional food systems that support farmers, ag16 ricultural workers, healthy soil, and climate re17 silience; 

18 (F) develop and transform the industrial 

19 base of the United States while creating high20 skill and high-wage manufacturing jobs, includ21 ing by— 

22 (i) expanding the manufacturing of 

23 clean energy technologies; 

24 (ii) reducing industrial pollution; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
14 

•S 938 IS

1 (iii) prioritizing clean, domestic manu2 facturing for the projects described in 

3 clauses (i) and (ii); and 

4 (G) establish new employment programs, 

5 as necessary, to meet the goals of the projects 

6 described in subparagraphs (A) through (F); 

7 (2) with respect to the investments made for 

8 projects described in paragraph (1), enables— 

9 (A) a racially and socially just transition to 

10 a clean energy economy by ensuring that at 

11 least 40 percent of investments made under this 

12 subsection are to historically disadvantaged 

13 communities; 

14 (B) the reduction of greenhouse gas emis15 sions; 

16 (C) resilience in the face of climate change 

17 impacts; 

18 (D) support for small businesses, particu19 larly women-owned and minority-owned small 

20 businesses; and 

21 (E) the expansion of public services; 

22 (3) avoids projects, as described in paragraph 

23 (1), that— 

24 (A) increase inequality; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
15 

•S 938 IS

1 (B) exacerbate, or fail to reduce, pollution 

2 at the source; 

3 (C) violate human rights; 

4 (D) privatize public land, public water, or 

5 natural resources; 

6 (E) expedite the destruction of ecosystems; 

7 or 

8 (F) decrease union density or membership; 

9 (4) with respect to the projects described in 

10 paragraph (1), creates jobs that conform to labor 

11 standards that— 

12 (A) provide family-sustaining wages and 

13 benefits; 

14 (B) ensure a safe workplace; 

15 (C) protect the rights of workers to orga16 nize; and 

17 (D) prioritize the hiring of local workers to 

18 ensure wages stay within communities and 

19 stimulate local economic activity; 

20 (5) prioritizes local and equitable hiring and 

21 contracting for the projects described in paragraph 

22 (1) that create opportunities for— 

23 (A) communities of color and indigenous 

24 communities; 

25 (B) women; 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
16 

•S 938 IS

1 (C) veterans; 

2 (D) individuals in the LGBTQIA+ com3 munity; 

4 (E) individuals who are disabled or chron5 ically ill; 

6 (F) individuals who were formerly incarcer7 ated; and 

8 (G) other marginalized individuals and 

9 communities; 

10 (6) through the projects described in paragraph 

11 (1), combats environmental injustice, including by— 

12 (A) curtailing air, water, and land pollu13 tion from all sources; 

14 (B) removing health hazards from 

15 marginalized communities; 

16 (C) remediating the cumulative health and 

17 environmental impacts of toxic pollution and cli18 mate change; 

19 (D) ensuring that affected communities 

20 have equitable access to public health resources 

21 that have been systemically denied to commu22 nities of color and indigenous communities; and 

23 (E) upholding the fundamental rights of 

24 all people in the United States to be free from 

25 the perils of climate change; and 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS
17 

•S 938 IS

1 (7) reinvests in existing, and creates new, pub2 lic sector institutions, inspired by and improving on 

3 New Deal-era public sector institutions by address4 ing historic inequities, to strategically and coherently 

5 mobilize and channel investment at the scale and 

6 pace required by the national emergency declared 

7 under subsection (a). 

8 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 

10 President shall submit to Congress a report describing ac11 tions taken in response to the national emergency declared 

12 under subsection (a). 

Æ 


pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS