[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 769 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
107th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 769
To establish a carbon sequestration program and an implementing panel
within the Department of Commerce to enhance international
conservation, to promote the role of carbon sequestration as a means of
slowing the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and to
reward and encourage voluntary, pro-active environmental efforts on the
issue of global climate change.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
April 24, 2001
Mr. Brownback (for himself, Mr. Reid, Mr. Lugar, and Mr. DeWine)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To establish a carbon sequestration program and an implementing panel
within the Department of Commerce to enhance international
conservation, to promote the role of carbon sequestration as a means of
slowing the build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and to
reward and encourage voluntary, pro-active environmental efforts on the
issue of global climate change.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``International Carbon Conservation
Act''.
SEC. 2. CARBON SEQUESTRATION PROGRAM.
(a) Carbon Sequestration Program.--Within 180 days after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the implementing panel shall establish a
carbon sequestration program to permit project sponsors to make carbon
sequestration project proposals to the implementing panel.
(b) Implementing Panel.--There is established within the National
Institute of Standards and Technology of the Department of Commerce an
implementing panel consisting of--
(1) the Director of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology,
(2) the Secretary of Agriculture,
(3) the Secretary of State,
(4) the Secretary of Energy,
(5) the Chief of the Forest Service, and
(6) representatives of nongovernmental organizations who
have an expertise and experience in carbon sequestration
practices, appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture.
The Chief of the Forest Service shall act as chairperson of the
implementing panel.
(c) Carbon Sequestration Project.--For purposes of this section--
(1) In general.--The term ``carbon sequestration project''
means a project--
(A) which is located outside the United States,
(B) the duration of which is not less than 30
years,
(C) which is designed to increase the sequestration
of carbon, and
(D) which is accepted by the implementing panel
under the carbon sequestration program.
(2) Acceptance of project proposals.--
(A) In general.--Under the carbon sequestration
program, the implementing panel shall accept a proposal
for a carbon sequestration project from a project
sponsor only if--
(i) the proposal includes a needs
assessment described in subparagraph (B),
(ii) the proposal identifies the benefits
of carbon sequestration practices of the
sponsored project under criteria developed to
evaluate such benefits under subsection (d) and
under guidelines instituted to quantify such
benefits under subsection (e) and includes an
agreement by the sponsor to carry out such
practices as described in subparagraph (C), and
(iii) the proposal includes an agreement to
provide verification of compliance with an
approved project as described in subparagraph
(D) under standards established under
subsection (f).
(B) Needs assessment.--A needs assessment described
in this subparagraph is an assessment of the need for
the carbon sequestration project described in a
proposal and the ability of the project sponsor to
carry out the carbon sequestration practices related to
such project. The assessment shall be developed by the
project sponsor, in cooperation with the Agency for
International Development, nongovernmental
organizations, and independent third-party verifiers.
(C) Carbon sequestration practices.--Under a carbon
sequestration project proposal, the project sponsor
shall agree to contract with other entities, including
organizations based in the country in which the
sponsored carbon sequestration project is located, to
carry out carbon sequestration practices proposed by
the project sponsor which (as determined by the
implementing panel)--
(i) provide for additional carbon
sequestration beyond that which would be
provided in the absence of such project, and
(ii) contribute to a positive reduction of
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere through
carbon sequestration over at least a 30-year
period.
(D) Verification of compliance with approved carbon
sequestration project.--Under a carbon sequestration
project proposal, the project sponsor shall agree to
provide the implementing panel with verification
through a third party that such project is sequestering
carbon in accordance with the proposal approved by the
implementing panel, including an annual audit of the
project, an actual verification of the practices at the
project site every 5 years, and such random inspections
as are necessary.
(d) Criteria for Evaluating Benefits of Carbon Sequestration
Practices.--
(1) In general.--Under the carbon sequestration program the
Chief of the Forest Service, in consultation with other members
of the implementing panel, shall develop criteria for
prioritizing, determining the acceptability of, and evaluating, the
benefits of the carbon sequestration practices proposed in projects for
the purpose of determining the acceptability of project proposals.
(2) Content.--The criteria shall ensure that carbon
sequestration investment credits under section 45E of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 are not allocated to projects the
primary purpose of which is to grow timber for commercial
harvest or to projects which replace native ecological systems
with commercial timber plantations. Projects should be
prioritized according to--
(A) native forest preservation, especially with
respect to land which would otherwise cease to be
native forest land,
(B) reforestation of former forest land where such
land has not been forested for at least 10 years,
(C) biodiversity enhancement,
(D) the prevention of greenhouse gas emissions
through the preservation of carbon storing plants and
trees,
(E) soil erosion management,
(F) soil fertility restoration, and
(G) the duration of the project, including any
project under which other entities are engaged to
extend the duration of the project beyond the minimum
carbon sequestration project term.
(e) Guidelines for Quantifying Benefits.--
(1) In general.--Under the carbon sequestration program,
the Chief of the Forest Service, in consultation with other
members of the implementing panel, shall institute guidelines
for the development of methodologies for quantifying the amount
of carbon sequestered by particular projects for the purposes
of determining the acceptability of project proposals. These
guidelines should set standards for project sponsors with
regard to--
(A) methodologies for measuring the carbon
sequestered,
(B) measures to assure the duration of projects
sponsored,
(C) criteria that verifies that the carbon
sequestered is additional to the sequestration which
would have occurred without the sponsored project,
(D) reasonable criteria to evaluate the extent to
which the project displaces activity that causes
deforestation in another location, and
(E) the extent to which the project promotes
sustainable development in a project area, particularly
with regard to protecting the traditional land tenure
of indigenous people.
(2) Basis.--In developing the guidelines, the Chief of the
Forest Service shall--
(A) consult with land grant universities and
entities which specialize in carbon storage
verification and measurement, and
(B) use information reported to the Secretary of
Energy from projects carried out under the voluntary
reporting program of the Energy Information
Administration under section 1605 of the Energy Policy
Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13385).
(f) Verification Standards.--Under the carbon sequestration
program, the Director of the National Institute of Standards and
Technology, in consultation with other members of the implementing
panel and the National Science Foundation, shall establish verification
standards for purposes of subsection (c)(2)(D).
(g) Program Reporting.--The Administrator of the Energy Information
Administration, in consultation with the Secretary of Agriculture,
shall develop forms to monitor carbon sequestration improvements made
as a result of the program established under this section and the
implementing panel shall use such forms to report to the Administrator
on--
(1) carbon sequestration improvements made as a result of
the program,
(2) carbon sequestration practices of project sponsors
enrolled in the program, and
(3) compliance with the terms of the implementing panel's
approval of projects.
(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out the program
established under subsection (a).
SEC. 3. EXPORT-IMPORT BANK FINANCING.
An owner or operator of property that is located outside of the
United States and that is used in a carbon sequestration project
approved by the implementing panel under section 2 may enter into a
contract for an extension of credit from the Export-Import Bank of the
United States of up to 75 percent of the cost of carrying out the
carbon sequestration practices specified in the carbon sequestration
project proposal to the extent that the Export-Import Bank determines
that the cost sharing is appropriate, in the public interest, and
otherwise meets the requirements of the Export-Import Bank Act of 1945.
SEC. 4. EQUITY INVESTMENT INSURANCE.
An owner or operator of property that is located outside of the
United States and that is used in a carbon sequestration project
approved by the implementing panel under section 2 may enter into a
contract for investment insurance issued by the Overseas Private
Investment Corporation pursuant to section 234 of the Foreign
Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2194) if the Corporation determines
that issuance of the insurance is consistent with the provisions of
such section 234.
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