text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``Energy and Climate Policy Act of 
  1999''.
  
  SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
  
      (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
              (1) although there are significant uncertainties 
          surrounding the science of climate change, human activities may 
          contribute to increasing global concentrations of greenhouse 
          gases in the atmosphere, which in turn may ultimately 
          contribute to global climate change beyond that resulting from 
          natural variability;
              (2) the characteristics of greenhouse gases and the 
          physical nature of the climate system require that any 
          stabilization of atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations must 
          be a long-term effort undertaken on a global basis;
              (3) since developing countries will constitute the major 
          source of greenhouse gas emissions early in the 21st century, 
          all nations must share in an effective international response 
          to potential climate change;
              (4) environmental progress and economic prosperity are 
          interrelated;
              (5) effective greenhouse gas management efforts depend on 
          the development of long-term, cost-effective technologies and 
          practices that can be developed, refined, and deployed 
          commercially in an orderly manner in the United States and 
          around the world;
              (6) in its present form as signed by the Administration, 
          the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention 
          on Climate Change fails to meet the minimum conditions of 
          Senate Resolution 98, 105th Congress, which was adopted by the 
          Senate on July 25, 1997, by a vote of 95-0;
              (7) the President has not submitted the Kyoto protocol to 
          the Senate for debate and advice and consent to ratification 
          under article II, section 2, clause 2 of the United States 
          Constitution and has indicated that the Administration has no 
          intention to do so in the foreseeable future, or to implement 
          any portion of the Kyoto protocol prior to its ratification in 
          the Senate.
      (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to strengthen provisions 
  of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13381 et seq.) to--
              (1) further promote voluntary efforts to reduce or avoid 
          greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency; and
              (2) focus Department of Energy efforts in this area.
  
  SEC. 3. OFFICE OF GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE.
  
      Section 1603 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13383) is 
  amended--
              (1) in the section heading, by striking ``DIRECTOR OF 
          CLIMATE PROTECTION'' and inserting ``OFFICE OF GLOBAL CLIMATE 
          CHANGE''; and
              (2) by striking the first sentence and inserting the 
          following:
      ``(a) Establishment.--There is established by this Act in the 
  Department of Energy an Office of Global Climate Change.
      ``(b) Function.--The Office shall serve as a focal point for 
  coordinating for the Secretary and Congress all departmental issues and 
  policies regarding climate change and related matters.
      ``(c) Director.--The Secretary shall appoint a director of the 
  Office, who--
              ``(1) shall be compensated at no less than level IV of the 
          Executive Schedule;
              ``(2) shall report to the Secretary; and
              ``(3) at the request of the Committees of the Senate and 
          House of Representatives with appropriation and legislative 
          jurisdiction over programs and activities of the Department of 
          Energy, shall report to Congress on the activities of the 
          Office.'';
              (3) in the second sentence, by striking ``The Director'' 
          and inserting the following:
      ``(d) Duties.--The Director''; and
              (4) in subsection (c) (as designated by paragraph (2)), by 
          striking paragraphs (2) and (3) and inserting the following:
              ``(2) participate, in cooperation with other federal 
          agencies, in the development and monitoring of domestic and 
          international policies for their effects on any kind of climate 
          change globally and domestically and on the generation, 
          reduction, avoidance, and sequestration of greenhouse gases;
              ``(3) develop and implement a balanced, scientifically 
          sound, nonadvocacy educational and informative public awareness 
          program on--
                      ``(A) potential global climate change, including 
                  any known adverse and beneficial effects on the United 
                  States and the economy of the United States and the 
                  world economy, taking into consideration whether those 
                  effects are known or expected to be temporary, long-
                  term, or permanent; and
                      ``(B) voluntary means and measures to mitigate or 
                  minimize significant adverse effects and, where 
                  appropriate, to adapt, to the greatest extent 
                  practicable, to climate change;
              ``(4) provide, consistent with applicable provisions of law 
          (including section 1605 (b)(3)), public assess to all 
          information on climate change, effects of climate change, and 
          adaptation to climate change;
              ``(5) promote and cooperate in the research, development, 
          demonstration, and diffusion of environmentally sound, cost-
          effective and commercially practicable technologies, practices 
          and processes that avoid, sequester, control, or reduce 
          anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases not controlled by 
          the Montreal Protocol for all relevant economic sectors, 
          including, where appropriate, the transfer of environmentally 
          sound, cost-effective and commercially practicable 
          technologies, practices, and processes developed with Federal 
          funds by the Department of Energy or any of its facilities and 
          laboratories to interested persons in the United States and to 
          developing country Parties to the United Nations Framework 
          Convention on Climate Change, and Parties thereto with 
          economies in transition to market-based economies, consistent 
          with, and subject to, any applicable Federal law, including 
          patent and intellectual property laws, and any applicable 
          contracts, and taking into consideration the provisions and 
          purposes of section 1608; and
              ``(6) have the authority to participate in the planning 
          activities of relevant Department of Energy programs.''.
  
  SEC. 4. NATIONAL INVENTORY AND VOLUNTARY REPORTING OF GREENHOUSE GASES.
  
      (a) Updating.--Section 1605 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (42 
  U.S.C. 13385) is amended--
              (1) by amending the second sentence of subsection (a) to 
          read as follows--
                      ``The Administrator of the Energy Information 
                  Administration shall annually update and analyze such 
                  inventory using available data, including beginning in 
                  calendar year 2001, information collected as a result 
                  of voluntary reporting under subsection (b). The 
                  inventory shall identify for calendar year 2001 and 
                  thereafter the amount of emissions reductions 
                  attributed to those reported under subsection (b).'';
              (2) by amending subsection (b)(1)(B) and (C) to read as 
          follows--
              ``(B) annual reductions or avoidance of greenhouse gas 
          emissions and sequestration and carbon fixation achieved 
          through any measures, including agricultural activities, 
          cogeneration, appliance efficiency, energy efficiency, forestry 
          activities that increase carbon sequestration stocks (including 
          the use of forest products), fuel switching, management of 
          grasslands and drylands, manufacture or use of vehicles with 
          reduced greenhouse gas emissions, methane recovery, ocean 
          seeding, use of renewable energy, chlorofluorocarbon capture 
          and replacement, and power plant heat rate improvement; and
              ``(C) reductions in, or avoidance of, greenhouse gas 
          emissions achieved as a result of voluntary activities 
          domestically, or internationally, plant or facility closings, 
          and State or Federal requirements.'';
              (3) by striking in the first sentence of subsection (b)(2) 
          the word ``entities'' and inserting ``persons or entities'' and 
          in the second sentence of such subsection, by inserting after 
          ``Persons'' the words ``or entities'';
              (4) by inserting in the second sentence of subsection 
          (b)(4) the words ``persons or'' before ``entity''; and
              (5) by adding after subsection (b)(4) the following new 
          paragraphs--
      ``(5) Recognition of voluntary reductions or avoided emissions of 
  greenhouse gases.--In order to encourage and facilitate new and 
  increased voluntary efforts on a continuing basis, particularly by 
  persons and entities in the private sector, to reduce global emissions 
  of greenhouse gases, including voluntary efforts to limit, control, 
  sequester, and avoid such emissions, the Secretary shall promptly 
  develop and establish, after an opportunity for public comment of at 
  least 60 days, a program of giving annual public recognition, beginning 
  not later than January 31, 2001, to all reporting persons and entities 
  demonstrating, pursuant to the voluntary collections and reporting 
  guidelines issued under this section, voluntarily achieved greenhouse 
  gases reductions, including such information reported prior to the 
  enactment of this paragraph. Such recognition shall be based on the 
  information certified, subject to 18 U.S.C. 1001, by such persons or 
  entities for accuracy as provided in paragraph 2 of this subsection. At 
  a minimum such recognition shall annually be published in the Federal 
  Register.
      ``(6) Changes in guidelines to improve accuracy and reliability.--
  The Secretary of Energy, through the Administrator of the Energy 
  Information Administration, shall conduct a review, which shall include 
  an opportunity for public comment, of what, if any, changes should be 
  made to the guidelines established under this section regarding the 
  accuracy and reliability of greenhouse gas reductions and related 
  information reported under this section. Any such review shall give 
  considerable weight to the voluntary nature of this section and to the 
  purpose of encouraging voluntary greenhouse gas emission reductions by 
  the private sector. Changes to be reviewed shall include the need for, 
  and the appropriateness of--
              ``(A) a random or other verification process using the 
          authorities available to the Administrator under other 
          provisions of law;
              ``(B) a range of reference cases for reporting of project-
          based activities in sectors, including, but not limited to, the 
          measures specified in subparagraph (1)(B) of this subsection, 
          and the inclusion of benchmark and default methodologies for 
          use in the reference cases for `greenfield' projects; and
              ``(C) provisions to address the possibility of reporting, 
          inadvertently or otherwise, of some or all of the same 
          greenhouse gas emissions reductions by more than one reporting 
          entity or person and to make corrections where necessary.
      The review should consider the costs and benefits of any such 
  changes, the impacts on encouraging participation in this section, 
  including by farmers and small businesses, and the need to avoid 
  creating undue economic advantages or disadvantages for persons or 
  entities of the private sector. The review should provide, where 
  appropriate, a range of reasonable options that are consistent with the 
  voluntary nature of this section and that will help further the 
  purposes of this section. The review should be available in draft form 
  for public comment at least 45 days before it is submitted to the 
  Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 
  Committee on Commerce of the House of Representatives. Such submittal 
  should be made by December 31, 2000. If the Secretary, in consultation 
  with the Administrator, finds, based on the study results, that such 
  changes are likely to be beneficial and cost effective in improving the 
  accuracy and reliability of reported greenhouse gas reductions and 
  related information, are consistent with the voluntary nature of this 
  section, and furthers the purposes of this section, the Secretary shall 
  propose and promulgate, consistent with such finding, such guidelines, 
  together with such findings. In carrying out the provisions of this 
  paragraph, the Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of 
  Agriculture and the Administrator of the Small Business Administration 
  to facilitate greater participation by small business and farmers in 
  this subsection for the purpose of addressing greenhouse gas emission 
  reductions and reporting such reductions.''.
              (6) in subsection (c), by inserting ``the Secretary of the 
          Department of Agriculture, the Secretary of the Department of 
          Commerce, the Administrator of the Energy Information 
          Administration, and'' before ``the Administrator''.
      (b) Guidelines.--The Secretary shall revise, after opportunity for 
  public comment, the guidelines issued under section 1605(b) of the 
  Energy Policy Act of 1992 to reflect the amendments made to such 
  section 1605(b) by subsection (a)(2) through (4) of this section not 
  later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act. Such 
  revised guidelines shall specify their effective date.
      (c) Effective Date.--The provisions of subsection (a) (5) and (6) 
  of this section shall be effective on the date of enactment of this 
  Act.
  
  SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.
  
      For the purpose of this Act and the provisions of the Energy Policy 
  Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13381, et seq.) amended by this Act, the 
  following terms are defined as follows:
              ``(1) Agricultural activity.--The term `agricultural 
          activity' means livestock production, cropland cultivation, 
          biogas recovery and nutrient management.
              ``(2) Climate change.--The term `climate change' means a 
          change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to 
          human activity which is in addition to natural climate 
          variability observed over comparable time periods.
              ``(3) Climate system.--The term `climate system' means the 
          totality of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and 
          geosphere and their interactions.
              ``(4) Greenhouse gases.--The term `greenhouse gases' means 
          those gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and 
  anthropogenic, that absorb and re-emit infrared radiation.
              ``(5) Greenhouse gas reduction.--The term `greenhouse gas 
          reduction' means 1 metric ton of greenhouse gas (expressed in 
          terms of carbon dioxide equivalent) that is voluntarily 
          certified to have been achieved under section 1605 of the 
          Energy Policy Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13385).
              ``(6) Greenhouse gas sequestration.--The term `greenhouse 
          gas sequestration' means extracting one or more greenhouse 
          gases from the atmosphere or an emissions stream through a 
          technological process designed to extract and isolate those 
          gases from the atmosphere or an emissions stream; or the 
          natural process of photosynthesis that extracts carbon dioxide 
          from the atmosphere and stores it as carbon in trees, roots, 
          stems, soils, foliage, and durable wood products.
              ``(7) Forest products.--The term `forest products' means 
          all products or goods manufactured from trees.
              ``(8) Forestry activity.--
                      ``(A) In general.--The term `forestry activity' 
                  means any ownership or management action that has a 
                  discernible impact on the use and productivity of 
                  forests.
                      ``(B) Inclusions.--Forestry activities include, but 
                  are not limited to, the establishment of trees on an 
                  area not previously forested, the establishment of 
                  trees on an area previously forested if a net carbon 
                  benefit can be demonstrated, enhanced forest management 
                  (e.g., thinning, stand improvement, fire protection, 
                  weed control, nutrient application, pest management, 
                  other silvicultural practices), forest protection or 
                  conservation if a net carbon benefit can be 
                  demonstrated, and biomass energy (using wood, grass or 
                  other biomass in lieu of fossil fuel).
                      ``(C) Exclusions.--The term `forest activity' does 
                  not include a land use change associated with--
                              ``(i) an act of war; or
                              ``(ii) an act of nature, including floods, 
                          storms, earthquakes, fires, hurricanes, and 
                          tornadoes.
              ``(9) Management of grasslands and drylands.--The term 
          `management of grasslands and drylands' means seeding, 
          cultivation, and nutrient management.
              ``(10) Ocean seeding.--The term `ocean seeding' means 
          adding nutrients to oceans to enhance the biological fixation 
          of carbon dioxide.''.
target: Revises requirements governing a national inventory and voluntary reporting of greenhouse gases.
  Instructs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) implement a program of giving annual public recognition in the Federal Register to persons and entities demonstrating voluntarily achieved greenhouse gas reductions; and (2) conduct a review of possible changes to the guidelines to improve the accuracy and reliability of greenhouse gas emission reductions.
feat_title: Energy and Climate Policy Act of 1999