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Congressman Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona) introduced climate change legislation denominated H.R. 5435 and titled:
American Public Lands and Water Climate Solution Act (“Bill”)
Congressman Grijalva is Chairman of the United States House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee.
The Bill contains provisions which would require the United States Department of Interior (“DOI”) and United States Forest Service (“USFS”) to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from public lands and waters by 2040.
The Bill includes requirements such as:
- Pausing all new federal fossil fuel leasing for a minimum of one year which would allow DOI to develop a comprehensive emission reduction strategy
- Leasing would only resume after DOI finds that it would be consistent with reaching net-zero by 2040
- Requiring DOI and USFS to meet certain climate pollution reduction targets at specific levels starting in 2025
- Requiring DOI and USFS to publish greenhouse gas reduction strategic plans every four years detailing how they would meet the pollution reduction targets
- Increasing the minimum royalty rate for onshore, coal, oil and gas from 12.5% to 18.75%
- Requiring U.S. Geological Survey (“USGS”) to track emissions from the development and combustion of oil, gas and coal produced on federal leases
- Requiring USGS to track emissions avoided by renewable energy generation on public lands, the amount of carbon absorbed by ecosystems on public lands, and any carbon dioxide captured and permanently sequestered on public lands
- Failing to meet climate reduction targets would prohibit new fossil fuel permits or leases being issued until compliance is reached
The Bill’s chances of passage in the United States Senate are presumably nonexistent.
A copy of the Bill can be downloaded here.
