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1 1 (January 29, 2021)

handle is hein.crs/govebmo0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Researh Service Inforrig the legislative debate sin CO 1914 0 January 29, 2021 United States Rejoins the Paris Agreement on Climate Change: Options for Congress On January 20, 2020, President Joe Biden accepted, on behalf of the United States, the Paris Agreement (PA), an international accord to address climate change for decades to come. The acceptance takes effect on February 19, 2021-77 days after the United States' withdrawal took effect under the Trump Administration. The withdrawal took effect exactly four years after the United States first became a Party to the PA under the Obama Administration. Congress may consider implications of U.S. participation in the PA along several dimensions, including foreign policy, economic, environmental, and legal. Although the President holds constitutional authority for U.S. foreign policy, the Senate may provide advice and consent, should the President submit the PA to be a treaty under U.S. law. Congress, by virtue of its own constitutional authorities, has options for shaping, funding, and conducting oversight of strategies-international and domestic-associated with U.S. PA commitments. Congress may seek to consult with the Administration on climate change and foreign policy, among other objectives. What Is the Paris Agreement? The PA exists under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The United States ratified the UNFCCC in 1992 with the advice and consent of the Senate. In 2016, the United States accepted the PA without requesting the Senate's advice and consent; the Department of State took the view that the PA was an executive agreement containing no substantive, legal obligations for the United States beyond those already required by the UNFCCC. Under President Trump, the United States withdrew from the PA, citing concerns about fairness, costs of participating, and sovereignty. U.S. private sector and bipartisan support subsequently has grown for the PA, though there is little consensus on targets or policies to meet them. Under the UNFCCC, the United States and industrialized Parties listed in Annex I took on specific commitments for greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation, financial resources, reporting, and review. The PA does not contain the bifurcation of commitments in the UNFCCC between Annex I and developing country Parties. It established a single, common set of obligations for all Parties (with flexibilities for the least capable). For example, China agreed in the PA to the same binding requirements as the United States. A key requirement of the PA is that all Parties communicate Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) every five years, though the content of an NDC is not binding. Once a Party, the United States must submit a new NDC; President Biden aims to do this before Earth Day 2021 (April 22). A Party's NDC must identify how the Party intends to abate its GHG emissions, with a current time horizon of 2030. (See text box.) Each Party decides its own pledge. All PA emissions targets are voluntary and nonbinding, although the PA contains provisions to encourage their achievement. The UNFCCC requires reporting and review of GHG emissions sources and sinks and other information, differentiated by types of Parties. The PA led to an enhanced transparency framework applicable to all Parties. The PA contains cooperative compliance mechanisms but not formal sanctions. GHG Pledges in Selected NDCs (with date of most recent NDC GHG target) United States (2015, prior to withdrawal): Reduce GHG emissions to 26*o-28*o below 2005 levels in 2025. China (2015): Inter olia, by 2030, to peak its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions; lower its CO2 emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GDP) by 60*o-65*o below 2005 levels; and increase the non-fossil-fuel share of energy consumption to around 20%. European Union (2020): A binding net domestic GHG emission reduction of at least 55% by 2030 compared with 1990. India (2016): Inter olia, reduce GHG emissions per unit of GDP by 33*o-35*o by 2030 from the 2005 level and reach 40% of its cumulative installed electric capacity from non-fossil-fuel sources by 2030. Mexico (2020): Inter olia, reduce GHG emissions by 22*o and black carbon emissions by 510o by 2030 below a business-as- usual (BAU) scenario or reduce GHG emissions up to 36% and black carbon emissions up to 70% by 2030 below BAU by 2030, conditioned on financial, technical, and other support. Countries have long negotiated over what would constitute a fair distribution of effort under the UNFCCC. The strength of one Party's GHG target compared with those of other countries can be viewed from various perspectives of fairness and level of effort. To illustrate, under existing NDCs, China's GHG emissions could grow to 2030, whereas the European Union's (EU's) GHG emissions would fall. Nonetheless, China's GHG emissions per person would remain well below those of the United States. China's pledge would reduce its emissions per unit of GDP more than the United States would under its 2015 pledge. Foreign Policy and Diplomacy U.S. forceful negotiation, acceptance, withdrawal, and rejoining of the PA leaves legacies that are likely to shape future diplomacy. Some observers argue variously that the previous Administration's withdrawal from the PA (1) reduced U.S. standing in the world by making the United ttps://crsr

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