Climate Change

From the Document: "Climate change endangers national and economic security, and the health and well-being of the American people. The risks associated with climate change are broad, significant, and urgent. These risks will impact the Army at all levels: from how and where units operate and train, to how the service as a whole equips and sustains Soldiers to fight in multi-domain operations. [...] Through the Army Climate Strategy (ACS), the Army will continue to lead by example. 'The Army's core purpose remains unchanged': 'to deploy, fight, and win the nation's wars by providing ready, prompt, and sustained land dominance as part of the Joint Force'. Climate change will only make this mission more challenging, and the Army must proactively reduce the risks that climate change imposes. The Army can increase capability and installations' resiliency; prepare for new hazards and new environments; modernize processes, standards, and infrastructure; and decrease operational energy demand--all of which in turn will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Guided by the ACS, the Army will build on its current progress in areas such as vehicle fuel efficiency and electrification, operational power generation, battery storage, land management, procurement, supply chain resilience, and workforce development. The Army will continue to reduce consumption of energy and other natural resources to improve operational readiness and modernization while adapting to and mitigating current and future climate threats."

This is the July 24, 2019 hearing on "Building America's Clean Future: Pathways to Decarbonize the Economy," held before the House Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. From the opening statement of Paul Tonko: "Yesterday, I joined Chairman Pallone, Energy Subcommittee Chairman Rush, and other members of the committee to announce support for a 100 percent clean economy by no later than 2050. Congress is looking to this committee to take a leading role in developing the policies to achieve a net zero greenhouse gas emissions result. This must include significant direct emissions reductions in every community, and the just and equitable transition for every American including adversely impacted individuals and communities. This is the first in a series of hearings to study the challenges and potential solutions before us. One thing is clear. We cannot afford to wait until 2050 or even 2030 to act. We must be prepared for the earliest opportunity with a plan that can garner support from a very broad coalition. After 10 years of congressional inaction, today no consensus exists on the best policies to achieve this scientifically necessary target." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Karl Hausker, Shannon Angielski, Armond Cohen, and Rachel Cleetus.

This is the February 24, 2021 hearing on "Building Back Better: Investing in Transportation While Addressing Climate Change, Improving Equity, and Fostering Economic Growth and Innovation," held before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. From the Opening Statement of Thomas R. Carper: "We can improve the conditions of our roads, highways, and bridges in ways that create millions of good paying jobs, lift up our communities, build a more sustainable economy, and improve our air quality for a healthier, more prosperous future for all of us." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Gretchen Whitmer, Lawrence J. Hogan Jr., Michael B. Hancock, and Victoria Sheehan.

This is from the July 30, 2009 hearing, "Climate Change and National Security," before the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. From Barbara Boxer's opening statement: "In 2003, the Defense Department commissioned a study that found the U.S. '… will find itself in a world where Europe will be struggling internally, with large numbers of refugees washing up on its shores and Asia in serious crisis over food and water. Disruptions and conflict will be endemic features of life.' A 2007 report conducted by Center for Naval Analyses found the United States could more frequently be drawn into situations of conflict 'to help provide stability before conditions worsen and are exploited by extremists.' And just last September, the NATO Secretary General said that global warming will '...sharpen the competition over resources, notably water; it will increase the risks to coastal regions; it will provoke disputes over territory and farming land; it will spur migration; and it will make fragile states even more fragile.' […] The steps we take to address global warming, including incentives for the development of clean energy, such as wind, solar, geothermal, and algae fuel, and developing a fleet of electric and other highly efficient vehicles, will help lessen our dependence on foreign oil." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: John Warner, Dennis McGinn, Jonathan Powers, and David B. Rivkin.

This is the October 20, 2021 hearing on "Good for Business: Private Sector Perspectives on Climate Action," held before the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis. From the opening statement of Kathy Castor: "The climate crisis has had a brutal impact on our nation this year. Not only did we experience the hottest month on record this summer, we have also had more disasters 9 months into this year than in any other year in our history. We have suffered 18 climate fueled major disasters in 2021, and that has left us with a price tag of over $104 billion in damages, and it is often working families and communities of color that--who shoulder the cost. Climate change is also harming America's businesses. Extreme weather events increase uncertainty and instability for workers and entrepreneurs, many of whom are one disaster away from losing their livelihoods. [...] Moving our economy toward clean energy is an economic imperative. We know climate progress means millions of good paying jobs. It also means increased innovation, boosted cost savings, and improved investor confidence. So I look forward to today's discussion." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Corley Kenna, Gilbert Campbell, Mark Menezes, and David Edsey.

"Climate change will affect the Department of Defense's ability to defend the Nation and poses immediate risks to U.S. national security. The Department is responding to climate change in two ways: adaptation, or efforts to plan for the changes that are occurring or expected to occur; and mitigation, or efforts that reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap (Roadmap ) focuses on the Department's climate change adaptation activities. The Strategic Sustainability Performance Plan (SSPP) articulates the Department's sustainability vision to maintain our ability to operate into the future without decline in the mission or the supporting natural and man‐made systems. The actions set forth in this Roadmap will increase the Department's resilience to the impacts of climate change, which is a key part of fulfilling this vision ."

From the Document: "On August 5, 2021, the Biden Administration announced plans to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and other air pollutants from medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and engines through a series of rulemakings over three years (Executive Order 14037, 'Strengthening American Leadership in Clean Cars and Trucks,' 86 'Federal Register' 43583). The first rule, to be promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and slated to be finalized in 2022, applies to heavy-duty vehicles starting in model year (MY) 2027. The rule would set new standards for nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions for the sector as well as targeted updates to the current GHG emission standards. A second rule, to be promulgated by EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), would set more stringent GHG emission and fuel efficiency standards for new medium- and heavy-duty vehicles and engines beginning with MY2030."

"Climate change threatens human health and well-being in the United States. The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) Climate and Health Assessment has been developed to enhance understanding and inform decisions about this growing threat. This scientific assessment, called for under the President's Climate Action Plan, is a major report of the sustained National Climate Assessment (NCA) process. The report responds to the 1990 Congressional mandate to assist the Nation in understanding, assessing, predicting, and responding to human-induced and natural processes of global change. The agencies of the USGCRP identified human health impacts as a high-priority topic for scientific assessment. The purpose of this assessment is to provide a comprehensive, evidence-based, and, where possible, quantitative estimation of observed and projected climate change related health impacts in the United States. The USGCRP Climate and Health Assessment has been developed to inform public health officials, urban and disaster response planners, decision makers, and other stakeholders within and outside of government who are interested in better understanding the risks climate change presents to human health."

This is the November 18, 2015 hearing on "The Administration's Empty Promises for the International Climate Treaty" before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science Space, and Technology. The purpose of this hearing was to "examine how the Administration will have difficulty meeting its commitments to the United Nations based on recent Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) carbon emissions regulations." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Anne Smith, Bill Magness, Katie Dykes, Chip Knappenberger,.

"The concerns over climate change, often termed 'global warming,' have emerged both in the United States and internationally as major policy issues. Reports in 2007 of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provided additional scientific underpinnings for these concerns, and the number of proposals and international meetings devoted to these issues has grown significantly during this year, as discussed in this report. The first treaty to address climate change, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), was completed and opened for signature in 1992. The resulting Kyoto Protocol, which was completed in 1997 and entered into force in February 2005, committed industrialized nations that ratify it to specified, legally binding reductions in emissions of the six major greenhouse gases. The United States has not ratified the Protocol, and thus is not bound by its provisions. In March 2001, the Bush Administration rejected the Kyoto Protocol, and subsequently announced a U.S. policy for climate change that relies on voluntary actions to reduce the 'greenhouse gas intensity' (ratio of emissions to economic output) of the U.S. economy by 18% over the next 10 years. As of November 2007, the UNFCCC Secretariat listed 174 nations and the European Union as parties to the Kyoto Protocol. Annual meetings of the parties continue, and attention at the meeting in Bali, Indonesia, December 3-14, 2007, will focus on finding agreement on a framework for negotiating a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol. Major challenges include finding agreement on the nature of commitments, if any, that would prove acceptable to all major players: current parties, developing countries that are major emitters, and the United States."

"On September 3, 2016, the United States and China consented to be bound by the international Paris Agreement (PA) to address greenhouse-gas-induced climate change. The PA was negotiated under the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which the United States ratified in 1992 with the advice and consent of the Senate. The UNFCCC set an objective of 'stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system'--implicitly requiring that human-related net emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) ultimately decline to near zero. The UNFCCC outlined general obligations for all Parties plus specific obligations of the then-wealthiest countries, regarding national policies and measures to mitigate GHG emissions, assistance to developing countries, reporting, and reviews. [...] In the PA, 195 nations plus the EU adopted a structure for Parties to pledge measures every five years to abate their GHG emissions, adapt to climate change, and cooperate to these ends, including mobilization of financial and other resources. A single framework to promote transparency and track progress of Parties' efforts applies, for the first time, to all Parties--whether wealthy or not--in line with their capacities. The PA is intended to be legally binding on Parties, though not all provisions within it are mandatory or, arguably, enforceable."

This is the official website of the United States Global Change Research Program. "The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) coordinates and integrates federal research on changes in the global environment and their implications for society. […] Thirteen departments and agencies participate in the USGCRP, which was known as the U.S. Climate Change Science Program from 2002 through 2008. The program is steered by the Subcommittee on Global Change Research under the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources, overseen by the Executive Office of the President, and facilitated by an Integration and Coordination Office. During the past two decades, the United States, through the USGCRP, has made the world's largest scientific investment in the areas of climate change and global change research. Since its inception, the USGCRP has supported research and observational activities in collaboration with several other national and international science programs."