Title: A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should work in cooperation with the international community and continue to exercise global leadership to address the causes and effects of climate change, and for other purposes.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
Urges the United States to:

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 155 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 155

 Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should work 
    in cooperation with the international community and continue to 
exercise global leadership to address the causes and effects of climate 
                    change, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 4, 2017

  Mr. Cardin (for himself, Mr. Menendez, Mrs. Shaheen, Mr. Coons, Mr. 
Udall, Mr. Murphy, Mr. Kaine, Mr. Markey, Mr. Merkley, and Mr. Booker) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                          on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Senate that the United States should work 
    in cooperation with the international community and continue to 
exercise global leadership to address the causes and effects of climate 
                    change, and for other purposes.

Whereas the consensus among climatologists and scientists studying the effects 
        of atmospheric change, including the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 
        Change, the National Academy of Science, the United States Geological 
        Survey, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the 
        National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and other agencies within 
        the United States Global Change Research Program, have determined that 
        the impact of climate change will include widespread effects on health 
        and welfare, including increased outbreaks from waterborne diseases, 
        more droughts, diminished agricultural production, severe storms and 
        floods, heat waves, wildfires, and a substantial rise in global sea 
        levels;
Whereas the objective of the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate 
        Change (UNFCCC) is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the 
        atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference 
        with the climate system;
Whereas, under the UNFCCC, the United States is obligated to report its progress 
        on reducing emissions;
Whereas the Senate provided its advice and consent to the UNFCCC by division, 
        with two-thirds of Senators present voting in the affirmative, on 
        October 7, 1992;
Whereas, in 2011, at the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the UNFCCC 
        in Durban, South Africa, parties agreed to negotiate an agreement by the 
        end of 2015 to reduce emissions in the post-2020 period;
Whereas the UNFCCC calls on parties to submit intended nationally determined 
        contributions outlining voluntary individual targets for emissions 
        reductions by the time parties convened in Paris on November 30, 2015, 
        for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP 21) to the UNFCCC;
Whereas, prior to completing the multilateral Paris Agreement on international 
        cooperation to address climate change, done at Paris December 12, 2015, 
        187 nations, representing more than 97 percent of global greenhouse gas 
        emissions, voluntarily submitted nationally determined goals and plans 
        to reduce their greenhouse gas pollution;
Whereas independent analyses by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
        Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration 
        confirmed that 2016 was the warmest year on record, making 2015 the 
        second warmest year on record and 2014 the third warmest year on record, 
        continuing a 35 year-long warming trend with 16 of the 17 warmest years 
        on record occurring since 2001;
Whereas the United States-China Joint Announcement on Climate Change of November 
        2014 included a United States goal to reduce its emissions by 26-28 
        percent below 2005 levels by 2025 and a Chinese goal to peak emissions 
        output by 2030 and increase the use of non-fossil fuels to 20 percent of 
        its overall energy portfolio by 2030;
Whereas, under the United States-India Joint Announcement on Climate and Clean 
        Energy of January 2015, the two countries pledged to increase 
        cooperation on clean energy financing and development and India 
        committed to phase out use of hydrofluorocarbons and increase promotion 
        of energy efficiency tools and reaffirmed its commitment to add 100 
        gigawatts of solar capacity by 2022;
Whereas small island states, whose people are among the most vulnerable to 
        climate change, are threatened with partial or virtually total 
        inundation by imminent rises in sea level and increased intensity and 
        frequency of storms;
Whereas global greenhouse gas emissions have remained level for the past three 
        years, even while global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has grown;
Whereas United States international leadership on the global stage throughout 
        the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's 21st 
        Conference of Parties process resulted in unprecedented international 
        cooperation and engagement on the development of the Paris Agreement;
Whereas the Paris Agreement received consensus approval from the more than 190 
        delegates to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's 
        21st Conference of Parties;
Whereas the Paris Agreement reached its thresholds for entry into force faster 
        than any other multilateral international agreement of comparable size 
        and scope;
Whereas, as of the date of introduction of this resolution, 127 of the 197 
        parties to the Paris Agreement, representing 81.4 percent of global 
        greenhouse gas emissions, have officially joined the agreement, 
        demonstrating the urgency and importance the global community places on 
        addressing climate change;
Whereas the cost of inaction on climate change will have devastating impacts to 
        the United States economy, costing billions of dollars in lost GDP;
Whereas extreme weather, intensified by climate change, has already cost United 
        States taxpayers billions of dollars each year in recovery efforts, and 
        will continue to increase if climate change is left unaddressed;
Whereas decreased GDP and increased costs of infrastructure repairs and other 
        recovery efforts will significantly increase budget deficits and 
        undermine the fiscal stability of the United States;
Whereas climate change will have devastating public health implications, 
        including increased rates of asthma and other respiratory diseases, 
        especially in vulnerable populations like children and low-income 
        communities, the spread of infectious diseases, risks to food and water 
        supplies, and increased premature deaths;
Whereas the emissions reductions pledged by the United States under the Paris 
        Agreement may save nearly 300,000 lives in the United States by 2030 as 
        a result of positive health outcomes corresponding to lower air 
        pollution;
Whereas studies conducted by the NASA Earth Observatory determined that as the 
        oceans have warmed, polar ice has melted and porous landmasses have 
        subsided, global mean sea level has risen by 8 inches (20 centimeters) 
        since 1870, and the rate of sea level rise is faster now than at any 
        time in the past 2,000 years, having doubled in the past two decades, 
        putting 55 to 60 percent of United States citizens who live in counties 
        touching the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, or the Great 
        Lakes at risk from the effects of sea level rise;
Whereas the Department of Defense has identified climate change as a ``threat 
        multiplier'' that will increase global instability and conflict with the 
        potential to increase terrorism;
Whereas the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review states that ``[t]he impacts of 
        climate change may increase the frequency, scale, and complexity of 
        future missions, including defense support to civil authorities, while 
        at the same time undermining the capacity of our domestic installations 
        to support training activities,'' and notes that--

    (1) climate change may exacerbate water scarcity and lead to sharp 
increases in food costs;

    (2) the pressures caused by climate change will influence resource 
competition while placing additional burdens on economies, societies, and 
governance institutions around the world; and

    (3) these effects are threat multipliers that will aggravate stressors 
abroad such as poverty, environmental degradation, political instability, 
and social tensions--conditions that can enable terrorist activity and 
other forms of violence;

Whereas the Department of Defense report, ``National Security Implications of 
        Climate-Related Risks and a Changing Climate''--

    (1) states that global climate change will have wide-ranging 
implications for United States national security interests over the 
foreseeable future because it will aggravate existing problems, such as 
poverty, social tensions, environmental degradation, ineffectual 
leadership, and weak political institutions, that threaten domestic 
stability in a number of countries; and

    (2) identifies four general areas of climate-related risks: 
persistently recurring conditions such as flooding, drought, and higher 
temperatures; more frequent and more severe extreme weather events; sea 
level rise and temperature changes; and decreases in Arctic ice cover, 
type, and thickness;

Whereas the Director of National Intelligence's 2017 Global Trends Report 
        determined that--

    (1) changes in the climate will produce more extreme weather events and 
put greater stress on humans and critical systems, including oceans, 
freshwater, and biodiversity;

    (2) these changes, in turn, will have direct and indirect social, 
economic, political, and security effects; and

    (3) extreme weather can trigger crop failures, wildfires, energy 
blackouts, infrastructure breakdown, supply chain breakdowns, migration, 
and infectious disease outbreaks, and will be more pronounced as people 
concentrate in climate vulnerable locations, such as cities, coastal areas, 
and water-stressed regions;

Whereas the Department of Agriculture has determined that climate change is 
        likely to diminish continued progress on global food security through 
        production disruptions that lead to local availability limitations and 
        price increases, interrupted transport conduits, and diminished food 
        safety, among other causes;
Whereas, according to the World Bank, 1,600,000,000 people currently live in 
        countries and regions with absolute water scarcity and the number is 
        expected to rise to 2,800,000,000 people by 2025 due to the effects of 
        climate change;
Whereas the transition to a clean energy economy is feasible with existing 
        technology;
Whereas the transition to clean energy will create millions of jobs;
Whereas the transition to clean energy will increase United States GDP and 
        increase household income;
Whereas the transition to clean energy will save billions of dollars in avoided 
        health costs;
Whereas the transition to clean energy will save lives and improve public 
        health;
Whereas the transition to clean energy will lower energy costs for businesses 
        and consumers;
Whereas the transition to clean energy will unlock billions of dollars in 
        private investment; and
Whereas, more than half of all electrical generating capacity added in the world 
        last year was renewable: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that the United States 
should--
            (1) work in cooperation with the international community 
        and continue to exercise global leadership in our shared 
        responsibilities, including holding parties accountable for 
        meeting their commitments, and address the causes and effects 
        of climate change;
            (2) remain party to the Paris Agreement and the UNFCCC;
            (3) continue demonstrating strong leadership in 
        implementing the Paris Agreement;
            (4) ensure that the development of the policies and 
        procedures prescribed by the Paris Agreement achieve maximum 
        benefits for the United States; and
            (5) implement its commitments under the Paris Agreement and 
        the UNFCCC.
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