Targeting Environmental and Climate Recklessness Act of 2024

Bill: 118-s-5306
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Markey, Edward J. [D-MA]
Introduced: 2024-11-13
Policy area: Environmental Protection
Latest action: action_date: 2024-11-13
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Summaries:

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 5306 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES November 13, 2024 Mr. Markey (for himself and Ms. Warren ) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To authorize the imposition of sanctions with respect to significant actions that exacerbate climate change, to reinforce comprehensive efforts to limit global average temperature rise, and for other purposes.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Targeting Environmental and Climate Recklessness Act of 2024 . 2. Findings Congress makes the following findings: (1) Climate change is imposing significant damage on communities in the United States and abroad in the form of severe weather events, wildfires, heat waves, droughts, flooding, ocean acidification, and other threats to public health and safety. Scientists expect these effects to grow in frequency and intensity in the coming decades. Low-income communities, communities of color, and women bear a disproportionate impact of climate-related damages. (2) Collectively, the international community needs to limit global warming to under 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels in order to avoid the most catastrophic effects of climate change. Under the current trajectory, the world will fail to meet this target and will experience warming that exceeds 3 degrees Celsius by the end of the century. In many regions of the world, warming of average temperatures has already surpassed 1.5 degrees Celsius. (3) To limit global warming to under 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, the world needs to reach net-zero global emissions by 2050, which will require making drastic reforms to global economic systems to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, reduce deforestation, reduce dependency on coal, oil, and gas, adapt to unavoidable changes in the climate, and ensure a just transition. (4) The goals articulated in the Paris Agreement depend on collective action involving the entire international community. Progress made by one economic actor can be reduced or cancelled out if another economic actor emits significant greenhouse gas emissions into the Earth’s atmosphere or destroys important carbon sinks. (5) Coal is one of the most carbon-intensive fuel sources. The International Energy Agency estimates that coal is responsible for nearly 1/3 of global warming. The United Nations Secretary General has repeatedly urged countries to stop financing coal and to pledge not to build new coal-fired power plants. Globally, oil and gas operations account for 15 percent of total energy-related emissions. At the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (commonly known as COP28 ) in 2023, the outcome of the first global stocktake under the Paris Agreement called for a global effort to transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems, in a just, orderly, and equitable manner, accelerating action in this critical decade, so as to achieve net-zero global emissions by 2050 in keeping with the science. (6) Subcritical coal-fired power plants continue to be developed, especially in Southeast Asia and as part of the Belt and Road Initiative of the People's Republic of China, despite broad awareness of the dangers and the growing availability of economically superior alternatives. Additionally, coal mining is frequently associated with a wide range of abuses that impact the enjoyment of human rights, such as forced evictions and land grabbing, water and air pollution, and violations of the rights of Indigenous Peoples and workers. (7) Alternatives to carbon-intensive electrical power generation are now available and technological advancements continue to strengthen the economic competitiveness of such alternatives. (8) Internationally, several economic actors continue to pursue activities, such as development of new subcritical coal-fired power plants and deforestation that contribute to dangerous levels of greenhouse gas emissions. In addition to carrying a significant climate risk, many of these activities are associated with serious human rights abuses, acts of corruption, and environmental injustice against Indigenous communities, communities of color, and other communities that have historically faced marginalization and discrimination. (9) The United States Government has developed and implements targeted measures to restrict access to the United States financial system for specific individuals and entities whose actions threaten or run counter to United States national interests. While the United States has not yet used such measures for climate-related activities alone, the United States Government has deployed such measures in response to terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, transnational organized crime, narcotics trafficking, malicious cyber-enabled activity, wildlife trafficking, serious human rights abuses, and acts of corruption. (10) President Biden has indicated that combating the climate crisis is a top domestic and foreign policy priority and has taken steps including the creation of a Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, collaborating with other countries to establish worldwide solutions and reduce the impact of climate change, striving to achieve a net-zero economy in the United States by 2050, producing a plan to end international financing for fossil fuel projects, and emphasizing the need of pursuing an entirely clean energy economy. (11) President Biden has made it a priority to counter environmental injustices in the United States and abroad, and plans on implementing community-led approaches as well as Federal protections and regulations that will support those community members whose land and health have been negatively impacted by climate change. (12) The climate crisis has led to a surge of civic engagement, activism, and protests across the world. At the same time, reprisals against environmental defenders are on the rise. Front Line Defenders reported that of the 196 human rights defenders, including environmental defenders, were killed for their work in 2023. In 2024, Global Witness reported more than 2,100 defenders have been killed since 2012. Thousands of other environmental defenders are targeted each year with reprisals in the form of enforced disappearances, torture, sexual violence, criminalization, and smear campaigns. (13) Illegal deforestation is a significant driver of the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. Criminal networks with the capacity to coordinate large-scale extraction, processing, and sale of timber deploy armed personnel to protect their interests. Those criminal networks regularly attack and threaten members of Indigenous communities, other environmental defenders, and enforcement officials. Perpetrators of such violence are rarely brought to justice. (14) Policies and measures to address climate change and deforestation should also promote human rights, thereby advancing equality, justice, and dignity for all, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights of the United Nations. 3. Sense of Congress on a comprehensive approach to addressing climate change It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the targeted measures described in this Act are only one component of the comprehensive approach needed to address climate change and mitigate its effects; (2) the United States Government must ensure through law and regulation that entities in the United States are not engaged in or complicit in any of the egregious behaviors for which foreign persons may be targeted under this Act; (3) the United States Government should continue to make progress toward scaling international climate finance to more than $11,000,000,000 annually and promote international efforts to support climate change adaptation and mitigation; (4) the United States Government must work proactively with foreign governments, including by offering positive incentives, to address climate change and to promote economic development in ways that do not needlessly increase carbon emissions, deforestation, or the risk of corruption; (5) the targeted measures described in this Act should be employed if engagement has failed to prevent significant actions that exacerbate climate change and deforestation; and (6) given broad international support for countering climate change, the Secretary of State should encourage the governments of other countries to implement targeted measures that are similar to the provisions of this Act, and the Secretary of the Treasury should support implementation of such measures, in order to increase the effectiveness of actions taken by the United States to combat significant actions that exacerbate climate change, including related corruption and human rights violations. 4. Statement of policy on application of Global Magnitsky sanctions to environment-linked corruption and human rights abuses (a) In general It is the policy of the United States to consider use of applicable authorities described in Executive Order 13818 ( 50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking the property of persons involved in serious human rights abuse or corruption) in relation to activities described in section 5(b), including for acts of corruption and serious human rights abuses against individuals described in subsection (b). (b) Individuals described An individual described in this subsection is an individual who— (1) advocates for the protection of the environment, public health, Indigenous rights, or community land rights; (2) investigates, exposes, or raises awareness of harm or corruption related to natural resource use; or (3) is obliged to leave the individual’s habitual home due, in whole or in part, to sudden or progressive change in the environment— (A) caused by human activities or attributable to climate change; and (B) that adversely affects the individual’s life or living conditions. 5. Imposition of sanctions with respect to significant actions that exacerbate climate change, deforestation, or harm to environmental defenders (a) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that the President should employ the authorities provided by this section to prioritize action against, and deterrence of, egregious behaviors that— (1) undermine efforts to limit the increase in global average temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels; (2) contribute to deforestation; or (3) present specific harm to environmental defenders. (b) In general The President may impose one or more of the sanctions described in subsection (c) with respect to any foreign person the President determines, based on credible information— (1) knowingly, recklessly, or willfully engages in an activity in a foreign country that causes, or is likely to cause, greenhouse gas emissions that are not in line with scientifically established pathways to help avoid an increase in the Earth’s temperature of more than 1.5 degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels, as determined by the Secretary of State, including any action that significantly undermines, as a result of timing, magnitude, or corruption, projects for the adoption in the country of high-efficiency, low-carbon, or renewable energy technology or infrastructure, including the construction of low-efficiency fossil fuel power plants; (2) engages in an activity in a foreign country that causes, or is likely to cause, illegal deforestation or loss of natural carbon sinks, including— (A) establishment of incentives for, or promotion of, knowingly conducting deforestation; or (B) engagement in, or failure to combat, illegal logging, mining, or ranching; (3) knowingly engages in an activity in a foreign country that misrepresents the environmental impact of a project, investment, or product, including misrepresenting the amount of greenhouse gas emissions associated with the project, investment, or product, in the context of— (A) assessments conducted by multilateral organizations, national governments, or investors; or (B) public efforts to gain market advantage based on purported environmental advantages of a product; (4) engages in an activity in a foreign country that causes, or is likely to cause, limitations on or circumvention of opposition to deforestation or projects described in paragraph (1) by individuals seeking to protect the environment, public health, or community land rights, including actions that encourage impunity for those perpetrating physical threats or violence against such individuals; (5) is otherwise responsible for or complicit in an activity described in any of paragraphs (1) through (4), including a government official who approves or implements policies or acts that serve to promote such an activity; (6) has acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, any foreign person in a matter relating to an activity described in any of paragraphs (1) through (4), including for or on behalf of a government official described in paragraph (5); (7) has materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, an activity described in any of paragraphs (1) through (4); or (8) is owned or controlled by a foreign person that engages an activity described in any of paragraphs (1) through (4) or is described in paragraph (5). (c) Sanctions described The sanctions that may be imposed with respect to a foreign person under subsection (b) are the following: (1) Inadmissibility to united states In the case of a foreign person who is an individual— (A) ineligibility to receive a visa to travel to the United States or to be admitted to the United States; or (B) if the individual has been issued a visa or other documentation, revocation, in accordance with section 221(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1201(i) ), of the visa or other documentation. (2) Blocking of property (A) In general The blocking, in accordance with the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ( 50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq. ), of all transactions in all property and interests in property of the foreign person if such property and interests in property are in the United States, come within the United States, or are or come within the possession or control of a United States person. (B) Inapplicability of national emergency requirement The requirements of section 202 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ( 50 U.S.C. 1701 ) shall not apply for purposes of this paragraph. (3) Other sanctions options Any of the sanctions described in section 235 of the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act ( 22 U.S.C. 9529 ). (d) Consideration of certain information in imposing sanctions In determining whether to impose sanctions under subsection (b), the President shall consider— (1) information provided jointly by the chairperson and ranking member of each of the appropriate congressional committees; and (2) credible information obtained by other countries and nongovernmental organizations that monitor environmental harm or violations of human rights. (e) Exceptions (1) Intelligence and law enforcement activities Sanctions under this section shall not apply with respect to— (A) any activity subject to the reporting requirements under title V of the National Security Act of 1947 ( 50 U.S.C. 3091 et seq. ); or (B) any authorized intelligence or law enforcement activities of the United States. (2) Compliance with united nations headquarters agreement This section shall not apply with respect to the admission of an individual to the United States if the admission of the individual is necessary to comply with United States obligations under the Agreement between the United Nations and the United States of America regarding the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force November 21, 1947, under the Convention on Consular Relations, done at Vienna April 24, 1963, and entered into force March 19, 1967, or under other international obligations of the United States. (3) Exception relating to importation of goods (A) In general The authority to block and prohibit all transactions in all property and interests in property under this section shall not include the authority to impose sanctions on the importation of goods. (B) Good defined In this paragraph, the term good means any article, natural or man-made substance, material, supply or manufactured product, including inspection and test equipment, and excluding technical data. (f) Implementation; penalties (1) Implementation The President may exercise all authorities provided under sections 203 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out this section. (2) Penalties A person that violates, attempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a violation of this section or any regulation, license, or order issued to carry out this section shall be subject to the penalties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act ( 50 U.S.C. 1705 ) to the same extent as a person that commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) of that section. (g) Definitions In this section: (1) Appropriate congressional committees The term appropriate congressional committees means— (A) the Committee on Environment and Public Works and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate; and (B) the Committee on Energy and Commerce and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives. (2) Carbon sink The term carbon sink means a feature or process that absorbs more carbon from the atmosphere than it releases. (3) Deforestation The term deforestation means the conversion of forest to other land use, whether human-induced or not, that results in— (A) permanent reduction of the tree canopy to less than a minimum 10 percent threshold; and (B) the conversion of areas of forest to agriculture, pasture, water reservoirs, mining, or urban areas. (4) Knowingly The term knowingly , with respect to conduct, means— (A) a person has actual knowledge of the facts; or (B) a reasonable person acting in the circumstances and exercising reasonable care would have that knowledge. (5) Foreign person The term foreign person means a person that is not a United States person. (6) Recklessly The term recklessly , with respect to conduct, means that a person displays a deliberate indifference or conscious disregard to the consequences of the conduct. (7) Subcritical coal-fired power plant The term subcritical coal-fired power plant means a coal-fired power plant with carbon intensity equal to or greater than 880 kilograms of carbon dioxide per megawatt-hour. (8) United states person The term United States person means— (A) a United States citizen or an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the United States; or (B) an entity organized under the laws of the United States or of any jurisdiction within the United States, including a foreign branch of such an entity. (9) Willfully The term willfully , with respect to conduct, means a person has knowledge— (A) of the facts; and (B) that the conduct was subject to sanctions under this section. 6. Additional resources for the Office of Foreign Assets Control There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Treasury such sums as may be necessary to support the targeting by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of persons under this Act and to enhance the ability of that Office to target persons for the imposition of sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act ( 22 U.S.C. 10101 et seq. ).