S 3273 ISCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To promote the international deployment of clean technology, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

July 16, 2008CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Mr. BIDEN (for himself, Mr. LUGAR, Mr. MENENDEZ, and Mr. HAGEL) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign RelationsCommentsClose CommentsPermalink

To promote the international deployment of clean technology, and for other purposes.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘International Clean Development Technology Fund Act of 2008’.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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’).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Deposits to Fund- The Fund shall consist of--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) amounts appropriated pursuant to the authorization of appropriations under section 8; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) any amounts as are or may be appropriated, transferred, or credited to such Fund under any other provisions of law.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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’).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Composition- The Board shall be composed of--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) the Secretary of State, who shall act as the chair of the Board;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) the Secretary of the Treasury;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) the Secretary of Energy;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) the Secretary of Commerce;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(5) the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(6) the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(7) the United States Trade Representative; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(8) other officials as determined appropriate by the President.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Administration of International Clean Development Technology Fund- The Board shall administer the International Clean Development Technology Fund ensuring that--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) funds are deployed in a manner that best promotes the participation of, and investments by, the private sector;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) funds are allocated in a manner consistent with commitments by the United States under international climate change agreements;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) funds achieve the greatest greenhouse gas emissions mitigations with the lowest possible cost, consistent with paragraphs (1) and (2); andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(4) assistance is targeted at reducing or eliminating the increased costs associated with deploying clean technologies in place of traditional technologies.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Form of Assistance-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- Assistance under this section shall be provided--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) as direct assistance in the form of grants, concessional loans, cooperative agreements, contracts, insurance, or loan guarantees to or with qualified entities;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) as indirect assistance to such entities through--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) funding for international clean technology funds supported by multilateral institutions;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) support from development and export promotion assistance programs of the United States Government; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iii) support from international technology programs of the Department of Energy; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) in such other forms as the Board may determine appropriate.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(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--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) the use of the assistance in accordance with the purposes of this Act; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(c) Use of Funds- Assistance provided under this Act may be used for one or more of the following purposes:CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) Funding for capacity building programs, including--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) developing and implementing methodologies and programs for measuring and quantifying greenhouse gas emissions and verifying emissions mitigations;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) assessing technology and policy options for greenhouse gas emissions mitigations; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(C) providing other forms of technical assistance to facilitate the qualification for, and receipt of, program funding under this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) Funding for technology programs to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in eligible countries.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(d) Qualified Entities- A qualified entity referred to in this section is--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) the national government of an eligible country;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) a regional or local governmental unit of an eligible country; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(3) a nongovernmental organization or a private entity located or operating in an eligible country.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(e) Selection of Projects-CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) IN GENERAL- The Board shall be responsible for selecting qualified entities to receive assistance under this section.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(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--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(A) in the case of a capacity building program--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) a description of the capacity building program to be funded through such assistance;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) the terms and conditions of such assistance; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iii) a description of how the capacity building program will contribute to the purposes of this Act; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(B) in the case of a technology program--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(i) a description of the technology program to be funded through such assistance;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(ii) the terms and conditions of such assistance;CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iii) an estimate of the additional amount of greenhouse gas emissions mitigations expected due to the use of such assistance; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(iv) a description of how the technology program will contribute to the purposes of this Act.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Criteria- A country shall be considered to be eligible for purposes of this Act if--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(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; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(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; orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(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).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(b) Content- Each report submitted under subsection (a) shall include a description of assistance provided during the reporting period, including--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) the aggregate amount of assistance provided for capacity building initiatives and technology deployment initiatives; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(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).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

SEC. 9. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.

In this Act, the term ‘appropriate congressional committees’ means--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(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; andCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(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.CommentsClose CommentsPermalink

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--CommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(1) title V of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act, Fiscal Year 1979 (Public Law 95-426; 22 U.S.C. 2656a et seq.); orCommentsClose CommentsPermalink





(2) section 622(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2382(c)).CommentsClose CommentsPermalink