I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1971 
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the climate. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 22, 2015 
Mr. TED LIEU of California (for himself, Mr. QUIGLEY, Ms. NORTON, Mr. 
BEYER, Mr. HONDA, Ms. LOFGREN, Ms. LEE, Mr. MCDERMOTT, Mr. 
GRIJALVA, Mr. COHEN, Ms. JUDY CHU of California, Mr. PETERS, Mr. 
HASTINGS, Ms. DELAURO, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. 
TAKANO, Mr. NADLER, Mr. DESAULNIER, Ms. HAHN, Mr. BLU-
MENAUER, and Mr. CARTWRIGHT) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition 
to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently de-
termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect the climate. 
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 ‘‘Climate Solutions Act 
of 2015’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; SENSE OF CONGRESS. 
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows: 
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(1) The United States has the objective of sta-
bilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmos-
phere at a level that would prevent ‘‘dangerous an-
thropogenic interference’’ with the climate system by 
becoming a party to the 1992 United Nations 
Framework Convention on Climate Change, pledging 
to China to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 28 
percent of their 2005 levels by 2025, and regulating 
greenhouse gas emissions from stationary sources, 
mobile sources, and electrical power suppliers. 
(2) To achieve this objective, the increase in 
global mean surface temperature should not exceed 
2°C (3.6°F) above preindustrial temperature, much 
of which is already projected to occur by the Inter-
governmental Panel on Climate Change. 
(3) The risks associated with a temperature in-
crease above 2°C (3.6°F) are grave, including the 
disintegration of the Greenland ice sheet, which, if 
it were to melt completely, would raise global aver-
age sea level by approximately 23 feet, devastating 
many of the world’s coastal areas and population 
centers. 
(4) The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 
Change projects that temperatures will rise between 
1.8°C to 4.0°C (3.2°F to 7.2°F) by the end of the 
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century, under a range of expected emissions trends, 
but if there are common goals to limit greenhouse 
gas emissions, the temperature increase can be lim-
ited to 2°C (3.6°F) or less. 
(5) Serious global warming impacts have al-
ready been observed in the United States and world-
wide, including— 
(A) increases in heat waves and other ex-
treme weather events; 
(B) rise in sea level, retreat of glaciers and 
polar ice; 
(C) decline in mountain snowpack, in-
creased drought (including droughts in the 
West and South United States) resulting in 
damage to our economy and property; 
(D) extreme weather conditions resulting 
in wildfires, stronger hurricanes and polar vor-
tex occurrences resulting in further damage to 
property and our economy; 
(E) damage to our environment such as 
ocean acidification, extensive coral bleaching, 
migrations, and shifts in the yearly cycles of 
plants and animals; and 
(F) effects on human population including 
population displacement and adverse health ef-
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fects such as the spread of infectious diseases 
and climate-related conditions such as asthma. 
(6) Scientists project that under a midrange es-
timate of global warming, by 2050, roughly 25 per-
cent of animal and plant species will be committed 
to extinction. 
(7) Decisive action is needed to minimize the 
many dangers posed by global warming. 
(8) The timing of such action is critical, given 
that greenhouse gases can persist in the atmosphere 
for more than a century. 
(9) The International Energy Agency has 
warned in its most recent World Energy Outlook re-
port that, unless there is a serious commitment to 
investing in zero carbon renewable energy resources, 
much of the amount of projected limits necessary to 
avoid greenhouse-gas-emission-caused dangerous an-
thropogenic interference with the climate system will 
be locked in and exceeded. 
(10) 
PricewaterhouseCoopers 
Low 
Carbon 
Economy Index Report estimates that carbon-based 
fuel use needs to be reduced 6.5 percent per year 
through the year 2100, nearly six times the current 
rate, to avoid dangerous anthropogenic interference 
with the climate system. 
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(11) With only 5 percent of the world popu-
lation, the United States emits approximately 20 
percent of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions 
and must be a leader in addressing global warming. 
(12) The State of California, the 8th largest 
economy in the world, has shown that renewable en-
ergy standards and greenhouse gas emissions regula-
tion can reduce greenhouse gas emissions while fos-
tering significant economic growth. 
(13) Existing energy efficiency and clean, re-
newable energy technologies can reduce global warm-
ing pollution, while saving consumers money, reduc-
ing our dependence on oil, enhancing national secu-
rity, cleaning the air, and protecting pristine places 
from drilling and mining. 
(b) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of the 
Congress that the United States should participate in ne-
gotiations under the 1992 United Nations Framework 
Convention on Climate Change and honor its commit-
ments therefrom with the objective of securing United 
States participation in agreements that— 
(1) establish mitigation commitments by all 
countries that are major emitters of greenhouse 
gases, consistent with the principle of common but 
differentiated responsibilities; 
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(2) achieve reductions in global greenhouse gas 
emissions at a pace and level sufficient to avoid dan-
gerous interference with the Earth’s climate; and 
(3) advance and protect the economic and na-
tional security interests of the United States. 
TITLE I—RENEWABLE ENERGY 
SEC. 101. NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY STANDARD. 
Title VI of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act 
of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 824a–4 et seq.) is amended by adding 
at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 610. NATIONAL RENEWABLE ENERGY STANDARD. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall promulgate 
regulations requiring that— 
‘‘(1) beginning in calendar year 2020, the per-
centage of electric energy generated from renewable 
sources that is sold at the retail level in the United 
States shall increase each year; 
‘‘(2) in calendar year 2030 and each subse-
quent calendar year, such percentage shall be not 
less than 40 percent of the total electric energy sold 
at the retail level in the United States; and 
‘‘(3) in calendar year 2050 and each subse-
quent calendar year, such percentage shall not be 
less than 80 percent of the total electric energy sold 
at the retail level in the United States. 
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