S.Amdt. 1954

SA 1954. Mr. MENENDEZ submitted an amendment intended to be proposed
by him to the bill S. 4049, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2021 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place, insert the following:

SEC. __. CLIMATE SECURITY ENVOY.

Section 1 of the State Department Basic Authorities Act of
1956 (22 U.S.C. 2651a) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (h); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (f) the following:
``(g) Climate Security Envoy.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 120 days after the date
of the enactment of the National Defense Authorization Act
for Fiscal Year 2021, the President shall appoint, by and
with the advice and consent of the Senate, a Climate Security
Envoy, who shall serve in the Bureau of Oceans and
International Environmental and Scientific Affairs of the
Department of State.
``(2) Duties.--The Climate Security Envoy--
``(A) shall develop a climate security policy in accordance
with paragraph (3);
``(B) shall coordinate the integration of scientific data
on the current and anticipated effects of climate change into
applied strategies across programmatic and regional bureaus
of the Department of State and into the Department's decision
making processes;
``(C) shall serve as a key point of contact for other
Federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, the
Department of Homeland Security, and the Intelligence
Community, on climate security issues;

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``(D) shall use the voice, vote, and influence of the
United States to encourage other countries and international
multilateral organizations to support the principles of the
climate security policy developed under paragraph (3);
``(E) shall perform such other duties and exercise such
powers as the Secretary of State shall prescribe; and
``(F) may not--
``(i) perform the functions of the Special Envoy for
Climate Change to the United Nations; or
``(ii) serve as the United States negotiator in any
international forum to address climate change.
``(3) Climate security policy.--The Climate Security Envoy
shall develop and facilitate the implementation of a climate
security policy that requires the Bureau of Conflict and
Stabilization Operations, the Bureau of Political-Military
Affairs, embassies, regional bureaus, and other offices with
a role in conflict avoidance, prevention and security
assistance, or humanitarian disaster response, prevention,
and assistance to assess, develop, budget for, and (upon
approval) implement plans, policies, and actions--
``(A) to enhance the resilience capacities of foreign
countries to the effects of climate change as a means of
reducing the risk of conflict and instability;
``(B) to evaluate specific added risks to certain regions
and countries that are--
``(i) vulnerable to the effects of climate change; and
``(ii) strategically significant to the United States;
``(C) to account for the impacts on human health, safety,
stresses, reliability, food production, fresh water and other
critical natural resources, and economic activity;
``(D) to coordinate the integration of climate change risk
and vulnerability assessments into the decision-making
process for awarding foreign assistance;
``(E) to advance principles of good governance by
encouraging foreign governments, particularly nations that
are least capable of coping with the effects of climate
change--
``(i) to conduct climate security evaluations; and
``(ii) to facilitate the development of climate security
action plans to ensure stability and public safety in
disaster situations in a humane and responsible fashion; and
``(F) to evaluate the vulnerability, security,
susceptibility, and resiliency of United States interests and
non-defense assets abroad.
``(4) Report.--The Climate Security Envoy shall regularly
report to the Secretary of State regarding the activities
described in paragraphs (2) and (3) to integrate climate
concerns into agendas and program budget requests.
``(5) Rank and status of ambassador.--The Climate Security
Envoy shall have the rank and status of Ambassador-at-Large.
``(6) Defined term.--In this subsection, the term `climate
security' means the effects of climate change on--
``(A) United States national security concerns and
subnational, national, and regional political stability; and
``(B) overseas security and conflict situations that are
potentially exacerbated by dynamic environmental factors and
events, including--
``(i) the intensification and frequency of droughts,
floods, wildfires, tropical storms, and other extreme weather
events;
``(ii) changes in historical severe weather, drought, and
wildfire patterns;
``(iii) the expansion of geographical ranges of droughts,
floods, and wildfires into regions that had not regularly
experienced such phenomena;
``(iv) global sea level rise patterns and the expansion of
geographical ranges affected by drought; and
``(v) changes in marine environments that effect critical
geostrategic waterways, such as the Arctic Ocean, the South
China Sea, the South Pacific Ocean, the Barents Sea, and the
Beaufort Sea.''.
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