I 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION H. R. 10117 
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 
NOVEMBER 13, 2024 
Ms. ESCOBAR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Ju-
diciary, Financial Services, Oversight and Accountability, and Ways and 
Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion 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 2024’’. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:56 Nov 13, 2024
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H10117.IH
H10117
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress makes the following findings: 
(1) Climate change is imposing significant dam-
age on communities in the United States and abroad 
in the form of severe weather events, wildfires, heat 
waves, droughts, flooding, ocean acidification, and 
other threats to public health and safety. Scientists 
expect these effects to grow in frequency and inten-
sity in the coming decades. Low-income commu-
nities, communities of color, and women bear a dis-
proportionate impact of climate-related damages. 
(2) Collectively, the international community 
needs to limit global warming to under 1.5 degrees 
Celsius above pre-industrial levels in order to avoid 
the most catastrophic effects of climate change. 
Under the current trajectory, the world will fail to 
meet this target and will experience warming that 
exceeds 3 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. 
In many regions of the world, warming of average 
temperatures has already surpassed 1.5 degrees Cel-
sius. 
(3) To limit global warming to under 1.5 de-
grees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the world 
needs to reach net-zero global emissions by 2050, 
which will require making drastic reforms to global 
economic systems to mitigate greenhouse gas emis-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:56 Nov 13, 2024
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H10117.IH
H10117
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
sions, reduce deforestation, reduce dependency on 
coal, oil, and gas, adapt to unavoidable changes in 
the climate, and ensure a just transition. 
(4) The goals articulated in the Paris Agree-
ment depend on collective action involving the entire 
international community. Progress made by one eco-
nomic actor can be reduced or cancelled out if an-
other economic actor emits significant greenhouse 
gas emissions into the Earth’s atmosphere or de-
stroys important carbon sinks. 
(5) Coal is one of the most carbon-intensive fuel 
sources. The International Energy Agency estimates 
that coal is responsible for nearly 1⁄3 of global warm-
ing. The United Nations Secretary General has re-
peatedly urged countries to stop financing coal and 
to pledge not to build new coal-fired power plants. 
Globally, oil and gas operations account for 15 per-
cent of total energy-related emissions. At the 28th 
United Nations Climate Change Conference (known 
as ‘‘COP28’’) in 2023, the outcome of the first glob-
al stocktake under the Paris Agreement called for a 
global effort to transition away from fossil fuels in 
energy systems in a just, orderly and equitable man-
ner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:56 Nov 13, 2024
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H10117.IH
H10117
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
to achieve net zero by 2050 in keeping with the 
science. 
(6) Subcritical coal-fired power plants continue 
to be developed, especially in Southeast Asia and as 
part of the Belt and Road Initiative of the People’s 
Republic of China, despite broad awareness of the 
dangers and the growing availability of economically 
superior alternatives. Additionally, coal mining is 
frequently associated with a wide range of abuses 
that impact the enjoyment of human rights, such as 
forced evictions and land grabbing, water and air 
pollution, and violations of the rights of Indigenous 
Peoples and workers. 
(7) Alternatives to carbon-intensive electrical 
power generation are now available and technological 
advancements continue to strengthen the economic 
competitiveness of such alternatives. 
(8) Internationally, several economic actors con-
tinue to pursue activities, such as development of 
new subcritical coal-fired power plants and deforest-
ation that contribute to dangerous levels of green-
house gas emissions. In addition to carrying a sig-
nificant climate risk, many of these activities are as-
sociated with serious human rights abuses, acts of 
corruption, and environmental injustice against In-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:56 Nov 13, 2024
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H10117.IH
H10117
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
digenous communities, communities of color, and 
other communities that have historically faced 
marginalization and discrimination. 
(9) 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 whose actions threaten 
or run counter to United States national interests. 
While the United States has not yet used such meas-
ures for climate-related activities alone, the United 
States Government has deployed such measures in 
response to terrorism, proliferation of weapons of 
mass destruction, transnational organized crime, 
narcotics trafficking, malicious cyber-enabled activ-
ity, wildlife trafficking, serious human rights abuses, 
and acts of corruption. 
(10) President Biden has indicated that com-
bating the climate crisis is a top domestic and for-
eign policy priority and has taken steps including 
the creation of a Special Presidential Envoy for Cli-
mate, collaborating with other countries to establish 
worldwide solutions and reduce the impact of climate 
change, striving to achieve a net-zero economy in the 
United States by 2050, producing a plan to end 
international financing for fossil fuel projects, and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:56 Nov 13, 2024
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H10117.IH
H10117
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
emphasizing the need of pursuing an entirely clean 
energy economy. 
(11) President Biden has made it a priority to 
counter environmental injustices in the United 
States and abroad, and plans on implementing com-
munity-led approaches as well as Federal protections 
and regulations that will support those community 
members whose land and health have been negatively 
impacted by climate change. 
(12) The climate crisis has led to a surge of 
civic engagement, activism, and protests across the 
world. At the same time, reprisals against environ-
mental defenders are on the rise. Front Line De-
fenders reported that of the 196 human rights de-
fenders, including environmental defenders, were 
killed for their work in 2023. In 2024, Global Wit-
ness reported more than 2,100 defenders have been 
killed since 2012. Thousands of other environmental 
defenders are targeted each year with reprisals in 
the form of enforced disappearances, torture, sexual 
violence, criminalization, and smear campaigns. 
(13) Illegal deforestation is a significant driver 
of the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Crimi-
nal networks with the capacity to coordinate large- 
scale extraction, processing, and sale of timber de-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:56 Nov 13, 2024
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H10117.IH
H10117
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
ploy armed personnel to protect their interests. 
Those criminal networks regularly attack and 
threaten members of Indigenous communities, other 
environmental defenders, and enforcement officials. 
Perpetrators of such violence are rarely brought to 
justice. 
(14) Policies and measures to address climate 
change and deforestation should also promote 
human rights, thereby advancing equality, justice, 
and dignity for all, in line with the Sustainable De-
velopment Goals and the Guiding Principles on 
Business and Human Rights 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 targeted measures described in this Act 
are only one component of the comprehensive ap-
proach needed to address climate change and miti-
gate its effects; 
(2) the United States Government must ensure 
through law and regulation that entities in the 
United States are not engaged in or complicit in any 
of the egregious behaviors for which foreign persons 
may be targeted under this Act; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:56 Nov 13, 2024
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H10117.IH
H10117
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY ON APPLICATION OF GLOB-
AL MAGNITSKY SANCTIONS TO ENVIRON-
MENT-LINKED 
CORRUPTION 
AND 
HUMAN 
RIGHTS ABUSES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—It is the policy of the United 
States to use applicable authorities described 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) in relation to activities described in 
section 5(b), including for acts of corruption and serious 
human rights abuse against an individual described in 
subsection (b). 
(b) INDIVIDUALS DESCRIBED.—An individual de-
scribed in this subsection is an individual who— 
(1) advocates for the protection of the environ-
ment, public health, Indigenous rights, or commu-
nity land rights; 
(2) investigates, exposes, or raises awareness of 
harm or corruption related to natural resource use; 
or 
(3) is obliged to leave the individual’s habitual 
home due, in whole or in part, to sudden or progres-
sive change in the environment— 
(A) caused by human activities or attrib-
utable to climate change; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:56 Nov 13, 2024
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H10117.IH
H10117
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
(B) that adversely affects the individual’s 
life or living conditions. 
SEC. 5. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO SIG-
NIFICANT ACTIONS THAT EXACERBATE CLI-
MATE CHANGE, DEFORESTATION, OR HARM 
TO ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENDERS. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that the President should employ the authorities 
provided by this section to prioritize action against, and 
deterrence of, egregious behaviors that— 
(1) undermine efforts to limit the increase in 
global average temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius 
above pre-industrial levels; 
(2) contribute to deforestation; or 
(3) present specific harm to environmental de-
fenders. 
(b) IN GENERAL.—The President may impose one or 
more of the sanctions described in subsection (c) with re-
spect to any foreign person the President determines, 
based on credible information— 
(1) knowingly, recklessly, or willfully engages in 
an activity in a foreign country that causes, or is 
likely to cause, greenhouse gas emissions that are 
not in line with scientifically established pathways to 
help avoid an increase in the Earth’s temperature of 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:56 Nov 13, 2024
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H10117.IH
H10117
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
more than 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial 
levels, as determined by the Secretary of State, in-
cluding any action that significantly undermines, as 
a result of timing, magnitude, or corruption, projects 
for the adoption in the country of high-efficiency, 
low-carbon, or renewable energy technology or infra-
structure, including the construction of low-efficiency 
fossil fuel power plants; 
(2) engages in an activity in a foreign country 
that causes, or is likely to cause, illegal deforestation 
or loss of natural carbon sinks, including— 
(A) establishment of incentives for, or pro-
motion of, knowingly conducting deforestation; 
or 
(B) engagement in, or failure to combat, il-
legal logging, mining, or ranching; 
(3) knowingly engages in an activity in a for-
eign country that misrepresents the environmental 
impact of a project, investment, or product, includ-
ing misrepresenting the amount of greenhouse gas 
emissions associated with the project, investment, or 
product, in the context of— 
(A) assessments conducted by multilateral 
organizations, national governments, or inves-
tors; or 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:56 Nov 13, 2024
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H10117.IH
H10117
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
(B) public efforts to gain market advan-
tage based on purported environmental advan-
tages of a product; 
(4) engages in an activity in a foreign country 
that causes, or is likely to cause, limitations on or 
circumvention of opposition to deforestation or 
projects described in paragraph (1) by individuals 
seeking to protect the environment, public health, or 
community land rights, including actions that en-
courage impunity for those perpetrating physical 
threats or violence against such individuals; 
(5) is otherwise responsible for or complicit in 
an activity described in any of paragraphs (1) 
through (4), including a government official who ap-
proves or implements policies or acts that serve to 
promote such an activity; 
(6) has acted or purported to act for or on be-
half of, directly or indirectly, any foreign person in 
a matter relating to an activity described in any of 
paragraphs (1) through (4), including for or on be-
half of a government official described in paragraph 
(5); 
(7) has materially assisted, sponsored, or pro-
vided financial, material, or technological support 
for, or goods or services to or in support of, an ac-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:56 Nov 13, 2024
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H10117.IH
H10117
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS
tivity described in any of paragraphs (1) through 
(4); or 
(8) is owned or controlled by a foreign person 
that engages an activity described in any of para-
graphs (1) through (4) or is described in paragraph 
(5). 
(c) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions that 
may be imposed with respect to a foreign person under 
subsection (b) are the following: 
(1) INADMISSIBILITY TO UNITED STATES.—In 
the case of a foreign person who is an individual— 
(A) ineligibility to receive a visa to travel 
to the United States or to be admitted to the 
United States; or 
(B) if the individual has been issued a visa 
or other documentation, revocation, in accord-
ance with section 221(i) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), of the visa 
or other documentation. 
(2) BLOCKING OF PROPERTY.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The blocking, in ac-
cordance with the International Emergency 
Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), 
of all transactions in all property and interests 
in property of the foreign person if such prop-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:56 Nov 13, 2024
Jkt 059200
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H10117.IH
H10117
ssavage on LAPJG3WLY3PROD with BILLS