Recognizing the significant impact and legacy of Cecil Corbin-Mark in the environmental justice community and further recognizing that climate change most severely impacts vulnerable and disadvantaged communities in the United States and around the world, and that it is the responsibility of the United States Government to work with its global partners to promote environmental justice.
H. Res. 347 is a House resolution introduced on April 24, 2025, by Representative Espaillat. It honors Cecil Corbin-Mark and his work in the environmental justice community, and it emphasizes that climate change most severely affects vulnerable and disadvantaged communities both in the United States and globally. The resolution asserts that the United States has a responsibility to work with international partners to promote environmental and climate justice. While it expresses strong policy goals and diplomatic commitments, it does not create new legal rights or impose binding obligations; instead, it guides U.S. foreign policy posture, calls for leadership in global climate justice efforts, and urges multilateral action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support adaptation for frontline communities.
Key Points
- 1Recognizes Cecil Corbin-Mark’s impact in environmental justice and notes that climate change disproportionately harms vulnerable and disadvantaged communities worldwide; asserts U.S. responsibility to promote environmental and climate justice in partnership with global allies.
- 2Presents climate change as an existential, global threat and threat multiplier, contributing to droughts, floods, extreme weather, displacement, and resource conflicts; cites the Paris Agreement and its emphasis on human rights, health, indigenous rights, and climate justice.
- 3Emphasizes that mitigating and adapting to climate change must be global, with the United States acting as a leadership actor in the international community.
- 4Urges expanded international collaboration to prioritize climate adaptation for vulnerable and disadvantaged communities, highlighting that those most burdened are least responsible for the problem.
- 5Calls for inclusive, stakeholder-driven policy development across sectors such as agriculture, infrastructure, and health to address environmental justice and climate justice.
- 6Encourages all countries to pursue adaptation efforts centered on vulnerable communities and to engage diverse stakeholders in policy development.
- 7Calls for immediate multilateral action to drastically reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to mitigate climate change’s effects.