Complete list of press releases

(Washington, D.C. – March 31, 2023) The Environmental Protection Agency today granted California’s request for a Clean Air Act preemption waiver for the Advanced Clean Trucks Rule, which will protect millions of people from dangerous pollution emitted by new freight trucks and buses.

It’s the second announcement today from the Biden administration showing the momentum toward clean cars and trucks. Just hours ago, the U.S. Department of the Treasury released a new proposal about tax credits for electric vehicles.

“The Advanced Clean Trucks Rule will save lives, save money for truckers and fleets, save the state billions of dollars in health care costs, and help create thousands of new jobs,” said EDF clean transportation attorney Andy Su. “The standards are critical health and climate protections, especially for people in low-income communities and communities of color who are disproportionately harmed by transportation air pollution. Our nation’s clean air laws expressly authorize state leadership in reducing dangerous air pollution from new vehicles, and EPA’s approval of these clean truck standards for California and six other states is a welcome part of that life-saving history.”

For more than half a century the Clean Air Act has included a waiver provision that allows California to adopt standards that are more protective than federal standards in order to guard against air pollution emitted by new cars and trucks. Across Democratic and Republican administrations alike, EPA has repeatedly recognized California’s leadership in addressing harmful tailpipe pollution. Today, EPA approved California’s request for a waiver for its Advanced Clean Trucks Rule, which requires manufacturers of large commercial vehicles like freight trucks, delivery vans, school buses, and garbage trucks to sell an increasing percentage of new zero-emission vehicles.

Heavy-duty vehicles only make up about one-tenth of all the traffic on America’s roads, but they are responsible for more than half of the heath-harming pollution and more than a quarter of the climate pollution from the transportation sector. Under California’s Advanced Clean Trucks Rule, different classes of new medium and heavy-duty trucks and buses sold in the state must meet different targets ranging from 40% to 75% zero-emitting by 2035.

The California Air Resources Board estimates that the rule will reduce climate pollution by almost three million metric tons each year by 2040, as well as reducing smog-forming NOx pollution and potentially deadly particulate matter pollution. A report by EDF and Energy Innovation found that by 2040 California’s Advanced Clean Trucks Rule will save at least 900 lives and eliminate as much climate pollution as would be generated by four million cars.

Six other states – Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington – have adopted California’s Advanced Clean Trucks Rule, as long provided for under our nation’s clean air laws.

Electric vehicles – both passenger cars and trucks, and larger commercial trucks and buses – have already launched a manufacturing renaissance in America. A new report by Environmental Defense Fund and WSP USA, U.S. Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Investments and Jobs: Characterizing the Impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act after 6 Months, found that more than $120 billion in investments and 143,000 new U.S. jobs related to electric vehicle production have been announced in the last eight years. More than 40% of those announcements happened in the last six months, since the U.S. Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act. The report also found that U.S. investments, production capacity, and jobs in the electric vehicle sector will likely continue to grow, especially in response to government actions like California’s Advanced Clean Trucks Rule.

(Washington, D.C. – March 31, 2023) The U.S. has reached another milestone on the route to a clean transportation future today with the release of a proposed rulemaking from the U.S. Department of the Treasury about tax credits for electric vehicles.

The Inflation Reduction Act provides tax credits of up to $7,500 for the purchase of new zero-emitting vehicles and $4,000 for buying used ones. Today’s announcement will help manufacturers and consumers determine eligibility for those credits.

“These tax credits for clean vehicles will play an important role in strengthening domestic supply chains and creating the U.S. jobs that will produce zero-emitting vehicles and their components,” said Alice Henderson, senior attorney for Environmental Defense Fund. “Tax credits will also drive down costs for American families, help protect their health from air pollution, and help us address the climate crisis. A massive investment in domestic electric vehicle manufacturing and job growth is already underway, and the announcement by the Treasury Department will further accelerate it.”

A recent report from EDF and WSP, U.S. Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Investments and Jobs: Characterizing the Impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act after 6 Months, found that the Inflation Reduction Act and other national policies have catalyzed already thriving investments in electric vehicle manufacturing in the U.S. More than $120 billion in investments and 143,000 new U.S. jobs have been announced in the last eight years, with more than 40 percent of those announcements happening in the last six months – since passage of the IRA.

The report also found that U.S. investments, production capacity, and jobs in the electric vehicle sector will likely continue to grow, especially in response to government actions expected in the future – including national vehicle emissions standards for cars, passenger trucks, delivery vans and buses. EPA is also expected to soon propose performance-based pollution standards for heavy-duty vehicles like freight trucks.

EDF filed comments with the Internal Revenue Service late last year urging timely implementation of the IRA’s tax credits and highlighting the need for provisions to empower consumers, especially those in marginalized communities, by providing accessible, clear information about the tax credits for both new and used vehicles.

The Treasury Department will now hold a 60-day public comment period on its new proposal, starting as soon as it is published in the Federal Register.

EDF and Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law have created a new website to track implementation of the IRA’s climate change-related provisions. IRAtracker.org is a free resource that includes a searchable database of the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate change-related provisions and a tracker that records actions taken by federal agencies to implement those provisions.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a sweeping energy package proposed by Republicans that would repeal climate programs included in the Inflation Reduction Act last year.  

The legislative package, H.R. 1, would roll back popular climate and clean energy plans, like the Methane Emission Reduction Program and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, while increasing the federal budget deficit by more than $2.3 billion over the next decade, according to the CBO. 

H.R. 1 also would gut key provisions of the bipartisan reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act by creating an expansive new loophole for new chemicals to enter the market without a safety determination based on health and environmental risks. 

“The Inflation Reduction Act’s historic investments lay the foundation for a clean energy future that will reduce harmful pollution, improve our health, make us more energy secure and heal the planet,” said Elizabeth Gore, senior vice president, political affairs at Environmental Defense Fund. “We’re already seeing significant benefits across the U.S., but House GOP leaders are trying to undermine this progress to protect fossil fuel companies’ record profits at our expense. Every action our leaders take should move us toward abundant, affordable clean energy.” 

It is unlikely the Senate will consider the legislation. Both sides agree it takes too long for energy projects to receive the necessary permits, but Republican leadership’s proposal would weaken important environmental protections. EDF is hopeful that stakeholders can reach a bipartisan solution on the permitting process. 

“A predictable and timely federal permitting framework will help us to achieve the full potential on the historic government investments in clean energy,” Gore said. “Any changes in the process must maintain the strong environmental standards that exist in current law and allow for early and comprehensive community input. The House Republican leadership’s proposal fails to meet this goal.” 

Although H.R. 1 contains many harmful provisions, EDF supports the BREEZE Act, which would provide funding to protect vulnerable coastal communities, provide critical habitat for wildlife and create a versatile economy that would make Louisiana and the broader region stronger in the face of a changing climate. 

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (the Integrity Council), an independent governance body for the voluntary carbon market, released its first set of threshold guidance that serve as a global benchmark for carbon credit quality.  

Today’s release includes the Core Carbon Principles (CCPs), which aim to establish a consistent and standardized guide to assess the recognition of high-quality carbon credits. The Integrity Council also released its Assessment Framework (AF), which provides guidance on how to apply the CCPs to carbon crediting programs and defines which carbon-crediting programs and methodology types are CCP-eligible. 

The Integrity Council’s guidance is the first of its kind for the voluntary carbon market, which has experienced increased demand from companies and investors striving to meet voluntary climate commitments. The guidance also comes among increased scrutiny over the integrity of certain types of carbon credits. 

The next round of the Integrity Council’s guidance will be released later this Spring. Environmental Defense Fund experts are calling on the Council to ensure the inclusion of the following:  

• Increased and enhanced engagement with Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLC) as key stakeholders in the voluntary carbon market: Indigenous leaders have raised concerns around the lack of effective consultation in the development of the CCPs, particularly around guidance that threatens to exclude jurisdictional tropical forest protection (JREDD+) credits and the High Forest, Low Deforestation (HFLD) credits. Full and effective participation of IPLCs as partners in decision-making processes related to the voluntary carbon market is key to upholding integrity.  

• High-integrity jurisdictional JREDD+ credits as eligible under forthcoming guidance: High-quality jurisdictional REDD+ programs are essential to scaling up tropical forest conservation at the scale and pace needed to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. They can also be a critical means to contribute to the Integrity Council’s objectives of scale, integrity, and a just transition. The Tropical Forest Credit Integrity (TFCI) Guide clearly signals that high-quality jurisdictional REDD+ credits can drive the voluntary market to higher integrity, while enabling large-scale forest conservation and providing benefits for climate, people, and biodiversity.  

• Clear standards for benefit sharing agreements: Currently, there are no strong requirements on benefit sharing arrangements, beyond transparency, in the CCPs. Ensuring these agreements are developed with the inclusion of all stakeholders and reinforced with accountability is paramount to ensuring they are effective and fair. 

The release of the CCPs also did not include a mandatory “share of proceeds” to drive equitable benefits sharing. The “Share of Proceeds” has potential to share more widely and equitably the benefits of carbon markets by sharing the revenues with communities that have a great need for generating funds for adaptation, but do not contribute to emissions and therefore cannot generate carbon credits. The exclusion of a mandatory share of proceeds in the Council's Core Carbon Principles is a missed opportunity to ensure the voluntary carbon market contributes to equitable and just climate action. 

In response to the launch of the Integrity Council’s Core Carbon Principles, Mandy Rambharos, Vice President for Global Climate Cooperation at Environmental Defense Fund, released the following statement:  

The new guidance from the Integrity Council has potential to breathe new ambition for integrity into the voluntary carbon market at a challenging moment. Companies, carbon credit developers, communities and climate watchdogs have long awaited clarity on what ‘quality’ means for carbon credits—and the CCPs are a major step forward.  

However, there are still several issues that need attention and answers from the Council: We need to see Indigenous Peoples and local communities integrated as decision-making partners. We need to see a pathway for high-integrity JREDD+ credits that can drive large-scale tropical forest conservation. And we need to see the benefits of the voluntary carbon market shared equitably, inclusively and broadly. 

We are optimistic that with this guidance, the voluntary carbon market can channel much-needed finance towards genuine and additional emissions reductions and drive climate-resilient development.

(Houston, Texas, March 22, 2023) — An explosion at the INEOS Phenol plant In Pasadena, Texas, near Houston, sent at least one worker to the hospital, shut down the Houston Ship Channel and created a fire that burned for nearly an hour. Since 2019, this plant has reported 113 violations to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. It’s been on the Environmental Protection Agency’s list of “high-priority violators” the last two quarters.

“People who live and work near the Houston Ship Channel shouldn’t have to wonder whether today’s the day it’s going to happen again. Today, it happened again. Outside Houston, a worker was hospitalized after a chemical fire at the INEOS Phenol plant in Pasadena filled the sky with smoke and burned for nearly an hour – about four years to the day after the series of chemical fires at the ITC plant in Deer Park nearby burned for three days straight, revealing for everyone how communities were exposed because the state was unprepared. Though Harris County made unprecedented investments to better respond to these disasters, the state is not holding the corporations responsible for them to the highest standards of compliance. These disasters are preventable. We do not have to accept them as the cost of doing business. Today’s disaster shows that Texas’ highest elected officials and the leaders of the environmental agency they’ve appointed aren’t doing everything in their power — including more frequent inspections and stronger enforcement of the laws meant to protect everyone — to ensure that Ship Channel communities are safe.”

(Washington, D.C. – March 21, 2023) A massive coalition of health, environmental and civic groups – including Environmental Defense Fund – laid out a full-throated defense of EPA’s clean car standards in a brief filed today in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

“EPA’s clean car standards are protecting people from the climate crisis and unhealthy air pollution while also creating jobs and saving people money at the gas pump,” said EDF clean transportation attorney Andy Su. “The clean car standards continue EPA’s decades-long work to protect people from transportation pollution, as required by Congress, and they have a rock-solid foundation in our nation’s clean air laws.”

EPA finalized protective clean car standards in December 2021. The standards, which correct damaging actions by the last administration, apply to model year 2023 to 2026 new cars and passenger trucks. They will help the U.S. address the climate crisis, provide healthier air for our communities, create new manufacturing jobs, and become global leaders in the race to zero-emitting vehicles. A group of states – led by the Texas Attorney General – and fossil fuel companies filed a lawsuit challenging them. EDF intervened in the case in defense of the standards.

Today EDF joined other parties to the case – the American Lung Association, Clean Air Council, Clean Wisconsin, Conservation Law Foundation, Environmental Law & Policy Center, National Parks Conservation Association, Natural Resources Defense Council, Public Citizen, Sierra Club, and Union of Concerned Scientists, as well as 22 states and cities with whom we filed a joint intervenor brief – and a large and varied group of organizations and experts – the American Thoracic Society, American Medical Association, American Public Health Association, American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association for Respiratory Care, Climate Psychiatry Alliance, American College of Physicians, American College of Chest Physicians, Academic Pediatric Association,  American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, Constitutional Accountability Center, Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University School of Law, Senator Tom Carper and U.S. Representative Frank Pallone, Jr., Margo Oge and John Hannon,  the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Consumer Reports, and the International Council on Clean Transportation –  who filed amicus briefs in support of the EPA’s clean car standards.

The joint intervenor brief argues that EPA’s clean car standards are “a straightforward exercise of EPA’s authority under Section 202(a),” (Brief, page 6) saying:

“Since 1965, federal motor vehicle standards under Section 202 of the Clean Air Act have been a cornerstone of Congress’s efforts to prevent dangerous air pollution. Section 202 tasks EPA with regulating new motor vehicles — one of the nation’s largest sources of air pollution — and has empowered EPA to eliminate billions of tons of smog precursors, soot, and greenhouse gases from the nation’s air by encouraging the application of cost-effective emission-control technologies. The emission standards challenged here continue this work using longstanding, statutorily authorized regulatory approaches.” (Brief, page 1)

The brief then details how:

• EPA’s clean car standards for model year 2023 to 2026 cars and passenger trucks fit “squarely within EPA’s Section 202(a) authority” (Brief, page 6)
• Section 202 (a) is “one of the most significant and frequently exercised authorizations in the Clean Air Act” (Brief, page 20)
• EPA’s clean car standards are “consistent with longstanding regulatory practice and core agency expertise” (Brief, page 21)
• Congress provided clear authorization for the standards (Brief, page 28)

Other parties to the case also filed briefs in support of the clean car standards today, including the Alliance for Automotive Innovation – a group that represents the manufacturers of 98% of the vehicles regulated by EPA’s standards. The Alliance’s brief expresses the manufacturers view that:

“Section 202 (a) of the Clean Air Act grants EPA significant discretion to establish emissions standards and to include regulatory provisions to incentivize game-changing technologies, like electric vehicles, that do not have widespread market adoption. EPA has exercised that discretion for more than a decade in setting greenhouse gas standards and, apart from an increase in the stringency of the standards, there are no salient differences between the Final Rule and its predecessors. Indeed, the features of the Final Rule to which Petitioners most strenuously object — its use of averaging and application to electric vehicles — are longstanding and fully supported by [section] 202(a)’s plain meaning.” (Alliance for Automotive Innovation brief, page 1)

Clean cars and trucks have already launched an auto manufacturing renaissance in the U.S. A new report by EDF and WSP found more than $120 billion in investments and 143,000 new U.S. jobs in clean transportation have been announced in the last eight years. You can read that report here.

You can find all legal briefs in this case, and other cases challenging clean car and truck standards, on EDF’s website.  

(Baton Rouge, La.) This week the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources published advance notice of a draft proposed rule to address natural gas wasted through the process of venting and flaring. The proposal would end the wasteful practice of routine venting and flaring at wellsites and builds from leading state approaches that have been adopted in the states of Colorado and New Mexico. The notice will be followed by a full, formal public comment period before rules are finalized.

In 2019, oil and gas operators in Louisiana wasted 5.18 billion cubic feet (BCF) of methane – the main component of natural gas and a climate warmer 80 times more powerful than CO2 – through venting and flaring alone, or over $16 million worth of gas. That’s enough natural gas to meet the needs of nearly every household in New Orleans for a full year. Reducing this waste is a valuable solution for addressing energy waste and supporting climate security. 

“By initiating this rulemaking, Gov. Edwards' administration is taking an important step toward limiting energy waste, increasing economic competitiveness and safeguarding Louisiana’s climate security. A strong final rule from the Department of Natural Resources is an opportunity for Louisiana to deliver on the Governor’s Climate Action Plan and advance commonsense solutions that leading producers in the oil and gas industry are already implementing.”

• Elizabeth Lieberknecht, Regulatory and Legislative Manager, Midcontinent

“President Biden’s first veto protects the hard-earned savings of American workers by allowing retirement fund managers the freedom to make fully informed investment decisions. This includes the responsible consideration of all risk factors, including the risks of climate change, that could influence financial returns. We greatly appreciate the president for supporting these carefully crafted safeguards of our money.”            

- Elizabeth Gore, Senior Vice President for Political Affairs

(Washington, D.C. – March 15, 2023) EPA Administrator Michael Regan announced the final Good Neighbor Plan today – an action that will protect millions of Americans from dangerous, smog-forming pollution that travels downwind. The Good Neighbor Plan requires poorly controlled power plants and industrial sources that contribute to harmful interstate air pollution to modernize their pollution controls in accordance with the Good Neighbor protections under our nation’s clean air laws.

“Smog-forming pollution from power plants and industrial sites does not respect state borders,” said Noha Haggag, a clean air attorney for Environmental Defense Fund. “Poorly controlled fossil fuel power plants and industrial sources in upwind states harm millions of people in downwind states who suffer from unhealthy smog levels. The Good Neighbor Plan announced today will help clean up poorly controlled smokestack pollution, save lives, and provide vital health protections for millions of people.”

The Good Neighbor Plan will reduce the harmful nitrogen oxides (NOx) pollution emitted by fossil fuel-fired power plants and industrial sources. NOx is a key ingredient in ground-level ozone, commonly called smog.  Smog is a caustic pollutant that is linked to serious heart and lung diseases and premature deaths. It is especially dangerous for children as their lungs are still developing, but also poses an increased risk to people with asthma, the elderly, and people who are active outdoors. 

The Good Neighbor protections of the Clean Air Act require the EPA to ensure that emissions from upwind states do not significantly contribute to harmful pollution levels in downwind neighboring states. The protections announced today will reduce NOx pollution from power plants and industrial sources in 23 states, beginning in this summer’s ozone season. When carried out, the pollution reductions are expected to save thousands of lives and prevent millions of asthma attacks.

(PITTSBURGH) Today, Environmental Defense Fund launched its “We’re Fired Up” ad campaign, a six figure broadcast buy in the Pittsburgh market alongside digital ads across Pennsylvania praising President Joe Biden for putting forward strong rules to curb oil and gas methane pollution. 

“President Biden has stood up to polluters and put forward a strong, commonsense proposal that would significantly cut methane pollution from oil and gas well sites across Pennsylvania and the U.S.,” said Jon Goldstein, Senior Director of Regulatory & Legislative Affairs at EDF. “For the future of Pennsylvania’s climate and the health of those living closest to oil and gas wells, the EPA must adopt the strongest rules possible as quickly as possible.” 

Click here to watch the ad. 

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide for the first twenty years that it remains in the atmosphere. Methane pollution is also responsible for more than 25 percent of the climate change Pennsylvania experiences today. 

Oil and gas operations in Pennsylvania release hundreds of thousands of tons of methane pollution each year alongside smog-forming volatile organic compounds as well as toxic and cancer-causing air pollutants like benzene. 

Last month, tens of thousands of Pennsylvanians testified in support of strong oil and gas methane rules as the Environmental Protection Agency wrapped-up a public comment period on its draft proposal. The EPA is expected to finalize its oil and gas methane rules by the end of the summer. 

The draft rules include key provisions such as monitoring at all oil and gas well sites – including at low-producing wells with failure-prone equipment that produce just 6% of the nation’s oil and gas but 50% of site-level methane emissions – and a transition to zero-emission pneumatic devices, in addition to third-party monitoring for super-emitter emission events. 

Advocates continue to press EPA to expand retrofit requirements for pneumatic pumps designed to pollute, which are the industry’s No. 2 source of methane emissions, and to end pollution from the routine flaring of associated gas, a common problem in oil fields that contributes to climate change and ozone pollution across multiple states. 

The ad will run on local Pittsburgh-area broadcast TV stations over the next week as well as streaming platforms and online digital media over the next month. 

Clean Air Council and the Environmental Health Project also co-sponsored the ad campaign. 

Pennsylvanians who want to support efforts to finalize strong oil and gas methane rules can do so at edf.org/MethaneActionNow

“The Biden administration’s new rules for Arctic Alaska are welcome protections from oil and gas development. Such steps are long overdue. But they do not justify or offset the decision to approve the massive Willow Project, which will lock in oil infrastructure for at least the next three decades at a time when scientists are calling for the U.S.—and the world—to urgently reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.

“As the world’s largest oil and gas producer, the U.S. has an obligation to lead by example. We must move even more aggressively to build out a clean energy future and reduce climate pollution if we're going to achieve the president's goal of cutting emissions in half by 2030.”

• Mark Brownstein, Senior Vice President, Energy Transition

(Washington, D.C. – March 14, 2023) The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and other national policies have catalyzed already thriving investments in electric vehicle manufacturing in the U.S., according to a new report by Environmental Defense Fund and WSP USA. More than $120 billion in investments and 143,000 new U.S. jobs have been announced in the last eight years, with more than 40 percent of those announcements happening in the last six months – since passage of the IRA.

"In little more than a year, the historic investments in the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law have helped launch an American vehicle manufacturing renaissance," said Peter Zalzal, EDF’s Associate Vice President for Clean Air Strategies. “This report captures the race to the top in states across the country – from Michigan to Georgia to Nevada – to secure the significant investments and jobs linked to manufacturing electric vehicles.”

The report, U.S. Electric Vehicle Manufacturing Investments and Jobs: Characterizing the Impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act after 6 Months, was released today by EDF and WSP. Among its key findings:

Federal policies have dramatically expanded and accelerated investment in manufacturing facilities for U.S. electric vehicles and the batteries to power them.  

• Manufacturers have announced more than $120 billion in investments in the last eight years
• 73% of that $120 billion was announced in the last 15 months – since Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
• 42% of that $120 billion was announced in just the last six months – since Congress passed the IRA

That investment will support massive numbers of new U.S. electric vehicle-related jobs. 

• Manufacturers have announced 143,000 new jobs in the electric vehicle sector in the last eight years
• 66% of those jobs were announced in the last 15 months – since Congress passed the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law
• 32% of those jobs were announced in just the last six months – since Congress passed the IRA

By 2026, these already announced U.S. facilities alone will be able to produce about 4.3 million new electric cars and passenger trucks each year. For comparison, that’s about one-third of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. last year.

The report finds even greater levels of investment in U.S. battery manufacturing capacity. By 2026, these already announced U.S. facilities alone will be capable of producing enough batteries to supply more than 11 million new zero-emitting passenger vehicles each year – which would represent more than 80 percent of all new vehicles sold last year.

The investment boom spurred by recent national policies like the IRA will help support jobs in states across the country. 86% of all the investments announced so far are concentrated in 10 states, with half of those – Michigan, Tennessee, Georgia, Nevada and Kentucky – seeing more than $10 billion in investment each. Investments in those same five states plus North Carolina and South Carolina are expected to support more than 10,000 new jobs in each state.

Graphic: Report, page 3

Billions more in investments will help create electric vehicle-related jobs in states not shown on the above map, including Alabama, Arizona, California, Illinois and Texas.

The report also found that U.S. investments, production capacity, and jobs in the electric vehicle sector will likely continue to grow, especially in response to government actions expected in the future – including national vehicle emissions standards for cars and passenger trucks. EPA is also expected to soon propose performance-based pollution standards for medium and heavy-duty vehicles like freight trucks and buses. 

“Going forward, EPA has a vital opportunity to establish national pollution standards for light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles that reflect and build from these substantial investments—standards that will reduce climate and health-harming pollution, save consumers money, and support high-quality jobs” said Zalzal.

You can read the report here.

(Washington, D.C. - Thursday, March 9) President Biden today proposed a fiscal 2024 budget that provides critical funding to help reduce pollution, protect our health, strengthen climate resilience, advance environmental justice and accelerate our transition to abundant and affordable clean energy.

“President Biden is building on the historic climate progress over the past year with a budget that would help to reduce pollution, improve our health, and develop and deploy affordable and reliable clean energy,” said Elizabeth Gore, senior vice president of political affairs at Environmental Defense Fund. “We need Congress to come together to keep us moving toward a clean energy future that benefits everyone.”

President Biden’s budget includes $52.2 billion to tackle the climate crisis, a 26 percent increase over the previous year. EDF applauds the numerous public health and climate wins in this budget, which include:

• Slashing energy bills for American families while also reducing emissions through efficiency and electrification.
• Creating jobs to build clean energy infrastructure in rural communities and cities, leaving no one behind.
• Advancing new tools to finance energy security and infrastructure projects and reduce reliance on volatile energy supplies and prices.
• Renewing American manufacturing to advance technology vehicle manufacturing projects from the Inflation Reduction Act.
• Ensuring Federal agencies will have the staff, expertise and resources needed to protect communities from toxic chemicals, advance equity and promote environmental, public health, and civil rights protections.

(WASHINGTON, DC — March 8, 2023) “Advancing climate-smart agriculture for farms of all sizes and geographies will require transformative financial investments. By unlocking new financing for precision agriculture technology, this bill will allow more farmers to use innovative technology in the pursuit of a strong agricultural economy and even greater climate ambitions.  

“We thank Sens. Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) for championing this important bill.”     

• Elizabeth Gore, senior vice president for Political Affairs at EDF 

EDF recently released an overview report about agricultural technologies, including advanced precision agriculture, and the effects on farm productivity and environmental outcomes. Read our blog post to learn more. 

March 8, 2023 – Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and Environmental Defense Fund unveiled a new website today to track implementation of the climate change-related provisions in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act and provide users with valuable information about the programs, protections, incentives, and tax credits offered through this historic legislation.

IRAtracker.org is a free resource that includes a searchable database of the Inflation Reduction Act’s climate change-related provisions and a tracker that records actions taken by federal agencies to implement those provisions. 

"The Inflation Reduction Act can transform the nation's energy sector and slash greenhouse gas emissions, but only if it is fully implemented, and governments and private entities take full advantage of its incentives. This website will help everyone understand what assistance is available, and also help track the progress (or, we hope not, lack of progress) in implementing its provisions," said Professor Michael Gerrard, founder and faculty director of the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. 

Activity to implement the Inflation Reduction Act has already started. IRAtracker.org shows 72 actions already taken by 11 different federal agencies. More will follow, and the site will be updated regularly to reflect future IRA agency implementations. 

“The Inflation Reduction Act will be instrumental in helping our nation achieve a safer climate and environmental justice, all while reducing costs and creating thousands of jobs all across the country,” said Michael Panfil, EDF’s Senior Director of Climate Risk and Clean Power.  “We hope this new website will serve as a free, publicly available resource that the American public can use to track the many opportunities the Inflation Reduction Act will create. It will also highlight the ways that state and local governments, Native American tribes, community groups, and innovative companies can take a leading role in advancing clean energy solutions.” 

You can reach IRAtracker.org here, or through the websites for the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and Environmental Defense Fund.