Complete list of press releases

NEWS RELEASE

“The launch of the Sustainable Food Policy Alliance is a promising step forward by four influential companies – Danone North America; Mars, Incorporated; Nestlé USA; and Unilever United States. We’re hopeful that this new Alliance could serve as a model for engagement that moves beyond the lowest common denominator and leverages collaboration to inspire policy action that improves transparency for consumers, supports farm communities, and tackles climate change.

“These companies recognize that it is no longer enough to tend their own sustainability gardens. Today’s leading companies are expected to work together to improve sustainability across the global food supply chain and to support the policies needed to ensure a thriving economy and healthy planet.”
 

— Tom Murray, Vice President, EDF+Business

NEWS RELEASE

"ExxonMobil made an important statement by cutting ties with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC has systematically attacked climate and environmental policies that support healthy communities, a stable climate, and regulatory certainty that can help businesses thrive through de-carbonization. Companies seeking to show corporate social responsibility must influence trade associations and other organizations to adopt responsible positions, and must distance themselves from groups that pursue agendas harmful to public health and the environment.

"ExxonMobil also recently joined BP, Shell and others in committing to support policies and regulations to reduce methane emissions from the natural gas value chain. Now companies must follow through on these steps by taking concrete action, including by defending EPA's finding that methane emissions from the oil and gas sector endanger public health and welfare, and by opposing efforts to weaken federal and state policies that secure reductions of these potent pollutants."

--Ben Ratner, Senior Director, EDF+Business

(WASHINGTON – July 11, 2018) The U.S. House of Representatives voted to advance H.R. 200 today, putting the future of our nation’s fisheries at risk. EDF joined many leading fishing organizations, seafood industry leaders, chefs, scientists, and other conservation groups in strongly opposing the bill that would fundamentally weaken our nation’s foundational fisheries law, the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Fifteen Republicans crossed party lines to oppose the bill.

The following is a statement from Matt Tinning, Associate Vice President for the Oceans Program at the Environmental Defense Fund.

“The comeback of America’s fisheries is a remarkable bipartisan success story. In many regions we’ve overcome decades of failure to restore our fisheries to health and secure a brighter future for our coastal communities, the seafood industry, and anglers.

“It is shocking that Congress would jeopardize our hard-won gains. H.R. 200 undermines the science and tools that made the recovery of U.S. fisheries possible and threatens to return us to a time when overfishing was widespread. It is a lose-lose proposition for the environment and the economy. Although there was a narrow majority for final passage, the vote revealed bipartisan concern.

“H.R. 200 undercuts science-based decision-making and conservation tools that have fueled the full recovery of 44 depleted stocks around the country and reduced overfishing rates to historic lows. And rather than spur innovation in recreational fisheries management, it usurps the authority of regional fishery councils and stifles the very innovations that are helping regions like the Gulf of Mexico test new approaches to recreational management.

“Over more than four decades policy-makers, fishermen, scientists, and other stakeholders have worked hard to strengthen our fisheries law, and the Magnuson-Stevens Act is now a global model of success. H.R. 200 recklessly puts that progress at risk. We look forward to working with Senators to ensure that it never becomes law.”

 (Washington D.C. – July 10, 2018) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and its allies today formally asked the new acting administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reverse a potentially disastrous decision that will put more super-polluting freight trucks on America’s roads.

Late last Friday, with no public warning, EPA issued an assurance that it would not enforce pollution limits on “glider trucks.” The non-enforcement policy will allow dirty glider trucks to be manufactured at the high levels seen before pollution limits were put in place. The decision was made as EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt was leaving office and Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler was taking over.

“This dangerous loophole for super-polluting freight trucks will put Americans’ health and lives at risk, and will give irresponsible manufacturers special treatment over more responsible trucking companies,” said EDF Senior Attorney Martha Roberts. “Andrew Wheeler has the opportunity for a new start at EPA, but reversing this harmful, secretive action must be a first step.”

Glider trucks are heavy-duty freight trucks made by putting old, dirty diesel engines into a new freight truck body. EPA testing found they can emit lethal particulate pollution at up to 450 times the amount from modern engines. EPA estimates that one year of unrestricted sales of these super-polluting trucks will lead to as many as 1,600 premature deaths.

Under America’s Clean Truck Standards, engines used in glider trucks must meet pollution standards corresponding to the truck’s year of assembly. Manufacturers may produce unlimited numbers of glider trucks as long as the older engines are retrofitted so they meet our modern pollution standards.

Then-EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt proposed to repeal pollution standards for glider trucks after a meeting with a major glider manufacturer on May 8, 2017 – the same manufacturer who prominently hosted an event for then-candidate Donald Trump early in his presidential campaign. The proposal foundered after comments underscored its flawed legal reasoning, the White House and EPA Science Advisory Board raised concerns about the lack of supporting analysis, and a misconduct investigation was launched into the one study cited in the proposal.

The proposed loophole for super-polluting glider trucks also faced extensive public opposition from EDF, the American Lung Association and other health experts, Moms Clean Air Force and other concerned citizens, and freight truck companies that make cleaner engines and would now face unfair competition. A loophole that allows for unlimited sale of super-polluting “glider trucks” would put their innovative investments — and their employees’ jobs — at risk.

However, even though the proposed repeal of pollution limits for glider trucks failed, EPA said Friday that it would press ahead and create a loophole by not enforcing pollution standards for them.

Today EDF, Sierra Club, and the Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal request with EPA calling on Andrew Wheeler to reverse Friday’s non-enforcement loophole. EDF also filed a Freedom of Information Act request for records related to Friday’s action.

"Scott Pruitt's reckless tenure at EPA is over, but the damage will be lasting and the threat of additional harm to public health and the environment remains grave.

"Pruitt left not only a string of failed policies, but an agency still stacked with lobbyists working to protect their former industries rather than American families. It's time to clean house of the many conflicted political appointees at EPA, and truly drain the swamp of these lobbyists who are polluting our country.

"Pruitt's unethical behavior and favor-filled relationship with energy lobbyists were well known before his nomination to head EPA. Too many Senators looked the other way when they should have stopped his ill-fated nomination in the first place.

"The American people will continue to fight President Trump's attacks on our environment. We now face the stark reality of a coal lobbyist, Andrew Wheeler, running the agency that is supposed to protect our air, water, and climate. We can't afford more pollution and asthma attacks – our children's health and their future depends on it.

"Changing name plates is not enough – we need new, honest leadership that puts the health of American families first."

            - Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund

(WASHINGTON, DC) With a bipartisan vote of 86-11, the Senate today passed its version of the farm bill.

“This bipartisan bill delivers big wins for rural economies and conservation. It embraces on-farm innovations that improve water quality and build climate resilience. From funding soil health pilot projects to advancing data-driven precision agriculture, the Senate farm bill will incentivize the ambitious conservation approaches that the 21st century demands.

“It also addresses long-standing farmer feedback about ways to improve conservation programs – most notably by streamlining public-private partnerships, accelerating USDA’s approval process for new stewardship practices and rewarding conservation through lower crop insurance premiums.

“Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and ranking member Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) led a remarkably bipartisan farm bill process, and the Senate bill is stronger as a result. We hope that the conference committee process reflects this same willingness to collaborate across the aisle for the benefit of America’s farmers, ranchers and natural resources.”

• Callie Eideberg, Senior Policy Manager, Sustainable Agriculture

(LONDON/ NEW YORK) The international shipping agency already has the legal authority to implement and enforce policies to achieve its new climate target, according to new analysis published by Environmental Defense Fund and Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. “The Legal Bases for IMO Climate Measures” finds the International Maritime Organization (IMO) can – by simply amending its existing regulations – ensure speedy entry into force of climate measures, while ensuring the measures are legally binding, enforceable and implemented globally. Countries at the IMO agreed in April to reduce international shipping’s greenhouse gas pollution by at least 50% by 2050 compared to 2008 levels, and to peak emissions as soon as possible.

“This legal analysis shows there is a clear path open for the quick adoption of effective and enforceable policies to translate the shipping industry’s ambition on climate change into concrete policies,” said Aoife O’Leary, Legal Analyst at Environmental Defense Fund Europe and co-author of the analysis. “The IMO has a long track record in adopting enforceable, impactful global measures and IMO policy on climate change should be no different.”

To evaluate what policies and measures the IMO could and should implement to meet the goals set out in its initial climate deal, the analysis addresses three legal issues:

1. Whether the IMO has legal competence to address greenhouse gases;
2. Whether the IMO has legal capacity to adopt measures such as: introducing a climate fund to support low carbon technologies or a carbon pricing measure, or setting up an independent body to assist with climate governance; and
3. How the IMO may enact these measures, e.g. via an amendment to an existing treaty, adoption of an entirely new treaty, or adoption of other legal instruments.

The analysis finds countries can and should adopt climate measures by amending the IMO’s International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) – specifically Annex VI, which limits air pollutants from ships.

“Meeting IMO’s climate goal will take significant commitment from the shipping sector, but it will not require a new treaty. With a smart set of policies and measures, such as new governance arrangements coupled with a cost for polluting, effective climate rules could come into effect within just two years. This speedy, elegant way for the IMO to establish climate policies should be welcome news to those concerned with addressing the urgent climate crisis,” said O’Leary.Read the full report at http://columbiaclimatelaw.com/files/2018/06/OLeary-and-Brown-2018-06-IMO-Climate-Measures.pdf, and learn more about EDF’s work on shipping at edf.org/shipping.

In an important step forward in its efforts to address the role of air travel in contributing to climate change, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council adopted today the Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) for the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). These rules, which will become an addition to the Annexes of the legally binding Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, provide important requirements for airlines and States to report the emissions of international flights, calculate the carbon reduction and offsetting obligations of individual airlines, and ensure that airlines can meet those obligations using only emissions credits and alternative fuels that ICAO determines meet a further set of detailed requirements for integrity and sustainability.

 “The adoption of the SARPs marks a significant step forward by ICAO in standing up CORSIA. But much work remains to be done before the end of the year to ensure that CORSIA as implemented actually delivers the anticipated environmental benefits. There are potential devils lurking in the details, and the work needs to be completed with close coordination between government representatives in the UNFCCC and in ICAO to ensure consistency between the two international agreements and prevent double-dipping with regard to carbon offsets and alternative fuel credits.

“ICAO must take unprecedented steps to establish technical advisory bodies that have broad participation, are free of conflicts of interest, and operate transparently to ensure that proposed fuels and offsets actually meet the integrity criteria.

“A potentially troubling development at the last minute involved changes to the SARPs so that airlines could in principle claim credit for fossil fuels if those emit less carbon over their lifecycle than conventional fossil fuels.  This change could present a serious stumbling block for CORSIA’s overall credibility, as it remains doubtful whether such fuels could meet the stringent criteria that the public will expect from this system.”

• Annie Petsonk, International Counsel

(RALEIGH, NC) The North Carolina House of Representatives voted today by a margin of 74 to 45 to override Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of Senate Bill 711, a bill that rewrites the state’s public nuisance laws to impose significant new restrictions on the ability of individual property owners to defend their rights in court.

“The ‘Farm Act’ takes North Carolina backwards. It strips families of the ability to defend their rights to clean air, clean water and a healthy place to live and work.

“Working alongside farmers, agriculture groups and agribusinesses in North Carolina, we have been making progress toward solutions that advance a strong agricultural economy and protect natural resources and public health. The nuisance provisions in Senate Bill 711 will only serve to further divide communities and undermine this progress.

“We are deeply troubled by today’s outcome, but also profoundly grateful for the leadership of the Governor and state legislators from both sides of the aisle who, in opposing this bill, demonstrated their commitment to protecting the rights of all North Carolinians.”

• David Kelly, Senior Manager, North Carolina Political Affairs

(Washington, D.C. – June 26, 2018) With serious reservations expressed by three judges, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has again issued a limited 60-day abeyance of litigation over the Clean Power Plan. The court also once again rejected EPA's request for indefinite suspension of the litigation.

In separate concurrences, three judges raised specific and pointed concerns that Clean Power Plan opponents are abusing the current status of the litigation to avoid EPA's duty to protect Americans from the threat of climate pollution.

The Clean Power Plan is the historic measure that establishes America's only nationwide limits on carbon pollution from existing power plants.

"Today's decision comes after the Trump Administration has delayed any meaningful action to reduce carbon pollution from the nation's power plants for well over a year – and shows no sign that it intends to fulfill its legal obligation to do so," said EDF Senior Attorney Martha Roberts. "Although it is disappointing that the court has yet to rule on the merits of the Clean Power Plan, EDF stands ready and resolved to ensure that EPA fulfills its legal obligation to protect the health and safety of all Americans from the dangers of climate change."

Today's order is the fifth time since April of 2017 that the court has issued a temporary stay – and the fifth time the court rejected the Trump Administration's request for an indefinite suspension of the litigation. Today's order will be in effect for 60 days, and the court will continue to require status reports from EPA every 30 days.

As part of today's order, three judges raised serious concerns about EPA's repeated requests for delay.

Judge Wilkins, joined by Judge Millet, said:

"I will join in one further abeyance, but I am writing to apprise the parties that it is the last one that I am inclined to grant."

Judge Wilkins described EPA's history of delay, saying:

"The upshot is that the Petitioners and EPA have hijacked the Court's equitable power for their own purposes. If EPA or the Petitioners wish to delay further the operation of the Clean Power Plan while the agency engages in rulemaking, then they should avail themselves of whatever authority Congress gave them to do so, rather than availing themselves of the Court's authority under the guise of preserving jurisdiction over moribund petitions."

Judge Tatel, joined again by Judge Millet in a separate concurrence, highlighted:

"EPA's own judicially upheld determination that greenhouse gases pose an ongoing threat to public health and welfare" and the Supreme Court's "decades-old recognition in Massachusetts v. EPA that … EPA must take regulatory action in the fact of such a determination."

He denounced "the untenable status quo" which:

"derives in large part from petitioners' and EPA's treatment of the Supreme Court's order staying implementation of the Clean Power Plan … as indefinite license for EPA to delay compliance with its obligation under the Clean Air Act to regulate greenhouse gases."

The Clean Power Plan, which was finalized in August 2015, will reduce carbon pollution from the power sector to 32 percent below 2005 levels. It will save up to 4,500 lives each year, prevent up to 90,000 childhood asthma attacks each year, and prevent more than 300,000 missed school and work days each year once fully implemented, according to EPA's own estimates. The Clean Power Plan provides states and power companies broad flexibility to determine how best to meet these emission reduction goals, including through the deployment of energy efficiency measures that would save an average American family almost $85 on its annual energy bills.

You can find more information – including all legal documents  – on EDF's website.

(Raleigh, NC – June 25, 2018) The North Carolina Utilities Commission last week rejected a settlement between environmental groups and Duke Energy Carolinas (DEC) to modernize North Carolina’s electricity system by investing in a $2.5 billion, three-year pilot program that would have had significant environmental benefits.
 

The components of the program, which included electric vehicle charging infrastructure, improved customer access to energy use data and new energy storage to enable the use of more renewable energy, were designed to improve grid efficiency, lower emissions and empower people to reduce their energy use. Voltage optimization upgrades alone – which adjust voltage to match people’s precise electricity needs – could have reduced emissions equivalent to taking approximately 30,000 cars off the road and produced energy savings equivalent to the power generated by 35 (2-megawatt) wind turbines that run year-round.
 

“Modernizing North Carolina’s electricity system is essential for the state to remain an engine for growth and innovation in the national clean energy economy. Although the settlement was not approved, the details of the proposed agreement still serve as an important milestone on the road toward a smarter, more interactive grid that will reduce pollution and give customers more control over their energy use.”
 

• Dionne Delli-Gatti, Director, Southeast Clean Energy

A new report released today from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) demonstrates that child care facilities are a critical gap – and present a significant opportunity – in the effort to reduce young children’s exposure to lead from drinking water. While children under the age of six are most vulnerable to harm from lead, the vast majority of child care facilities are not required to test their drinking water for lead. To further explore this issue, EDF connected with local partners in four states and conducted a pilot project to investigate new approaches for lead in water testing and remediation in child care settings.  

“Much of the recent national attention on lead in drinking water has focused on in schools. That’s very important, but children under the age of six are most vulnerable to the detrimental impacts of lead. With over 4 million children under five years old in child care facilities across the country, it is crucial that these facilities test their drinking water and, when necessary, take action,” said Sarah Vogel, VP of Health at EDF.   

EDF collaborated with local partners to conduct lead in water testing and remediation in 11 child care facilities serving over 1,000 children primarily from low-income families in Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, and Ohio. EDF’s partners on the project were: Elevate Energy (Chicago), Healthy Homes Coalition of West Michigan (Grand Rapids), Mississippi State University (Tunica and Starkville), People Working Cooperatively (Cincinnati), and Greater Cincinnati Water Works (Cincinnati).

“We know the risks of children being exposed to lead. Checking the water in child care facilities is simple and should be included as part of a comprehensive assessment that also looks at paint, soil, and dust hazards as currently prescribed in Michigan,” said Paul Haan, Executive Director of Healthy Homes Coalition of West Michigan. “This is especially important in smaller child care programs operating out of older homes that are likely to have lead service lines and fixtures with high lead content.”

“Our primary focus has always been on keeping low-income homeowners safe in their own homes,” said Aaron Grant, program manager at People Working Cooperatively. “But as we learn more about how the built environment can impact health, we want to do what we can to help provide safe places for all members of our community to live, work, play, and learn. Our partnership with EDF and Greater Cincinnati Water Works has helped extend our mission and given us valuable experiences we can incorporate into other programs that address the social determinants of health.” 

Overall, local partners tested more than 1,500 water samples, resulting in the replacement of 26 of 294 (9%) fixtures. Additionally, two lead service lines – the lead pipe connecting the main under the street to buildings – were identified and replaced at facilities in Chicago and a suburb of Cincinnati. When present, lead service lines contribute 50-75% of lead in drinking water.

While more than three out of four water samples had lead levels below 1 ppb, seven of the 11 facilities had at least one drinking water sample above EDF’s health-based benchmark for action of 3.8 ppb. Two of these facilities had at least one sample above 80 ppb of lead: 16 times higher than the lead level allowed in bottled water. Replacing fixtures generally was effective but did not always reduce levels to below our trigger for action, likely due to an inadequate NSF International standard allowing new brass fixtures to leach up to 5 ppb of lead.

Key recommendations from the report include:

• Replace lead service lines in child care facilities when found through review of historical records and visual inspection.
• Require testing for lead in water in child care facilities to identify sources of lead.
• Set an interim action level of 5 ppb to investigate and remediate lead sources.
• Strengthen the NSF International 5 ppb leachability standard to reduce lead in new brass fixtures.

To succeed in testing and reducing lead in water, child care facility operators, state licensing agencies, and health departments will need support from EPA, water utilities and NSF International, as well as the families they serve. The report provides recommendations for each of these critical audiences.  

“We hope the results of this project will provide clear next steps for child care facility operators and encourage the EPA to revise its outdated guidance to better protect young children from lead exposure,” said Lindsay McCormick, Chemicals and Health Project Manager at EDF.  “We suggest using 5 ppb as an interim action level to trigger remediation until the NSF International leachability standard for new fixtures is strengthened.”

Several states and cities have taken action to address this issue: Connecticut, Illinois, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and New York City require licensed child care facilities to test their drinking water for lead. Each of the requirements vary widely in terms of testing protocol, standard, corrective action, and communication to parents and staff.  The requirements often call for action when lead levels in fixture samples are over 15 ppb (EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule action level) or 20 ppb (EPA’s recommended trigger for action at schools and child care facilities).  Neither of these levels are sufficient to protect children. A lower limit is needed in this setting where there are so many children potentially affected. 

EPA provides guidance on testing methods in its voluntary “3Ts for Reducing Lead in Drinking Water.” However, the document has significant gaps in addressing lead in water at child care facilities – including little attention to lead service lines and the outdated trigger for action of 20 ppb. 

While renewed attention on lead in drinking water has spurred action and testing of drinking water in schools, child care facilities have gone relatively unnoticed. With the most vulnerable children spending a large portion of their day in child care, these facilities should be a priority for reducing exposure to lead from drinking water. 

Read the full report, “Putting kids first: Tackling lead in water at child care facilities,” at: edf.org/lead-child-care. 

To get in contact with one of our partner child care facilities, please reach out to Keith Gaby (EDF), (202) 572-3336; kgaby@edf.org.
 

(NEW YORK, NY) The New York Department of Public Service and NYSERDA yesterday released a New York State Energy Storage Roadmap, which proposes policies, regulations and programs for New York to implement in order to achieve the state’s target of 1,500 megawatts of energy storage by 2025 – the largest per-capita commitment of any state in the U.S. Rapidly scaling energy storage is essential to moderating the need for additional capacity in the electric grid while increasing renewable generation to deliver environmental and public health benefits. The roadmap’s recommendations intend to accelerate the deployment of storage applications while letting the market drive down costs.  

“As New York increases its use of renewables, energy storage will play a much more important role in making the most of the state’s investment in these resources. This roadmap will help cement the state’s ability to maximize renewable energy use over time, and achieve environmental benefits for all New Yorkers.”
 

• Elizabeth B. Stein, Senior Manager, New York Clean Energy Law & Policy, Environmental Defense Fund

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) A study available today in the journal Science finds that the U.S. oil and gas industry emits 13 million metric tons of methane from its operations each year—nearly 60 percent more than currently estimated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). 

The higher overall methane leak rate underscores a growing business and environmental challenge for natural gas in an increasingly competitive, lower-carbon economy. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, with more than 80 times the climate warming impact of carbon dioxide over a 20-year timespan. It is also the main ingredient in natural gas.

The new study estimates the current leak rate from the U.S. oil and gas system is 2.3 percent, versus the current EPA inventory estimate of 1.4 percent. Although the percentages seem small, the volume represents enough natural gas to fuel 10 million homes – lost gas worth an estimated $2 billion. The study was led by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) researchers, with support from 19 co-authors from 15 other institutions. They conducted new research and integrated more than half a decade of underlying research on methane emissions. This original body of science was conducted by more than 140 researchers from 40 institutions in cooperation with 50 oil and gas companies that provided site access and technical advice.

“These studies, synthesized in this Science paper, have transformed our understanding of methane emissions from natural gas systems in the United States,” said Professor David Allen, of the Cockrell School of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, who is a contributor to the new paper and lead author on several of the earlier studies. 

The findings reported feature measurements at over 400 well pads in six basins and scores of midstream facilities, data from component measurements, and aerial surveys covering large swaths of U.S. oil and gas infrastructure. 

“This is by far the most comprehensive body of research of its kind,” said EDF Chief Scientist Steven Hamburg, who is a co-author of the paper. “Scientists have uncovered a huge problem, but also an enormous opportunity. Reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas sector is the fastest, most cost-effective way we have to slow the rate of warming today, even as the larger transition to lower-carbon energy continues.”

The International Energy Agency estimates industry can reduce its worldwide emissions by 75 percent—and that up to two-thirds of those reductions can be realized at zero net cost.

“Although we confirmed that methane emissions are substantially higher than previously thought, the good news is that our new understanding provides a cost-effective path forward to eliminate the waste of this valuable resource,” said Allen Robinson, who is a co-author, professor, and department head of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. 

Leading companies are beginning to recognize the challenge, but action to reduce emissions is only just getting started. In April, BP set its first quantitative methane target. Last month ExxonMobil committed to cut methane emissions and flared gas volumes, following an earlier announcement from its subsidiary XTO Energy that unveiled their methane reduction program. Shell, Qatar Petroleum, and a host of other producers have committed to continuously reduce methane emissions across the natural gas supply chain. 

Overall, EDF is calling for a 45 percent reduction in global oil and gas methane emissions by 2025 – a goal that would have the same short-term climate benefit as closing one-third of the world’s coal plants when achieved. 

“It’s an impressive collection of work with implications for both mitigation and generating accurate inventory estimates,” said Eric Kort, Assistant Professor of Climate and Space Sciences at the University of Michigan, who is another of the study’s co-authors.

“Federal and state governments must take action – and many states are – but industry leadership remains crucial,” said EDF Senior Vice President Mark Brownstein. “Companies have the ability to lead through operational best practices, comprehensive methane programs, target setting, technology innovation and pilots, and constructively engaging with the regulatory process.”

EDF recently announced plans to launch MethaneSAT, a purpose-built satellite designed to measure and map human-caused methane emissions almost anywhere on earth. Due to launch in 2021, MethaneSAT will help both countries and companies track problem areas, find solutions, and monitor their progress. 

EDF, the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative companies, and the UN Environment’s Climate and Clean Air Coalition are also collaborating on a set of peer-reviewed methane studies in locations across the globe, which will complement the data collected by MethaneSAT. These studies are built on the methods pioneered in the U.S.-based studies upon which the synthesis paper is based.

Funding for these studies was provided by the Heising-Simons Foundation, Bill and Susan Oberndorf, Betsy and Sam Reeves, the Robertson Foundation, TomKat Charitable Trust, and others.

Read more about this work at https://www.edf.org/climate/methane-studies. 

WHAT: 
EDF will host a press briefing on the new study.

WHEN:
Thursday, June 21 at 3pm Eastern. 

WHERE: 
(866) 575-6539; passcode: 1819592. 
Slide access https://cc.readytalk.com/r/augsi164du28&eom
 

(Washington, D.C. – June 21, 2018) EDF Senior Scientist Elena Craft will testify before the House Science Committee’s Subcommittee on the Environment today about the dangers of smog – and the increased risk Americans will face because EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt is weakening protections against it.

 

“Ground-level ozone, a component of smog, is a harmful air pollutant that irritates the lungs, exacerbates lung conditions like asthma, and is linked to a wide-array of serious heart and lung diseases,” Craft says in her testimony. “Between 2008 and 2015, there were more than 1,000 new studies that further confirmed the already well-documented health and environmental harms associated with ozone.”

 

EPA estimates that its 2015 ozone standard will save hundreds of lives and prevent 230,000 asthma attacks in children each year. But Pruitt has delayed enforcing the standard, and is attempting to rollback other protections that help reduce the air pollution that causes smog.

 

While EPA drags its feet, the danger is growing. The American Lung Association’s State of the Air report for 2018 found that for some areas of the country ozone pollution “worsened significantly” compared to the prior year.

 

Craft traveled from Texas to speak to Subcommittee Members today.  

 

“San Antonio, Texas is one of several areas in my home state that is particularly at risk. EPA has still not determined whether air quality in the San Antonio area meets the 2015 standard, despite the fact that monitors in the area have exceeded [recommended levels] for several years,” says Craft in her testimony. “By failing in its duty to determine whether the San Antonio area meets the 2015 standard, EPA is unlawfully delaying needed air pollution protections for this region, [and] the citizens and children of San Antonio suffer the consequences as we move toward the height of summer ozone season.”

 

You can read Craft’s full testimony here.