Notes on 15 U.S.C. § 2901 : US Code - Notes

Search Notes on 15 U.S.C. § 2901 : US Code - Notes

(Pub. L. 95-367, Sec. 2, Sept. 17, 1978, 92 Stat. 601.)
SHORT TITLE
Section 1 of Pub. L. 95-367 provided: "That this Act [enacting
this chapter, amending section 25 of former Title 31, Money and
Finance, and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 25
of former Title 31] may be cited as the 'National Climate Program
Act'."
GLOBAL CLIMATE PROTECTION
Pub. L. 100-204, title XI, Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1407, as
amended by Pub. L. 103-199, title VI, Sec. 603(1), Dec. 17, 1993,
107 Stat. 2327, provided that:
"SEC. 1101. SHORT TITLE.
"This title [this note] may be cited as the 'Global Climate
Protection Act of 1987'.
"SEC. 1102. FINDINGS.
"The Congress finds as follows:
"(1) There exists evidence that manmade pollution - the release
of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, methane, and other trace
gases into the atmosphere - may be producing a long-term and
substantial increase in the average temperature on Earth, a
phenomenon known as global warming through the greenhouse effect.
"(2) By early in the next century, an increase in Earth
temperature could -
"(A) so alter global weather patterns as to have an effect on
existing agricultural production and on the habitability of
large portions of the Earth; and
"(B) cause thermal expansion of the oceans and partial
melting of the polar ice caps and glaciers, resulting in rising
sea levels.
"(3) Important research into the problem of climate change is
now being conducted by various United States Government and
international agencies, and the continuation and intensification
of those efforts will be crucial to the development of an
effective United States response.
"(4) While the consequences of the greenhouse effect may not be
fully manifest until the next century, ongoing pollution and
deforestation may be contributing now to an irreversible process.
Necessary actions must be identified and implemented in time to
protect the climate.
"(5) The global nature of this problem will require vigorous
efforts to achieve international cooperation aimed at minimizing
and responding to adverse climate change; such international
cooperation will be greatly enhanced by United States leadership.
A key step in international cooperation will be the meeting of
the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Program,
scheduled for June 1989, which will seek to determine a direction
for worldwide efforts to control global climate change.
"(6) Effective United States leadership in the international
arena will depend upon a coordinated national policy.
"SEC. 1103. MANDATE FOR ACTION ON THE GLOBAL CLIMATE.
"(a) Goals of United States Policy. - United States policy should
seek to -
"(1) increase worldwide understanding of the greenhouse effect
and its environmental and health consequences;
"(2) foster cooperation among nations to develop more extensive
and coordinated scientific research efforts with respect to the
greenhouse effect;
"(3) identify technologies and activities to limit mankind's
adverse effect on the global climate by -
"(A) slowing the rate of increase of concentrations of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere in the near term; and
"(B) stabilizing or reducing atmospheric concentrations of
greenhouse gases over the long term; and
"(4) work toward multilateral agreements.
"(b) Formulation of United States Policy. - The President,
through the Environmental Protection Agency, shall be responsible
for developing and proposing to Congress a coordinated national
policy on global climate change. Such policy formulation shall
consider research findings of the Committee on Earth Sciences of
the Federal Coordinating Council on Science and Engineering
Technology, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, the National Science Foundation,
the National Aeronautic and Space Administration, the Department of
Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, and other
organizations engaged in the conduct of scientific research.
"(c) Coordination of United States Policy in the International
Arena. - The Secretary of State shall be responsible to coordinate
those aspects of United States policy requiring action through the
channels of multilateral diplomacy, including the United Nations
Environment Program and other international organizations. In the
formulation of these elements of United States policy, the
Secretary of State shall, under the direction of the President,
work jointly with the Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency and other United States agencies concerned with
environmental protection, consistent with applicable Federal law.
"SEC. 1104. REPORT TO CONGRESS.
"Not later than 24 months after the date of enactment of this Act
[Dec. 22, 1987], the Secretary of State and the Administrator of
the Environmental Protection Agency shall jointly submit to all
committees of jurisdiction in the Congress a report which shall
include -
"(1) a summary analysis of current international scientific
understanding of the greenhouse effect, including its
environmental and health consequences;
"(2) an assessment of United States efforts to gain
international cooperation in limiting global climate change; and
"(3) a description of the strategy by which the United States
intends to seek further international cooperation to limit global
climate change.
"SEC. 1105. INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF GLOBAL CLIMATE PROTECTION.
"In order to focus international attention and concern on the
problem of global warming, and to foster further work on
multilateral treaties aimed at protecting the global climate, the
Secretary of State shall undertake all necessary steps to promote,
within the United Nations system, the early designation of an
International Year of Global Climate Protection.
"SEC. 1106. CLIMATE PROTECTION AND UNITED STATES RELATIONS WITH
THE INDEPENDENT STATES OF THE FORMER SOVIET UNION.
"In recognition of the respective leadership roles of the United
States and the independent states of the former Soviet Union in the
international arena, and of the extent to which they are producers
of atmospheric pollutants, the Congress urges that the President
accord the problem of climate protection a high priority on the
agenda of United States relations with the independent states."