To express the sense of the Senate that the United States should address global climate change through the negotiation of fair and effective international commitments.

SA 4827. Mr. REID (for Mr. Biden) proposed an amendment to amendment
SA 4826 proposed by Mr. Reid (for Mr. Biden) to the amendment SA 4825
proposed by Mrs. Boxer (for herself, Mr. Warner, and Mr. Lieberman) to
the bill S. 3036, to direct the Administrator of the Environment
Protection Agency to establish a program to decrease emissions of
greenhouse gases, and for other purposes; as follows:

In the amendment, strike all after the word ``SEC'' on line
2 and insert the following:

1334. SENSE OF SENATE REGARDING INTERNATIONAL NEGOTIATIONS TO
ADDRESS GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE.

(a) Findings.--The Senate makes the following findings:
(1) There is a scientific consensus, as established by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and confirmed by
the National Academy of Sciences, that the continued buildup
of anthropogenic greenhouse gases in the atmosphere threatens
the stability of the global climate.
(2) The 2007 Fourth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concluded that most
of the global warming observed since the mid-20th century is
very likely due to anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and
that anthropogenic warming is strongly linked to many
observed physical and biological impacts.
(3) There are significant long-term risks to the economy
and the environment of the United States from the temperature
increases and climatic disruptions that are projected to
result from increased greenhouse gas concentrations.
(4) The potential impacts of global climate change,
including long-term drought, famine, mass migration, and
abrupt climatic shifts, may lead to international tensions
and instability in regions affected and, therefore, have
implications for the national security interests of the
United States.
(5) The United States has the largest economy in the world
and is also the largest historical emitter of greenhouse
gases.
(6) The greenhouse gas emissions of the United States are
projected to continue to rise.
(7) The greenhouse gas emissions of some developing
countries are rising more rapidly than the emissions of the
United States and will soon surpass the greenhouse gas
emissions of the United States and other developed countries.
(8) Reducing greenhouse gas emissions to the levels
necessary to avoid serious climatic disruption requires the
introduction of new energy technologies and other climate-
friendly technologies, the use of which results in low or no
emissions of greenhouse gases or in the capture and storage
of greenhouse gases.
(9) The 2006 Stern Review on the Economics of Climate
Change commissioned by the United Kingdom and the 2008 World
Economic Outlook from the International Monetary Fund each
concluded that the economic costs of addressing climate
change are limited.
(10) The development and sale of climate-friendly
technologies in the United States and internationally present
economic opportunities for workers and businesses in the
United States.
(11) Climate-friendly technologies can improve air quality
by reducing harmful pollutants from stationary and mobile
sources and can enhance energy security by reducing reliance
on imported oil, diversifying energy sources, and reducing
the vulnerability of energy delivery infrastructure.
(12) Other industrialized countries are undertaking
measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which provides
the industries in those countries with a competitive
advantage in the growing global market for climate-friendly
technologies.
(13) Efforts to limit emissions growth in developing
countries in a manner that is consistent with the development
needs of those countries could establish significant markets
for climate-friendly technologies and contribute to
international efforts to address climate change.
(14) The national security of the United States will
increasingly depend on the deployment of diplomatic,
military, scientific, and economic resources for solving the
problem of the overreliance of the United States and the
world on high-carbon energy.
(15) The United States is a party to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change, done at New York May
9, 1992, and entered into force March 21, 1994 (in this
preamble referred to as the ``Convention'').
(16) The Convention sets a long-term objective of
stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere
at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic
interference with the climate system.
(17) The Convention establishes that parties bear ``common
but differentiated responsibilities'' for efforts to achieve
the objective of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations.
(18) At the December 2007 United Nations Climate Change
Conference in Bali, the United States and other parties to
the Convention adopted the Bali Action Plan with the aim of
reaching a new global agreement in 2009.
(19) The Bali Action Plan calls for a shared vision on
long-term cooperative action, increased mitigation efforts
from developed and developing countries that are measurable,
reportable, and verifiable, and support for developing
countries in addressing technology transfers, adaptation,
financing, deforestation, and capacity-building.
(20) The Major Economies Process on Energy Security and
Climate Change, initiated by President George W. Bush, seeks
a consensus among the countries with the world's major
economies on how those countries can contribute to a new
agreement under the Convention.
(21) In April 2008, President Bush called for a ``binding
international agreement'' with participation by all countries
with major economies in ``goals and policies that reflect
their unique energy resources and economic circumstances''.
(22) An effective global effort to address climate change
must provide for commitments and actions by all countries
that are major emitters of greenhouse gases, developed and
developing alike, and the widely varying circumstances among
developed and developing countries may require that such
commitments and actions vary.
(23) The latest scientific evidence suggests that
anthropogenic climate change is increasing and the United
States has supported the goal of achieving a new
international agreement during 2009, both lending urgency to
the need for renewed United States leadership in the effort
to counter global climate change.
(b) Sense of the Senate.--It is the sense of the Senate
that--
(1) the United States should act to reduce the health,
environmental, economic, and national security risks posed by
global climate change and to foster sustained economic growth
through a new generation of technologies by participating in
negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, done at New York May 9, 1992, and entered
into force March 21, 1994, and leading efforts in other
international fora, with the objective of securing United
States participation in binding agreements, consistent with
the Bali Action Plan, that--
(A) advance and protect the economic and national security
interests of the United States;
(B) establish mitigation commitments by all countries that
are major emitters of greenhouse gases, consistent with the
principle of common but differentiated responsibilities;
(C) establish flexible international mechanisms to minimize
the cost of efforts by participating countries; and
(D) achieve a significant long-term reduction in global
greenhouse gas emissions; and
(2) the President should support the establishment of a
bipartisan Senate observer group, the members of which should
be designated by the chairman and ranking member of the
Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate, to--
(A) monitor any international negotiations on climate
change; and
(B) ensure that the responsibility of the Senate under
article II, section 2 of the Constitution of the United
States to provide advice and consent to the President with
respect to treaties be carried out in a manner to facilitate
timely consideration of any applicable treaty submitted to
the Senate.
The provisions of this section shall become effective in 7
days after enactment.
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