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[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 244 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 244

    Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the ``Laudato Si'' 
         encyclical of Pope Francis, and global climate change.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 5, 2015

   Mr. Franken (for himself, Mr. Udall, Mr. Leahy, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. 
Merkley, and Mr. Sanders) submitted the following resolution; which was 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 
    Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the ``Laudato Si'' 
         encyclical of Pope Francis, and global climate change.

Whereas, on June 18, 2015, Pope Francis published an encyclical letter on the 
        environment that--

    (1) declares, ``A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are 
presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system. In recent 
decades this warming has been accompanied by a constant rise in the sea 
level and, it would appear, by an increase of extreme weather events, even 
if a scientifically determinable cause cannot be assigned to each 
particular phenomenon. Humanity is called to recognize the need for changes 
of lifestyle, production and consumption, in order to combat this warming 
or at least the human causes which produce or aggravate it. It is true that 
there are other factors (such as volcanic activity, variations in the 
earth's orbit and axis, the solar cycle), yet a number of scientific 
studies indicate that most global warming in recent decades is due to the 
great concentration of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen 
oxides and others) released mainly as a result of human activity.'';

    (2) states, ``If present trends continue, this century may well witness 
extraordinary climate change and an unprecedented destruction of 
ecosystems, with serious consequences for all of us. A rise in the sea 
level, for example, can create extremely serious situations, if we consider 
that a quarter of the world's population lives on the coast or nearby, and 
that the majority of our megacities are situated in coastal areas.'';

    (3) affirms, ``There is an urgent need to develop policies so that, in 
the next few years, the emission of carbon dioxide and other highly 
polluting gases can be drastically reduced, for example, substituting for 
fossil fuels and developing sources of renewable energy. Worldwide there is 
minimal access to clean and renewable energy. There is still a need to 
develop adequate storage technologies.'';

    (4) emphasizes, ``The deterioration of the environment and of society 
affects the most vulnerable people on the planet: `Both everyday experience 
and scientific research show that the gravest effects of all attacks on the 
environment are suffered by the poorest'.''; and

    (5) proclaims, ``Climate change is a global problem with grave 
implications: environmental, social, economic, political and for the 
distribution of goods. It represents one of the principal challenges facing 
humanity in our day.'';

Whereas leading scientific organizations in the United States have affirmed that 
        human activity is the primary cause of climate change, including the 
        American Association for the Advancement of Science, the National 
        Academy of Sciences, the American Meteorological Society, the American 
        Chemical Society, the American Geophysical Union, the American Institute 
        of Biological Sciences, and many others;
Whereas the U.S. Global Change Research Program's 2014 National Climate 
        Assessment documents that, over the past several decades, as a result of 
        climate change, the United States has experienced more frequent and 
        intense heat waves, record droughts, increased flooding in certain 
        regions, increased hurricane intensity, frequency, and duration, 
        increased frequency and intensity of winter storms, rising sea levels, 
        and other ecologically problematic trends; and
Whereas if present climate trends persist, the effects of a warming planet will 
        become more catastrophic, as the 2014 National Climate Assessment 
        states, ``Children, the elderly, the sick, and the poor are especially 
        vulnerable. There is mounting evidence that harm to the nation will 
        increase substantially in the future unless global emissions of heat-
        trapping gases are greatly reduced.'': Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate stands with Pope Francis and the 
scientific consensus that--
            (1) human activity is the primary driver of climate change;
            (2) present climate trends are unsustainable; and
            (3) immediate action must be taken to significantly reduce 
        greenhouse gas emissions in order to limit the deleterious 
        effects of human-induced climate change.
                                 <all>
```