Complete list of press releases

NEWS RELEASE

Contact:
Joaquin McPeek, 916-492-7173, jmcpeek@edf.org
Matt Hurst, 310-206-5252, matt.hurst@luskin.ucla.edu

(Los Angeles, CA – November 13, 2013) Today, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation released a set of maps titled “Los Angeles Solar and Efficiency Report (LASER): Atlas of Investment Potential for LA County,” which shows that nearly 29,000 local jobs in solar panel installation could be created if merely 5 percent of the rooftop solar energy generating potential in LA County was realized.

Capturing this 5 percent of solar capacity would reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.25 million tons, equivalent to avoiding the emissions of more than 250,000 cars annually.

LASER maps also indicate that nearly 1.5 million buildings in LA County were built before energy efficiency codes went into effect. This means that 80% of all buildings in LA County have elevated potential for cost-saving, energy efficiency investments.

The LASER Atlas contains profiles of 9 sub-regions across LA County, mapping the areas in each sub-region where there is elevated potential for cost-effective solar energy and energy efficiency improvements for local buildings. The LASER Atlas also identifies where these investments are needed the most. There is significant overlap between areas of strong physical potential as defined by infrastructure, and disadvantaged areas as identified by environmental health and socioeconomic data. 

EDF commissioned and the Luskin Center produced the LASER Atlas to provide a tool to help local decision-makers and community members think strategically about investing new state funding. In particular, cap-and-trade proceeds stemming from AB 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act, and Proposition 39, the California Clean Energy Jobs Act, will results in billions of dollars to mitigate climate change pollution, expand renewable energy generation, and create jobs in California.

“Together, EDF and the Luskin Center have created a powerful resource that can help the LA region unlock a cleaner energy future,” said Colleen Callahan, deputy director of the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation. “Combined with California’s innovative climate policies, the ‘LASER’ Atlas can impact how the region invests new state resources to address pressing environmental challenges while providing job opportunities in its most impacted communities.”

“This study sends a clear message to Angelenos – the potential to invest in LA’s clean, renewable energy economy and build healthier communities is huge. We hope these maps become an effective tool for local elected officials and community advocates as they look to seize those opportunities,” said Jorge Madrid, coordinator of partnerships and alliances with EDF. 

Many state leaders have already worked to ensure renewables, including solar, become a staple of California’s energy supply and economic growth.  AB 1532, sponsored by the Speaker of the Assembly John A. Pérez, sets up a broad framework for how cap-and-trade auction proceeds should be allocated in the coming years. It includes investing in opportunities to help California reach its mandated goal of 33% renewable energy by 2020, and directing at least 25 percent of proceeds to projects that benefit disadvantaged communities.

“California has become a global leader in combating climate change, due in part to innovative state policies and projects like the ‘LASER’ maps that provide us with a pathway to lower emissions and a more sustainable economy,” said Speaker Pérez.

The LASER Atlas underscores how energy efficiency investments can reduce demand for electricity, thus lowering climate change emissions while at the same time making buildings more livable and saving money for residents, businesses and taxpayers. 

This is important because under a “business-as-usual” scenario, the LA region is projected to experience a tripling in the number of extreme heat days in the downtown and urban core by mid-century, and four times the number of heat days in the valleys and at higher elevations, according to a separate UCLA study lead by Alex Hall, and mapped in the LASER Atlas.

What Others Are Saying about LASER:

“The LASER maps help visualize not only the stark challenge we face in preparing the LA region for the impacts of climate change, but also the enormous opportunity we have to create good jobs and economic opportunity while meeting that challenge.”

·         Kate Gordon, Vice President, Next Generation

“In its efforts to identify energy efficiency opportunities and create jobs, the Labor Management Cooperation Committee of IBEW Local 11 and Los Angeles Chapter of the National Electrical Contractors Association have found Profiles of Clean Energy Investment Potential in LA County to be a very valuable tool.  The profiles have helped us target our marketing efforts, provide data to local political leaders and identify job growth opportunity.”

·         Joe Sullivan, Director of Energy Solutions, IBEW/NECA/LMCC

“It’s critical that leadership in Greater Los Angeles build resilient communities as the region prepares for the impacts of climate change. The clean energy potential profiled in the LASER maps can serve as a guide to the leaders looking to achieve a cleaner, more prosperous future.”

·         Krista Kline, Managing Director, LA Regional Collaborative

“In our work providing solar to low-income families, the Atlas is a welcome and helpful tool. It is striking to so clearly see the large opportunities in LA County for clean energy investment both in terms of potential solar capacity and the region’s environmental and economic needs.”

·         Michael Kadish, Executive Director, GRID Alternatives-Greater Los Angeles

“These maps will give new urgency to the discussion about how we adapt to climate change at the neighborhood level.  They will help us organize for more energy efficiency programs that keep our homes cool during extreme heat days, while creating jobs and helping us transition away from dirty energy.”

·         Jessica Goodheart, RePower LA Project Director, LAANE

The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, including Gov. Matt Mead, gave final approval on Tuesday to new statewide rules that will require oil and gas drillers to scientifically establish and monitor the quality of groundwater around sites prior to, during, and after oil and gas development.

Environmental Defense Fund and the Wyoming Outdoor Council applaud this action, which they say establishes a groundwater testing standard that is a model for the nation.

“Governor Mead, his appointees and staff have shown great leadership in this effort,” said Richard Garrett, energy policy analyst with the Wyoming Outdoor Council. “The governor is right — and just about everyone agrees — collecting baseline water quality data prior to drilling, and following up with post completion sampling, are necessary steps. This rule will help protect everyone: landowners, Wyoming citizens, and industry.”

“Wyoming should be proud of this rule,” Jon Goldstein, EDF senior energy policy manager said. “It sets a new national standard for groundwater baseline testing and monitoring related to oil and gas activity. The open, inclusive approach the state took in formulating this proposal has led to a strong, scientifically valid groundwater testing program. This rule will give Wyoming residents important information about the quality of their water.”

Wyoming’s new rule will be applied statewide. It will require that companies use a “radial approach” to sampling wells (testing drinking water sources within a half mile radius of new oil and gas wells) without an artificial cap on the number of wells tested, and it includes a required Sampling and Analysis Protocol (SAP) to ensure that procedures and parameters are consistently implemented.

Wyoming’s proposed SAP is currently the most detailed guidance provided by any state regarding how private wells should be sampled, the groups say.

(WARSAW/ WASHINGTON – Nov. 11, 2013) Negotiators meeting in Warsaw, Poland for this year’s United Nations climate conference (COP-19) will not finalize the structure of an international agreement to address climate, but should make progress on some important topics that constitute the nuts and bolts of such an agreement, U.S.-based Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) said on the first day of the meeting.  

“Negotiators in Warsaw need to clear out the brush so they can see a path to resolving major issues on the road to Paris,” said Nathaniel Keohane, EDF’s vice president for international climate and a former economic adviser in the Obama administration.

Delegates in Warsaw will continue work on key components of a new agreement to fight climate change – like how to support policies that reduce emissions from deforestation (REDD+), and how to finance work that reduces greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, countries face the broader issue of how to knit these topics together in an overarching agreement, set to be finalized at the 2015 negotiations in Paris.

An important area for discussion concerns the framework that the 2015 agreement will put in place to support and promote ambitious actions by countries to address climate change. An effective framework will elaborate key integrity standards for transparency and environmental efficacy, create incentives for early emissions reductions before 2020, and facilitate the use of well-designed carbon markets to help nations take ambitious action to reduce emissions.

“Warsaw is unlikely to generate front-page headlines – but below the surface, there is considerable potential to make real progress on key foundational issues,” Keohane said. “This is the year for negotiators to get their hands dirty and prepare the ground for an effective framework in 2015 – one that encourages countries to take ambitious emissions cuts and invites all countries to participate.”

Media Advisory for Friday, November 15, 2013

Each year, thousands of people visit the Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle viewing platform in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward. New signage to be unveiled Nov. 15 will help these visitors and residents alike understand what they are seeing when they look out over a cypress ghost swamp in the backyard of a community devastated by Hurricane Katrina. Visitors will learn why the Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle is important 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. This signage project is a product of The Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development (CSED), Environmental Defense Fund, National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation.

Press Conference Details:

WHAT: Press conference, signage unveiling and photo and interview opportunities.

WHEN: Friday, November 15, 10:00 a.m. CT

WHERE:
Bayou Bienvenue Wetland Triangle Viewing Platform
Florida Ave at Caffin Ave
Lower 9^th Ward
New Orleans, LA 70117 ‎

WHO:
Garret Graves, Chair, Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana
Charles Allen, Director, Office of Coastal and Environmental Affairs, City of New Orleans
James Austin Gray II, Councilmember, New Orleans City Council
Jacquelyn Brechtel Clarkson, Councilmember-at-Large, New Orleans City Council (Invited)
Arthur Johnson, Executive Director, The Lower Ninth Ward Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development
Amanda Moore, Greater New Orleans Program Manager, National Wildlife Federation

More information about the signs:
While at the viewing platform, visitors will have numerous opportunities to interact with the signs and the natural area around them. They can scan a QR code with their smartphones and watch videos about Bayou Bienvenue and other coastal restoration projects on the accompanying website.  Visitors can use their phones to sign an action alert or text “BAYOU” to donate to the CSED’s coastal outreach program, call to listen to locals and coastal experts further discuss the coastal crisis facing Louisiana, sign up for volunteer opportunities with local organizations, as well as sign an electronic guestbook via Instagram.

(Rockville, MD – November 6, 2013) Smart Grid Today named the 50 Smart Grid Pioneers of 2013 today, which includes Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) own Miriam Horn.  Those on the list are described as “the experts and risk-takers to whom [Smart Grid Today] turned to explain in detail the industry’s most newsworthy moves, insights, advances, setbacks and new concerns.”   

“EDF is fighting for a cleaner, more secure energy future, and trailblazer Miriam Horn has done tremendous work accelerating our country’s transition to a clean, low-carbon economy.  We thank Miriam for her tireless efforts advocating for a modern, intelligent, interactive electricity system that will spur economic growth, cleaner air and a safer climate and congratulate her on a job well done,” said Jim Marston, vice president of EDF’s US Climate and Energy Program.

“Senator Markey is showing the kind of leadership we need from Congress in order move our country forward toward a clean energy future, and protect our planet from the dangers of climate change. He should be commended for his work on this critically important issue.

The bill would require electric utilities to obtain 25 percent of their electricity from renewables by 2025, while also setting energy efficiency targets for electric and natural gas utilities. A national renewable electricity standard, like the one suggested in the American Renewable Energy and Efficiency Act, could spur energy innovation at the state and local levels. The provisions in this bill would help the U.S. increase renewable energy production while also reducing energy waste.

“The bill would help create jobs for Americans, reduce harmful pollution, and save our families money. We look forward to working with all Members of Congress on the issue, to help create the strongest possible legislation.”

— Elgie Holstein, Environmental Defense Action Fund

(Raleigh, NC – Oct. 29, 2013) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the NC Sustainable Energy Association (NCSEA) commended the North Carolina Utilities Commission today for giving final approval to Duke Energy to implement a plan that will increase investments in energy efficiency and reduce energy use.

Duke’s new shared savings plan allows the company to make money on energy efficiency investments, but only if customers save money.  The commission’s decision strengthens the potential that Duke will meet its merger goal of 7% in energy savings over the next five years.  

The decision also requires Duke Energy to explore new programs that increase investments in energy efficiency, such as on-bill repayment and combined heat and power technology for commercial customers.  The plan replaces Save-a-Watt, which expires at the end of this year.

“Duke’s plan is another milestone in an evolving utility business model that will lead North Carolina to a robust, clean energy economy as it grapples with an aging electric generating infrastructure,” said Greg Andeck, EDF manager of utility initiatives.  “The plan aligns the utility’s return on energy efficiency investments with program performance and customer savings.  The company will be motivated to invest in cost-effective programs to increase energy efficiency.”

“While not perfect, the Save-a-Watt program clearly established that consumers and utilities benefit from energy efficiency investments,” said Lowell Sachs, NCSEA communications director.  “Duke Energy’s support for the new and improved plan not only signals the company’s long-term commitment to energy efficiency in North Carolina moving forward, it also provides increased certainty to clean energy businesses as they plan whether and where to create new manufacturing, sales, and installation jobs in the state.”

The commission’s decision incorporates the major elements of an agreement reached in August by Duke Energy, Commission Public Staff, EDF, NCSEA and environmental groups. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS), along with project partners Ducks Unlimited (DU),  The Climate Trust (TCT) and The Nature Conservancy, today  announced positive results from their joint collaboration — an innovative Avoided Grassland Conversion carbon project. The project is one of nine groundbreaking climate change initiatives selected and funded by the NRCS’s 2011 Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) program, and is focused on greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation for one of the least protected and most imperiled ecosystems in the world.

The grassland and wetlands of North America not only provide vital habitat for a host of wildlife, including migratory birds, but also a rich and resilient forage for livestock, and a significant carbon sink if left uncultivated. Unfortunately, pressures to convert native prairie are intensifying with high commodity prices. In addition, new farming technologies make crop production possible on lands once considered unsuitable.

The first outcome of this project is a collaborative effort between DU and NRCS that is preserving the soil carbon sequestered in the North Dakota counties of Burleigh, Emmons, Kidder, Sheridan, McLean, Stutsman, Logan and McIntosh by avoiding the conversion of these valuable prairies to cropland. This area is part of the Missouri Coteau region, a vast region of grasslands and wetlands that stretches across North Dakota and South Dakota and benefits livestock and wildlife. 

Carbon that is otherwise sequestered, or trapped long-term in the soil, is released to the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide when soils are tilled or disturbed. Under the leadership of Ducks Unlimited, the project successfully enrolled 114 eligible landowners and 50,000 acres in this cutting-edge program, and worked with partners to create an environmentally robust accounting methodology to quantify the carbon that remains in the soil as carbon offset credits.

Newly approved by the American Carbon Registry (ACR) and co-authored by project partners DU, TCT, The Nature Conservancy, Environmental Defense Fund and Terra Global Capital, the Avoided Conversion of Grasslands and Shrublands (ACoGS) carbon offset methodology is the first of its kind and provides real opportunities for achieving a meaningful level of emissions reductions in the agriculture sector. In practice, the ACoGS protocol will enable grassland-based agricultural producers to earn income from the sale of carbon credits generated through the preservation of their grasslands.   

The process of developing, planning and implementing the USDA CIG climate change initiatives has played a key role in helping to inform ongoing development of agricultural offset protocols with a national impact. “This offset protocol will allow farmers and ranchers from across the United States to earn revenue for conservation practices from emerging environmental markets such as California’s carbon market,” said Robert Parkhurst, director of agriculture greenhouse gas markets at Environmental Defense Fund. These projects have served as pilots, providing a bridge to carbon offset markets and the potential role of agricultural projects within these markets. 

“This project provides Northern Great Plains producers with new ways to earn income from conservation activities, expanded opportunity for outdoor recreation and an opportunity to create jobs in their communities,” said Robert Bonnie, USDA Under Secretary for Natural Resources and the Environment. “The American Carbon Registry’s approval of this innovative ACoGS protocol enables vital projects like our partnership with Ducks Unlimited to preserve a treasured national landscape, while also preventing the release of greenhouse gas emissions.”

“Rural communities will not only benefit from project payments, but could also see economic benefits from outdoor recreation opportunities on grasslands, attracting hunters, photographers, and other nature enthusiasts from across the country,” said Steve Adair, director of DU’s Great Plains Region. “Research has shown the economic benefit of wildlife provided from grasslands is estimated at $63 per acre. This equates to money-in-hand for these rural populations.”

“What’s great about this project is that it opens new opportunities to compensate ranchers for continuing to produce the benefits they have historically provided – the conservation of our grasslands for the benefit of people and wildlife - that are now at risk from rangeland conversion,” said Joe Fargione, The Nature Conservancy’s Director of Science for North America.

Agriculture accounts for approximately 8 percent of total U.S. GHG emissions—while agriculture’s emissions have increased 11.5 percent since 1990. Specifically, more than 750,000 acres of native grassland were converted to cropland from 1997 to 2007. In the Prairie Pothole Region of Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota, annual losses of native grasslands have averaged approximately 50,000 acres per year since 2007, leading to a significant loss of soil carbon, and emitting 20-75 MTCO2e/acre. Final project benefits are estimated to perpetually conserve 5,000 - 6,000 acres of native mixed-grass prairie. The protection of grasslands will also indirectly protect 500-600 acres of seasonal and semi-permanent wetlands situated in the protected grasslands.

“In addition to the significant GHG emissions reductions achieved by this project, carbon financing allows local ranch families to maintain their traditional livelihood of cattle grazing by providing economic incentives,” said Dick Kempka, Vice President of Business Development for The Climate Trust. “The project also generates significant environmental co-benefits by enhancing water retention, air quality and soil quality, in addition to preserving habitat for at least four endangered species that call the grasslands home.”

The DU-led prairie preservation effort is a primary example of how collaborations of this nature can accomplish a great deal by everyone doing their part to reach mutually beneficial goals.

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About The Partners

Originally established by Congress in 1935 as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has expanded to become a conservation leader for all natural resources, ensuring private lands are conserved, restored, and more resilient to environmental challenges, like climate change. Seventy percent of the land in the United States is privately owned, making stewardship by private landowners absolutely critical to the health of our Nation’s environment. NRCS works with landowners through conservation planning and assistance designed to benefit the soil, water, air, plants, and animals that result in productive lands and healthy ecosystems. www.usda.nrcs.gov 

Ducks Unlimited Inc. is the world’s largest non-profit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 13 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. For more information on our work, visit www.ducks.org . Connect with us on our Facebook page at facebook.com/DucksUnlimited, follow our tweets at twitter.com/DucksUnlimited and watch DU videos at youtube.com/DucksUnlimited Inc.

The Climate Trust is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with over 16 years of carbon financing experience. Our mission is to provide expertise, financing, and inspiration to accelerate innovative climate solutions that endure. In order to arrest the rise in greenhouse gas emissions and to avoid the most dangerous impacts of climate change, The Climate Trust works to accelerate project implementation, develop financing solutions, and establish a supportive policy environment in the renewable energy, agriculture, forestry and energy efficiency sectors. Additional information at www.climatetrust.org | @ClimateTrust | facebook.com/TheClimateTrust

The non-profit American Carbon Registry, (ACR), an enterprise of Winrock International, is a leading carbon offset program recognized for its strong standards for environmental integrity. Founded in 1996 as the first private greenhouse gas registry in the world, ACR has over eighteen years of unparalleled experience in development of rigorous, science-based carbon offset methodologies as well as operational experience in the oversight of high quality offset project verification and registration for the voluntary carbon market. In addition, ACR is an approved Offset Project Registry (OPR) for the California Cap-and-Trade Program. In this role, ACR works with the state regulatory agency to oversee the registration and issuance of Offset Credits, which can be converted to compliance credits and used by California entities to help meet their emissions reductions obligations. Visit www.americancarbonregistry.org.

The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.

Environmental Defense Fund is a national environmental organization working to preserve the natural systems on which all life depends, focusing on the most critical environmental problems. Our working lands team is creating conservation incentives that work for people wildlife and the economy. Visit www.edf.org.

Terra Global Capital, LLC was founded in 2006 to facilitate market and payment-for-performance based approaches for forest and land-use emission reductions that provide community benefits. Terra is now the leader in forest and land-use analytics and finance, providing technical expertise and investment capital to their global client base in a collaborative and innovative manner. As a group, Terra has more global experience in the land-use sector than any other entity and is committed to working with its local partners to build capacity and support local communities and governments to sustainably manage their land. Terra has extensive developing country experience and is the leading developer of protocols to measure GHG emissions reductions from a full range of agricultural activities in the United States. www.terraglobalcapital.com Tel: (1) 415 215 5941

“Today’s agreement is historic. It not only strengthens California’s leadership on climate change but demonstrates a regional commitment to a clean energy economy. This agreement shows California is not alone in placing a cap on carbon, and it serves as a positive sign to other regions working to establish carbon markets. We applaud these governors for their leadership and their pledge to work together to develop innovative policies that lead us to a cleaner, more sustainable future.”

  -Derek Walker, Associate Vice President, US Climate and Energy Program, Environmental Defense Fund

(Washington, D.C. – October 23, 2013) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) newly-released and expanded database on greenhouse gas emissions will be crucial for America’s efforts to reduce climate pollution, according to Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

For the several years in row, the data shows that coal-fired power plants are the single largest source of carbon pollution in America and that greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and gas sector are likewise a major source of climate pollution.      

“This new data provides Americans with critical information about large sources of climate-disrupting pollution in their communities,” said EDF’s Peter Zalzal. “This vital information is a call to action for America to work together in deploying innovative solutions like the carbon pollution standards EPA has recently proposed for future power plants and much-needed clean air measures to address methane from the oil and gas sector.”

EPA unveiled the 2012 data on America’s largest industrial emitters today, through its user-friendly website. Collectively, the database tracks the sources of billions of tons of climate disrupting pollution. 

This year, EPA collected additional data from power plants, the waste sector, coal mines, and manufacturers of electrical equipment. This new information includes underlying data used to calculate facilities’ greenhouse gas emissions and will help verify the accuracy of reported emissions.  EPA is also publishing greenhouse data through its Envirofacts website, which includes information on air and water pollution from sources across the country.

EPA’s database is part of a program signed into law by President Bush in 2007. This year’s data covers more than 8,000 industrial sources that emit 25,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent or more per year, which is the same as 131 rail cars of coal consumed or 58,000 barrels of oil consumed. (Churches, homes, cattle, and other small sources are not covered under the program.)  Emissions of the following climate-disrupting pollutants will be disclosed:

• carbon dioxide
• methane
• nitrous oxide
• hydrofluorocarbons
• perfluorocarbons
• sulfur hexafluoride

EPA’s website allows all Americans to search and sort emissions information by geographic area and industry sector, to compare emissions among facilities, and to share the information using social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter. That means Americans can find out the biggest pollution sources near their hometowns. It also means that companies, policymakers and investors can compare pollution levels at similar facilities – which can identify the companies that are leading the way in pollution reductions, and the effective strategies they’re using.

Carbon Pollution from Power Plants — As in 2010 and 2011, the data show that the carbon pollution from fossil fuel fired power plants is by far the largest source of climate destabilizing pollution in our nation. At present there are no national limits on the amount of climate-destabilizing pollution emitted by these plants. It is critical that we begin reducing this harmful pollution. Fortunately, EPA has just proposed standards would establish the first nationwide limits on carbon pollution from future fossil fuel fired power plants and the President has likewise committed to addressing this harmful pollution from the nation’s existing fleet of power plants, with a proposal to be released in June of next year. A wide variety of solutions are available today to meet our nation’s energy needs while we reduce carbon pollution and build a strong clean energy economy for our nation, including more efficient use of energy, renewable energy, highly efficient natural gas plants, and coal plants that capture and permanently store carbon pollution.     

Methane from Oil and Natural Gas Systems — The new data provides the second year of emissions information from the oil and natural gas sector, which is the largest domestic source of methane – a potent greenhouse gas and a contributor to ground-level ozone (commonly known as smog). The President’s Climate Action Plan identifies the critical importance of reducing methane emissions, and we must swiftly deploy common sense, cost-effective solutions to reduce this harmful pollution in the oil and gas sector. Some leading companies are utilizing many of these clean air measures, which help capture natural gas that would otherwise be wasted, reducing pollution while saving a valuable domestic energy source.  We need to build from leading state policies and private sector practices to put in place rigorous nationwide protections.  

At the same time, it is imperative that we strengthen EPA’s greenhouse gas reporting program for oil and gas sector so it addresses all significant sources of methane from the sector and ensures that the data collected is rigorous. Last year, EDF along with NRDC, Sierra Club, and Clean Air Task Force petitioned EPA to strengthen the national emissions inventory and reporting program for the oil and gas sector by ensuring data is collected for gathering and boosting infrastructure, co-producing oil and gas wells, and certain sources in the transmission sector. These are major sources of emissions and essential elements of a comprehensive program. We have also urged EPA to eliminate non-standardized measurement methodologies currently allowed by the program that undermine data reliability.   

(SAN FRANCISCO – Oct. 22, 2013)  Today U.S. environmental organizations lauded a letter from world-renowned scientist Dr. Jane Goodall to Governor Jerry Brown, calling for California to open a pathway to accept credits for reductions in tropical deforestation in its climate change program.

“Dr. Goodall’s lifetime of study and experience in forests has given her an unparalleled understanding of the urgency of the problem of tropical deforestation – and the huge opportunity California has to help solve it. California is now poised to develop a solution that benefits forest communities and helps the state’s businesses meet emissions reductions goals cost-effectively,” said Environmental Defense Fund Tropical Forest Program Director Steve Schwartzman.

Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, Goodall is a primatologist and world environmental leader who is renowned for her lifelong field studies of chimpanzees and advocacy for habitat protection for the primates. In the Oct. 15 letter, released today, Dr. Goodall wrote:

“I hope you will include international forest protection [in California’s climate program]… In the last few years, specific solutions and safeguards have been developed to address such issues as land tenure rights of people living in and around the forests… it is urgent that all people and the environment feel a positive impact from these efforts…

“REDD+ [Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation] and similar carbon reduction projects… have given me hope because they provide financial incentives to protect chimpanzee habitat, and thus an alternative to the many economic pressures to destroy it. We have to find ways to improve the lives of forest communities and provide some revenue for the government, so that both benefit.”

“Dr. Goodall is calling attention to an important provision of California’s climate change program that could multiply two- or three-fold its contribution to slowing climate change. In tropical forest states and provinces, all eyes are on California to see if it will seize this opportunity,” said Earth Innovation Institute President Daniel Nepstad.

Nearly 15% of the global carbon dioxide emissions that cause climate change come from deforestation, much of which occurs in the Brazilian Amazon. Reductions in emissions from deforestation, in particular in the Amazon, have made a major contribution to global efforts to control global warming; since 2005 the Amazon has seen its deforestation rate drop 77% below the historic average.

“We can’t successfully tackle climate change unless we reduce this source of the problem, and California can again lead the way,” said Louis Blumberg, California Climate Change Program Director for The Nature Conservancy.

Despite the progress to reduce deforestation that has already been made, incentives to cut deforestation and the factors that cause it remain insufficient.

“If California allows credits for reductions in deforestation, it would send farmers and forest communities a powerful signal that living forests can be worth more than dead ones, and contribute to keeping these greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere,” said EDF’s Schwartzman.

(New York, NY) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) Climate Corps — an innovative fellowship program that has helped identify nearly $1.3 billion in potential energy savings for host companies since its inception in 2008 — has expanded to include logistics operations across the United States. EDF is seeking organizations with large logistics operations to host EDF Climate Corps fellows for the summer of 2014.

Signing up for EDF Climate Corps is a highly cost-effective way to save money, reduce waste and improve environmental performance; dividends that pay off year after year.

EDF Climate Corps’ expansion to logistics operations signals the increased interest in reducing energy use and carbon emissions linked to warehousing and commercial freight.

According to EDF Senior Manager Jason Mathers, who heads up the organization’s Green Freight initiative, EDF Climate Corps places top-tier graduate students at organizations to identify solutions that will help those organizations save money and energy.

EDF Climate Corps offers customized engagements, with each fellow hand-picked to meet the specific needs of his or her host organization. Over the course of 10 to 12 weeks, fellows develop specific, actionable plans, tailored to take the organization’s energy management program to the next level. To date, fellows have uncovered an average of $1 million in energy savings for each organization involved.

Beyond financial returns, organizations gain access to hundreds of top executives and elite graduate students in the powerful EDF Climate Corps Network, and benefit from Environmental Defense Fund’s 45 years of sustainability expertise.

“Projects that improve freight efficiency — for example by getting more goods on each truck and utilizing intermodal transport — improve environmental performance too. EDF Climate Corps fellows have a phenomenal track record discovering win-win solutions.” says Mathers. “We’re looking for major shippers and warehouse operators who want to benefit from the knowledge and enthusiasm these fellows bring to identifying win-win projects in the host companies’ logistics operations.”

EDF Climate Corps is now accepting applications from organizations with large freight or warehousing operations to host a Fellow in 2014. To learn more, visit www.edfclimatecorps.org or e-mail info@edfclimatecorps.org. See a full list of 2013 participants here.

For Immediate Release

Contact: 
Media contact: Rahel Marsie-Hazen, rmarsie-hazen@edf.org, 1-415-293-6105

(SAN FRANCISCO, CA —October 17, 2013) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today launched the world’s most comprehensive toolkit for designing and implementing management systems that can restore the resiliency, sustainability and profitability of fisheries around the world.

“Global overfishing is a 21^st century problem that people have been trying to fix with 20^th century solutions,” said Kate Bonzon, Director of EDF’s Catch Share Design Center. “Our toolkit provides low cost, cutting-edge and highly replicable solutions to help fishermen and fishery managers achieve economic and ecological recovery, even in fisheries lacking adequate data.”

According to a recent study in Science, 80% of global fisheries lack important data for stock assessments, a critical first step toward sustainable fisheries. EDF’s toolkit includes a guide dedicated to bridging this gap, providing fishermen and managers with key resources and expertise.

Developed in conjunction with more than 80 global experts, the toolkit reflects the experience of successful and diverse fisheries around the world. It highlights pragmatic solutions to pressing problems and provides guidance that fishermen and managers can use to navigate the administrative hurdles they often face.

“Each year, poor governance costs the global fishing industry as much as $50 billion,” said Michael Arbuckle, Senior Fisheries Specialist for the World Bank. “EDF has developed a valuable tool that can help fisheries managers create economic and social benefits for the many fishers and communities dependent on the resource for their future.”

Online at fisherytoolkit.edf.org, the toolkit includes more than a dozen design, planning and educational features:

• An updated Catch Share Design Manual that guides fishermen and fishery managers through a step-by-step process to design catch shares, an approach to managing fisheries that allocates secure areas or shares of the catch to participants
• A dedicated volume on designing Cooperative Catch Shares, which includes in-depth guidance on effective co-management of fisheries
• A dedicated volume on designing Territorial Use Rights for Fishing (TURFs), including new concepts for addressing the unique challenges of nearshore fisheries
• Guides on science-based management for fisheries that have limited data and transferable effort share programs, a form of rights-based management that has served as a stepping stone towards more effective, long-term management solutions
• More than a dozen in-depth reports on fisheries, from Samoa to Spain, that have customized catch shares to meet their goals
• A searchable database of global catch share fisheries, accessed through an interactive map
• “What’s the Catch?,” an online game that allows players to captain their own vessel and experience the ups and downs of commercial fishing

For decades, EDF has worked alongside fishermen and fishery managers to end overfishing by developing proven fishery management solutions.

“I needed advice on how to suggest management decisions for the Prawn fishery in Sweden and the design manual has been my guide,” said Peter Olsson, a Swedish fisherman who catches Norwegian lobster and herring out of Smögen, Sweden.

“We believe access to helpful, easy-to-use tools is key to developing sustainable and profitable fisheries,” said Amanda Leland, Vice President for EDF’s Oceans Program. “And we want to ensure these tools are readily available to managers and fishermen around the world.”

(Framingham, Massachusetts) Today a broad and diverse community of individuals from companies, universities, governments, and environmental health groups signed on to The Commons Principles for Alternatives Assessment — a solutions-based framework to guide retailers and product manufacturers in reducing hazardous chemicals and continuously improving the safety of products.

In signing the statement, over 100 signatories took a stand for safer, healthier products. BizNGO, Environmental Defense Fund, Lowell Center for Sustainable Production and Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Institute led the development and launch of the Principles.

The Commons Principles for Alternative Assessment establish reducing hazard as a key criterion for evaluating safer alternatives to toxic chemicals. As Roger McFadden, Senior Scientist and Vice President at Staples, Inc. emphasized, “We need a consistent and replicable framework for alternatives assessment. The Commons Principles give us an approach that starts from the inherent hazards of chemicals and progresses into economic and broader environmental concerns. This helps inform materials selection, reduce risks and drive innovation.”

“The Commons Principles are a critical contribution to specifying how science can inform actions,” said Dr. Michael Ellenbecker, Professor of Work Environment at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. He added, “Our experience with the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Program demonstrates how the methodical assessment of potential alternatives uses the best available information to resolve trade-offs. It is a practical tool that businesses can use to identify and offer safer products.”

Momentum is rapidly growing for products made with safer chemicals. Consumers are demanding safer products. Scientific research is showing that exposure to some chemicals in everyday use pose serious health risks, including cancer, diabetes and infertility. Retailers and manufacturers are increasingly recognizing the need to act on this issue. Walmart and Target recently announced initiatives that reflect The Commons Principles, including calls for expanded ingredient disclosure, reduction and elimination of priority chemicals of concern, and safer substitution.

“A good chemical policy shouldn’t take us from frying pan to fire,” said Sarah Vogel, Director of the Health Program at the Environmental Defense Fund, “The Principles are designed to ensure that companies make smart, informed decisions as they shift away from hazardous chemicals that consumers reject, such as BPA and toxic flame retardants.”

“We see The Principles as embodying the race to the top among businesses, where increased transparency, reduced hazard, and taking action are core to any comprehensive chemical management program,” concluded Mark Rossi, Chair of BizNGO.

NEWS RELEASE

Contact:
Vickie Patton, 720-837-6239, vpatton@edf.org
Sharyn Stein, 202-572-3396, sstein@edf.org

“Today’s orders by the U.S. Supreme Court make it abundantly clear, once and for all, that EPA has the both legal authority and the responsibility to address climate change and the carbon pollution that causes it.

“EPA’s vital actions to protect our communities and our families from the clear and present danger of climate pollution are firmly anchored in science and law. Today’s decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to deny numerous further legal challenges to EPA’s science based determination that six greenhouse gases threaten our nation’s health and well-being is a historic victory for all Americans that are afflicted by the ravages of extreme weather. The Justices have also declined to hear legal challenges to the broadly supported clean car standards that will strengthen our nation’s energy security, cut carbon pollution, and save families money at the gas pump. Those decisions make it abundantly clear, once and for all, that EPA has the both legal authority and the responsibility to address climate change and the carbon pollution that causes it. Our nation must now work together — Republicans, Independents and Democrats – to address the dangerous carbon pollution from fossil fueled power plants, the single largest source of emissions in our country.   

“Today the Supreme Court granted review of one narrow question regarding whether certain Clean Air Act permitting requirements have been triggered for large stationary sources: ‘whether EPA permissibly determined that its regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from new motor vehicles triggered permitting requirements under the Clean Air Act for stationary sources that emit greenhouse gases.’

“We look forward to presenting our case to the high Court to show that EPA’s long-standing permitting requirement that the nation’s largest industrial emitters do their fair share in cutting carbon pollution by deploying cost effective technologies when they are constructing or rebuilding is manifestly anchored in law and science.

“We have detailed information on our website about these climate protections and the protracted litigation by industrial polluters and states such as Texas to obstruct clean air progress and a strong clean energy economy for our nation.”

• Vickie Patton, EDF General Counsel

Background

In litigation spanning nearly four years, large industrial polluters and states such as Texas have obstructed EPA’s historic climate protections for our nation including the following:

Endangerment Finding — EPA’s determination that six greenhouse gases endanger the public health and welfare of current and future generations.  EPA based this finding on more than 100 published scientific studies and peer-reviewed syntheses of climate change research by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program/U.S. Global Change Research Program, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and the National Research Council of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.

That Endangerment Finding followed the Supreme Court’s landmark 2007 decision in Massachusetts v. EPA.  In that decision, the Court held that greenhouse gases are air pollutants under the Clean Air Act.  The Court then instructed EPA to determine — on the basis of science — whether these gases endanger human health and welfare.

Clean Car Standards — EPA and the Department of Transportation (DOT) have established landmark fuel efficiency and greenhouse gas emissions standards for passenger cars and light trucks.  These standards are supported by U.S. auto makers, the United Auto Workers, and a dozen states – among others – because they provide significant environmental, economic, and energy security benefits.

The clean car standards will:

• Reduce greenhouse gas pollution by 960 million tons
• Reduce reliance on foreign oil by 1.8 billion barrels over the life of the vehicles
• Save consumers an estimated $3,000 at the gas pump over the life of the vehicles

Application of Climate Pollution Protections to Largest Emitters — EPA’s requirement that new large, industrial emitters deploy the best available cost-effective strategies to reduce harmful climate pollution. EPA has phased in this requirement, focusing on the largest industrial sources of climate pollution while shielding small sources. Requiring the best available cost-effective pollution controls for new sources harmonizes clean air measures with major capital investments in new business operations.