Complete list of press releases

(WASHINGTON, DC – Dec. 6, 2018) The Trump administration released detailed plans today to roll back protections for the imperiled greater sage-grouse. The plans would open up the bird’s vital remaining sagebrush habitat to oil and gas development.  

“This move is simply short-sighted.

“A bipartisan coalition of western governors, industries, ranchers and conservationists came together with the federal government years ago in an unprecedented effort to protect sage-grouse habitat and keep the bird from being listed under the Endangered Species Act – an outcome everyone hoped to avoid.

“Ironically, what the Trump administration is proposing puts the sage-grouse on a path toward listing.

“Westerners know that energy development and conservation can co-exist. Just last week, new polling reaffirmed Wyomingites’ interest in preserving the sage-grouse plans. Women and men, old and young, hunters and anglers – all wanted to maintain the sage-grouse plans, expressly opposing reopening these lands to oil and gas production.”

• Mark Rupp, Director of Wildlife Campaign, Environmental Defense Fund

(Washington, D.C. – December 6, 2018) The Trump administration launched its latest attack on common sense protections against dangerous pollution today with a proposal to senselessly weaken climate pollution standards for new, modified, and reconstructed power plants.

“Today’s proposal would allow the construction of new coal plants without any meaningful climate pollution safeguards. It puts our health and our children’s future at risk for the benefit of a few of the worst polluters,” said EDF Senior Attorney Martha Roberts. “We are seeing more and more evidence that climate change is getting worse – at the same time that we’re seeing more states, utilities and businesses turn to clean, reliable and affordable energy solutions. Yet the Trump administration is taking us backwards, weakening protections we already have on the books.”

EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler issued the proposal today. It would severely weaken existing protections – and even questions whether carbon dioxide pollution from new power plants should be subject to any limits at all under the Clean Air Act.

Today’s proposal is the latest attack by the Trump administration on protections against dangerous pollution. The Trump EPA is also advancing a proposal to weaken our protections against mercury and other toxic pollution from existing power plants, trying to roll back pollution limits for cars and trucks, and undermining methane pollution standards for oil and gas facilities.

The proposal flies in the face of mounting evidence that we can, and must, make clean energy progress:

• A Trump administration report warns that natural disasters are worsening because of climate change
• New studies show world greenhouse gas levels are rising rapidly,
• Xcel Energy just announced that it will provide 100 percent carbon free electricity to its customers in eight Midwestern and Western states by 2050.

The Trump administration, meanwhile, is now requesting comment on whether EPA should completely eliminate any nationwide limit on carbon dioxide pollution from new coal-fired power plants.

EPA established our first-ever nationwide limits on carbon dioxide pollution from new, modified, and reconstructed fossil fuel-fired power plants in 2015.  As the Clean Air Act requires, EPA set the standards at levels that reflect the best demonstrated pollution controls – for new coal-fired power plants, this includes partial capture and storage of carbon dioxide pollution. These standards have been in full force and effect for more than three years, protecting all Americans from uncontrolled carbon dioxide pollution from new power plants. 

Today’s proposal would weaken the standards, and allow new coal-fired power plants to be built and operated without reducing their carbon dioxide pollution to any meaningful degree.

Today’s proposal ignores recent developments that demonstrate the reasonableness of the current standards for new coal-fired power plants:

• In December 2016, Petra Nova — a commercial-scale carbon capture project at NRG Energy’s W.A. Parish generating station in Texas — successfully started operation. Every day, Petra Nova captures as much carbon pollution as 350,000 cars emit in a day.
• For years, states across the country, such as Illinois and Montana, have applied policies to encourage or require new power plants to capture their carbon emissions.
• In February 2018, Congress passed tax credit legislation that opens up even more cost-effective opportunities for carbon capture and storage projects.

Legal challenges to the carbon dioxide pollution standards for new, modified, and reconstructed power plants have been in abeyance — or on pause — in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit since April 2017. Eight public health and environmental organizations, including EDF, have intervened to defend the standards, as have 18 states, the District of Columbia and the City of New York, and seven power companies.

Other supporters of the common-sense standards have filed amicus, or “friend of the court,” briefs – including a coalition of scientists in the field of carbon capture and storage, experts who study how government policy can drive innovation and cost savings, Saskatchewan Power Corporation – operator of Boundary Dam coal-fired power plant, a major carbon capture facility – and the Institute for Policy Integrity at NYU School of Law.

The Trump administration will accept public comment on today’s proposal for sixty days. 

Jan. 22 update: More than 50 companies, business groups and NGOs have now signed the declaration.

Environmental Defense Fund, the International Emissions Trading Association, and a group of more than 40 companies, business groups and non-governmental organisations today issued the Katowice Declaration on Sound Carbon Accounting.

Non-state actors are closely following the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process as Parties to the Paris Agreement prepare to finalize the guidance for its implementation, and developments under the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) on the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) are also underway. The declaration promotes sound carbon accounting, and urges countries to adopt robust rules to avoid double counting of emissions reductions under the Paris Agreement.

Avoiding the double counting of mitigation efforts in these programs is critical:  

1. For environmental integrity: Without strong rules to avoid double counting, including with CORSIA, we risk undermining the goals of the UNFCCC, the Paris Agreement, and CORSIA. 
2. For business certainty: To protect against financial and reputational risk, companies investing in mitigation require certainty that purchased emissions reductions will not be used twice.
3. For public confidence: If double-counting is allowed among UNFCCC Parties, or between them and CORSIA, that could undermine confidence among governments,  businesses, civil society, and other stakeholders that international institutions have the ability to guide the necessary climate action.

Through the Declaration companies, civil society and other non-state actors make clear our desire that all Parties agree strong rules at COP24 in Katowice, Poland that ensure all forms of double counting are avoided.
 
“All markets benefit from strong accounting to build investor confidence, but in the world of the Paris Agreement the delivery of the environmental objective absolutely depends on it,” said Dirk Forrister, IETA’s CEO.

“The Paris rules on carbon accounting should support international market linkages that lower costs, spur technology deployment and preserve competitiveness. These are all imperatives for business to scale-up climate action,” Forrister added.

“The wide range of companies and groups united in calling for clear accounting and transparency rules sends a strong message to the Parties meeting in Katowice: the Paris Agreement rulebook must include safeguards to prevent double counting,” said Nathaniel Keohane, Senior Vice President for Climate at Environmental Defense Fund. 

“Carbon markets offer enormous promise to enable deep, cost-effective cuts in climate pollution at a global scale – but only if basic accounting rules are in place, like a prohibition on counting the same ton of emissions reductions twice,” Keohane added.

If your company, business group or NGO would like to support the Declaration, please contact: Raul Arce-Contreras at rcontreras@edf.org and Alessandro Vitelli, vitelli@ieta.org.
 

(Denver, CO – December 4, 2018) Xcel Energy announced a sweeping commitment today to slash carbon dioxide pollution across the eight Midwestern and Western states where it operates.

Xcel has committed to reduce its carbon dioxide pollution by 80 percent by 2030 (from 2005 levels) and by 100 percent by 2050. The commitment to provide cost-effective and reliable clean energy covers all Xcel’s service region: Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas and Wisconsin.

“Xcel’s groundbreaking climate commitment is an act of true leadership. It is anchored in proven clean energy solutions that are already delivering healthier air, low cost electricity, major economic investments and jobs to local communities,” said Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund. “Ambitious efforts to slash carbon dioxide pollution are urgently needed. Xcel’s vision will help speed the day when the United States eliminates all such pollution from its power sector, which is necessary to seize the environmental and economic opportunity of powering cars, trucks, homes and businesses with cost-effective, zero-emitting electricity.”

Xcel’s commitment is industry-leading, and is consistent with the level of ambition needed from the electric power sector in order to mitigate climate-destabilizing pollution. Today’s commitment follows other recent steps the company has taken to transition to clean, reliable and affordable clean energy – including, in August, the Colorado Public Utility Commission’s approval of Xcel’s Colorado energy plan providing for the replacement of two old, high-polluting coal units in Pueblo, Colorado with more renewable energy and large scale storage.

The Colorado energy plan will sharply reduce dangerous mercury pollution, soot and smog in the Pueblo area, and will lead to a 60 percent reduction in climate pollution by 2025 across Xcel’s Colorado electric generating resources. At the same time, it will save Colorado customers $213 million from the lower costs of renewable power and savings on maintenance for the two retiring coal units, will help keep a major steel mill and its extensive manufacturing jobs in Pueblo, will provide a $2.5 billion investment in clean energy in eight Colorado counties, and will add numerous jobs statewide.

Today’s announcement reaches beyond Colorado and commits Xcel to reducing harmful carbon dioxide pollution across all eight states.

“Xcel’s commitment today promises to cut carbon dioxide pollution across a wide swath of the central U.S. It’s a huge step towards a future where we are safe from climate change, have clean air to breathe, and have the economic advantages – and jobs – that the deployment of clean energy will bring,” said Krupp.

(Washington, D.C. – December 3, 2018) Environmental Defense Fund and the Natural Resources Defense Council are suing the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency over the agency’s failure to release crucial materials relevant to its attack on America’s Clean Car Standards.

The groups filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York today seeking access to an internal EPA analysis tool that public records indicate would show the current standards can be achieved by automakers at a substantially lower cost than alleged in the current proposal.

“EPA’s ongoing and unlawful refusal to release these materials is just the latest example of this administration’s secrecy and lack of accountability to the American people,” said EDF attorney Ben Levitan. “The Clean Car Standards protect us from dangerous pollution while saving our hard-earned money at the gas pump. The public has a right to know about the flawed justifications the Trump administration is using in its attempts to weaken our clean car safeguards.”

“Impartial analysis shows that automakers can meet the clean car standards at a reasonable cost, saving drivers money at the pump,” said Pete Huffman, a lawyer at NRDC. “The obvious reason EPA would refuse to release the records of its analysis is that they would further undermine the already flimsy arguments for a rollback.”

The Clean Car Standards have been in effect since 2012. They reduce climate pollution, improve fuel efficiency and save American families money at the pump.

The Trump administration is trying to drastically weaken the standards. It released a formal proposal to roll them back this summer. That proposal is based on unfounded scientific and economic data, and some important materials have not been made available to the public.

EPA has long used a computer model to assess clean car protections, known as the OMEGA model. The agency updated and used this model recently – during the time it was working to undermine the Clean Car Standards. EPA never released the full results or underlying data of that computer model, and the formal proposal completely ignores its existence.

EDF and NRDC submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to obtain that computer model and related materials. The groups repeatedly asked the agency to release the information over many months but got no response. So today, they asked the court to intervene and pry the information from EPA.

You can read more about the extensive legal and technical flaws of the proposed Clean Car Standards rollback in these comments.

“President George Herbert Walker Bush will be remembered for a great many proud achievements and outstanding qualities. He knew that our country matters far more than political party or personal ambition, and that the national interest demands that we protect America’s precious natural heritage. And he knew that there is no inherent conflict between environmental progress and economic progress, because the well-being of the nation requires both.

“These insights led his administration to work closely with Environmental Defense Fund and lawmakers from both parties to secure passage of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990, which helped turn back the acid rain pollution that was devastating the lakes and forests of the northeastern United States.

“Thanks to President Bush, we don’t hear much about acid rain these days. That is because the cap-and-trade system he championed has been phenomenally effective in cutting the sulfur dioxide pollution that causes acid rain, reducing national average levels of that pollution by 88 percent since 1990.

“It was my privilege to work with President Bush and his team on that landmark bipartisan legislation as well as the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which his administration was essential in negotiating. As he said, ‘We know that the future of the earth must not be compromised. We bear a sacred trust in our tenancy here.’ President Bush’s legacy is enormous, and we have much to learn from it today.”

            - Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund

Read the Katowice Declaration on Sound Carbon Accounting

What: Environmental Defense Fund and International Emissions Trading Association will unveil a declaration from prominent environmental and corporate groups promoting sound carbon accounting, and urging countries to adopt robust rules to avoid double counting of emissions reductions under the Paris Agreement.

This event, taking place at the UK Pavilion at COP 24 in Katowice, is open to media with COP access and will feature a discussion on: the importance of avoiding double counting from an environmental and corporate perspective; the solutions for doing so; and the wider requirements for environmental integrity under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. There will be a 20-minute Q&A session at the end of the program and interviews with the speakers may be arranged.

Who:

• Dirk Forrister, International Emissions Trading Association
• Alex Hanafi, Environmental Defense Fund
• Hugh Salway, UK Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy
• Key market stakeholders

When: Wed. 5 Dec. 2018, 13:30 – 15:00 CET

Where: UK Pavilion (Stand NR12, Pavilion E, Ground Floor of the International Congress Center)

Why: The Paris Agreement is clear that double counting must be avoided to ensure that emission reductions are only counted once towards the achievement of its long-term temperature goal. Double counting would present a risk to the integrity of the Paris Agreement, including cooperative approaches under Article 6, and could undermine real-world activity to deliver its goals.

It is vital that countries deliver clear accounting guidance in Katowice, and that the Paris Agreement’s rulebook contains sufficient safeguards to prevent double counting within Parties’ NDCs, between Parties’ NDCs, and between the Paris Agreement and other activities that contribute to its goals, such as the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). The International Air Transport Association (IATA) issued a position 27 Nov. calling for the COP to deliver “robust rules on double-counting.”

RSVP: To RSVP and to receive an embargoed copy of the declaration that will be unveiled Wednesday, please contact Raul Arce-Contreras at rcontreras@edf.org.For more on the need to avoid double counting, including reports and analysis, please visit edf.org/cop24 and www.ieta.org/cop24.

(Pittsburgh, Pa. – November 29, 2018) A new report is providing more proof that Pennsylvania needs to act to protect the climate by putting a real and declining limit on carbon emissions.

The report was released this morning by a state legislature caucus  – just one day after a similar discussion in a Pennsylvania Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing on efforts to address climate change.

“It’s clear that Pennsylvania can, and must, set a declining limit on carbon emissions to protect families and communities across the state from the growing threat of climate change” said Andrew Williams, Director of Regulatory and Legislative Affairs for Environmental Defense Fund. “The federal government’s leadership on climate may be stalled for the moment, but other states are leading the way. Pennsylvania can – and should – step up and create a system with flexible, market-based solutions that will reduce climate pollution.”

Pennsylvania is the only state in the Northeast without a hard limit on carbon pollution from the power sector – or any plan to put one in place. Such a policy would drive cost-effective investment in zero-emission resources, and ensure that the Commonwealth is achieving necessary pollution reductions at the lowest cost.

The Trump administration has said it will withdraw the U.S. from the Paris climate accord, but Pennsylvania and other states can still work to meet the accord’s greenhouse gas emissions reduction goals of up to 28 percent below the 2005 level by 2025.

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) The world’s major oil and gas companies face a significant emissions risk within the industry’s vast web of joint ventures, according to a new analysis by Environmental Defense Fund. By not incorporating methane emitted by facilities they own but do not operate into their commitments to reduce global methane emissions, companies are leaving a crucial opportunity to reduce potent greenhouse gas emissions on the table.

The EDF paper, The Next Frontier: Managing Methane Risk from Non-Operated Assets, analyzes the so-called ‘non-operated assets’ (NOAs) of the eight publicly traded companies participating in the Oil & Gas Climate Initiative – BP, Chevron, Eni, ExxonMobil, Occidental, Repsol, Shell and Total. Oil and gas produced just by the eight companies’ NOAs accounts for fully one-fifth of world production.

“Non-operated assets account for up to two-thirds of the companies’ production, but they’re not included in most of their pledges to reduce methane emissions,” said the report’s lead author Isabel Mogstad, a methane mitigation expert with EDF+Business and former management consultant at Schlumberger. “Expanding those commitments to include the assets they own but do not operate would increase the coverage of their commitments by three- to five-fold.”

For example, BP operated 1.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent (BOE) in 2017, but was a partner on assets producing over 5.5 billion BOE – almost 10 percent of global production. Shell operated 2.5 percent of global production, but partnered on assets representing almost eight percent. ExxonMobil operated three percent of global production, but was a partner on nine percent of global production.

Companies in the Spotlight

Industry commitments to reduce methane emissions have accelerated among both publicly traded and state-owned producers. Earlier this year, for example, BP, ExxonMobil and Shell announced individual methane targets. In September, all 13 members of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative pledged to reduce collective methane emissions from oil and gas operations to 0.25% of production by 2025.

The new EDF analysis is particularly important as industry, investors and regulators step up focus on methane, a potent greenhouse gas responsible for a quarter of the warming we experience today. As stakeholders scrutinize carbon footprints, a growing fleet of satellites (including EDF’s MethaneSAT) is bringing new visibility into higher emitting projects and geographies.

“Methane itself is invisible, but new technologies are making it a lot easier to see where it’s coming from,” said Mogstad. “Companies that fail to account for NOA emissions in their own reporting may find that stakeholders will soon have the means to fill in the blanks themselves.”

Unique Leverage

72 percent of NOA production by OGCI members comes from assets operated by non-OGCI companies. These include large national oil companies like Qatar Petroleum, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, and Sonatrach. Non-operating companies may be able to influence their joint venture partners in ways others may not. The 10 largest NOAs account for a quarter of the companies’ total NOA production, which means big benefits could be achieved by focusing on a relatively small number of assets.

As oil and gas companies design and implement strategies to manage methane emissions from non-operated assets, EDF recommends three initial steps:

• Identify key partners. A significant portion of non-operated production owned by the eight companies studied is concentrated among a few key assets and partners. These companies can achieve significant methane reductions by focusing on management practices of these key assets and partners.

• Leverage joint ventures. Governance structures already exist for Health, Safety & Environment (HSE) management through joint venture agreements. If harnessed appropriately with the help of joint venture experts, they can be effective channels for spreading methane mitigation strategy to non-operated assets.

• Gather data and information. Managing methane risk from non-operated assets requires reliable information regarding emissions, and concrete strategies to monitor and reduce them. Companies aiming to reduce emissions from non-operated assets can start by assessing data availability and gaps.

While there are strict accounting requirements for financial reporting on joint ventures, standardization has not yet crossed over to HSE reporting, esp­­ecially for methane. For example, only two of the eight companies analyzed, BP and ExxonMobil, report methane emissions associated with all of their holdings, rather than just company-operated assets.

Capitalizing on this opportunity is a critical challenge. Unless industry’s overall methane emissions are minimized, the role of natural gas in a low-carbon economy is at risk. According to the International Energy Agency, “the role that natural gas can play in the future of global energy is inextricably linked to its ability to help address environmental problems,” including air, water and climate pollution.

(Washington, D.C. – November 28, 2018) Today Congressmen Ted Deutch (D-FL), Francis Rooney (R-FL), John Delaney (D-MD), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Charlie Crist (D-FL) introduced the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act.

The following is a statement on the bill from Nat Keohane, Senior Vice President, Climate, Environmental Defense Fund:

"The National Climate Assessment lays bare the economic, health, and security threats we face from a changing climate, and the urgent need for solutions. The Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act adds to the growing chorus of support, on and off the Hill, for meaningful action to protect our country and the planet.

"This new legislation establishes strong pollution reduction goals and harnesses the power of the market, letting businesses choose for themselves how to cut pollution. The bill is also designed to drive investment and innovation in new, better, and faster ways to cut emissions. By acting quickly and boldly to limit carbon and other climate pollutants, we can reduce human vulnerability to increasingly dangerous climate impacts and safeguard the economy against escalating costs. The authors of this bill are helping galvanize the conversation about what's at stake. EDF believes this proposal represents a possible step towards the zero-carbon future we must achieve.

"This bill recognizes that any effective climate legislation must include clear and transparent mechanisms to measure environmental performance and ensure emission reduction goals are met. Requiring companies to pay for the damage they are causing can create a significant incentive to reduce emissions, but does not guarantee the amount of pollution that will be reduced. This bill, like the Market Choice Act introduced earlier this year, recognizes the critical need for ‘environmental integrity mechanisms' (EIMs) — provisions that tie a carbon fee to environmental performance and help keep us on track to meet vital pollution reduction goals.

"Representatives Deutch, Rooney, Delaney, Fitzpatrick, and Crist deserve great credit for adding new momentum to the search for climate solutions and we look forward to working with them, as well as new voices joining the debate in the next Congress, to find a durable, effective, and ambitious path forward."

(MANILA, Philippines – Nov. 27, 2018) Fishing industry stakeholders gathered last week in a collaborative workshop hosted by Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) Philippines program aimed at tackling pressing problems like overfishing. The convening is the first in a series of engagements EDF will host, where representatives from across the industry can discuss solutions to shared fisheries problems and spur innovative solutions in the country and region.

Attendees at the event held in Clark, Philippines included representatives from local governments, private sector businesses and academia. EDF will use the convenings to gather key insights and recommendations which they will share with The Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources and other national agencies working on fisheries issues in the Philippines.

“We have designed these workshops to help government and non-government entities achieve sustainable fishing here in the Philippines,” said Edwina Garchitorena, Country Director of Environmental Defense Fund Oceans Program, Philippines. “If we can sustainably manage our wild fisheries, they can help us support our population’s needs for food, nutrition and a better way of life.”

The Philippines is an archipelagic country with a 36,000 kilometer coastline and a population of 100 million people, who derive 38 percent of their daily protein needs from fish. Despite this, fisheries are often completely overlooked as a crucial component of the food security agenda.

“Millions of Filipinos depend on marine resources for nutrition and livelihoods, in many cases with few alternatives,” said Garchitorena.

EDF’s Philippines branch office was formally established in October 2018 with the goals of helping the government achieve sustainable fishing by contributing to national policy discussions on Fisheries Management Areas (FMAs), building capacity for science-based fisheries management, and working with local communities to establish and strengthen secure fishing rights for fishers. Additionally, the regional council that governs fisheries issues in the Gulf of Lagonoy invited EDF to join its technical advisory group. With EDF’s help, the group plans to create a model integrating the management of small-scale and commercial fishing with marine habitat protection, which has been a challenge faced by other areas of the country.

Previously, EDF helped more than a dozen fishing communities in the Philippines create sustainable fishing programs for their artisanal fisheries. In 2018, EDF and the Philippines’ Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources announced a partnership to develop new scientific processes, provide training and test new technologies as the country implements sustainable fishing reforms. To achieve these goals, EDF will continue to carry out trainings and develop recommendations for designing sustainable management programs in key fisheries in the Philippines.

“Much more must be done, but EDF is optimistic that the Philippines can further strengthen its sustainable fisheries management capabilities and ensure a healthy supply of seafood for its people for generations to come,” said Garchitorena.

(BROOKLYN, N.Y. — November 27, 2018) Kickstarter PBC and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today unveiled new features on Kickstarter that will help creators evaluate and reduce the environmental impact of their products.

Kickstarter and EDF worked together to develop an information hub called the Environmental Resource Center, as well as a space where project creators are asked to publicly commit to environmental practices. These features will help thousands of people create sustainable products by embedding environmental considerations into the early planning stages.  

“As a Public Benefit Corporation, Kickstarter is obligated to consider the impact of its decisions on society, not just on shareholders,” said Perry Chen, Kickstarter’s Chairman and CEO. “We’re committed to helping creators make environmentally conscious decisions, and these new features are our biggest step yet toward fulfilling that commitment.”

Kickstarter staff worked with an EDF Climate Corps fellow, Alexandra Criscuolo, over the last nine months to conceptualize and develop the new features. EDF Climate Corps is a fellowship program that empowers and connects environmental professionals with leading companies to help accelerate the transition to a clean energy future.

The Environmental Resource Center, at kickstarter.com/environment, presents case studies and best practices from industry experts on how to assess, adopt, and communicate sustainability efforts. With a digestible format and pointers to information around the web, the Center will serve as a starting point for research.

The other new feature is an important change to Kickstarter’s core service. When creators are getting ready to launch design and technology projects, Kickstarter will ask them to commit to reducing their environmental impact in five key areas: long-lasting design, reusability and recyclability, sustainable materials, environmentally friendly factories, and sustainable distribution. Their responses will appear in a new “Environmental Commitments” section of their project pages.

These features will reach thousands of people who are on the path to making a product, as well as the people who choose to support them. Over the past year, 9,500 design and technology projects were launched on Kickstarter, attracting more than a million supporters.  

“We’ve seen an increased interest from the public in knowing how products are made and how they’ll impact our planet. Creators who are thinking innovatively about ways to produce sustainable products will gain an advantage,” said EDF president Fred Krupp. “The Environmental Resource Center is an important new tool for scaling sustainability throughout the entire Kickstarter network — and beyond.”

The Resource Center features tips like these:

• Consider how your product can be repaired if it breaks: “Make disassembly easy by choosing  crews to bind parts instead of glue, for example.”
• Design your product with recycling in mind: “Black plastics aren’t usually seen by optical recycling sorting systems, causing them to end up in landfills.”
• Think carefully about your packaging: “Use sustainable filling materials like organic starch cushioning, instead of styrofoam.”

The Environmental Commitments feature is available now for design and technology projects in the US, Canada, and Mexico, and will expand to other countries in the coming months.

(WASHINGTON – Nov. 26, 2018) The newly released National Climate Assessment (NCA) clearly demonstrates the major impacts that human-caused warming is having, and will have, on our oceans and marine fisheries.

“Our nation’s fishermen are on the front lines of climate change. This report provides careful documentation for what they already know: that the combination of ocean warming, acidification and deoxygenation is disrupting key marine ecosystem services and jeopardizing their future.

“The NCA underscores that the marine fisheries sector, which contributes $200 billion annually to our economy and accounts for 1.6 million jobs, is at high risk from climate change.

“Unless we act now on the twin imperatives of reducing emissions and creating more resiliency in the system through climate adaptive fisheries management, we will experience increasing disruption and degradation to our nation’s valuable fisheries, corals and marine ecosystems. The scientists at the 13 federal agencies who compiled the report – citing established research on the impacts of climate change to our oceans, including research from EDF – have left no doubt about the choices we face.

“EDF is on the leading edge of scientific inquiry into these changes, as well as developing innovative techniques to incorporate climate resiliency into fisheries management. Our research and on-the-water experience shows that by limiting human-caused emissions and instituting better fisheries management, we can create positive change for our marine environment and the millions of people who depend on it for their livelihoods.

“But much more needs to be done. The NCA strengthens our resolve to continue our work to ensure we are protecting our natural environment while creating healthy and resilient fisheries, even in the face of climate change.”

·         Matt Tinning, Associate Vice President, Oceans

(Washington, D.C. – November 23, 2018) The U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) today released Volume II of the Fourth National Climate Assessment, which assesses the science of climate change and variability and its impacts across the United States. It reviews the impact of climate change across 15 key sectors, as well as its impact on 10 regions.

The Trump Administration’s radical neglect will threaten the health of every American by making climate change worse.  The Administration is working to roll back or weaken common-sense safeguards that include the emissions standards for coal-burning power plants, clean car standards, and methane waste rules – as well as imposing restrictions on the use of scientific research in setting environmental safeguards, and seeking significant cuts in climate change and clean energy programs.

This EDF Fact Sheet previews critical questions for the Trump administration and Congress raised by the Assessment:

The Report Says: “Sea levels are expected to continue to rise along almost all U.S. coastlines, and by 2100, under the higher scenario, coastal flood heights that today cause major damages to infrastructure would be common during high tides nationwide.”

Question: What is being done to help coastal communities deal with the current and future impacts of rising sea levels?

The Report Says: “The health and well-being of Americans are already affected by climate change, with the adverse health consequences projected to worsen with additional climate change. Climate change affects human health by altering exposures to heat waves, floods, droughts, and other extreme events; vector-, food- and waterborne infectious diseases; changes in the quality and safety of air, food, and water; and stresses to mental health and well-being.”

Question:  What is being done to prepare for the enormous health impacts and associated medical expenses that will result from climate change if greenhouse gas emissions are not significantly reduced?

The Report Says: “America’s trillion-dollar coastal property market and public infrastructure are threatened by the ongoing increase in the frequency, depth, and extent of tidal flooding due to sea level rise, with cascading impacts to the larger economy…fisheries, tourism, human health, and public safety depend upon healthy coastal ecosystems…”

Question: How will the failure of the federal government to deal with climate change impact the tourist, insurance, and real estate industries that depend on healthy coastlines?

The Report Says: “A reliable, safe, and efficient U.S. transportation system is at risk from increases in heavy precipitation, coastal flooding, heat, wildfires, and other extreme events, as well as changes to average temperature…these impacts threaten the performance…of the entire network, with critical ramifications for safety…economic vitality and mobility…particularly for vulnerable populations and urban infrastructure.”

Question: Has the Department of Transportation made plans to protect our roads, bridges, railways, and other transportation infrastructure from climate related damage?

The Report Says: “Wildfire smoke degrades air quality, increasing the health risks to tens of millions of people in the United States. More frequent and severe wildfires due to climate change would further diminish air quality, increase incidences of respiratory illness from exposure to wildfire smoke, impair visibility, and disrupt outdoor recreational activities.”

Question: Does the administration have plans to deal with the economic and health impacts of more frequent and increasingly devastating wildfires?

The Report Says: “The impacts of climate change, variability, and extreme events outside the United States are affecting and are virtually certain to increasingly affect U.S. trade and economy…climate change…can slow or reverse social and economic progress in developing countries, thus undermining international aid and investments made by the United States and increasing the need for humanitarian assistance and disaster relief…climate change and extremes increase risks to national security through direct impacts on U.S. military infrastructure and by affecting factors, including food and water availability, that can exacerbate conflict outside U.S. borders.”

Question: Is the administration and the Department of Defense planning for increased movement of refugees and regional instability – which could affect our national security – due to climate change impacts?

The Report Says: “The impacts of climate change are intensifying across the country…how much they intensify will depend on actions taken to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the risks from climate change now and in the coming decades.”

Question: Why did the US government abandon the Clean Power Plan and propose a plan that allows hundreds of millions of tons of additional climate pollution; as well as seeking to undermine other policies and rules that reduce climate pollution?”

 Today the U.S. Global Change Research Program released its latest version of the National Climate Assessment, a government-mandated report on the state of America’s climate. 

 “The National Climate Assessment is another sobering reminder of the effects that climate change has on people, the economy and the environment. While the report paints a bleak portrait of climate consequences, it is best seen as a call to action to activate solutions that will stem harmful warming and protect communities that stand at the forefront of a changing climate.

“The report highlights the visceral impacts of global warming that affect people at every level of the economy, in every region of the US. Most importantly, it makes clear the need for strong, commonsense action from the private and public sectors, action that risks falling dangerously short without adequate government response.  

“It is worth noting that the report was released by an administration that has ignored the warnings of scientists, economists, businesses and community leaders that corroborate the report’s findings. As long as government leaders sit on their hands, Americans will stand to suffer. The evidence is clear: the Trump administration is failing to protect the American people. 

“We are clear-eyed about the path forward. To tackle climate change we must:

• Establish clear goals for reducing pollution and moving to 100% clean energy
• Place enforceable limits on climate pollution, hold companies accountable for their pollution, and create economic incentives to mobilize the power of entrepreneurs and innovators           
• Implement complementary measures that accelerate investment in emerging technologies and break down barriers that hinder the adoption of existing ones.”

- Nat Keohane, EDF Senior Vice President, Climate

For more comments from Nat, please reach out to Keith Gaby at kgaby@edf.org or (202) 572-3336.