Title: Climate Action Now Act
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
Climate Action Now Act
This bill requires the President to develop and update annually a plan for the United States to meet its nationally determined contribution under the Paris Agreement on climate change. Specifically, the plan must describe steps to (1) cut greenhouse gas emissions by 26%-28% below 2005 levels by 2025, and (2) confirm that other parties to the agreement with major economies are fulfilling their announced contributions.
In addition, the bill prohibits federal funds from being used to withdraw from the agreement.

[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 H. R. 9

To direct the President to develop a plan for the United States to meet 
 its nationally determined contribution under the Paris Agreement, and 
                          for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 27, 2019

Ms. Castor of Florida (for herself, Ms. Pelosi, Mr. Hoyer, Mr. Pallone, 
Mr. Engel, Mr. Grijalva, Ms. Johnson of Texas, Mr. Neal, Mr. McGovern, 
  Mr. Nadler, Ms. Brownley of California, Ms. Bonamici, Mr. Levin of 
   California, Mr. Huffman, Mr. McEachin, Mr. Neguse, Mr. Casten of 
   Illinois, Mr. Lujan, Mr. Hastings, Mr. Schneider, Mr. Beyer, Mr. 
 Lowenthal, Ms. Porter, Mr. Scott of Virginia, Mr. Soto, Mr. Gallego, 
Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, Mr. Malinowski, Mr. Cisneros, Mr. 
  Crist, Ms. Norton, Ms. Matsui, Mr. Rouda, Ms. Mucarsel-Powell, Mr. 
   Kennedy, Mr. Cohen, Mr. Panetta, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Courtney, Ms. 
   Frankel, Mr. Cummings, Mr. Welch, Ms. Barragan, Mr. Van Drew, Mr. 
Higgins of New York, Mr. Tonko, Mr. Clyburn, Mr. Carbajal, Mr. Thompson 
  of California, Mr. Jeffries, Mr. Kilmer, Ms. Spanberger, Ms. Blunt 
    Rochester, Mr. Rose of New York, Ms. Schakowsky, Mrs. Davis of 
    California, Mr. Brendan F. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Mr. Larsen of 
 Washington, Mr. McNerney, Ms. Dean, Ms. Clarke of New York, Mr. Levin 
  of Michigan, Mrs. Trahan, Mr. DeFazio, Mr. Lynch, Ms. Haaland, Mr. 
Blumenauer, Ms. Judy Chu of California, Mr. Ruppersberger, Ms. DeGette, 
Ms. Schrier, and Ms. Kuster of New Hampshire) introduced the following 
 bill; 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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To direct the President to develop a plan for the United States to meet 
 its nationally determined contribution under the Paris Agreement, 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 ``Climate Action Now Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) In Paris, on December 12, 2015, parties to the United 
        Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) reached 
        a landmark agreement to combat climate change and to accelerate 
        and intensify the actions and investments needed for a 
        sustainable low carbon future.
            (2) The Paris Agreement's central aim is to strengthen the 
        global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a 
        global temperature rise well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-
        industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the 
        temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
            (3) The Paris Agreement requires all parties to put forward 
        their best efforts through nationally determined contributions 
        (NDCs) and to strengthen these efforts in the years ahead.
            (4) The Paris Agreement further requires each party to 
        update its nationally determined contribution every 5 years, 
        with each successive nationally determined contribution 
        representing a progression beyond the previous nationally 
        determined contribution, and reflecting the party's highest 
        possible ambition.
            (5) The United States communicated its nationally 
        determined contribution to achieve an economy-wide target of 
        reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 percent below 
        its 2005 level in 2025 and to make best efforts to reduce its 
        emissions by 28 percent.
            (6) A number of existing laws, regulations, and other 
        mandatory measures in the United States are relevant to 
        achieving this target, including the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 
        7401 et seq.), the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-
        486), and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 
        (Public Law 110-140).
            (7) On June 1, 2017, President Trump announced his 
        intention to withdraw the United States from the Paris 
        Agreement, which would leave the United States as the only 
        UNFCCC member state that is not a signatory to the Paris 
        Agreement.
            (8) Under the terms of the Paris Agreement, the earliest 
        possible effective withdrawal date by the United States is 
        November 4, 2020. However, the United States is still obligated 
        to maintain certain commitments under the Paris Agreement, such 
        as continuing to report its emissions to the United Nations.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON USE OF FUNDS TO ADVANCE THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE 
              UNITED STATES FROM THE PARIS AGREEMENT.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no funds are authorized 
to be appropriated, obligated, or expended to take any action to 
advance the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris Agreement.

SEC. 4. PLAN FOR THE UNITED STATES TO MEET ITS NATIONALLY DETERMINED 
              CONTRIBUTION UNDER THE PARIS AGREEMENT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 120 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the President shall develop and submit to the 
appropriate congressional committees and make available to the public a 
plan for the United States to meet its nationally determined 
contribution under the Paris Agreement that describes--
            (1) how the United States will achieve an economy-wide 
        target of reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 26 to 28 
        percent below its 2005 level by 2025; and
            (2) how the United States will use the Paris Agreement's 
        transparency provisions to confirm that other parties to the 
        Agreement with major economies are fulfilling their announced 
        contributions to the Agreement.
    (b) Updates to Plan.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the President shall 
submit to the appropriate congressional committees and make available 
to the public an updated plan under subsection (a).
    (c) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined.--In this section, 
the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' means--
            (1) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
        Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives; and
            (2) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on 
        Environment and Public Works, and the Committee on Energy and 
        Natural Resources of the Senate.

SEC. 5. PARIS AGREEMENT DEFINED.

    In this Act, the term ``Paris Agreement'' means the decision by the 
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change's 21st Conference 
of Parties in Paris, France, adopted December 12, 2015.
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