Complete list of press releases

“Today’s EPA announcement shows how valuable the Inflation Reduction Act will be in our efforts to address the climate crisis, and how much of a difference it will make for people and communities. EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is devoting $27 billion to projects that will protect our climate and our health. Much of that money will go directly to supporting clean energy projects in low-income and disadvantaged communities, including residential and community solar projects coupled with energy storage resources. These projects have the potential to create local benefits including savings on energy costs, reliability improvements, and improved air quality, as well as reducing climate pollution. The Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund is what we need to help everyone move toward a clean energy future.”

            - Heather McTeer Toney, Vice President of Community Engagement, Environmental Defense Fund

Today, eight major environmental nonprofits and Indigenous Peoples organizations released comprehensive, step-by-step counsel for companies to follow when investing in tropical forest carbon credits to fight climate change. The new guidance is included in the second version of the Tropical Forest Credit Integrity (TFCI) Guide, which was first issued in May 2022. The updated guide was released at the Annual Meeting of the Governors’ Climate & Forests Task Force, hosted this year by the government of Yucatán, Mexico. 

The eight organizations behind the TFCI Guide are: 

• COICA - Coordinator of the Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin  
• Conservation International  
• Environmental Defense Fund  
• IPAM - Amazon Environmental Research Institute 
• The Nature Conservancy  
• Wildlife Conservation Society  
• World Resources Institute  
• WWF

Companies have a critical role to play in providing the finance necessary to keep tropical forests standing and achieve impact at scale. As part of their climate mitigation strategies, their investments should be a supplement — not an alternative — to deep decarbonization within their operations and supply chains.

One option is investing in the voluntary market for tropical forest carbon credits. Combined with companies’ emissions reductions and complementary actions, the voluntary market can play an important part in helping to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. 

The TFCI Guide is designed to assist decision-makers and teams responsible for developing and implementing corporate climate mitigation and net-zero strategies to navigate the tropical forest carbon credit marketplace with clear purpose and high integrity.

The TFCI Guide outlines four detailed steps to help companies implement the guide’s recommendations: 

1. Planning a tropical forest credit portfolio to align with global needs.
2. Building a portfolio with purchases that drive demand for high-quality jurisdictional-scale crediting. 
3. Conducting due diligence to ensure high-quality credits. 
4. Following up with complementary actions and staying attuned to new developments. 

Made possible by a grant from the Bezos Earth Fund, the TFCI Guide is the result of an 18-month collaboration and consensus among the eight organizations in consultation with diverse stakeholders from around the world. 

In the face of growing demand for carbon credits in the voluntary market, it is vital to provide guidance on high-quality carbon credits to ensure that future investment is directed to where it will have the greatest impact. An essential component is respect for Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) who must be fully involved in the development of crediting program activities. Crediting and nonmarket-based activities must ensure IPLCs’ full and effective participation from inception and provide them with equitable distribution of the benefits and revenue. 

Harol Rincón Ipuchima, Coordinator of Climate Change and Biodiversity, COICA-Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin said: “The full and effective participation and the recognition of rights of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) during all processes is vital for the conservation of forests and the mitigation of climate change. The TFCI Guide not only outlines guidelines on high-quality investments in carbon credits but provides a framework on the full participation for IPLCs to ensure we have a seat at the table. The TFCI Guide recognizes IPLCs as partners and rightsholders, not only beneficiaries throughout the process mainly seeking a fair and equitable distribution of benefits, which is why The Coordinator of the Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA) is proud to be part of the authoring team.”

Emily Nyrop, Conservation International’s Vice President, Climate Change, said: “For years, companies have been raising their ambitions for a net zero, nature-positive future, but now is the time to turn those commitments into action. This updated TFCI Guide provides the direction companies need to do just that. It points companies toward high-integrity carbon credits and helps ensure that corporate use of those carbon credits aligns with real, measurable progress and impact for both the climate and communities. This is also a consensus document – it shows eight of the world’s leading environmental and Indigenous peoples organizations united on the importance of the voluntary carbon market and on what high-quality, high-integrity investments should look like.”
 
Mark Moroge, Vice President of Natural Climate Solutions at Environmental Defense Fund, said: “The world’s tropical forests are under increasing threat and now is the time for the private sector to invest heavily in saving them so we can avoid the worst impacts of climate change. One key tool in the toolbox for companies to do this is through purchasing high-quality carbon credits, which can unlock billions for forest conservation. Our eight groups came together last year to help companies identify key principles for high quality tropical forest credits, including respect for the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, who must be part of decision-making processes, as well as ensuring resources are allocated on the ground where they’re needed most. Our new roadmap now provides detailed, practical guidance for companies to implement these principles, so buyers know their purchases are sound. With our guidance, companies can have high confidence that their financing contributions will help mitigate climate change by halting tropical deforestation.”

Paulo Moutinho, Interim Executive Director of the Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM), said: “Humanity has established a common goal: Combat the climate crisis and maintain the habitability of the planet. The efforts need to be multiple and involve various sectors and governments. It is a global and collective mission. Part of this fight is to reduce the deforestation of tropical forests, especially in the Amazon. Among these efforts is the construction of a carbon market that is responsible and concerned with the supply of carbon with integrity and good quality. This guide is an important tool for companies interested in buying carbon to differentiate between those with the greatest capacity to conserve forests and benefit indigenous peoples, local communities, women, and underserved communities. Stimulating conscious demand will strengthen jurisdictional REDD+ initiatives, which have great potential to generate high-integrity carbon.”

Matthew Arnold, Global Head of Impact Finance and Markets, The Nature Conservancy, said: “Addressing the climate crisis requires immediate corporate action and a commitment to continued improvement of both the scale and impact of climate solutions. This is especially true for the protection of tropical forests through voluntary carbon markets, which have faced increased scrutiny as they have begun to scale. There still is immense potential to harness private sector finance in a way that empowers Indigenous Peoples and local communities, while bolstering corporate actions to a net-zero future. The TFCI guidance serves as a basis for future and continued improvement in this space.”
 
Todd Stevens, Executive Director of Markets, Wildlife Conservation Society, said: “WCS is encouraged by the outcomes of this guidance and the implications for forest conservation. We believe it will be useful for companies to see how high-quality projects and jurisdictional programs can be mutually reinforcing in helping to deliver the significant climate mitigation action needed to meet our Paris Agreement goals and support corporate net zero commitments.” 
 
Frances Seymour, Distinguished Senior Fellow, World Resources Institute, said: “With a growing number of corporate climate commitments and increased demand for carbon credits, the need for clear guidance on what constitutes a high-quality forest carbon credit is higher than ever. WRI is pleased to help produce this guide, which offers corporate sustainability managers with the guidance they need to develop a tropical forest carbon credit portfolio that prioritizes high-quality emissions reductions credits and incentivizes a rapid transition to jurisdictional-scale accounting and crediting. By following the steps in the TFCI Implementation Guidance, companies can participate in the voluntary carbon market for tropical forest carbon credits with a high degree of integrity and confidence and contribute to the global goal of halting deforestation by 2030.”

Fran Raymond Price, Lead, WWF Global Forest Practice, said: “We cannot overstate the urgent need for corporate action and leadership to protect forests and address climate change. Leadership starts at home, focusing first on a company’s footprint and deep decarbonization in line with a science-based target, augmented by high-integrity, high-impact investments in nature-based solutions. The carbon market must continue to improve and develop. And although it is not a stand-alone solution, if used appropriately, the market can increase support for transformative interventions at scale — as the TFCI Guide suggests — to deliver tangible benefits for people, nature and climate.” 

(Sacramento, CA — February 8, 2023) Today, Assemblymember Chris Holden (D - District 41) announced his intention for California to pursue further integration of the Western regional electricity grid. This builds upon the California Independent System Operator’s expansion of its “day ahead” market to the Western region. A broader regional transmission organization will allow for more clean electricity generation and transmission resources to be developed and shared across the West.

“All Californians deserve access to an affordable, clean and reliable energy system. A Western regional energy market would enhance grid reliability, reduce our reliance on the state’s dirtiest power plants, create new jobs, save electricity customers money and improve the cost-effectiveness of clean energy deployment. 

“Assemblymember Holden is to be commended for his commitment to ambitious climate action. His ability to find common ground among stakeholders makes him a natural leader for California and in the Western United States in this critical effort.

“We look forward to ongoing conversation with Assemblymember Holden and all of the interested stakeholders to deliver the most environmental and economic benefits to the West.”

• Michael Colvin, Director of Environmental Defense Fund’s California Energy Program 

Environmental Defense Fund and allied organizations recently submitted comments on a draft report sponsored by the California Independent System Operator on the regionalization effort. Those comments will be incorporated into a final report due to the legislature on February 28. This report will inform subsequent legislative efforts and EDF will remain deeply engaged in the process to develop policy details in the coming months. EDF’s priorities include:

• Shutting down the state’s dirtiest power plants, known as “once-through cooled” plants, as soon as possible. Legislation authorizing a regional market should be designed in such a way that facilitates the retirement of these plants. 
• Properly allocate resources to community and stakeholder engagement to ensure that local preferences are being reflected in California’s clean energy agenda. 
• Ensuring support for high-quality energy jobs throughout the state.

“President Biden is making good progress in the fight to combat climate change. Tonight’s State of the Union address showed how the government’s historic and widely popular investments in clean energy are creating jobs, lowering household costs and strengthening the economy. It’s critical that we keep moving forward to meet our climate goals and build a stronger, healthier and more prosperous America for everyone.”

• Elizabeth Gore, Senior Vice President, Political Affairs

“Brian Deese was indispensable in crafting and negotiating the most important climate law in U.S. history. A relentless optimist, Brian kept the goal of ambitious climate action alive when many were resigned to defeat by offering concrete, real-word solutions. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), with its $369 billion investment in clean energy, climate measures and environmental justice, is proof that government can help create a better future for everyone. IRA is also a demonstration of Brian’s strategic brilliance and commitment to economic security and climate action. He has my deepest thanks for his expertise, openness and partnership."

            - Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund

English

Jennifer M. Granholm, secretaria del Departamento de Energía de los Estados Unidos (DOE), visitó hoy una de las 45 residencias que cuentan con sistemas solares y baterías de almacenamiento en la Isla Municipio de Culebra en Puerto Rico. Estos sistemas fueron instalados como parte de un proyecto comunitario de energía limpia por Environmental Defense Fund y Fundación Colibrí para apoyar a Puerto Rico en su transformación energética, incluyendo el cumplimiento de la Ley de Política Pública Energética que requiere que la isla obtenga el 100% de su electricidad de fuentes renovables para 2050.

La visita de la secretaria a Culebra es parte de la Gira de Participación Comunitaria PR100 que busca recopilar las reacciones de los residentes sobre la necesidad de modernizar la red eléctrica de Puerto Rico y complementar el PR100, un estudio de 2 años realizado por la Oficina de Despliegue de la Red del DOE y seis laboratorios nacionales para evaluar maneras de traer energía limpia a la isla. Después de los huracanes Irma y María en 2017, los 1.700 habitantes de Culebra esperaron 13 meses para que se restableciera el servicio eléctrico completo. El huracán Fiona en 2022 también provocó apagones en la isla, pero varias residencias pudieron pasar la tormenta con servicio eléctrico.

“El liderazgo de la secretaria Granholm pone a Puerto Rico en camino hacia un futuro de energía limpia con pasos a seguir para el desembolso de fondos federales que apoyen proyectos solares comunitarios que también aminoran el cambio climático”.

“El proyecto solar residencial de Environmental Defense Fund en Culebra, que conllevó un elemento vital de participación de la comunidad, sirve como modelo para otros grupos y poblaciones interesadas en dejar de depender en los combustibles fósiles y tener sistemas de energía limpios, confiables y asequibles”.

• Daniel Whittle, Director Senior, Caribe

Environmental Defense Fund busca identificar soluciones energéticas efectivas y equitativas que puedan traer electricidad limpia y centrada a las comunidades de Puerto Rico, y puedan satisfacer las necesidades diarias de sus familias haciendo que la isla sea más resiliente al cambio climático. Nuestro trabajo se centra en promover un proyecto de almacenamiento y energía solar impulsado por la comunidad en la isla municipio de Culebra, y en apoyar a una variedad de organizaciones que están impulsando un cambio sistémico en la red eléctrica de Puerto Rico. Abordamos este trabajo de manera holística, aprovechando nuestra experiencia técnica, herramientas de financiamiento sostenible y experiencia en reforma energética para ayudar a desarrollar soluciones a largo plazo para la crisis energética del territorio. Para obtener más información, visite: www.edf.org/PuertoRico.

Español

Jennifer M. Granholm, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), today visited one of 45 residences that have solar and battery storage systems in the island municipality of Culebra in Puerto Rico. These systems were installed as part of a community-based clean energy project by Environmental Defense Fund and Fundación Colibrí to support Puerto Rico in its energy transformation, including compliance with the objectives of the Energy Public Policy Act that require the island to source 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2050.

The Secretary’s visit to Culebra is part of PR100 Community Participation Tour that seeks to gather reactions from residents about the need to modernize Puerto Rico's electricity grid and complement the PR100, a 2-year study by the DOE’s Grid Deployment Office and six national laboratories to evaluate stakeholder-driven way to bring clean energy to Puerto Rico. After Hurricanes Irma and María in 2017, Culebra's 1,700 residents waited 13 months for full electric service to be restored. Hurricane Fiona in 2022, also brought blackouts to the island, but a number of residences were able to ride the storm with electric service.

“Secretary Granholm's leadership puts Puerto Rico on a path to a clean energy future with clear steps to follow for the disbursement of federal funds to support community-based solar projects that can mitigate climate change.”

“Environmental Defense Fund’s residential solar project in Culebra, which entailed a vital element of community participation and feedback, serves as a model for other groups and populations interested in moving from reliance on fossil fuels to clean, reliable and affordable energy systems.”

• Daniel Whittle, Senior Director, Caribbean

Environmental Defense Fund seeks to identify effective and equitable energy solutions that can bring clean, community-centered electricity to Puerto Rico and can meet the daily needs of its residents, while making the island more resilient to climate change. Our work centers on advancing a community-driven solar and storage project on the island municipality of Culebra and supporting a range of partners who are driving systemic change to the energy system across Puerto Rico. We approach this work holistically, leveraging our technical expertise, sustainable financing tools and energy reform experience to help develop long-term solutions to the territory’s energy crisis. For more information, visit www.edf.org/PuertoRico.

The Carbon Credit Quality Initiative (CCQI) launched an expanded version of its interactive scoring tool to assess the quality of several newly added types of carbon credits. The new CCQI scores reveal that the majority of carbon credit types assessed are low in quality in one or more criteria, and underscore the need to improve the quality of carbon credits in the market.  

Led by Environmental Defense Fund, World Wildlife Fund (WWF-US), and Oeko-Institut, CCQI offers free resources, including its robust assessment methodology and interactive scoring tool, to support carbon market stakeholders in understanding which carbon credits are more likely to deliver actual emission reductions as well as social and environmental benefits. With these new scores, CCQI’s scoring tool now covers over a quarter of the voluntary carbon market.   

“CCQI sets a high bar for quality—and our scores show that all carbon credit types that we’ve assessed have notable concerns in some quality aspects, whether that pertains to additionality, the robustness of emission reduction calculations, or other aspects of carbon credit quality,” said Pedro Martins Barata, Associate Vice President for Carbon Markets at Environmental Defense Fund. “This should be a signal to carbon market stakeholders and buyers who want to see their investments return positive impacts to do their due diligence, and to carbon crediting programs to up their game.”  

The new set of scores released by CCQI assesses the quality of the following credit types: 

• Household biodigesters 

• Industrial biodigesters fed with livestock manure 

• Leak repair in natural gas transmission and distribution systems 

• Recovery of associated gas from oil fields 

• Solar photovoltaic power

• Wind power (onshore) 

CCQI scores a given carbon credit type on an interval scale of one through five against several quality objectives, such as robust determination of the emissions impact or environmental and social safeguards. This allows buyers to understand the nuances and trade-offs in the quality of carbon credit types, make an informed decision, and focus their due diligence where it’s likely to be needed most.   

The expanded CCQI scorings show that carbon credit types often perform well in some areas, but poorly in others. Many carbon credit types face serious shortcomings in their methodology of quantifying emission reductions, for example, with a high risk of overestimating reductions.  

“There are serious problems with how some methodologies estimate emissions reductions. This is not good news at a time when demand for carbon credits is increasing,” said Lambert Schneider, Research Coordinator for International Climate Policy at Oeko-Institut. “The good news is that we also found good practice and innovative approaches. The quality of carbon credits could be improved quite a bit if all carbon crediting programs would adopt the most robust approaches from their peers. For carbon credits to play a meaningful role in financing climate action, the rules of carbon crediting programs need to become more robust.” 

The new scores also reveal that: 

• Most methodologies assessed either overestimate emissions reductions, or there is large uncertainty. This is an issue that affects project types regardless of their performance in other areas. For example, project types that deploy efficient cookstoves in rural areas generally had favorable additionality assessments, but risk significantly overestimating emissions reductions. Changes to these methodological approaches would significantly reduce this risk and uncertainty.  

• Renewable energy projects – specifically solar PV and onshore wind – score poorly on additionality, meaning that these project types are likely to be profitable without the added incentive of revenues from carbon credits. By contrast, in the case of industrial biodigesters or landfill gas utilization projects, carbon credit revenues often make a true difference, enabling these project types to become economically viable. 

• Across programs and project types, credits that are paired with a complementary standard – like Verra’s Climate, Community & Biodiversity (CCB) Standards and Sustainable Development Verified Impact Standard (SD VISta) – score higher on environmental and social safeguards.  

Insights derived from these and future assessments under CCQI are aimed to help crediting programs improve on delivering the climate benefits they promise and to assist buyers with understanding and managing risks associated with their investments and claims.  

CCQI will expand its scoring tool to assess more project types and programs, allowing users to discover how other project types and programs perform on quality. CCQI aims to cover over 80 percent of the current voluntary carbon market by the end of 2023.  

For more information, visit www.carboncreditquality.org.   

(Washington, D.C. – January 27, 2023)

At an event at the White House today, Vice President Kamala Harris announced the founding of the Biden-Harris Get the Lead Out Partnership, a network of communities and organizations that have committed to seven principles that will hasten and guide the replacement of harmful lead water pipes across the United States.

Key principles call for accelerating the full replacement of lead pipes from street to house, prioritizing replacements in overburdened and underserved communities, and ensuring that residents get new water lines without added financial burdens.

The 100+ initial partners include cities and county water utilities, states, national water associations representing rural communities and large cities, and nongovernmental organizations, including Environmental Defense Fund (EDF).

Vice President Harris convened the White House Summit on Lead Pipe Replacement with a group of mayors and founding partners and emphasized the administration’s commitment to supporting full replacement of all lead pipes within 10 years. Watch video of the event.

Funding for lead pipe replacements is available through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which President Biden signed into law in November 2021. By 2026, more than $15 billion will flow to states and local water utilities—bringing both safer drinking water to millions of Americans and jobs for workers in affected communities.

EPA estimates that 9 million lead pipes currently deliver drinking water into homes and businesses across the United States—putting millions at risk for devastating harms, including permanent neurological damage and coronary heart disease.

Children, particularly in low-income communities and communities of color, experience the greatest burden from lead exposure. This is due to many factors, including discriminatory practices in housing that have left communities of color with greater poverty and substandard housing.

Margot Brown, EDF Vice President, Justice and Equity, said, “It's encouraging to see this administration address the long-standing, harmful health impacts of lead and prioritize the health of future generations. Everyone deserves safe drinking water—and for too long, many communities of color and low-income areas have gone without. Federal and state governments should support local leaders as they try to access this funding to make sure that help gets to the communities experiencing the greatest harm."

Tom Neltner, Senior Director, Safer Chemicals, at EDF, participated in the meeting. “We applaud the White House for its advocacy and leadership to ensure that every community has access to safer drinking water. Too many don’t, in part because of racial segregation, redlining, and underinvestment in neighborhoods predominately comprised of people of color. Today’s event demonstrates that the administration is serious about engaging community leaders to accelerate replacement of lead pipes and put new IIJA funding to work to protect those at greatest risk.”

Note: To visualize underground lead water pipes, see our animated video at edf.org/lead

(WASHINGTON) A new economic analysis commissioned by Environmental Defense Fund and Taxpayers for Common Sense finds oil and gas companies operating on U.S. public and tribal lands wasted over $500 million worth of gas in 2019, the most recent year of data available that is reflective of the industry.

This waste occurs when gas is either flared, vented or leaked from oil and gas infrastructure, and the analysis – conducted by Synapse Energy Economics — comes as the Bureau of Land Management accepts public comment on a proposed rule to reduce methane waste on public lands. Separately, the Environmental Protection Agency is currently collecting public comment on its proposed rule to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas facilities nationwide.

“We can’t continue to allow half a billion dollars’ worth of taxpayer-owned resources to go to waste every year,” said Jon Goldstein, Sr. Director of Regulatory & Legislative Affairs at EDF. “The Biden administration has a clear opportunity to step up with strong rules that stop waste and pollution from practices like routine flaring to protect the public interest. These resources should benefit priorities like education and infrastructure, not be released into the atmosphere to undermine our climate and health.”

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with 84 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over a 20-year timeframe and is often accompanied by other local air pollutants. Because methane is the main component of natural gas, it also represents a waste of an energy resource every time it is released from the supply chain.

According to the analysis, the 163 billion cubic feet of oil and gas methane wasted on public lands translates into nearly $64 million in lost revenue for tribes, states and the federal government. That’s lost funding that would otherwise support priorities like education, infrastructure and public services.

“This new reporting further confirms that hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of natural gas is being lost each year,” said Taxpayers for Common Sense Vice President Autumn Hanna. “Not only is this an unnecessary waste of a valuable natural resource, allowing drillers to release and burn off natural gas royalty-free in nonemergency situations, instead of capturing and selling it, is a blatant giveaway to the industry. It is time for the administration to stop this waste.”

This analysis also highlights that flaring is a leading cause of waste, responsible for 54% of all methane wasted on public lands in the U.S. That directly translates into nearly $275 million worth of gas lost through flaring alone.

Several states such as Colorado and New Mexico have demonstrated leadership with strong state rules to stop pollution and waste from routine flaring, creating an important foundation for BLM and EPA to build on with federal standards.

“Methane venting, flaring and leaks on public lands not only harm our climate but also waste resources and revenue,” said Olivia Griot, Senior Associate, Synapse Energy Economics. “Synapse synthesized a variety of sources, including U.S. Energy Information Administration data, U.S. Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program data and satellite data to conduct a robust analysis that shows the economic value of reducing methane emissions. We found that natural gas operations on federal and tribal lands in 2019 corresponded to millions of dollars in wasted gas, as well as millions of dollars in wasted potential revenue to federal, state and tribal governments in the form of royalties and taxes.”

The 163 billion cubic feet of lost methane on public lands represents enough wasted natural gas to meet the needs of 2.2 million households – nearly as many households as New Mexico, North Dakota, Utah and Wyoming combined. Reducing this needless resource waste is important for reinforcing the energy security of the U.S. and its allies, while also helping protect air quality and safeguard the climate.

Multiple analyses have shown that reducing methane waste is a critical solution for supporting both energy and climate security. A recent S&P report found that it’s currently economical across 6 key global oil and gas producing regions – including North America — to capture and commercialize 70% of lost methane and flared gas. Additionally, EDF analysis revealed that reducing waste of natural gas from leaks and flaring in the U.S. could provide over half of the 50 BCM/yr of natural gas the Biden administration has pledged to European allies.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) today approved the acquisition of two gas utilities owned by South Jersey Industries (SJI) — South Jersey Gas and Elizabethtown Gas — by the Infrastructure Investment Fund (IIF), a JP Morgan-backed investment firm. The BPU approved the transaction via a settlement agreement between SJI, IIF, BPU Staff, the New Jersey Division of Rate Counsel, Environmental Defense Fund and other parties. As part of the settlement, the gas utilities have committed to undertake programs that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance transparency and accountability.

“The settlement contains beneficial commitments from South Jersey Gas and Elizabethtown Gas that will help to increase transparency and reduce unnecessary investments in natural gas infrastructure, but more progress is needed to achieve New Jersey’s climate goals.

The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities must institute a transparent, long-term gas system planning process to reduce reliance on natural gas and ensure that utilities are operating in a way that is consistent with New Jersey’s climate and environmental goals.”

• Erin Murphy, Senior Attorney, Energy Markets & Utility Regulation

The SJI/IIF merger stipulation contains the following commitments that will:

• Develop a Non-Pipeline Alternatives program by which the utilities will assess building electrification, energy efficiency, and other options alongside traditional gas investments to meet demand
• Create transparency around the scale of gas system expansion and the costs of continuing to expand the gas pipeline system
• Implement a process to address gas leak inequities through analysis and remediation of gas leaks in overburdened communities
• Improve transparency through comprehensive annual greenhouse gas emissions reporting by the utilities
• Demonstrate the importance of developing a careful review process regarding biomethane (RNG) and hydrogen investments by gas utilities, to ensure that such projects are consistent with state climate goals and not harmful to overburdened communities 
• Ensure consideration of state climate policy in any future Infrastructure Investment Program proposals by the utilities

Texas’ process for protecting its groundwater resources is fundamentally flawed — lacking critical funding, science, and planning tools, failing to safeguard future groundwater supplies, and endangering both the water security of Texas communities and the property rights of landowners.

Those are the key findings of a new report released today by the Environmental Defense Fund. The report takes an unprecedented, holistic look at the constraints that are limiting groundwater planning in Texas and undermining vital water supplies that current and future generations of Texans are counting on.

“For many Texans, aquifers are infrastructure. They provide water not only for landowners and communities, but also can provide much of the surface water that downstream people, businesses and natural resources need,” said Vanessa Puig-Williams, EDF’s Texas Water Program Director, who co-authored the report. “Texas is simply not treating this essential resource with the same attention or urgency that’s paid to human infrastructure like pipes and treatment plants — and that endangers communities across the state.”

The report offers a sweeping look at the process of creating desired future conditions, a key benchmark in water planning that identifies the amount of groundwater needed — aquifer by aquifer — to meet the needs of the people, economies, and natural resources relying on it.

The report finds specifically that:

• Texas’ system of groundwater planning is badly fragmented and underfunded, spread across myriad local groundwater conservation districts with varying levels of expertise and resources to analyze conditions and sustainably plan for future needs.
• The Texas Water Development Board — the only state agency with jurisdiction over water planning — has limited ability to ensure that groundwater plans will protect water resources, or to undertake meaningful technical review of submitted explanatory reports and data by districts for meeting goals and targets in their plans.
• Texas’ State Water Plan is premised on unsustainable planning goals that allow aquifers to decline over time, threatening future groundwater reliability — even as, in real time, groundwater levels are declining across the state.
• The Water Development Board’s funding for groundwater modeling and technical assistance has declined dramatically over the past decade, dropping nearly 45% since 2011 — without adjusting for inflation — and limiting the support that Texas can provide to under-resourced groundwater districts.
• Most groundwater districts have little insight into the vital contribution that groundwater makes to surface water supplies that downstream communities depend on during increasingly common dry periods, and the inverse flow where surface water recharges groundwater.
• There is no uniform way for groundwater conservation districts to consider socioeconomic impacts from declining groundwater levels. This, in particular, represents a threat to rural Texans who depend on groundwater as their water supply.
• Although groundwater is a private property right, Texas’ groundwater planning framework puts greater emphasis and protection on the right to pump groundwater than the right to conserve it.
• The state does not require districts even to evaluate how proposed groundwater benchmarks and targets will impact aquifers’ ability to deliver water to people and resources that will need it in the future.

“The failure to sustainably plan for the state’s water needs could create new unmet needs or water shortages,” said Carlos Rubinstein, former Texas Water Development Board Chairman and Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Commissioner, who also co-authored the report. “But if the state doesn’t act soon, this failure will grow into a much larger threat, especially for rural communities and landowners that need reliable groundwater.”

The report also lays out a series of recommendations, many of which the state can act on now — especially as legislators convene for this year’s legislative session. Those recommendations include:

• Appropriating additional money to the Water Development Board to develop more data and improve groundwater models that local districts need.
• Expanding the scope of groundwater planning — both to analyze the degree to which surface water sustains aquifers and groundwater sustains river and stream flows, and to protect surface water flows, rights and resources.
• Increasing state funding to help groundwater districts improve modeling, technical assistance and data collection.
• Requiring districts to provide more narrative, modeling, quantitative analysis, and supporting documentation in explanatory reports on their proposed desired future conditions. 
• Providing groundwater conservation districts with socioeconomic analyses that evaluate the potential impacts of aquifer depletion — especially on local rural water users and vulnerable and historically underserved communities.
• Strengthening the Water Development Board’s authority to meaningfully review explanatory reports and supporting data that underpins planning by groundwater conservation districts.
• Requiring the Water Development Board to model the sustainable yield of aquifers — ensuring groundwater supplies can meet Texas’ needs without depleting aquifers and jeopardizing future generations — and requiring local and regional planning entities to build plans around those aquifer levels.

Read the full report here.

REPORT: First climate guidance developed for oil and gas merger and acquisition transactions

New principles by EDF and Ceres address a critical gap in oil and gas dealmaking that can lead to higher climate-warming emissions

(January 19, 2023) A new report published today by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Ceres outlines the first-ever climate-related guidance for oil and gas companies entering merger and acquisition transactions.

As shown in EDF’s Transferred Emissions report, oil and gas industry merger and acquisition transactions (M&A), while a routine part of business, are a significant source of climate risk. Whether intentional or not, the majority of oil and gas M&A deals from 2017 to 2021 relieved the seller of climate responsibilities without requiring the buyer to uphold the same climate standards.

“It’s clear that a successful energy transition demands new models of oil and gas dealmaking that take environmental impact into account,” said Andrew Baxter, director of energy strategy at EDF. “The principles we’ve developed outline critical steps for the industry to consider their climate responsibility when buying and selling assets.”

EDF and Ceres developed the Climate Principles for Oil and Gas Mergers and Acquisitions through a series of roundtables and consultations with asset managers, private equity firms, banks, oil and gas companies and nonprofit organizations. The process was oriented to develop a series of principles that would be ambitious, effective, and practical for use in real-world transactions.

At the core of the Climate Principles is the belief that buyers of assets should continue to uphold the maintenance of climate standards after a change in ownership. As more banks and financial institutions adopt financed greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and make net zero pledges, the sale of high emitting assets to operators with fewer or less ambitious targets and less stringent disclosures will be more challenging to finance and advise.

The Climate Principles highlight the need for diligence performed prior to the initiation of deals, including an assessment of both the climate standards of potential acquirers and their financial capacity to maintain those standards.

“Integrating the climate principles into dealmaking is a critical opportunity for oil and gas companies and all parties involved to demonstrate leadership on climate, fulfill their climate commitments in a credible way, gain a competitive advantage in negotiations, and level the playing field across the industry,” said Laetitia Pirson, a Ceres oil and gas expert. “It is critical that the industry, financial institutions, and civil society embrace these solutions and continuously work to strengthen them.”

(Washington, D.C. – January 18, 2023) Environmental Defense Fund and a group of public health and environmental organizations have filed a brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in support of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding – the basis for EPA efforts to regulate the pollution that causes climate change and threatens the health and safety of all people.

“The climate crisis is a severe and growing threat to people everywhere. While most of us are racing to address the pollution that fuels the climate crisis, climate deniers are litigating to try to obstruct progress and block life-saving solutions,” said Vickie Patton, General Counsel for EDF which is a party to the case. “We urge the court to uphold the science-based foundation that we need to address climate destabilizing pollution and the deadly flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes, fires and drought linked to it – disasters that are putting millions of people across America at risk.”

EPA’s 2009 Endangerment Finding determined that six greenhouse gases that cause climate change are a threat to public health and safety, and thus by law must be regulated. The Endangerment Finding was unanimously upheld in a 2011 D.C. Circuit court decision that observed it was supported by “an ocean of evidence.” The finding has since been relied upon in numerous agency and court decisions, and the scientific foundation on which it was based has become even stronger. In spite of that, a group of climate deniers who work at think tanks with ties to fossil fuel industries are attacking it again. They filed administrative petitions with EPA seeking to compel the agency to rescind the 2009 Endangerment Finding. After both the Trump administration and the Biden administration rejected their petitions, these parties filed a lawsuit in the D.C. Circuit in October of 2022 seeking to compel EPA to reverse the Endangerment Finding.

Undermining the Endangerment Finding would jeopardize U.S. efforts to address the climate crisis and the increasing and deadly harm it is causing. Just last year, in the U.S. alone, more than 400 people were killed in climate-related weather disasters and there were 18 such disasters with losses exceeding one billion dollars each. The overwhelming scientific consensus is that we must move quickly to address the pollution causing the climate crisis.

EDF was joined on the brief by the American Lung Association, American Public Health Association, Appalachian Mountain Club, Clean Air Council, Clean Wisconsin, National Parks Conservation Association, and the Natural Resources Council of Maine. EPA, represented by the Department of Justice, is also defending the Endangerment Finding in this case. A group of leading climate scientists also filed an amicus brief explaining that EPA’s finding is amply supported by an overwhelming and growing body of scientific evidence that demonstrates the combustion of fossil fuels and other human activities are causing dangerous climate change which is endangering public health and the environment.

(WASHINGTON) This week EDF experts testified as EPA holds public hearings on its proposed rules to reduce oil and gas methane pollution, which build on the agency’s initial proposal and represent a significant step forward for reducing methane pollution nationwide.

“This proposal represents a critical step forward to reducing methane pollution, tackling the climate crisis and protecting frontline communities from harmful and toxic pollution,” said EDF attorney Grace Smith in her testimony. “We would like to highlight EPA’s opportunities to enhance the protectiveness of the standards and cut pollution, particularly by reducing flaring of associated gas at oil wells. We urge EPA to act quickly to meet the urgency of the climate crisis and avoid delaying this critical rulemaking.”

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas over 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, with methane from human sources driving roughly one-third of current global warming. Smog-forming and toxic pollution is often released alongside oil and gas methane, threatening the health of communities across the country.

EPA’s proposal ensures that all wellsites are subject to monitoring for emissions, including high-polluting, lower producing wells. Recognizing that these wells could drive up to 50% of all wellsite emissions nationwide, EPA has proposed requiring instrument-based monitoring at all sites with leak-prone equipment.

“We support improvements to EPA’s fugitive monitoring program that ensure all sites are subject to regular inspections, with heightened requirements for sites with failure-prone equipment,” added Smith. “Recent studies have shown that half of production site methane emissions are from smaller well sites -- finding and fixing leaks at these sites is therefore critical to driving down emissions.”

EPA has retained its strong initial proposal to phase out pollution from new and existing pneumatic controllers — devices that collectively make up the industry’s second largest source of methane pollution. 

“We commend EPA’s decision to retain its strong standards to phase out pollution from emitting pneumatic controllers and to extend that requirement to pneumatic pumps,” said Smith. “Operators are already taking initiative on their own to acquire these commonsense technologies, such as EQT, which recently announced it has replaced 100% of its controllers with zero-emitting devices.”

EPA has proposed a forward-looking framework that will allow companies to seize on advancements in methane mitigation methods and technologies and deploy proven approaches to quickly find leaks.

“EPA’s proposal helps catalyze the use of effective and low-cost advanced methane monitoring technologies by creating a framework for their deployment centered on equivalent emission reductions,” noted Smith. “The proposed framework is based on reasonable, nationally applicable assumptions and will create flexibility for operators while fostering innovation and delivering significant reductions at low cost.”

EPA’s proposal also includes a monitoring program that would allow third parties to seek EPA approval to conduct monitoring for super-emission events, defined as those exceeding 100 kg/hr of methane emissions, using similar methods as operators. Super-emitter events can release more pollution in a week than a properly maintained large wellsite would emit over an entire year, typically resulting from serious failures at the site, like unlit flares.

“We strongly support EPA creating a super-emitter response program, as these emission events are the largest and some of the toughest to identify and fix,” said Smith. “We urge EPA to ensure this program is accessible by providing clear parameters, guidance, and funding to enable participation.”

Routine flaring, the wasteful burning of gas produced at oil wells, is another major source of methane pollution. And while EPA’s proposal is a step in the right direction, stronger action is needed to end pollution from the practice.

“EPA has the opportunity to further strengthen its flaring requirements by ensuring any narrow exceptions are clearly delineated and requiring that operators provide rigorous and recurring documentation in any instance in which flaring is pursued,” added Smith. “EPA should also require more frequent certifications to ensure operators are making efforts to utilize one of the abatement methods and that requests to flare for technical reasons remain relevant.”

After this week’s public hearings, EPA has established a deadline on Feb. 13 for written comments on this proposal — the latest in a robust, years-long public engagement process. It will be important for EPA to move swiftly to finalize protective standards as soon as possible.

“We respectfully urge EPA to swiftly finalize protective standards,” concluded Smith. “EPA has fostered extensive public engagement on this proposed rule, with multiple hearings and a 90-day public comment period preceding both the 2021 and 2022 proposals and EPA should move forward with final standards by August 2023, consistent with the timeline in the latest regulatory agenda.”

For more information on EPA’s proposed rules, see EDF’s latest blog post.