Complete list of press releases

(WASHINGTON – Nov. 5, 2021) — Today, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF) withdrew from the Baby Food Council over the organization’s failure to reach an agreement  on the development of a voluntary standard that we believe could have resulted in real progress toward reducing heavy metals in baby food.

The Council was a collaboration founded in 2019 by EDF, Cornell University’s Department of Food Science and four baby food companies seeking to reduce heavy metals in the companies’ products to as low as reasonably achievable using best-in-class management practice. HBBF joined as a member, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets served as technical advisors to the Council.

“EDF cofounded the Council because we believed there was a shared commitment to reduce levels of lead, arsenic and cadmium in baby food products to better protect children’s developing brains from these toxins,” said Tom Neltner, EDF’s Senior Director for Safer Chemicals. “Unfortunately, the companies chose to cease the Council’s development of a voluntary Baby Food Standard that it had begun in late 2020. The Standard would have provided companies with a common framework for progressively reducing contaminants by regularly testing products and improving management practices, and for being transparent with consumers about the safety of their products. Negotiations failed to provide an alternative approach that EDF felt was sufficient to drive down levels of lead, arsenic and cadmium in baby food.”

“Healthy Babies Bright Futures is focused on tangibly reducing neurotoxic exposures to babies. The baby food companies’ refusal to jointly set limits for heavy metals in baby food has shown that the Council will no longer be the powerful mechanism for this important work that the initial plans had promised. The baby food companies’ decision to stop progress on a voluntary standard for heavy metals in baby food is a disappointment,” said Charlotte Brody, RN, HBBF’s National Director. “What started as dedication has turned into delay and intention has become inaction. So HBBF has decided to put our effort into other initiatives that will move the needle on this important issue.”

“Despite our withdrawal from the Council, EDF remains firmly dedicated to protecting children from heavy metals,” said EDF’s Tom Neltner. “It is imperative that the FDA fulfill and strengthen its Closer to Zero Action Plan and adopt standards necessary to protect children’s developing brains from lead, arsenic and cadmium in children’s food. We also recognize that corporate leadership is critical, and we will continue working with individual companies to raise the bar on addressing heavy metal contamination.”

EDF brought the urgent issue of lead in food, especially baby food, to national attention in 2017 with an analysis of a decade’s worth of data collected by FDA that showed widespread contamination. Heavy metals, such as lead, arsenic and cadmium, are well-known to harm children’s developing brains even at extremely low levels. Reports from Healthy Babies Bright Futures later in 2017 and 2018 and Consumer Reports in 2018 raised similar concerns with arsenic and other heavy metals in baby food. In response to those reports, the FDA launched an effort to reduce lead, arsenic, and cadmium in children’s food. The Council was formed shortly thereafter to catalyze public and private sector collaboration to meet this shared goal.

The Council made some progress since its inception including:

• Evaluating labs that claimed to be able to measure low levels of lead, arsenic, and cadmium in food, finding that half failed the test. The Council ultimately identified 13 labs that meet rigorous criteria for accurately identifying metals in foods so that companies, suppliers and advocates could get trustworthy results.
• Funding research at Cornell University, Louisiana State University, and Purdue University to identify best practices that can enable the companies to reduce heavy metal contamination in four important baby food ingredients – sweet potatoes, carrots, squash and quinoa.

For more information about lead, arsenic, and cadmium in children’s food, see here and here.

(Boulder, CO – November 4, 2021) On November 1^st, the Polis administration released its budget proposal for the 2022-2023 fiscal year, which included $424.3 million in investments to reduce air pollution.

“After two years of experiencing some of the worst air quality in the U.S., Colorado lawmakers should support all efforts to reduce air pollution that harms Colorado families and disproportionately impacts the health and well-being of low-income communities and communities of color,” said Alex DeGolia, Director for U.S. Climate at EDF. “Governor Polis’s budget proposal for the 2022-2023 fiscal year would make needed investments of more than $400 million to protect Coloradans from harmful air pollution — including to reduce pollution from transportation and provide additional support to air regulators for monitoring and enforcement.

“But to deliver the kind of air quality improvements that Coloradans need, state regulators must also swiftly take action to limit pollution, which the state has a clear obligation to do under existing law. Delays in adopting new policies to reduce pollution are already impacting the state’s ability to meet statutory climate goals and improve air quality.

“Strong new rules covering all sectors of the state’s economy are the Polis administration’s best tool for achieving sustained reductions in harmful local air pollutants and tackling climate change. Such actions can provide deeper and more certain pollution reductions than will be achieved through the budgetary process alone. Investments from the state’s budget should complement these new regulations,  particularly by ensuring benefits flow to Colorado’s most impacted communities; however, investments are not a substitute for comprehensive action to limit pollution.

“We look forward to working with the Governor and state legislators throughout the appropriations process to ensure that investments maximize air quality improvements for Colorado families.”

(Washington, D.C. – November 3, 2021) A single assembly plant with 3,300 direct jobs producing Ford’s electric F-Series trucks, including the F-150 Lightning, could support 44,000 American jobs and more than $5 billion of U.S. gross domestic product, according to a new case study released today.

“There’s a bright future in store for the economy, workers, and all Americans from the transition to clean electric vehicles,” said EDF Associate Vice President for Clean Air Strategies Peter Zalzal. “This study also underscores the urgent need for Congress to enact legislation ensuring the U.S. is leading the way to a zero-emissions future, including by supporting domestic manufacturing of electric vehicles and their component parts. Smart policies will deliver high-quality American jobs and will help us create a cleaner, safer and healthier climate.”

Environmental Defense Fund commissioned MJ Bradley & Associates, an ERM Group company, to evaluate the broad economic and employment impacts related to producing Ford Motor Company’s electric F-Series trucks. The F-Series includes the F-150 – the bestselling truck in the U.S. for the last 44 years. Ford is now manufacturing an electric version of the F-150, the Lightning, with more than 150,000 reservations to date.

Ford will manufacture the F-150 Lightning at the Rouge manufacturing complex in Dearborn, Michigan and will also manufacture electric F-Series vehicles at a new plant in Tennessee – part of a recently announced $11.4 billion in new investments in electric vehicles.

The study assumes that the major electric components of the electric vehicles, including the battery, will be sourced domestically. It evaluates the broader impacts of the direct jobs to produce electric F-Series trucks and finds the following economic and employment benefits:

• $97 million in direct income benefits for every 1,000 direct jobs
• $1 billion in direct, indirect, and induced labor income benefits (including, for example, household spending) for every 1,000 direct jobs
• $1.6 billion in gross domestic product (GDP) for every 1,000 direct jobs
• 13 to 14 total U.S. jobs for each direct job

The analysis developed these normalized employment and GDP figures to enable estimation of the proportionately larger employment levels and GDP impacts that would result from more domestic manufacturing of electric vehicles. It also found that those impacts would be even greater if a larger share of the secondary supply chain for major components of the electric vehicle was also U.S.-based.

“The transformative commitments from U.S. automakers such as Ford and General Motors have made the transition to clean transportation inevitable,” said Zalzal. “For some time, the key question has been whether the jobs that come from that transition will be located in the U.S. or overseas. Congress faces pivotal decisions – right now – to adopt policies accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles and ensuring those clean vehicles are made in America today and for years to come.”

You can read the full report on EDF’s website and on MJ Bradley & Associates’ website.

“Halting rampant tropical deforestation is critical for meeting our climate goals and enhancing global climate ambition, as well as for safeguarding biodiversity, water supplies, agricultural production, public health, and the livelihoods and cultures of Indigneous Peoples and local communities. That’s why EDF strongly supports the AMAZON21 Act from Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.

“This legislation builds on the forest conservation plan announced earlier this week by President Biden, which will both encourage an all-of-society approach to prioritize forest conservation, and help create economic value for healthy forests and the communities that protect and depend on them, by setting aside $9 billion through 2030 to support forest conservation. The bill further builds on the momentum to protect forests set by the declaration to reverse deforestation by 2030 signed by more than 100 countries this week at COP 26. The bill includes conditional, results-based financing mechanisms and technical assistance to support developing countries’ participation in carbon markets. It also creates a monitoring and reporting system to ensure the integrity of the forest conservation efforts and other smart policies that support forest preservation projects in developing countries.

“The time to enact policies that halt deforestation is now. We thank Leader Hoyer for his leadership in driving real progress.”

• Fred Krupp, President, Environmental Defense Fund

(TAMPA, FL – Nov. 3, 2021) As climate impacts intensify across the country, many states and municipalities have established Chief Resilience Officers (CRO) to provide coordinated statewide leadership to reduce risks and protect communities, businesses, vital infrastructure and the environment. As state legislators gather today for the annual National Conference of State Legislatures meeting, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) and National Emergency Management Association (NEMA) are releasing a report that outlines specific recommendations for how governors and legislatures can establish and support CROs to meet the challenges of a changing climate.

“States face a tremendous burden in keeping their communities, economies and vital resources protected from the ever-growing threats of climate change, but they are organizing themselves thoughtfully and strategically to tackle that challenge,” said Mark Rupp, State-Federal Policy & Affairs, U.S., EDF. “As global leaders meet in Glasgow to take collective climate action, they need only to look to the leadership and example of U.S. states that are working toward greater climate resilience, and Chief Resilience Officers are foundational to their success.”

“One of our main goals in Louisiana is to get more areas of state government thinking about how future environmental changes will affect their ability to carry out their missions and serve our people, and then work with them to find ways to adapt,” said Charles Sutcliffe, Louisiana’s Chief Resilience Officer. “The creation of the role of Chief Resilience Officer and the appointment of resilience coordinators at every agency have made those conversations possible.”

“State leaders must take proactive steps to reduce the risks from climate change and other disasters today,” said Trina Sheets, Executive Director, NEMA. “Chief Resilience Officers serve important roles in helping states plan ahead to keep people safe and reduce the costs of future disasters. This roadmap provides important lessons from states that have done this successfully.” 

“Addressing the threat of climate change requires a whole-of-government approach, and Chief Resilience Officers are vital to ensuring coordination and collective action,” said Carolyn Hanson, Deputy Director, ECOS. “We are grateful to the Chief Resilience Officers and experts who shared their knowledge to provide an incredibly valuable roadmap that state leaders can use to expand and support these vital positions within their governments.” 

Instituting Resilience is the result of an EDF-led collaboration that included active CROs as well as officials from states that have been exploring creating a CRO. In addition to recommendations for establishing and supporting these positions, the roadmap outlines how the role of CRO originated and how states have established these positions over time.

Access the full roadmap “Instituting Resilience: Recommendations for Governors and Legislators on Establishing and Supporting Chief Resilience Officers” here.

At the COP 26 summit in Glasgow today, the LEAF (Lowering Emissions and Accelerating Forest Finance) Coalition announced it has mobilized $1 billion in public and private financing to stop tropical deforestation and added seven additional companies to its global effort: BlackRock, Burberry, EY, Inditex, Intertek, SAP, and Walmart.org. The LEAF Coalition, which now has nearly 20 business members, represents the largest private sector commitment to date to protect healthy tropical forests and support sustainable development that delivers significant benefits to Indigenous peoples and forest communities.

In response, EDF president Fred Krupp issued the following statement:

“We cannot solve climate change unless we stop deforestation, and we cannot stop deforestation without accelerated investment from the private sector that helps forest communities. Large-scale tropical forest protection is critical to bringing down climate pollution in the near- and medium-term, and to supporting Indigenous people and other forest defenders.

“LEAF’s record-setting investment is just the beginning: It builds on important ongoing efforts to develop a global high-integrity market system that drives resources to keep forests standing and cut emissions, fast. It’s the key to making sure that trees are worth more alive than dead.

“To be leaders on climate, businesses must invest in rapidly reducing their own climate pollution as well as in high-quality carbon credits and other actions outside their value chains that can slash pollution faster, stimulate innovation, and help address urgent global priorities such as protecting our planet’s tropical forests. The LEAF program is a  powerful way for companies to do just that: go beyond the pollution reductions that they can achieve in the near-term, and immediately contribute to an essential component of the global climate solution.

“It’s encouraging to see more business leaders take action by joining LEAF and putting investments behind their climate commitments. The urgency of the climate crisis demands that other companies follow suit, fast. Investments in carbon credits (including carbon removal) should be in addition to – not in place of – a science-based strategy to reduce emissions directly, and at the speed and scale that the science demands.”

–Fred Krupp, President, Environmental Defense Fund

In 2019 EDF set up Emergent, the group facilitating LEAF, because we saw the need for a new, innovative financing facility that could catalyze a high-quality market for forest carbon/jurisdictional REDD+ credits. EDF’s Ruben Lubowski is a senior advisor for Emergent. EDF also helped to create the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART), whose standard The REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard (TREES) is used as the basis for the emissions reductions purchased through LEAF.

(Glasgow, Scotland) Methane pollution from fossil fuel operations, agriculture and other industries emerged as a key focal point in the international climate talks known as COP26 as more than 100 countries, representing two-thirds of the global economy pledged to cut methane emissions 30% by 2030 as a core part of their climate strategies.

“Putting methane at the top of the agenda for these talks is a critical move that will improve the lives of millions at home and around the world by holding off climate chaos. It will be one of the major success stories of the Glasgow talks. Cutting methane pollution is the fastest way there is to slow the warming as we continue the transition to cleaner, safer, healthier energy systems. The challenge for the U.S. and other countries now will be to go home and make good on these ambitious goals as fast as they possibly can.”

• Fred Krupp, President, Environmental Defense Fund

Methane from these sources is responsible for at least 25% of today’s unprecedented warming. Reducing methane emissions has become widely recognized as the fastest way to slow climate change.

The announcement, led by U.S. President Biden and European Commission President Von der Leyen, reflects new consensus that methane reductions must be a core element to global efforts to limit temperature rise to no more than 1.5°C. The action follows an IPCC report in August warning that the Paris climate goals would be out of reach without deep cuts in methane pollution.

As a down payment on its commitment, the U.S. unveiled a sweeping new set of actions to cut methane pollution from multiple industries, starting with the formal introduction of rules to sharply limit methane from thousands of oil and gas wells, pipelines and other facilities. The oil and gas sector offers the largest most cost-effective opportunities to achieve reductions quickly, a fact that many in the industry itself have acknowledged.

(Washington, D.C.) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today proposed historic climate and health protections to strengthen and expand limits on methane pollution from the oil and gas industry. For the first time, EPA’s proposal would extend pollution standards to the nation’s fleet of existing oil and gas well sites, in addition to strengthening rules for new facilities.

Hundreds of thousands of wells, pipelines and other oil and gas facilities emit millions of tons of methane every year. EPA’s oil and gas methane rules will play a central role in the Biden administration’s newly-announced Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan and in fulfilling U.S. commitments under the Global Methane Pledge, which aims to cut methane pollution 30% worldwide by 2030.

“Methane pollution is a profound threat to our health and our climate. Cutting methane emissions from this industry is the fastest, most cost-effective way to slow global warming today,” said EDF President Fred Krupp. “These rules are an important step that offers a major victory for nine million Americans living near active oil and gas sites. But EPA still has more work to do to cut flaring and address emissions from the nation’s many smaller, leak-prone wells.”

EDF estimates the U.S. oil and gas industry emits 16 million metric tons of methane annually, with the same near-term climate impact as 350 coal-fired power plants, along with smog-forming pollutants and air toxics like benzene.

The new proposal includes protective requirements for broad-based deployment of zero-emitting alternatives for the industry’s second largest source of methane pollution, pneumatic controllers, and enables use of advanced screening technologies to more quickly find and fix leaks across all sites. EPA also requests feedback on approaches to empower community use of technology to help further reduce pollution.

More to be Done

While today’s proposal is strong and an important step forward, final standards must be further strengthened to require regular monitoring across smaller, leak-prone wells and address the wasteful and polluting practice of flaring. EPA has stated it is taking protective action to further address these and other issues in a supplemental proposal. 

Cleaning up oil and gas methane pollution is critical for improving air quality and for protecting public health.

“As countries around the world raise ambition on methane, we’re committed to working together with EPA and all stakeholders to ensure the final safeguards deliver the pollution reductions urgently needed to protect communities, address the climate crisis and help restore U.S. climate leadership,” Krupp said.

Wide-Reaching Standards

The proposal released today includes an advanced screening approach to accelerate leak detection and remediation, a phase-out of intentionally-polluting pneumatic devices, and a reduction of emissions from maintenance activities, like liquids unloading, that are currently unaddressed by EPA standards. 

EPA has identified additional, important opportunities to reduce oil and gas methane pollution that the agency has committed to address through a supplemental proposal. These include issues like regular monitoring at smaller but high-polluting wells, the harmful and wasteful practice of burning off unused gas (flaring), and leaky abandoned wells.

It is critical that EPA’s supplemental proposal require regular monitoring at smaller, high polluting wells. Our analysis of so-called “marginal wells” – a similar categorization – has found they account for 80% of active oil and gas production sites. They have disproportionately high emissions, including nearly half of observable production emissions in EDF’s Permian Basin research, and contribute less than 6% of national oil and gas production. More than three quarters of marginal well sites are owned by companies that operate more than 100 wells.   

The practice of routine flaring is another significance source of climate and air pollution that EPA rules have the potential to cost-effectively address. EDF research in the Permian Basin found upwards of 10% of flares are either malfunctioning or entirely unlit, while economic analysis from Rystad finds 84% of routine flaring in the basin could be eliminated at no net cost. Major oil and gas producing states like New Mexico and Colorado have acted to end the wasteful practice.

Environmental Defense Fund and the University of Minnesota’s Center for Farm Financial Management have partnered to establish a new financial data gathering process for cover crops within the FINBIN database — the largest publicly available farm financial database and benchmarking service in the country.

The program seeks to answer the economic questions farmers have about cover crops and provide benchmarking data for farmers using or considering planting cover crops.

“There is a growing focus on the benefits of cover crops across the agriculture sector, but farmers still have questions about their economic performance,” said Josh Tjosaas, Minnesota State Farm Business Management database lead and instructor. “This program is a big step towards finally being able to answer some of those key questions on a field enterprise level across a large sample of farms.”

Enterprise-level farm financial data will be gathered in the FINBIN database and analyzed to compare the relative profitability of farms using cover crops to the farms not using cover crops.

“Farmers, agricultural lenders and food companies need robust and representative information on the financial impacts cover crops have on the farm bottom line,” said Vincent Gauthier, senior analyst for climate-smart agriculture at EDF. “This information can help craft incentives for climate-smart practices that meet farmers’ financial needs.”

The cover crop data collection and benchmarking will take place over three years, providing scholarships into the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities’ Farm Business Management program and the Southwest Minnesota Farm Business Management Association for farmers growing cover crops. The program will also collaborate with the Wilkin Soil and Water Conservation District to offer farmers in Wilkin County the opportunity to participate.

The farmer scholarships are supported by the Minnesota Office for Soil Health, General Mills and the Walton Family Foundation.

“Many of my farmer neighbors are interested in growing cover crops but want to know how it will impact them financially,” said Kristin Weeks Duncanson, owner and partner at Highland Family Farms located in Mapleton, Minn. “Farmers and lenders trust the FINBIN data, and this benchmarking program will help answer the financial questions they have about cover crops.”

(Washington, D.C. – October 29, 2021) The U.S. Supreme Court today agreed to hear a case about the Environmental Protection Agency's long-standing authority to limit climate pollution from power plants.

The Court granted requests from coal companies and their allies to review a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. That lower court decision struck down the Trump administration's ACE rule and its repeal of the Clean Power Plan – the Obama-administration policy that set the first-ever national limits on climate pollution from existing coal and natural gas-fired power plants.

"Our nation's clean air laws require EPA to protect the American people from the dangerous air pollution that is devastating communities across the country," said Ben Levitan, senior attorney at Environmental Defense Fund, which is a party to the case. "Environmental Defense Fund will firmly defend EPA's authority and responsibility to protect American families from the clear and present danger of climate pollution emitted by power plants."

In 2015, EPA issued the Clean Power Plan. In 2019, the Trump administration repealed it and replaced it with the ineffective ACE rule, which did virtually nothing to limit pollution and that EPA's own analysis indicated would increase pollution in numerous states.

Earlier this year, the D.C. Circuit struck down the Trump administration's actions because they relied on a flawed and impermissibly narrow interpretation of the Clean Air Act. The court's opinion evaluated the Trump administration's legal arguments and explained why they were meritless.

Coal companies and their allies appealed to the Supreme Court, which today granted their request to review the D.C. Circuit decision. Notably, no power companies — the entities that would have been subject to compliance obligations under the Clean Power Plan — petitioned the Supreme Court to review the case.

The coalition opposing Supreme Court review included EPA; the Attorneys General of 23 states, the District of Columbia and seven municipalities; environmental groups, including EDF, and clean energy trade associations; and power companies providing electric service to more than 20 million homes and businesses. The power companies' brief explained that the ACE rule would have forced EPA to set pollution limits while being "prohibited from considering the actual strategies applied by [power plants] to substantially and cost-effectively reduce this sector's emissions."

Climate change is already causing destruction across America and around the world. New research finds that a child today is likely to live through roughly three times as many climate disasters as their grandparents. The number of billion-dollar weather and climate disasters afflicting the United States has increased drastically over the past 40 years.

Polls show that Americans strongly support policies to mitigate climate change. Seventy-five percent of Americans believe that carbon dioxide should be regulated as a pollutant, and 68 percent — including majorities in every state — support strict carbon dioxide limits on existing coal-fired power plants.

The Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld EPA's authority and responsibility to limit climate pollution under the Clean Air Act. In Massachusetts v. EPA (2007), the Court ruled that climate pollution qualified as air pollution that is subject to regulation under the Clean Air Act "without a doubt … The statute is unambiguous."

In American Electric Power v. Connecticut (2011), the Court determined that the Clean Air Act "speaks directly to emissions of carbon dioxide from" existing power plants. For confirmation, the Court pointed specifically to section 111(d) of the statute — the same section that authorized the Clean Power Plan, but which the Trump administration later attempted to severely constrain.

In Supreme Court proceedings, EDF and others will argue that the D.C. Circuit's carefully reasoned decision was correct. Our arguments are directly supported by the text of the Clean Air Act and extensive Supreme Court precedent.

(Washington, D.C. – October 28, 2021) The Environmental Protection Agency confirmed today that it will reconsider whether to strengthen our national standards for ground-level ozone pollution – commonly called smog.

“People across the country face serious health risks from ground-level ozone pollution, and the scientific evidence is clear that we need a stronger, more protective standard to guard against it,” said EDF analyst Taylor Bacon. “EPA should seize this opportunity to strengthen the ozone standard and protect Americans’ lives and health.”

Ground-level ozone forms through the reaction between heat, sunlight, and certain pollutants. These pollutants (including volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides) mainly come from vehicles, power plants, industrial facilities, and oil and gas pollution.

Ground-level ozone pollution significantly increases the risk of serious heart and lung diseases and causes premature deaths. There is strong evidence of ground-level ozone pollution causing increased hospital admissions and emergency department visits for asthma and respiratory infections and possibly increasing rates of asthma development.

The current national standard for ground-level ozone pollution is 70 parts per billion, which the prior administration chose to maintain despite a substantial and growing body of scientific evidence that shows serious health effects from ground-level ozone exposure at levels below that standard. EPA will now reconsider that decision.

EDF just released an analysis that showed ground-level ozone pollution reached dangerous levels in almost every state over the summer. 45 states had at least one day with levels above 70 parts per billion, and 49 states – all except Hawaii – had at least one day with levels above 60 parts per billion. You can see more of EDF’s analysis here.

“The White House released the framework for the Build Back Better Act today, which includes a transformational $555 billion investment to tackle the climate crisis. If passed by Congress, it will be the largest effort to combat climate change in American history.

“As the climate crisis poses a ‘code red’ threat to humanity, the Biden administration and Congress are responding with the largest-ever investment in climate action. This unprecedented down payment will improve the livelihoods of Americans around the country, by curbing harmful climate pollution, creating clean energy and manufacturing jobs, and building a safer, more equitable future for our children and grandchildren.

“The best available science shows that we need to reduce climate pollution sharply to avert the worst impacts of climate change. The framework announced today would generate essential progress toward achieving our national goal to reduce emissions 50-52% by 2030. It takes aim at climate pollution across the entire economy through critical investments in clean electricity and electric vehicles, energy-efficient buildings, clean technology manufacturing and supply chains in the U.S., and more resilient, climate-smart agriculture. It also includes significant investments to help better protect communities along our coasts and watersheds, particularly through natural infrastructure and other solutions to increase their resilience to growing climate threats.

“The clean energy investments in the Build Back Better Act framework will directly create and support jobs in all sectors of the economy — from manufacturing and construction to finance and conservation — in all 50 states. As the global clean energy transition accelerates, targeted incentives for U.S. supply chains and technologies, like batteries and solar, will boost our competitiveness in these emerging markets, while existing U.S. industries like steel, aluminum and cement, will gain new opportunities and markets for low-carbon products.

“The framework would also make critical advances for environmental justice. A new Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator program will invest in clean energy projects around the country and will deliver 40% of the benefits of those investments to systematically disadvantaged communities as part of the President’s Justice40 initiative. The framework will also fund port electrification, cleaner transit, buses and trucks and more to drive down hazardous air pollution that endangers the health and well-being of millions of Americans — especially low-income communities and communities of color. Grants to environmental justice communities, and funding for a 300,000 person Civilian Climate Corps that will employ a diverse workforce to conserve our lands and build community resilience are also key components of the framework.

“The Build Back Better Act framework announced today will help move the United States toward a cleaner, healthier, and more equitable future. Congress must act quickly to pass the Build Back Better Act and deliver results for the American people.”

• Elizabeth Gore, Senior Vice President, Political Affairs

Some of the world’s largest environmental organizations and a multi-sector business association are urging countries to agree to strong rules at COP26 for Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which provides a framework for countries to cooperatively use carbon markets to meet and exceed their international emissions reduction targets, while promoting sustainable development and adaptation to the impacts of climate change. Research shows carbon markets can support more ambitious emissions reductions and unlock much-needed financing, but only if they’re backed by strong rules that ensure environmental integrity and carbon credit quality.

In the “Call for a Robust Article 6 Outcome in Glasgow,” Conservation International, Environmental Defense Fund, International Emissions Trading Association and The Nature Conservancy say: “Cooperative approaches under Article 6 can help countries go faster and farther towards a safe climate future, but only if countries design these tools properly.” 

The organizations urge countries to “finalize high-integrity rules for Article 6 that provide governments and private actors the clarity they need to accelerate investments towards achievement of the Paris Agreement’s ambitious goals.”

Specifically, they call for strong rules on Article 6 that:

• Prevent all forms of double counting of mitigation toward the achievement of Paris Agreement temperature goals.
• Facilitate high-quality mitigation across all sectors.
• Ensure comprehensive reporting and transparency. 

Below are quotes from organization leaders:

Fred Krupp, President, Environmental Defense Fund: “”We’re in the race of our lives against climate change. To meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, the world needs to rapidly drive emissions down and investment up. Well-designed international carbon markets can nearly double currently planned emissions cuts at no additional cost, while helping to channel investment to developing countries. At COP26, countries need to establish credible rules for high-integrity international carbon markets that contribute to global efforts to limit warming to 1.5 degrees.”

Dr. M. Sanjayan, CEO, Conservation International: “These goals are embodied in the Paris Agreement and the cooperative mechanisms in Article 6 — which outlines how countries can cooperate on the vital task of reducing carbon emissions — but the rules are incomplete. We must all come away from COP26 with a complete rulebook that is clear, coherent with the current global carbon budget, and equitable to developing countries. We had a chance to do this at the last year COP in Madrid and failed. If this COP ends without finalized rules on Article 6 — strong and clear rules that allow carbon trading across all sectors — it’s not unfair to say this COP will have been a failure.” 

Dirk Forrister, President and CEO of IETA: “Robust guidance on Article 6 is necessary to harness the potential of markets and deliver mitigation and adaptation actions with greater economic efficiency. A cooperative approach to the implementation of nationally determined contributions using Article 6 will greatly reduce the cost of emissions reduction and allow for higher ambition. The private sector needs clear rules to accelerate investment and contribute to the ambition goals of the Paris Agreement.”

Jennifer Morris, TNC: “Article 6 can unlock investments on a scale needed to stabilize temperature increases at 1.5 degrees C – but only if implemented with strong environmental rules. We urge climate negotiators gathered in Glasgow to agree on and lay the foundation of solid carbon markets both to accelerate action to combat climate change and to deliver much-needed co-benefits for nature and people.”

See EDF’s events at COP 26 in Glasgow and online: edf.org/cop26

“The Build Back Better Act represents a significant step toward a healthier, safer and more stable future. By making major investments in the transportation, electric power and industrial sectors — the three biggest sources of climate pollution — the framework announced today will accelerate our transition to a clean economy that delivers millions of new jobs, fights climate change and promotes a healthier and more equitable America. Congress must act quickly and deliver results.”

(HARRISBURG, Pa. – October 27, 2021) Today, the Pennsylvania Senate voted in favor of a resolution that seeks to block the state’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a rule which has been approved by multiple committees of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) as well as the state’s Independent Regulatory Review Commission (IRRC). Linking to the proven, multi-state program will facilitate a declining limit on power sector carbon emissions that is critical to achieving the climate goals laid out by Gov. Tom Wolf in his January 8, 2019 executive order. Proceeds from the program’s cap-and-invest mechanism, estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars annually, will enable investments in clean energy and energy efficiency and should be targeted to communities in greatest need, an opportunity that simply would not exist absent Pennsylvania’s participation in RGGI.

A 2020 poll found that 72% of Pennsylvanians support the state linking to RGGI, with “broad support for RGGI’s improvement of air quality, health and climate change.”

“It is abundantly clear that our elected officials need to act with urgency to tackle the climate crisis we face, yet the Pennsylvania General Assembly continues to obstruct progress and is now supporting a resolution that perpetuates their inaction on climate.

“One way the General Assembly should lead is by considering the RGGI Investments Act. This bill would invest RGGI proceeds to spur investment in clean energy and energy efficiency, for communities facing transition, and for direct bill assistance to lower consumer electric bills.

“The dangerous flooding from Hurricane Ida as well as severe weather that continued into this very week were yet another clarion call for action. RGGI can help protect Pennsylvanians’ future by cutting the climate-warming pollution that’s fueling more frequent and intense storms. We respectfully urge Governor Wolf to veto any resolutions or measures that would undermine progress to address climate pollution.”

• Mandy Warner, Director of Climate and Clean Air Policy, Environmental Defense Fund