Title: Recognizing that the climate crisis is disproportionately affecting the health, economic opportunity, and fundamental rights of children, recognizing the importance of renewed leadership by the United States in addressing 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 towards 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]
[H. Con. Res. 31 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. CON. RES. 31

Recognizing that the climate crisis is disproportionately affecting the 
   health, economic opportunity, and fundamental rights of children, 
 recognizing the importance of renewed leadership by the United States 
   in addressing 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 
                towards stabilizing the climate system.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 21, 2021

 Ms. Schakowsky (for herself, Ms. Jayapal, Mr. Rush, Ms. Barragan, Ms. 
   Norton, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Blumenauer, Ms. Pingree, Ms. Omar, Ms. 
 Scanlon, Mr. Raskin, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Lynch, Mr. Pocan, Ms. Jacobs of 
    California, Ms. Tlaib, Ms. Newman, Mr. Jones, Mr. Huffman, Mr. 
Grijalva, Mr. Cohen, Ms. McCollum, Mrs. Carolyn B. Maloney of New York, 
Ms. DeGette, Ms. Velazquez, Ms. Bonamici, Ms. Williams of Georgia, Mr. 
Morelle, Ms. Castor of Florida, Mr. Sarbanes, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. 
Cardenas, Ms. Brownley, Ms. Matsui, Ms. Clarke of New York, Ms. Lee of 
California, Mr. Danny K. Davis of Illinois, Ms. Jackson Lee, Ms. Meng, 
  Mr. Garcia of Illinois, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Bowman, Ms. Bass, and Mr. 
   Nadler) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
            referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
Recognizing that the climate crisis is disproportionately affecting the 
   health, economic opportunity, and fundamental rights of children, 
 recognizing the importance of renewed leadership by the United States 
   in addressing 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 
                towards stabilizing the climate system.

Whereas a stable climate system at the founding of this Nation allowed human 
        life and human civilization to flourish;
Whereas this Nation 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 is fundamental to a 
        free and ordered society and is preservative of other fundamental 
        rights, including, but not limited to, 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 our Nation's energy policy, which has 
        resulted in a national energy system in which approximately 80 percent 
        of our Nation's energy comes from fossil fuels;
Whereas the national fossil fuel-based energy system has led to carbon dioxide 
        (CO2) emissions from the United States constituting more than one-
        quarter of cumulative global CO2 emissions;
Whereas the United States is the world's largest producer of oil and gas, in 
        substantial part through the Federal Government's opening up of Federal 
        public lands and waters for fossil fuel extraction and through actively 
        supporting fossil fuel energy;
Whereas there is an overwhelming scientific consensus that human-caused climate 
        change is occurring and that the present rate of global heating and 
        ocean acidification is a result of the buildup of atmospheric greenhouse 
        gas emissions, primarily CO2 emissions, largely from the combustion of 
        fossil fuels;
Whereas current atmospheric CO2 levels of over 400 parts per million (ppm) have 
        caused a dangerous planetary energy imbalance, equivalent to the amount 
        of energy of exploding more than 400,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs per day, 
        365 days per year, across our planet;
Whereas current climate science and real-world observations of the energy 
        imbalance demonstrate that the approximately one degree (1) Celsius of 
        warming that has already occurred as a result of human-caused climate 
        change is already dangerous and negatively affecting all aspects of our 
        society and our economy;
Whereas the last time atmospheric concentrations of CO2 were over 400 ppm, the 
        seas were 70 to 90 feet higher, Greenland had no ice, and coral reefs 
        suffered a major extinction, and similar conditions will result if our 
        Nation does not drastically reduce CO2 emissions and naturally sequester 
        excess concentrations of atmospheric CO2 this century;
Whereas climate change is a threat to national security, as it 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 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, 
        among other impacts, extreme weather events, rising temperatures and 
        increased heat exposure, decreased air quality, altered infectious 
        disease patterns, and food and water insecurity;
Whereas the best scientific information available projects a 15- to 30-foot rise 
        in sea level by 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 CO2 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 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 CO2 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 eye symptoms, as well as upper and lower respiratory 
        symptoms, which 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 children's mental health 
        due to family loss or separation, school interruption, scarcities of 
        food, water, and shelter, and public service outages;
Whereas without immediate steps to address human-caused climate change, the 
        health impacts on children will increase in severity and in terms of the 
        number of children impacted and will cost the United States billions of 
        dollars per year by the end of the century;
Whereas children will largely shoulder the costs of human-caused climate change 
        and 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 our 
        Nation and globally have risen up and called upon government leaders 
        around the world to take concrete, science-based, and equitable action 
        to address human-caused climate change and 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, have long suffered from systemic 
        environmental racism and social and economic injustices, are 
        disproportionately burdened by adverse health or environmental effects, 
        and 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 CO2 concentrations must be reduced to below 350 ppm 
        by the end of the century, with further reductions thereafter, in order 
        to restore the planet's energy balance, stabilize our climate system, 
        and protect the planet's ice sheets and oceans for posterity;
Whereas current and future adverse public health and other impacts and costs to 
        children and our Nation can be significantly mitigated if the United 
        States acts promptly to reduce its emissions from fossil fuels;
Whereas numerous experts have concluded that there are multiple technically and 
        economically feasible pathways to place all sectors of the United States 
        economy on an emissions reduction path consistent with returning global 
        atmospheric CO2 to 350 ppm by 2100;
Whereas producing the Nation's energy with noncarbon-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 executive departments and agencies with authority delegated by 
        Congress can exercise such authority to prevent and respond to climate 
        change, including, but not limited to, the Department of Energy, 
        Department of the Interior, Department of Agriculture, Environmental 
        Protection Agency, Department of Commerce, and Department of State: Now, 
        therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) renewed United States leadership is needed immediately 
        to act to address the human-caused climate crisis that is 
        disproportionately affecting the health, economic opportunity, 
        and fundamental rights of our Nation's children; and
            (2) there is an urgent human-caused climate crisis that--
                    (A) has inspired children across our Nation 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 prepared by the 
                departments and agencies of the executive branch with 
                delegated authority over energy and climate policy, 
                that puts the United States on a trajectory consistent 
                with reducing global atmospheric CO2 to below 350 parts 
                per million by the year 2100 to uphold children's 
                fundamental rights.
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