Sec. 30608. Reducing the negative impacts from short-lived climate pollutants
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/bill/117/hr/4521/pcs/section-30608·A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
The President shall direct the United States representatives to appropriate international bodies and conferences to use the voice, vote, and influence of the United States, consistent with the broad foreign policy goals of the United States, to advocate that each such body or conference— commit to significantly increasing efforts to reduce short-lived climate pollutants; invest in and develop alternative energy sources, industrial and agricultural processes, appliances, and products to replace sources of short-lived climate pollutants; enhance coordination with the private sector— to increase production and distribution of clean energy alternatives, industrial processes, and products that will replace sources of short-lived climate pollutants; to develop action plans to mitigate short-lived climate pollutants from various private sector operations; to encourage best technology, methods, and management practices for reducing short-lived climate pollutants; to craft or enhance specific financing mechanisms for the incremental costs associated with mitigating short-lived climate pollutants; and to grow economic opportunities and develop markets, as appropriate, for reducing short-lived climate pollutants; provide technical assistance to foreign regulatory authorities and governments to remove unnecessary barriers to investment in short-lived climate pollutant mitigation solutions, including— the use of safe and affordable clean energy; the implementation of policies requiring industrial and agricultural best practices for capturing or mitigating the release of methane from extractive, agricultural, and industrial processes; and climate assessment, scientific research, monitoring, and technological development activities; develop and implement clear, accountable, and metric-based targets to measure the effectiveness of projects described in paragraph (4); and engage international partners in an existing multilateral forum (or, if necessary, establish through an international agreement a new multilateral forum) to improve global cooperation for— creating tangible metrics for evaluating efforts to reduce short-lived climate pollutants; developing and implementing best practices for significantly reducing emissions of short-lived climate pollutants, including expanding capacity for innovative instruments to effectively mitigate short-lived climate pollutants at the national and subnational levels of foreign countries, particularly countries with little capacity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and deploy clean energy facilities, and countries that lack sufficient policies to advance such development; encouraging the development of standards and practices, and increasing transparency and accountability efforts for the reduction of short-lived climate pollutants; integrating tracking and monitoring systems into industrial processes; fostering research to improve scientific understanding of— how high concentrations of short-lived climate pollutants affect human health, safety, and our environment; changes in the amount and regional concentrations of black carbon and methane emissions, based on scientific modeling and forecasting; effective means to sequester short-lived climate pollutants; and other related areas of research the United States representatives deem necessary; encouraging the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and other international finance organizations— to prioritize efforts to combat short-lived climate pollutants; and to enhance or maintain transparency by providing sufficient and adequate information to facilitate independent verification of their climate finance reporting; encouraging observers of the Arctic Council (including India and China) to adopt mitigation plans consistent with the findings and recommendations of the Arctic Council’s Framework for Action on Black Carbon and Methane; collaborating on technological advances in short-lived climate pollutants mitigation, sequestration and reduction technologies; and advising foreign countries, at both the national and subnational levels, regarding the development and execution of regulatory policies, services, and laws pertaining to reducing the creation and the collection and safe management of short-lived climate pollutants.
Congress recognizes the success of the United States Climate Alliance and the greenhouse gas reduction programs and strategies established by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Center for Corporate Climate Leadership. The Secretary of State, in coordination with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, shall build partnerships, as appropriate, with the governments of foreign countries and to support international efforts to reduce short-lived climate pollutants.
In negotiating any relevant international agreement with any country or countries after the date of the enactment of this Act, the President shall— consider the impact short-lived climate pollutants are having on the increase in global average temperatures and the resulting global climate change; consider the effects that climate change is having on the environment; and ensure that the agreement strengthens efforts to significantly reduce short-lived climate pollutants from such country or countries.
The Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, in consultation with the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Energy, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Commerce, and the Commandant of the Coast Guard, shall develop a comprehensive plan to reduce black carbon emissions from ships based on appropriate emissions data from oceangoing vessels. The plan shall provide for such reduction through— a clean freight partnership; limits on black carbon emissions; and efforts that include protection of access to critical fuel shipments and emergency needs of coastal communities.
Not later than 90 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the President shall establish a task force, to be known as the Interagency Working Group on Short-Lived Climate Pollutant Mitigation. The members of the Working Group shall include the head (or a designee thereof) of— the Department of Agriculture; the Department of Commerce; the Department of Defense; the Department of Energy; the Department of Health and Human Services; the Department of the Interior; the Department of State; the Department of Transportation; the Environmental Protection Agency; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; the Council on Environmental Quality; the United States Agency for International Development; and any other Federal agency the President determines appropriate.
The Working Group shall— review the policy recommendations made by— the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; the United States Climate Alliance; the Interagency Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions; the Council on Climate Preparedness and Resilience; the Clean Cooking Alliance; the International Maritime Organization; and other relevant organizations and institutions; and develop an action plan to reduce short-lived climate pollutants that incorporates any appropriate proposals or recommendations made by the entities referred to in subparagraph (A).