Global Climate Change Diplomacy Act
Bill: H.R.2887 | Sponsor: Rep. Keating, William R. (D-MA)
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Global Climate Change Diplomacy Act
This bill requires the Department of State to take specified actions to address global climate change.
Specifically, the State Department must establish and staff Climate Change Officer positions, the holders of which shall be assigned to U.S. embassies, consulates, or diplomatic missions. Each officer shall provide climate change mitigation expertise, engage with international entities concerned with addressing climate change, and facilitate U.S. engagement in bilateral and multilateral cooperation on climate change.
Each chief of mission in a foreign country must take certain climate change-related actions, including (1) developing a strategy to improve and increase studying, mitigating, and adapting to climate change; and (2) certifying that considerations related to climate change are incorporated in activities, management, and operations of the U.S. embassy or other diplomatic post under the director of the chief of mission.
The State Department must also establish a curriculum at its Foreign Service Institute to provide employees with specialized climate change training, and it must ensure that embassy personnel responsible for contracts, grants, or acquisitions are trained on evaluating such agreements for considerations related to sustainability and climate change.

To provide for certain Department of State actions relating to global 
                climate change, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Global Climate Change Diplomacy 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEPARTMENT OF STATE ACTIONS RELATING TO GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE.

    (a) Climate Change Officers.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary of State shall establish and 
        staff Climate Change Officer positions. Such Officers shall 
        serve under the supervision of the appropriate chief of mission 
        or the Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the 
        Environment of the Department of State, as the case may be. The 
        Secretary shall ensure each embassy, consulate, and diplomatic 
        mission to which such Officers are assigned pursuant to 
        paragraph (2) has sufficient additional and appropriate staff 
        to support such Officers.
            (2) Assignment.--Climate Change Officers shall be assigned 
        to the following posts:
                    (A) United States embassies, or, if appropriate, 
                consulates.
                    (B) United States diplomatic missions to, or 
                liaisons with, regional and multilateral organizations, 
                including the United States diplomatic missions to the 
                European Union, African Union, Organization of American 
                States, Arctic Council, and any other appropriate 
                regional organization, and the United Nations and its 
                relevant specialized agencies.
                    (C) Other posts as designated by the Secretary.
            (3) Responsibilities.--Each Climate Change Officer shall--
                    (A) provide expertise on effective approaches to--
                            (i) mitigate the emission of gases which 
                        contribute to global climate change and 
                        formulate national and global plans for 
                        reducing such gross and net emissions; and
                            (ii) reduce the detrimental impacts 
                        attributable to global climate change, and 
                        adapt to such impacts;
                    (B) engage and convene, in a manner that is 
                equitable, inclusive, and just, with individuals and 
                organizations which represent a government office, a 
                nongovernmental organization, a social or political 
                movement, a private sector entity, an educational or 
                scientific institution, or any other entity concerned 
                with--
                            (i) global climate change; the emission of 
                        gases which contribute to global climate 
                        change; or
                            (ii) reducing the detrimental impacts 
                        attributable to global climate change;
                    (C) facilitate engagement by United States entities 
                in bilateral and multilateral cooperation on climate 
                change; and
                    (D) carry out such other responsibilities as the 
                Secretary may assign.
    (b) Responsibilities of Under Secretary.--The Under Secretary for 
Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment of the Department of State 
shall, including by acting through the Bureau of Oceans and 
International Environmental and Scientific Affairs of the Department of 
State--
            (1) provide policy guidance to Climate Change Officers 
        established under subsection (a);
            (2) develop relations with, consult with, and provide 
        assistance to relevant individuals and organizations concerned 
        with studying, mitigating, and adapting to global climate 
        change, or reducing the emission of gases which contribute to 
        global climate change; and
            (3) assist officers and employees of regional bureaus of 
        the Department of State to develop strategies and programs to 
        promote studying, mitigating, and adapting to global climate 
        change, or reducing the emission of gases which contribute to 
        global climate change.
    (c) Actions by Chiefs of Mission.--Each chief of mission in a 
foreign country shall--
            (1) develop, as part of annual joint strategic plans or 
        equivalent program and policy planning, a strategy to promote 
        actions to improve and increase studying, mitigating, and 
        adapting to global climate change, or reducing the emission of 
        gases which contribute to global climate change by--
                    (A) consulting and coordinating with and providing 
                support to relevant individuals and organizations, 
                including experts and other professionals and 
                stakeholders on issues related to climate change; and
                    (B) holding periodic meetings with such relevant 
                individuals and organizations relating to such 
                strategy;
            (2) hold ongoing discussions with the officials and leaders 
        of such country regarding progress to improve and increase 
        studying, mitigating, and adapting to global climate change, or 
        reducing the emission of gases which contribute to global 
        climate change in a manner that is equitable, inclusive, and 
        just in such country; and
            (3) certify annually to the Secretary of State that to the 
        maximum extent practicable, considerations related to climate 
        change adaptation and mitigation, sustainability, and the 
        environment were incorporated in activities, management, and 
        operations of the United States embassy or other diplomatic 
        post under the director of the chief of mission.
    (d) Training.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall establish 
curriculum at the Department of State's Foreign Service Institute that 
supplements political and economic reporting tradecraft courses in 
order to provide employees of the Department with specialized training 
with respect to studying, mitigating, and adapting to global climate 
change, or reducing the emission of gases which contribute to global 
climate change. Such training shall include the following:
            (1) Awareness of the full range of national and subnational 
        agencies, offices, personnel, statutory authorities, funds, and 
        programs involved in the international commitments of the 
        United States regarding global climate change and the emission 
        of gases which contribute to global climate change, the science 
        of global climate change, and methods for mitigating and 
        adapting to global climate change.
            (2) Awareness of methods for mitigating and adapting to 
        global climate change and reducing the emission of gases which 
        contribute to global climate change that are equitable, 
        inclusive, and just.
            (3) Familiarity with United States agencies, multilateral 
        agencies, international financial institutions, and the network 
        of donors providing assistance to mitigate and adapt to global 
        climate change.
            (4) Awareness of the most frequently announced goals and 
        methods of the entities specified in subsection (a)(3)(B).
    (e) Contracting.--Contracting and agreements officers of the 
Department of State, and other United States embassy personnel 
responsible for contracts, grants, or acquisitions, shall receive 
training on evaluating proposals, solicitations, and bids, for 
considerations related to sustainability and adapting to or mitigating 
impacts from climate change.
    (f) Reporting.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act and biennially thereafter, the Secretary of State 
shall submit to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives a 
report that includes a detailed breakdown of posts at which staff are 
assigned the role of Climate Change Officer, the responsibilities to 
which they have been assigned, and the strategies developed by the 
chief of mission, as applicable.
    (g) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that climate 
diplomacy tools, including the establishment of Climate Change Officers 
and supporting staff under this section, are critical for demonstrating 
the commitment to include climate changes issues as core tenets of 
foreign policy priorities, as well as preserving the United States role 
as a global leader on climate change action.
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