Title: Recognizing the 5th anniversary of the adoption of the international Paris Agreement on climate change.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution recognizes the fifth anniversary of the adoption of the Paris Agreement, an international agreement to keep global temperature from rising 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels. It also recommends that the United States rejoins the global warming agreement.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1260 Introduced in House (IH)]

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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. 
Barragan, Mr. Quigley, Mr. Casten of Illinois, Mr. Foster, Mr. Levin of 
  Michigan, Mr. Thompson of Mississippi, Mr. Sires, Ms. Pingree, Mr. 
     Welch, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Huffman, Mr. Hastings, Mr. Smith of 
    Washington, Mr. Rush, Mrs. Dingell, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Khanna, Ms. 
Velazquez, 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. Panetta, 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. Sherman, 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. Sanchez, and Mr. McGovern) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
  on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on 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 concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Recognizing the 5th anniversary of the adoption of the international 
                   Paris Agreement on climate change.

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 degrees 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 prevent dangerous, human-induced interference with the 
        climate 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 announced 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 Paris Agreement on January 20, 2021, 
        the first day the new administration will take office;
Whereas the human influence on the climate system is unequivocal and evident 
        from the increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, 
        positive radiative forcing, observed warming, and understanding of the 
        climate system;
Whereas sustained, robust Federal support of climate science, observations, and 
        modeling plays a key role in understanding the impacts of climate change 
        in the United States and around the world, and will increase in 
        importance as communities and the economy continue to feel the 
        intensifying effects of climate change;
Whereas according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 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 irreversible impacts globally;
Whereas according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate 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 adversely impacted food 
        security, is contributing to desertification and land degradation, and 
        is creating stresses on land that exacerbate existing risks to 
        livelihoods, biodiversity, human and ecosystem health, infrastructure, 
        and food systems;
Whereas according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special 
        Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, the sea level 
        continues to rise at an increasing rate, with the ocean projected to 
        experience increased temperatures, further acidification, oxygen 
        decline, and more frequent extreme weather events, exacerbating risks 
        for human communities in low-lying coastal areas;
Whereas according to the National Climate Assessment, impacts of climate change 
        are already being felt in communities 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 
        permafrost at high altitude, increase of flooding, wildfires, droughts, 
        heat waves, cyclones, and other extreme weather 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 acidification increase, causing a proportional increase in 
        destructive coastal storms and surges, disruption of ecosystems 
        including spawning and migration patterns of key fisheries, 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 property damage, cost the Federal 
        Government $350,000,000,000;
Whereas a November 2016 assessment by the Office of Management and Budget and 
        the Council of Economic Advisers found that recurring costs as a result 
        of climate 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 weather, 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 primary natural resources such as 
        fresh water and arable land for food production, thereby contributing to 
        increased conflict, poverty, food insecurity, and instability;
Whereas this increased conflict and instability, as well as limited capacity to 
        adapt to extreme weather, may force large-scale displacement and both 
        internal and cross-border migration of people, thereby contributing to 
        increased risks to human security and economic systems;
Whereas the impacts of climate change will often be most severely 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 climate 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 climate 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 fulfilling their pledge of mobilizing $100,000,000,000 of 
        climate financing from both public and private sources annually 
        beginning in 2020, some of which will support the Green Climate Fund;
Whereas the United States pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 
        percent below 2005 levels in the United States by 2025, and to 
        contribute $3,000,000,000 to the Green Climate Fund;
Whereas 29 States and the District of Columbia have adopted renewable portfolio 
        standard requirements, 23 States and the District of Columbia have 
        adopted greenhouse gas emissions targets, 27 States have adopted energy 
        efficiency resource standards, 13 States have adopted zero-emission or 
        low-emission vehicle targets, and 10 States have implemented the 
        Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative;
Whereas more than 160 cities in the United States have adopted 100 percent clean 
        and renewable energy goals and 6 cities have already achieved this goal;
Whereas more than 400 city leaders across the United States have joined the 
        Climate Mayors association, a bipartisan network of mayors working 
        together to lead on climate change through meaningful actions in their 
        communities, and to build political will for effective Federal and 
        global policy action for climate progress;
Whereas 24 States, Puerto Rico, and American Samoa have joined the United States 
        Climate Alliance, a bipartisan coalition of Governors committed to 
        reducing greenhouse gas emissions consistent with the goals of the Paris 
        Agreement;
Whereas more than 3,000 bipartisan businesses, cities and counties, colleges and 
        universities, cultural institutions, health care organizations, faith 
        groups, States, and Tribal nations have signed the ``We're Still In'' 
        declaration, promising to world leaders that Americans will not retreat 
        from the global pact to reduce emissions and stem the causes of climate 
        change; and
Whereas the Paris Agreement secured commitments from other member countries, 
        including China and India, for a global agreement that could prevent 
        catastrophic changes to our climate system and thus to societies around 
        the world: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) recognizes the 5th anniversary of the adoption of the 
        Paris Agreement;
            (2) acknowledges that it is the responsibility of humankind 
        to address the severe and global impacts of climate change;
            (3) supports global efforts that will keep global warming 
        below 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), including 
        reduction of greenhouse gas emissions;
            (4) supports global efforts, including increasing the 
        ambition of current climate financing goals, to protect those 
        most vulnerable to the effects of climate change;
            (5) supports policies at the Federal, State, and local 
        levels that promote the reduction of greenhouse gas pollution 
        and aim to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement; and
            (6) recommends that the United States rejoins the Paris 
        Agreement.
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