Complete list of press releases

Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt — The United Nations Secretary-General's High-Level Expert Group on the Net-Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities issued a report at COP27 addressing net-zero commitments by non-State actors, particularly businesses, financial institutions, and municipalities. The report includes recommendations and guidance to help non-state actors deliver on their net zero claims and avoid ambiguity or greenwashing.  

In addition to underscoring the importance of internal decarbonization strategies for those striving for net zero, the report highlights the importance of high standards of integrity for all carbon credits and for the voluntary carbon market. 

In response to the report, Environmental Defense Fund’s (EDF) Executive Vice President of Impact, Angela Churie Kallhauge, issued the following statement:  

To keep the 1.5 degree goal within reach, we need integrity. We can’t reach our climate targets without including carbon credits, and we can’t have effective credits without integrity.  

We can’t allow poor-quality shadow credits to dilute the power of verified, science-based jurisdictional approaches that drive emissions reductions, protect forests, support communities, and cut pollution. High-integrity carbon credits can help us achieve all of these transformational benefits.  

At COP27, we are urging all companies, countries and stakeholders to raise their climate ambition and put in the work to achieve those ambitions. This report’s roadmap for net zero commitments sends a clear message for all those participating in the voluntary carbon market: high integrity matters.

Environmental Defense Fund participates in several initiatives aiming to unite voluntary carbon market stakeholders under clear standards for quality and integrity. The Carbon Credit Quality Initiative, led by EDF, WWF, and Oeko-Institut, provides transparent information on the quality of carbon credit types, enabling users to better understand how to seek out quality carbon credits that deliver higher climate mitigation impacts and offer greater social and environmental benefits.  

EDF is also deeply involved in the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market, which recently issued its Core Carbon Principles, which aim to set new threshold standards for high-quality carbon credits. 

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) announced the hiring of Pedro Martins Barata as its new Associate Vice President for Carbon Markets and Private Sector Decarbonization. With more than 20 years of experience in international climate policy and carbon markets, Barata comes to EDF’s global mission as COP27 commences in Sharm El-Sheik, Egypt, where he will participate in events and track discussions on carbon markets and Article 6.  

As COP27 kicks off in Egypt, this is our time to hold companies to their grand Glasgow promises. In the same breath, however, we also have to give them the right tools and incentives to achieve and raise their climate ambitions,” said Barata. “Well-designed and integrity-driven carbon markets are one tool in our toolbox to drive corporate action in the right direction, while delivering benefits for ecosystems and communities.

Barata will lead EDF’s work to assist the private sector and governments in leveraging carbon markets to address the climate challenge and contributing to global efforts to decarbonize toward a net-zero world.  

He previously worked with EDF as a consultant, leading initiatives to improve the integrity and functioning of compliance and voluntary carbon markets around the world, including through the Carbon Credit Quality Initiative and the Voluntary Carbon Market Integrity Initiative. He is also currently serving as the co-Chair of the Expert panel for the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (IC-VCM).

Previously, Barata was a carbon market negotiator under the United Nations, working on the set-up of compliance carbon markets under the Kyoto Protocol since 1999. Barata also led the negotiations for his home country of Portugal on the development of the European Union Emission Trading System, which was until recently the largest carbon market in the world. 

He was also vice chair of the Clean Development Mechanism of the UNFCCC, and, while working as a consultant for various international organizations, including OECD, European Commission, World Bank and the United Nations. He has assisted national governments in developing and shaping domestic carbon pricing instruments in countries such as Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica and Morocco. 

(Washington, D.C. – November 3, 2022) Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $53 million in funding for air quality monitoring for communities throughout the U.S., the largest such investment in EPA history. The new funds will be awarded to 132 communities across 37 states and will focus on communities that are overburdened by pollution, in support of President Biden’s Justice40 initiative. 

The air quality monitoring projects will be funded by more than $30m from the Inflation Reduction Act, which bolsters the $20m investment from the American Rescue Plan, enabling EPA to support 77 additional projects, more than twice as many air quality monitoring projects initially proposed by community organizations, state and local governments and Tribal governments. 

“This investment in community-level air quality monitoring is an important step toward providing communities with actionable data about what’s in the air they breathe. We applaud the Biden administration’s Justice40 Initiative for recognizing the importance of equipping communities with better data on local air quality and committing to move forward swiftly to ensure communities have critical resources in hand. 

“For far too long, communities of color and low-income communities have borne the brunt of harmful air pollution because of their proximity to highways, petrochemical facilities and other polluting industrial sources—a direct result of legacies of discriminatory land use, housing and transportation policies. These communities should be first in line to benefit from federal funds to strengthen our existing air quality monitoring system, and we must all work together to ensure the data these monitors produce leads to swift and decisive actions to reduce harmful pollution and protect public health.” 

• Sarah Vogel, Senior Vice President, Healthy Communities  

“Communities like Pleasantville in Houston have always known that their air quality isn’t what it should be. They’ve smelled it, and they’ve tasted it. They’ve lost loved ones because of it. Too often, they’ve been left with uncertainty. Now, the Inflation Reduction Act is not only providing the long-term investments to power our lives with abundant clean energy and zero out the emissions destabilizing our climate and harming people’s health, it’s equipping even more communities in the short term with the tools and technology they need to know what’s in their air, empowering them to become change agents every single day.” 

• Elena Craft, Associate Vice President, Climate and Health 

(RALEIGH, NC) The Mississippi River basin — which provides 20 million people with drinking water, supports 65% of U.S. harvested cropland and supports more than a million jobs — is imperiled by two related challenges: poor water quality and increasing periods of droughts and floods. Climate change, which often brings more extreme weather and heavier rainfall, is exacerbating both issues.

By restoring wetlands and floodplains and deploying other natural infrastructure solutions, municipalities in the river basin can protect drinking water and reduce flood risk. Natural infrastructure solutions have historically been difficult to finance through public loan programs like the Clean Water State Revolving Fund due to a lack of dependable revenue sources.

A new report from Environmental Defense Fund and Quantified Ventures — Generating revenue to finance natural infrastructure projects in the Mississippi River Basin — provides states, cities, towns and watershed groups five replicable ways to generate revenue and support natural infrastructure projects.

“Directing greater capital to natural infrastructure solutions is critical to protect communities against flooding and water quality degradation,” said Vincent Gauthier, manager for climate-smart agriculture at Environmental Defense Fund. “Establishing replicable revenue sources tailored to upstream natural infrastructure investments can help rural and urban communities collaborate to achieve clean water and climate resilience.”

“This report provides pathways to efficiently deploy natural infrastructure to achieve more equitable and resilient solutions to water quality and quantity risks facing millions of Americans,” said Tee Thomas, director of environment and resilience at Quantified Ventures. “The influx of dollars for public infrastructure and State Revolving Funds highlights the urgent need to build the pipeline of financeable non-point source projects with viable repayment streams to meet community water needs through a blend of natural and gray infrastructure.”

The report details five ways to finance natural infrastructure:

1. Municipal-agricultural watershed partnerships: These collaborations between municipalities, farmers and watershed organizations promote cost-efficient upstream water quality and quantity solutions by using drinking water and wastewater fees to pay farmers for agricultural best management practices and edge of field natural infrastructure.
2. Stormwater utility funds: Stormwater utilities fees can be used as revenue to repay loans for natural infrastructure investments by generating funds specific to stormwater management improvements such as green stormwater infrastructure.
3. Source water protection fees: These fees are surcharges to customers’ water bills that are used to protect source water quality and quantity. These fees can be used as a revenue stream to repay financing for natural infrastructure projects that contribute to source water protection.
4. Interim financing grant/loan mix: This financing mechanism turns the traditional use of grants for conservation work into revenue for loan repayment — allowing municipalities and their watershed partners to secure upfront investments for time-sensitive natural infrastructure opportunities while identifying additional sufficient grants to repay the loan.
5. Environmental markets: Outcomes from natural infrastructure projects that generate measurable, verifiable environmental improvements can be sold to an entity via environmental markets. The revenue generated from selling environmental outcomes can be used to repay financing for natural infrastructure projects.

Download the full report at edf.org/NIFinanceReport.

El Departamento de Energía de los EE. UU. nombró hoy a Agustín Carbó Lugo, actualmente Director de Transición Energética en Environmental Defense Fund, como Director del Departamento de Modernización de la Red de Puerto Rico. En su nuevo cargo, Carbó Lugo trabajará, en nombre de la administración Biden, con el gobierno puertorriqueño para unificar los esfuerzos para modernizar el sistema eléctrico de la isla.

Durante su visita a Puerto Rico en octubre, poco después del huracán Fiona, el presidente Biden indicó que el Departamento de Energía trabajaría de manera más estrecha y eficaz con las autoridades locales para reestructurar el sistema eléctrico de Puerto Rico. La isla tiene el objetivo de obtener el 100% de su energía de fuentes renovables para 2050.

“Agustín Carbó Lugo hizo del proyecto de energía solar y almacenamiento comunitario de Environmental Defense Fund una exitosa realidad. Su amplio conocimiento y experiencia con el entorno regulatorio de Puerto Rico – asi como su empatía hacia las familias afectadas por la crisis energética – lo hacen un líder que ayudará a enfrentar los desafíos climáticos y energéticos del territorio, respetando las sensibilidades de las comunidades locales”.

• Fred Krupp, Presidente, Environmental Defense Fund

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.

The U.S. Department of Energy today appointed Agustín Carbó Lugo, currently Director, Energy Transition at Environmental Defense Fund, as the Department’s Director of Puerto Rico Grid Modernization. In his new role, Carbó Lugo will work, on behalf of the Biden administration, with the Puerto Rican government to unify efforts to modernize the island’s electric system.

During his visit to Puerto Rico in October, shortly after hurricane Fiona, President Biden indicated that the Department of Energy would work more closely and effectively with local authorities to restructure the electric system in Puerto Rico. The island has a goal of sourcing 100% of its power from renewable sources by 2050.

“Agustín Carbó Lugo made Environmental Defense Fund’s community-based solar and storage project a successful reality. His breadth of knowledge and experience with Puerto Rico’s regulatory environment – and his empathy toward families affected by the energy crisis – make him a leader who will help meet the territory’s climate and energy challenges head on, while respecting the sensitivities of local communities.”

• Fred Krupp, President, Environmental Defense Fund

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.

Global shipping is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, and investors have a vital role to play in pushing maritime shipping providers and users to set ambitious decarbonization targets and transition to zero carbon fuels. 

A new report published today by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping looks at how investors can engage with portfolio companies around shipping emissions, including commitments that companies should make on the pathway to decarbonization and disclosures that investors need to monitor progress.

The new report, “Maritime Makeover: The role for investors in decarbonizing shipping,” explores how the maritime shipping industry – responsible for roughly 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions – can align with Paris Agreement goals.

The analysis identifies a range of efficiency, operations and fuel-related strategies needed to decarbonize the sector. By taking steps to test and de-risk new fuel pathways, the industry can reduce long-term costs and manage the risk of price or fuel supply shocks in the future.

The upcoming year will be decisive as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) updates industry decarbonization targets and considers the adoption of market-based measures to help reach them. Investors, shipping customers and shipping providers alike should advocate for clean shipping policies and industry decarbonization.

"The transition to zero carbon shipping requires massive investments in new technologies, alternative fuel infrastructure and adjustments to the global fleet,” said Bo Cerup-Simonsen, CEO at the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller Center for Zero Carbon Shipping. “Investors can help accelerate the transition by requesting and financing real climate action from stakeholders across the maritime ecosystem. Ambitious global regulation can help create the certainty and confidence needed for investors to get this dynamic going."

Maritime shipping is central to the global supply chain, with nearly 100,000 commercial vessels moving 11 billion tons of goods each year. The world’s ocean fleet has doubled in capacity since 2005; if maritime shipping were a country, only five nations would emit more greenhouse gases. Emissions from the maritime shipping industry could increase 40% by 2050 if no changes are made.

Through the United Nations-backed Race to Zero, more than 500 major financial institutions have pledged to bring the emissions of their financed portfolios to net zero by 2050, reporting annually on progress. Cutting emissions from maritime shipping will be important to meet those goals.

“It’s crucial that we act on the limited window available to get the maritime shipping sector on track to achieve zero carbon emissions by 2050, as shipping is vital to the worldwide supply chain and plays a pivotal role in the global economy,” said Mark Brownstein, Senior Vice President of Energy at EDF. “This report reinforces the importance of immediate action and collaboration across investors, policymakers and shipping industry leaders to deploy strategies and technologies available today drive new zero carbon innovation and policies.”

Download the report here.

(Oct. 31, 2022) -- Environmental Defense Fund announced the hiring of Mandy Rambharos as its new Vice President for Global Climate Cooperation. Rambharos comes to EDF after decades at Africa’s largest electric utility, Eskom Holdings, having most recently led its wide-ranging strategy to transition the South African electricity sector from coal to renewables. 

“We need leaders who recognize climate action must move quickly, but also equitably,” said Angela Churie Kallhauge, EDF Executive Vice President for Impact. “Mandy Rambharos understands this perfectly. Bringing with her two decades’ worth of experience in climate change policy and the energy industry, Mandy is the perfect person to lead our strategy to ensure the implementation of effective global climate policy and a just transition.” 

Rambharos joins EDF after 20 years at South Africa’s Eskom Holdings, the largest electric utility on the African continent. As General Manager for Just Energy Transition, she led the development of Eskom’s strategy to transition from a coal-dominated utility to a renewables company. Eskom’s Just Energy Transition plan was recently awarded $500 million in financing from the Climate Investment Funds' Accelerating Coal Transition Program. Rambharos is a former negotiator for South Africa at the United Nations climate talks, and chaired negotiations on carbon markets. She was instrumental to the Just Energy Transition Partnership agreed at COP26 in Glasgow between South Africa and Germany, France, the United Kingdom, the United States and the European Union.  

Rambharos is an expert on the energy industry, just transition, mitigation, adaptation, carbon markets, and global climate negotiations. She has served on South Africa’s Presidential Climate Commission.  

At EDF, Rambharos will lead work to promote more ambitious and effective global climate action under the Paris Agreement by directing EDF's multilateral engagement, including at the United Nations and its agencies, as well as the G20 and G7. She will also lead EDF’s strategy to promote well-designed carbon pricing and markets that support the transformation toward a low-emissions future, while improving the well-being of marginalized communities.  

“Environmental Defense Fund isn’t an ordinary non-governmental organization. As one of the world’s leading environmental groups, EDF knows how to set trends, and hold players to account. It has tremendous credibility within the global climate policy world and the private sector, and a real vision for solutions that are global, climate-focused, and people-centered,” said Rambharos. “We need to take on climate change with urgency. But as the world moves away from fossil fuels, the global energy transition needs to be just and inclusive. I look forward to working with my new colleagues at EDF on a global strategy for a just and clean energy future.” 

AUSTIN, TX —  Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the allocation of nearly $1 billion in funding for zero or low-emission school buses in nearly 400 school districts across all U.S. states.

The allocation includes about $51 million in funding for 13 school districts in Texas to buy 144 clean school buses. The most funding will go to Socorro Independent School District and Killeen Independent School District to buy 25 clean school buses. 

EPA 2022 Clean School Bus Rebates Awards - 10/26/22

“If we’re going to act this decade to keep our planet livable, we need solutions on our streets today — and putting these zero-emission school buses on Texas roads brings us one step closer to turning the tide of the climate crisis,” said EDF Texas Political Director Colin Leyden. “These clean school buses will save school districts money on fuel and maintenance costs and improve air quality and health for families across the region they serve. That’s how we build a more vital, prosperous Texas for all of us.”

“Every day, millions of our children hop onto school buses where the air inside can be more polluted than the air outside,” said Rep. Terry Canales, Chair of the House Committee on Transportation. “We should continue to fund grant programs and research initiatives to help schools transition to cleaner buses and reduce the harmful pollution our kids breathe, and I look forward to ensuring the Texas Legislature is a thoughtful partner in deploying new technologies on Texas roads.”

Phoenix, AZ — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the allocation of nearly $1 billion in funding for zero or low-emission school buses in nearly 400 school districts across all U.S. states. This is the first installment of a $5 billion investment for low- and zero-emission school buses over the next five years.

This allocation includes over $11 million in funding for Arizona school districts to buy 52 clean school buses. The most funding will go to the Mohave Valley Elementary District to buy 7 clean school buses.

EPA 2022 Clean School Bus Rebates Awards - 10/26/22

“Electric school buses are just one more way that good environmental policies help people and nature thrive,” said EDF Associate Vice President for Regional Affairs, Kevin Moran. “We see climate chaos all around us: rivers are drying, forests are burning, and temperatures are rising. We need solutions today. These clean school buses mean cleaner air for our communities, lower fuel and maintenance costs for our schools, and a move towards a cleaner, sustainable future across Arizona.”

(RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA) State policy to accelerate the adoption of zero-emission trucks and buses in North Carolina advances today with Governor Cooper’s issuing of Executive Order 271. The Governor’s Executive Order, which follows his transportation-focused Executive Order 246 issued in January, directs the NC Department of Environmental Quality to begin rulemaking for Advanced Clean Trucks (ACT), a policy that will grow the state’s zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicle (MHDV) market by setting sales targets to increase the number of zero-emission trucks and buses sold in North Carolina. Executive Order 271 also sets important complementary actions into motion, ensuring that a transportation pollution health assessment is conducted, and that necessary zero-emission vehicle infrastructure needs are met as the market grows.

Adoption of ACT will have significant economic benefits for North Carolina, as highlighted in an April 2022 report from RTI that showed - from 2026 to 2050 - cumulative owner benefits of $8.8 billion, cumulative climate benefits of $11.2 billion, and cumulative health benefits of $100.4 billion.

“Governor Cooper’s action today strengthens North Carolina’s position as a leader in the clean transportation space, setting the stage for our state to secure significant economic, environmental, and equity benefits,” said David Kelly, EDF’s North Carolina State Director. “Transportation is the leading contributor of climate-warming emissions in North Carolina, and trucks and buses produce a disproportionate amount of air pollution associated with poor health outcomes. By embracing this policy to grow the market for zero-emission trucks and buses, our Governor is taking meaningful steps to improve air quality, particularly in communities overburdened by transportation pollution, while procuring billions in net health and economic benefits for all North Carolinians.”

EDF recently ran a campaign highlighting the benefits of zero-emission trucks and buses, including cleaner air, healthier communities and a stronger economy. The campaign urged North Carolina leaders to take action, which EO 271 delivers on, to accelerate the state’s transition to electric trucks and buses. Even though trucks and buses comprise only about 6 percent of vehicles on North Carolina roads, they’re responsible for more than 60 percent of the sector’s air pollution that is linked with asthma, heart attacks, lost work days and other impacts that put families’ health and wellbeing at risk. Provisions within EO 271 will help address these health issues, particularly for communities experiencing the worst effects of transportation pollution, calling for the Department of Health and Human Services to conduct an evaluation of health and environmental justice impacts of air pollutants. 

With this executive order, North Carolina is joining nine states that have either adopted or proposed a version of the ACT. And this action comes on the heels of Congress passing the historic Inflation Reduction Act, which provides up to $40,000 Qualified Commercial Clean Vehicle tax credits for business owners. Corporate investment in zero-emission trucks is also at a record high, with more than 200 fleets either operating zero-emission trucks or placing orders for them. Legacy automakers are rushing to meet unprecedented demand for zero-emission trucks from corporate giants like Walmart, FedEx and Amazon.

(October 21, 2022) The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit today rejected a lawsuit by a group of Republican state Attorneys General that sought to prevent the Biden Administration from considering the societal cost of climate pollution – a science-based metric for determining the harm imposed on people across our nation by climate-destabilizing pollution.

“We need to act quickly, using the best available science and most up-to-date data, if we hope to protect ourselves and our communities from the climate crisis. This lawsuit was an attempt to use the courts to keep a weaker, older metric from the last administration in place, which would have exposed people across America to more danger,” said EDF Senior Counsel and Associate Vice President for Clean Air Strategies Peter Zalzal “Today’s Eighth Circuit decision means the Biden administration can continue using a protective, more accurate metric as it develops policies and safeguards to limit climate pollution and protect the American people from the climate crisis.”

The lawsuit was brought by the states of Missouri, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah. A unanimous three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit rejected the states’ arguments. The U.S. Supreme Court  in May declined to reinstate a lower court injunction limiting policymakers’ reliance on the more rigorous and protective method in another case that is now pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

(Raleigh, NC – October 19, 2022) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today urged the North Carolina Utilities Commission (NCUC) to reject the proposals Duke Energy submitted in May 2022 to comply with House Bill 951’s directive to develop a Carbon Plan by the end of 2022. EDF encouraged the NCUC to instead develop its own plan that takes advantage of readily available, affordable renewables and energy efficiency, enabling all North Carolinians to have a cleaner, healthier, more equitable energy future. 

In comments filed today, EDF’s Director for Southeast Climate and Energy, Will Scott, said there is a better path forward than what Duke Energy proposed. 

“Overinvesting in new fossil fuel power plants and relying on commercially unavailable technologies risks committing North Carolina ratepayers to a more expensive energy future, while making it more difficult to reach critical climate goals. Investment in proven, reliable clean energy solutions, many of which provide cheaper electricity than fossil fuel counterparts, offer a “no regrets” pathway toward decarbonization.”

EDF’s comments convey the importance of meeting the state’s decarbonization goals on time, noting that “early and persistent pollution cuts are much more valuable than future reductions because those cuts mean less pollution for each year thereafter.” EDF's comments address major problems in Duke Energy's proposals, highlighting five key areas:

1. Gas: Duke Energy’s filed plans rely on multiple new methane-burning facilities, exposing North Carolina ratepayers to ongoing power bill increases due to high fuel costs. North Carolinians will pay the price if Duke Energy’s plans to lock ratepayers into decades of price increases and additional emissions are approved. 
2. Hydrogen: Green hydrogen is not a silver bullet and should be saved for hard-to-electrify use cases, not to power the grid. Duke Energy’s proposal seeks to justify investments in new and existing natural gas facilities by promising to retrofit them to run on hydrogen, which is a risky and expensive solution – particularly when the most efficient, cheapest, and safest way for North Carolina to decarbonize the electric power sector is by investing in renewable power, battery storage and energy efficiency. 
3. Transmission: Without a comprehensive transmission infrastructure plan, North Carolina’s energy transition could be stunted. Duke Energy’s current plans are not adequate. A proactive, long-term transmission planning approach is necessary to ensure a rapid and consistent transition to clean energy that yields the carbon emissions reductions needed and lowers costs for customers.
4. Electric Vehicles: Electric vehicles are a potential grid resource as well as a source of additional electrical demand. Duke Energy’s plan undervalues how many electric vehicles will come online, which in turn undervalues the importance they place on modifying the grid to charge those vehicles and to use them as a resource during times of peak demand.
5. Environmental Justice: Outreach and engagement with communities that are disproportionately impacted by fossil fuel infrastructure has been insufficient during the Carbon Plan development process. EDF is urging the NCUC to rectify that by incorporating the input from these communities that was lacking in Duke Energy’s proposals, affirming that this insight is critical to an inclusive and equitable outcome now and for future plans. Examining the impact of proposed and existing fossil fuel infrastructure on local communities and proactively soliciting and incorporating their input in a meaningful way is important for the viability of this process.

The environmental justice concerns are a critical element of EDF’s comments. As Scott wrote in his filed comments, “Overburdened communities cannot continue to bear the brunt of pollution from reliance on combustion technologies while utility-led stakeholder processes fail to provide the Commission with the information necessary to ensure “fair treatment and meaningful engagement.” The state of North Carolina, alongside its regulated utilities, has an opportunity in the transition to a cleaner grid to protect communities and produce a safer, healthier future for North Carolina families.” 

EDF also noted that, “Layering multiple policies that are complementary and mutually-reinforcing can be more effective in achieving state goals than when one is adopted alone. A recent report by EDF and Rural Beacon Initiative describes the interplay between HB 951 and joining the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), noting cost-savings, accelerated carbon emissions reductions, and additional economic development that would result from North Carolina’s participation in RGGI.”

In summary, Scott said, “Duke Energy’s plan to decarbonize the power sector through natural gas plants and increased hydrogen blending is not justified on a climate, cost, or social impact basis. The utilities’ proposal seeks to justify investments in existing natural gas facilities by trying to retrofit a risky and expensive solution – when the most efficient, cheapest, and safest way for North Carolina to decarbonize the electric power sector is by investing in renewable power, battery storage and energy efficiency.”

(Sacramento, CA - October 19, 2022) - Environmental Defense Fund has named Katelyn Roedner Sutter as the new California State Director. In this role, she will lead and coordinate EDF and EDF Action’s political engagement and advocacy work in California, and support the organization’s water, climate, energy, and transportation policy goals in the state including implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act. She will also deepen EDF’s collaboration with key partners and stakeholders especially in support of justice and equity. 

In the over five years Roedner Sutter has been with EDF, she has led state-level engagement on climate policy in California and elsewhere across the Western United States and contributed to EDF’s work on international carbon markets. She has co-led the organization’s Environmental Justice Council and serves as the Assembly appointee to California’s Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee. Prior to joining EDF, Roedner Sutter led the environmental justice program at Catholic Charities in the Diocese of Stockton.

“Katelyn brings a keen understanding of California politics and priorities, an appreciation of the opportunities for ambitious environmental protection, and a deep commitment to environmental justice,” said Steve Cochran, EDF’s Associate Vice President for State Affairs. “Katelyn has demonstrated the ability to deliver meaningful results and foster collaborative relationships; there is no one better suited to lead EDF’s advocacy in California.”

“I am excited to take on the challenge and opportunity of leading EDF’s political and advocacy engagement in California,” Roedner Sutter said. “What happens in our state carries influence far beyond our borders, making our work here to fight climate change, build drought resilience and support frontline communities even more critical for the planet and people everywhere. I am eager to deepen our collaboration with policymakers, environmental justice communities, fellow advocates, and industry leaders.”

(DES MOINES, IA) For more than 50 years, U.S. farmers have steadily increased productivity, getting bigger harvests from the same land. That has made U.S. agriculture an economic engine and important contributor to global food supplies. Climate change may mean those days of unbridled productivity gains are over.

Without urgent action to make agriculture more resilient, climate impacts like higher temperatures and changing rainfall are likely to curb productivity growth as soon as 2030, with even bigger effects by 2050, according to a new report from Environmental Defense Fund, with modeling and analysis from Two Degrees Adapt, that looked at corn in Iowa, soybeans in Minnesota and winter wheat in Kansas.

“Farming amid climate change is like walking into the wind. You can still move forward, but at a much slower pace. In the same way, crop yields can still grow, but climate change will make productivity gains that much harder,” said Britt Groosman, vice president of Climate-Smart Agriculture at EDF. “This report gives us a sense of the headwinds that adaptation efforts will need to overcome to protect food supplies and maintain farmer livelihoods.”

How Climate Change Will Impact U.S. Corn, Soybean and Wheat Yields: A county-level analysis of climate burdens and adaptation needs in the Midwest used an ensemble of 20 climate models to predict how climate change would affect county-level yields of staple crops by 2030 and 2050. The models predict that by the end of this decade:

• Nearly all counties in Iowa will see corn yields that are more than 5% lower than they would have been without climate change. More than half will see declines of 10% or greater.
• More than half of Minnesota counties will see soybean yields drop by more than 5% from what they would have been without climate change. Seventeen-percent will see declines of more than 10%.
• Eight-percent of Kansas counties will see winter wheat yields drop by more than 5% from what they would otherwise be without climate change.  

The predicted slowdown in yield growth is especially concerning as the world will need to feed 10 billion people by 2050, a 25% increase over today’s global population.

“Our report looked at some of the most productive farmland in the entire world. If even those regions will struggle to boost yields, it will be challenging to grow more food without further damaging the environment,” said Eileen McLellan, lead senior scientist and report co-author at EDF. “Fortunately, adaptation efforts can help farmers stay ahead of climate impacts on yields, but we have to start immediately.”

“When we talk about adaptation, we’re talking about tangible things like new crop varieties or crop rotations that can help farmers keep farming in a changing climate,” said Kelly Suttles, senior research analyst and report co-author at EDF. “These approaches will need to be tailored to local needs to be successful. That’s why having results modeled down to 4,000 acres is so important.”

Climate impacts will vary county by county, and adaptation efforts will be necessary on individual farm fields and across entire farming regions.

"Climate change is a global phenomenon with local manifestations,” said Aditya Ranade, managing partner for Two Degrees Adapt. “Modeling and analyzing climate, economic and agronomic impacts at a county-level equips local leaders with the information they need to advance adaptation solutions.”

The report provides options that range from incremental changes to current farming systems to transformational changes across supply chains. The common thread between all of these approaches is that they take time to scale up. There’s no time to waste to get solutions in place by 2030.

“Climate change is already making it harder to farm. The long-term solution to this isn’t more fertilizer. We have to start working with Mother Nature again,” said Seth Watkins, owner-operator of Pinhook Farm in southwest Iowa. “For my family and me, this includes growing a more diverse crop rotation, keeping soil covered with crops or cover crops year-round, and strategically restoring prairie to our fields to protect soil and water quality and provide wildlife habitat.”

Read the full research report and find an interactive county-level map at edf.org/climate-proofing-agriculture.

Join a discussion of these findings and the path forward during the World Food Prize. Register here for the livestream, which begins Wednesday, October 19, 2022 at 5:45 pm CDT. A recording will be available afterward as well.