Complete list of press releases

(Tallahassee, Fla.—Dec. 12, 2011) Eighty-four percent of Florida voters and 92 percent of Panhandle voters support a bill approved by a Senate committee that would ensure the BP oil spill fines are spent on Gulf restoration, according to a new poll released today at news conferences in Tallahassee and Pensacola. The poll also showed 75 percent of Florida voters and 82 percent of Panhandle voters are more likely to support candidates who back the legislation. 

“Voters haven’t forgotten the BP oil spill was the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history because our ecosystem and economy are still recovering from it a year-and-a-half later,” said Pensacola Mayor Ashton Hayward.  “They recognize that the BP oil spill fines would dramatically accelerate our recovery.”

The telephone poll by U.S. Senator Bill Nelson’s pollster, Hamilton Campaigns, and U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s pollster, Ayres McHenry & Associates, was conducted between November 30 and December 4, 2011, and sampled 700 registered Florida voters in the metropolitan areas of Miami, Orlando, the Panhandle/Northeast, South Central Florida (Ft. Myers and West Palm Beach media markets), and Tampa, who are likely to vote in the November 2012 election.  It includes an oversample of 100 registered likely voters in the Panhandle (Pensacola and Panama City media markets) because that’s where the BP oil spill caused the most environmental and economic damage. 

“Regardless of political party or region of the state, this is an issue that unites Florida voters, when so many other issues divide them,” said Dave Beattie, president of Hamilton Campaigns, based in Fernandina Beach, Florida, which does consulting and polling for Democratic campaigns and progressive organizations.  “There is broad, bipartisan support for ensuring that fines paid by BP and any other parties responsible for the spill actually are targeted to the Gulf Coast states hurt by the spill.”

The poll is timely because last Monday, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force issued its final report, recommending that Congress ensure that a “significant portion” of the BP oil spill fines go to restoring the Gulf.  In late September, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved the RESTORE the Gulf Coast States Act, (S. 1400), co-authored by Senators Nelson and Rubio.  It would dedicate 80 percent of the estimated $5-$21 billion in expected fines for the BP oil spill to restoring the Gulf ecosystem and economy.  The House version of the bill, (H.R. 3096), is co-sponsored by nine Florida House members: Congressmen Ander Crenshaw (FL-4), Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-21), Jeff Miller (FL-1), Richard Nugent (FL-5), David Rivera (FL-25), Thomas Rooney (FL-16), Dennis Ross (FL-12), Steve Southerland (FL-2), and Allen B. West (FL-22). 

However, if Congress fails to pass the RESTORE Act, the spill fines will be used for unrelated federal spending or to reduce the federal deficit. 

The poll showed that voters favored using the oil spill fines for Gulf Coast restoration instead of reducing the deficit by nearly a 7-1 margin: 79 percent to 12 percent. 

“Support for this proposal cuts across traditional partisan lines.  Florida GOP voters and Tea Party supporters also favor using the Gulf spill fines for Gulf restoration over deficit reduction by nearly a 7-1 margin, said Dr. Whit Ayres, founder and president of Ayres, McHenry & Associates, Inc., a national public opinion and public affairs research firm based in Alexandria, Virginia.  The firm specializes in providing research and strategic advice for corporations, associations, and GOP candidates.

The poll found strong support across party lines for legislation to ensure BP oil spill fines are spent on Gulf restoration:

• 82% of Republicans and 84% of GOP presidential primary voters
• 84% of Tea Party supporters
• 88% of Independents
• 83% of Democrats

The poll also found that the vast majority of Florida voters—regardless of political affiliation—also support candidates who back legislation to ensure BP oil spill fines are spent on Gulf restoration:

• 73% of Republicans and 73% of GOP presidential primary voters
• 72% of Tea Party supporters
• 72% of Independents
• 78% of Democrats

“Florida voters statewide across the political spectrum expect their representatives in Washington to ensure that fines from the BP oil disaster are used to restore the lingering environmental and economic damage from the spill, where they belong,” said a joint statement by Environmental Defense Fund, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy, Ocean Conservancy and Oxfam America, the groups which funded the poll, except for Ocean Conservancy.  “The reason is simple: 98 percent of the voters in this poll believe a healthy Gulf ecosystem is important to the state’s economy.”

Duke University also released a report last Monday concluding the Gulf oil spill fines could kick start the launch of a long-term investment in ecosystem restoration and create jobs that would benefit at least 140 businesses with nearly 400 employee locations in 37 states, including nearly 60 in Florida.

“Investing in coastal restoration work is a highly leveraged activity that creates ripple effects for hundreds of businesses and a wide variety of workers,” said James Marino, P.E., president of Taylor Engineering, an employee-owned design firm that restored seven miles of critically eroded beaches battered by hurricanes in Walton County and the city of Destin in Okaloosa County and has offices in Jacksonville, West Palm Beach, Tampa and Destin, Florida. “Restoring wetlands and beaches would help many small business owners in ecotourism, the marine construction sector, and equipment manufacturing, produce jobs and local tax revenue, and grow the economy.”

“Members of Congress from both parties have an opportunity to put aside their differences and pass this bipartisan bill—which doesn’t spend any taxpayer funds—and has huge public support,” said Michael L. Davis, Vice President and Principal, Keith and Schnars, P.A., an environmental, planning and engineering consulting firm with offices in Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, and Doral, Florida.  “The RESTORE Act will help right the wrong of the BP oil disaster by funding restoration projects that will trigger a value added chain that goes far beyond planning and design firms like mine, benefiting contractors and equipment manufactures as well.”

Contacts:

Kevin Cate, Cate Communications, 850.320.7189, kevin@catecomm.com   

Sean Crowley, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.550.6524, scrowley@edf.org 

David J. Ringer, National Audubon Society, 601.642.7058, dringer@audubon.org 

Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, guidrye@nwf.org 

Heather Layman, The Nature Conservancy, 703.475.1733, hlayman@tnc.org

David Willett, Ocean Conservancy, 202.351.0465, dwillett@oceanconservancy.org

Andrew Blejwas, Oxfam America, (617) 785-7047, Ablejwas@oxfamamerica.org

NEWS RELEASE 

Contact:
Jennifer Andreassen, +1-202-288-4867, jandreassen@edf.org

(DURBAN, South Africa – Dec. 11, 2011) The UN climate conference this morning laid the groundwork for moving forward on a global climate change agreement.

“With this morning’s agreement the world’s climate polluters take the first small but essential steps toward creating a new global agreement to curb climate change,” said Jennifer Haverkamp, director of the international climate program for Environmental Defense Fund.

“For the first time all major emitting nations, including China and India, have agreed on the need to move forward – and to do so together.”  

Haverkamp added, however, “The challenge is that we begin the talks from the lowest common denominator of every party’s aspirations. For this effort to be successful, countries need to be ambitious in their commitments and to refuse to use these negotiations as just another stalling tool.”

Countries also agreed to start building the infrastructure for a Green Climate Fund to support the poorest nations most vulnerable to climate change, which had been one of the highest priorities for this conference.

“Launching the Green Climate Fund is a major success story of this conference,” said Haverkamp.  “But now comes the hard part—finding the public and private money to finance it.”

In a major achievement, countries included carbon markets as a possible funding source for activities to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) activities.

This decision sends a clear policy signal that carbon markets can be used to achieve the large-scale, sustainable funding needed to keep carbon-rich tropical forests standing.  Another highlight in the outcome was a technical agreement that will provide a framework and necessary guidelines in establishing reference levels – benchmarks for measuring progress – for REDD+ policies.  

“An unfortunate development in the Durban talks was the finalization of rules for measuring emissions from forests in developed countries that may allow countries to increase their forest emissions without penalty by almost half a billion tons of emissions a year,” said Haverkamp.  “Some countries will be rewarded even if they increase emissions from forests, while others will receive massive windfalls for doing nothing.”

Contact:
Pamela Campos, 720-205-2366, pcampos@edf.org
Sharyn Stein, 202-572-3396, sstein@edf.org

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today encouraged U.S. officials to join their European Union counterparts and work together to reduce pollution from airplanes.

Representatives of the U.S. and the EU met, today, for the latest in a series of ongoing negotiations over airplane pollution and other aircraft-related issues.

The first-ever law to cap global warming emissions from airplanes goes into effect in the EU on January 1, 2012. U.S. officials have asked the EU to delay or amend its law, but today EU representatives encouraged the U.S. to work with them constructively to help establish a global system for reducing airplane emissions.

EDF attorney Pamela Campos, who was at today’s talks, said this:

“The United States is making progress in reducing emissions from cars, buses, 18-wheelers – even garbage trucks. It’s time to show the same leadership in the aviation sector. Europe’s action has created an opportunity to create a broad-based system to reduce aviation emissions. The U.S. should seize this opportunity to bring its success with ground-based vehicles to the aviation sector.”

Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org), a leading national nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships. See twitter.com/EnvDefenseFund; facebook.com/EnvDefenseFund.

NEWS RELEASE

Contact:
Jennifer Andreassen, 202-572-3387, jandreassen@edf.org

(December 7, 2011) Brazil’s Senate voted  58 to 8 for a new law revising the 1965 Forest Code, which regulates forest  land use on private property nationally. 

“This vote is a step backward for the environment and threatens the Amazon and Brazil’s environmental leadership,”  said Environmental Defense Fund International Climate Director Jennifer Haverkamp, “even though it is an improvement on the bill passed by the lower house this summer.”

The Senate bill would amnesty most illegal deforestation before July 2008, while continuing to require some forest restoration on riverbanks, hilltops and steep slopes on landholdings over about 400 hectares.  The bill’s rapporteur, Senator Jorge Viana (Workers’ Party – Acre) argues that the law would require restoration of some of the areas illegally cleared in the past – but the government rejected environmentalists’ proposals for positive incentives for farmers who complied with the old law and for forest restoration.   Existing requirements to maintain part of private lands in forest and to keep forest buffers along riverbanks, continue, but the total area subject to protection is greatly reduced.  A last minute attempt by northeastern states to exempt mangroves from any environmental protection to allow unlimited expansion of shrimp farming ended by legalizing existing illegal shrimp farms. Up to 10% of northeastern states’ environmentally critical coastal mangrove forests can now be converted to shrimp farms.

If the Senate bill becomes law it would require all private landowners to register their properties in the Rural Environmental Cadaster, by furnishing environmental agencies with satellite maps and geographical coordinates of their properties, showing whether they are in compliance with the law, and a long-term plan to bring properties into compliance where they are not.  

Satellite data on 2011 Amazon deforestation released by Brazil’s National Space Research Institute (INPE) showed a total of 6,238 km2 , the lowest on record since 1988, and 11% less than 2010.  The effects of a new Forest Code on Brazil’s national emissions reduction target, announced by President Lula in Copenhagen, turns on farmers’ expectations and government’s reaction to them.  Brazil’s success in reducing Amazon deforestation by about 70% below historic averages since 2004 resulted from creating an area the size of France in new protected areas and ramping up law enforcement.  

“Brazil’s spectacular growth and booming agriculture sector clearly show that environmental regulation has not hurt its economy,” said EDF director for Tropical Forest Policy Steve Schwartzman. “If Brazil wants to do what everyone agrees is necessary – stop deforestation – government will need to create robust incentives for forest conservation and restoration and close the loopholes in the law.” 

The bill will now go to the lower house of the Congress.  After the lower house vote, President Rousseff will have thirty days to approve or veto the bill, or veto selected parts.

DURBAN, South Africa—U.S. environmental, civil rights and development organizations urged negotiators at the UN climate talks in Durban use the critical last two days of the conference to ramp up ambitions for moving the world forward in efforts to combat climate change.

The recorded webcast is available under the Dec. 7 “U.S. Climate Action Network” webcast at: http://unfccc4.meta-fusion.com/kongresse/cop17/templ/ovw_onDemand.php?id_kongressmain=201

Here are brief statements from each of the key speakers:

Jennifer Haverkamp, Director of the International Climate Program at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) said: “We can’t let the current political or economic crises be excuses to punt on curbing climate change at Durban.  Everybody needs to walk out the door at the end of this week knowing we have an ambitious plan that will lead us to a comprehensive new binding agreement and encourages countries to take action now rather than waiting until the day that becomes a reality.”

Jacqueline Patterson, Director of Environmental and Climate Justice Program at the NAACP, said: “For vulnerable communities worldwide that have been ravaged by disaster, starved by shifts in agricultural yields, and displaced by sea level rise, the cost of inaction is too high to bear. There are economically viable, safe alternatives to what we’re doing now.  What is missing is the political will to act. We need to see real, effective solutions. For us now, and ultimately for the world, it’s a matter of survival.” 

Ilana Solomon, Senior Policy Analyst with ActionAid USA said: “The Green Climate Fund is moving forward and should be made operational in Durban. But without much more ambition, the U.S. could be condemning the Green Climate Fund to an empty vault. If the US is not prepared to step up and lead, they should step aside and allow negotiators here reach the best possible solution for poor nations.”

For more information please contact:

Marie Risalvato, US CAN, E: mrisalvato@climatenetwork.org, M: +1 352-514-3217
Jennifer Andreassen, Environmental Defense Fund, E: jandreassen@edf.org, M: 072 632 2755
Natalie Curtis, ActionAid, E: Natalie.Curtis@actionaid.org, M: +44 (0)7931787025

Contacts:
Sean Crowley, Environmental Defense Fund, 202.572.3331, scrowley@edf.org 
David J. Ringer, National Audubon Society, 601.642.7058, dringer@audubon.org 
Emily Guidry Schatzel, National Wildlife Federation, 225.253.9781, guidrye@nwf.org 
Heather Layman, The Nature Conservancy, 703.475.1733, hlayman@tnc.org
David Willett, Ocean Conservancy, 202.351.0465, dwillett@oceanconservancy.org
Jeffrey Buchanan, Oxfam America, 202.471.3055, jbuchanan@oxfamamerica.org 

(Washington, D.C.—Dec. 7, 2011) Groups supporting restoration of the Gulf Coast today thanked House leaders on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for drawing attention to the benefits of the RESTORE Gulf Coast States Act of 2011 by holding a committee hearing on the bill today at 10am. The RESTORE Act would ensure that fines paid by BP and the other parties responsible for last year’s Gulf oil spill are used to support both environmental and economic restoration in the region, instead of going to unrelated federal spending. 

“Holding those responsible for the Gulf oil disaster accountable and making sure the fines they pay go back to the Gulf region is both a matter of fairness and common sense,” said a joint statement by Environmental Defense Fund, National Audubon Society, National Wildlife Federation, The Nature Conservancy, Ocean Conservancy and Oxfam America. “We thank Chairman Mica and ranking member Rahall for holding a full committee hearing on this critical issue. Our thanks also go to leaders throughout the Gulf region who are working across the aisle to get this bill passed, so the ecosystems of the Gulf can continue to be a driver of our nation’s economy and a safe home to the communities that make it a national treasure.”

A bipartisan group of nine Gulf senators have introduced a similar bill in the Senate, also called the RESTORE Gulf Coast States Act (S. 1400). The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee overwhelmingly approved the bill in September.

Today’s hearing comes on the heels of Monday’s release of the final report by the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force. It recommends Congress ensure that a “significant portion” of the $5 billion to $21 billion in expected fines for last year’s 4.9 million barrel Gulf oil spill go to restoring the Gulf. 

Duke University also released a report on Monday concluding the Gulf oil spill fines could kick start the launch of a long-term investment in ecosystem restoration and create jobs that would benefit at least 140 businesses with nearly 400 employee locations in 37 states.

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(Washington, D.C. – December 6, 2011) While climate negotiators are battling in Durban this week, transportation representatives from the United States and European Union will meet in Washington, D.C. this Thursday to discuss Europe’s path-breaking anti-pollution law for aviation.

While the United States has stated support for reducing pollution from airplanes, in practice the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration have led the opposition to Europe’s actions. Thursday’s meeting is an opportunity for progress addressing emissions from a sector expected to grow rapidly over the next decade. But will the US take advantage of the opportunity?

“The United States should follow words with action and cooperate with Europe in proposing enforceable emissions reductions for the aviation sector,” said Pamela Campos, attorney with Environmental Defense Fund. “Americans have a proud history of innovation and leadership in the aviation sector. It’s time for the U.S. to stop complaining about Europe’s actions, and instead put homegrown ingenuity to work with our diplomatic allies to show that there is a pathway to sustainable, climate-sensitive air travel.”

Europe’s action, taken only after 15 years of unfruitful negotiations in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), have created renewed pressure for a global system to reduce aviation emissions. The European law takes effect on January 1, 2012 and will lead to emissions reductions on the order of 183 million tons of carbon dioxide per year by 2020.

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Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships. See twitter.com/EnvDefenseFund; Facebook.com/EnvDefenseFund.

(Tallahassee, FL–December 5, 2011)  The Clean Water Act penalties from last year’s BP oil disaster could kick start the launch of a long-term investment in ecosystem restoration and create jobs that would benefit at least 140 businesses with nearly 400 employee locations in 37 states, including more than 260 in the Gulf Coast and nearly 60 in Florida, according to a new Duke University study.  The report—“RESTORING THE GULF COAST: New Markets for Established Firms,” funded by Environmental Defense Fund—is based on a sample of 140 firms linked to coastal restoration projects already undertaken or completed.

“Long-term ecosystem restoration would be an economic grand slam because it both protects current jobs in key Florida industries - like fishing, tourism, and shipping– and creates new jobs,” said Jackie Prince Roberts, director of sustainable technologies for Environmental Defense Fund. “A study of Everglades restoration by Mather Economics - based on data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - estimates that every $1 million of public investment in restoring the Everglades would create about 20 jobs. Our study helps Florida residents understand where those jobs can be created, and the opportunity Florida has to be a leader in this new industry sector that provides ecosystem restoration services to the Gulf, and to meet emerging global demand.”

The study’s release is timely because the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday to examine bipartisan legislation, the RESTORE Act (H.R. 3096), that would dedicate 80 percent of the estimated $5-21 billion in Clean Water Act fines from the 4.9 million barrel spill to restoring the Gulf.  The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee already has approved the Senate version of the bill (S. 1400), cosponsored by nine of the 10 Gulf state senators, including Florida’s Bill Nelson (D) and Marco Rubio (R).

“Restoration projects activate a full supply chain linking materials providers, equipment manufacturers, shipbuilders, machinery repair firms, engineering and construction contractors, and environmental resource firms,” the report says.  “Many of the firms are based in the Gulf Coast region. Having long worked in the marine construction industry building oil and gas industry infrastructure, they can apply the same skills and equipment to coastal restoration, thus finding new markets and a more diverse client base.” 

“Coastal habitat restoration typically creates at least 3-4 times as many jobs as road infrastructure or oil and gas projects for every $1 million invested,” said Keith Bowers, president of Biohabitats, Inc., a conservation planning, ecological restoration and regenerative design firm that does restoration work in the Everglades, Big Cypress and Tampa Bay, FL, Texas and Louisiana, and  has offices in Baltimore, MD; Louisville, KY; Raleigh, NC; North Charleston, SC, Denver, CO; Cleveland, OH; Glen Ridge, NJ; and Santa Fe, NM. “This study proves ecological restoration can be a real catalyst for job creation, economic vitality and ecosystem resiliency.  Passing the RESTORE Act could help restore the fishing and tourism industries in Florida and the other Gulf Coast states.”

Two-thirds of the firms sampled have offices in the Gulf Coast and qualify as small businesses, according to Small Business Administration guidelines on number of employees.  One of the firms is Taylor Engineering, an employee-owned design firm Taylor Engineering that restored seven miles of critically eroded beaches battered by hurricanes in Walton County and the city of Destin in Okaloosa County and has full-service offices in Jacksonville and West Palm Beach, and local-service offices in Tampa and Destin, FL, Savannah, GA, Baltimore, MD, and Columbia, SC.  The firm has provided a life-cycle commitment to the art and science of delivering sustainable solutions in the water environment since 1983.

“If our customer base picks up in response to RESTORE funding, there would be a positive and sustainable long-term impact on our hiring,” said James Marino, P.E., President of Taylor Engineering, and a certified Diplomat in Coastal Engineering, who was an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for 20 years.   “Restoration projects are very important to small and medium-sized firms like ours because they provide a valuable stream of work in a fragile economy.  The cost to benefit ratio is very high for restoration projects, especially for beach restoration, which brings considerable value for regional economies in a multitude of business sectors.  Not only do these projects serve as an immediate and prolonged benefit economically, but more importantly, the net positive effects provided to a sustainable environmental infrastructure are enduring.”

The BP oil disaster worsened the damage to the badly degraded Mississippi River Delta wetlands, a priceless resource that “sustains the Gulf region’s unique people and cultures and brings the U.S. economy billions of dollars each year in energy, fishing, shipping and tourism,” the report states.  “At stake in the loss of coastal wetlands is not only the environmental health of the Gulf region, but also several of the nation’s vital industries.”  

The Gulf region’s critical economic role, and the extent to which this role depends on the delta ecosystem, is evident in the following assets provided by the Gulf region:

• 33% of the nation’s seafood harvest (National Marine Fisheries Service, 2011)
• $34 billion per year in tourism (Oxford Economics, 2010)
• 90% of the nation’s total offshore crude oil and natural gas production (Energy Information Administration, 2011)
• 4,000 offshore oil platforms and 33,000 miles of pipeline (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement, 2011; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2010)
• 10 of the nation’s 15 largest shipping ports, by cargo volume (American Association of Port Authorities, 2009)

The report notes that a robust coastal restoration sector has been developing in the marine construction industry, but recent budget cuts have stalled many authorized restoration projects.

“In Florida, the economy is the environment, but funding for environmental restoration projects has been reduced by the state and most local governments,” said Michael L. Davis, Vice President and Principal, Keith and Schnars, P.A., an environmental, planning and engineering consulting firm that currently is working on the South Miami-Dade Watershed Study and Plan and has offices in Fort Lauderdale, Jacksonville, and Doral, Florida. “The RESTORE Act is a win for Florida’s economy and Florida’s environment because it will enable environmental consulting firms like mine to hire additional biologists and engineers, and restoration construction contractors to buy more equipment and hire more operators.”

The report concludes that coastal restoration is needed in Florida, California, the Pacific Northwest and the Great Lakes.  If U.S. markets expand, the firms that serve them will be well positioned to sell to international markets as they develop in the future.  For example, several countries in Asia are developing integrated coastal management programs, and recently India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Vietnam have undertaken hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of coastal restoration projects.  The RESTORE Act would continue to build this promising new sector.

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Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships. Follow us at Twitter.com/EDF_Louisiana and at Facebook.com/EnvDefenseFund.

Contact:
Sharyn Stein, EDF, 202-572-3396, sstein@edf.org
Alice Henchley, the Royal Society, 44 (0) 207 451 2514, alice.henchley@royalsociety.org
Paulo Artaxo, TWAS, +39 040 2240 571, artaxo@if.usp.br
Peter McGrath, TWAS, +39 040 2240 571, mcgrath@twas.org

(December 1, 2011) Nations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and individuals must engage in a wide-ranging dialogue to explore both the potential risks and benefits of solar geoengineering and establish effective governance arrangements for research, according to a new report.

The report was released worldwide today from the Solar Radiation Management Governance Initiative (SRMGI), an international collaboration of NGOs.

Geoengineering is the deliberate large-scale manipulation of the Earth’s climate system to counteract anthropogenic climate change. SRMGI was established in March 2010 to explore how to govern the developing research area of Solar Radiation Management (SRM), a type of geoengineering that would cause a small percentage of inbound sunlight to be reflected back into space, in order to reduce global warming.

“Solar Radiation Management might sound, at first, like something from science fiction - but it’s not. There are already serious discussions beginning about it, and that’s why we felt it was urgent to create this governance initiative,” said Steve Hamburg, Chief Scientist for Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and co-chair of SRMGI. “Solar Radiation management could be a ‘Plan B’ to address climate change, but first we must figure out how to research it safely. Only then should we even consider any other steps.”

Interest in SRM technologies has increased rapidly in recent years, as their potential to be both useful and/or harmful to the planet has been recognised. SRM methods may be able to reduce temperatures quickly and relatively cheaply. However, these technologies could also have significant unanticipated side effects. Moreover, they would not affect the cause of climate change, the rising levels of greenhouse gases, and the associated threat of ocean acidification and could conceivably be implemented unilaterally, without consultation or agreement from all individuals and nations that could be affected.

“Unless the apparent lack of political will to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions changes soon, geoengineering may be needed and SRM methods could be used in unregulated and possibly reckless ways by individuals, corporations or individual countries,” said Professor John Shepherd, Fellow of the Royal Society and a co-chair of SRMGI.” These actions would have consequences beyond national borders that are as yet unknown. We must also work outside our national borders, bringing together interested parties from around the globe to debate the issues of geoengineering, agree appropriate governance structures and ensure that any research is undertaken in a safe, transparent and socially acceptable manner. The question of whether solar geoengineering will prove to be helpful or harmful will largely depend on how humanity can govern the issue and its political implications, and avoid unilateral action.”

“Like the effects of global warming we are currently facing, the effects of any solar radiation management deployment are likely to have greater impacts in developing countries that are less resilient and less able to mitigate and adapt to any adverse effects,” said Professor Paulo Artaxo, head of the Department of Applied Physics at the Institute of Physics, University of São Paolo, Brazil, and a Fellow of TWAS. “Any deployment, even of medium to large-scale research initiatives, therefore, needs to be governed by an effective and transparent system. Developing countries need to be involved in the discussions to develop such governance arrangements from the beginning.”

SRMGI is convened by EDF, the Royal Society (the UK’s national academy of science), and TWAS (the academy of sciences for the developing world). It has brought together diverse opinions and expertise from the fields of natural sciences, social science, governance and law, as well as environmental and development NGOs, industry and civil society organisations, from across the globe to discuss this issue.

Following a major conference in March 2011, the report released today summarizes the opinions gathered and the issues raised from this and other meetings, including input from experts and organizations from 22 different countries.

Key conclusions include:

• Nothing now known about SRM techniques provides any justification for reducing efforts to mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gases and this should remain a global priority.
• Concern about geoengineering, and particularly SRM methods, is significant and it is important to ensure that all perspectives and interests can be expressed and discussed. In addition to misgivings regarding potential side effects, concern is often expressed that geoengineering could be seen to provide an escape route from the impacts of climate change, thus reducing the incentive to reduce emissions.
• SRM technologies would take effect relatively quickly and their cost could be comparatively low, and they could reduce some of the most significant effects of climate change. However, the technologies are poorly understood, have the potential to be dangerous and there are risks associated not only with deployment but also medium and large-scale research.
• Appropriate research will make it easier to assess the feasibility, risks and impacts associated with SRM, and to reduce the uncertainties. A lack of information about SRM technologies and their potential impacts is making the issues more difficult to debate and resolve at present.
• The range of SRM research runs from computer simulations and laboratory studies right up to potentially risky, large-scale experiments in the real world. While most SRMGI participants were comfortable with low risk research, there was much debate over how to govern any research outside the lab.
• Governance arrangements for managing any potentially risky research are mostly lacking and must be developed. Initial discussions suggest that the wide differences among the types of SRM technologies and types of research make a “one size fits all” approach inappropriate, and a differentiated regulatory and governance approach is likely to be more effective.
• Considering the actual deployment of SRM techniques would be inappropriate without, among other things, adequate resolution of uncertainties concerning the feasibility, advantages and disadvantages. No future technology should be implemented without a thorough characterisation of its potential environmental and social impacts and appropriate governance arrangements.
• The SRMGI convening organisations neither support nor oppose solar geoengineering, but share a conviction that further international debate and deliberation, reflecting a range of views and informed by the best scientific advice, must be undertaken to develop effective governance in order to ensure that any future research can be carried out in a safe, transparent and socially acceptable way.

SRMGI is being supported by a range of funders and partners, including FICER, Carbon War Room and Zennstrom Philanthropies. This report is being released concurrently with the latest policy brief in the UNESCO-SCOPE-UNEP series on Engineering the Climate: Research Questions and Policy Implications. You can see the full report here.

The Royal Society is the UK’s national academy of science. Founded in 1660, the Society has three roles, as a provider of independent scientific advice, as a learned Society, and as a funding agency. Our expertise is embodied in the Fellowship, which is made up of the finest scientists from the UK and beyond. For further information on the Royal Society please visit http://royalsociety.org Follow the Royal Society on Twitter at http://twitter.com/royalsociety or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/theroyalsociety

Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org), a leading U.S. nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships. See http://twitter.com/EnvDefenseFund; http://facebook.com/EnvDefenseFund.

TWAS, the academy of sciences for the developing world, is based in Trieste, Italy, and operates under the administrative umbrella of UNESCO. Founded in 1983, it now counts more than 1,000 eminent scientists, more than 85% of whom come from the developing world, as members. TWAS programmes aim to build scientific capacity and promote scientific excellence in the South. For further information on TWAS please visit www.twas.org Follow TWAS on Twitter at http://twitter.com/twasnews or on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/TWAS/200586166619221

The Fund for Innovative Climate and Energy Research (FICER) exists to accelerate the innovative development and evaluation of science and technology to address carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions and their environmental consequences. Grants for research were provided to the University of Calgary from gifts made by Mr. Bill Gates from his personal funds. The activities of the Fund for Innovative Climate and Energy Research fall outside the scope of activities of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. FICER is not a Foundation project and has no relationship with it.

The Carbon War Room is an independent, global, non-profit organisation that harnesses the power of entrepreneurs to unlock gigaton-scale, market-driven solutions to climate change. While its primary focus is on carbon mitigation techniques, it recognises the controversy of SRM and the need for good governance in this area.

Founded in 2007, Zennström Philanthropies’ mission is to support and engage with organisations that fight for human rights, to work to stop climate change and encourage social entrepreneurship in order to protect our natural environment and allow those who live in it to realize their full potential.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT:

Kathleen Sutcliffe, Earthjustice, (202) 384-7157

Jason Pitt, Sierra Club (202) 675-6272

Lori Sinsley, Environmental Defense Fund, (415) 293-6097

Stuart Ross, Clean Air Task Force, (914) 649-5037

WASHINGTON, DC – More than 156,000 concerned citizens and 33 environmental and public health groups filed public comments with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over the past four months, pressing for strong updated, air pollution protections from oil and gas drilling.  Environmental groups submitted technical comments to the EPA highlighting the strengths of the agency’s proposed rule and explaining how it could be improved. The comment period ends today.

“When the air in Wyoming gets smoggier than the air in Los Angeles, something has gone wrong. Thanks to lax air regulations on the oil and gas industry, that’s exactly what’s happened,” said Earthjustice attorney Robin Cooley. “As demonstrated by the impressive volume of public comments on EPA’s proposed protections from oil and gas industry air pollution, the American public is eager to clean our air of lung-burning, cancer-causing pollutants.”

The country is in the midst of a gas rush, spurred on by a controversial technology know as hydraulic fracturing or fracking, in which drillers blast millions of gallons of chemically laced water into the ground to crack shale rock and force out gas.

“Over the past several months, thousands of families stood up to the dirty gas industry and asked the EPA to fight for clean air,” said Deb Nardone, Director of Sierra Club’s Natural Gas Reform Campaign. “This industry is growing at an incredible rate and the weak air safeguards now in place do not protect the health of our communities from industry practices like hydraulic fracturing.  We urge the agency to adopt these standards without delay and strengthen them to include overlooked pollutants and pollution sources.”

Fumes from natural gas and oil wells dump smog-forming pollutants and cancer-causing benzene into the air. In the drilling-rig-studded Upper Green River Basin of Wyoming, levels of pollution-forming ozone reached 123 parts per billion earlier this year — worse than air quality in traffic-intensive Los Angeles.

“Shale gas production has gone from a negligible amount just a few years ago to being almost 30% of total U.S. natural gas production but national clean air standards covering these activities have not been updated since 1985 in one case and 1999 in another. They are limited, inadequate, and out of date, particularly given recent technological advances in this area, said Susanne Brooks, senior economic policy analyst at EDF. “This poses a serious problem, since exploration and production activities emit numerous hazardous air pollutants and other airborne contaminants that threaten human health and the environment. Communities across the country are paying the price, suffering from air pollution in the absence of protective, comprehensive standards.”

David McCabe, Atmospheric Scientist with Clean Air Task Force, pointed out that while the proposed regulation of several air pollutants will help protect our nation’s public health, the regulations to cut smog-forming pollutants need to be tightened further, and the regulations fail to directly regulate the release of methane into the atmosphere.  “Natural gas operations emit more methane — a highly potent climate pollutant — than any other industry in the nation,” said McCabe.  “In our technical comments to EPA we have made a strong case for amending the draft rule to clean up wasteful and dangerous emissions of methane from operations of the oil and gas industries.”

The public comment period on a draft rule published in August ended today. The agency is under a court order to finalize the rule by April 3, 2012.

Because the agency failed to update air pollution standards for drilling, Earthjustice filed suit on behalf of WildEarth Guardians and the San Juan Citizens Alliance—two American West-based environmental organizations based in the American West.

An abbreviated version of the technical comments can be found here: http://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/NSPSshortcomments.pdf. A full copy of the technical comments will be available upon request.

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CONTACT:

Jennifer Andreassen, S.A. mobile 072 632 2755, U.S. mobile +1-202-288-4867, jandreassen@edf.org

(DURBAN, South Africa – Nov. 30, 2011)  U.S. negotiators must stop blocking progress at global climate negotiations now underway in Durban, South Africa, the CEOs of 16 major non-governmental organizations told Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. 

“America risks being viewed not as a global leader on climate change, but as a major obstacle to progress,” the groups, including Environmental Defense Fund, said in a letter. 

In particular, the groups said the U.S. positions on the mandate for future negotiations and climate finance “threaten to impede in Durban the global cooperation so desperately needed to address the threat of climate change.” 

“Domestically, despite the cacophony coming from Congress, the U.S. is making major strides using existing legal authorities to reduce air pollution from power plants, mobile sources, and factories in ways that will also significantly reduce U.S. carbon emissions over the next several years,” said Jennifer Haverkamp, EDF’s international climate program director. 

“However, that doesn’t make up for the fact that the U.S. is going out of its way to stymie progress in Durban toward a binding new agreement.  In the remaining week and a half in Durban, the U.S. needs to clear the way for countries to move forward on preventing the catastrophic effect of global warming.”

The group called out the U.S. for setting preconditions on a mandate to launch negotiations for a comprehensive binding climate  regime, knowing such terms could not be agreed to at this time.  Instead, those terms should be part of the negotiations once launched, said the groups.  They also urged the U.S. to work to resolve issues involving the Green Climate Fund.

The groups again flagged their unhappiness with the U.S. opposition to the European Union’s pioneering anti-pollution law for aviation, calling for the U.S. to end its opposition to include aviation emissions within the European Union Emissions Trading System.

Signers of the letter include: Center for International Environmental Law, Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, Environmental Defense Fund, Greenpeace USA, National Tribal Environmental Council, Native American Rights Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, Oxfam America, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Population Action International, Population Connection, Sierra Club, Union of Concerned Scientists, The Wilderness Society, and World Wildlife Fund.

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Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org), a leading national nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships. See twitter.com/EnvDefenseFund; facebook.com/EnvDefenseFund; edf.org/ClimateTalks.

(Washington, DC—November 28, 2011) Conservation groups today launched a new website, www.MississippiRiverDelta.org, focused on restoring one of America’s greatest natural resources, the Mississippi River Delta. The site houses scientific information, public policy analysis, cultural and historical summaries, and Delta Dispatches, a news blog about restoration efforts in the delta.

“MississippiRiverDelta.org is a one-stop shop for news, analysis, and solutions for delta restoration,” said Kevin Chandler, Mississippi River Delta restoration campaign communications coordinator. “You’ll want to subscribe to our feed and come back often.”

The campaign and the site area a collaborative effort by the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, Environmental Defense Fund, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, National Audubon Society, and National Wildlife Federation.

The Mississippi River Delta contributes tens of billions of dollars to the U.S. economy every year and supports millions of jobs. The delta sustains the following:

• Commercial trade routes that connect America’s heartland to the rest of the world, critical and extensive energy infrastructure, and fisheries that produce 25 percent of American seafood, all valued at hundreds of billions of dollars. Read more about the economics of the delta.
• Wildlife habitat for hundreds of species, including endangered mammals and reptiles, commercially important seafood species, migratory waterfowl and other birds from across the hemisphere.
• Jobs and ways of life for approximately 2 million people living in or near the delta, including fishermen, boat captains and restaurant owners.

Unfortunately, the delta and Louisiana lose one football field of land on average every hour, amounting to more than 16.5 square miles of land lost per year, mainly due to the leveeing and channelization of the Mississippi River and the construction of thousands of miles of channels and canals through the delta’s fragile wetlands. The delta also is struggling to recover from last year’s BP oil disaster.  MississippiRiverDelta.org provides updates on action to restore the delta, including a bipartisan bill introduced in both the House and Senate, the RESTORE Act, that would dedicate 80 percent of the BP oil spill penalties to restoring the delta and the rest of the Gulf Coast.

“Science tells us that we can begin reversing the delta’s land loss to protect and restore natural resources that sustain critical shipping and energy infrastructure, millions of jobs, and globally important wildlife habitat,” Chandler concluded. “MississippiRiverDelta.org tells that story and will fast become a resource for anyone with an interest in delta restoration.”

NEWS RELEASE

Contact:
Jennifer Andreassen, S.A. mobile 072 632 2755, U.S. mobile +1-202-288-4867, jandreassen@edf.org

(DURBAN, South Africa – Nov. 27, 2011) The United Nations climate talks beginning in Durban Monday should be used to catalyze individual nations to commit to emissions reductions and to launch the fund for helping developing countries deal with climate change, Environmental Defense Fund, a leading U.S. environmental group, said today.

Although the ideal outcome of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) gathering is for countries to extend the Kyoto Protocol climate change agreement – significant parts of which will expire next year – and to set the course for a comprehensive binding agreement in the near future, those goals do not appear to be achievable.

“Given the current global political and economic situations, renewal of the Kyoto Protocol is highly unlikely,” said Jennifer Haverkamp, EDF’s international climate program director. “But that is no excuse for the world to sit back and do nothing. We need to build on the efforts of individual countries and regions so that every nation does their part to reduce the emissions that are harming our way of life.” 

Environmental Defense Fund is urging the climate conference to move forward in four key areas:

1. A negotiating work plan with concrete goals for the next two years and a clear path toward a comprehensive, binding agreement.
2. Agreements on financing arrangements for the Green Climate Fund, which will be dedicated to helping developing countries address and adapt to climate change. 
3. Positive signals to the carbon market that there’s life after Durban, encouraging more countries to follow Europe, New Zealand, and most recently Australia’s lead in setting a domestic carbon price.
4. Accounting rules for measuring emissions from land-use change and forestry that accurately determine whether countries have reduced their emissions and met their obligations.  

Read EDF’s full report on recommendations and expectations for the Durban climate conference: Durban UN climate talks could see modest, incremental progress; What to watch at COP-17.

Contact:
Sharyn Stein, 202-572-3396, sstein@edf.org

(Washington, DC – November 18, 2011) A new report by some of the world’s top researchers confirms climate change will make the extreme weather the U.S. has seen over the past year even worse.

“We’ve all been experiencing these extreme weather events, and this report provides the strongest evidence of the links between impacts dangerous weather and climate change,” said Steve Hamburg, Chief Scientist for Environmental Defense Fund. “Now we need to start using this data to find ways to protect ourselves and our communities.”

This report was released November 18 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It synthesizes two years work from 100 experts who analyze data from all over the world. Their conclusion: climate change is bringing us more extreme weather, and it’s likely to get worse and have greater negative impacts over the next century. 

Here in the United States, we’re likely to see:

• Higher temperatures and more hot days through the next century (Record-breaking heat that would have been a once-in-20-year high are likely to become a one-in-two-year event)
• More frequent and heavier rains, especially in winter
• Stronger hurricanes that will do more damage
• Increased droughts, especially in the center of the country
• Higher sea levels, which means more coastal erosion and other damage

All these changes will affect our agriculture, water supplies, health – even tourism.

Dr. Hamburg is available to provide context on this important report, as well as to discuss what local impacts might look like in various regions of the country.

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Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org), a leading national nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships. See twitter.com/EnvDefenseFund; facebook.com/EnvDefenseFund; blog.edf.org/Climate411

Contact:
EDF Contact: Erin Geoffroy, (512) 691-3407, egeoffroy@edf.org
ATA Contact: Sean McNally, (703) 838-1995, smcnally@trucking.org
RILA Contact: Liz Jennings, (703) 600-2063, liz.jennings@rila.org

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Freight Sustainability Summit (Summit), co-hosted by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), the American Trucking Associations (ATA) and the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA), kicked off today highlighting the critical role that the goods movement sector plays in our nation’s economy, energy security and environment. The Summit will feature senior industry leaders, transportation experts, policymakers and other key stakeholders including: EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation Gina McCarthy, EDF President Fred Krupp, Maritime Administrator for the U.S. Department of Transportation David Matsuda, and former Governor of Kansas and current American Trucking Association President Bill Graves. Leaders in freight sustainability will share best practices, operational strategies, cutting edge technologies and other innovations that help integrate sustainability into transportation management and business practices.

EPA’s SmartWay program is “a critical program that shippers can leverage to increase their freight efficiency,” said Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund. Krupp believes in “rolling up our sleeves to partner with business and civic leaders, finding ways to achieve real environmental improvements and grow a cleaner energy economy while saving money, creating jobs and improving public health. There’s no better win win win solution.”

The Summit will also pay homage to the highly successful EPA SmartWay program, a voluntary program started in 2004 within EPA’s Office of Transportation and Air Quality designed to identify products and services that reduce transportation-related emissions. Since that time, more than 2,900 U.S. corporations, including virtually all the nation’s largest truck carriers, all Class I rail companies and many top Fortune 500 companies rely on SmartWay’s supply chain, accounting tools and methods. The SmartWay program signifies a partnership among government, business and consumers to protect our environment, reduce dependence on foreign oil and improve our air quality for future generations.

“The EPA SmartWay program has been an excellent partnership for RILA and our members,” said Adam Siegel, Vice President of Sustainability and Retail Operations at RILA. “Through this public private partnership, retailers have been able to place fuel saving equipment and trucks on the road, while reducing their supply chains’ carbon footprint. The EPA has done a fantastic job driving the success of this important program and we look forward to continuing to promote SmartWay,” concluded Siegel.

This two-day conference will be held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, Washington DC. The first day of the event will focus on how the nation’s leading trucking and logistics firms, retailers, manufacturers, ports and non-governmental organizations are successfully integrating sustainability practices into their transportation and business operations. The second day will feature an EPA SmartWay Workshop that shows how this innovative public-private collaboration can help industry and the country save fuel and enhance the economy through new technologies and innovative strategies, tools and methods for carbon accounting and performance benchmarking.

“EPA’s SmartWay program is a model for how government and the private sector can come together and achieve mutually beneficial results”, said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. “Over the years, the program has facilitated the deployment of thousands of fuel-saving devices that reduce the amount of money our industry spends on fuel and lessens the impact of freight movement on the environment.”

“EPA’s SmartWay program is a strong example of how we can achieve economic and environmental goals through good partnerships and incentives” said Gina McCarthy, assistant administrator of EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. “Working with EPA, SmartWay partners are finding ways to move goods cleaner and more efficiently across our nation. This helps businesses to cut costs, increase productivity, conserve energy, support job growth and protect the environment. The Freight Sustainability Summit provides an opportunity to share technology innovations and strategies that reduce emissions and improve efficiency, helping to move our nation toward a more sustainable future.”

Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org), a leading national nonprofit organization, creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. EDF links science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships. See twitter.com/EDFbiz; facebook.com/EnvDefenseFund; and http://blogs.edf.org/innovation.

American Trucking Associations is the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related conferences and councils, ATA is the voice of the industry America depends on most to move our nation’s freight. Follow ATA on Twitter or on Facebook. Good stuff. Trucks Bring It!

RILA is the trade association of the world’s largest and most innovative retail companies. RILA members include more than 200 retailers, product manufacturers, and service suppliers, which together account for more than $1.5 trillion in annual sales, millions of American jobs and more than 100,000 stores, manufacturing facilities and distribution centers domestically and abroad.