[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 104 Introduced in House (IH)]
110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. CON. RES. 104
Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the need for the United
States to address global climate change through the negotiation of fair
and effective international commitments.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
March 29, 2007
Mr. Carnahan (for himself and Mr. Kirk) submitted the following
concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign
Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of Congress regarding the need for the United
States to address global climate change through the negotiation of fair
and effective international commitments.
Whereas there is a scientific consensus, as established by the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change and confirmed by the National Academy of
Sciences, that the continued buildup of anthropogenic greenhouse gases
in the atmosphere threatens the stability of the global climate;
Whereas there are significant long-term risks to the economy and the environment
of the United States from the temperature increases and climatic
disruptions that are projected to result from increased greenhouse gas
concentrations;
Whereas the potential impacts of global climate change, including long-term
drought, famine, mass migration, and abrupt climatic shifts, may lead to
international tensions and instability in regions affected and thereby
have implications for the national security interests of the United
States;
Whereas the United States, as the largest economy in the world, is also the
largest greenhouse gas emitter;
Whereas the greenhouse gas emissions of the United States are currently
projected to continue to rise;
Whereas the greenhouse gas emissions of developing countries are rising more
rapidly than the emissions of the United States and will soon surpass
the greenhouse gas emissions of the United States and other developed
countries;
Whereas reducing greenhouse gas emissions to the levels necessary to avoid
serious climatic disruption requires the introduction of new energy
technologies and other climate-friendly technologies, the use of which
results in low or no emissions of greenhouse gases or in the capture and
storage of greenhouse gases;
Whereas the development and sale of climate-friendly technologies in the United
States and internationally presents economic opportunities for workers
and businesses in the United States;
Whereas climate-friendly technologies can improve air quality by reducing
harmful pollutants from stationary and mobile sources, and can enhance
energy security by reducing reliance on imported oil, diversifying
energy sources, and reducing the vulnerability of energy delivery
infrastructure;
Whereas other industrialized countries are undertaking measures to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, which provide the industries in those
countries with a competitive advantage in the growing global market for
climate-friendly technologies;
Whereas efforts to limit emissions growth in developing countries in a manner
that is consistent with the development needs of those countries could
establish significant markets for climate-friendly technologies and
contribute to international efforts to address climate change;
Whereas the United States Climate Change Science Program launched by President
George W. Bush concluded in April 2006 that there is no longer a
discrepancy between the rates of global average temperature increase
observed at the Earth's surface and in the atmosphere, thereby
strengthening the scientific evidence that human activity contributes
significantly to global temperature increases;
Whereas President Bush, in his State of the Union Address in January 2006,
called on the United States to reduce its ``addiction'' to oil and focus
its attention on developing cleaner, renewable, and sustainable energy
sources;
Whereas President Bush has launched the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean
Development and Climate to cooperatively develop new and cleaner energy
technologies and promote their use in fast developing nations like India
and China;
Whereas the national security of the United States will increasingly depend on
the deployment of diplomatic, military, scientific, and economic
resources toward solving the problem of the over-reliance of the United
States and the world on high-carbon energy;
Whereas, at the December 2005 United Nations Climate Change Conference in
Montreal, Canada, parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, with the concurrence of the United States, initiated a
new dialogue on long-term cooperative action to address climate change;
Whereas the United States is a party to the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change, done at New York on May 9, 1992, and entered into
force in 1994 (hereinafter referred to as the ``Convention'');
Whereas the Convention sets a long-term objective of stabilizing greenhouse gas
concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous
anthropogenic interference with the climate system;
Whereas the Convention establishes that parties bear common but differentiated
responsibilities for efforts to achieve the objective of stabilizing
greenhouse gas concentrations;
Whereas an effective global effort to address climate change must provide for
commitments and action by all countries that are major emitters of
greenhouse gases, developed and developing countries alike, and the
widely varying circumstances among the developed and developing
countries may require that such commitments and action vary; and
Whereas the United States has the capability to lead the effort against global
climate change: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That it is the sense of Congress that the United States should act to
reduce the health, environmental, economic, and national security risks
posed by global climate change and foster sustained economic growth
through a new generation of technologies, by--
(1) participating in negotiations under the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change, done at New York on May
9, 1992, and entered into force in 1994, and leading efforts in
other international fora, with the objective of securing United
States participation in agreements that--
(A) advance and protect the economic and national
security interests of the United States;
(B) establish mitigation commitments by all
countries that are major emitters of greenhouse gases,
consistent with the principle of common but
differentiated responsibilities;
(C) establish flexible international mechanisms to
minimize the cost of efforts by participating
countries; and
(D) achieve a significant long-term reduction in
global greenhouse gas emissions; and
(2) establishing a bipartisan observer group in the House
of Representatives and the Senate, the members of which shall
be designated by the chairman and ranking member of the
Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives
and the chairman and ranking member of the Committee on Foreign
Relations of the Senate, to--
(A) monitor any international negotiations on
climate change; and
(B) ensure that the advice and consent function of
the Senate is exercised in a manner to facilitate
timely consideration of any applicable treaty submitted
to the Senate.
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