Title: A resolution expressing the need for immediate climate action in response to the report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change entitled "Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate".
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
This resolution accepts the findings in the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and affirms that immediate action is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to protect the ocean and cryosphere.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 342 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 342

  Expressing the need for immediate climate action in response to the 
report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 
  entitled ``Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing 
                               Climate''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           September 25, 2019

   Mr. Markey (for himself, Mr. Whitehouse, Mr. Blumenthal, and Mr. 
 Booker) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
           Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Expressing the need for immediate climate action in response to the 
report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 
  entitled ``Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing 
                               Climate''.

Whereas every person on the planet benefits from a healthy ocean and a stable 
        cryosphere;
Whereas the ocean covers more than 70 percent of the surface of the Earth;
Whereas the cryosphere includes the frozen components of the system of the 
        Earth, including snow, glaciers, ice sheets, ice shelves, icebergs, sea 
        ice, and permafrost;
Whereas glaciers, ice sheets, and permanent snow hold approximately 69 percent 
        of the freshwater on Earth;
Whereas the ocean generates the oxygen that humans breathe, regulates the 
        climate and weather patterns, supplies food, is a source of cultural 
        value, supports tourism and trade, and is an untapped renewable energy 
        resource;
Whereas the ocean contributes an estimated $1,500,000,000,000 in value added to 
        the global economy, including a United States fishing industry valued at 
        $212,000,000,000, which is a critical economic driver in the United 
        States;
Whereas the ocean and cryosphere support biodiversity and regulate the global 
        exchange of water, energy, and carbon;
Whereas, on September 25, 2019, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on 
        Climate Change released a report entitled ``Special Report on the Ocean 
        and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate'' (in this preamble referred to as 
        the ``SROCC'');
Whereas the SROCC is the most comprehensive scientific assessment of the effects 
        of climate change on the ocean and coasts and on polar and mountain 
        ecosystems to date;
Whereas more than 100 scientists from 36 countries produced the SROCC, and the 
        SROCC was reviewed by thousands of scientific experts from around the 
        world;
Whereas, according to the SROCC--

    (1) since 1970, the ocean has taken up more than 90 percent of excess 
heat in the climate system, and the ocean has warmed as a direct result of 
anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions;

    (2) from 1982 to 2016, marine heatwaves very likely doubled in 
frequency, and marine heatwaves are very likely to become longer-lasting, 
more intense, and more extensive;

    (3) since 1993, the rate of ocean warming has more than doubled;

    (4) since the 1980s, the ocean has very likely absorbed up to 30 
percent of total anthropogenic carbon, causing the ocean to become more 
acidic;

    (5) the ocean is losing oxygen at an unprecedented rate, and oxygen 
loss will very likely emerge over 59 to 80 percent of the ocean surface by 
2031 through 2050;

    (6) since the 1980s, harmful algal blooms have expanded and increased 
in frequency in coastal environments as a result of ocean warming, 
acidification, and oxygen loss;

    (7) in some regions, fish and shellfish stocks are already on the brink 
of collapsing;

    (8) environmental stressors, such as ocean acidification, oxygen loss, 
and warming ocean temperatures, are expected to further compromise the 
abundance, productivity, and food-web interactions of species;

    (9) the decrease in biodiversity and decline and shifts in distribution 
of fisheries will affect the livelihoods and food security of coastal 
communities;

    (10) warmer ocean temperatures are fueling extreme weather events;

    (11) rare extreme sea level events are expected to occur frequently by 
2050;

    (12) in the absence of significant adaptation efforts, extreme events 
associated with sea level rise, such as erosion, flooding, and 
salinization, are expected to significantly increase;

    (13) during the 20th century, nearly 50 percent of coastal wetlands 
were lost, and 20 to 90 percent of coastal wetlands are projected to be 
lost by 2100 as a result of sea level rise and habitat degradation;

    (14) coastal blue carbon ecosystems can contribute to climate 
mitigation by storing carbon;

    (15) river runoff in snow-dominated and glacier-fed basins are 
projected to change in response to projected snow cover and glacier 
decline;

    (16) glacial and snow meltwater reductions have resulted in reduced 
water supply, declined agriculture productivity, and increased wildfires in 
mountain regions and the Arctic;

    (17) tourism and outdoor recreation activities have been negatively 
affected by the cryosphere decline;

    (18) Arctic sea ice is declining in all months of the year and summers 
free of sea ice are increasingly likely under 2 degrees Celsius of global 
warming;

    (19) in the last 2 decades, Arctic surface air temperatures have likely 
increased by more than double the global average, resulting in more sea ice 
and snow cover loss; and

    (20) widespread thaw and degradation of permafrost is projected to 
occur this century and is anticipated to release tens to hundreds of 
billions of tons of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere;

Whereas the United States is already facing the consequences of inaction on 
        climate change;
Whereas communities of color, indigenous communities, and low-income communities 
        often face the disproportionate effects of inaction on climate change;
Whereas reducing greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning to a clean energy 
        economy, and investing in climate adaptation efforts can support good-
        paying jobs;
Whereas, in 2018, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 
        released a special report entitled ``Global Warming of 1.5C'', which 
        found that to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, net global 
        greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced to 45 percent below 2010 levels 
        by 2030 and 100 percent below 2010 levels, or net zero, by 2050; and
Whereas, as Congress enacts policies to put the United States on a path to net-
        zero emissions, there is an opportunity and need for the ocean to be 
        part of the climate solution: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) recognizes and accepts the findings of the report of 
        the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 
        entitled ``Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a 
        Changing Climate'';
            (2) commits to supporting ocean-centric solutions to the 
        climate crisis in conjunction with policies to reduce 
        greenhouse gas emissions; and
            (3) affirms that immediate action is needed to reduce 
        greenhouse gas emissions to protect the health of the ocean and 
        the stability of the cryosphere.
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