Prior to its leveeing and control structures, the Mississippi switched course roughly every 600 to 1,000 years, finding a more efficient route to the Gulf of Mexico as it filled with sediment. Over the course of its history, the Mississippi has had 6 Holocene delta complexes, including the most recent Atchafalaya. Each delta complex experiences stages of compaction, subsidence, and building. This delta switching, combined with the high sediment load (7th highest in the world), has resulted in the current ...

The post How Will Sediment Diversions Impact Fisheries? appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

Prior to its leveeing and control structures, the Mississippi switched course roughly every 600 to 1,000 years, finding a more efficient route to the Gulf of Mexico as it filled with sediment. Over the course of its history, the Mississippi has had 6 Holocene delta complexes, including the most recent Atchafalaya. Each delta complex experiences stages of compaction, subsidence, and building. This delta switching, combined with the high sediment load (7th highest in the world), has resulted in the current ...

The post How Will Sediment Diversions Impact Fisheries? appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

Prior to its leveeing and control structures, the Mississippi switched course roughly every 600 to 1,000 years, finding a more efficient route to the Gulf of Mexico as it filled with sediment. Over the course of its history, the Mississippi has had 6 Holocene delta complexes, including the most recent Atchafalaya. Each delta complex experiences stages of compaction, subsidence, and building. This delta switching, combined with the high sediment load (7th highest in the world), has resulted in the current ...

The post How Will Sediment Diversions Impact Fisheries? appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

Several Senate Republicans initiated efforts to reform the Endangered Species Act in ways that would roll back critical protections for wildlife, putting countless plants and animals at gr

Several Senate Republicans initiated efforts to reform the Endangered Species Act in ways that would roll back critical protections for wildlife, putting countless plants and animals at gr

By Charlie Jiang

Wikimedia Commons

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) effort to unravel critical clean air and climate protections is in full swing.

The EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) held a three-hour long public tele-hearing this week on President Trump’s agenda to unravel vital public health and environmental safeguards.

Held by phone only, in the middle of the workday, the hearing was scheduled to:

[S]olicit input on specific air and radiation actions that could be repealed, replaced or modified.

Under Administrator Scott Pruitt, a staggering asymmetry is underway at EPA that is a tremendous disservice to public health and the public good.

EPA adopted the clean air protections now under scrutiny by Scott Pruitt and his industry allies after years of scientific research and technical analysis, extensive public notice and comment, and thorough consideration.

Now, industry is trumpeting a “wish list” of these very safeguards, which they seek to discard.

As this week’s opaque teleconference demonstrated, Scott Pruitt is acting without meaningful public notice, comment, or hearing. This lack of transparency is consistent with what the New York Times called Pruitt’s “secretive” methods while Attorney General of Oklahoma.

We urge you to raise your voices and oppose this unprecedented attack on our bedrock public health and environmental safeguards. We urge you to make your voice heard by submitting public comments – by May 15, 2017 – on EPA’s docket, “Evaluation of Existing Regulations.”

That’s what my colleague, EDF’s Mandy Warner, and I tried to do during this week’s teleconference.

We urged EPA to preserve crucial protections that ensure our families have clean air to breathe.

I told the panel that I am deeply concerned by EPA’s efforts to unravel critical regulations that protect millions of Americans — including young people like me — from the dangerous effects of air pollution. Many of my peers across the country suffer from asthma, miss school because the air is too dirty for them to leave their house, or have lost family members due to toxic air pollution. (You can read my full testimony here)

Mandy’s comments reflected her concern for her two young daughters:

I asked my four-year-old the other night why she thought clean air was important and she said very simply, ‘so you can breathe.’ She’s right. And that’s what this stakeholder meeting should be all about – ensuring clean air so kids can breathe.

There is an endless pool of worry parents have to contend with already. We worry about how much fish is safe for our children to eat every week due to mercury pollution, what days we need to be careful about letting our children play outside due to smoggy air, and what serious challenges our children will face from runaway climate change.

Please don’t add to our worries by rolling back critical, lifesaving protections that can help ensure a healthier future for my children and children across America.

(You can read Mandy’s full testimony here)

Our remarks were sandwiched between aggressive statements from the Utility Air Regulatory Group (UARG), a group of coal-based power companies, and the American Petroleum Institute (API).

Both groups – along with other industry players – predictably advocated weakening or repealing such common sense, scientifically sound protections as the health-based 2015 national air quality standard for ground-level ozone (more commonly called smog), the 2016 New Source Performance Standards for methane pollution from oil and gas facilities, and the long-standing greenhouse gas reporting requirements that protect Americans’ right-to-know who is discharging large volumes of climate pollution.

While industry representatives attacked EPA’s climate and clean air safeguards, many other people raised their voices in support of the agency’s lifesaving mission to protect public health and the environment.

EPA heard from an American who lost a dear friend to a deadly asthma attack linked to smog. They heard from a Pittsburgh native — in the heart of steel country — who highlighted the now thriving city’s progression from pollution to prosperity, thanks to strong clean air protections. They heard from a New Yorker forced to leave the city to protect her family from toxic air that lingered in her old home and harmed her children.

Under President Trump and Scott Pruitt, this EPA is recklessly charting a collision course with the health of our communities, our families and our children. As Pruitt’s EPA moves to unravel vital clean air and climate safeguards, we at EDF will continue to stand up — alongside all of you — to fight for the health and safety of all Americans.

By Charlie Jiang

Wikimedia Commons

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) effort to unravel critical clean air and climate protections is in full swing.

The EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation (OAR) held a three-hour long public tele-hearing this week on President Trump’s agenda to unravel vital public health and environmental safeguards.

Held by phone only, in the middle of the workday, the hearing was scheduled to:

[S]olicit input on specific air and radiation actions that could be repealed, replaced or modified.

Under Administrator Scott Pruitt, a staggering asymmetry is underway at EPA that is a tremendous disservice to public health and the public good.

EPA adopted the clean air protections now under scrutiny by Scott Pruitt and his industry allies after years of scientific research and technical analysis, extensive public notice and comment, and thorough consideration.

Now, industry is trumpeting a “wish list” of these very safeguards, which they seek to discard.

As this week’s opaque teleconference demonstrated, Scott Pruitt is acting without meaningful public notice, comment, or hearing. This lack of transparency is consistent with what the New York Times called Pruitt’s “secretive” methods while Attorney General of Oklahoma.

We urge you to raise your voices and oppose this unprecedented attack on our bedrock public health and environmental safeguards. We urge you to make your voice heard by submitting public comments – by May 15, 2017 – on EPA’s docket, “Evaluation of Existing Regulations.”

That’s what my colleague, EDF’s Mandy Warner, and I tried to do during this week’s teleconference.

We urged EPA to preserve crucial protections that ensure our families have clean air to breathe.

I told the panel that I am deeply concerned by EPA’s efforts to unravel critical regulations that protect millions of Americans — including young people like me — from the dangerous effects of air pollution. Many of my peers across the country suffer from asthma, miss school because the air is too dirty for them to leave their house, or have lost family members due to toxic air pollution. (You can read my full testimony here)

Mandy’s comments reflected her concern for her two young daughters:

I asked my four-year-old the other night why she thought clean air was important and she said very simply, ‘so you can breathe.’ She’s right. And that’s what this stakeholder meeting should be all about – ensuring clean air so kids can breathe.

There is an endless pool of worry parents have to contend with already. We worry about how much fish is safe for our children to eat every week due to mercury pollution, what days we need to be careful about letting our children play outside due to smoggy air, and what serious challenges our children will face from runaway climate change.

Please don’t add to our worries by rolling back critical, lifesaving protections that can help ensure a healthier future for my children and children across America.

(You can read Mandy’s full testimony here)

Our remarks were sandwiched between aggressive statements from the Utility Air Regulatory Group (UARG), a group of coal-based power companies, and the American Petroleum Institute (API).

Both groups – along with other industry players – predictably advocated weakening or repealing such common sense, scientifically sound protections as the health-based 2015 national air quality standard for ground-level ozone (more commonly called smog), the 2016 New Source Performance Standards for methane pollution from oil and gas facilities, and the long-standing greenhouse gas reporting requirements that protect Americans’ right-to-know who is discharging large volumes of climate pollution.

While industry representatives attacked EPA’s climate and clean air safeguards, many other people raised their voices in support of the agency’s lifesaving mission to protect public health and the environment.

EPA heard from an American who lost a dear friend to a deadly asthma attack linked to smog. They heard from a Pittsburgh native — in the heart of steel country — who highlighted the now thriving city’s progression from pollution to prosperity, thanks to strong clean air protections. They heard from a New Yorker forced to leave the city to protect her family from toxic air that lingered in her old home and harmed her children.

Under President Trump and Scott Pruitt, this EPA is recklessly charting a collision course with the health of our communities, our families and our children. As Pruitt’s EPA moves to unravel vital clean air and climate safeguards, we at EDF will continue to stand up — alongside all of you — to fight for the health and safety of all Americans.

Written by Marcia G. Yerman

mark! Lopez and family

Environmental justice advocates may be feeling discouraged as they watch the Trump administration dissemble regulations piece by piece.

However, each year, the Goldman Environmental Prize winners remind us that activism can start with one person.

The 2017 awardee from North America is mark! Lopez, a 32-year-old community organizer from East Los Angeles.

Lopez, who received a Master’s from Cal State Northridge, came to his calling early. Raised in a family where his parents and grandparents were neighborhood advocates, he attended rallies and marches alongside them.

East Los Angeles is a frontline community that is oversaturated with industrial sites, heavily trafficked freeways, and emissions from port-related cargo transports. School, homes, and playgrounds are in immediate proximity.

In 2000, Exide Technologies took possession of a battery recycling plant in Vernon. The smelter, eight decades old, was made operative — skipping needed repairs and improvements. They used temporary permits and collected numerous violations.

The equivalent of forty truckloads of lead-acid car batteries per day was processed. Fumes included arsenic. Lead dust was pervasive — 7 million pounds were released into the air. Samples revealed lead to be at a “hazardous level.”

Children from the area were tested. Their blood had one hundred times above the health limit amount. Lead and children are a deadly combination. It is a neurotoxin that causes brain damage — as well as behavioral and learning issues.

When Lopez returned from college, his grandmother informed him that the Exide facility was still running.

In response, Lopez initiated an outreach campaign to educate his neighbors about lead contamination. He joined with the East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice (EYCEJ) to create a campaign raising awareness. Residents were urged to get free testing.

Two hundred homes were analyzed. Only three showed no lead. It became clear a wider assessment was needed.

At the state’s capital, Sacramento, Lopez testified on government panels. He pointed out the disparity in reaction time between the Exide scenario in East Los Angeles and the gas leak in Porter Ranch — an affluent community.

In April 2016, Gov. Jerry Brown approved $176 million to expand lead testing of 10,000 homes impacted by the Exide pollution, and a cleanup of the 2,500 homes found to have the highest hazardous levels of lead.

I reached out to Lopez to ask him about his work.

What are your thoughts on where the future of Environmental Justice stands in the Trump administration?

Regardless of who the president is, it is important to remember that movement starts at the grassroots. We began by knocking on doors and informing our community about Exide, and encouraging people to take action and fight for all of our health. If we start by working with our neighbors, soon enough we’ll organize our block. If we can organize our block, we can organize the blocks around us, and our communities. If we can organize our communities, we can connect with other organized communities and elevate the struggle. That is true no matter who is in office. We do not need to lose hope because change begins on the ground and becomes a movement when people come together.

What advice can you share with other parents concerned about their children?

There is no safe level of lead for children, and I fear for my daughters’ safety as any parent would. This fight is for my children, but also the entire area. When confronted with issues, we have to be the ones to stand up and advocate for ourselves and our neighbors. I grew up with a sense of community. I was taught that I needed to do well in school, not to ‘make it out,’ but so that I could contribute to my community.

I’m raising my daughters with the same ethics and world views that have been passed down for generations in my family and community. Most importantly, the struggles we start today are struggles our babies don’t have to start tomorrow.

For those who question the validity of individual or group action, it’s important to note:

Exide closed its Vernon plant in March of 2015, after a federal investigation into its operation.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of The Goldman Environmental Prize

" class="button medium" style="background-color: #ed3e2b; ">TELL CONGRESS: PROTECT EPA

Editor’s note: This post was updated on April 11, 2018.

Because I’m a scientist, politically-motivated public demonstrations are far outside of my comfort zone and actually against my nature.

I left academia to pursue scientific research that informs climate-related decision-making, but working for a science-based organization that’s committed to scientific integrity remains a requirement of mine. I have a strong desire to remain apolitical and a commitment to follow the data where it takes me, regardless of the outcome.

So it was out of character for me to join my life’s first politically driven march in Washington, D.C., in April 2017 – and to be gearing up for the next public protest a week later.

I’m a scientist and I don’t want my objective agenda to be fettered by any political agenda.

It’s why I didn’t attend the People’s Climate March in New York City in 2015, even though I lived in the area. And why I skipped this year’s Women’s March in Washington, although I now live outside D.C.

But something changed during the first several weeks of Trump’s presidency. Science was under attack, and this was not okay.

It crossed a line for me.

I originally became a scientist to make the world a better place, and I realized over the last few months that I could not stand idly by as science was rejected and threatened. As I watched fellow scientists and critical institutions crumble, I vowed to speak up.

As the 2017 March for Science drew closer, however, I found myself wrestling with a nagging question: Am I okay with politicizing science? Would I undermine my scientific credibility by involving myself in a political rally? 

Through that internal struggle I came to realize that while science itself is and remains apolitical, it is crucial for guiding policy. And therefore the protection and support for scientists and research institutions is what I would be marching for.

Ilissa and her husband Greg at the March for Science on April 22, 2017.

Even my scientist husband who stays away from politics even more than I do, woke up that Saturday and surprised me with his announcement that he would march, too.  

We joined tens of thousands in Washington in support of science because science answers important questions about the world around us, such as telling us that climate change is real, human-caused and an urgent challenge.

And we marched again a week later in the People’s Climate March – so that we can take that warning from science and urge the government to take action to address climate change.

See comments

I'm curious how comfortable you were marching in the People's Climate March. The mantra "System Change not Climate Change" promoted by the organizers of that march seems way out of step with EDF's practical, non-alarmist, and economically based approach to addressing the projected problems associated with climate change.

For the record: I am a skeptic (climate change denier if you prefer, and no, I am not a holocaust denier) about the extent of human influence on climate over the last century and the likely negative impacts of projected warming. I understand the concern of those who think it is both significant and dangerous even though I disagree. I utterly reject western Socialist fantasies that overthrowing the capitalist system will result in better outcomes for climate emissions -- or for anything else except the power of the elites in charge of everything.

For those who disagree, first address the comparative environmental record of any Socialist "people's republic" in history including the current extant ones. The contrast is stark and if environmental concerns about climate or anything else are a priority -- Socialism has historically demonstrated itself to be exactly the system not to embrace.

I do not see how it is possible to not be politically aligned with the popular “climate change” movement. Science has been hijacked to counter capitalism. I am a Richard Feynman fan. I can’t find anyone like him today. Not even Kip Thorne. The hate is so intense.

Written by Molly Rauch

Walmart is not just a superstore, it’s the tenth largest economic entity in the world, slightly larger than the economy of Spain. So when Walmart recently announced its commitment to help reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of its suppliers by one billion metric tons, it placed the company among the ranks of global economies taking major climate action.

Laura Phillips, Walmart Sustainability Executive

Laura Phillips, senior vice president of sustainability at Walmart, is one of the chief architects of this and other company sustainability efforts. A 22-year veteran of Walmart, Laura brings to her work not only deep corporate experience, but also her experience of being a mom to a ten-year-old and a 13-year-old. She also cares for two dogs, a cat, a hamster, and a horse at her Arkansas home.

Moms Clean Air Force recently spoke with Laura about Walmart’s efforts to improve its sustainability.

Moms Clean Air Force: What is your role with Walmart?

Laura Phillips: I lead our global sustainability efforts. We work on sustainability across the globe in all of our markets and in all areas of our business. We develop strategies for the company as well as some of the metrics and systems and processes to carry them out.

What does sustainability mean to Walmart?

We started to do work in this space about ten years ago. What we learned was that there was a lot we can do for the environment that’s also good for our business and good for our customers. When we think about sustainability it’s really about driving change that helps us to sustain our business as well as the communities, the customers, and the people that are dependent on us and that we depend on.

How does being a mother impact your work?

My two kids are very aware of environmental issues. They learn about it in school and care deeply about what’s happening in the environment. They want to know, what are we doing about it as their parents? They also want to know what Walmart is doing about it as a business. It’s a regular conversation in my house around issues like recycling, animal welfare,  and water and air quality. They hold me accountable for making sure we are doing the work.

Does your work in sustainability change the way that you parent? Have you brought home any of the lessons that you are learning at work?

Once you learn about some of these issues and challenges, it’s hard not to be personally motivated to do your part. I feel that as well. One that has been on my mind recently is food waste. In our house, to be honest, we hadn’t been paying attention to it. But the more I worked on it in the business and really understood it and really saw the challenges there, I’ve brought that one home and we are definitely starting to be more aware about that one.

Talk about Walmart’s initiatives to protect children from toxic chemicals.

Several years ago we started to identify high priority chemicals and begin to remove them with our suppliers. We targeted products in the personal care and cleaning categories, and we worked with our suppliers to reduce those high priority chemicals and replace them with products that are just as effective but don’t have those same health concerns. Last July,  we announced that we achieved a 95% reduction by weight of those initial chemicals that we were targeting. That’s a big step, but there’s more to do. This is something that is really important to our customers.

What is Project Gigaton?

Walmart has made commitments to reducing our carbon dioxide emissions for more than ten years and we have delivered a lot of good results through that. We are now at about 25% renewable energy in our own operations, and we’ve worked hard also on our energy intensity in our stores and clubs and facilities around the world. We are starting to now take that into our supply chain and work with our suppliers to challenge them on what they’re doing to reduce emissions in the products that they sell to us.

We looked at key areas in our stores like energy efficiency, renewable energy, food waste, deforestation, and agriculture. But what if we got more suppliers participating in these kinds of programs? What if we took our suppliers and asked them to make a similar commitment to what we are already doing internally? When we added those things together, and looked at that cumulative impact through 2030 – we realized that the total potential reductions adds up to about a gigaton.*

So that’s our challenge to our suppliers. We are challenging them to sign up alongside Walmart in reducing emissions by one gigaton.

A gigaton* is actually possible?

Yes. We have done the math and we know which suppliers to call. We are talking to them. We also know what activities and projects can have the largest impact. Agriculture is a big one. We have lots of work that we can do together with our suppliers on this. If we use less fertilizer, for example, on row crops and cereals, that’s good for the climate and it’s also good for water quality.

Do you have advice for moms who are interested in reducing the carbon emissions of their family?

Always shop at Walmart! Just kidding… But actually, we just completed some work on this and it turns out that going to a one stop shop on your way home from work and buying everything you can there, is a really efficient way to shop.

When you inform moms and challenge them to think about issues and make small changes of their own in their own household, and then to talk to their children about it – I think it’s just great. There’s so many small changes that we can make that can really help make a difference for future generations.

* A gigaton is one billion tons of carbon dioxide – the equivalent of one year’s emissions from more than 211 million cars. There were 260 registered cars in the US in 2014.

" class="button medium" style="background-color: #ed3e2b; ">TELL YOUR SENATOR: PROTECT OUR HEALTH FROM AIR AND CLIMATE POLLUTION

Welcome to another episode of Delta Dispatchers with hosts Simone Maloz & Jacques Hebert. On this episode of Delta Dispatches, Simone and Jacques speak to a couple of great guests about coastal restoration with Amanda Moore and Arthur Johnson. First, Simone speaks with Amanda Moore, Deputy Director of the National Wildlife Federation Mississippi River Delta Restoration Program, to talk with Simone about the restoration of the Gulf Coast. Then Arthur Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of the Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement ...

The post Delta Dispatches Podcast – New Orleans, A Coastal City appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

Welcome to another episode of Delta Dispatchers with hosts Simone Maloz & Jacques Hebert. On this episode of Delta Dispatches, Simone and Jacques speak to a couple of great guests about coastal restoration with Amanda Moore and Arthur Johnson. First, Simone speaks with Amanda Moore, Deputy Director of the National Wildlife Federation Mississippi River Delta Restoration Program, to talk with Simone about the restoration of the Gulf Coast. Then Arthur Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of the Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement ...

The post Delta Dispatches Podcast – New Orleans, A Coastal City appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

Welcome to another episode of Delta Dispatchers with hosts Simone Maloz & Jacques Hebert. On this episode of Delta Dispatches, Simone and Jacques speak to a couple of great guests about coastal restoration with Amanda Moore and Arthur Johnson. First, Simone speaks with Amanda Moore, Deputy Director of the National Wildlife Federation Mississippi River Delta Restoration Program, to talk with Simone about the restoration of the Gulf Coast. Then Arthur Johnson, Chief Executive Officer of the Lower 9th Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement ...

The post Delta Dispatches Podcast – New Orleans, A Coastal City appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

By Namrita Kapur

As the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) blog series “Mission Possible: How Foundations Are Shaping the Future of Impact Investing” rightly states, there are increasingly innovative ways for philanthropic money to play a more strategic role in capital markets to advance social and environmental progress.

New @SSIR series shows philanthropic leaders shaping a more strategic future in impact investing….
Click To Tweet

Like the thoughtful foundation leaders contributing their perspectives to this series, we at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) continue to evaluate, evolve and articulate our own sustainable finance strategies. And, over the past several years, we have become ever more convinced that leveraging the power of financial markets is core to delivering on the ambitious goals we laid out in our Blueprint 2020 strategic plan. This is because we know that the amount of philanthropic and public sector resources deployed to addressing our key issues is a small fraction of the total capital needed. We, therefore, must tap into the influence, expertise and capital of the private sector and the financial markets that direct those capital flows to be successful in our efforts.

EDF is a proven leader within the environmental community in working with the financial sector to drive progress on key issues. Over the past several years, EDF initiatives have raised the bar for environmental management across the private equity (PE) industry through pioneering partnerships with KKR, Carlyle, and Oak Hill Capital, delivered healthier air to millions of New York City residents by empowering building owners and operators to invest in nearly 6,000 heating oil conversions through NYC Clean Heat, and accelerated the transition to sustainable fisheries management by providing loans totaling over $4.2 million to support California Fisheries Fund borrowers.

EDF's work with financial partner @KKR_Co improved air quality through investments in energy…
Click To Tweet

Building on this successful track record, we are now introducing a robust three-part sustainable finance strategy that complements the amazing work of foundations profiled in the series:

EDF’s Sustainable Finance Strategy:

1. Getting the rules right – We are working to advance policies and practices that improve transparency, reduce risks, and create clear incentives and price signals in order to design more efficient and effective markets for environmental investment opportunities.
2. Making engagement and investment easier – To spur new investment in environmental solutions, we must lower barriers and transaction costs. We are creating and promoting tools and resources that improve information flows, standardize complex projects, and build capacity in the marketplace.
3. Demonstrating returns – Environmental investments remain below the radar for many investors. We aim to connect private capital with priority environmental opportunities by working with partners on “lighthouse” or pilot transactions that demonstrate a strong investment case, mitigate risks, and deliver returns. In the process, we are creating new investment models for others to follow and take to scale.

Spurring investment in environmental solutions starts with a sustainable finance strategy
Click To Tweet

Keep an eye out for subsequent blogs from a range of EDF experts that will profile a few specific examples to showcase how this strategy is being put into action across EDF’s programmatic work. We look forward to collaborating with those who are working in this growing space!

By Namrita Kapur

As the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) blog series “Mission Possible: How Foundations Are Shaping the Future of Impact Investing” rightly states, there are increasingly innovative ways for philanthropic money to play a more strategic role in capital markets to advance social and environmental progress.

New @SSIR series shows philanthropic leaders shaping a more strategic future in impact investing….
Click To Tweet

Like the thoughtful foundation leaders contributing their perspectives to this series, we at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) continue to evaluate, evolve and articulate our own sustainable finance strategies. And, over the past several years, we have become ever more convinced that leveraging the power of financial markets is core to delivering on the ambitious goals we laid out in our Blueprint 2020 strategic plan. This is because we know that the amount of philanthropic and public sector resources deployed to addressing our key issues is a small fraction of the total capital needed. We, therefore, must tap into the influence, expertise and capital of the private sector and the financial markets that direct those capital flows to be successful in our efforts.

EDF is a proven leader within the environmental community in working with the financial sector to drive progress on key issues. Over the past several years, EDF initiatives have raised the bar for environmental management across the private equity (PE) industry through pioneering partnerships with KKR, Carlyle, and Oak Hill Capital, delivered healthier air to millions of New York City residents by empowering building owners and operators to invest in nearly 6,000 heating oil conversions through NYC Clean Heat, and accelerated the transition to sustainable fisheries management by providing loans totaling over $4.2 million to support California Fisheries Fund borrowers.

EDF's work with financial partner @KKR_Co improved air quality through investments in energy…
Click To Tweet

Building on this successful track record, we are now introducing a robust three-part sustainable finance strategy that complements the amazing work of foundations profiled in the series:

EDF’s Sustainable Finance Strategy:

1. Getting the rules right – We are working to advance policies and practices that improve transparency, reduce risks, and create clear incentives and price signals in order to design more efficient and effective markets for environmental investment opportunities.
2. Making engagement and investment easier – To spur new investment in environmental solutions, we must lower barriers and transaction costs. We are creating and promoting tools and resources that improve information flows, standardize complex projects, and build capacity in the marketplace.
3. Demonstrating returns – Environmental investments remain below the radar for many investors. We aim to connect private capital with priority environmental opportunities by working with partners on “lighthouse” or pilot transactions that demonstrate a strong investment case, mitigate risks, and deliver returns. In the process, we are creating new investment models for others to follow and take to scale.

Spurring investment in environmental solutions starts with a sustainable finance strategy
Click To Tweet

Keep an eye out for subsequent blogs from a range of EDF experts that will profile a few specific examples to showcase how this strategy is being put into action across EDF’s programmatic work. We look forward to collaborating with those who are working in this growing space!

#OurCoast is an ongoing project by Restore the Mississippi River Delta to document the various ways the Mississippi River Delta has made an impact in the lives of Louisianians and others. Sometimes, I find it really hard to be an earth scientist and live in New Orleans – and not just because we don't have any local rocks to speak of. Rather, I find myself overwhelmed as my work can inundate me with new facts and projections about the vulnerability ...

The post #OurCoast: Faith, Science, and Sea Level Rise appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.

#OurCoast is an ongoing project by Restore the Mississippi River Delta to document the various ways the Mississippi River Delta has made an impact in the lives of Louisianians and others. Sometimes, I find it really hard to be an earth scientist and live in New Orleans – and not just because we don't have any local rocks to speak of. Rather, I find myself overwhelmed as my work can inundate me with new facts and projections about the vulnerability ...

The post #OurCoast: Faith, Science, and Sea Level Rise appeared first on Restore the Mississippi River Delta.