Climate Protection and Justice Act of 2015
A BILL
To provide for emissions reductions, and for other purposes.
Sec. 2 Findings and purposes
Findings— Congress finds that—
greenhouse gases are accumulating in the atmosphere at a rate that may cause average temperatures to rise 8 degrees Fahrenheit or more;
the expected rise in average temperatures poses a risk of—
increasing global average air and ocean temperatures;
widespread melting of snow and ice; and
rising global average sea level;
the overwhelming majority of the scientific community is clear that climate change is—
real;
caused by human activity; and
already causing devastating problems in the United States and around the world; and
mandatory steps will be required to move aggressively to transform the energy system of the United States away from fossil fuels to energy efficiency and sustainable energy.
Purposes— The purposes of this Act are—
to reduce, in conjunction with other laws, emissions of carbon pollution to ensure that the contribution of the United States to global climate change is lower than the level required to keep global average temperature increases below 2 degrees Celsius;
to implement solutions that acknowledge the intersections of environmental degradation that perpetuate racial, social, and economic inequities;
to protect the lives of low-income, minority, and tribal communities and reinvest in those communities;
to empower communities to prepare for, and react to, the impacts of climate change that are already being experienced by communities; and
to demonstrate to the international community a commitment by the Government of the United States to aggressively reduce carbon pollution emissions.
Sec. 3 Statement of policy
It is the policy of the United States that—
the Government of the United States should lead the international community in an aggressive transition away from fossil fuels and toward sustainable energy;
the Government of the United States should tax carbon pollution to capture the price on the atmosphere and motivate significant reductions in emissions; and
the transition away from fossil fuels shall focus on climate justice, which requires solutions that consider—
the needs of workers; and
the manners in which the causes and effects of climate change disproportionately impact low-income and minority communities.
Sec. 4 Sense of Congress
It is the sense of Congress that Congress agrees with the opinion of virtually the entire worldwide scientific community that—
climate change is real;
climate change is caused by human activities;
climate change has already caused devastating problems in the United States and around the world;
a brief window of opportunity exists before the United States and the entire planet suffer irreparable harm; and
it is imperative that the United States transform the energy system of the United States away from fossil fuels and toward energy efficiency and sustainable energy as rapidly as possible.
Sec. 5 Definition of Administrator
In this Act, the term Administrator means the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.