Sec. 13. Promoting renewable energy exports, environmental and social standards, and accountability
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Section 2(b)(1)(C) of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945 ( 12 U.S.C. 635(b)(1)(C) ) is amended to read as follows: The President of the Agency shall establish an office whose functions shall be to promote the export of goods and services to be used in the development, production, and distribution of renewable energy resources, and energy efficiency and energy storage technologies, and disseminate information concerning export opportunities and the availability of Agency support for such activities, to increase the total amount of loans, guarantees, and insurance provided by the Agency to support exports related to renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy storage. .
Section 11(a) of such Act ( 12 U.S.C. 635i–5(a) ) is amended— in paragraph (1)— in the 2nd sentence, by inserting , including to potentially impacted communities in the country in which the activity will be carried out, at least 60 days before the date of the vote, before and supplemental ; by inserting after the 2nd sentence the following: The procedures shall include a requirement for an analysis of the environmental and social impacts, including worker impacts and anticipated health impacts and costs, of the proposed activity and of alternatives to the proposed activity, including mitigation measures, where appropriate. ; and in the 3rd sentence, by striking The preceding sentence and inserting This paragraph ; by redesignating paragraph
(2)as paragraph
(7)and inserting after paragraph
(1)the following: In any credit or common terms agreements to which the Agency is a party relating to a transaction described in paragraph (1), the Agency shall include a provision to ensure that robust consultations with potentially impacted communities in the country in which the activity will be carried out have been and will continue to be carried out throughout the project cycle. By the end of 2020 and once at the end of each subsequent 3-year period, the Board of Directors of the Agency shall complete a review of the Environmental and Social Due Diligence Procedures and Guidelines ensuring that the procedures and guidelines incorporate requirements for project consideration that are consistent to limit greenhouse gas emissions and, to the maximum extent possible, to affirm that the Board operates consistently with the multilateral environmental agreements to which the United States is a party that are directly related to transactions in which the Agency is involved. The Agency shall operate consistently with Annex VI of the Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits, as adopted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development as of January 2019. The Agency shall make publicly available the estimated amounts of CO 2 emissions expected to be produced from pending projects that the Agency has designated as Category A and B projects and work with other export credit agencies to encourage them to do the same. The Agency shall report CO 2 emissions associated with projects that the Agency has designated as Category A and B fossil fuel projects in its annual report by product categories. The Agency shall advocate within the OECD and other multilateral fora for the full reporting of CO 2 emissions associated with appropriate energy and non-energy projects including manufacturing and agriculture. The Agency shall undertake periodic reviews with stakeholders to ensure that the Agency employs the most appropriate methodology of estimating and tracking the CO 2 emissions from Category A and B projects the Agency supports. The Agency shall develop and maintain measures to provide increased financing support for evolving technologies that reduce CO 2 emissions. The Agency shall develop and maintain measures to encourage foreign buyers to seek available, commercially viable technology to reduce the CO 2 footprint of projects. The Agency shall develop and maintain initiatives to finance aspects of project development that reduce or mitigate CO 2 emissions, such as effective carbon capture and sequestration technology, while maintaining the competitiveness of United States exporters. In coordination with the Department of the Treasury, the Agency shall advocate in international fora for the availability of financing incentives for low to net zero CO 2 -emitting projects, a common methodology for evaluating and taking into account the social cost of carbon. The Agency shall encourage export credit agencies and other relevant lending institutions to adopt similar CO 2 policies, including encouraging transparency and the involvement of stakeholders. ; and in paragraph
(7)(as so redesignated by paragraph
(2)of this subsection), by striking paragraph
(1)and inserting this subsection . Section 11(c) of such Act ( 12 U.S.C. 635i–5(c) ) is amended to read as follows: The Agency shall include in its annual report to Congress under section 8 a summary of its activities under subsections
(a)and (b). The Board of Directors shall submit to the Congress a report, which shall be made publicly available on the Internet at the time of delivery— that provides a detailed accounting of the methodology used to make greenhouse gas emissions project determinations; and details the steps taken to ensure that the Environmental and Social Due Diligence Procedures and Guidelines of the Agency are consistent with— reducing greenhouse gas emissions; and operating consistently with the multilateral environmental agreements to which the United States is a party that are directly related to transactions in which the Agency is involved. . Section 2(b)(1)(K) of such Act ( 12 U.S.C. 635(b)(1)(K) ) is amended by inserting , energy efficiency, and energy storage. It shall be a goal of the Bank to ensure that not less than 5 percent of the applicable amount (as defined in section 6(a)(2)) is made available each fiscal year for the financing of renewable energy, energy efficiency, and energy storage technology exports before the period. It is the sense of the Congress that— the Board of Directors of the United States Export Finance Agency (in this section referred to as the Agency ) should, after a public consultation process, establish a formal, transparent, and independent accountability mechanism to review, investigate, offer independent dispute resolution to resolve, and publicly report on allegations by affected parties of any failure of the Agency to follow its own policies and procedures with regard to the environmental and social impacts of projects, and on situations where the Agency is alleged to have failed in ensuring the borrower is fulfilling its obligations in financing agreements with respect to the policies and procedures; the accountability mechanism should be able to provide advice to management on policies, procedures, guidelines, resources, and systems established to ensure adequate review and monitoring of the environmental and social impacts of projects; in carrying out its mandate, the confidentiality of sensitive business information should be respected, as appropriate, and, in consultation with potentially impacted communities, project sponsors, Agency management, and other relevant parties, a flexible process should be followed aimed primarily at correcting project failures and achieving better results on the ground; the accountability mechanism should be independent of the line operations of management, and report its findings and recommendations directly to the Board of Directors of the Agency and annually to the Congress; the annual report of the Agency should include a detailed accounting of the activities of the accountability mechanism for the year covered by the report and the remedial actions taken by the Agency in response to the findings of the accountability mechanism; in coordination with the accountability mechanism, the Agency and relevant parties should engage in proactive outreach to communities impacted or potentially impacted by Agency financing and activities to provide information on the existence and availability of the accountability mechanism; the President of the Agency should, subject to the approval of the Board of Directors of the Agency, and consistent with applicable law, through an open and competitive process, including solicitation of input from relevant stakeholders, appoint a director of the accountability mechanism, who would be responsible for the day-to-day operations of the mechanism, and a panel of not less than 3 experts, including the director, who would also serve as chair of the panel; and The accountability mechanism director and members of the panel should not have been employed by the Agency within the 5 years preceding their appointment, and should be ineligible from future employment at the Agency.
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U.S. Code
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- 12 USC 635i–5(a)
- 12 USC 635i–5(c)
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Sec. 13
Promoting renewable energy exports, environmental and social standards, and accountability
Cite12 USC 635i–5(a)
Cite12 USC 635i–5(c)
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