Sec. 201. Sense of Congress in support of the United States returning to the Paris Agreement
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/bill/117/s/1201/is/section-201A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
It is the sense of Congress that— President Trump’s decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Agreement was a mistake that harmed the leadership, economic, national security, and diplomatic interests of the United States; the United States expeditious return to the Paris Agreement is a critical first step to restoring United States leadership among, and in cooperation with, the international community; resuming United States global leadership in the Paris Agreement’s implementation process is critical to ensuring that the rules and procedures for implementing the Paris Agreement achieve maximum benefits for the United States; prioritizing the immediate preparation and communication of an updated United States nationally determined contribution in support of the Paris Agreement will demonstrate a renewed and increasingly ambitious United States commitment to climate action, which should incorporate— strategies for achieving domestic greenhouse gas emissions reductions that achieve the United States 2015 national determined contribution to the Paris Agreement; an ambitious 2030 mitigation target representing a mid-term goal that signifies the emission reductions trajectory the United States needs to be on to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050; commitments to engage constructively with parties to the Paris Agreement regarding the development of strategies to secure ambitious commitments from all parties and to ensure adequate progress on mitigating greenhouses sufficiently to prevent 1.5 degree Celsius increase of warming; announced intentions of the United States to accept and fulfill United States obligations to other international agreements to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, including the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Carbon Offset and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation and the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol; an intention to resume the United States cooperation and support for cooperative climate action detailed and announced in various climate change communiques produced by the G7, the G20, the Arctic Council, the United Nations, and others for which the United States has recently abstained; a platform and policy incentives for the United States private sector, and State and local governments to accurately account for their contributions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; a new, increased contribution pledge to the Green Climate Fund, and contributions to other complementary multilateral funds; a commitment to resume a leadership role within the Green Climate Fund to achieve accountability, transparency, and management reforms; and other activities that advance United States climate-related foreign policy objectives, including global greenhouse gas mitigation, climate change adaptation activities, and global climate security;
United States collaboration with other nations, especially developing countries most impacted by the need to transition carbon intensive industrial sectors, and the workforces of these affected industries, on the global transition to environmentally sustainable economies and societies to ensure workers benefit from opportunities that arise in a transition to economies powered by clean energy, including engagements on— realizing the potential to create significant net gains in employment opportunities through increases in the number of decent jobs through investments in environmentally sustainable production and consumption and management of natural resources; improving the quality of jobs and increased incomes on a large scale from more productive processes, and environmentally sustainable products and services in sectors such as agriculture, renewable energy, transport, construction, recycling, and tourism; social inclusion through improved access to affordable, environmentally sustainable energy and payments for environmental services, which are of particular relevance to women and residents in rural areas who face more economic challenges; protections from the effects of economic restructuring that would otherwise result in the displacement of workers and possible job losses; training and access to new job opportunities attributable to new environmentally sustainable and clean energy powered enterprises and workplaces; attracting new environmentally sustainable and clean energy powered enterprises and workplaces to communities transitioning to low carbon economies and assist with adapting to climate change to avoid loss of assets and livelihoods and involuntary migration; and avoiding adverse effects on the incomes of poor households from higher energy and commodity prices; and the United States should communicate its intention to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.