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U.S.-centric Chronology of the International Climate Change Negotiations [December 23, 2008]
"Under the 'Bali Action Plan,' countries around the globe are endeavoring to reach agreement by the end of 2009 on effective, feasible, and fair actions beyond 2012 to address risks of climate change driven by human-related emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG). This document provides a U.S.-centric chronology of the international policy negotiations to address climate change. It begins before agreement on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992, and proceeds through the Kyoto Protocol in 1997, the Marrakesh Accords of 2001, and the Bali Action Plan of 2007 that mandates the current negotiations toward a new agreement by the end of 2009 on commitments for the period beyond 2012. This chronology identifies selected external events and major multilateral meetings that have influenced the current legal and institutional arrangements, as well as contentious issues for further cooperation. Today's negotiations under the Bali Action Plan focus on four elements: mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions; adaptation to impacts of climate change; financial assistance to low income countries; and technology development and transfer. They also are intended to define a 'shared vision' for reducing global GHG emissions by around 2050. For U.S. legislators, important issues include the compatibility of any international agreement with U.S. domestic policies and laws; the adequacy of appropriations, fiscal measures and programs to achieve any commitments under the agreement; and the desirable form of the agreement and related requirements for potential Senate ratification and federal implementing legislation."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Leggett, Jane A.
2008-12-23
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U.S. Climate Change Regulation and Litigation: Selected Legal Issues [April 3, 2017]
From the Summary: "On March 28, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order to encourage and promote energy development by modifying climate change policies. As the Trump Administration implements its environmental policies, various legal challenges to Obama Administration climate change regulations remain pending before courts. During the last term of the Obama Administration, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration finalized a series of regulations to address emissions from cars, trucks, and their engines that may contribute to climate change. In addition, EPA finalized regulations pursuant to its authority under the Clean Air Act (CAA) to reduce GHG [Green House Gas] emissions from stationary sources such as power plants, GHG-emitting oil and gas sources, and landfills. Various stakeholders have challenged a majority of these rules generally contesting the scope of EPA's authority and its methods for regulating GHG emissions." […] "This report will cover a brief history of U.S. climate change regulation; review the different types of regulation and legal actions that have been pursued in the national debate over GHGs; examine selected legal issues and next steps in related litigation; and address what these legal and regulatory developments mean for Congress."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Tsang, Linda
2017-04-03
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Climate Change: Frequently Asked Questions About the 2015 Paris Agreement [June 28, 2017]
"Debate continues in the United States over whether and how the federal government should address human-related climate change. A large majority of scientists and governments accept that stabilizing the concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere and avoiding further GHG-induced climate change would require concerted effort by all major emitting countries. Toward this end, 195 governments attending the 21st Conference of Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Paris, France, adopted an agreement in 2015 outlining goals and a structure for international cooperation to address climate change and its impacts over decades to come. The 'Paris Agreement' (PA) is subsidiary to the UNFCCC, a treaty that the United States ratified with the advice and consent of the Senate and that entered into force in 1994."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Leggett, Jane A.; Lattanzio, Richard K.
2017-06-28
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Climate Change: Action by States to Address Greenhouse Gas Emissions [January 18, 2007]
"In the absence of a federal climate change program, a number of states have taken actions that directly address greenhouse gases. States' efforts cover a wide range of policies, from outlining possible strategies to setting mandatory greenhouse gas emission standards. Although much of the early activity was largely symbolic, the more recent state actions have been more pragmatic. The states' motivations may be as diverse as the actions themselves. Some states are motivated by projections of climatic changes, while others view their policies as economic opportunities. States also point to the potential co-benefits of reducing greenhouse gases: improvements in air quality, traffic congestion, and energy security. Another driver behind state action is the possibility of catalyzing federal legislation. Most of the states have shown at least a basic interest in climate change issues. Forty-two states have conducted greenhouse gas inventories; 30 states have either completed or are in the process of preparing climate change action plans; 12 states have set statewide greenhouse gas targets. However, only a small number of states have implemented or are creating mandatory emission reduction programs."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Ramseur, Jonathan L.
2007-01-18
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Insurance and Climate Change: Do Governments Have a Duty to Protect Property Owners? [October 16, 2014]
"Federal and private insurers are well aware that if the scientific consensus is correct that climate change will cause more frequent extreme weather events, they may be making substantially increased payments in the future. Commentary on the link between climate change and insurance has become voluminous. One of the many insurance company concerns was recently in the news: whether government can be held liable for not putting in place adequate infrastructure--or maintaining existing infrastructure--to protect against property damage from climate-change-related extreme weather. The headline-garnering event, this past May, was the filing by Illinois insurance companies of nine proposed class actions against almost 200 Illinois municipalities. The suits alleged the municipalities' failure to improve the capacity of their storm water sewer systems and provide adequate barriers such as levees, in the face of knowledge that climate change had resulted in greater rainfall volume, intensity, and duration in Illinois than in the pre-1970 period. The particular event triggering the suits was an unusually heavy rainfall in April, 2013, alleged by the insurance companies to be reasonably foreseeable and thus not an 'act of God' (for which government would have an absolute defense). As a result of the storm water systems' inability to handle the runoff, widespread property damage occurred through sewer water intrusion."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
2014-10-16
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Greenhouse Gas Pledges by Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change [July 20, 2015]
"International negotiations are underway toward an agreement, due in December 2015, under the 'United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change' (UNFCCC) regarding commitments and actions to address human-related, global climate change from 2020 on. This report briefly summarizes the existing commitments and pledges of selected national and regional governments to limit their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as contributions to the global effort. The negotiations cover additional topics, including adaptation to the impacts of climate change and financing to assist the efforts of low-income countries. However, parties to the UNFCCC have not agreed that 'intended nationally determined contributions' (INDCs) of parties must or should include those other topics. Consequently, this report focuses only on the GHG mitigation pledges. More extensive information on the climate change negotiations is available in several additional CRS reports. Following background on the UNFCCC, this report describes the role of INDCs in the current negotiations. It then summarizes selected parties' existing GHG mitigation commitments and pledges in a table that covers both the period to 2020 and from 2020 on."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Leggett, Jane A.
2015-07-20
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Greenhouse Gas Pledges by Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change [October 19, 2015]
"International negotiations are underway toward an agreement, due in December 2015, under the 'United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change' (UNFCCC) regarding commitments and actions to address human-related, global climate change from 2020 on. This report briefly summarizes the existing commitments and pledges of selected national and regional governments to limit their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as contributions to the global effort. The negotiations cover additional topics, including adaptation to the impacts of climate change and financing to assist the efforts of low-income countries. However, parties to the UNFCCC have not agreed that 'intended nationally determined contributions' (INDCs) of parties must or should include those other topics. Consequently, this report focuses only on the GHG mitigation pledges. More extensive information on the climate change negotiations is available in several additional CRS reports. Following background on the UNFCCC, this report describes the role of INDCs in the current negotiations. It then summarizes selected parties' existing GHG mitigation commitments and pledges in a table that covers both the period to 2020 and from 2020 on. Information on additional parties' INDCs is available through the website of the UNFCCC."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Leggett, Jane A.
2015-10-19
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Costs of Climate Change: Risks to the U.S. Economy and the Federal Budget, Hearing Before the Committee on the Budget, House of Representatives, One Hundred Sixteenth Congress, First Session, June 11, 2019
This is the June 11, 2019 hearing on "Costs of Climate Change: Risks to the U.S. Economy and the Federal Budget," held before the House Committee on the Budget. From the Opening Statement of John Yarmuth: "This is a hearing on the future of the country, covering a topic that we cannot afford to ignore. Americans are already feeling the effects of climate change: homes have been blown away in hurricanes that are increasing in intensity, or lost to wildfires that are spreading farther and taking longer to extinguish. Our farmers have endured prolonged droughts, while some states have experienced historic flooding. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's October report warned that, if greenhouse gas emissions continue at the current rate, our atmosphere will continue to warm with dangerous consequences. [...] Climate change is an environmental issue, it is a public health issue, it is a national security issue. And, as we will talk about today, it is increasingly an economic and fiscal issue." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Katharine Hayhoe, Solomon Hsiang, J. Alfredo Gomez, and Oren Cass.
United States. Government Publishing Office
2020
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Frequently Asked Questions about Global Warming and Climate Change: Back to Basics
"Many human activities release 'greenhouse gases' into the atmosphere. The levels of these gases are increasing at a faster rate than at any time in hundreds of thousands of years. […] This fact sheet addresses the most frequently asked questions about the science of global warming and climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report (2007) serves as the key reference for this brochure. The IPCC was formed jointly in 1988 by the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations World Meteorological Organization. The IPCC brings together the world's top scientists, economists and other experts, synthesizes peer-reviewed scientific literature on climate change studies, and produces authoritative assessments of the current state of knowledge of climate change."
United States. Environmental Protection Agency
2009-04
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Federal Climate Change Programs: Funding History and Policy Issues
"In recent years, the federal government has allocated several billion dollars annually for projects to expand the understanding of climate change or to reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions. Most of that spending is done by the Department of Energy (DOE) and by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), although a dozen other federal agencies also participate. The work is coordinated by committees in the Executive Office of the President. Successive Administrations have tracked the funding of climate change programs and the cost of tax incentives related to climate change through what is sometimes called the 'climate change budget.'"
United States. Congressional Budget Office
2010-03
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From L'Aquila to Copenhagen: Climate Change and Vulnerable Societies, Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific and the Global Environment of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One Hundred Eleventh Congress, First Sesson, July 23, 2009
From the opening statement of Eni F.H. Faleomavaega: "There seems to be a common thread leading on the very issue of climate change. You are talking about population situations. You are talking about whether or not the sciences still hold up to some of the criticisms that have been raised or concerns of whether or not there really is a climate change issue occurring. So this afternoon, since the time that, we have moved on to the new administration. It was just recently that the Waxman-Markey bill, H.R. 2454, was recently passed in the House. And in that bill contains some attention given to the international recognition of the problem. It isn't just the United States but all countries in the world. I just want to say that climate change presents an enormous threat to every country and every region of the world. Rising temperatures and sea levels, decreasing supplies of fresh water, and increasing frequency in severity of hurricanes and other weather events have already had a significant negative impact on the physical and the biological environment, and on human health. In terms of national security, climate change has been termed a threat accelerant, which may turn existing instabilities into open conflicts. The most serious impacts are coming, and sooner than even the most pessimistic predictions made by the world's best scientists." Statements, letters, and materials submitted for the record include those of the following: Thomas Karl, Kemal Dervis, Anthony Janetos, David Wheeler, Redmond Clark, Eni F.H. Faleomavaega, Donald A. Manzullo, and Diane E. Watson.
United States. Government Printing Office
2009
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Southeast Asia and Pacific Islands: The Impact of Climate Change to 2030: A Commissioned Research Report
"This research identifies and summarizes the latest peer-reviewed research related to the effects of climate change on Southeast Asia and Pacific Islands, drawing on both the literature summarized in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment reports and on other peer-reviewed research literature. It includes such impacts as sea-level rise, water supply and demand, agricultural shifts, ecological disruptions and species extinctions, infrastructure at risk from extreme weather events (severity and frequency), and disease patterns. The research addresses the extent to which Southeast Asia and Pacific Islands are vulnerable to climate change impacts. The timeframe of this analysis extends through 2030, although various studies referenced in this report have diverse timeframes and extend through the 21st century. The research also identifies (Annex B) deficiencies in climate change data that would enhance the IC [Intelligence Community] understanding of potential impacts on Southeast Asia and Pacific Islands and other countries/regions of interest."
National Intelligence Council (U.S.)
Joint Global Change Research Institute; Battelle Memorial Institute. Pacific Northwest Division; Scitor Corporation
2009-08
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Preliminary Minority Views on Draft Committee Report on Political Interference with Climate Change Science under the Bush Administration: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on OVersight and Government Reform, December 10, 2007
"An investigation that began as a bipartisan inquiry into the role of the Council on Environmental Quality in climate change policy has veered into a partisan diatribe against the Bush Administration. The Majority's report of this investigation is seriously flawed.[…]. In an effort to conflate climate change science with climate change policy, the Majority report disregards testimony that conflicts with and would undermine the Majority's desired conclusions. Evidence demonstrating that scientists had ultimate authority over the approval of the content of climate change reports is simply omitted. Respected scientists, like Max Mayfield from the National Weather Service and the Director of the Center for Disease Control Dr. Julie Gerberding are demeaned as mere mouthpieces for the Bush Administration and its supporters. The Majority also ignores the nature of agency and interagency review processes and the legitimate role of policymakers, instead of scientists, in making administration policy and expressing that to the media and the general public. As the Minority has noted before, this Committee must not be seen as the Committee where witnesses and other evidence are validated because of their consistency with the views of the Majority. Thorough investigation and careful evaluation of the evidence lead to credible findings. Sadly, the Majority's report is simply a political attack on this Administration resulting from both an incomplete investigation and an unfair reading of the limited evidence. That is truly an inconvenient truth."
United States. Congress. House. Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (2007-)
Davis, Thomas
2007-12-10
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Federal Agency Climate Change Adaptation Planning Implementing Instructions Support Document
"The Council on Environmental Quality has issued 'Implementing Instructions' to be used by the Federal Government in climate change adaptation planning. The document, 'Federal Agency Climate Change Adaptation Planning: Implementing Instructions, (Implementing Instruction)', establishes requirements for climate change adaptation planning for the next year, as recommended by the Interagency Climate Change Adaptation Task Force and authorized by Executive Order 13514, 'Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance'. This Support Document provides information to assist Federal agencies with meeting the 'Implementing Instruction' requirements."
United States. White House Office
2011-03-04
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Russia: Impact of Climate Change to 2030: A Commissioned Research Report
"This assessment identifies and summarizes the latest peer-reviewed research related to the impact of climate change on Russia, drawing on both the literature summarized in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment reports and on other peer-reviewed research literature and relevant reporting. It includes such impact as sea level rise, water availability, agricultural shifts, ecological disruptions and species extinctions, infrastructure at risk from extreme weather events (severity and frequency), and disease patterns. This paper addresses the extent to which regions within Russia are vulnerable to climate change impact. The targeted time frame is to 2030, although various studies referenced in this report have diverse time frames. This assessment also identifies (Annex B) deficiencies in climate change data that would enhance the IC [Intelligence Community] understanding of potential impact on Russia and other countries/regions."
National Intelligence Council (U.S.)
Joint Global Change Research Institute; Battelle Memorial Institute. Pacific Northwest Division
2009-04
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China: Impact of Climate Change to 2030: A Commissioned Research Report
"This assessment identifies and summarizes the latest peer-reviewed research related to the impact of climate change on China, drawing on both the literature summarized in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment reports and on other peer-reviewed research literature and relevant reporting. It includes such impact as sea level rise, water availability, agricultural shifts, ecological disruptions and species extinctions, infrastructure at risk from extreme weather events (severity and frequency), and disease patterns. This paper addresses the extent to which regions within China are vulnerable to climate change impact. The targeted time frame is to 2030, although various studies referenced in this report have diverse time frames. This assessment also identifies (Annex B) deficiencies in climate change data that would enhance the IC [Intelligence Community] understanding of potential impact on China and other countries/regions."
National Intelligence Council (U.S.)
Joint Global Change Research Institute; Battelle Memorial Institute. Pacific Northwest Division
2009-04
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Transportation and Climate Change Clearinghouse [website]
"The Transportation and Climate Change Clearinghouse is designed as a one-stop source of information on transportation and climate change issues. It includes information on greenhouse gas (GHG) inventories, analytic methods and tools, GHG reduction strategies, potential impacts of climate change on transportation infrastructure, and approaches for integrating climate change considerations into transportation decision making."
United States. Department of Transportation
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Compliance Followup Audit of Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Administration and Oversight of Funds Dedicated to Address Global Climate Change
"The Government Accountability Office (GAO) identified climate change as a high-risk
area within the Federal Government in February 2013. In fact, GAO determined that climate change was a complex, crosscutting issue, where many Federal entities manage related programs and activities. The majority, $75 million, of the Department of State's (Department) FY 2013 foreign assistance request for $120.5 million3 for global climate change is administered through the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs (OES). [...] Because of GAO's emphasis on climate change and the Department's important role, OIG [Office of Inspector General] performed a compliance followup audit (CFA) to evaluate the corrective actions taken by OES and A/OPE [Bureau of Administration, Office of the Procurement Executive] in response to OIG's report. The objectives of this CFA were to assess the Department's actions with respect to selected open recommendations (Nos. 1, 12, 13, 17, and 18) from the prior report and determine whether they should be closed or reissued and to review one closed recommendation (No. 15) to determine whether original deficiencies were fully addressed. Following initial discussions with OES and A/OPE officials on the status of the open recommendations from AUD/CG-12-40, OIG expanded its original scope to include an assessment of the Department's actions on all open recommendations from the report."
United States. Department of State. Office of the Inspector General; United States. Broadcasting Board of Governors
2013-12
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Climate Change Legislation Design White Paper: Competitiveness Concerns/Engaging Developing Countries
"The first White Paper identified the economic sectors and activities that are directly emitting greenhouse gases (GHGs) and how those emissions could be included in a cap-and-trade program. This White Paper discusses potential domestic legislative provisions that could encourage developing countries to curb their emissions of greenhouse gases. The Committee on Energy and Commerce and its Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality are issuing a series of Climate Change Legislation Design White Papers as the next step toward enactment of a mandatory, economy-wide climate change program. While the hearings earlier in this Congress were designed to give the Committee an understanding of the status and projected path of climate change and potential ways to address it, these White Papers and the hearings on them will focus on the construction of mandatory, economy-wide climate change legislation. The White Papers will describe the basic design and key principles of a regulatory program and also identify issues about which further information and discussion is desirable."
United States. Congress. House. Committee on Education and Labor
2008-01
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Fire Management Today: Climate Change: The Future is Here (Volume 74 No.3, 2015)
This issue of Fire Management Today features an article encouraging citizens to be active in the wildfire community titled "The Citizen of Fire" by Tom Harbour. Other articles include "High-Tech Is Useful But Costly: Modeling and Simulation Can Help With Tough Resourcing Decisions" by David Peterson, Ericson Davis, Jeremy Eckhause, Michael Pouy, Stephanie Sigalas-Markham, and Vitali Volovoi; "Smartphone Applications for Data Collection, Dynamic Modeling, and Visualization in the Wildland Fire Environment" by Zachary Holden, Jim Riddering, W. Matt Jolly, and Allen Warren; "Fire Management in a Changing Climate" by Elizabeth Reinhardt; "Forest Service Coordinated Tribal Climate Change Research Project" by Linda E. Kruger and Kathy Lynn; "Potential Climate Change Impacts on Fire Weather in the United States" by Warren E. Heilman, Ying Tang, Lifeng Luo, Shiyuan Zhong, Julie Winkler, and Xindi Bian; "Studying the Effects of a Changing Climate on Wildfires and the Impacts to the United State's Air Quality" by Maria Val Martin, Jeffrey Pierce, and Colette Heald; "Smokey Bear and 70 Years of Vigilance" by Fred Hernandez; "The Structural, Geographic, and Financial Impacts of Wildfire in the United States" by Thomas Jeffery; "Funny River Fire" by Diana Campbell; "Utah's Catastrophic Wildfire Reduction Strategy" by Nathan Barrons; and "The Quadrennial Fire Review--A Tool for the Future" by Sandra Burnett and Russell Johnson.
United States. Department of Agriculture; United States. Forest Service
2015-07
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Climate Change Mitigation: Can the U.S. Intelligence Community Help?
From the thesis abstract: "The administration has declared climate change to be a threat to national security. Thus far, the national security establishment has focused its attention on adaptation to the effects of climate change rather than mitigation of the human cause, though evidence of the need to reduce global CO2 [Carbon Dioxide] emissions continues to mount. This thesis asks whether the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC) might be enlisted in the battle against climate change (global warming), by supporting the international monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) of a global greenhouse gas limitation treaty. This covert monitoring is already contemplated by the CIA, though the question remains open, Congress has conducted no public discussion of whether using the IC's unique covert sources and methods would in fact aid in climate change mitigation. This thesis compares various cases involving the IC's monitoring of weapons nonproliferation--and in particular the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)--with a hypothetical international CO2 emissions limitation agreement (ICELA) successor to the Kyoto Protocol. Using these case study findings, an analysis of four policy options for structuring an IC CO2 emissions limitation monitoring entity (ICCME) is conducted. By adopting the most promising of these options, Congress might ensure that the ICCME would support, rather than undermine, a future ICELA."
Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.); Naval Postgraduate School (U.S.). Center for Homeland Defense and Security
Bruhnke, Louis
2013-06
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Climate Change: Federal Laws and Policies Related to Greenhouse Gas Reductions [December 8, 2008]
"Climate change is viewed as a global issue, but proposed responses generally require action at the national level. In 1992, the United States ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which called on industrialized countries to take the lead in reducing greenhouse gases. Over the past 16 years, a variety of voluntary and regulatory actions have been proposed or undertaken in the United States, including monitoring of electric utility carbon dioxide emissions, improved appliance efficiency, and incentives for developing renewable energy sources. This report provides background on the evolution of U.S. climate change policy, from ratification of the UNFCCC to the George W. Bush Administration's 2001 rejection of the Kyoto Protocol to the present. Recent federal court decisions--most notably the Supreme Court's 2007 decision in Massachusetts v. EPA that the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate motor vehicle greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act--have raised the issue of whether EPA should directly regulate greenhouse gases. This report focuses on major regulatory programs that monitor or reduce greenhouse gas emissions, along with their estimated effect on emissions levels. [...]While some provisions in energy laws enacted over the past 16 years have led to lower greenhouse gas emissions or addressed climate change directly, other provisions in those same laws have almost certainly resulted in higher emissions. To date, no energy law has had reducing greenhouse gas emissions as the main organizing principle. Energy-related activities are responsible for about 86% of the country's greenhouse gas emissions, and 98% of its carbon dioxide emissions."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Parker, Larry, 1954-; Yacobucci, Brent D.
2008-12-08
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SEC Climate Change Disclosure Guidance: An Overview and Congressional Concerns [May 24, 2012]
"Publicly traded companies are required to transparently disclose material business risks to
investors through regular filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). On
January 27, 2010, the SEC voted to publish Commission Guidance Regarding Disclosure Related to Climate Change, which clarifies how publicly traded corporations should apply existing SEC disclosure rules to certain mandatory financial filings with the SEC regarding the risk that climate change developments may have on their businesses. The Guidance has been controversial and has prompted legislation in the 112th Congress to repeal it. [...] Since the Guidance went into effect on February 8, 2010, there have been several attempts to gauge its impact. A 2011 report from Ceres, a nonprofit coalition of institutional investors, environmental organizations, and other public interest groups, concluded that most corporate filers needed more experience at communicating the risks associated with climate change. Although it found that large public companies had improved their climate-change risk disclosures in recent years, the report concluded that there was more work to be done in this area."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Shorter, Gary W.
2012-05-24
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Climate Change: Current Issues and Policy Tools [May 21, 2008]
"For decision-makers considering actions to address climate change, an assortment of policy instruments is available; studies suggest that a combination could be most effective in achieving various climate policy objectives. Current domestic policy attention has focused on "cap and trade" strategies to reduce GHG emissions, with additional policy tools aimed at promoting the technology development considered necessary to slow climate change significantly. In parallel, growing attention is being given to characterizing and supporting adaptations to expected future changes, as well as to strategies to gain effective international engagement in reducing GHG. One significant obstacle to consensus is concern about the potential costs of abating GHG emissions, since deep reductions would require extraordinary changes in energy use and technologies. Recent studies suggest that efficiently designed GHG programs could moderate the costs of reducing U.S. GHG emissions; technically and politically, though, an "efficiently designed" program may not be realistic. Policy options can ease the adjustments required and modify the distribution of costs -- or potential wealth embodied in distribution of emission allowances -- across specific sectors or populations. A core challenge of policy design, then, is balancing the climate effectiveness of a policy, the economic costs, and its distributional effects."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Leggett, Jane A.
2008-05-21
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Clean Air Issues in the 110th Congress: Climate Change, Air Quality Standards, and Oversight [Updated October 19, 2007]
"Attention to environmental issues in the 110th Congress focused early and heavily on climate change -- the state of the science, and whether (and, if so, how) to address greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Ten bills had been introduced to establish GHG emission caps as of late September, and hearings on climate change have been held by at least seven committees. Legislation has yet to be marked up, however, in either House or Senate committees. Seven of the ten greenhouse gas bills introduced as of this writing would amend the Clean Air Act, generally establishing a new Title VII to address the issue. Whether or not legislation would amend the Clean Air Act, climate change hearings and markup are among the highest expressed priorities in the coming months for the committees that have jurisdiction over air issues (principally the Senate Environment and Public Works and House Energy and Commerce Committees). Other clean air issues are less likely to be the main focus of attention, but they may be addressed, especially through oversight of Administration actions. […] On April 2, the Supreme Court decided two cases that have broad implications for EPA and state authority to control greenhouse gases and to regulate power plants. In the more sweeping of the two cases, Massachusetts v. EPA, the Court found that EPA has authority under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from new motor vehicles. Other cases involving climate change, clean air standards, and the regulation of power plants are pending at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and in a number of federal and state courts. Decisions in these cases may prompt hearings or legislation. […]"
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
McCarthy, James E.
2007-10-19
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Greenhouse Gas Pledges by Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change [July 1, 2015]
"International negotiations are underway toward an agreement, due in December 2015, under the 'United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change' (UNFCCC) regarding commitments and actions to address human-related, global climate change from 2020 on. This report briefly summarizes the existing commitments and pledges of selected national and regional governments to limit their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as contributions to the global effort. The negotiations cover additional topics, including adaptation to the impacts of climate change and financing to assist the efforts of low-income countries. However, parties to the UNFCCC have not agreed that intended nationally determined contributions (INDCs) of parties must or should include those other topics. Consequently, this report focuses only on the GHG mitigation pledges. More extensive information on the climate change negotiations is available in several additional CRS [Congressional Research Service] reports. Following background on the UNFCCC, this report describes the role of INDCs in the current negotiations. It then summarizes selected parties' existing GHG mitigation commitments and pledges in a table that covers both the period to 2020 and from 2020 on. Information on additional parties' INDCs is available through the website of the UNFCCC."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Leggett, Jane A.
2015-07-01
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Greenhouse Gas Pledges by Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change [June 29, 2015]
"International negotiations are underway toward an agreement, due in December 2015, under the 'United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change' (UNFCCC) regarding commitments and actions to address human-related, global climate change from 2020 on. This report briefly summarizes the existing commitments and pledges of selected national and regional governments to limit their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as contributions to the global effort. The negotiations cover additional topics, including adaptation to the impacts of climate change and financing to assist the efforts of low-income countries. However, parties to the UNFCCC have not agreed that 'intended nationally determined contributions' (INDCs) of parties must or should include those other topics. Consequently, this report focuses only on the GHG mitigation pledges. More extensive information on the climate change negotiations is available in several additional CRS reports. Following background on the UNFCCC, this report describes the role of INDCs in the current negotiations. It then summarizes selected parties' existing GHG mitigation commitments and pledges in a table that covers both the period to 2020 and from 2020 on. Information on additional parties' INDCs is available through the website of the UNFCCC."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Leggett, Jane A.
2015-06-29
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Global Climate Change Initiative (GCCI): Budget Authority and Request, FY2008-FY2012 [June 1, 2011]
"The United States supports international financial assistance for global climate change initiatives in developing countries. Under the Obama Administration, this assistance has been articulated primarily as the Global Climate Change Initiative (GCCI), a major strategic platform within the President's 2010 Policy Directive on Global Development. The GCCI aims to integrate climate change considerations into relevant foreign assistance through a full range of bilateral, multilateral, and private sector mechanisms to foster low-carbon growth, promote sustainable and resilient societies, and reduce emissions from deforestation and land degradation. The GCCI is implemented through programs at the Department of State, the Department of the Treasury, and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and is funded through the Administration's Executive Budget, Function 150 account, for State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. […] As Congress considers potential authorizations and/or appropriations for initiatives administered through the GCCI, it may have questions concerning U.S. agency initiatives and current bilateral and multilateral programs that address global climate change. Some potential concerns may include cost, purpose, direction, efficiency, and effectiveness, as well as the GCCI's relationship to industry, investment, humanitarian efforts, national security, and international leadership. This report serves as a brief overview of the GCCI, its structure, intents, and funding history."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Lattanzio, Richard K.
2011-06-01
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Status of the Copenhagen Climate Change Negotiations [November 5, 2009]
"The United States and almost 200 other countries are negotiating under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to address climate change cooperatively1 beyond the year 2012. Parties agreed to complete those negotiations by the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP-15) scheduled for December 7-18, 2009, in Copenhagen. […] Negotiations had lagged through 2008. In December 2008, the then-incoming Obama Administration stated its policy to reduce U.S. emissions to 14% below 2005 levels by 2020. Optimism among many grew that the U.S. Congress would pass GHG [greenhouse gas] control legislation before the Copenhagen meeting, providing guidance to the executive branch negotiators regarding the elements of a treaty that the Senate would ultimately consent to ratify. The Obama position and passage by the U.S. House of Representatives of H.R. 2454 (the American Clean Energy and Security Act, ACES, or the 'Waxman-Markey' bill) have led to reinvigorated hopes of some people that consensus among countries could be found by December 2009 on a comprehensive Copenhagen agreement with quantified commitments. As the weeks remaining until December wane, with neither a U.S. GHG target nor U.S. financial offers, it becomes less likely that China and major non-Annex I country emitters would agree to GHG reduction commitments--which they have been strongly resisting. Smaller countries, concerned about the impacts of climate change on their welfare and economies, and looking to the United States and other large, wealthy countries for leadership on climate change, have become increasingly frustrated. Lack of strong political agreements has led to recent demonstrations in as many as 4,500 locations in 170 countries. More are planned during the Copenhagen meeting."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Leggett, Jane A.; Lattanzio, Richard K.
2009-11-05
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Federal Climate Change Funding from FY2008 to FY 2014 [September 13, 2013]
"Direct federal funding to address global climate change totaled approximately $77 billion from FY2008 [Fiscal Year] through FY2013. The large majority--more than 75%--has funded technology development and deployment, primarily through the Department of Energy (DOE). More than one-third of the identified funding was included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (P.L. 111-5). The President's request for FY2014 contains $11.6 billion for federal expenditures on programs. In the request, 23% would be for science, 68% for energy technology development and deployment, 8% for international assistance, and 1% for adapting to climate change. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) also reports that energy tax provisions that may reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions would reduce tax revenues by $9.8 billion. […] This report summarizes direct federal funding identified as climate change-related from FY2008 enacted funding through FY2013 and the FY2014 request (as well as a less consistent series beginning with FY2001). It reports the Administration's estimates of tax revenues not received due to energy tax provisions that may reduce GHG emissions. The report briefly identifies the programs and funding levels, as well as some qualifications and observations on reporting of federal funding. It further offers some issues that Members may wish to consider in deliberating on U.S. climate change strategies."
Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service
Leggett, Jane A.; Lattanzio, Richard K.; Bruner, Emily
2013-09-13
