Complete list of press releases

(SAN FRANCISCO – February 22, 2017) California State Senate Pro Tempore, Kevin de León, introduced SB 584 late last week, a bill which would require the state to get 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2045. This new target would update current goals, calling for California to reach 50 percent renewable energy by 2025 – five years sooner than the law in place requires. If passed, the bill would make California the second state in the nation to adopt this ambitious target.    

“The spirit and aspiration of this new bill is inspiring, yet again reinforcing California’s clean energy leadership. To achieve the promise of 100 percent renewable energy, we must activate every available tool – like innovative electricity pricing, demand response, energy storage, electric vehicles, and added transparency in gas markets. This will accelerate California’s transition away from natural gas and ensure clean energy reliably serves as much of our state’s energy needs as possible. We are confident our state leaders will address these and future concerns.”

• Jayant Kairam, Director, California Clean Energy 

(ST. LOUIS – February 22, 2017) Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman, fresh from its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival, will preview at Commodity Classic in San Antonio, Texas before it airs worldwide on Discovery Channel in August. The Discovery Impact film weaves together the stories of a Montana rancher, two Kansas farmers and a handful of Gulf fishermen who feed the world while stewarding the land and water they work. Based on a book by the same name, the documentary is a tribute to the unsung conservation heroes of America’s heartland.

“The men and women profiled in the book and film work tirelessly to protect America’s natural resources, make their operations more productive and resilient and leave a legacy for their children. They don’t receive much credit for their conservation achievements, and we’re trying to change that,” said Miriam Horn of Environmental Defense Fund. 

Horn authored Rancher, Farmer Fisherman: Conservation Heroes of the American Heartland, on which the film is based. NCGA and EDF will host an audience Q&A with Horn after the screening.

“Most farmers I know have spent a lifetime trying to do a better job of protecting the soil and water resources on their farms. This love of the land and how to grow crops more sustainably is passed down in many cases for four generations or more,” said Brent Hostetler, National Corn Growers Association’s Sustainability Action Team chairman and a farmer from Plain City, Ohio. “This project opens public dialogue to challenge traditional notions and shows how modern farming and environmentalism can go hand in hand.”

The screening and audience discussion will be held in the Lila Cockrell Theatre during Commodity Classic’s Closing Learning Center Session on Saturday, March 4, 2017 from 1:30–3:30 pm CDT. Anyone with a Commodity Classic badge may attend. 

(RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC – February 21, 2017) North Carolina policy makers have a new way to determine how much water is required in state rivers and streams for fish and aquatic insects to be healthy, thanks to research coordinated by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and RTI International. The series of studies gives decision makers the means to scientifically set ecological flow rates, which define the amount of water that must be maintained to preserve the health of rivers and streams.

State waterways are expected to be significantly affected by increasing water withdrawals to meet growing demand for energy, industry and population needs. The research sheds new light on the relationships between changes in streamflow and the diversity of fish and richness of benthic macroinvertebrates, or aquatic insects. The studies appear in the February 2017 issue of the Journal of the American Water Resources Association.

“The research indicates that protecting water flows can produce corresponding conservation of biological diversity and stream integrity,” said Doria Gordon, EDF lead senior scientist. “Now decision makers in North Carolina and elsewhere have a simple, clear method to establish a statewide approach to protecting water flows and the health of aquatic systems.”

The research was conducted in response to legislation passed by the 2010 N.C. General Assembly (NC Session Law 2010-143). Also collaborating on the studies were the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, U.S. Geological Survey, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, and The Nature Conservancy.

(BOSTON – February 18, 2017) New research finds that climate change will cause dramatic impacts in the world’s fisheries, but with effective management most fisheries could yield more fish and more prosperity, even with a changing climate.

Relative to today, this preliminary research illustrates that effective management reforms can lead, globally, to a nearly 90 percent increase in profits, a third more fish in the water and a more than 10 percent increase in harvest by 2100 in the face of climate change.

The research also shows the effect is even more pronounced compared to doing nothing: where implementing effective management can yield nearly triple the profits, lead to a more than 50 percent increase in the amount of fish in the water and over a third more fish for harvest.

Scientists and economists at the University of California Santa Barbara, Oregon State University and Environmental Defense Fund previewed their preliminary results from this new research at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting in Boston, Massachusetts.

“Climate change is going to have a dramatic impact on many global fish populations and the people who rely on them,” said Christopher Costello, co-author and Professor of Environmental and Resource Economics at UC Santa Barbara. “But, these results show that, even in the face of climate change, we have an opportunity to build abundant and resilient fisheries for the future. Implementing effective fishery management is the single best thing we can do today to ensure healthy ocean ecosystems for the future.” 

Effective management reforms that address the challenges posed by changing ocean temperatures include a combination of harvest policies that adapt based on current fish abundance, stronger international cooperation, as well as secure fishing rights. This research examined 780 species and 132 country-level stocks across the globe representing 4,424 fisheries from the Costello et al 2016 fishery database, accounting for 74 percent of the global yield. The researchers worked with a scenario that the global mean surface air temperature will rise by an average of 2.2°C by 2100. 

By the turn of the century, the researchers find that more than one-third of the species studied will move completely out of at least one country’s national fishing waters while the same amount are also expected to shift into at least one country’s waters (exclusive economic zones).

 

The research suggests that areas closest to the equator with warmer waters are more likely to suffer a net loss of fish from their waters, while cooler locations are likely to see a net gain in the abundance of fish, by the turn of the next century. However, the research also shows that, even in warmer waters, improved management can increase fish and prosperity for many fisheries.

 

“Fish are becoming even more of a moving target in our oceans,” said co-author Michael Harte, Professor, Oregon State University. “These changes will require greater multinational cooperation among nations to manage these resources effectively.”

Off the New England coast, we are already seeing fish like iconic cod move north into Canadian waters. In Europe, recent spatial shifts of mackerel led to the “mackerel wars” where the movement of the stock into new waters created conflict over the sharing of this catch and, ultimately, overfishing of the stock.        

“These challenges are not just problems of the future, but problems we are facing today,” said Jake Kritzer, Director of Diagnostics and Design for Environmental Defense Fund’s Fishery Solutions Center. “If governments move quickly to implement adaptive reforms that account for the change in our oceans, fisheries can be sustained, and even grow, helping provide nutrition and income for the hundreds of millions of people that rely on them for their survival.”

You can download an executive summary of the preliminary research here.

(CHICAGO – February 17, 2017) The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) recently approved an energy data-sharing program for Illinois’ largest electric utility, Commonwealth Edison (ComEd). The program allows companies and researchers access to anonymous energy-use data from ComEd’s nearly 4 million smart meters, which will encourage the development of energy-saving products and services designed to help Illinoisans save money.

“This marks a major victory for money-saving innovation in Illinois. By allowing technology developers access to customer’s anonymous energy-use data, ComEd’s new program will help Illinois families cut their energy bills while protecting their privacy. We thank the ICC, ComEd, and consumer advocates for working together to make Illinois a national leader in building a smarter power grid that benefits people and the environment.”

• David Kolata, Executive Director, Citizens Utility Board

“This data will allow rooftop solar companies, energy efficiency providers, non-profits, researchers, cities, and other clean energy innovators to see which neighborhoods and blocks have the greatest potential for money-saving clean energy projects ─ ensuring no community is left behind.”

• Andrew Barbeau, Senior Consultant, Environmental Defense Fund

By a narrow vote of 52 to 46, the Senate has confirmed Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency. Mr. Pruitt’s long anti-environmental record makes it clear that he is the wrong person for this job. What former Secretary of State Colin Powell once called the Pottery Barn rule applies – ‘You break it, you buy it.’ These Senators confirmed him, so if Administrator Pruitt’s agenda leads to more pollution, these Senators will own it.

“All Senators knew of Mr. Pruitt’s record. They knew he dismantled Oklahoma’s environmental enforcement unit in 2011 and raised millions in political cash from the companies he will now oversee — companies that have faced EPA enforcement actions hundreds of times in recent years. Yet those Senators chose to put him in charge of enforcing our environmental laws, endangering the health and safety of our children.

“Even worse, 51 Senators agreed to rush Mr. Pruitt’s confirmation vote through today, even though an Oklahoma judge ruled just yesterday that Mr. Pruitt must release thousands of documents about his relationships with the fossil fuel industry. Senators requested many of those documents during the confirmation process, but did not receive them. This irresponsible rush vote before Senators had access to critical information subverts the democratic process. Our thanks to the 47 Senators who voted today for a more reasonable time frame to consider Pruitt’s nomination.

“Our focus will now be fighting Mr. Pruitt’s agenda of dismantling clean air and water protections that have saved so many lives. If unchecked, the Trump administration’s plans will mean more smog, mercury, carbon, and arsenic pollution in our air and water. In all, removing the many safeguards Mr. Pruitt has opposed in his career would cause up to 50,000 premature deaths, 850,000 asthma attacks, 28,000 hospital and emergency room visits, 21,000 heart attacks, and three million missed school and work days, and would eliminate $500 billion in net economic benefits, based on EPA analysis. The decision that 52 Senators made today will have real-world consequences.”

-       Elizabeth Thompson, president of EDF Action

“For 50 years, Environmental Defense Fund has worked with Republicans and Democrats to help build America’s bedrock environmental protections. Scott Pruitt, with his record of siding with major polluters and against the public health, stands far outside that mainstream bipartisan tradition. That is why Mr. Pruitt is the first Environmental Protection Agency Administrator whose nomination EDF has ever opposed. 

“We expect Mr. Pruitt to move quickly to begin dismantling EPA’s commitment to sound science, including the agency’s science-based finding that carbon pollution endangers human health and welfare and must be addressed. We also expect him to curtail the agency’s ability to operate and enforce the law, and to initiate efforts to weaken basic safeguards, potentially including protections against mercury pollution, smog and soot. And that will just be the beginning.

“We will fight these attacks in Congress and the courts, in streets and boardrooms, and at the state and international levels. It will be the duty of every American to speak up on behalf of our natural world, and the clean energy economy we need to preserve it, and to ensure that our long-standing bipartisan commitment to clean air and water is not betrayed. If the Trump Administration won’t protect and defend our public health, we the people will.”

-       Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund

Pruitt’s Promises​

At his confirmation hearing, Mr. Pruitt suddenly claimed a raft of new, environmentally friendly positions on key issues. These assertions helped him win confirmation. The Senators who accepted his assertions – against all prior evidence demonstrating his hostility to basic protections – have an obligation to hold Mr. Pruitt to these views, including:

Climate change: “So I think there is a legal obligation presently for the EPA Administrator to respond to the CO2 issue through proper regulations.”

Methane: “I am concerned” about the impacts of methane in driving global warming.

Ozone: “I agree that ground-level ozone is a dangerous pollutant that can cause respiratory and cardiovascular harm.”

Mercury: “I agree … that mercury is something that is very dangerous to the environment and should be regulated…. As Administrator, I will enforce the Mercury Air Toxics Rule so long as that Rule remains in force.”

Cross-State Air Pollution: “I believe the Cross State Air Pollution Rule is important and should be enforced by the EPA. An upwind state that contributes to a downwind state’s nonattainment should take responsibility for that contribution.” 

We would like to commend those Senators who chose to put the health of our children first by opposing Mr. Pruitt’s confirmation:

Sen. Collins  

Sen. Casey

Sen. Gillibrand

Sen. McCaskill

Sen. Shaheen

Sen. Cantwell

Sen. Warren

Sen. Wyden

Sen. Whitehouse

Sen. Warner

Sen. Van Hollen

Sen. Udall

Sen. Tester

Sen. Stabenow

Sen. Schumer

Sen. Schatz

Sen. Peters

Sen. Reed

Sen. Nelson

Sen. Murray

Sen. Murphy

Sen. Merkley

Sen. Menendez

Sen. Markey

Sen. Leahy

Sen. Klobuchar

Sen. Kaine

Sen. Hirono

Sen. Heinrich

Sen. Hassan

Sen. Harris

Sen. Franken

Sen. Feinstein

Sen. Durbin

Sen. Duckworth

Sen. Cortez Masto

Sen. Coons

Sen. Carper

Sen. Cardin

Sen. Brown

Sen. Booker

Sen. Blumenthal

Sen. Bennet

Sen. Baldwin

Sen. Sanders

Sen. King

And we will hold accountable those who voted to confirm him:

Sen. Manchin

Sen. Heitkamp

Sen. Blunt

Sen. Johnson

Sen. Sasse

Sen. Strange

Sen. Heller

Sen. Scott

Sen. Enzi

Sen. Tillis

Sen. Toomey

Sen. Hatch

Sen. Isakson

Sen. Grassley

Sen. Flake

Sen. Young

Sen. Wicker

Sen. Thune

Sen. Sullivan

Sen. Shelby

Sen. Rubio

Sen. Rounds

Sen. Roberts

Sen. Risch

Sen. Portman

Sen. Perdue

Sen. Paul

Sen. Murkowski

Sen. Moran

Sen. McConnell

Sen. Lee

Sen. Lankford

Sen. Kennedy

Sen. Inhofe

Sen. Hoeven

Sen. Graham

Sen. Gardner

Sen. Fischer

Sen. Ernst

Sen. Daines

Sen. Cruz

Sen. Crapo

Sen. Cotton

Sen. Cornyn

Sen. Corker

Sen. Cochran

Sen. Cassidy

Sen. Moore Capito

Sen. Burr

Sen. Boozman

Sen. Barrasso

Sen. Alexander

(WASHINGTON – February 15, 2017) The Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, February 15, 2017 to discuss the “Modernization of the Endangered Species Act.”

“The Endangered Species Act (ESA) is one of our nation’s bedrock environmental laws, preventing the extinction of some of America’s most iconic wildlife – from the bald eagle that flies on the presidential seal to the New England cottontail that inspired the beloved fictional character Peter Rabbit.

“It should come as no surprise that the overwhelming majority of Americans, 90 percent of voters, support the law and want to see continued protections for the open prairie, tall forests and clean rivers that our nation’s wildlife call home. By protecting these ecosystems, we are also protecting healthy communities, vibrant recreation economies, and a rich natural heritage for future generations of Americans to enjoy.

“Rather than focusing on legislative changes to the Endangered Species Act, Congress should be focusing its efforts on supporting wildlife solutions that are flexible, efficient and cooperative. Congress should also provide the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with sufficient resources to complete timely reviews, ensure science-based decisions, foster effective conservation partnerships, and expedite the path to recovery.

“The best way to ‘modernize’ the Endangered Species Act is to maintain its essential foundations while taking fuller advantage of its flexibilities. The recent historic cooperative conservation effort to keep the greater sage-grouse off the Endangered Species List should provide the blueprint for future efforts to bring species back from the brink. America’s wildlife depend on the Endangered Species Act, and on the voluntary, market-based, state and stakeholder-led efforts that continue to evolve.”

-          Eric Holst, Associate Vice President of Working Lands, Environmental Defense Fund 

(Washington, D.C. – February 10, 2017) A coalition of public health and environmental advocates is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to protect the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards – a life-saving clean air measure that is already implemented and successfully protecting children across America from brain damage and adults from other serious illnesses.

The groups filed a brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Friday night in support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Supplemental Finding that it is appropriate and necessary to regulate mercury and other toxic air pollution from power plants. Among those that have challenged the supplemental finding is Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt – President Trump’s nominee for EPA Administrator, whose confirmation vote in the Senate is expected soon.

“The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards are built on a solid legal foundation, they are cost-effective, and they are crucially important for protecting Americans from some of the most deadly types of air pollution,” said Graham McCahan, Senior Attorney for Environmental Defense Fund which is a party to the case. “They are already in place and protecting American families. We should be focusing on further improving our air quality and the transition to a clean energy future rather than trying to roll-back these vital protections.”

The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards set the first-ever national limits on hazardous air pollutants – including mercury, arsenic, chromium, and hydrochloric acid gas – from power plants, the largest source of those pollutants. Those pollutants are dangerous to human health even in small doses — mercury causes brain damage in infants and children, metal toxics like chromium and nickel cause cancer, and acid gases cause respiratory problems.

The Mercury and Air Toxics Standards are already in place, and since 2011 major power companies have dramatically reduced their estimates of the costs to comply with the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards – while the body of scientific evidence keeps affirming how dangerous these toxic air pollutants are to human health. However, polluters and their allies continue suing to stop them.

When EPA issued the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards in 2011, it found that the public health benefits of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards were up to $90 billion annually, and far exceeded compliance costs. However, in June 2015, a sharply divided Supreme Court ruled 5-to-4 that EPA should have also considered the costs in its initial, or threshold, decision to regulate these hazardous emissions from power plants. EPA had considered costs in establishing the resulting emissions standards.

EPA then fulfilled the Supreme Court’s directives with a final supplemental finding confirming that the cost of compliance for the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards is eminently reasonable. Coal companies, coal-based power companies, and their allies have challenged that supplemental finding.

The American Lung Association, American Public Health Association, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Chesapeake Climate Action Network, Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future, Clean Air Council, Clean Air Task Force, Conservation Law Foundation, Downwinders at Risk, Earthjustice, Environmental Integrity Project, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Natural Resources Council of Maine, Natural Resources Defense Council, Ohio Environmental Council, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Sierra Club, and Southern Environmental Law Center joined EDF on Friday’s brief in support on the Mercury and Clean Air Standards.

A group of 16 states and five cities, and major electricity providers including Calpine and Exelon are also intervening in the case in support of EPA. A group of Native American tribes and tribal associations, a group of health scientists, the American Thoracic Society and the Institute for Policy Integrity have filed amicus, or “friend of the court,” briefs in support of EPA.

You can find more about the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, including all legal briefs, on EDF’s website. 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has announced that it will grant the easement required to complete construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, saying that all steps in the Presidential Memorandumof January 24, 2017 have been completed.

“The prior Administration was right to order a second look at this project and the possibility of alternative routes, because of concerns that proper environmental and cultural impacts had not been adequately assessed. With this decision, the new Administration appears uninterested in honoring the rights of Native Americans, and is setting a worrying precedent for any community in the path of oil and gas pipelines to come. Fortunately, we are a nation of laws. We expect the Standing Rock Sioux to take this matter to court; we support their right to do so.”

• Dan Grossman, Rocky Mountain Regional Director, Environmental Defense Fund

NEWS RELEASE

“The most fundamental obligation of government is to protect its citizens. With its actions since January 20, the Trump Administration has signaled that it is abdicating that basic responsibility.

“Rather than working to protect the health of American families, the Administration is eroding a 50-year bipartisan legacy of American health and environmental protection. It has suppressed taxpayer-funded public information, gagged the Environmental Protection Agency’s scientists, suspended its grants and contracts, and frozen federal protections that reduce harmful pollution. And its attacks on our environmental safeguards are just beginning.

“Some may be cheering the prospect of a streamlined regulatory process. But Environmental Defense Fund knows the difference between sensible regulatory reform and the wholesale demolition of environmental standards – and all signs point to a demolition. The President recently repeated his irresponsible pledge to dismantle 75 percent of rules and safeguards, including those that keep our air, water and land clean. The former head of his EPA transition team, Myron Ebell, just called for cutting the agency’s workforce in half. We cannot accept any weakening of our nation’s bedrock health and environmental protections.

“The President’s choice to run the EPA, Scott Pruitt, is a longstanding enemy of its mission who has sued at least 14 times to block clean air and water protections. In written responses to the Senate, Pruitt declined to name a single Clean Air Act regulation that he supports. If confirmed Pruitt will carry out the Administration’s dangerous agenda, not stand up for public health. Children in this country will have more asthma attacks, and more elderly Americans will die prematurely from lung disease. President Trump took an oath to ‘protect and defend,’ but he is on course to betray that promise.

“The notion that we must sacrifice our health and safety in the name of economic growth was debunked long ago. The administration’s agenda would run rough-shod over years of thoughtful policy-making – based on extensive public comment and judicial review – designed to move our nation toward cleaner energy. Decided in secret, with input only from a small group of insiders, their efforts will slow one of the fastest growing sectors of our economy. More than two and a half million Americans now work in energy efficiency, solar and wind – more than twice the number employed through fossil fuel generation. We need to move forward to the clean energy economy, not backward to an era of more pollution and disease.  

“American families do not want dirtier water and air. They overwhelmingly support a strong, effective Environmental Protection Agency. We will fight any attacks on clean air and clean water in Congress, the courts, in boardrooms and alongside Americans from both parties who care about a better future.

“Environmental Defense Fund is one of the organizations that is working to preserve information posted on the EPA climate web site, which the Administration has threatened to shut down. We will continue to stand for the integrity and transparency of science-based policy making. If the Trump Administration won’t protect and defend our environment and our children’s health, we the people will.”

            - Fred Krupp, president, Environmental Defense Fund   

(NEW YORK, NY – January 26, 2017) New York mayor Bill de Blasio today announced a Carbon Challenge for Commercial Owners and Tenants, a new partnership with the Real Estate Board of New York to reduce pollution generated by commercial office buildings. The initiative will help New York City achieve its climate target of lowering greenhouse gas emissions by 80 percent by 2050. Ten commercial owners and 12 tenants with more than 58 million square feet of office space have committed to reducing pollution by 30, 40, or 50 percent by 2026. As a result, emissions are projected to fall 60,000 metric tons and save $50 million in energy costs. Environmental Defense Fund played a significant role with the Mayor’s Office of Sustainability in the project’s strategic development and recruitment and joins major city building owners and companies in pledging to reduce carbon emissions by 30 percent in the next 10 years.

 “Almost 30 percent of New York City’s pollution comes from commercial buildings, and decreasing energy use in offices is critical. The Carbon Challenge will accelerate the city’s transformation to a clean energy economy and is an outstanding example for cities to follow.”

 ·         Rory Christian, Director, New York Clean Energy, Environmental Defense Fund

(CHICAGO – January 26, 2017) The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ), on behalf of the Illinois Commerce Commission, recently released its proposed decision on Ameren Illinois’ rate design case. The utility sought to increase its residential fixed monthly charge from 36 percent to 40 percent of the total bill, which would have discouraged customers from investing in energy efficiency and residential solar. The Citizens Utilities Board and Environmental Defense Fund opposed Ameren’s proposal, and recommended the fixed charge be reduced from 36 percent. By adopting our recommendation to lower the fixed charge, the ALJ increases customers’ incentive to invest in clean energy. 

“Clean energy is a critical part of the race to clean up our nation’s power sector, and the Illinois Commerce Commission took a step in the right direction to help encourage a more efficient, healthier electricity system. Lowering Ameren’s fixed charges will give customers more incentive to invest in energy-saving resources like energy efficiency and generate their own power through solar panels. This decision, combined with the state’s landmark Future Energy Jobs Bill, continues to solidify Illinois’ place at the forefront of the clean energy economy.”

• Dick Munson, Director, Midwest Clean Energy

(NEW YORK, NY – January 25, 2017) The New York Public Service Commission approved new Con Edison prices for gas and electric service through 2020. The decision comes four months after 22 parties, including the Department of Public Service, Con Edison, Environmental Defense Fund, and other environmental advocacy groups, filed a joint proposal to settle a rate case brought by Con Edison, New York’s largest electric utility, early in 2016.

“New York is taking a major step to break the chains holding utilities and customers back and is showing clear resolve in addressing barriers to spur progress and make Reforming the Energy Vision a reality. We are moving toward a system in which customers will have more control over their electricity use, and utilities will have more opportunities to embrace market-based mechanisms while creating environmental benefits aligned with the public good.”

• Rory Christian, Director, New York Clean Energy, Environmental Defense Fund

“Con Edison has shown it understands the importance of reducing methane emissions with the changes it is planning, offering a model for other utilities to follow. Gas leaks are a routine issue for natural gas utilities, where public safety must always be the priority. But leaky pipes also harm the climate. Methane, the main ingredient in natural gas, is a powerful pollutant over 80 times more damaging than carbon dioxide in the first 20 years.”

• N. Jonathan Peress, Director, Energy Market Policy, Environmental Defense Fund

(SACRAMENTO – January 24, 2017) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today put forward strong legal arguments supporting cap-and-trade auctions in oral arguments before the California Court of Appeal. EDF is party to the consolidated cases, California Chamber of Commerce et al. v. California Air Resources Board, et al., and Morning Star Packing Co. v. California Air Resources Board. For more background information on the litigation, see our FAQs: http://www.edf.org/sites/default/files/california-cap-and-trade-auction-litigation-faq-jan17.pdf.

“The court today was engaged and prepared, and asked important questions of both sides. We remain confident in the legal argument we have made before the Court, and that California’s cap-and-trade program is thoroughly anchored in the law. We’re in court because this is a challenge to a core component of California’s robust approach to regulating climate pollution. With cap and trade as a cornerstone of California’s ambitious climate policy, California’s carbon emissions are declining and the economy is thriving.”

• Erica Morehouse, Senior Attorney

Earlier today, nine separate organizations focused on restoring Louisiana’s coast – Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, Restore or Retreat, Louisiana Wildlife Federation, America’s Wetland Foundation, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, Environmental Defense Fund, and The Nature Conservancy – sent a letter to Governor John Bel Edwards urging him to reject a proposal by Representative Lance Harris (R-Alexandria) that would strip $9.3 million from the Executive Department’s budget in an effort to reduce the state’s mid-year deficit.

These cuts would negatively impact the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) – the state agency charged with addressing Louisiana’s worsening land loss crisis. CPRA recently released its draft 2017 Coastal Master Plan and is working to advance large-scale restoration and risk-reduction projects in order to avoid a future in which coastal Louisiana would lose an additional 2,250 square miles of land.

“Our concern is simply that the program will be prevented from effectively playing the essential role of restoring and protecting our coast if these cuts are implemented,” the letter stated.

In addition, the letter highlights how these ongoing mid-year funding cuts particularly impact CPRA, as its operating budget comes directly from the Executive Budget, unlike other state agencies. Over the last three years alone, mid-year funding cuts have diminished the coastal fund by more than $12 million.

Coupled with the dramatic decline in the price of oil, these cuts have “put the coastal program in a precarious position, potentially threatening the ability to perform its duties as prescribed by Louisiana law,” the letter continued. Mineral revenues from state lands are the only source of recurring state funds to the Coastal Protection and Restoration Trust Fund. In fiscal year 2016, these revenues totaled $27.6 million and are expected to fall to $14.6 million in fiscal year 2018.

The organizations noted specifically that funds from the BP settlement are used to implement projects and repair coastal areas, not pay staff salaries and other costs critical to implementing these projects successfully over time. At a time when the state is seeking funds to implement its $50-billion master plan, further reducing state contributions to coastal restoration “sends the wrong signal to our federal partners.”

Leaders from all nine organizations signed the letter stating, “We strongly oppose this proposal by Representative Harris, which we believe will have negative and consequential impacts to a program critical to the future of our state and nation.”

Read the letter in full here.