IV 
116TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. RES. 1260 
Recognizing the 5th anniversary of the adoption of the international Paris 
Agreement on climate change. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 10, 2020 
Mr. LOWENTHAL (for himself, Mr. BEYER, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Ms. 
BARRAGA´N, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. CASTEN of Illinois, Mr. FOSTER, Mr. 
LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. SIRES, Ms. PIN-
GREE, Mr. WELCH, Ms. BONAMICI, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. 
SMITH of Washington, Mr. RUSH, Mrs. DINGELL, Mr. KILDEE, Mr. 
KHANNA, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. CASE, Ms. MENG, Mr. CONNOLLY, Mr. 
CARSON of Indiana, Mr. GRIJALVA, Ms. HAALAND, Ms. BROWNLEY of 
California, Mr. MCEACHIN, Ms. NORTON, Mr. RASKIN, Ms. ROYBAL- 
ALLARD, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. MATSUI, Mr. KEATING, Mr. PA-
NETTA, Mr. LARSEN of Washington, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. TONKO, Mrs. 
NAPOLITANO, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. DEUTCH, Mr. KILMER, Mr. 
GOMEZ, Ms. WASSERMAN SCHULTZ, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Mrs. CAROLYN B. 
MALONEY of New York, Ms. SPEIER, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. SHER-
MAN, Mr. NADLER, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. SUOZZI, Mr. TRONE, Mr. 
PETERS, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. COHEN, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. VARGAS, 
Mr. LEVIN of California, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. SCHNEIDER, Mr. CORREA, 
Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. MICHAEL F. DOYLE of Pennsylvania, 
Ms. ESCOBAR, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Mr. MEEKS, Ms. SA´NCHEZ, and Mr. 
MCGOVERN) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on En-
ergy 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 concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing the 5th anniversary of the adoption of the 
international Paris Agreement on climate change. 
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•HRES 1260 IH 
Whereas the Paris Agreement, adopted by the Conference of 
the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention 
on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 5 years ago on December 
12, 2015, represents the first comprehensive agreement 
among all countries to keep global warming below 2 de-
grees Celsius compared with the preindustrial era; 
Whereas the Paris Agreement urges efforts to limit global 
warming to one and a half degrees Celsius; 
Whereas there are 197 parties, including the United States, 
to the UNFCCC, the principal framework to stabilize 
greenhouse gas concentrations at a level that would pre-
vent dangerous, human-induced interference with the cli-
mate system; 
Whereas 194 parties have signed the Paris Agreement, and 
189 parties have adopted the Paris Agreement; 
Whereas, on June 1, 2017, President Donald J. Trump an-
nounced his intention to withdraw the United States 
from the Paris Agreement; 
Whereas, on May 2, 2019, the House of Representatives 
passed in a bipartisan vote H.R. 9, the Climate Action 
Now Act, that would have kept the United States in the 
Paris Agreement; 
Whereas, on November 4, 2019, the Trump administration 
gave the United Nations formal notice of its intent to 
withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement, 
initiating the year-long withdrawal process; 
Whereas, on November 4, 2020, the United States became 
the first and only signatory of the Paris Agreement to 
withdraw; 
Whereas, on November 4, 2020, President-elect Joseph R. 
Biden, Jr., stated that the United States would rejoin the 
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Paris Agreement on January 20, 2021, the first day the 
new administration will take office; 
Whereas the human influence on the climate system is un-
equivocal and evident from the increasing greenhouse gas 
concentrations in the atmosphere, positive radiative forc-
ing, observed warming, and understanding of the climate 
system; 
Whereas sustained, robust Federal support of climate science, 
observations, and modeling plays a key role in under-
standing the impacts of climate change in the United 
States and around the world, and will increase in impor-
tance as communities and the economy continue to feel 
the intensifying effects of climate change; 
Whereas according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Cli-
mate Change, without additional mitigation efforts, there 
is a very high risk that global warming by the end of the 
21st century will lead to severe, widespread, and irrevers-
ible impacts globally; 
Whereas according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Cli-
mate Change Special Report on Climate Change and 
Land, the land surface air temperature has risen nearly 
twice as much as the global average temperature since 
the preindustrial period, and climate change has ad-
versely impacted food security, is contributing to 
desertification and land degradation, and is creating 
stresses on land that exacerbate existing risks to liveli-
hoods, biodiversity, human and ecosystem health, infra-
structure, and food systems; 
Whereas according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Cli-
mate Change Special Report on the Ocean and 
Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, the sea level con-
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tinues to rise at an increasing rate, with the ocean pro-
jected to experience increased temperatures, further 
acidification, oxygen decline, and more frequent extreme 
weather events, exacerbating risks for human commu-
nities in low-lying coastal areas; 
Whereas according to the National Climate Assessment, im-
pacts of climate change are already being felt in commu-
nities across the United States; 
Whereas according to the National Climate Assessment, the 
global average temperature is projected to increase from 
3 to 12 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100, which will cause a 
reduction in crop yields, alteration of hydrological cycles, 
shrinkage of glaciers and ice sheets, thawing of perma-
frost at high altitude, increase of flooding, wildfires, 
droughts, heat waves, cyclones, and other extreme weath-
er events, greater risk of species extinctions, and more; 
Whereas according to the National Climate Assessment, the 
relative sea level is projected to rise between about 2.5 
and 11.5 feet by 2100 while ocean warming and acidifica-
tion increase, causing a proportional increase in destruc-
tive coastal storms and surges, disruption of ecosystems 
including spawning and migration patterns of key fish-
eries, displacement of people on vulnerable coastlines and 
islands, and more; 
Whereas a 2017 Government Accountability Office report 
found that climate-related impacts, such as coastal prop-
erty 
damage, 
cost 
the 
Federal 
Government 
$350,000,000,000; 
Whereas a November 2016 assessment by the Office of Man-
agement and Budget and the Council of Economic Advis-
ers found that recurring costs as a result of climate 
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change could increase the Federal Government’s expenses 
by $12,000,000,000 to $35,000,000,000 a year by 
midcentury, 
possibly 
reaching 
more 
than 
$100,000,000,000 annually by the end of the century; 
Whereas climate change not only threatens the world’s weath-
er, biodiversity, and ecosystems, but also threatens 
human security, economic vitality, and social stability 
around the globe; 
Whereas the effects of climate change will only exacerbate 
issues of resource scarcity, including lack of access to pri-
mary natural resources such as fresh water and arable 
land for food production, thereby contributing to in-
creased conflict, poverty, food insecurity, and instability; 
Whereas this increased conflict and instability, as well as lim-
ited capacity to adapt to extreme weather, may force 
large-scale displacement and both internal and cross-bor-
der migration of people, thereby contributing to increased 
risks to human security and economic systems; 
Whereas the impacts of climate change will often be most se-
verely felt by poor and socially excluded groups, such as 
ethnic minorities, women, older people, and children, 
whose capacity to adapt to both rapid- and slow-onset cli-
mate change is more limited; 
Whereas the global community can limit the risks of climate 
change by reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and 
strengthening the capacity of communities to adapt to cli-
mate change; 
Whereas to enable developing countries to combat climate 
change and adapt to its impacts, developed countries will 
need to mobilize economic resources, beginning with ful-
filling their pledge of mobilizing $100,000,000,000 of cli-
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