Title: A concurrent resolution recognizing that the climate crisis is disproportionately affecting the health, economic opportunity, and fundamental rights of children, expressing the sense of Congress that renewed leadership by the United States is needed to address the climate crisis, and recognizing the need of the United States to develop a national, comprehensive, and science-based climate recovery plan to phase out fossil fuel emissions, protect and enhance natural sequestration, and put the United States on a path toward stabilizing the climate system.
Policy area: Environmental Protection

Summary:
This concurrent resolution calls for renewed U.S. leadership in addressing the climate crisis that is disproportionately affecting the health, economic opportunity, and fundamental rights of children. It also recognizes the need for the departments and agencies of the executive branch with delegated authority over energy and climate policy to prepare a climate recovery plan that puts the United States on a trajectory consistent with reducing global atmospheric carbon dioxide to below 350 parts per million by the year 2100.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Con. Res. 8 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. CON. RES. 8

Recognizing that the climate crisis is disproportionately affecting the 
   health, economic opportunity, and fundamental rights of children, 
expressing the sense of Congress that renewed leadership by the United 
  States is needed to address the climate crisis, and recognizing the 
  need of the United States to develop a national, comprehensive, and 
science-based climate recovery plan to phase out fossil fuel emissions, 
protect and enhance natural sequestration, and put the United States on 
             a path toward stabilizing the climate system.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 22, 2021

 Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Booker, Mr. Markey, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. 
 Whitehouse, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Padilla, Ms. Warren, Mrs. Murray, and Mr. 
   Sanders) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
       referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing that the climate crisis is disproportionately affecting the 
   health, economic opportunity, and fundamental rights of children, 
expressing the sense of Congress that renewed leadership by the United 
  States is needed to address the climate crisis, and recognizing the 
  need of the United States to develop a national, comprehensive, and 
science-based climate recovery plan to phase out fossil fuel emissions, 
protect and enhance natural sequestration, and put the United States on 
             a path toward stabilizing the climate system.

Whereas a stable climate system at the founding of the United States allowed 
        human life and human civilization to flourish;
Whereas the United States was founded on the deeply rooted principle of securing 
        ``the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity'';
Whereas the Constitution of the United States protects the fundamental rights to 
        life, liberty, property, and equal protection of the laws;
Whereas a climate system capable of sustaining human life--

    (1) is fundamental to a free and ordered society; and

    (2) is preservative of fundamental rights, including the rights to 
life, liberty, property, personal security, family autonomy, bodily 
integrity, and the ability to learn, practice, and transmit cultural and 
religious traditions;

Whereas the Federal Government sets the energy policy of the United States, 
        which has resulted in a national energy system in which approximately 80 
        percent of the energy in the United States comes from fossil fuels;
Whereas the national fossil fuel-based energy system has led to carbon dioxide 
        emissions from the United States constituting more than \1/4\ of 
        cumulative global carbon dioxide emissions;
Whereas the United States is the largest producer of oil and gas in the world, 
        due in substantial part to the Federal Government--

    (1) opening up Federal public land and water for fossil fuel 
extraction; and

    (2) actively supporting fossil fuel energy;

Whereas there is an overwhelming scientific consensus that--

    (1) human-caused climate change is occurring; and

    (2) the rate of global heating and ocean acidification as of April 2021 
is a result of the buildup of atmospheric greenhouse gas emissions, 
primarily carbon dioxide emissions, largely from the combustion of fossil 
fuels;

Whereas atmospheric carbon dioxide levels of over 400 parts per million as of 
        April 2021 have caused a dangerous planetary energy imbalance, 
        equivalent to the quantity of energy of exploding more than 400,000 
        atomic bombs of the kind dropped on Hiroshima, Japan, per day, 365 days 
        per year, across the planet;
Whereas the latest climate science and real-world observations of that energy 
        imbalance demonstrate that the approximately 1 degree Celsius of warming 
        that has already occurred as a result of human-caused climate change is 
        already dangerous and negatively affecting all aspects of society and 
        the economy of the United States;
Whereas the last time that atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide were 
        over 400 parts per million--

    (1) the seas were 70 to 90 feet higher;

    (2) Greenland had no ice; and

    (3) coral reefs suffered a major extinction;

Whereas similar conditions will result if the United States does not drastically 
        reduce carbon dioxide emissions and naturally sequester excess 
        concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide during the 21st century;
Whereas climate change is a threat to national security, as climate change 
        contributes to and exacerbates global instability and conflict;
Whereas the generation of today's children was born into a climate system made 
        hazardous to their health and well-being because of human-caused climate 
        change;
Whereas children are uniquely vulnerable to human-caused climate change because 
        of their developing bodies, higher exposure to air, food, and water per 
        unit of body weight, unique behavior patterns, dependence on caregivers, 
        and longevity on the planet;
Whereas human-caused climate change is a public health emergency that is 
        adversely impacting the physical and mental health of children through--

    (1) extreme weather events;

    (2) rising temperatures and increased heat exposure;

    (3) decreased air quality;

    (4) altered infectious disease patterns;

    (5) food and water insecurity; and

    (6) other effects;

Whereas the best scientific information available projects a 15- to 30-foot rise 
        in sea level by the year 2100 if current trends continue, with ever 
        greater rises and acceleration in subsequent centuries, resulting in 
        increased erosion and the loss of land, causing the loss of communities, 
        homes, infrastructure, agriculture, and coastal ecosystems for children 
        affected, until such time as levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere 
        are dramatically reduced and steps are taken to cool the upper portion 
        of the ocean;
Whereas infant mortality increases 25 percent on extremely hot days, with the 
        first 7 days of life representing a period of critical vulnerability;
Whereas heat illness is a leading cause of death and illness in high school 
        athletes, with nearly 10,000 episodes of heat illness occurring 
        annually;
Whereas 8.4 percent of children suffer from allergic rhinitis, and the ragweed 
        pollen season in North America has grown 13 to 27 days longer since 1995 
        due to higher temperatures and greater atmospheric carbon dioxide 
        levels;
Whereas children are especially susceptible to air pollution given their 
        developing lungs, higher ventilation rate, and higher levels of physical 
        activity;
Whereas children exposed to smoke from wildfires, which have increased in 
        frequency and severity due to rising temperatures and droughts, suffer 
        substantial--

    (1) eye symptoms; and

    (2) upper and lower respiratory symptoms that lead to increased rates 
of asthma-related hospitalizations and emergency room visits;

Whereas long-term exposure to fine particulate matter, including from sources of 
        air pollution and smoke from wildfires, is associated with higher COVID-
        19 mortality rates;
Whereas extreme weather events can negatively impact the mental health of 
        children due to--

    (1) family loss or separation;

    (2) school interruption;

    (3) scarcities of food, water, and shelter; and

    (4) public service outages;

Whereas, without immediate steps to address human-caused climate change, the 
        health effects of climate change on children will--

    (1) increase in severity and in terms of the number of children 
impacted; and

    (2) cost the United States billions of dollars per year by the end of 
the 21st century;

Whereas children will largely shoulder the costs of human-caused climate change;
Whereas further increases in global temperature will saddle children with an 
        enormous, perhaps incalculable, cost burden, undermining their economic 
        security and the economic security of the United States;
Whereas children are deserving of special consideration and protection with 
        respect to human-caused climate change;
Whereas children on the frontlines of human-caused climate change across the 
        United States and globally have risen up and called upon government 
        leaders around the world to take concrete, science-based, and equitable 
        action--

    (1) to address human-caused climate change; and

    (2) to ensure environmental and climate justice for their generation 
and future generations, including children from vulnerable communities that 
have borne the brunt of climate change;

Whereas children within environmental justice communities, including communities 
        of color, low-income communities, and indigenous communities, that have 
        contributed the least to emissions--

    (1) have long suffered from systemic environmental racism and social 
and economic injustices;

    (2) are disproportionately burdened by adverse health or environmental 
effects; and

    (3) are subjected to disproportionate energy burdens;

Whereas members and children from frontline and environmental justice 
        communities, who are more likely to reside in areas with greater 
        exposure to air pollution, are disproportionately impacted by the COVID-
        19 pandemic;
Whereas global atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations must be reduced to less 
        than 350 parts per million by the end of the 21st century, with further 
        reductions thereafter, to restore the energy balance of the planet, 
        stabilize the climate system, and protect the ice sheets and oceans for 
        posterity;
Whereas existing and future adverse public health and other impacts and costs to 
        children and the United States can be significantly mitigated if the 
        United States acts promptly to reduce emissions from fossil fuels in the 
        United States;
Whereas numerous experts have concluded that there are multiple technically and 
        economically feasible pathways to place all sectors of the economy of 
        the United States on an emissions-reduction path consistent with 
        returning global atmospheric carbon dioxide to 350 parts per million by 
        2100;
Whereas producing energy in the United States with non-carbon emitting sources 
        will result in energy costs within the range of recent experience, 
        ultimately saving consumers money and stabilizing the cost of energy, 
        while increasing the number of jobs in the energy sector; and
Whereas multiple Federal departments and agencies can exercise authority 
        delegated by Congress to prevent and respond to climate change, 
        including--

    (1) the Department of Energy;

    (2) the Department of the Interior;

    (3) the Department of Agriculture;

    (4) the Environmental Protection Agency;

    (5) the Department of Commerce; and

    (6) the Department of State: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) renewed leadership by the United States is needed 
        immediately to address the human-caused climate crisis that is 
        disproportionately affecting the health, economic opportunity, 
        and fundamental rights of the children of the United States; 
        and
            (2) there is an urgent human-caused climate crisis that--
                    (A) has inspired children across the United States 
                to organize and demand immediate government action to 
                protect their fundamental rights from the perils of 
                climate change; and
                    (B) demands a national, comprehensive, science-
                based, and just climate recovery plan that--
                            (i) is prepared by Federal departments and 
                        agencies pursuant to delegated authority over 
                        energy and climate policy; and
                            (ii) upholds the fundamental rights of 
                        children and puts the United States on a 
                        trajectory consistent with reducing global 
                        atmospheric carbon dioxide to less than 350 
                        parts per million by 2100.
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