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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 10117 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 10117
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 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
November 13, 2024
Ms. Escobar introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the
Judiciary, Financial Services, Oversight and Accountability, and Ways
and Means, 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 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 2024''.
SEC. 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 (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 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.
SEC. 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 towards scaling international climate finance to over
$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.
SEC. 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 use
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 abuse against an individual 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.
SEC. 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.--
(1) In general.--In determining whether to impose sanctions
under subsection (b), the President shall consider--
(A) information provided jointly by the chairperson
and ranking member of each of the appropriate
congressional committees; and
(B) credible information obtained by other
countries and nongovernmental organizations that
monitor environmental harm or violations of human
rights.
(2) Requirement.--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.
(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 below 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.
SEC. 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.).
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Financial Services, Oversight and Accountability, and Ways and Means, 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.
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Financial Services, Oversight and Accountability, and Ways and Means, 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.
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Financial Services, Oversight and Accountability, and Ways and Means, 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.
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Financial Services, Oversight and Accountability, and Ways and Means, 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.
Referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Financial Services, Oversight and Accountability, and Ways and Means, 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.
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.