I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5496 

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the climate. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 

Mr. LIEU introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 

on Energy and Commerce 

A BILL 

To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the climate. 

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 Solutions Act of 2023’’. 

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. 

TITLE I—RENEWABLE ENERGY 

Sec. 101. National renewable energy standard. 

TITLE II—ENERGY EFFICIENCY 

Sec. 201. National energy efficiency standard. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•HR 5496 IH

TITLE III—SCIENCE-BASED REDUCTIONS 

Sec. 301. Net emissions reduction targets. 

Sec. 302. National Academies review. 

Sec. 303. Regulations. 

Sec. 304. Savings clause. 

Sec. 305. Definitions. 

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds as follows: 

3 (1) The United States and a number of other 

4 countries have the stated objective of stabilizing 

5 greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at 

6 a level that would prevent ‘‘dangerous anthropogenic 

7 interference’’ with the climate system. To that end, 

8 the United States has pledged to reduce its green9 house gas emissions by 50 to 52 percent below 2005 

10 levels by 2030. To support that target, the United 

11 States has enacted a wide range of policies, includ12 ing tax incentives, regulations, and funding for 

13 greenhouse gas reduction technologies. 

14 (2) To achieve this objective, the increase in 

15 global mean surface temperature should not exceed 

16 2°C (3.6°F) above preindustrial temperature by 

17 2100 consistent with the Paris Agreement that en18 tered into force in 2016. 

19 (3) The risks associated with a temperature in20 crease above 2°C (3.6°F) are grave, including the 

21 disintegration of the Greenland ice sheet, which, if 

22 it were to melt completely, would raise global averVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:05 Sep 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5496.IH H5496

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•HR 5496 IH

1 age sea level by approximately 23 feet, devastating 

2 many of the world’s coastal areas and population 

3 centers. 

4 (4) A 2018 report by the Intergovernmental 

5 Panel on Climate Change demonstrated that limiting 

6 the temperature increase to 1.5°C will result in still 

7 harmful, but significantly less severe outcomes than 

8 a 2°C increase. 

9 (5) The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 

10 Change projects that temperatures will rise 1.5°C 

11 between 2030 and 2052. In order to limit the tem12 perature increase to 1.5°C, global net anthropogenic 

13 carbon dioxide emissions must reach net zero by 

14 2050. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 

15 Change notes in their 2023 report that the level of 

16 reduction in greenhouse gas emissions this decade 

17 will largely determine whether warming can be lim18 ited to 1.5°C or 2°C. 

19 (6) A 2023 report by the Intergovernmental 

20 Panel on Climate Change highlights that ‘‘Deep, 

21 rapid, and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas 

22 emissions would lead to a discernible slowdown in 

23 global warming within around two decades, and also 

24 to discernible changes in atmospheric composition 

25 within a few years.’’. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•HR 5496 IH

1 (7) The 2018 National Climate Assessment, au2 thored by more than 300 experts and released by the 

3 United States Global Change Research Program, 

4 makes clear that the present unprecedented rises in 

5 global temperature are primarily due to human ac6 tivities. The changing climate will devastate all sec7 tors of society and disproportionately harm the most 

8 vulnerable communities. 

9 (8) Serious global warming impacts have al10 ready been observed in the United States and world11 wide, including— 

12 (A) increases in heat waves and other ex13 treme weather events; 

14 (B) rise in sea level, retreat of glaciers and 

15 polar ice; 

16 (C) decline in mountain snowpack, in17 creased drought (including droughts in the 

18 West and South United States) resulting in 

19 damage to our economy and property; 

20 (D) extreme weather conditions resulting 

21 in wildfires, stronger hurricanes, and polar vor22 tex occurrences resulting in further damage to 

23 property and our economy; 

24 (E) damage to our environment such as 

25 ocean acidification, extensive coral bleaching, 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•HR 5496 IH

1 migrations, and shifts in the yearly cycles of 

2 plants and animals; and 

3 (F) effects on human population, including 

4 population displacement and adverse health ef5 fects such as the spread of infectious diseases 

6 and climate-related conditions such as asthma. 

7 (9) Scientists project that under a midrange es8 timate of global warming, by 2050, roughly one9 third of animal and plant species will be committed 

10 to extinction. 

11 (10) The Energy Information Administration’s 

12 International Energy Outlook report estimates an 

13 increase of 20 percent in global carbon dioxide emis14 sions between 2021 and 2050. 

15 (11) Decisive action is needed to minimize the 

16 many dangers posed by global warming. 

17 (12) The timing of such action is critical, given 

18 that greenhouse gases can persist in the atmosphere 

19 for more than a century. 

20 (13) With less than 5 percent of the world pop21 ulation, the United States emits approximately 11.5 

22 percent of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions 

23 and must be a leader in addressing global warming. 

24 (14) The State of California, the 5th largest 

25 economy in the world, has shown that renewable enVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:05 Sep 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5496.IH H5496

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•HR 5496 IH

1 ergy standards and greenhouse gas emissions regula2 tion can reduce greenhouse gas emissions while fos3 tering significant economic growth. 

4 (15) Existing energy efficiency and clean, re5 newable energy technologies can reduce global warm6 ing pollution, while saving consumers money, reduc7 ing our dependence on oil, enhancing national secu8 rity, cleaning the air, and protecting pristine places 

9 from drilling and mining. 

10 TITLE I—RENEWABLE ENERGY 

11 SEC. 101. NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY STANDARD. 

12 Title VI of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act 

13 of 1978 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 610. NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY STANDARD. 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall promulgate 

16 regulations requiring that— 

17 ‘‘(1) beginning in calendar year 2023, the per18 centage of electric energy generated from renewable 

19 sources that is sold at the retail level in the United 

20 States shall increase each year; and 

21 ‘‘(2) in calendar year 2035 and each subse22 quent calendar year, such percentage shall not be 

23 less than 100 percent of the total electric energy 

24 sold at the retail level in the United States. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•HR 5496 IH

1 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall carry out 

2 this section in consultation with the Administrator of the 

3 Environmental Protection Agency. 

4 ‘‘(c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec5 tion shall be construed to preempt or limit State actions 

6 to enhance renewable energy generation or energy effi7 ciency.’’. 

8 TITLE II—ENERGY EFFICIENCY 

9 SEC. 201. NATIONAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARD. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Title VI of the Public Utility Reg11 ulatory Policies Act of 1978, as amended by section 101 

12 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the end the 

13 following: 

14 ‘‘SEC. 611. NATIONAL ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARD. 

15 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall promulgate 

16 regulations in accordance with this section setting end17 user— 

18 ‘‘(1) electricity savings targets for retail electric 

19 energy suppliers; and 

20 ‘‘(2) natural gas savings targets for retail nat21 ural gas suppliers. 

22 ‘‘(b) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall carry out 

23 this section in consultation with the Administrator of the 

24 Environmental Protection Agency. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•HR 5496 IH

1 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS.—With respect to targets under 

2 subsection (a): 

3 ‘‘(1) The targets shall require each retail elec4 tric energy supplier to secure annual electricity sav5 ings, and each retail natural gas supplier to secure 

6 annual natural gas savings, of a set percentage of 

7 the quantity of electricity or natural gas sold in the 

8 most recent year to retail customers. 

9 ‘‘(2) The electricity savings and natural gas 

10 savings shall be achieved through end-use efficiency 

11 improvements at customer facilities. 

12 ‘‘(3) The targets are cumulative. Each year’s 

13 electricity savings or natural gas savings shall be 

14 achieved in addition to the previous years’ savings. 

15 ‘‘(4) For each of calendar years 2023 through 

16 2030, the targets are as follows: 

‘‘Calendar Year Cumulative Electricity 

Savings Percentage 

Cumulative Natural Gas 

Savings Percentage 

2024 0.375 0.25 

2025 1.125 0.60 

2026 2.25 1.05 

2027 3.75 1.55 

2028 6.25 2.38 

2029 8.75 3.21 

2030 11.25 4.05 

17 ‘‘(d) REQUIRED PERCENTAGES AFTER 2030.—The 

18 Secretary may, upon petition or upon the Secretary’s own 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•HR 5496 IH

1 initiative, increase the required percentage of end-user 

2 electricity savings or natural gas savings for years after 

3 2030. 

4 ‘‘(e) MARKET-BASED TRADING SYSTEM.—The Sec5 retary shall allow suppliers to achieve the required per6 centage of end-user electricity savings or natural gas sav7 ings under this section through a market-based trading 

8 system. 

9 ‘‘(f) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec10 tion shall be construed to preempt or limit State actions 

11 to enhance renewable energy generation or energy effi12 ciency.’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of con14 tents for the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 

15 1978 is amended by inserting after the item relating to 

16 section 608 the following: 

‘‘Sec. 609. Rural and remote communities electrification grants. 

‘‘Sec. 610. National renewable energy standard. 

‘‘Sec. 611. National energy efficiency standard.’’. 

17 TITLE III—SCIENCE-BASED 

18 REDUCTIONS 

19 SEC. 301. NET EMISSIONS REDUCTION TARGETS. 

20 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

21 of this Act, the Administrator of the Environmental Pro22 tection Agency (in this title referred to as the ‘‘Adminis23 trator’’) shall promulgate annual net emissions reduction 

24 targets for each of calendar years 2030 through 2050, so 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•HR 5496 IH

1 as to ensure that the quantity of United States net green2 house gas emissions— 

3 (1) in 2035, is at least 52 percent below the 

4 quantity of such emissions in 2005; and 

5 (2) in 2050, is zero. 

6 SEC. 302. NATIONAL ACADEMIES REVIEW. 

7 Not later than 5 years after the date of the enact8 ment of this Act, and every 5 years thereafter, the Admin9 istrator shall enter into an arrangement with the National 

10 Academies (or, if the National Academies decline to enter 

11 into such arrangement, another appropriate entity) under 

12 which the National Academies, acting through the Na13 tional Academy of Sciences and the National Research 

14 Council, will submit a report to the Administrator and the 

15 Congress on the prospects for avoiding dangerous anthro16 pogenic interference with the climate system and the 

17 progress made to date. Each such report shall— 

18 (1) evaluate whether the net emissions reduc19 tion targets promulgated pursuant to section 301 

20 and the other policies to reduce United States net 

21 greenhouse gas emissions under this Act, the amend22 ments made by this Act, and other provisions of law, 

23 including the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et 

24 seq.), are likely to be sufficient to avoid dangerous 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
11 

•HR 5496 IH

1 anthropogenic interference with the climate system, 

2 taking into account the actions of other nations; and 

3 (2) if the National Academies concludes that 

4 such targets and policies are not likely to be suffi5 cient to avoid dangerous anthropogenic interference 

6 with the climate system— 

7 (A) identify the needed amount of further 

8 reductions in atmospheric greenhouse gas con9 centrations; and 

10 (B) recommend additional United States 

11 and international actions to further reduce at12 mospheric greenhouse gas concentrations. 

13 SEC. 303. REGULATIONS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator shall— 

15 (1) not later than 7 years after the date of en16 actment of this Act, promulgate final regulations to 

17 implement the net emissions reduction targets under 

18 section 301; and 

19 (2) not less than every 5 years thereafter— 

20 (A) review such regulations, taking into ac21 count the reports under section 302; and 

22 (B) revise such regulations as necessary to 

23 implement such net emissions reduction targets. 

24 (b) RULEMAKING ON RECOMMENDATIONS OF NA25 TIONAL ACADEMIES.—If any report under section 302 inVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:05 Sep 16, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5496.IH H5496

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
12 

•HR 5496 IH

1 cludes a recommendation under section 302(2)(B) for reg2 ulatory action by a Federal department or agency, and 

3 such regulatory action is within the authority of such de4 partment or agency (under law other than this sub5 section), the head of such department or agency shall, not 

6 later than 2 years after the submission of such report, fi7 nalize a rulemaking— 

8 (1) to carry out such regulatory action; or 

9 (2) to explain the reasons for declining to act. 

10 (c) ADDITIONAL REGULATIONS.—The regulations 

11 promulgated under subsection (a) may include additional 

12 requirements to reduce United States net greenhouse gas 

13 emissions from any source or sector. Any such regulations 

14 that address sources whose greenhouse gas emissions are 

15 regulated pursuant to section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act 

16 (42 U.S.C. 7411(d)) shall account for the compliance 

17 schedule promulgated pursuant to such section 111(d). 

18 Regulations under this section may include market-based 

19 measures, emissions performance standards, efficiency 

20 performance standards, best management practices, tech21 nology-based requirements, and other forms of require22 ments. 

23 (d) RELATION TO OTHER AUTHORITY.—The author24 ity vested by this title is in addition to the authority to 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
13 

•HR 5496 IH

1 regulate greenhouse gas emissions pursuant to other pro2 visions of law. 

3 SEC. 304. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

4 Nothing in this title shall be interpreted to preempt 

5 or limit State actions to address climate change. 

6 SEC. 305. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this title: 

8 (1) GREENHOUSE GAS.—The term ‘‘greenhouse 

9 gas’’ means— 

10 (A) carbon dioxide; 

11 (B) methane; 

12 (C) nitrous oxide; 

13 (D) hydrofluorocarbons; 

14 (E) perfluorocarbons; 

15 (F) sulfur hexafluoride; or 

16 (G) any other anthropogenically emitted 

17 gas that is determined by the Administrator, 

18 after notice and comment, to contribute to glob19 al warming to a non-negligible degree. 

20 (2) UNITED STATES NET GREENHOUSE GAS

21 EMISSIONS.—The term ‘‘United States net green22 house gas emissions’’ means net greenhouse gas 

23 emissions, as calculated by the Administrator on an 

24 annual basis and reported to the United Nations 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
14 

•HR 5496 IH

1 Framework Convention on Climate Change Secre2 tariat. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB