Complete list of press releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Copenhagen (Dec 18)—Environmental Defense Fund today hailed the move by Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to cap greenhouse gas emissions and “dock” into financing opportunities in the global carbon market.

Led by Grenada, a group of island states signed a groundbreaking agreement Friday to work together to increase energy efficiency, lower fossil fuel consumption and adopt hard targets for lowering tons of greenhouse gas emissions from a baseline year.

“This is a dramatic move from rhetoric to action,” said Peter Goldmark, Director of EDF’s Climate & Air Program. “SIDS Dock is an investment vehicle that can finance the islands’ transition from high-cost, high-carbon, largely imported fuels to a clean and more affordable economy.”

“By choosing a course that will quickly lead to hard targets on CO₂ reductions, they will be able to take advantage of preferential terms for carbon market access like those contained in the U.S. House-passed Waxman-Markey bill,” said Goldmark.

Grenada’s Prime Minister Tillman Thomas, the Chair of the broader Alliance of Small Island Nations (AOSIS), announced the initiative in Copenhagen. He said clean energy growth will be essential for islands’ sustainable development, adding that these small states need secure financing and cost-effective solutions to make the shift to clean energy.

The initiative, called SIDS-Dock, is an institutional mechanism that would allow island states to plug into carbon markets and generate financing when they take a hard emissions cap. Those funds can then be used to invest in capacity building and logistical resources to transform islands’ energy sectors.

“Small islands have to act boldly because for them climate change is already a matter of life and death,” said Goldmark. “Let’s hope the rest of us take a lesson and move ahead courageously.”

Peter Goldmark / 1-202-316-4914 / pgoldmark@edf.org

Andrea Welsh / 1-202-297-7723 / awelsh@edf.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Isabelle Silverman, (917) 445-6385, isilverman@edf.org
Evan Thies, (917) 715-9265, erthies@yahoo.com

(New York, NY – December 17, 2009) Eighty-seven percent of the city’s heating oil soot pollution is created by burning the dirtiest heating oils available in only one percent of all buildings in New York City, according to a new report released today by Environmental Defense Fund. As a result of burning this toxic sludge (No. 4 and 6 oil)—which New York uses more than any other big city—9,000 large buildings spew out about 1,000 tons of toxic soot pollution every year. Soot pollution aggravates asthma, increases the risk of cancer, exacerbates respiratory illnesses and can cause premature death.

EDF’s study, “The Bottom of the Barrel: How the Dirtiest Heating Oil Pollutes Our Air and Harms Our Health,” shows that the city’s levels of nickel—a heavy metal that increases the risk of cardiovascular disease by thickening the walls of arteries—are nine times higher than other U.S. cities.

“Dirty heating oil produces toxic pollution that millions of New Yorkers are forced to breathe every day,” concluded Isabelle Silverman, a co-author of the report and an attorney for Environmental Defense Fund. “Our government banned leaded gasoline in cars and now requires cleaner diesel fuel used in trucks and construction equipment to protect human health, so by the same token, the city government should phase out the use of dirty heating oil. EDF stands ready to help city policy makers, building owners and managers to complete the job by 2020.”

To encourage conversion now, EDF also launched today a web site (www.edf.org/dirtybuildings) that allows tenants to check if their building is burning dirty heating oil and offers advice on how to convert their building if it does so. Most burners that were installed during the last 15 years can burn any of the three heating oil grades (No. 2, 4 or 6) or natural gas. Low income buildings can apply for boiler and burner replacement funding available from the U.S. Department of Energy.

The EDF report recommends a 10-year window for building owners to convert from No. 4 and No. 6 oil to much cleaner No. 2 oil or natural gas. The switch would reduce soot pollution from buildings burning No. 6 oil by 95 percent. Although No. 2 oil is about 10 percent more expensive to buy than No. 6 oil based on today’s prices, the EDF report concludes that best maintenance practices and low-cost efficiency measures can significantly lower fuel usage and save buildings money. Natural gas is actually cheaper to buy than No. 4 or No. 6 oil.

A report released Tuesday by the New York City Department of Health (DOH) showed that buildings using the dirtiest heating oils—No. 4 and No. 6—are a major cause of the city’s high air pollution levels. New York burns two out of every three gallons of this sludge used for heating in the United States. The DOH report shows the worst air pollution in the areas with the highest concentration of sludge burning buildings. The Upper East Side and Upper West Side are the areas with the highest concentration of sludge burning buildings in the city.

Some of the City’s most iconic structures burn No. 6 oil in their boilers, including: the Flatiron Building (at 5th Avenue and 23rd St. in Manhattan), San Remo (at Central Park West between 74th and 75th streets), The Dakota (Central Park West at 72nd St.) and The Beresford (211 Central Park West).

The city has consistently received a failing grade for its air quality from the federal government in recent years. The hospitalization rate of children with asthma in the city is twice the national average.

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Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization, represents more than 700,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense Fund has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. For more information, visit www.edf.org.
 

Environmental Defense Fund praised U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for insisting on a commitment to address transparency as part of a new global climate change agreement. Secretary Clinton said transparency was a “deal breaker” and that international financing efforts are contingent on a commitment to address transparency in any political agreement that comes out of Copenhagen.

“We applaud Secretary Clinton for her sharp focus on the need for a commitment to address transparency in the Copenhagen agreement,” said Fred Krupp, executive director Environmental Defense Fund, a non-profit environmental group. “Transparency—knowing whether countries are living up to their commitments—is the linchpin of an effective global effort.”

“The details of how we measure progress and hold countries accountable to their commitments can be worked out over the coming months,” said Krupp. “The single most critical goal here in Copenhagen is a commitment by all nations to address transparency.”

“Secretary Clinton said the $100 billion pledge is contingenty on that commitment to address transparency,” added Krupp. “The outlines of an agreement are taking shape. But they could be erased if transparency is blocked or diluted.”

Contact: Tony Kreindler, tkreindler@edf.org, +1-202-445-8108

Molly Moore, molly@sandersonstrategies.com, +45-52-68-30-95, +1-240-393-0686

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Sean Crowley, (202) 572-3331-w, scrowley@edf.org
Ted Toombs, (303) 447-7210-w, ttoombs@edf.org  

(Washington, DC – December 16, 2009) The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is taking action to reduce fatal collisions with thousands of miles of public land structures by Western birds that the Obama administration is considering for listing under the Endangered Species Act. These Western birds are the Columbian sharp-tailed grouse, greater sage-grouse, and lesser prairie-chicken.

“Listing these birds under the Endangered Species Act is likely to have long-term negative impacts on livestock grazing and energy development in the West because restrictions on land use may be required to save these species,” said Ted Toombs, Rocky Mountain Regional Director of Environmental Defense Fund’s Center for Conservation Incentives. “By taking action now to reduce the death threat of fencing to these birds, the Bureau of Land Management is making a smart, inexpensive taxpayer investment that can produce immediate benefits.”

Columbian sharp-tailed grouse live in northwestern Colorado, southeastern Idaho, Wallowa County, Oregon and south-central Wyoming (see photo of Columbian sharp-tailed grouse at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Columbian_Sharp-tailed_Grouse_(male).png).

Greater sage-grouse live in California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming (see photo of a greater sage-grouse at: http://www.edf.org/content_images/GreaterSageGrouse.jpg).  

Lesser prairie chickens live in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas (see photo of a lesser prairie chicken at: http://www.edf.org/content_images/LesserPrairieChicken.jpg).  

Several studies have shown wire fencing to be a main cause of mortality for sage-grouse and lesser prairie chickens because they can’t see the thin wires and fly into them. In the results of an ongoing study released late in October 2009, during a 31-month period, the Wyoming Game and Fish Department documented 146 instances of finding sage-grouse feathers or carcasses on or near a 4.7-mile section of barbed-wire fence near Farson in western Wyoming. Subsequent research concluded that colored tags helped sage-grouse avoid flying into the fence. Fence collisions were attributed to more than 33 percent of lesser prairie-chicken mortalities in a 2004 Oklahoma/New Mexico study.

The BLM’s directive to its western field offices are similar to recommendations Environmental Defense Fund made in a January report. Recommendations in the BLM directive include:

Fences

If bird mortality due to collision with fences is documented, or if collisions are likely to occur due to new fence placement, implement appropriate actions to mitigate impact. Such actions might include marking key sections of the fence with permanent marking or other suitable means.

All Field Offices shall consider marking new fences in sage-grouse, sharp-tailed grouse, or prairie-chicken habitat and should identify marking fences as part of the cost of new fencing projects (see for example, State of Montana guidelines at http://fwp.mt.gov/content/getItem.aspx?id=34461).  
 

• To reduce the impact of new fences on sage-grouse, Field Offices will ensure that new fence proposals, including those for emergency stabilization and rehabilitation, are carefully evaluated for sage-grouse collision risk, and are sited in a manner consistent with conservation measures in the State Sage-grouse Conservation Plan.
• All Field Offices are to identify priority areas for flagging or marking existing fences to avoid collisions (nesting, leks, ridge tops, etc.) For reference, see: http://www.mt.nrcs.usda.gov/technical/ecs/biology/sagegrouse/dontfence.html.  
• In the process of prioritizing areas for flagging or marking fences, state wildlife agency personnel shall be consulted. 
• When flagging or marking, consult visual resource management leads to determine markings that are most appropriate for the site. 
• To promote cost effective efforts and maximize potential benefits to bird populations, monitoring should be conducted to further document the specific fence segments that should be flagged or marked. 
• Select a set of marked fences for monitoring to determine the adequacy of the marking.

Wind Energy Associated Structures 

• To reduce the risk of collisions, avoid the use of guy wires for turbine or MET tower supports. All existing guy wires should be marked with recommended bird deterrent devices.
• The siting of new temporary MET towers must be avoided within 2 miles of active sage-grouse leks, unless they are out of the direct line of sight of the active lek.

“There are thousands of miles of public land fences in the 15 states where these birds live, so this action literally could significantly reduce mortalities for these species,” concluded Toombs.

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Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization, represents more than 700,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense Fund has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. For more information, visit www.edf.org.
 

Copenhagen – Environmental groups have put forward the solution to the forest emission loophole that loomed large at the UN Climate Talks last week. This loophole is almost as large as the current emission reduction targets of the Kyoto Protocol.

With little time left before Heads of State arrive, the environmental groups are working to ensure the environmental integrity of forest accounting systems for both developed and developing countries.

“The developed countries brought questionable accounting methods to Copenhagen; these proposals would create an unacceptable precedent for the proposed mechanism to reduce emissions from tropical deforestation,” said Dr. Jason Funk from Environmental Defense Fund, “Countries need to stop creating special rules and acknowledge that a forest is a forest, no matter where it stands.”

Using all official historical data provided by developed countries, environmental groups have calculated and proposed new baselines for measuring changes in greenhouse gases from logging and other forest activities.

“This solution is simple, transparent and fair,” said Chris Henschel, with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society. “We are proposing that developed countries use their historic data from 1990 to 2007 as a basis for measuring changes in forestry emissions. The atmosphere will like this, and so will our children.”

The groups are calling on all countries to toss out reference levels in the current draft negotiating text and adopt historical baselines in their place. “It’s an objective basis for accounting. If countries do not accept these reference levels, they risk creating more hot air,” said Melanie Coates from the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

“We anticipate support for this proposal,” said Henschel. “Switzerland expressed openness to a similar baseline in its most recent submission. France is pushing for a historical baseline within the European Union.”

Many developed countries have come to Copenhagen asking the World to ignore planned increases in greenhouse gas emissions and erase them from the books. “They came looking for a big logging loophole and there’s absolutely no place for that in an ambitious climate change agreement,” said Dr. Toyoyuki Kawakami from Rainforest Action Network.

“We don’t have much time left, but we have enough time to fix this problem,” said Paul Winn, Greenpeace.

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Contact: Chris Henschel, Chair, CAN Working Group on LULUCF, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society

chenschel@cpaws.org, +45 5148 7341

Contact:

Sam Parry: (202) 572-3329, sparry@edf.org

WASHINGTON, DC (December 11, 2009) – With the Copenhagen United Nations Climate Change Conference in full swing, Environmental Defense Fund launched two Facebook campaigns to raise awareness of climate change on their Facebook Fan Page: The 10,000 Reasons Campaign and the Climate Champion Badge.

·         The 10,000 Reasons Campaign encourages fellow advocates to share reasons to fight climate change. Environmental Defense Fund hopes to have 10,000 reasons submitted by the end of the conference at Copenhagen in order to send a message to key legislators and members of the White House.

·         The Climate Champion Badge application works in conjunction with the 10,000 Reasons Campaign. Environmental Defense Fund honors their Facebook supporters – better known as Climate Champions – with a badge for Climate Champions to display proudly on their profile. Climate Champions select one of three badge options to show their commitment to saving the environment on their Facebook profile.

“The 10,000 Reasons Campaign and the Climate Champion Badge application are two quick and simple ways online advocates can participate in to share their voice about climate change,” said Sam Parry, Director of Online Membership at Environmental Defense Fund. “We strive to find environmental solutions and believe in protecting the environmental rights of all people. This is why the two campaigns were created: to let the people show and voice their commitment to fight for strong climate action that caps and reduces our global warming pollution. We hope that the messages our Climate Champions share will help impact key leaders’ decisions at the Copenhagen Conference.”

The United Nations Climate Change Conference ends on December 18. Environmental Defense Fund has already collected more than 700 reasons since the launch of the campaign and 150 Climate Champions have added a Climate Champion badge to their Facebook profile.

“We have until December 18 to collect 10,000 Reasons and continuously encourage fellow advocates to share these two initiatives with their friends,” said Parry. “The more reasons added to the 10,000 Reasons campaign and the more badge downloads, the louder our voices are in the fight against combat climate change.”

To show support for strong climate action, share your voice in the 10,000 Reasons Campaign and download your Climate Champion badge today. Follow the Environmental Defense Fund on Twitter at @EnvDefenseFund and join the conversation by using the #EDF10K hashtag.

(Washington, D.C. -December 10, 2009)— “The principles released by Senators Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman today are a roadmap for climate legislation that can win broad support in the Senate. Their plan to reduce pollution while bolstering our economy and energy supply is precisely what Americans are looking for in a bill. 

Environmental Defense Fund applauds Senators Kerry, Graham, and Lieberman for their leadership, and we look forward to working with them and their colleagues to get a bill to the President’s desk as soon as possible in 2010.” 

  — Fred Krupp, President, Environmental Defense Fund

(Washington DC, Dec. 10, 2009) A policy released today by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) charts an historic new course for the nation’s fish stocks, giving hope for the recovery of struggling fishing communities and depleted fish resources. NOAA is seeking to correct decades of failed management that has resulted in economically-depressed, unsafe, and unsustainable fisheries around the country. 

The policy promotes greater use of “catch shares,” an innovative fisheries management approach proven to improve fishermen’s lives and livelihoods and restore fish populations. In the five years after catch share implementation in the U.S., per boat revenues increased an average of 80 percent. NOAA’s policy builds upon this success and the efforts of fishermen, fishing communities, scientists, fishery managers, and conservationists to design and implement catch shares. The policy has been released in draft form but will take effect immediately. NOAA will take public comments for the next 120 days through a new web site.

“This policy will help reverse the freefall that U.S. fish stocks have been in for decades,” said David Festa, vice-president at Environmental Defense Fund. “It moves fisheries management into the 21st century.”

Catch shares work for fishermen and fish populations because they include science-based annual catch limits, accountability measures to ensure compliance with those limits, and effective enforcement. At the same time, catch shares give fishermen greater flexibility for how to run their businesses which improves economic performance

Catch shares are not a one-size-fits-all management system. They can be designed to fit the needs of individual fisheries, which set them apart from conventional management. Catch shares have been implemented in more than 300 fisheries around the world from New Zealand to Namibia to Norway, in fisheries large and small. Today there are more than a dozen catch shares in the U.S. and many more under development.

“Catch shares have brought job stability and security to our longline fishing fleet,” said Bob Alverson, manager of the Fishing Vessel Owners Association whose members fish for halibut and sablefish in the North Pacific. “Catch shares have helped increase the dock-side value of our catch by more than 150 percent while improving the quality, eliminating dangerous derby fishing and bringing job stability to vessel owners, crews and communities.”

The policy does not mandate catch shares for fisheries but rather makes important changes in NOAA strategy and operations, providing incentives and support for fishery managers who pursue catch shares. In particular, the draft policy:

• Promotes the consideration and adoption, where appropriate, of catch share programs in federal fisheries. 
• Removes technical and administrative impediments to catch shares.
• Provides technical and other support to those regional fishery management councils that choose to pursue catch shares.
• Enhances outreach, education and assistance to stakeholders.
• Promotes the development of technical guidance on specific program design elements.
• Supports adaptive management through new research and performance monitoring of catch share programs over time.

“New England loses a half-billion dollars of potential income every year just in its groundfishery through poor management,” said David Preble, a long-time commercial and recreational fisherman who serves on the New England Fishery Management Council. “Catch shares can return prosperity to fishermen.”

In the Gulf of Mexico, a catch share implemented in 2007 for commercially-caught red snapper immediately extended the fishing season from a few months to year round and significantly reduced the amount of fish that fishermen were required to throw overboard dead or dying. The success of the snapper catch share led commercial fishermen to pursue a catch share for grouper and tilefish that will go into effect Jan. 1. The region’s fishery council is now exploring a catch share for all remaining reef fish.

“This policy is a giant victory for the oceans and for fishermen,” said Diane Regas, associate vice-president for Oceans at EDF. “Catch shares blow away the myth that healthy oceans and vibrant fisheries are incompatible.”

In contrast to catch shares, conventional fishery management has failed in most fisheries to maintain healthy fish populations and the fishing communities that depend on them. In New England alone, the collapse of the North Atlantic cod fishery in the early 1990s resulted in the loss of an estimated 20,000 jobs and $349 million from the economy. In the Pacific halibut fishery, conventional management shrank a full year’s fishing down to just 12 hours in some parts of Alaska.

Today over 50 federally-managed stocks are overfished or experiencing overfishing. Under current management, meeting a Congressionally-mandated deadline to end overfishing by 2011 will mean ever-shorter fishing seasons and long-term closures for many prized species which will have a devastating impact on coastal communities. Catch shares allow continued fishing even while fish stocks recover.

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A leading national nonprofit organization, Environmental Defense Fund represents more than 700,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense Fund has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. Twitter: www.twitter.com/EDFOceans. Blog: http://blogs.edf.org/edfish. Visit www.edf.org.
 

(Sacramento, CA – December 9, 2009) Environmental Defense Fund praised the California Air Resources Board (CARB) for adopting the nation’s first comprehensive regulation to reduce refrigerant pollution that is thousands of times more harmful than carbon dioxide. Once the refrigerant management program (RMP) is implemented fully, it can save state businesses more than $19 million and cut “super” greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution by 8 million metric tons (MMT), according to CARB. 

“This first-in-the-nation program is a valuable, common-sense first step to cut refrigerant pollution that is thousands of times more harmful than carbon dioxide and can save businesses thousands of dollars annually,” said Tim O’Connor, an attorney in Environmental Defense Fund’s Sacramento office. “Absent this program, business-as-usual estimates indicate that high global warming potential pollution will triple between 2004 and 2020, harming the state’s ability to achieve the full economic and environmental benefits of our groundbreaking global warming law.”

The refrigerant management program is a key piece of the scoping plan for the Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32), the framework showing how California will be able to reduce GHG pollution 30 percent below business as usual pollution by 2020. The program has the fifth most GHG pollution reductions assigned to it. By 2020, the regulation is expected to reduce GHG pollution by 8.1 MMT each year or nearly 5 percent of the required reductions by 2020. The build up of HFCs, if left unchecked, could negate efforts to reduce carbon dioxide to safe levels by 2050, according to a recent report by the National Academy of Sciences.

The program requires businesses that use hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and other high global warming potential (high-GWP) refrigerants to monitor, repair, register and report on large, stationary refrigeration systems that leak. The savings for businesses—$2 per metric of carbon dioxide reduced—result from repairing systems that lose an average of 15 percent of their refrigerant gases. One pound of a common refrigerant—R-404a—costs about $11. A typical grocery store has a two-ton refrigerant cooling system that loses approximately $6,600 in coolants a year.

The program will cover commercial and industrial systems in approximately 26,000 facilities such as restaurants, grocery stores and cold storage warehouses. Large facilities are required to register in 2012, and medium and small system operators are required to register by 2014 and 2016 respectively.

“This program can put California at the forefront of a critical effort to make refrigeration systems less dangerous to people and the environment,” concluded O’Connor. “We look forward to helping to fine tune the program even further by exploring additional incentives and setting a single state date for all facilities.”

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Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization, represents more than 700,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense Fund has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems. For more information, visit www.edf.org.

NEWS RELEASE

Media Contact: Bob Liff, desk-917-438-4628, cell-917-287-7089, bliff@mrss.com
M+R Strategic Services, Inc

GREENER, GREATER, BUILDINGS PLAN TO SAVE ENERGY AND MONEY, CUT CARBON EMISSIONS, CLEAN AIR AND CREATE GREEN JOBS

COUNCIL TO VOTE ON NATION’S MOST COMPREHENSIVE AND AMBITIOUS PLAN TO GREEN EXISTING BUILDINGS

BUILDINGS ACCOUNT FOR 80% OF NYC CARBON EMISSIONS AND $15 BILLION IN ENERGY COSTS – INVESTMENT IN EFFICIENCY AUDITS AND UPGRADES WILL REDUCE GREENHOUSE EMISSIONS, LOWER ENERGY COSTS AND CREATE GREEN JOBS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DECEMBER 7, 2009

City Councilmembers joined environmental leaders and other civic activists on the steps of City Hall today to support passage of a package of legislation called the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan. The plan would create New York City’s first Energy Code and includes other initiatives to improve energy efficiency in existing buildings, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, lower energy costs, and create thousands of construction-related jobs.

The Greener, Greater Buildings Plan, first announced by Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Quinn on Earth Day, represents the most comprehensive, ambitious and coordinated plan ever proposed to cut carbon emissions from existing buildings, the greatest source of CO₂ emissions in American cities.

Buildings account for 80 percent of New York City’s carbon emissions, and energy costs are estimated at $15 billion a year. The proposed green buildings plan would reduce both carbon emissions and consumer costs.

The Greener, Greater Buildings Plan represents New York City’s largest step so far toward reducing carbon emissions to meet the goals of PlaNYC and the requirements of Local Law 55 of 2007, which requires carbon emission reductions of 30% by 2030. Once adopted, the plan will position New York City as the nation’s leader in the goal of promoting energy efficiency and growing the green economy.

New York City’s Greener, Greater Buildings Plan will:
• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions nearly 5%;
• Save New Yorkers more than $700 million annually in energy costs;
• Improve conditions for tenants;
• Create more than 17,000 construction related jobs in coming years.

“Improving the energy performance of buildings is the best way to lower energy bills, make the buildings we live and work in more comfortable, create badly needed jobs, and reduce pollution,” said Ashok Gupta, Director of Energy Policy for the Natural Resources Defense Council. “The legislation now before the Council, which will go a long way in decreasing the City’s carbon footprint, is improved and more workable than that introduced last April and has therefore gained broad support from business, labor and environmental organizations.”

Since the bills’ introduction in April, the Mayor’s Office and City Council have worked with a wide variety of stakeholders to address concerns and refine each piece of the legislative package. The plan consists of the following four bills:

Three bills apply only to large buildings, specifically tax lots with a building of 50,000 square feet or more and tax lots with more than one building that add up to at least 100,000 square feet of built area.

Intro 967-A, the Audits and Retrocommissioning Bill, introduced by Environmental Protection Committee Chair James Gennaro, would require large buildings to conduct audits of building energy efficiency every ten years and to optimize building efficiency with focused maintenance. This bill also requires that City-owned buildings retrofit systems when audits show such work would generate an energy-cost-savings pay-back in seven years or less.

Intro 476-A, the Benchmarking Bill, introduced by Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito, would make buildings’ energy performance more transparent by requiring large buildings to “benchmark” their energy and water consumption annually, making use of a free, online tool provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Intro 973-A, the Lighting Bill, also introduced by Councilmember Recchia, would require that large buildings upgrade to more efficient lighting technology by 2025. Lighting accounts for almost 20 percent of the electricity used in New York City’s buildings and electricity usage accounts for 49 percent of New York City’s carbon emissions. An additional submetering requirement will change commercial leases so that commercial tenants have the information and incentive to be more efficient in their energy usage.

A fourth bill would create a new New York City energy code.

Intro 564-A, the New York City Energy Code Bill, introduced by Councilmember Daniel Garodnick, would create for the first time a local New York City Energy Code and require that new equipment installed during a renovation must meet current efficiency standards by removing a unique New York State amendment exempting most building renovations from the New York State Energy Code.

Leaders of numerous environmental and planning groups joined in the call for the Council to approve the package of bills proposed by Mayor Bloomberg, Council Speaker Quinn, Environmental Protection Committee Chair Gennaro and other city leaders.

“Transitioning to a sustainable, low-carbon economy and culture may be the greatest challenge we have ever faced, and everyone must contribute to meeting this challenge” said Adam Friedman, Director of the Pratt Center for Community Development. “The proposed legislation will enlist more people in building a sustainable city. It will also provide critically important information so we can better plan and evaluate our efforts.”

Mary Barber, New York Campaign Director for the Environmental Defense Fund, said the package of bills is important both environmentally and economically for the city.

“Empowering consumers with information and focusing on maximizing building efficiency will reasonably reduce the negative financial and environmental impacts of energy waste in New York’s buildings,” said Barber. “This package of legislation addresses the single largest part of New York City’s greenhouse gas footprint, and takes a major step toward transforming the market for energy efficiency.”

Regional Plan Association President Robert Yaro said approving the package of bills will set a standard for cities around the world.

“The Greener, Greater Buildings Plan is one of the most important environmental actions that New York City can take,” said Yaro. “By tackling the core issues of energy efficiency and climate change, it will set a standard for cities around the world and reduce our energy costs over the long term.”

“This is a ground-breaking package of legislation that will dramatically improve New York’s energy efficiency and reduce both energy usage and the costs to owners and occupants across the city,” said Marcia Bystryn, President of the New York League of Conservation Voters. “Mayor Bloomberg, Speaker Quinn and Environmental Protection Chair James Gennaro are raising the bar for progressive urban energy policy around the nation and around the world.”

Russell Unger, Executive Director of the Urban Green Council (U.S. Green Building Council of New York), said the package is groundbreaking both in its individual parts and its overall aspects.

“The individual parts of the Greener, Greater Buildings Plan are tremendous achievements in their own right and many are firsts in the nation,” said Unger. “Together, this package represents the most comprehesive effort of any jurisdiction in the United States to reduce energy use in existing buildings.”

Community and environmental justice activists lauded the package of bills for their potential to protect affordability even as they help improve the environment for the most overburdened communities.

“The green buildings plan will do more to reduce New York City’s carbon footprint than any other action the city can take,” said Elizabeth C. Yeampierre, Executive Director of UPROSE (United Puerto Rican Organization of Sunset Park). “Until then, that footprint weighs most heavily on lower-income neighborhoods already afflicted by dirty emissions and power plants.”

New York City needs to limit the impact of Climate Change and adapt to a green energy future,” said Peggy Shepard, Executive Director of WE ACT for Environmental Justice. “Let’s get building emissions under control. Let’s measure and reduce our energy usage through efficiencies and conservation, and let’s keep housing affordable.”

“More energy-efficient buildings are a key to a healthy, secure future for all New Yorkers,” Shepard said.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Tony Kreindler, National Media Director, Climate, 202-445-8108, tkreindler@edf.org
Vickie Patton, Deputy General Counsel, 720-837-6239, vpatton@edf.org

(Washington – December 7, 2009). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson today formally determined that greenhouse gas pollution imperils the health and well-being of present and future generations, setting the stage for U.S. action as officials from across the world gather in Copenhagen to forge an international solution to global warming.

“The danger of global warming pollution is clear and present, the solutions are at hand, and the time for action is now,” said Fred Krupp, President of Environmental Defense Fund. “It’s time for Congress to finish its work on U.S. legislation to cap and reduce the 19 million tons of heat-trapping pollution we emit every day. American leadership on climate change will strengthen our security, wean us off of foreign oil, and ensure that America wins the race to clean energy innovation in the global market place.”

Today’s action is required by a landmark 2007 U.S. Supreme Court decision rejecting the Bush EPA’s “laundry list” of reasons not to address global warming pollution under the nation’s clean air laws. The endangerment finding issued today covers six greenhouse gases that drive climate change: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride.

Policy Solutions, Not Scare-Tactics. EPA’s announcement is a wake up call for legislative action by the United States Senate that will reduce global warming pollution and expand America’s clean energy economy. But some seek to delay progress and avoid accountability using scare tactics, absurdly claiming that EPA action will result in a “cow tax.” The reality is that EPA recently took action to shield small sources from liability, proposing a 25,000 ton annual carbon dioxide threshold for regulation. The 25,000 ton threshold is the amount of pollution emitted from the annual energy use of about 2,200 homes, approximately 58,000 barrels of oil consumed, or 130 railcars of coal.

Order from the U.S. Supreme Court. In 2003, the Bush EPA denied a 1999 petition to establish greenhouse gas emission standards for motor vehicles under the nation’s clean air laws. The Bush EPA claimed it had no power to limit global warming pollution, expressly reversing prior EPA legal opinions that had affirmed the Agency’s authority to address greenhouse gases. On April 2, 2007, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected EPA’s “laundry list of reasons not to regulate” greenhouse gas emissions and instructed EPA to make a decision about the threat of global warming pollution.

Abrupt Climate Impacts, Threats to Human Health. EPA’s extensive review of the science, conducted as part of its “endangerment” determination, documents: (1) abrupt climate change impacts including the potential deglaciation of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets and associated effects on sea level rise; (2) the climate-related human health perils for the poor, the elderly, the disabled, and the uninsured, and (3) the expected climate-induced rise in smog pollution and heat-related deaths in major regions of the country.

Pollution Has Soared. EPA’s action is long overdue. Since citizens petitioned EPA to address global warming pollution in 1999, the nation has discharged nearly 70 billion tons of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and heat-trapping carbon dioxide concentrations have soared to 385 parts per million.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Copenhagen (Dec 7)— Negotiators in Copenhagen must keep their focus and work toward a final 2010 climate treaty that is effective, inclusive, measurable and adequately financed, said leading non-profit group Environmental Defense Fund as U.N. climate talks opened here today.

“The real test for Copenhagen is whether we can agree to establish concrete building blocks that will set the stage for a final, legally binding agreement in 2010, after the U.S. enacts domestic climate legislation,” said EDF’s Climate Talks Director Jennifer Haverkamp.

“We know two weeks in Copenhagen won’t be enough to reach a legally binding treaty, but that doesn’t mean talks won’t be successful. If negotiators can stay focused on four key building blocks, we can reach a treaty next year that is effective, inclusive, measurable and adequately financed.”

“To be effective, a treaty must ensure all major emitters set or prepare to set pollution caps so global carbon emissions start declining within a decade.It’s the only way we can avoid warming of more than two degrees Celsius.”

“A treaty must also be inclusive, opening pathways for emerging economies to join the effort and enter carbon markets to speed their transition to low-carbon economic growth. And one pathway in particular must invite nations to earn financing for reducing tropical deforestation and forest degradation.”

“Third, a treaty must establish a standardized, credible system for nations to measure, report and verify emissions from an historical base year. It’s the only way we can track progress and be sure we’re winning the fight against climate change. Countries must be accountable for compliance.”

“Finally, any treaty must be adequately financed, and since the the bulk of climate finance will flow through the private sector, it’s crucial that carbon markets work. Carbon markets will need clear rules to give businesses a steady signal to invest in efficiency and low-carbon technologies. Without strong rules, it will be nearly impossible to generate sufficient and sustainable finance.”

(Boston — December 3, 2009) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today highlights three companies for their innovative greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction strategies that help to lessen fleet emissions. There are three million vehicles in corporate fleets. On average, each vehicle emits over 15 metric tons of carbon dioxide a year. EDF has identified Carrier, Novo Nordisk and Poland Spring as pioneers in executing innovative emission reduction best practices that corporations across America can emulate.

These distinctly different companies have implemented strategies that fit with their business needs, have encouraged employees to adopt better long-term driving habits and have resulted in real emissions reductions. 

“These corporations are setting positive examples by taking proactive steps to reduce their environmental impact and improve the efficiency of their fleets,” said Jason Mathers, corporate partnerships program manager, Environmental Defense Fund. “They demonstrate that all fleets have opportunities to reduce their emissions.” 

Highlights from the case studies include:

•Carrier, a global manufacturer with more than 40,000 employees, is a world leader in air conditioning, heating and refrigeration systems. As part of Carrier’s parent company United Technologies Corp.’s promise to reduce its global GHG emissions by 12% by 2010 (from a 2006 baseline), Carrier embarked on a systematic analysis of its fleet of trucks and cars. Through a variety of strategies, including gathering data from telematics equipment and reducing vehicle weights, Carrier has reduced its fleet emissions by 30% and is saving $1 million each year in fuel costs.

•Novo Nordisk, a global healthcare company, is a world leader in the treatment of diabetes. In 2007, the company instituted a goal of reducing emissions by five percent per year, each year through 2012. By offering incentives for fuel-smart vehicle choices and training drivers to operate vehicles more efficiently, the company noticed a 24% decrease in CO₂ emissions for the first six months of 2009.

•Poland Spring water has been bottled in Maine since 1845. In part because its roots in the state are so deep, the company wants to be thought of as a good neighbor. The company uses non-food based biofuels, has reduced top speeds by two miles per hour and reduced idling time by 70% from 2007 to 2009, to further reduce its truck fleet emissions.

Case studies are available at http://edf.org/greenfleet.  

Contact: Andrea Welsh/ 202-297-7723/ awelsh@edf.org

“President Obama’s decision to attend climate talks in Copenhagen is good news for the planet, and a great Thanksgiving gift for America. President Obama’s personal involvement in this historic event shows the U.S. is serious about protecting the climate and creating a clean energy future for the world. With the President attending, the odds of Copenhagen producing real progress leading to a final, effective agreement in the coming months just shot up. This strong support for international efforts to fight climate change, along with efforts to pass clean energy legislation at home, will ensure America’s place as a global leader in the 21st century clean energy economy.”

— Jennifer Haverkamp, Managing Director of International Policy and Negotiations