Complete list of press releases

(WASHINGTON, DC — July 30, 2021) The House of Representatives passed a group of bipartisan appropriations bills this week, the first set of Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 funding measures that will help deliver federal funding toward environmental and public health protections. These ambitious funding packages contain many climate-forward policies that are priorities for EDF, and we now look to the Senate to help deliver on these critical investments.

“The appropriation bills passed by the House advance critical public health, conservation and climate change measures. They also work to bridge the gap in communities that are most negatively impacted by air pollution and the effects of climate change, especially low-income communities and communities of color,” said Toby Short, Associate Vice President, Political Affairs. “In the days and weeks ahead, Congress must pass historic legislation that rebuilds America, fights climate change, promotes environmental justice, and creates millions of good-paying jobs. These appropriations bills make important progress ahead of the budget reconciliation process that is necessary to deliver the full scale of investments America needs.”

Some of the key investments in these appropriations bills include:

• $11.3 billion in funding for the Environmental Protection Agency, which was dangerously underfunded under the previous Administration 
• $3.7 billion for DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) and $600 million for Advanced Research Projects Agency—Energy (ARPA-E), and directs the agency to use existing authorities to pursue climate-related projects
• Funding for manufacturing and deployment of electric vehicles, as well as a nationwide assessment of the state of, challenges to, and opportunities for deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure in underserved or disadvantaged communities

(CHICAGO – July 29, 2021) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and LGIM America (LGIMA) today announced a new partnership to turbocharge investor leadership on climate change and rapidly reduce emissions across industries and sectors. This new collaboration is the first of its kind between a leading environmental nonprofit and a global asset management firm. Today’s announcement builds on the momentum of a historic proxy season and a rapidly evolving landscape.

“Investors have a tremendous opportunity to accelerate corporate climate progress by aligning their voices and choices with the concrete actions needed to actually achieve net zero,” said Ben Ratner, Associate Vice President of EDF+Business, EDF’s corporate engagement division.

“LGIM (LGIMA’s parent company) has a long history of consistently raising the bar for climate leadership, for example by advocating for Paris-aligned public policies and by establishing its Climate Impact Pledge. Now is the time for all asset managers to walk the walk on climate by closing the gap between net zero pledges and net zero plans.”

Together, EDF and LGIM America will work to:

• Urge business leaders to advocate for the policies and regulations needed to deliver emissions reductions at scale;
• Accelerate corporate climate action that turns climate commitments into tangible results, on topics ranging from methane emissions and flaring to electrification of vehicles; and
• Meet the growing demand for ESG-aligned investing options.

“LGIMA and EDF share the conviction that asset managers have the opportunity and the responsibility to use their market power to accelerate  climate pledges into climate progress, shifting the needle towards a net zero future,” said John Hoeppner, Head of US Stewardship and Sustainable Investments at LGIMA. “With shareholders and regulators increasingly demanding transparency and leadership from the private sector, climate action has become a business imperative.”

“Of course, driving forward environmental solutions that work for business and the planet is no small task. But we’re eager to get started in our work with EDF, which brings invaluable civil society perspective on science, policy, and business practices to its engagements with corporates and regulators.”

EDF and LGIMA will kick off their collaboration by identifying priority companies and opportunities for corporate climate engagement within the oil and gas and transportation sectors.

“Climate leadership is becoming a competitive edge as asset managers realize they can only perform well by doing good,” said Erin Blanton, senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. “I am excited for EDF and LGIMA to join forces and set the gold standard for ambitious and measurable climate action by investors and corporations.”

For more information on this collaboration, see our blog post on EDF+Business.

“If news reports are correct, our nation must do more than focus on the Trump rollbacks alone to swiftly eliminate tailpipe pollution from new passenger vehicles, because that focus alone will not be enough to address the clear and present danger of climate change and the pollution that puts the health of our communities at risk.

“We need to eliminate the tailpipe pollution from new passenger vehicles by 2035 if we hope to curb climate change based on science and help ensure livable communities. GM has announced its goal to eliminate tailpipe pollution from new passenger vehicles by 2035 and Volkswagen has recently announced that it plans for 50 percent of all new vehicles it sells by 2030 to be zero-emitting. These zero-emitting solutions are at hand and they can be made in America – creating high quality jobs, saving families money at the gas pump, and helping to ensure healthier longer lives for all.”

– Peter Zalzal, EDF senior counsel and Associate Vice President for Clean Air Strategies

For more information about zero-emission vehicles, see EDF’s new fact sheet.

“Every community should live free of the burden of harmful air pollution. With the introduction of the Environmental Justice Air Quality Monitoring Act, Senator Markey is recognizing many do not, especially Black, Asian-American, Latino and Indigenous communities that bear the unequal health burden of air pollution, and the need for hyperlocal air quality monitoring.

“Research shows that levels of air pollution can vary widely by city block, with major health consequences. This is compounded in communities of color, with Black, Asian-American, Latino and Indigenous families especially breathing more air pollution than white families because they are more likely to live near highways, refineries, ports and other sources of harmful pollution. For example, EDF’s recent study found that San Francisco Bay Area neighborhoods with higher percentages of people of color experienced double the rate of childhood asthma from traffic-related pollution than neighborhoods that are predominantly white. Unfortunately, the current system of national monitoring misses these important differences within and across neighborhoods.

“While measuring pollution alone won’t resolve inequities, this data can support local communities on further actions to confront air pollution and inform federal investments where they will have the largest benefits to health and equity.”   

•    Sarah Vogel, Senior Vice President of Health, Environmental Defense Fund.

Additional Background:

The Environmental Justice Air Quality Monitoring Act of 2021 would direct $100m a year to hyperlocal air quality monitoring. It would enable monitoring of criteria air pollutants, hazardous air pollutants, and greenhouses gases at a neighborhood scale, in order to identify persistent elevated levels of air pollutants in environmental justice communities.* The funded projects would generate hyperlocal maps of air pollution and demographic characteristics, providing data to community residents and local, state, Tribal and federal air pollution managers. 

EDF is using scientific research and local emissions data to improve health where you live. Learn more about this work here. 

* The term “environmental justice community,” as defined in the Act means “a community with significant representation of communities of color, low-income communities, or Tribal and Indigenous communities that experiences, or is at risk of experiencing, higher or more adverse human health or environmental effects, as compared to other communities.”
 

(WASHINGTON – July 26, 2021) Today, Reps. Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Ed Case (D-Hawaii) introduced the Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Future Act. The bill reauthorizes and strengthens the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, or MSA — the nation’s primary statute governing the management of U.S. fisheries in federal marine waters. The MSA was originally signed into law in 1976 and hasn’t been reauthorized since 2006. The following is a statement from Eric Schwaab, Senior Vice President, Ecosystems and Oceans, and a former administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service at NOAA under the Obama administration:

“The Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Future Act, introduced today by Reps. Huffman and Case, brings much-needed attention to key challenges facing modern fisheries management. We fully support the bill’s goal to strengthen the MSA by arming fisheries managers with tools that can better address some of the most significant problems facing the sustainable future of U.S. fisheries, including threats from climate change.

“We commend Rep. Huffman for hosting a nationwide listening tour to hear directly from fishing communities and to collect input from fishermen and fishing industry representatives, conservation advocates and experts in drafting this legislation. This deliberative work is evident in the resulting bill.

“The MSA is among the greatest conservation success stories of our time: rebuilding fisheries while also ensuring a thriving wild-capture industry. Maintaining the pillars of the MSA that have made it so successful — such as a robust council process and firm rebuilding timelines — are essential in any reauthorization. However, the oceans are changing rapidly, and federal fishery management must keep pace. Advances in our scientific understanding of the marine environment and new technological developments hold the potential to reshape fisheries management for people and nature together. I am particularly grateful to see these priorities reflected in the climate change and data modernization titles in the bill. I look forward to continuing to work with Reps. Huffman and Case and their staff to further improve the legislation.”

· Eric Schwaab, Senior VP, Ecosystems and Oceans

(WASHINGTON, DC) Credits for soil carbon sequestration currently lack comparability and consistency, which creates uncertainty in soil carbon markets. Efforts are underway, however, to improve the quality of credits and help realize the full greenhouse gas mitigation potential of agricultural soils.

In a new report — Agricultural Soil Carbon Credits: Making sense of protocols for carbon sequestration and net greenhouse gas removals — Environmental Defense Fund and the Woodwell Climate Research Center reviewed the 12 published protocols used to generate soil carbon credits through carbon sequestration in croplands. The protocols take different approaches to measuring, reporting and verifying net climate impacts, and to managing the vital issues of additionality, reversal and permanence. The result is a confusing credit marketplace where it is difficult to compare credits or guarantee climate benefits have been achieved.

“As addressing climate change becomes ever more urgent, we’re seeing a gold rush of investment in soil carbon credits. The stakes for the climate and farmers are extraordinarily high,” said Emily Oldfield, lead report author and agricultural soil carbon scientist at EDF. “Agricultural soils could remove 4-6% of annual U.S. emissions. We need credible, consistent and cost-effective measurement and verification to know with confidence that soil carbon credits are moving us toward that target.”

Public and private sector efforts are underway to improve measurement technologies and methods and to set unified standards for high-quality agricultural carbon credits that accurately represent carbon sequestration and net greenhouse gas removals.

“Congress has the opportunity to pass the Growing Climate Solutions Act and direct the U.S. Department of Agriculture to do what is so clearly needed: set guidelines for high-quality agricultural carbon credits,” said Callie Eideberg, director of agricultural policy for EDF. “USDA must be ready to swiftly implement the bill when it becomes law to increase certainty that markets deliver for farmers and the environment.”

“Businesses face intense pressure to reduce emissions at the pace and scale that the science demands,” said Katie Anderson, senior manager for EDF+Business. “Companies must focus on reducing emissions from their own operations and supply chains, as well as investing in high-quality carbon credits. But, it’s crucial that both soil and forest carbon credits have environmental integrity, guidelines for use and that they’re integrated into a clear pathway to decarbonization.”

Soil carbon remains difficult to measure for a variety of reasons. While scientists understand how soil carbon responds to farm management changes, scientists can’t currently predict the amount and longevity of new carbon sequestration on all farms. Detecting soil carbon changes over time requires a high number of samples, which are costly to collect and analyze, and may need to be collected from different soil depths depending on soil type and conservation practices used.

“There are exciting new research efforts and technological developments underway that will greatly reduce the cost of verifying soil carbon credits,” said Jonathan Sanderman, contributing report author and associate scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center. “Increasing accuracy at scale, while also being able to pass on most of the value of a carbon credit to the farmer, is critical to ensuring functioning carbon markets.”

Agricultural soils can contribute meaningfully to climate mitigation and resilience efforts. Once guidelines and standardization between protocols are in place, the enthusiasm for soil carbon credits can be channeled productively toward slowing the rate of climate change and adapting to impacts that are already here. This will benefit both farmers and the planet.

“There can be no true environmental progress without environmental justice. Interim guidance released this week by the Biden-Harris Administration is a necessary start to centering environmental justice in all federal government policies and plans. Black, Indigenous, Latino, Asian and other marginalized communities have been disproportionately harmed by pollution and other environmental impacts for far too long. And yet, solutions meant to correct those injustices often fall short because community members are not included in the decision making. EDF is committed to working alongside environmental justice and community leaders to help implement the Justice40 initiatives and encourage the momentum to find equitable climate solutions.

“The important goal of 40% of the benefits from federal climate and clean energy investments going to disadvantaged and historically marginalized communities, known as the Justice40 initiative, seeks not only to correct environmental injustices, but also to spur green job growth and expand the benefits of clean energy for these communities.

“We thank the Biden administration for following the lead of environmental justice stakeholders on these initial sets of guidelines and programs. Through the collective and active engagement with government agencies, local community groups and the entire environmental movement, we will continue to focus on how we can center justice in our work and establish authentic partnerships with the ever expanding network of people looking to find equitable solutions for environmental issues.”

• Margot Brown, Associate Vice President, Environmental Justice and Equity Initiatives

(Washington, D.C. – July 22, 2021) Environmental Defense Fund, Moms Clean Air Force, and M.J. Bradley & Associates today unveiled a new interactive map with detailed information about the fossil fuel-fired power plants that are the source of smog-forming oxides of nitrogen (NOx) pollution around the country. The new analysis highlights the need for EPA to strengthen NOx air pollution limits to protect human health and for the owners of these power plants to invest in clean, affordable zero-emitting power.

The map shows that many coal-fired power plants in the U.S. are discharging NOx pollution at levels above what is achievable through available modern pollution limits. People can search the map to learn about those high-polluting power plants near their communities, and to find out about the impact of the air pollutant on low-income communities and communities of color.

“Smog is a serious health threat to people, and many coal plants in the U.S. are releasing smog-forming pollution at levels that far exceed modern pollution limits,” said EDF General Counsel Vickie Patton. “We need EPA to do more to protect millions of people from smog pollution, so we created this map to help people learn about NOx pollution near their communities and to help our leaders create stronger safeguards against smokestack air pollution. We hope the power companies that own these high polluting coal plants will invest in clean, affordable zero-emitting power plants that save lives and create jobs.”

“It is crucial for families to be able to see high-polluting facilities mapped out clearly. This map helps us see how racial and socioeconomic inequity relate to NOx pollution from power plants, and how far we still have to go to achieve justice in every breath,” said Moms Clean Air Force Public Health Policy Director Molly Rauch. “Far too many power plants are still routinely spewing massive amounts of harmful pollution into our air. With this tool, families will better understand where dangerous air pollution is coming from, so we can raise our voices to make it stop. Every child has the right to breathe clean air.”

NOx pollution from fossil fuel-fired power plants is a main component in soot and smog, which cause asthma attacks, heart and lung diseases, and premature deaths. Smog is especially dangerous for children, the elderly, people who work outdoors, and low-income communities and communities of color. Smog threatens the health of people who live near a pollution source and it also drifts across borders and threatens people in downwind areas.

EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule sets standards that help limit NOx pollution. The standards provide some protection for people who live near dirty power plants and for those in downwind states who struggle with smog blowing across their borders, but NOx pollution from power plant smokestacks is still a serious threat because EPA needs to do more to limit NOx air pollution. More than one-third of all coal-fired power plant capacity operating today in the Eastern U.S. and Texas have not yet installed modern pollution controls for NOx, and power plants that have pollution controls sometimes don’t operate them.

M.J. Bradley & Associates developed the new interactive map, using EPA’s pollution data and Environmental Justice Screening tool, for EDF and Moms Clean Air Force. It can be set to show the NOx pollution rate, top NOx polluters, the year or season of NOx pollution, and the type of fuel source for power plants in specific areas. It can also be set to show the number of power plants that are in or near low-income communities and communities of color.

You can reach the new interactive map through a link on EDF’s website or through this Moms Clean Air Force blog post.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

EDF today announced an ad campaign calling on the Biden administration and the Environmental Protection Agency to make short-haul vehicles cleaner.

Pollution from these trucks and buses causes heart and lung disease, especially in neighborhoods near ports, warehouses, highways and other high-traffic and industrial areas, often home to Black, Latino, Asian American and low-income communities. School buses also expose children to soot that causes asthma attacks and other health problems in nearly every community in America, and delivery vehicles and city buses bring serious additional health threats.

“By moving to zero-emissions trucks and buses we can dramatically reduce the health risk to our families,” said Peter Zalzal, Associate Vice President for Clean Air Strategies at Environmental Defense Fund. “Building zero-emission vehicles in America will also create jobs, help us out-compete Europe and China and reduce climate pollution from our transportation system – the largest source of those emissions.

“The Clean Air Act requires the Environmental Protection Agency to set standards that reduce harmful pollution from these vehicles. By taking bold action, EPA can make a real difference in the lives of our families, and move us toward greater environmental justice and create jobs.”

The ad can be seen here and here. and you can learn more about this issue on our blog. The campaign will run on a variety of online platforms for two weeks.

China announced today that the first trades in its national Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) have been conducted, marking the start of the formal operation of the world’s largest carbon market. In the first compliance period, regulated entities will have to use allowances to cover their 2019-2020 emissions. The system initially covers 2,162 entities in the power industry and 4.5 billion tons of C02 emissions, and will gradually expand to include more industries.

“With the first transactions taking place in its national emissions trading system (ETS), China has reached an important milestone in its progress on climate action, putting the last puzzle piece in place for the largest carbon market in the world. 

“China’s national carbon market will be one of the central policy instruments to achieve its goals of peaking its carbon emissions by 2030 and reaching carbon neutrality by 2060. A well-functioning carbon market will contribute to a lower peak and a more rapid reduction in emissions afterward. The market is also a sign of China’s full commitment to participating in global climate governance as the world’s largest emitter.

“China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) has been leading the preparation work of China’s national ETS for years, through issuing fundamental regulations and organizing indispensable trainings and simulations, with the support of EDF and our partners. EDF is proud to have helped lay the groundwork for the carbon market’s operation. 

“EDF looks forward to working with MEE to strengthen China’s national market, including by charting a pathway to increased ambition in the key emission sectors. We are optimistic that we will see a greener China as it tackles climate change head-on.”

• Fred Krupp, President, Environmental Defense Fund
   

(WASHINGTON – July 15, 2021) As climate change continues to alter the temperature and chemistry of the ocean, new approaches and pathways are needed for governments to manage ocean fisheries, a publication in the ICES Journal of Marine Science states.

The publication, “Identifying policy approaches to build social–ecological resilience in marine fisheries with differing capacities and contexts,” authored by 10 Environmental Defense Fund ocean experts, in collaboration with regional ocean experts, presents a framework for managing fisheries in the face of climate change. Case studies from Myanmar, Belize, Peru and Iceland illustrate how any fishery can build resilience. It points to the best policy approaches for proactively building the sustainability, resilience and equity of fisheries as climate impacts increase in the future — a critical step for adaptively managing fisheries for millions worldwide who are dependent on ocean resources for food and nutrition, livelihoods and more.

“Climate change is already causing the ocean to be warmer, more acidic and less productive,” said Kendra Karr, senior scientist for EDF Oceans program and a co-author of the report. “Despite the shifting productivity of global fisheries, there are climate-adaptive management reforms that leverage intervention efforts to help ameliorate many of the negative outcomes on food security, nutrition, livelihoods and cultures for hundreds of millions of people globally.”

In the publication, the authors use a set of nine socio-ecological resilience criteria to present how fisheries resilience can be improved within varying resource, technical and governance capacities. Using four case studies, representing fisheries with different capacities from around the world, the authors assess attributes that confer or undermine resilience and identify policy approaches that build such resilience.

Myanmar’s marine ecosystems have suffered from coastal development, increased demand on its fisheries and impacts from climate change (e.g., warmer waters, sea-level rise, ocean acidification and more intense storms). Myanmar’s fisheries would benefit from a participatory co-management structure that facilitates community-based management. However, the cultural complexity of many coastal societies appears to be a limiting factor in making this transition.

Belize has been a leader in marine conservation for many years, and in 2020 the government passed a new fishery law to increase the sustainable use and management of its fisheries. It also implemented a strong participatory community-based co-management program with the support of those in the fishing industry. Improving resilience in Belize’s coastal fisheries relies on continued advancements of science-based management, especially for finfish, and inclusive, participatory decision-making that centers fishers’ livelihoods and equity.

Peru is home to the largest fishery in the world: the Peruvian anchoveta. This and other Peruvian fisheries, such as jumbo squid — an increasingly important fishery worldwide — are nourished largely by the Humboldt Current, which drives upwelling, leading to a highly productive environment. The natural variability in the current’s intensity is compounded by climate change, forcing Peru’s fishers and managers to find adaptive, forward-looking, science-based approaches in these globally significant fisheries.

Off Iceland, the warm Atlantic and cold Arctic currents converge atop submarine ridges to create highly productive waters. Iceland manages nearly all its fisheries (~98%) through a multi-species individual transferrable quota system, or ITQ. Managers also protect spawning areas through closed areas and restrict gear to prevent bycatch. Fishery managers have focused on effectively managing fish populations, future trade-offs, or negative synergies between ecological and social concerns as communities develop and diversify livelihoods. Further, a lack of community ownership in fisheries and participation in their management erodes long-term stewardship.

The report authors prioritize near- and long-term approaches for each of the six considerations shown in the figure above for building sustainable, equitable and climate-resilient fisheries.

“The framework illustrates ways a fishery can build resilience, regardless of capacity, and explores trade-offs that may occur among the resilience criteria,” said Karr. “Any assessment of resilience should consider the magnitude and type of climate impacts, the capacity to adapt to such impacts, the ability to address issues of fairness and equity, and the inherent resilience of the system.”

Understanding these dimensions can point to policy approaches that build sustainability, equity and resilience of fisheries as climate impacts increase in the future.

Today, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee passed legislation that includes  the bipartisan Revive Economic Growth and Reclaim Orphan Wells (REGROW) Act, S. 1076.

“EDF applauds the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee for passing this important policy initiative, which would create tens of thousands of jobs and protect local communities from air, water and climate pollution from old, leaky orphan oil and gas wells. Properly plugging these wells is a key part of the overarching changes – including reforms to bonding and other policies that prevent wells from becoming orphaned in the future – needed to mitigate the past, current and future environmental impact of the oil and gas industry.

• Elizabeth Gore, EDF Senior Vice President, Political Affairs

The REGROW Act would invest $4.7 billion to clean up this widespread and long-term hazard. It would ensure all 57,000 documented oil and gas orphan wells in the U.S. are properly plugged and remediated, and also help to identify and catalogue the hundreds of thousands of other improperly abandoned wells across the country.

(WASHINGTON, DC – July 14, 2021) — Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Ed Markey (D-MA) and Reps. Nanette Barragan (D-CA), Doris Matsui (D-CA), Anne Kuster (D-NH), and Yvette Clarke (D-MA) introduced important legislation today that will support the electrification of medium and heavy-duty vehicles.

The Medium- and Heavy-Duty Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Act of 2021 would require the EPA to establish a fleet charging rebate program to promote the purchase and installation of electric vehicle charging equipment for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles. It also includes additional funds for fleet operators that primarily travel in counties that are designated as nonattainment areas for ozone or carbon monoxide, as well as for fleet operators that install charging equipment in rural areas and primarily travel in rural areas.

“Scaling the adoption of zero-emission medium- and heavy- duty trucks is essential for reducing dangerous air pollution, which often disproportionately burdens low -income communities and communities of color. This transition is essential to meeting our nation’s climate goals” said Elizabeth Gore, EDF Senior Vice President, Political Affairs. “Building out charging infrastructure is a vital part of electrifying our transportation sector, so we are grateful for the leadership of Sens. Merkley, Padilla, and Markey and Reps. Barragan, Matsui, Kuster, and Clarke on this important issue.”

Background

Trucks and buses are a major source of the unhealthy air pollution that puts every American at risk, and are a significant contributor to the more than 20,000 premature deaths the United States sees each year as a result of vehicle pollution. This health burden disproportionately impacts people of color and lower income families, who are more likely to live closest to our nation’s roads, highways, ports, freight depots, distribution centers and similar sources of pollution. Specifically, a recent study found Black Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans and other people of color in the U.S. are exposed to 37% more transportation-related air pollution than white residents. Building out electric charging infrastructure for fleets — with a focus on medium and heavy duty vehicles — is necessary to electrify these vehicles, reduce air pollution and address climate change.

 (July 14, 2021) Today, the European Commission released the “Fit for 55” package, a suite of measures that will underpin the European Union’s efforts to reach its pledge of reducing greenhouse gas emissions 55% from 1990 levels by 2030. Part of the larger EU Green Deal, the “Fit for 55” package includes policy proposals that would define the pathway for the EU to fulfil its nationally determined contribution under the Paris Agreement. The proposals are the first step in the EU legislative process, with the EU climate laws expected to be finalised in the next two years.

“With this significant and comprehensive policy package, the European Union is leading from the front. The EU is upping the ante and challenging other major economies to not just set their climate targets, but to adopt the policy pathways needed to achieve them.

“The European Commission has provided a strong start for EU lawmakers. The proposals increase the ambition and broaden the scope of the EU Emissions Trading System, one of the largest carbon markets in the world. While the targets and the allocation of effort between the different instruments may need to be reworked and strengthened, this provides a strong foundation for the continued role of the ETS in decarbonising the energy system. The introduction of a climate border measure will also initiate a welcome discussion on the link between climate and trade.

“It’s good to see that the proposal includes road transport – a significant and growing source of EU emissions – in the EU ETS and eliminates exhaust emissions pollution from new cars and vans by 2035. To really change our bad habits, expanding the ETS to road transport must be done alongside – rather than instead of – other measures, and we must ensure all new cars and vans are zero-emitting by 2035 at the latest, as proposed now by the European Commission, a first among major economies.

All emissions not covered by the EU ETS will be covered by binding targets on the Member States and supplemented by sub-sector binding targets.

“The proposals do present problems, however. With regard to alternative fuels: the proposals fail to recognize the full climate impact of liquefied natural gas (LNG), and the full climate impact and supply constraints of advanced biofuels. 

“And the proposed increase of renewable energy in the energy mix, set at 40% by 2030, is not ambitious enough.

“These and other shortcomings will need to be ironed out in the coming months.

“We’ll also look for the European Commission to propose later this year ambitious legislation that cuts methane emissions from all gas consumed in the EU to deliver fast relief for climate change.

“The EU has sent the message to the international community that it’s committed to turning its climate target into action to tackle the climate crisis. Now EU lawmakers must ensure that the final legislation delivers on the EU’s 2030 target and its commitment to climate neutrality by 2050.”

• Jill Duggan, Executive Director, Environmental Defense Fund Europe 

(WASHINGTON – July 14, 2021) A new long-term study expands our understanding of a critically endangered species of shark residing off the northwestern Cuban coast near the U.S. waters of Florida, renewing calls for strengthened international collaboration between countries in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean region.

The eight-year study, published in Marine and Coastal Fisheries, gathered data on a Cuban multispecies fishery and found an outsized presence of endangered juvenile oceanic whitetip sharks in the area off the Havana coast. The presence of this species — once abundant, though populations have now decreased globally by more than 98% — suggests there should be greater cooperation and collaboration in the Straits of Florida, the narrow ocean passage between the tip of Florida and Cuba’s northern coast. The paper, “Seasonal Abundance and Size Structure of Sharks Taken in the Pelagic Longline Fishery off Northwestern Cuba,” underscores the need for international scientific and conservation collaboration due to the sharks’ presence across boundaries. Such international collaboration is essential to ensure that endangered species like the oceanic whitetip shark can recover.

“In these shared waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, ocean ecosystems conservation and sustainable fisheries require international collaboration — such as through data-sharing and joint management — to ensure successful, long-term outcomes,” said Valerie Miller, Cuba director for EDF Oceans program.

The study is the result of a monitoring program from 2011-2019 on the longline fleet based in Cojímar, Cuba, a small coastal town near Havana. The longline fleet consists of 134 small-scale fishing vessels harvesting swordfish, billfish, tuna and some shark species. Data gathered during the study showed a constant presence of juvenile oceanic whitetip sharks — designated as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

“Their presence highlights the value of the Straits of Florida as an important migratory route for apex predators like sharks and tunas as they move across international boundaries in the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea,” said corresponding author Dr. Robert Hueter of Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium.

The continued presence of the endangered sharks is a small but positive sign for a species that has suffered significant declines globally. Because continued catches — even incidentally — could undermine recovery of the species, Cuba has adopted an important national plan to conserve and sustainably manage shark species, like the oceanic whitetip, for their essential role in maintaining healthy, diverse ocean ecosystems. The Cojímar area also may be used as nursery or pupping grounds for this critically endangered shark species.

“The varying sizes of oceanic whitetip sharks in the Cojímar fishery zone suggests that sharks at multiple stages of life may be using the area, possibly as habitat safe for juveniles or as a nursery ground,” said the lead author, Alexei Ruiz of Cuba’s Center for Marine Research at the University of Havana. “This finding highlights the importance of sustainability in small-scale fisheries carried out in Cuba’s nearshore waters, where these juvenile sharks are being found.”

Species like the endangered oceanic whitetip shark regularly cross international boundaries, creating complexities and challenges to gathering data and learning more, something especially challenging if international collaboration isn’t considered. The study itself also showcases the importance and value of scientific collaboration. Environmental Defense Fund helped co-author the report with experts from Cuba, Mexico and the U.S., and EDF has worked alongside respected partners in Cuba for over two decades working to conserve marine ecosystems and build sustainable fisheries.

“To ensure success, conservation efforts must take place at different levels and in different places,” said Miller. “Collaboration across boundaries and geographies is essential and boosts our chances of creating more sustainable, climate-ready ecosystems and fisheries of the future.”

This study and the shark monitoring were led by a research team at the Center for Marine Research at the University of Havana, in collaboration with the fishers of Cojímar and advised by scientists from the Universidad Autónoma de Sinaloa, Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium, Eckerd College and EDF.