text: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
  
      This Act may be cited as the ``International Clean Development 
  Technology Fund Act of 2008''.
  
  SEC. 2. PURPOSE.
  
      The purpose of this Act is to promote and to leverage private 
  financing for the development and international deployment of 
  technologies that will contribute to sustainable economic growth and 
  the stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at 
  a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with 
  the climate system.
  
  SEC. 3. INTERNATIONAL CLEAN DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGY FUND.
  
      (a) Establishment.--There is established in the Treasury of the 
  United States a fund to be known as the International Clean Development 
  Technology Fund (in this Act referred to as the ``Fund'').
      (b) Deposits to Fund.--The Fund shall consist of--
              (1) amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of 
          appropriations under section 8; and
              (2) any amounts as are or may be appropriated, transferred, 
          or credited to such Fund under any other provisions of law.
      (c) Expenditures From Fund.--Amounts in the Fund shall be available 
  to the International Clean Development Technology Deployment Board 
  established under section 4 for the purposes described under section 5, 
  and shall remain available until expended.
  
  SEC. 4. INTERNATIONAL CLEAN DEVELOPMENT TECHNOLOGY BOARD.
  
      (a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date of the 
  enactment of this Act, the President shall establish an International 
  Clean Development Technology Board (in this Act referred to as the 
  ``Board'').
      (b) Composition.--The Board shall be composed of--
              (1) the Secretary of State, who shall act as the chair of 
          the Board;
              (2) the Secretary of the Treasury;
              (3) the Secretary of Energy;
              (4) the Secretary of Commerce;
              (5) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection 
          Agency;
              (6) the Administrator of the United States Agency for 
          International Development;
              (7) the United States Trade Representative; and
              (8) other officials as determined appropriate by the 
          President.
      (c) Administration of International Clean Development Technology 
  Fund.--The Board shall administer the International Clean Development 
  Technology Fund ensuring that--
              (1) funds are deployed in a manner that best promotes the 
          participation of, and investments by, the private sector;
              (2) funds are allocated in a manner consistent with 
          commitments by the United States under international climate 
          change agreements;
              (3) funds achieve the greatest greenhouse gas emissions 
          mitigations with the lowest possible cost, consistent with 
          paragraphs (1) and (2); and
              (4) assistance is targeted at reducing or eliminating the 
          increased costs associated with deploying clean technologies in 
          place of traditional technologies.
  
  SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE.
  
      (a) Assistance.--The Board, acting through the Secretary of State, 
  may use the Fund to provide assistance under this section to qualified 
  entities to support the purposes of this Act.
      (b) Form of Assistance.--
              (1) In general.--Assistance under this section shall be 
          provided--
                      (A) as direct assistance in the form of grants, 
                  concessional loans, cooperative agreements, contracts, 
                  insurance, or loan guarantees to or with qualified 
                  entities;
                      (B) as indirect assistance to such entities 
                  through--
                              (i) funding for international clean 
                          technology funds supported by multilateral 
                          institutions;
                              (ii) support from development and export 
                          promotion assistance programs of the United 
                          States Government; or
                              (iii) support from international technology 
                          programs of the Department of Energy; or
                      (C) in such other forms as the Board may determine 
                  appropriate.
              (2) Oversight by secretary of the treasury of assistance 
          for multilateral trust funds.--In the case of assistance 
          provided under paragraph (1)(B)(i) for a clean technology fund 
          or similar fund that is a multilateral trust fund based at the 
          World Bank, the Secretary of the Treasury shall use the voice, 
          vote, and influence of the United States to promote--
                      (A) the use of the assistance in accordance with 
                  the purposes of this Act; and
                      (B) a requirement that no single country be 
                  eligible to receive more than 15 percent of the funds 
                  awarded by such a fund in any three year period.
      (c) Use of Funds.--Assistance provided under this Act may be used 
  for one or more of the following purposes:
              (1) Funding for capacity building programs, including--
                      (A) developing and implementing methodologies and 
                  programs for measuring and quantifying greenhouse gas 
                  emissions and verifying emissions mitigations;
                      (B) assessing technology and policy options for 
                  greenhouse gas emissions mitigations; and
                      (C) providing other forms of technical assistance 
                  to facilitate the qualification for, and receipt of, 
                  program funding under this Act.
              (2) Funding for technology programs to mitigate greenhouse 
          gas emissions in eligible countries.
      (d) Qualified Entities.--A qualified entity referred to in this 
  section is--
              (1) the national government of an eligible country;
              (2) a regional or local governmental unit of an eligible 
          country; or
              (3) a nongovernmental organization or a private entity 
          located or operating in an eligible country.
      (e) Selection of Projects.--
              (1) In general.--The Board shall be responsible for 
          selecting qualified entities to receive assistance under this 
          section.
              (2) Notice and wait requirement.--Assistance may not be 
          provided under this section until 30 days after the Board 
          notifies the appropriate congressional committees of the 
          proposed assistance, including--
                      (A) in the case of a capacity building program--
                              (i) a description of the capacity building 
                          program to be funded through such assistance;
                              (ii) the terms and conditions of such 
                          assistance; and
                              (iii) a description of how the capacity 
                          building program will contribute to the 
                          purposes of this Act; or
                      (B) in the case of a technology program--
                              (i) a description of the technology program 
                          to be funded through such assistance;
                              (ii) the terms and conditions of such 
                          assistance;
                              (iii) an estimate of the additional amount 
                          of greenhouse gas emissions mitigations 
                          expected due to the use of such assistance; and
                              (iv) a description of how the technology 
                          program will contribute to the purposes of this 
                          Act.
      (f) Participation by Governmental Entities.--In providing 
  assistance under this Act to a national government or to a regional or 
  local governmental unit, the Board should require as a condition of the 
  assistance that such governmental entity make appropriate financial 
  contributions to the budget of the project being funded, and that the 
  project be part of an overall national, regional, or local strategy for 
  the deployment of clean technology.
  
  SEC. 6. ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES.
  
      (a) Determination by the President.--The Board shall determine 
  whether a country is eligible for technology program assistance under 
  this Act based on the criteria in subsection (b).
      (b) Criteria.--A country shall be considered to be eligible for 
  purposes of this Act if--
              (1) the country is eligible to receive official development 
          assistance according to the guidelines of the Development 
          Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Co-
          operation and Development; and
              (2)(A) the country has made a binding commitment, pursuant 
          to an international agreement to which the United States is a 
          party, to undertake actions to produce measurable, reportable, 
          and verifiable greenhouse gas emissions mitigations; or
              (B) the Board determines and certifies to the appropriate 
          congressional committees that the country has in force binding 
          national policies and measures capable of producing measurable, 
          reportable, and verifiable greenhouse gas emissions 
          mitigations.
      (c) Report.--Not later than 270 days after the date of the 
  enactment of this Act, the Board shall submit to the appropriate 
  congressional committees a report outlining the criteria to be used to 
  determine whether a country is eligible for assistance under this Act 
  pursuant to subsection (b)(2)(B).
  
  SEC. 7. ANNUAL REPORT.
  
      (a) In General.--Not later than one year after the date of the 
  enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the Board shall submit 
  to the appropriate congressional committees a report on assistance 
  provided under this Act.
      (b) Content.--Each report submitted under subsection (a) shall 
  include a description of assistance provided during the reporting 
  period, including--
              (1) the aggregate amount of assistance provided for 
          capacity building initiatives and technology deployment 
          initiatives; and
              (2) a description of each initiative funded through such 
          assistance, including the amount of assistance provided, the 
          terms and conditions of such assistance, and the anticipated 
          reductions in greenhouse gas emissions to be achieved as a 
          result of technology deployment initiatives.
      (c) Performance Evaluations of Supported Multilateral Trust 
  Funds.--The reports submitted under subsection (a) shall provide for 
  the independent evaluation, not less frequently than once every three 
  years, of the performance of each international clean technology fund 
  provided assistance pursuant to section 5(b)(1)(B)(i).
  
  SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
  
      There is authorized to be appropriated a total of $2,000,000,000 
  for fiscal years 2009 through 2011 to carry out this Act.
  
  SEC. 9. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.
  
      In this Act, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
  means--
              (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations, the Committee on 
          Finance, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the 
          Committee on Environment and Public Works, and the Committee on 
          Appropriations of the Senate; and
              (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Committee on Ways 
          and Means, the Committee on Energy and Commerce, the Committee 
          on Natural Resources, the Committee on Financial Services, and 
          the Committee on Appropriations of the House of 
          Representatives.
  
  SEC. 10. CONSTRUCTION; AUTHORITIES OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE.
  
      Nothing in this Act shall be construed to alter or affect 
  authorities of the Secretary of State under--
              (1) title V of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, 
          Fiscal Year 1979 (Public Law 95-426; 22 U.S.C. 2656a et seq.); 
          or
              (2) section 622(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 
          (22 U.S.C. 2382(c)).
target: International Clean Development Technology Fund Act of 2008 - Establishes in the Treasury the International Clean Development Technology Fund to provide assistance to qualified entities for: (1) capacity building programs such as greenhouse gas emissions measuring and related technology and policy assessments; and (2) greenhouse gas emissions mitigation in eligible countries.
feat_title: A bill to promote the international deployment of clean technology, and for other purposes.