Complete list of press releases

(New York, NY – December 18, 2013) Today, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) announced the use of its Investor Confidence Project (ICP) protocols in the energy efficiency upgrade of a 98,000 square foot office building in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

ICP is designed to open energy efficiency markets to a wide range of investors, from building owners to financial institutions, and the secondary markets. Use of the protocols is expected to accelerate the vast potential of energy efficiency retrofits in commercial buildings by significantly increasing stakeholder confidence in the resulting savings. The ICP framework outlines a straightforward set of protocols that define a clear road-map for upgrades, following the life cycle of the building’s upgrade project and integrating the existing array of standards to ensure the project delivers real savings.

Matt Golden, EDF’s Senior Energy Finance Consultant and ICP Project Lead noted, “The ICP protocols are helping to transform the commercial building energy efficiency market by lowering transaction costs and increasing access to capital for efficiency projects. The use of ICP protocols in this comprehensive retrofit demonstrates that the effort is helping both building owners and investors gain confidence in energy efficiency investments.”

The ICP Energy Performance Protocols were developed by EDF with participation from a wide range of leading industry experts that include Sustainable Real Estate Solutions, Inc. (SRS), EMCOR Services New England Mechanical (EMCOR) and Connecticut’s Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA). The team collaborated on the Connecticut project, which is being financed by CEFIA, also known as the state’s ‘green bank’, under its Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) program. 

EMCOR leveraged the SRS energy retrofit underwriting software platform to undertake the upgrade of the office building consistent with the recently released ICP framework as well as C-PACE technical standards. As a result, both CEFIA and the building owner were armed with the data needed to meet their investment underwriting requirements.

Brian J. McCarter, CEO of SRS said, “EDF’s ICP protocols define a clear roadmap for stakeholders nationwide to confidently invest in energy efficiency.” McCarter added, “We are proud to have participated in this early use of EDF’s ICP initiatives to enhance and accelerate energy efficiency investment underwriting nationwide.” 

Genevieve R. Sherman, Senior Manager of CEFIA’s C-PACE program stated, “CEFIA welcomes EDF’s ICP that builds on the project underwriting foundation created in the Connecticut C-PACE program, which is specifically designed to address the owner and investor confidence challenge, perhaps the key impediment to energy retrofit financing nationwide.”  She added, “ICP furthers our goal of helping make energy efficiency and clean energy financing a mainstream financial asset class with a high degree of standardization, predictability, and scale.”

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About EDF’s ICP

Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) Investor Confidence Project (ICP) is developing a consensus framework to predict and measure energy savings, enabling the acceleration of energy efficiency investments and the emergence of a robust and thriving commercial building sector. The ICP framework provides a foundation for consistent, predictable and reliable savings outcomes. Through ICP, EDF is working closely with engineers, industry allies, financial market participants, insurers, regulators, and utilities to help define standard weights and measures that will enable the flow of private investment required to launch a global market for energy efficiency in buildings. For more information, visit eeperformance.org.

About SRS

Sustainable Real Estate Solutions, Inc. (SRS), an industry leader in on-demand building energy performance assessment, underwriting and proprietary benchmarking software, delivers Sustainable Real Estate Manager^® a cloud-based, software-as-a-service platform enabling building stakeholders to assess, underwrite, and measure and verify the energy and sustainability performance of their properties. For more information, visit SRMnetwork.com.

About CEFIA 

CEFIA was established by Connecticut’s General Assembly on July 1, 2011 through Public Act 11-80 as a quasi-public agency that supersedes the former Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF). CEFIA’s mission is to help ensure Connecticut’s energy security and community prosperity by realizing its environmental and economic opportunities through clean energy finance and investments. As the nation’s first state “Green Bank”, CEFIA leverages public and private funds to drive investment and scale-up clean energy deployment in Connecticut. For more information about CEFIA, please visit ctcleanenergy.com.

About EMCOR

Founded in 1966, EMCOR Services New England Mechanical is one of the region’s leading mechanical services providers serving clients in such markets as biotechnology research, pharmaceutical, commercial, industrial, institutional, health care, and higher education. The firm’s expertise includes mechanical and electrical services, building automation, and maintenance as well as systems integration. EMCOR Services New England Mechanical is a wholly owned subsidiary of EMCOR Group, Inc. (NYSE:EME), a Fortune 500 company with estimated 2013 revenues of ~$6.6B. For more information, visit EMCORGroup.com.

“All Americans will breathe easier if the courts rule in favor of clean air. Today, the U.S. Supreme Court and the D.C. Circuit simultaneously heard arguments in two of the most important clean air cases in our nation’s history. Justices at the Supreme Court heard about the cost-effective life-saving benefits of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, while a three judge panel at the D.C. Circuit heard about the critical importance of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards in protecting our children from the toxic air pollution that’s linked to brain damage.

“Both the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule and the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards are based on rigorous science and are firmly grounded in the law, and both will provide longer and healthier lives for millions of Americans. EDF is a party to both of these historic cases and we believe the arguments before both courts clearly outlined the compelling reasons for upholding these vital Clean Air Act protections.”

            -  Vickie Patton, EDF General Counsel

(Austin, Texas) The American Geophysical Union fall meeting — the largest annual gathering of earth scientists — begins today, bringing together many of the world’s foremost experts working on methane in the atmosphere. Methane emissions is a topic of growing interest in academic, scientific and policy circles, because of the growing awareness of its impact on rates of climate change over the next few decades.

Nine AGU presentations will feature insights from forthcoming studies that are part of the Environmental Defense Fund’s groundbreaking methane research series, where new methodologies and technologies are advancing the current knowledge surrounding the sources and rates of methane emissions from the U.S. natural gas supply chain. Five of the presentations will also share learnings from an innovative campaign EDF coordinated in the Barnett, an active shale oil-and-gas producing basin near Fort Worth, Texas that includes an extensive pipeline and distribution infrastructure.

EDF’s Barnett campaign brings together leading experts from academic and research facilities from around the country, including researchers affiliated with Colorado State University, Duke University, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and University of Colorado-Boulder, Pennsylvania State University, Princeton University, Purdue University, University of California-Davis and Scientific Aviation, University of California-Irvine, University of Cincinnati, University of Houston, University of Michigan, University of Texas-Dallas, Washington State University and West Virginia University. Experts from Carbon Now Cast, Conestoga-Rovers & Associates, Picarro and Sander Geophysics also participated.

A combination of aircraft, vehicle and ground-based measurement teams worked in tandem to collect methane emissions data across the natural gas supply chain – production, gathering and processing, transmission and storage and local distribution. Field work was conducted over two weeks in October 2013. The research teams are now analyzing the data to prepare a paper that will synthesize the results.

The Barnett campaign, along with the September 2013 University of Texas study authored by Dr. David Allen [“Measurements of methane emissions at natural gas production sites in the United States”], are part an ambitious study series catalyzed by EDF to better understand methane pollution. EDF has engaged with more than 90 universities, research facilities and industry companies in a rigorous scientific effort to measure methane leaks and releases from across the natural gas system. EDF expects 16 studies to be released in peer-reviewed scientific journals by the end of 2014.

“Identifying and understanding methane pollution is an urgent task and one that needs to be addressed now,” said Mark Brownstein, Associate Vice President and Chief Counsel for EDF’s US Climate & Energy Program. “As we understand methane leakage and release, we are simultaneously working to reduce those emissions as part of a larger effort to tackle the very real risks to public health and the environment associated with unconventional oil and gas development generally. We know enough to get started reducing methane emissions, as Colorado did last month with its new proposed air pollution rules for oil and gas development. The policy implications are clear.”

Practical learnings from EDF’s Barnett campaign along with other methane emissions research, much of which has been sponsored by EDF, will be discussed at AGU this week. Titles of these AGU papers include:

-       Estimates of methane and ethane emissions from the Texas Barnett Shale

-       Quantifying fugitive methane emissions from natural gas production with mobile technology

-       Quantifying the relative contribution of natural gas fugitive emissions to total methane emissions in Colorado, Utah, and Texas using mobile δ13CH4 analysis

-       Results from mobile lab measurements obtained in the Barnett Shale with emphasis on methane and gaseous mercury emissions (Fort Worth, TX)

-       Spatial and temporal characterization of methane plumes from mobile platforms

-       Quantifying urban natural gas leaks from street-level methane mapping: measurements and uncertainty

-       Measuring methane emissions from industrial and waste processing sites using the dual tracer flux ratio method

-       Quantification of methane emissions from street level data

-       Quantification of the methane emission flux from the city of Indianapolis, IN: identification and contribution of sources

NOTE: For reporters interested in speaking about the methane study series, Steven Hamburg, EDF’s Chief Scientist, is available for interviews. Please call Lauren Whittenberg at 512.691.3437 to schedule an interview.

(New Orleans, LA—December 6, 2013) Today, Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell announced that the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) Trustees have released their draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) and their draft Restoration Plan for Phase III of early NRDA restoration projects. These projects, which were first announced April 30, will be funded through the $1 billion early NRDA funds that BP agreed to invest in restoration of damaged natural resources resulting from the 2010 Gulf oil disaster.

Leading national and local conservation organizations working on Mississippi River Delta restoration — Environmental Defense Fund, National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation and the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana — released the following statement in response:

“More than three years after the largest oil spill in our nation’s history, today’s announcement is a positive step toward healing the battered Gulf. The Natural Resource Damage Assessment process moving forward through release of the PEIS signifies progress toward restoration. We encourage the NRDA trustees, BP and stakeholders to continue working together to implement these early restoration projects and help revive the Gulf Coast’s struggling natural resources.

“The trustees’ commitment to funding environmental projects in Louisiana, including nearly $320 million proposed for barrier island restoration, is an exciting advancement toward restoring the Mississippi River Delta. Barrier islands provide critical storm protection and are the first line of defense for New Orleans and other coastal communities. They also provide habitat for migrating birds and other wildlife, including the Louisiana brown pelican. These early restoration funds will help rebuild four barrier islands, including the Breton Island National Wildlife Refuge, which was ground zero during the oil spill.

“We look forward to reviewing and providing public comments on the draft PEIS and to working with the NRDA Trustees during the public comment period and the implementation stage to complete these vital restoration efforts. The communities and economies of the Gulf Coast and Mississippi River Delta have waited long enough for restoration, and these early restoration projects are a key step toward fairness and recovery.”

(Washington, DC – December 5, 2013) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) strongly supports President Obama’s bold step to drive the U.S. toward a clean energy economy by directing the federal government to more than double its use of renewable power by 2020. This is the latest step taken by the President as part of a Climate Action Plan he announced earlier this year, which is critical to reducing harmful carbon pollution while driving innovation, cutting energy waste and energy bills, creating jobs and protecting public health.

“EDF applauds the Obama Administration for taking an important step toward doubling down on a clean energy industry that’s never been more promising,” said EDF President Fred Krupp. “Renewable energy has become cost-competitive over the years and the quality of innovative clean technologies has dramatically improved.  These are clean, efficient, homegrown resources that we can count on now.  The President understands that getting our energy future on the right path is an essential foundation that our country needs in order to be competitive, provide jobs and protect our health and environment.”  

“We are grateful to Nancy for her service heading the Council on Environmental Quality. The Obama administration has taken important steps to address climate change and other environmental threats during her tenure. She has led a number of those efforts, including elevating the importance of climate-smart strategies to prepare for the impacts of climate change. We thank her for her work preserving the natural systems on which all life depends, and for being a tireless voice for the environment inside the White House.”

- Elizabeth Thompson, President of EDAF

(WARSAW – Nov. 23, 2013)  Against the backdrop of UN climate talks that made little tangible progress on a number of key issues, a bright spot of the negotiations was a comprehensive agreement on policies to Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+), said U.S.-based Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

“The Warsaw Framework sets down deep roots for REDD+, and sends a clear signal that REDD+ will continue to be a crucial tool for conserving forests and protecting the climate,” said Nathaniel Keohane, EDF’s Vice President for International Climate. “We can’t solve climate change without saving our forests – and this agreement ensures that protecting forests and the people who depend on them will be an important part of the toolbox for climate action.”

The REDD+ approach creates economic incentives to reward countries and jurisdictions that reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation below rigorously defined baselines. The Warsaw Framework for REDD+ Action, as the agreement was dubbed, ensures a rigorous, transparent framework for measuring emissions reductions from reduced deforestation; affirms that financial flows will be tied to demonstrated results; and creates a structure for forest nations to share views on the effectiveness of REDD+ implementation. Together, this comprehensive package of decisions provides a structure for countries to develop REDD+ programs at a national level, and take advantage of the approximately $700 million per year already pledged for REDD+ program preparation and to pilot results-based payments.

Outside of the agreement on forests, countries failed to make significant progress. Behind closed doors, nations put on the table some useful options for ensuring the integrity of both market and non-market approaches to reduce emissions. But governments were unable to reach consensus on this or other issues, like how to generate more finance to help poorer countries cope with climate disasters and shift to low-carbon development.

“This was always going to be a meeting focused on laying the groundwork for a 2015 agreement, with more likelihood of headaches than headlines. Even so, negotiators have left themselves a lot to do over the next two years in order to reach a meaningful outcome in Paris,” Keohane said.

Outside the negotiating rooms, numerous side events showcased climate action by countries, subnational jurisdictions, and non-state actors around the world, through forums such as the Climate and Clean Air Coalition to reduce short-lived climate “superpollutants” such as methane, black carbon, and HFCs. Such initiatives are expected to be the focus of the Climate Summit that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon will hold in September 2014 in New York.

“Countries and other actors don’t need to wait for an international agreement in 2015,” said Keohane. “With the damaging impacts of climate change already apparent in the United States and around the world, the world urgently needs near-term action to turn the corner on global emissions and put us on a downward trajectory toward climate safety.”

Denver (Nov. 21, 2013) —Today, a Colorado Court of Appeals affirmed, in a 2-1 decision, a lower court decision holding that a lawsuit filed by the Colorado Mining Association challenging the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission’s adoption of Colorado’s Regional Haze plan was moot.

Colorado’s Regional Haze plan is a bipartisan clean air plan that includes a suite of cost-effective air pollution reductions stemming from Colorado’s landmark Clean Air, Clean Jobs Act. Emissions reductions from the plan will cut Denver’s “Brown Cloud,” curb summer smog across the Colorado Front Range, protect Rocky Mountain National Park and reduce dangerous carbon pollution. Colorado’s Clean Air, Clean Jobs Act demonstrates that smart, bipartisan state-driven solutions to our nations clean air challenges are durable and put Colorado on a solid path towards meeting upcoming air quality and climate challenges.

“Coloradans continue to lead the nation in bipartisan solutions to build a strong clean energy economy and healthier air for our families,” said John Nielsen Executive Director of Western Resources Advocates. “These pioneering solutions have laid a strong foundation for Colorado to again lead the way in meeting EPA’s carbon pollution standards for power plants.”

“The Court was clearly correct to reject Colorado Mining Association’s meritless attack on these clean air protections for Colorado,” said Tom Bloomfied of The Gallagher Law Group, who represented a coalition of environmental and conservation organizations in defending the protections under the Clean Air-Clean Jobs Act, including Western Resources Advocates, Environmental Defense Fund, Sierra Club, Environment Colorado and Conservation Colorado. “The Colorado legislature itself approved the Colorado clean air plan after it was presented to them, so that plan is now the law in Colorado. The Colorado Mining Association’s relentless lawsuits attacking earlier agency action are moot.”

“Today’s judicial decision affirms, yet again, that Colorado’s collaborative blueprint for clean air and clean jobs is sound,” said Environmental Defense Fund attorney Pamela Campos. “It’s time for the Colorado Mining Association to end this fight and to join with the coalition of Coloradans building healthier communities and a safer climate.”

“This decision upholds the desire of Coloradans to ensure a future with cleaner air and cleaner energy choices,” said Roger Singer with Sierra Club in Colorado. “Our state and the EPA can now better focus on moving forward together with cleaning up old coal plants and investing in renewable energy.”

“Today’s decision further demonstrates the deep commitment to continue to protect our air quality and move forward with a commitment to clean and renewable energy for the future of Colorado,” said Jeanne Bassett, Senior Associate with Environment Colorado.

“Since the passage of the Clean Air Clean Jobs Act, Colorado has become a leader in taking cost effective common sense measures to protect our rocky mountain air, while providing Colorado the clean energy we need to power our economy and protect our unique quality of life,” said Pete Maysmith, Executive Director, Conservation Colorado. “The Colorado Court of Appeals decision today is a vicotry for Colorado’s clean air.”

Clean Air, Clean Jobs paved the way for the retirement and replacement of the aging, dirty coal-fired power plants in the Denver-metro area, and will result in substantial improvements for the region’s air quality while cutting the carbon pollution that causes extreme weather.

While the Colorado Mining Association (CMA) has been fighting for over three years now to undermine these critical human health and environmental protections for Colorado’s families and communities, the Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision holding that the CMA challenge was moot. Colorado’s clean air plan was approved by the General Assembly with broad, bi-partisan support.

The Colorado clean air plan will dramatically reduce harmful oxides of nitrogen and sulfur dioxide emissions, cut millions of tons of carbon pollution, and will generate more than $200 million per year in public health benefits (In Re Colorado Regional Haze State Implementation Plan, CO Air Quality Control Comm’n, Env’l Coalition Rebuttal Statement, 1-2 Dec. 27, 2010)

PHOENIX – A statewide poll conducted by Public Opinion Strategies on October 3-7 revealed that ensuring a reliable supply of water is now a top priority for Arizona voters, positioning fifth on a list of important issues, just below jobs and above state spending, taxes and crime. 74 percent of respondents said reliable water supplies are a “serious” or “very serious” concern. 

“It’s clear from the data that Arizona voters take water issues seriously,” said Nicole McCleskey, a Partner at Public Opinion Strategies, one of the nation’s leading public opinion research firms. 

The poll of 500 voters was commissioned by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and has a 4.38 percent margin of error.

74 percent of respondents consider diminishing groundwater supply a serious problem throughout the state. Policy proposals focused on incentives received very high levels of support. Voters “strongly supported” incentives to promote water conservation and efficiency at the level of 71 percent for residential use and 64 percent for agriculture. 

The results also revealed significant support for policies that immediately move Arizona toward sustainable water policy.  On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being “most concerning”, voters gave a score of 7.4 to the statement, “We will create a financial burden for ourselves and future generations by mismanaging our water supplies today.” Two-thirds of respondents also strongly supported requiring long-term water supplies in advance of new development.

“Arizona leaders will find a receptive audience when discussing water issues and developing solutions that benefit future generations,” said McCleskey. 

EDF is a leading national environmental organization working to promote market-driven, science-based and collaborative approaches to long-term water policy in the Colorado River Basin states, including Arizona. 

“It’s encouraging to learn that Arizona voters see the importance of addressing long-term water issues in securing the state’s future,” said Kevin Moran, Senior Arizona Advisor to EDF. “The sooner we can implement efficient and cost-effective solutions, the sooner we can avoid financial burdens and improve the reliability of water for Arizonans.”

The State of Colorado today took a bold step toward establishing the nation’s leading program for controlling air and climate pollution from oil and gas operations. The state Air Pollution Control Division proposed new regulations that, if adopted in hearings scheduled for February 2014, would achieve important reductions of volatile organic compounds – an ozone precursor – and methane, the principal component of natural gas and a highly potent greenhouse gas.

“This proposal represents a model for the nation. It shows that state officials, industry leaders and environmental groups can come together to develop win-win solutions that help square the need to protect local communities and the environment with the need for domestic energy production,” said Fred Krupp, President of Environmental Defense Fund.

EDF believes that natural gas can be a significant part of moving toward a low-carbon future if strong rules and enforcement capacity are in place to protect communities from discharges to air, land and water, and to make sure the greenhouse gas benefit natural gas has over coal isn’t undercut by methane emissions.

Natural gas produces half the carbon dioxide (CO2) of coal when combusted and offers advantages for local and regional air quality compared to coal, since it emits far fewer ozone precursors and sulfur oxides and almost no particulate matter or mercury. This inherent carbon benefit of natural gas can be undermined by leakage of methane throughout the natural gas supply chain, including during production activities. Methane is at least 28 times more powerful than CO2 as a greenhouse gas over the longer term and at least 84 times more potent in the near term. Likewise, oil and gas operations are the largest source of man-made volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions in Colorado, contributing to smog formation. The proposed additions to Colorado’s existing rules, if finalized, would create a national model for addressing emissions of methane and VOCs by:

• Establishing the first set of rules in the nation to directly regulate methane emissions from the oil and gas production sector.
• Establishing the most robust rules of any state for reducing “fugitive” emissions, by requiring operators to perform frequent checks for leaks using infrared cameras and other modern technologies and quickly repair those leaks.
• Strengthening Colorado’s rules for controlling methane and ozone precursors from storage tanks and other equipment.

“Tackling smog and climate pollution from the oil and gas sector is a critical part of making sure communities are protected and that the lower carbon advantage of natural gas doesn’t simply leak away,” Krupp said. “If this package is adopted, Coloradans will breathe easier, knowing they have the best rules in the country for controlling air pollution from oil and gas activities.” Krupp said.

“The leadership of Governor Hickenlooper and the companies that have stepped forward to support this rule, Anadarko Petroleum, Encana, and Noble Energy, has been indispensable,” Krupp said. “At a time when the debate over shale gas is increasingly polarized, it’s heartening that with this air pollution rule state officials, energy companies and environmental organizations have demonstrated they are up to the task of working together to make sure strong safeguards are in place.”

The rule package will be formally proposed to the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission by agency staff on November 21 and will be scheduled for hearings in February 2014. The Commission meetings are open to the public.

(New Orleans—November 15, 2013) Today, new educational, interactive signage will be unveiled on the Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle viewing platform in New Orleans’ Lower Ninth Ward. These signs will help visitors and residents understand what they are seeing as they gaze out over the ghostly remnant snags of a former cypress swamp. At this site, in the backyard of a community less than five miles from the French Quarter that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina, visitors will learn about efforts to restore the ecosystem and the broader, critical need for coastal restoration.

“The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana (CPRA) and parishes have already committed millions of dollars to the restoration of the Central Wetlands area. This urban swamp is not just one of the best educational and accessible tools we have to teach our children about the important role wetlands play in our environment, but a healthy Mississippi River-Gulf Outlet (MRGO) ecosystem plays a key role in tempering storm surge for these historic Ninth Ward and St. Bernard communities,” said Garret Graves, Chair of CPRA. “We look forward to working with area neighborhoods, Orleans and St. Bernard parishes and other stakeholders to restore this once-thriving area as envisioned in the State’s Coastal Master Plan.”

“Not long ago, Bayou Bienvenue was a freshwater cypress swamp filled with indigenous wildlife, but after the completion of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet shipping channel, it was left decimated by saltwater intrusion,” New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu said. “Today, efforts are underway to restore this natural treasure. The new interactive signage will increase awareness of these efforts and the bayou’s importance to coastal restoration.”

The signs explain the importance of the Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle to the community, what has happened to the area since construction of the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet (MRGO) and how the Triangle serves as a portal to the larger land loss issues facing Louisiana’s coast. Visitors will have the opportunity to interact with the signs and the natural areas around them by using their smartphones to watch videos, call to listen to coastal experts, sign an action alert, text “BAYOU” to donate to the Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development’s coastal outreach program, sign up for volunteer events, sign an electronic guestbook and learn even more about restoration efforts on the signs’ accompanying website, www.restorethebayou.org.

“This event is a wonderful expression of collaboration and coordination among community, city, state and national groups working together for the benefit of the Lower Ninth Ward Community,” said Arthur Johnson, Executive Director of The Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development. “The Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle and platform is a dynamic component displaying the texture and make-up of residents and neighborhoods in the Lower Ninth Ward. This effort is a continuation of building a sustainable and resilient community as created and developed by Pam Dashiell, founder of the CSED.”

“The Mississippi River Delta Restoration Coalition is pleased to work with the community to help interpret one of the most visited and accessible coastal sites in Louisiana, the Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle,” said Amanda Moore, Greater New Orleans Program Manager for National Wildlife Federation. “These one-of-a-kind signs will help thousands of visitors learn more about and engage in the critical effort to restore our coast.”

This signage project is a product of The Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development, Environmental Defense Fund, National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation.

“Frances Beinecke is one of the clearest thinking, clearest talking leaders ever to emerge from the environmental community. Her passionate and reasoned voice, her listening skills and her persuasive abilities have contributed mightily to many of the most important environmental successes of our era. During her tenure at NRDC, she has shown again and again a path above narrow organizational interest and toward broad cooperation. I am sure her work for the cause will continue.”

—Fred Krupp, President of Environmental Defense Fund

(Sacramento, CA – November 14, 2013) Today the Sacramento Superior Court upheld California’s ambitious cap-and-trade program against a challenge to its carbon auctions, a key feature of the landmark program.

Cap-and-trade allows California to reduce carbon pollution at the lowest possible cost while auctioning carbon permits holds polluters accountable for their impact on the climate.

“Today’s decision marks another win for the Golden State’s clean energy economy and the communities across California hit hardest by climate pollution. The court sent a strong signal today, thoroughly affirming California’s innovative climate protection program—including the vital safeguards to ensure that polluters are held accountable for their harmful emissions” said Erica Morehouse, an attorney with the Environmental Defense Fund.

The court stated: “The court does not find Petitioners’ arguments persuasive. Although AB 32 does not explicitly authorize the sale of allowances, it specifically delegates to [the Air Resources Board] the discretion to adopt a cap-and-trade program and to “design” a system of distribution of emissions allowances.”

“The court affirmed today what the overwhelming majority of Californians want – to move forward with clean energy solutions that help reduce pollution and create opportunities for clean energy innovation,” added Alex Jackson, an attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. “The decision clears the way for California to continue pursuing the critical goals of the Global Warming Solutions Act.”

Last year, in an apparent attempt to disrupt and inject uncertainty into the carbon market, the California Chamber of Commerce filed their lawsuit a day before California’s first ever carbon auction. The timing was notable given the lack of any challenge in the almost 11 months since the regulation went into effect.

To date, the first four auctions have raised $395 million for the state. A fifth auction will be held Nov 19th.

California has committed to using the proceeds from the cap-and-trade auction for investments that reduce climate pollution while also benefiting the state’s overall health and economy.

(New Orleans, LA – November 14, 2013) Today, leading national and local conservation and restoration organizations – Environmental Defense Fund, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation – released the following joint statement:

“We applaud the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), in partnership with Louisiana’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, for dedicating $67.9 million to seven key barrier island and river diversion projects, including $40.4 million for the Mid-Barataria Diversion project. The Barataria Basin has one of the highest rates of land loss in the world, and this large-scale wetland restoration project is crucial to reversing that trend.

“The mid-sized Mid-Barataria sediment diversion is a key component of Louisiana’s 2012 Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast. The master plan is a blueprint for restoring the Mississippi River Delta and Louisiana’s coast and contains a suite of coastal restoration and protection projects. Our organizations support the full suite of restoration projects in that plan, of which the Mid-Barataria Diversion is a critical piece.

“Restoration of Louisiana’s disappearing wetlands is important not only to Louisiana but to the entire nation. Louisiana’s wetlands and waters provide one-third of the nation’s seafood, are a stopover point for migratory birds traveling the Mississippi Flyway and provide critical wildlife habitat. Projects like the Mid-Barataria Diversion can help revive Louisiana’s coastal wetlands – part of America’s largest delta – to a productive, functioning state, which provides important ecological and economic opportunities for people and wildlife. We look forward to continued work with both the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the State of Louisiana to implement the Mid-Barataria sediment diversion on its current timeline of being ready for construction in 2015.”

(WASHINGTON – November 14, 2013) Today the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard will hold a hearing on the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to review perspectives from the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and Caribbean. This is the second in a series of regionally-focused hearings by the subcommittee considering proposals for reauthorization of the nation’s federal fisheries law.

Pamela Baker, EDF’s Gulf of Mexico Oceans Program Director, issued the following statement:

“In the years since the Magnuson-Stevens Act was last reauthorized we’ve seen a remarkable transformation of the Gulf’s commercial red snapper and grouper fisheries. The current law gives the regional fishery management council the responsibility to deeply involve fishermen and all stakeholders and the flexibility to implement far-sighted changes to meet the Act’s dual objectives of thriving stocks and viable fishing communities. 

“Solving fishery problems is challenging, but the system has worked to replace management that had failed with a plan that meets regional needs. The changes have dramatically improved conservation outcomes while increasing economic performance of coastal fishing-related businesses, and enabled more Americans to enjoy fresh, wild-caught Gulf seafood. As Congress considers changes to the law, it must first and foremost safeguard what is working well.

“Management of the Gulf’s federal red snapper recreational fishery is broken. To get longer seasons that people seek and ensure sustainability, new plans are needed that help anglers and charter captains improve their opportunities to fish. Meaningful change will once again require vision and foresight from the regional fishery council and stakeholders.

“However, false ‘solutions’—such as ”reallocation” of fish away from  local fishing businesses and consumers, or weakening amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Act—won’t help anglers and represent a step backwards from a prosperous future for the Gulf.  It is time to end the old dynamic of “commercial versus recreational” fishing and replace it with one that respects a diversity of values from Gulf fisheries and the potential gains from new collaboration among fishermen.”