I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 598 
To ensure 100 percent renewable electricity, zero emission vehicles, and regen-
erative agriculture by 2030 to address global warming caused by human 
activity. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JANUARY 27, 2023 
Mr. ESPAILLAT (for himself, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. 
NADLER, and Mr. GRIJALVA) introduced the following bill; which was re-
ferred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Commit-
tees on Ways and Means, and Energy and Commerce, for a period to be 
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration 
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee con-
cerned 
A BILL 
To ensure 100 percent renewable electricity, zero emission 
vehicles, and regenerative agriculture by 2030 to address 
global warming caused by human activity. 
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 ‘‘Earth Act to Stop Cli-
mate Pollution by 2030’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:18 Feb 11, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H598.IH
H598
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
(1) Global climate change is an immediate 
threat to the national security, public health, and 
national economy of the United States as well as the 
legacy we will leave to our children. 
(2) The most vulnerable communities, including 
communities of color, women, children, the elderly, 
persons with disabilities, low-income communities, 
and those with underlying health conditions, face 
even greater health risks as a result of climate 
change. 
(3) The United States is already seeing climate 
change exacerbate extreme weather events, with— 
(A) the year 2020 seeing the most active 
Atlantic hurricane season on record with 30 
named storms and six major hurricanes; 
(B) the 2019 issuance of the first-ever Ex-
treme Red Flag Warning for wildfires; 
(C) hundreds of thousands of acres in the 
Western United States currently or recently ex-
periencing devastating wildfires; and 
(D) communities around the country regu-
larly facing ‘‘100-Year Floods’’. 
(4) The United Nations Intergovernmental 
Panel on Climate Change 2016 Special Report on 
Climate Change and Land found that sustainable 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:18 Feb 16, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H598.IH
H598
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
land management can contribute to reducing the 
negative impacts of multiple stressors, including cli-
mate change. 
(5) The Environmental Protection Agency 
found that electricity, transportation, and agri-
culture accounted for more than 60 percent of 
greenhouse gas emissions in 2019. 
(6) The National Centers for Environmental In-
formation found that, in 2021, there were 20 weath-
er and climate disaster events with losses exceeding 
$1,000,000,000 each to affect the United States. 
These events resulted in the deaths of 688 people 
and had significant economic effects on the areas 
impacted. The 1980–2021 annual average is 7.4 
events. 
(7) The total cost of United States billion-dollar 
disasters over the years 2016 through 2020 exceeds 
$600,000,000,000, with a 5-year annual cost aver-
age of $121,300,000,000. 
(8) The IPCC released its Working Group I, 
2021 report, which found that, unless immediate 
and broad reductions in greenhouse gas emissions 
are made by the international community, it will be 
impossible to limit global warming to 2 degrees Cel-
sius, the warming level which the scientific commu-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:18 Feb 11, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H598.IH
H598
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
nity believes will precipitate catastrophic climate-re-
lated consequences and risks to human health, liveli-
hoods, food security, human security, water supply, 
and economic growth will all increase. 
(9) In 2021, the Secretary of Energy, Jennifer 
Granholm, expressed that, by 2030, the clean energy 
sector will be a $230,000,000,000,000 global market 
for all technologies and products that reduce carbon 
pollution, spurring economic opportunity through job 
creation for people across the United States and the 
world. 
(10) According to the Environmental Protection 
Agency, renewable energy reduces greenhouse gas 
emissions and air pollution associated with energy 
production. 
(11) The 2021 Department of Defense Climate 
Risk Analysis found that increasing temperatures, 
changing precipitation patterns, and more frequent, 
intense, and unpredictable extreme weather condi-
tions caused by climate change are exacerbating ex-
isting security risks. 
(12) In 2021, the Office of the Director of Na-
tional Intelligence assessed that climate change will 
increasingly exacerbate risks to United States na-
tional security interests. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
01:18 Feb 16, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H598.IH
H598
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
(13) In 2021, the President issued an Executive 
order directing the Federal Government to achieve 
100 percent carbon pollution-free electricity on a net 
annual basis by 2030 and 100 percent zero-emission 
vehicle acquisitions by 2035. 
(14) In 2021, United Nations Secretary-Gen-
eral, Antonio Guterres, described the urgency of ad-
dressing climate change by stating that ‘‘the alarm 
bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable: 
greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning 
and deforestation are choking our planet and put-
ting billions of people at immediate risk. Global 
heating is affecting every region on Earth, with 
many of the changes becoming irreversible’’. 
(15) The Sixth Assessment Report of the IPCC 
found that ‘‘human-induced climate change, includ-
ing more frequent and intense extreme events, has 
caused widespread adverse impacts and related 
losses and damages to nature and people, beyond 
natural climate variability’’. 
(16) The IPCC notes that to avoid mounting 
loss of life, biodiversity, and infrastructure, we must 
have ambitious, accelerated action to adapt to cli-
mate change, while also making rapid, deep cuts in 
greenhouse gas emissions. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:18 Feb 11, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H598.IH
H598
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
SEC. 3. RENEWABLE ENERGY. 
(a) RENEWABLE ENERGY STANDARD.— 
(1) MINIMUM
ANNUAL
PERCENTAGE.—The 
minimum annual percentage of the total quantity of 
electricity sold by a retail electric supplier that is re-
quired to be generated from renewable energy re-
sources shall be— 
(A) in each of 2027, 2028, and 2029, at 
least 80 percent; and 
(B) in 2030, and in each year thereafter, 
100 percent. 
(2) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 
Secretary of Energy shall issue regulations to carry 
out this subsection. 
(3) REQUIRED SUBMISSIONS.—The regulations 
issued under paragraph (2) shall require a retail 
electric supplier to submit to the Secretary of En-
ergy, the Administrator of the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency, and the Secretary of Transpor-
tation— 
(A) not later than one year after the date 
of enactment of this subsection, and annually 
thereafter, a plan to achieve compliance with 
such regulations; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:18 Feb 11, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H598.IH
H598
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
(B) beginning in 2028, and annually there-
after, by April 15, a report on compliance with 
this subsection for the preceding year, including 
evidentiary documentation regarding such com-
pliance. 
(4) GRANTS FOR TRANSITION ASSISTANCE.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—Subject to the avail-
ability of appropriations, the Secretary of En-
ergy shall make competitive grants to retail 
electric suppliers to pay up to 50 percent of the 
costs of meeting the requirements under this 
subsection. 
(B) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under 
this paragraph, the Secretary of Energy shall 
give priority to retail electric suppliers who dis-
play significant need, as determined by the Sec-
retary, to finance their transition to renewable 
energy. 
(C) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to re-
ceive a grant under this paragraph, a retail 
electric supplier shall submit to the Secretary of 
Energy an application at such time, in such 
manner, and containing such information as the 
Secretary may require. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:18 Feb 11, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H598.IH
H598
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
(5) BEST PRACTICES REPORT.—Not later than 
180 days after the date of the enactment of this 
subsection, the Secretary of Energy shall develop 
and publish, including on the public website of the 
Department of Energy, a report on the best prac-
tices for retail electric suppliers for activities to 
transition to renewable energy consistent with this 
subsection, including how to apply for a grant under 
this subsection. 
(b) RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES.— 
(1) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of enactment of this subsection, the 
Secretary of Energy shall issue regulations regard-
ing the sourcing, recycling, and disposal of materials 
used to manufacture renewable energy sources, with 
goals of— 
(A) eliminating the use of rare earth met-
als in the manufacture of renewable energy 
sources; and 
(B) ensuring the recycling of all such ma-
terials. 
(2) REQUIRED SUBMISSIONS.—Not later than 
one year after the date of enactment of this sub-
section, the regulations issued under paragraph (1) 
shall require entities subject to such regulations to 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:18 Feb 11, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H598.IH
H598
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
submit to the Secretary of Energy documentation on 
compliance with such regulations, as the Secretary 
of Energy determines appropriate, including docu-
mentation regarding lifecycle greenhouse gas emis-
sions with respect to the business operations of such 
entities. 
(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) RENEWABLE ENERGY.—The term ‘‘renew-
able energy’’ means electric energy generated from a 
renewable energy resource. 
(2) RENEWABLE
ENERGY
RESOURCE.—The 
term ‘‘renewable energy resource’’ means wind, 
solar, geothermal, tidal, wave, and existing hydro-
power sources. 
(3) RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCE.—The term 
‘‘renewable energy source’’ means any facility or 
equipment, including any component thereof, used to 
generate or store renewable energy. 
(4) RETAIL
ELECTRIC
SUPPLIER.—The term 
‘‘retail electric supplier’’ means an entity operating 
in the United States or in a territory of the United 
States that sold not less than 1,000 megawatt hours 
to electric consumers for purposes other than resale 
during the preceding calendar year. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:18 Feb 11, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H598.IH
H598
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
SEC. 4. ZERO EMISSION VEHICLES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part A of title II of the Clean Air 
Act (42 U.S.C. 7521 et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 220. ZERO EMISSION VEHICLE PRODUCTION. 
‘‘(a) MINIMUM ANNUAL PERCENTAGE.—The min-
imum annual percentage of the total quantity of new 
motor vehicles sold by a vehicle manufacturer that are zero 
emission vehicles shall be— 
‘‘(1) in each of 2027, 2028, 2029, at least 80 
percent; and 
‘‘(2) in 2030, and in each year thereafter, 100 
percent. 
‘‘(b) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 180 days after 
the date of enactment of this section, the Administrator 
shall issue regulations to carry out this section. 
‘‘(c) REQUIRED
SUBMISSIONS.—The regulations 
issued under subsection (b) shall require a vehicle manu-
facturer to submit to the Environmental Protection Agen-
cy, the Department of Energy, and the Department of 
Transportation— 
‘‘(1) not later than one year after the date of 
enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, a 
plan to achieve compliance with the requirements of 
this section, including the steps to be taken with re-
spect to materials and supply chains; 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:18 Feb 11, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H598.IH
H598
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(2) by April 15, and annually thereafter, a re-
port on compliance with this section, including evi-
dentiary documentation, regarding such compliance; 
and 
‘‘(3) documentation regarding lifecycle green-
house gas emissions of applicable new zero emission 
vehicles. 
‘‘(d) GRANTS FOR TRANSITION ASSISTANCE.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transpor-
tation shall make competitive grants to vehicle man-
ufacturers to pay up to 50 percent of the costs of 
meeting the requirements under this section. 
‘‘(2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 
subsection, the Secretary of Transportation shall 
give priority to vehicle manufacturers who dem-
onstrate significant financial need, as determined by 
the Secretary of Transportation, to meet the require-
ment of paragraph (1) or (2) of subsection (a). 
‘‘(3) APPLICATION.—To be eligible to receive a 
grant under this subsection, a vehicle manufacturer 
shall submit to the Secretary of Transportation an 
application at such time, in such manner, and con-
taining such information as the Secretary of Trans-
portation may require. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:18 Feb 11, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00011
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H598.IH
H598
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
‘‘(e) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the 
date of the enactment of this section, the Administrator 
shall develop and publish, including on the public website 
of the Environmental Protection Agency, a report on— 
‘‘(1) best practices for meeting the require-
ments of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subsection (a); 
and 
‘‘(2) guidance on how to apply for a grant 
under this section. 
‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) MOTOR VEHICLE.—The term ‘motor vehi-
cle’, as defined by this part, includes the following: 
‘‘(A) A light-duty vehicle that is capable of 
seating 12 passengers or less. 
‘‘(B) A light-duty truck which has a gross 
vehicle weight in excess of 6,000 pounds. 
‘‘(C) Heavy duty vehicle which has a gross 
vehicle weight in excess of 8,500 pounds. 
‘‘(2) VEHICLE MANUFACTURER.— 
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘vehicle 
manufacturer’ means an entity that— 
‘‘(i) engages in the manufacturing of 
new motor vehicles; and 
‘‘(ii) sells no fewer than 100 new 
motor vehicles to ultimate purchasers, ei-
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:18 Feb 11, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00012
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H598.IH
H598
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB
ther directly or through an affiliate, such 
as a dealer. 
‘‘(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘vehicle 
manufacturer’ does not include— 
‘‘(i) a motor vehicle parts supplier; or 
‘‘(ii) a dealer. 
‘‘(3) ZERO EMISSION VEHICLE.—The term ‘zero 
emission vehicle’ means a motor vehicle, as defined 
by this subsection, that produces zero exhaust emis-
sions of any criteria pollutant, precursor pollutant, 
or greenhouse gas in any mode of operation or con-
dition.’’. 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The table of con-
tents for the Clean Air Act is amended by inserting after 
the item relating to section 219 the following: 
‘‘Sec. 220. Zero emission vehicle production.’’. 
SEC. 5. REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES. 
(a) MINIMUM ANNUAL PERCENTAGE.—The min-
imum annual percentage of land and livestock managed 
with regenerative agricultural practices for a covered land 
or livestock corporation shall be— 
(1) in each of 2025 and 2026, at least 50 per-
cent; 
(2) in each of 2027, 2028, and 2029, at least 
75 percent; and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
05:18 Feb 11, 2023
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00013
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H598.IH
H598
pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB