S 139 IS
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 139
To provide for a program of scientific research on abrupt climate
change, to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the
United States by establishing a market-driven system of greenhouse gas
tradeable allowances that could be used interchangeably with passenger
vehicle fuel economy standard credits, to limit greenhouse gas emissions
in the United States and reduce dependence upon foreign oil, and ensure
benefits to consumers from the trading in such allowances.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 9, 2003
Mr. LIEBERMAN (for himself and Mr. MCCAIN) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment
and Public Works
A BILL
To provide for a program of scientific research on abrupt climate
change, to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the
United States by establishing a market-driven system of greenhouse gas
tradeable allowances that could be used interchangeably with passenger
vehicle fuel economy standard credits, to limit greenhouse gas emissions
in the United States and reduce dependence upon foreign oil, and ensure
benefits to consumers from the trading in such allowances.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Climate
Stewardship Act of 2003'.
SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS.
The table of contents for this Act is as follows:
Sec. 2. Table of contents.
TITLE I--FEDERAL CLIMATE
CHANGE RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES
Sec. 101. National Science Foundation scholarships.
Sec. 102. Commerce Department study of technology transfer barriers.
Sec. 103. Report on United States impact of Kyoto protocol.
Sec. 104. Research grants.
Sec. 105. Abrupt climate
change research.
Sec. 106. NIST greenhouse gas functions.
Sec. 107. Development of new measurement technologies.
Sec. 108. Enhanced environmental measurements and standards.
Sec. 109. Technology development and diffusion.
TITLE II--NATIONAL GREENHOUSE GAS DATABASE
Sec. 201. National greenhouse gas database and registry established.
Sec. 202. Inventory of greenhouse gas emissions for covered entities.
Sec. 203. Greenhouse gas reduction reporting.
Sec. 204. Measurement and verification.
TITLE III--MARKET-DRIVEN GREENHOUSE GAS REDUCTIONS
Subtitle A--Emission Reduction Requirements; Use of Tradeable
Allowances
Sec. 311. Covered entities must submit allowances for emissions.
Sec. 313. Tradeable allowances and fuel economy standard credits.
Sec. 314. Borrowing against future reductions.
Sec. 315. Other uses of tradeable allowances.
Sec. 316. Exemption of source categories.
Subtitle B--Establishment and Allocation of Tradeable Allowances
Sec. 331. Establishment of tradeable allowances.
Sec. 332. Determination of tradeable allowance allocations.
Sec. 333. Allocation of tradeable allowances.
Sec. 334. Initial allocations for early participation and accelerated
participation.
Sec. 335. Bonus for accelerated participation.
Sec. 336. Ensuring target adequacy.
Subtitle C--Climate
Change Credit Corporation
Sec. 352. Purposes and functions.
Subtitle D--Sequestration Accounting; Penalties
Sec. 371. Sequestration accounting.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
(1) ADMINISTRATOR- The term `Administrator' means the Administrator of
the Environmental Protection Agency.
(2) BASELINE- The term `baseline' means the historic greenhouse gas
emission levels of an entity, as adjusted upward by the Administrator
to reflect actual reductions that are verified in accordance with--
(A) regulations promulgated under section 201(c)(1); and
(B) relevant standards and methods developed under this title.
(3) COVERED SECTORS- The term `covered sectors' means the electricity,
transportation, industry, and commercial sectors, as such terms are
used in the Inventory.
(4) COVERED ENTITY- The term `covered entity' means an entity
(including a branch, department, agency, or instrumentality of
Federal, State, or local government) that--
(A) owns or controls a source of greenhouse gas emissions in the
electric power, industrial, or commercial sectors of the United
States economy (as defined in the Inventory), refines or imports
petroleum products for use in transportation, or produces or imports
hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur hexafluoride; and
(B) emits over 10,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas per year,
measured in units of carbon dioxide equivalence, or produces or
imports--
(i) petroleum products that, when combusted, will emit,
(ii) hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, or sulfur hexafluoride
that, when used, will emit, or
(iii) other greenhouse gases that, when used, will emit,
over 10,000 metric tons of greenhouse gas per year, measured in
units of carbon dioxide equivalence.
(5) DATABASE- The term `database' means the National Greenhouse Gas
Database established under section 201.
(6) DIRECT EMISSIONS- The term `direct emissions' means greenhouse gas
emissions by an entity from a facility that is owned or controlled by
that entity.
(7) FACILITY- The term `facility' means a building, structure, or
installation located on any 1 or more contiguous or adjacent
properties of an entity in the United States.
(8) GREENHOUSE GAS- The term `greenhouse gas' means--
(E) perfluorocarbons; and
(9) INDIRECT EMISSIONS- The term `indirect emissions' means greenhouse
gas emissions that are--
(A) a result of the activities of an entity; but
(B) emitted from a facility owned or controlled by another entity;
and
(C) not reported as direct emissions by the entity from which they
were emitted.
(10) INVENTORY- The term `Inventory' means the Inventory of U.S.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks, prepared in compliance with the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change Decision 3/CP.5).
(11) PHASE I ALLOTMENT- The term `Phase I allotment' means--
(A) the amount of emissions emitted by a covered sector, as
identified in the Inventory for the calendar year preceding the
calendar year in which this Act is enacted (reduced by the amount of
allowances allocated to early and accelerated participants under
section 334 of this Act); multiplied by--
(i) the total greenhouse emissions for all covered sectors for the
year 2000, as identified in the 2000 Inventory; divided by
(ii) the total greenhouse emissions for all covered sectors for
the calendar year preceding the date of enactment of this Act, as
identified in the Inventory.
(12) PHASE II ALLOTMENT- The term `Phase II allotment' means--
(A) the amount of emissions emitted by a covered sector, as
identified in the Inventory for the calendar year preceding the
calendar year in which this Act is enacted (reduced by the amount of
allowances allocated to early and accelerated participants under
section 334 of this Act); multiplied by--
(i) the total greenhouse emissions for all covered sectors for the
year 1990, as identified in the 1990 Inventory; divided by
(ii) the total greenhouse emissions for all covered sectors for
the calendar year preceding the date of enactment of this Act, as
identified in the Inventory.
(13) REGISTRY- The term `registry' means the registry of greenhouse
gas emission reductions established under section 201(b)(2).
(14) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of Commerce.
(A) IN GENERAL- The term `sequestration' means the capture,
long-term separation, isolation, or removal of greenhouse gases from
the atmosphere.
(B) INCLUSIONS- The term `sequestration' includes--
(i) agricultural and conservation practices;
(iii) forest preservation; and
(iv) any other appropriate method of capture, long-term
separation, isolation, or removal of greenhouse gases from the
atmosphere, as determined by the Administrator.
(C) EXCLUSIONS- The term `sequestration' does not include--
(i) any conversion of, or negative impact on, a native ecosystem;
or
(ii) any introduction of non-native species or genetically
modified organisms.
(16) SOURCE CATEGORY- The term `source category' means a process or
activity that leads to direct emissions of greenhouse gases, as listed
in the Inventory.
TITLE I--FEDERAL CLIMATE
CHANGE RESEARCH AND RELATED ACTIVITIES
SEC. 101. NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIPS.
The Director of the National Science Foundation shall establish a
scholarship program for post-secondary students studying global climate
change, including capability in observation, analysis, modeling,
paleoclimatology, consequences, and adaptation.
SEC. 102. COMMERCE DEPARTMENT STUDY OF TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER BARRIERS.
(a) STUDY- The Assistant Secretary of Technology Policy at Department of
Commerce shall conduct a study of technology transfer barriers, best
practices, and outcomes of technology transfer activities at Federal
laboratories related to the licensing and commercialization of energy
efficient technologies. The study shall be submitted to the Senate
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the House of
Representatives Committee on Science within 6 months after the date of
enactment of this Act. The Assistant Secretary shall work with the
existing interagency working group to address identified barriers.
(b) AGENCY REPORT TO INCLUDE INFORMATION ON TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER INCOME
AND ROYALTIES- Paragraph (2)(B) of section 11(f) of the Stevenson-Wydler
Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710(f)) is amended--
(1) by striking `and' after the semicolon in clause (vi);
(2) by redesignating clause (vii) as clause (ix); and
(3) by inserting after clause (vi) the following:
`(vii) the number of fully-executed licenses which received
royalty income in the preceding fiscal year for climate
-change or energy-efficient technology;
`(viii) the total earned royalty income for climate
-change or energy-efficient technology; and'.
(c) INCREASED INCENTIVES FOR DEVELOPMENT OF CLIMATE
-CHANGE OR ENERGY-EFFICIENT TECHNOLOGY- Section 14(a) of the Stevenson-Wydler
Technology Innovation Act of 1980 (15 U.S.C. 3710c(a)) is amended--
(1) by striking `15 percent,' in paragraph (1)(A) and inserting `15
percent (25 percent for climate
change-related technologies),'; and
(2) by inserting `($250,000 for climate
change-related technologies)' after `$150,000' each place it appears
in paragraph (3).
SEC. 103. REPORT ON UNITED STATES IMPACT OF KYOTO PROTOCOL.
Within 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary
shall submit a report to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation and the House of Representatives Committee on Science on
the effects that the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol will have
on--
(1) United States industry and its ability to compete globally;
(2) international cooperation on scientific research and development;
and
(3) United States participation in international environmental climate
change mitigation efforts and technology deployment.
SEC. 104. RESEARCH GRANTS.
Section 105 of the Global Change Research Act of 1990 (15 U.S.C. 2935)
is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (c) as subsection (d); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (b) the following:
`(1) COMMITTEE TO DEVELOP LIST OF PRIORITY RESEARCH AREAS- The
Committee shall develop a list of priority areas for research and
development on climate
change that are not being addressed by Federal agencies.
`(2) DIRECTOR OF OSTP TO TRANSMIT LIST TO NSF- The Director of the
Office of Science and Technology Policy shall transmit the list to the
National Science Foundation.
`(3) Funding through nsf-
`(A) BUDGET REQUEST- The National Science Foundation shall include,
as part of the annual request for appropriations for the Science and
Technology Policy Institute, a request for appropriations to fund
research in the priority areas on the list developed under paragraph
(1).
`(B) AUTHORIZATION- For fiscal year 2004 and each fiscal year
thereafter, there are authorized to be appropriated to the National
Science Foundation not less than $17,000,000, to be made available
through the Science and Technology Policy Institute, for research in
those priority areas.'.
SEC. 105. ABRUPT CLIMATE
CHANGE RESEARCH.
(a) IN GENERAL- The Secretary, through the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, shall carry out a program of scientific
research on potential abrupt climate
change designed--
(1) to develop a global array of terrestrial and oceanographic
indicators of paleoclimate in order sufficiently to identify and
describe past instances of abrupt climate
change;
(2) to improve understanding of thresholds and nonlinearities in
geophysical systems related to the mechanisms of abrupt climate
change;
(3) to incorporate these mechanisms into advanced geophysical models
of climate change; and
(4) to test the output of these models against an improved global
array of records of past abrupt climate
changes.
(b) ABRUPT CLIMATE CHANGE
DEFINED- In this section, the term `abrupt climate
change' means a change in climate
that occurs so rapidly or unexpectedly that human or natural systems may
have difficulty adapting to it.
SEC. 106. NIST GREENHOUSE GAS FUNCTIONS.
Section 2(c) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology Act
(15 U.S.C. 272(c)) is amended--
(1) by striking `and' after the semicolon in paragraph (21);
(2) by redesignating paragraph (22) as paragraph (23); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (21) the following:
`(22) perform research to develop enhanced measurements, calibrations,
standards, and technologies which will enable the reduced production
in the United States of greenhouse gases associated with global
warming, including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, ozone,
perfluorocarbons, hydrofluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride; and'.
SEC. 107. DEVELOPMENT OF NEW MEASUREMENT TECHNOLOGIES.
The Secretary shall initiate a program to develop, with technical
assistance from appropriate Federal agencies, innovative standards and
measurement technologies (including technologies to measure carbon
changes due to changes in land use cover) to calculate--
(1) greenhouse gas emissions and reductions from agriculture,
forestry, and other land use practices;
(2) noncarbon dioxide greenhouse gas emissions from transportation;
(3) greenhouse gas emissions from facilities or sources using remote
sensing technology; and
(4) any other greenhouse gas emission or reductions for which no
accurate or reliable measurement technology exists.
SEC. 108. ENHANCED ENVIRONMENTAL MEASUREMENTS AND STANDARDS.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology Act (15 U.S.C. 271 et
seq.) is amended--
(1) by redesignating sections 17 through 32 as sections 18 through 33,
respectively; and
(2) by inserting after section 16 the following:
`SEC. 17. CLIMATE CHANGE
STANDARDS AND PROCESSES.
`(a) In General- The Director shall establish within the Institute a
program to perform and support research on global climate
change standards and processes, with the goal of providing scientific
and technical knowledge applicable to the reduction of greenhouse gases
(as defined in section 3(8) of the Climate
Stewardship Act of 2003).
`(1) In general- The Director is authorized to conduct, directly or
through contracts or grants, a global climate
change standards and processes research program.
`(2) Research projects- The specific contents and priorities of the
research program shall be determined in consultation with appropriate
Federal agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration. The program generally shall
include basic and applied research--
`(A) to develop and provide the enhanced measurements, calibrations,
data, models, and reference material standards which will enable the
monitoring of greenhouse gases;
`(B) to assist in establishing a baseline reference point for future
trading in greenhouse gases and the measurement of progress in
emissions reduction;
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