[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2955 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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116th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2955
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.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 21, 2019
Mr. Markey 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.
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 ``Targeting Environmental and Climate
Recklessness Act of 2019''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress makes the following findings:
(1) There is strong global support for actions that limit
the severity of climate change.
(2) On September 18, 2019, more than 200 representatives of
environmental groups, human rights groups, indigenous peoples,
workers, and academia adopted a declaration calling on
governments to urgently address environmental damage, including
by increasing the pressure on those most responsible for
climate change.
(3) The United States Government has developed and
implements targeted measures to restrict access to the United
States financial system for specific individuals and entities
involved in conduct including malicious cyber-enabled activity,
transnational organized crime, narcotics trafficking,
terrorism, proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, human
rights abuse, and corruption. Those conduct-based measures
apply globally and are not focused on any specific country.
(4) As of the date of the enactment of this Act, the United
States Government seeks to apply existing sanctions authorities
against individuals and entities engaged in wildlife
trafficking. On January 30, 2018, the Office of Foreign Assets
Control designated an organization for engaging in illicit
activities including the trafficking of endangered and
vulnerable animals such as black bears, pangolins, tigers,
rhinoceroses, and elephants.
(5) Climate change has disproportionate impact on poorer
communities and individuals in less developed countries.
Targeted measures against individuals and entities most
responsible for exacerbating climate change could help ensure
that efforts to address climate change do not worsen global
inequality.
(6) Development of carbon-intensive electrical power plants
is continuing across the developing world through new foreign
investments, despite broad awareness of the dangers.
(7) The current investment plans of countries likely to
receive significant foreign energy investments may lead to an
excess build-out of fossil fuel assets and create carbon
``lock-in'' absent urgent action.
(8) Governments that are investing in or directing foreign
investment toward legacy fossil fuel energy generation often
lack the incentive to formulate more efficient or sustainable
national energy policies. Those governments are thus likely to
default to established but harmful forms of energy generation.
(9) Alternatives to carbon-intensive electrical power
generation are now available and technological advancements
continue to strengthen the economic competitiveness of such
alternatives.
(10) Corruption is especially harmful when individuals who
abuse positions of influence for personal gain can
simultaneously cause great damage to the global commons by
facilitating significant increases in the emission of, or
decreases in the absorption of, greenhouse gases.
(11) Deforestation is doubly damaging because it undercuts
the absorption of carbon dioxide, while also raising greenhouse
gas emissions.
(12) According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change, most pathways to limit warming to well below 2 degrees
Celsius require reduced deforestation in concert with
reforestation, afforestation, and bioenergy efforts.
(13) From 2013 to 2019, some of the largest financial
institutions in the world provided tens of billions of dollars
in financing to entities either directly or indirectly
deforesting the largest rainforests in the world. Most
financial institutions have no internal policy covering
dealings in key forest-risk commodities.
(14) On September 22, 2019, 130 financial institutions
worth $47,000,000,000,000 collectively, representing \1/3\ of
the global industry, signed on to the United Nations-backed
Principles for Responsible Banking, committing to strategically
align their businesses with the goals of the agreement of the
parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change, done at Paris December 12, 2015, and entered into force
November 4, 2016 (in this Act referred to as the ``Paris
Climate Agreement''), and the Sustainable Development Goals
adopted by all United Nations member countries in 2015.
(15) Illegal deforestation causes environmental harm while
promoting criminal activity. In the Brazilian Amazon, criminal
networks with the capacity to coordinate large-scale
extraction, processing, and sale of timber deploy armed
personnel to protect their interests. They regularly kill and
threaten people who stand in the way of criminal activity,
including members of indigenous communities and environmental
enforcement officials. Perpetrators of violence are rarely
brought to justice.
(16) Between 2002 and 2017, 1,558 people in 50 countries
were killed for defending their environments and lands.
Environmental defenders currently face a wave of violence that
includes threats of physical harm, intimidation, and
criminalization.
(17) Policies and measures to address climate change must
also promote human rights, thereby advancing equality, justice,
and dignity for all, in line with the Sustainable Development
Goals of the United Nations.
SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO ADDRESSING
CLIMATE CHANGE.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the restrictive 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 United States entities are not engaged in
any of the egregious behaviors for which foreign persons may be
targeted under this Act;
(3) the United States Government must recommit to the Paris
Climate Agreement and commit to any successor agreement;
(4) the United States Government must fulfill its pledges
to the Green Climate Fund and promote international efforts to
support climate change adaptation and mitigation;
(5) 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 or
increase the risk of corruption;
(6) the restrictive measures described in this Act should
be employed if engagement has failed to prevent significant
actions that exacerbate climate change; and
(7) given broad international support for countering
climate change, the Secretary of State should encourage the
governments of other countries to implement restrictive
measures that are similar to the provisions of this Act 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.
SEC. 4. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF
CHINA.
It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the United States Government should encourage the
People's Republic of China to follow through on its stated
intentions to reduce the negative environmental impacts of
Chinese foreign investment, including investments provided
through the Belt and Road Initiative;
(2) the United States Government should negotiate a binding
agreement to end fossil fuel subsidies with major economies
including the People's Republic of China;
(3) the United States Government should build on the
successes of existing engagement with the People's Republic of
China through the United States-China Clean Energy Research
Center and other initiatives to launch new cooperative efforts;
(4) the United States Government should engage in expanded
dialogue with the People's Republic of China to ensure that
development finance institutions do not undermine global
decarbonization efforts; and
(5) the United States Government should work with the
People's Republic of China to develop and adopt safeguards to
promote low-carbon, climate-resilient investments over high-
carbon, climate risk-inducing investments, particularly in
emerging and developing economies in the Indo-Pacific, Africa,
and Latin America.
SEC. 5. STATEMENT OF POLICY ON APPLICATION OF GLOBAL MAGNITSKY
SANCTIONS TO CLIMATE-LINKED CORRUPTION AND HUMAN RIGHTS
ABUSES.
(a) In General.--It is the policy of the United States to
consider--
(1) any act of corruption related to a covered activity (as
defined in section 6(h)) to be corruption, as that term is used
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); and
(2) any violation of internationally recognized human
rights committed against an individual described in subsection
(b) to be a serious human rights abuse, as that term is used in
that Executive Order 13818.
(b) Individuals Described.--An individual described in this
subsection is an individual--
(1) seeking to protect the environment, public health, or
community land rights;
(2) seeking to expose, or raise awareness of, environmental
damage; or
(3) obliged to leave the individual's habitual home due, in
whole or in part, to sudden or progressive change in the
environment that adversely affects the individual's life or
living conditions.
SEC. 6. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO SIGNIFICANT ACTIONS
THAT EXACERBATE CLIMATE CHANGE.
(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
undermine efforts to limit the increase in global average temperature
to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
(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) to be responsible for or complicit in, or to have
directly or indirectly engaged in, a covered activity,
including a government official who approves or implements
policies or acts that serve to promote a covered activity;
(2) to have acted or purported to act for or on behalf of,
directly or indirectly, any foreign person in a matter relating
to a covered activity, including for or on behalf of a
government official described in paragraph (1);
(3) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided
financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or
services to or in support of, a covered activity; or
(4) to be owned or controlled by a foreign person described
in paragraph (1).
(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 enter 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) Requests by Appropriate Congressional Committees.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after receiving a
request that meets the requirements of paragraph (2) with
respect to whether a foreign person has engaged in an action
described in subsection (a), the President shall--
(A) determine if that person has engaged in such an
action; and
(B) submit a classified or unclassified report to
the chairperson and ranking member of the committee or
committees that submitted the request with respect to
that determination that includes--
(i) a statement of whether or not the
President imposed or intends to impose
sanctions with respect to the person; and
(ii) if the President imposed or intends to
impose sanctions, a description of those
sanctions.
(2) Requirements.--A request under paragraph (1) with
respect to whether a foreign person has engaged in an action
described in subsection (b) shall be submitted to the President
in writing jointly by the chairperson and ranking member of one
of the appropriate congressional committees.
(f) 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.
(g) 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.
(h) Report Required.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Secretary of
Energy, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the
Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall submit to
the appropriate congressional committees a report that includes a list
of each activity in a foreign country that--
(1) is initiated or negotiated in the year preceding
submission of the report; and
(2) the Secretary determines is a covered activity,
regardless of whether sanctions have been imposed with respect
to the activity.
(i) 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) Covered activity.--The term ``covered activity'' means
any activity in a foreign country that, on or after the date of
the enactment of this Act--
(A) causes, or is likely to cause, significant
excess greenhouse gas emissions associated with
electrical power generation, including--
(i) construction, importation, or
exportation of subcritical coal-fired power
plants; or
(ii) any action that significantly
undermines, as a result of timing or magnitude,
adoption in the country of high-efficiency,
low-carbon, or renewable energy technology or
infrastructure;
(B) causes, or is likely to cause, significant or
illegal deforestation or loss of natural carbon sinks,
including--
(i) establishment of incentives for, or
promotion of, systematic deforestation;
(ii) engagement in, or failure to combat,
illegal logging, mining, or ranching; or
(iii) unjust actions that limit or
circumvent opposition to deforestation by
individuals seeking to protect the environment,
public health, or community land rights; or
(C) knowingly 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--
(i) assessments conducted by multilateral
organizations, national governments, or
investors; or
(ii) public efforts to gain market
advantage based on purported environmental
advantages of a product.
(4) Knowingly.--The term ``knowingly'', with respect to
conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means that a person has
actual knowledge, or should have known, of the conduct, the
circumstance, or the result.
(5) Foreign person.--The term ``foreign person'' means a
person that is not a United States person.
(6) 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.
(7) 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.
SEC. 7. 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
(subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114-328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note).
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