I 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5625 
To authorize the imposition of sanctions with respect to significant actions 
that exacerbate climate change, to reinforce comprehensive efforts to 
limit global average temperature rise, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 16, 2020 
Ms. ESCOBAR (for herself and Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition 
to the Committees on the Judiciary, Financial Services, Oversight and 
Reform, and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To authorize the imposition of sanctions with respect to 
significant actions that exacerbate climate change, to 
reinforce comprehensive efforts to limit global average 
temperature rise, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Targeting Environ-
mental and Climate Recklessness Act of 2019’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) There is strong global support for actions 
that limit the severity of climate change. 
(2) On September 18, 2019, more than 200 
representatives of environmental groups, human 
rights groups, indigenous peoples, workers, and aca-
demia adopted a declaration calling on governments 
to urgently address environmental damage, including 
by increasing the pressure on those most responsible 
for climate change. 
(3) The United States Government has devel-
oped and implements targeted measures to restrict 
access to the United States financial system for spe-
cific individuals and entities involved in conduct in-
cluding malicious cyber-enabled activity, transnation-
al organized crime, narcotics trafficking, terrorism, 
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, human 
rights abuse, and corruption. Those conduct-based 
measures apply globally and are not focused on any 
specific country. 
(4) As of the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the United States Government seeks to apply exist-
ing sanctions authorities against individuals and en-
tities engaged in wildlife trafficking. On January 30, 
2018, the Office of Foreign Assets Control des-
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ignated an organization for engaging in illicit activi-
ties including the trafficking of endangered and vul-
nerable animals such as black bears, pangolins, ti-
gers, rhinoceroses, and elephants. 
(5) Climate change has disproportionate impact 
on poorer communities and individuals in less devel-
oped countries. Targeted measures against individ-
uals and entities most responsible for exacerbating 
climate change could help ensure that efforts to ad-
dress climate change do not worsen global inequal-
ity. 
(6) Development of carbon-intensive electrical 
power plants is continuing across the developing 
world through new foreign investments, despite 
broad awareness of the dangers. 
(7) The current investment plans of countries 
likely to receive significant foreign energy invest-
ments may lead to an excess build-out of fossil fuel 
assets and create carbon ‘‘lock-in’’ absent urgent ac-
tion. 
(8) Governments that are investing in or direct-
ing foreign investment toward legacy fossil fuel en-
ergy generation often lack the incentive to formulate 
more efficient or sustainable national energy policies. 
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Those governments are thus likely to default to es-
tablished but harmful forms of energy generation. 
(9) Alternatives to carbon-intensive electrical 
power generation are now available and technological 
advancements continue to strengthen the economic 
competitiveness of such alternatives. 
(10) Corruption is especially harmful when indi-
viduals who abuse positions of influence for personal 
gain can simultaneously cause great damage to the 
global commons by facilitating significant increases 
in the emission of, or decreases in the absorption of, 
greenhouse gases. 
(11) Deforestation is doubly damaging because 
it undercuts the absorption of carbon dioxide, while 
also raising greenhouse gas emissions. 
(12) According to the Intergovernmental Panel 
on Climate Change, most pathways to limit warming 
to well below 2 degrees Celsius require reduced de-
forestation in concert with reforestation, afforesta-
tion, and bioenergy efforts. 
(13) From 2013 to 2019, some of the largest 
financial institutions in the world provided tens of 
billions of dollars in financing to entities either di-
rectly or indirectly deforesting the largest rainforests 
in the world. Most financial institutions have no in-
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ternal policy covering dealings in key forest-risk 
commodities. 
(14) On September 22, 2019, 130 financial in-
stitutions worth $47,000,000,000,000 collectively, 
representing 1⁄3 of the global industry, signed on to 
the United Nations-backed Principles for Respon-
sible Banking, committing to strategically align their 
businesses with the goals of the agreement of the 
parties to the United Nations Framework Conven-
tion on Climate Change, done at Paris December 12, 
2015, and entered into force November 4, 2016 (in 
this Act referred to as the ‘‘Paris Climate Agree-
ment’’), and the Sustainable Development Goals 
adopted by all United Nations member countries in 
2015. 
(15) Illegal deforestation causes environmental 
harm while promoting criminal activity. In the Bra-
zilian Amazon, criminal networks with the capacity 
to coordinate large-scale extraction, processing, and 
sale of timber deploy armed personnel to protect 
their interests. They regularly kill and threaten peo-
ple who stand in the way of criminal activity, includ-
ing members of indigenous communities and envi-
ronmental enforcement officials. Perpetrators of vio-
lence are rarely brought to justice. 
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(16) Between 2002 and 2017, 1,558 people in 
50 countries were killed for defending their environ-
ments and lands. Environmental defenders currently 
face a wave of violence that includes threats of phys-
ical harm, intimidation, and criminalization. 
(17) Policies and measures to address climate 
change must also promote human rights, thereby ad-
vancing equality, justice, and dignity for all, in line 
with the Sustainable Development Goals of the 
United Nations. 
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON A COMPREHENSIVE AP-
PROACH TO ADDRESSING CLIMATE CHANGE. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the restrictive measures described in this 
Act are only one component of the comprehensive 
approach needed to address climate change and miti-
gate its effects; 
(2) the United States Government must ensure 
through law and regulation that United States enti-
ties are not engaged in any of the egregious behav-
iors for which foreign persons may be targeted 
under this Act; 
(3) the United States Government must recom-
mit to the Paris Climate Agreement and commit to 
any successor agreement; 
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(4) the United States Government must fulfill 
its pledges to the Green Climate Fund and promote 
international efforts to support climate change adap-
tation and mitigation; 
(5) the United States Government must work 
proactively with foreign governments, including by 
offering positive incentives, to address climate 
change and to promote economic development in 
ways that do not needlessly increase carbon emis-
sions or increase the risk of corruption; 
(6) the restrictive measures described in this 
Act should be employed if engagement has failed to 
prevent significant actions that exacerbate climate 
change; and 
(7) given broad international support for coun-
tering climate change, the Secretary of State should 
encourage the governments of other countries to im-
plement restrictive measures that are similar to the 
provisions of this Act in order to increase the effec-
tiveness of actions taken by the United States to 
combat significant actions that exacerbate climate 
change, including related corruption and human 
rights violations. 
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SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ENGAGEMENT WITH THE 
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA. 
It is the sense of Congress that— 
(1) the United States Government should en-
courage the People’s Republic of China to follow 
through on its stated intentions to reduce the nega-
tive environmental impacts of Chinese foreign invest-
ment, including investments provided through the 
Belt and Road Initiative; 
(2) the United States Government should nego-
tiate a binding agreement to end fossil fuel subsidies 
with major economies including the People’s Repub-
lic of China; 
(3) the United States Government should build 
on the successes of existing engagement with the 
People’s Republic of China through the United 
States-China Clean Energy Research Center and 
other initiatives to launch new cooperative efforts; 
(4) the United States Government should en-
gage in expanded dialogue with the People’s Repub-
lic of China to ensure that development finance in-
stitutions do not undermine global decarbonization 
efforts; and 
(5) the United States Government should work 
with the People’s Republic of China to develop and 
adopt safeguards to promote low-carbon, climate-re-
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silient investments over high-carbon, climate risk-in-
ducing investments, particularly in emerging and de-
veloping economies in the Indo-Pacific, Africa, and 
Latin America. 
SEC. 5. STATEMENT OF POLICY ON APPLICATION OF GLOB-
AL MAGNITSKY SANCTIONS TO CLIMATE- 
LINKED CORRUPTION AND HUMAN RIGHTS 
ABUSES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—It is the policy of the United 
States to consider— 
(1) any act of corruption related to a covered 
activity (as defined in section 6(h)) to be corruption, 
as that term is used in Executive Order 13818 (50 
U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking the property 
of persons involved in serious human rights abuse or 
corruption); and 
(2) any violation of internationally recognized 
human rights committed against an individual de-
scribed in subsection (b) to be a serious human 
rights abuse, as that term is used in that Executive 
Order 13818. 
(b) INDIVIDUALS DESCRIBED.—An individual de-
scribed in this subsection is an individual— 
(1) seeking to protect the environment, public 
health, or community land rights; 
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