Complete list of press releases

"Today we are taking an important step forward to integrate equity and justice into our work and strengthen the environmental outcomes we seek to achieve. EDF is adopting new Equity and Environmental Justice Vision and Principles to better position our organization to stand with frontline and overburdened communities and find lasting solutions to the most serious environmental problems.

"EDF's pursuit of equitable solutions to environmental challenges can only be taken on by matching words with actions.

"We know that EDF has lived within and benefited from systems that have provided us opportunities not afforded to others. We have also come to understand that EDF's focus on solving environmental issues at the global and national levels can conflict with local EJ goals and concerns. We have not been consistently intentional in addressing the disproportionate environmental burden borne by marginalized communities, including communities of color. As a result, our policy stances and actions may have been at odds with local needs and priorities. We have learned from our EJ partners the importance of co-created and community-led solutions. We will listen to and learn from community experts. We will use our position to support EJ and frontline communities in having an unfiltered voice to affect change on issues critical to their communities.

"As we embark upon a new chapter at EDF, we commit to becoming more authentic partners with EJ and frontline communities by:

• Being transparent about our priorities and open to new perspectives and solutions to environmental challenges
• Opening doors to broaden access to donors and grant-makers
• Standing with the communities most affected by pollution to help secure clean air, clean water, access to sustainable and healthy food, and freedom from exposure to toxic substances

"We are also looking inward to examine how our structure, strategy and culture can better reflect the global community we serve.

"I am thankful to the staff on EDF's Environmental Justice Council, who led the development of the Vision and Principles – they are representative of EDF's ability to learn and change. By integrating equity and environmental justice into our internal culture and strategies, and by supporting EJ organizations and learning from them, I believe EDF can accelerate progress where we are best suited to do so, and in communities where it matters the most."

- Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund

“Climate change presents profound business risks and opportunities for all companies, especially those operating in the most carbon intensive sectors. Industry leaders – including energy producers and vehicle manufacturers – are adopting plans to address and capitalize on a rapid transition to net zero emissions across the global economy.

“In the face of compelling scientific data highlighting the urgency of the energy transition, ExxonMobil has nonetheless increased spending on traditional oil and gas production and underinvested in decarbonization strategies. We believe this strategy is outdated and inextricably linked to its inferior financial performance. Today, we are seeing massive shifts in clean technologies, government regulations and consumer preferences. These changes demand a stronger strategic response, to support the shareholder goals of long-term value creation and prudent risk management, as well as internationally shared climate objectives.

“Environmental Defense Fund is a leading environmental group with a long track record of constructive engagement with corporate leaders and investors. We advance solutions that deliver measurable environmental and economic benefits at scale and believe that the private sector can be a powerful force for progress. With a grounding in science and economics, we partner with companies whenever we can and hold them accountable when we must.

“ExxonMobil needs to align its business plans, capital allocation, and public policy advocacy to address climate risk and create long term shareholder value. We believe that strong oversight from new Board members with deep industry and change management expertise can help catalyze a much-needed transition at scale. That’s why Environmental Defense Fund encourages shareholders to meet the moment by voting for additional change on ExxonMobil’s Board of Directors.”

“The U.S is at a pivotal moment where we can – and must – take decisive actions to protect our climate and our people’s health and grow American jobs. No action we take will be more important that developing clean transportation. Shifting to zero-emission cars, trucks, SUVs and buses will allow us to simultaneously reduce unhealthy pollution, safeguard the climate, save consumers money, and create good new American jobs.

“President Biden’s remarks today in Dearborn, Michigan cast a welcome spotlight on clean vehicles and the enormous opportunity they create. Ford’s launch of its new electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck tomorrow will make that spotlight even brighter. Ford promises the F-150 Lightning will be the most powerful in the series, plus it can power a home during an electrical outage and it will not emit any tailpipe pollution. That should shatter any remaining misconceptions about the benefits electric vehicles will deliver.

“The electric F-150 is the latest in a steady drumbeat of announcements about new electric vehicles by almost every automaker. But to grasp the opportunity before us, we need national pollution standards for our cars, trucks and buses. We must ensure that all new passenger cars and trucks sold by 2035 are zero-emitting vehicles. We must also ensure that all new medium and heavy-duty freight trucks and buses sold by 2040 are zero-emitting, with action by 2030 for vehicles used frequently in urban areas and communities.

“We also need investments like those President Biden has proposed in the American Jobs Plan, ensuring that we grow domestic manufacturing and that building these new electric cars, trucks and buses provides good-paying jobs for Americans. The benefits of a clean transportation sector must be shared equitably by all Americans.

“We agree with President Biden’s statement that ‘I think jobs when I think climate change.’ Pivoting America to clean transportation, and taking other bold steps to address climate change, are our best hope to strengthen our economy and rebuild better than ever after all our recent challenges. It is important that we take bold and decisive action to establish pollution standards for cars, trucks and buses, and move forward with societal investments in domestic manufacturing and jobs that will continue leading us toward a healthier, more equitable, and more prosperous future where we have eliminated harmful transportation pollution.”

- Peter Zalzal, Associate Vice President for Clean Air Strategies, Environmental Defense Fund

“We commend Sen. Heinrich and all of his colleagues co-sponsoring the Electrifying America’s Future Resolution for recognizing the enormous opportunities to build a healthy and prosperous future for American families and workers in electrifying our economy. The vision for America laid out in this resolution is transformative—by investing in electrification now the U.S. can cut climate pollution and build a world class economy and workforce for the 21st century.”
 

• Elizabeth Gore, Senior Vice President, Political Affairs, Environmental Defense Fund

(Olympia, WA – May 17, 2021) Today Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed into law the Climate Commitment Act, a landmark cap-and-invest bill. This legislation makes Washington the state with the most ambitious enforceable limit on climate pollution in the United States, and the second state to put a binding limit across all major sectors of its economy— a powerful and essential tool to aggressively slash emissions to meet the state’s 2030, 2040 and 2050 goals. Alongside reductions in global climate pollution, the bill includes innovative measures designed to reduce local air pollution in communities that are disproportionately burdened by environmental and public health impacts. In response, Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp issued the following statement.

“Governor Inslee, who became a national spokesman for bold climate action in 2020, is showing how to put that ambition into action. This cap-and-invest law, with an enforceable limit to aggressively drive down pollution, is the most ambitious climate action anywhere in America. Any leader who wants to be known for bold climate policy needs to produce similar breakthrough results. The Climate Commitment Act sets a new gold standard for climate policy by driving deep cuts in emissions consistent with science-based targets, while providing tools to reduce health-harming, local air pollution in overburdened communities — a critically important element of the new law that helps ensure that climate progress and environmental equity go hand in hand.

“Building on previous attempts in the legislature, Governor Inslee and Washington state lawmakers have achieved a breakthrough that will meet their bold climate commitments. This landmark bill will not only help safeguard communities from the worst climate impacts, it will put Washington in a strong position to win the clean energy and manufacturing jobs of the future. Through its innovative air quality and equity measures, this bill takes crucial steps to slash local air pollution in communities who are forced to live with the unfair burden of unhealthy air every day.

“The Climate Commitment Act arrives at a critical moment of urgency and opportunity for the climate crisis. As the Biden-Harris administration charts an ambitious path to cut U.S. emissions 50-52% by 2030, state leaders will need to move from pledges to policy to help meet this collective challenge. Washington state has proved that it’s ready to run this race; now other states must speed up. Both state and federal lawmakers should pay attention to this success story in Olympia: this cap-and-invest approach can serve as a model for curbing climate pollution at the pace and scale the science demands.

“We applaud Governor Inslee and Washington state lawmakers for raising the bar for climate leadership. And we look forward to seeing other states across the country follow their lead by turning commitments into concrete policy action.”

• EDF President Fred Krupp

(Washington, D.C. – May 17, 2021) The Environmental Protection Agency today announced a plan to implement final standards that will protect millions of Americans from the toxic and climate-damaging pollution emitted by municipal landfills.

The action comes only about a month after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit threw out a Trump administration rule that would have delayed those protections, in response to a lawsuit filed by EDF and others.

“EPA’s plan will significantly reduce methane pollution from one of the largest industrial sources in America, and will reduce hazardous air pollution that puts people’s health at risk nationwide and especially hurts frontline communities that are already disproportionately burdened by pollution,” said EDF senior attorney Rachel Fullmer. “After years of dangerous delay by the Trump administration, it is welcome news to see this practical, common-sense national plan released.”

Landfills are the third largest source of methane pollution, which is one of the main causes of climate change. They also emit large amounts of health-harming and even cancer-causing pollution such as toxic benzene.

The Clean Air Act requires that EPA set standards to protect Americans from landfill pollution. EPA set standards in 2016 that would have required every state to have a plan in place to meet the standards by November 2017, or elect to be subject to a federal plan.

However, for years the Trump EPA went to great lengths to avoid implementing the landfill pollution standards. Then, in 2019, the Trump administration finalized a delay rule that would formally extend the deadlines for the 2016 standards. EDF and the states of California, Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Vermont filed a lawsuit in the D.C. Circuit opposing that delay rule.

The Biden Administration asked the court to vacate the delay rule based on a controlling D.C. Circuit opinion in a related case and send the matter back to EPA for further consideration. EDF and the states supported that request, and the court vacated the delay rule on April 5, 2021.

Today the Biden administration issued its final rule to reduce pollution from existing municipal solid waste landfills operated by any state, tribe or locale that has not already established its own approved plan. Landfills will be required to install and operate a gas collection and control system within 30 months after reaching EPA’s established threshold for pollution. EPA estimates about 1,600 landfills in 41 states, the territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and the Salt River Pima Maricopa Indian Community would be covered by the final federal plan. States can still submit their own plan and seek EPA approval, as long as its in advance of the federal plan implementation deadline.

The federal plan signed today will eliminate more than 21,000 metric tons per year of health-harming pollution from non-methane pollutants, starting this year. In 2016, EPA also estimated that once the emissions guidelines are fully implemented the rule will reduce methane emissions from existing landfills by 290,000 metric tons each year – the equivalent of reducing more than 24 million metric tons of carbon dioxide each year over a 20-year timeframe.

Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced legislation today that will pave the way for clean energy sources to replace “peaker” plants — power plants brought online during high energy demand periods that are some of the dirtiest sources of energy in America, and are particularly harmful to communities who often live nearby.

Across the country, peaker power plants are brought online when energy demand is surging, such as during extremely hot or cold stretches of weather. They are inefficient and spew pollution that increases the risk of serious heart and lung disease. Many of these plants are located in communities of color, low-income communities and other communities already overburdened from other sources of local air pollution.

The Promoting Energy Alternatives is Key to Emission Reductions (PEAKER) Act of 2021  would take several important steps to replace these toxic plants with clean energy sources. It would:

• Establish a new 10% additional Investment Tax Credit for battery storage and renewable electricity to replace the need for dirty peaker plants in disadvantaged communities
• Create a new $10 billion grant program at the Department of Energy for clean energy projects that will reduce or eliminate the need for existing dirty peaker plants; and
• Require a nationwide assessment to identify the location of each dirty peaker plant in the U.S., including whether they are located in or adjacent to disadvantaged communities, and also to determine the quantity and type of pollution each plant is producing.

“Shifting our energy sources towards clean energy is not only essential for any effective climate strategy – it is necessary to protect the health of people in communities of color and low-income communities that face the worst health threats from polluting fossil fuel plants,” said Elizabeth Gore, EDF Senior Vice President, Political Affairs. “We can and must replace toxic peaker plants as part of a comprehensive approach to protecting human health, advancing environmental justice and fighting climate change. We are grateful for Sen. Gillibrand and Rep. Clarke’s leadership on this important legislation.”

(Washington, D.C. – May 13, 2021) EPA is eliminating a harmful Trump-era rule that would have made it harder to protect Americans from air pollution by distorting the agency’s economic analyses.

“By repealing this rule, EPA is safeguarding its ability to protect Americans from harmful air pollution,” said EDF senior attorney Ben Levitan. “Clean Air Act protections save lives, prevent childhood asthma attacks, and provide an enormous range of other health and environmental benefits. The Trump-era rule threatened EPA’s ability to protect families and communities, and the repeal will help EPA fulfill its duties under the Clean Air Act.”

EPA will publish the rule repealing that cost-benefit distortion in the Federal Register tomorrow.

The Trump administration issued its unlawful cost-benefit rule in the final months of its term. It would have made it harder to account for the full benefits of Clean Air Act protections and impeded EPA’s statutory mandate to protect the public from dangerous air pollution.

EPA has now reviewed the Trump-era rule and concluded that it lacked a rational basis, would have limited EPA’s ability to rely on the best available science, and was not authorized under the Clean Air Act.

Multiple analyses have repeatedly shown that the health and environmental benefits of Clean Air Act protections outweigh the costs many times over. But the Trump-era cost-benefit rule imposed arbitrary requirements that interfered with EPA’s ability to fully assess benefits when developing Clean Air Act protections.

EPA Administrator Michael Regan has now recommitted the agency to scientific integrity and fact-based decision-making. Repealing the cost-benefit rule will be a critical step in that direction and will help EPA better protect public health.

JPMorgan’s 2030 climate targets for oil and gas, electric power and transportation begin a critical new chapter focused on turning Wall Street’s net zero climate pledges into action plans. There’s a spotlight on large lenders to implement net zero financing commitments with clear roadmaps including interim targets, the touchstone for credibly progressing toward a clean energy future. 

For the oil and gas sector, JPMorgan emphasizes the critical importance of companies taking “aggressive steps” to reduce methane emissions and flaring. The bank sets a strong mark by expecting 75% methane and 90% flaring emission reductions to achieve its 2030 operational target and highlighting the vital need for improved methane measurement in industry. Meeting stakeholder expectations requires industry to slash methane emissions and flaring as a first step and to verify its progress by disclosing high quality emissions data.

Successful execution of JPMorgan’s targets will require the bank to provide regular, transparent progress updates, and to back its goals with incentives to ensure all companies step up. Supporting the climate public policies and shareholder votes that advance net zero are also essential for banks like JPMorgan to walk the walk in addressing climate risk.

(Washington, D.C.- May 11, 2021) Today, Reps. Lloyd Doggett and Earl Blumenauer introduced the Green Transportation Act, which would require states and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to include greenhouse gas emissions reductions in their long-range public transit and highway planning. To support MPOs and states with this effort, the bill allows Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST) Act funding to be used to develop standardized models and methodologies for measuring and monitoring climate pollution. It also directs the Department of Transportation to create a clearinghouse of these best practices.

“Reducing the enormous amount of greenhouse gas pollution produced by cars, trucks, and other forms of transportation is a critical part of the fight against climate change. As we work to transition to a zero-emission transportation system, we need state infrastructure programs to include achievement of significant climate pollution reductions as an essential part of their planning process. This bill will help that happen. With this legislation, Rep. Doggett and Rep. Blumenauer are showing the kind of leadership we need to address climate change, renew our infrastructure and support healthier communities.”

• Elizabeth Gore, Senior Vice President, Political Affairs

(SACRAMENTO – May 11, 2021) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), state water agencies and the California Water Data Consortium (Consortium) announced a new partnership today to make an open-source groundwater accounting platform freely available to help groundwater sustainability agencies manage the transition to sustainable supplies.

Collaborative efforts are underway among the Department of Water Resources (DWR), the State Water Resources Control Board (Water Board), the Consortium and EDF to adapt and scale the groundwater accounting platform that was co-developed by EDF and Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District with technical support from Sitka Technology Group, OpenET, WestWater Research, and Olsson Engineering and funding from the Water Foundation, among other supporters. Use of the groundwater accounting platform is entirely voluntary.

“Our goal is to help groundwater managers more easily and cost-effectively track water use across their agencies and coordinate within and across basins to find the most effective approach for enabling sustainable groundwater management,” said Steven Springhorn, acting deputy director at DWR for statewide groundwater management. “The accounting platform developed by EDF is a valuable tool for local decision making, and the Water Data Consortium is a natural fit for ensuring the platform meets local and state needs long term.”

“An accounting system is the crucial backbone to managing groundwater and balancing supply and demand — you can’t manage what you can’t measure,” said Christina Babbitt, senior manager of EDF’s California Groundwater Program. “Bringing groundwater supplies into balance is a challenge that demands new, innovative solutions and partnerships, like the one announced today.”

“This project is a great opportunity to build local capacity to support data-driven water management decisions. We look forward to this unique partnership that will help state and local agencies to continue protecting groundwater in California.” said Tara Moran, president and CEO of the Water Data Consortium. “A common accounting platform could provide consistency and reduce costs for local and state agencies.”

The open-source platform enables water managers and landowners to track water supplies and use, create water budgets, model scenarios and trade allocations of water within a district or basin. EDF, an international environmental organization, has been working with Rosedale-Rio Bravo Water Storage District in Kern County since 2018 to develop and pilot use of the platform in order to facilitate innovative water management and protect disadvantaged communities and ecosystems.

DWR and the Water Board are working with EDF and the Consortium to ensure that the platform is compatible with the online electronic portals that local agencies use to submit data to the state, such as DWR’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) Portal and the Water Board’s Groundwater Extraction Annual Reporting System (GEARS).

The partners are working to expand the platform’s features to provide a cost-effective option for local agencies. State agencies do not require use of the accounting platform. Local agencies will continue to have the option to develop and use other accounting and trading platforms.

Under the historic Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) of 2014, more than 250 local agencies have been formed to bring groundwater basins into sustainable conditions over the next two decades. The law was enacted in the midst of severe drought in which overpumping groundwater caused hundreds of drinking water wells to go dry and land to sink, damaging canals, roads and bridges.

Since the last drought, the state has made significant investments to support local groundwater sustainability agencies as they work to bring basins into sustainable conditions through a variety of approaches, including finding additional supplies to recharge basins; reducing water use through efficiency measures, changing cropping patterns, or strategic fallowing of farmland; and efficient and equitable groundwater trading.

State agencies, the Consortium and EDF intend to engage stakeholders as they expand the open-source platform to meet local needs and define and encourage adoption of data standards consistent with the Open and Transparent Water Data Act (AB 1755).

To enable local agencies and the broader community to share ideas on how platform features and design can best accommodate local needs, a public workshop on the open-source accounting platform will be held on June 23 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Pacific Time. Please register for the workshop here. 

Other state efforts complement this work. DWR has created a Water Budget Handbook, a reference guide to help water managers create water budgets that account for historical conditions and how future changes to supply, demand, hydrology, population, land use, and climatic conditions may affect an area. Such budgets are useful for planning and evaluating potential management actions. Use of DWR’s handbook could help ensure consistency in the data that populate an online accounting platform. The Water Board’s GEARS platform, which will only be used if state intervention is triggered, can also inform the need for sound accounting principles as a key groundwater management component; carrying these principles to an open-access, third-party system will help GSAs reduce costs, communicate with groundwater users and other stakeholders, and will ultimately help implement SGMA successfully. Joaquin E. Esquivel, Chair of the Water Board, is a member of the California Water Data Consortium steering committee.

The state also is weighing how to ensure that any groundwater trading that develops in response to SGMA protects disadvantaged communities, ecosystems and other water users. Well-designed water trading programs are one of many tools that local agencies are considering for managing groundwater sustainably, and an accounting system is the first step for such programs.

The California Water Commission is expected to begin public workshops on water trading this summer and distill conclusions from the public discussions by the end of the year.

Additional resources:

Online interactive guide to accounting platform: www.edf.org/waterplatformstory

California Water Data Consortium: cawaterdata.org

California Department of Water Resources Handbook for Water Budget Development:
water.ca.gov/-/media/DWR-Website/Web-Pages/Programs/Groundwater-Management/Data-and-Tools/Files/Water-Budget-Handbook.pdf

(SACRAMENTO, CA – May 10, 2021) California Gov. Gavin Newsom extended emergency drought declarations to 39 counties today and announced $5.1 billion in funding for a menu of measures to address the drought and related water challenges. His proposal takes timely advantage of a massive $75.7 billion budget surplus.

“The exceptional high temperatures of the past several weeks and the accompanying scant runoff underscore how vulnerable our water systems are in the face of climate change. EDF applauds Gov. Gavin Newsom’s swift, yet targeted response to these critically dry conditions, including the administration’s proposal to spend $5.1 billion for drought infrastructure, preparedness and response to ensure our state’s water systems are more resilient to climate change. The size of this investment reflects the scope and urgency of the water challenges facing our state as temperatures rise and droughts become more intense and frequent.

We are particularly encouraged that the governor’s proposal addresses the needs of diverse water users, including people who lack access to clean drinking water, native fish and agricultural communities. We are pleased to see the plan proposes $500 million for multibenefit land repurposing, which aligns with an EDF proposal in state bill AB 252 to establish a Multibenefit Land Repurposing Incentive Program to help farmers transition to groundwater sustainability while creating new benefits for the Central Valley. It is also important to highlight that the governor’s proposal dedicates nearly $700 million for nature-based solutions, including projects to restore ecosystems for fish and wildlife that are on the brink of collapse. Finally, we appreciate the inclusion of $91 million for critical data collection to improve drought response through innovative tools.”

• Ann Hayden, Senior Director, Western Water and Resilient Landscapes

“Putting people back to work must be a top priority for Congress, and reducing obstacles to renewed economic prosperity is an essential part of the recovery. It is imperative that Congress include direct pay as part of the full suite of solutions we need to rebuild a stronger and cleaner economy. By enabling direct payments of existing tax credits for renewable energy projects, this bill will give developers the resources they need to continue projects already underway, and drive momentum for future growth.”

“Representative Earl Blumenauer’s Renewable Energy and Investment Act will help ensure the American renewable energy industry regains the momentum it experienced before the start of the pandemic. EDF commends Rep. Blumenauer for his leadership in advancing incentives and investment in renewable energy.”

• Elizabeth Gore, Senior Vice President, Political Affairs

(WASHINGTON, DC – May 7, 2021) — Today Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Salud Carbajal (D-CA) introduced a bipartisan carbon fee bill that will incentivize businesses to innovate and cut pollution, and will help fund infrastructure.

The Market Choice Act would institute a carbon fee and use the revenues to revitalize and upgrade aging infrastructure, fund energy innovation, make dividend payments to low-income households and more. The bill also contains critical climate backstops that will help ensure the program reaches emission reduction goals.

“EDF applauds Representatives Fitzpatrick and Carbajal for introducing the Market Choice Act,” said Elizabeth Gore, EDF Senior Vice President, Political Affairs. “This bill will cut climate pollution and generate revenue to invest in urgently needed infrastructure. Measures like the Market Choice Act are key components in the vital, comprehensive effort to curb climate change, revitalize our infrastructure, and create healthier communities.”

(May 6, 2021) California moved closer to a future with pollution-free cars, trucks and SUVS today when the California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced it is working on a proposal for reducing health-harming pollution from cars and ensuring all new vehicles are zero-emission by 2035.

CARB held a public workshop today as part of the development of its Advanced Clean Cars II program. The workshop materials included, for the first time, a trajectory showing how the program could increase sales of zero-emission vehicles over time, ensuring 60 percent of new vehicles sold in 2030 are zero-emitting and ultimately eliminating tailpipe pollution from all new passenger vehicles sold in California by 2035.

“Today’s CARB workshop was historic. The plans discussed for protective next generation clean car standards are a breath of fresh air for Californians – literally,” said EDF senior attorney Alice Henderson. “These standards will save lives, reduce dangerous pollution, deliver jobs and save Californians’ money. We encourage CARB to swiftly adopt these standards, and we likewise urge the Biden administration to adopt a plan for the nation that matches the state’s protections.”

A strong, protective Advanced Clean Cars II program would mark a decisive return for California’s full authority to reduce dangerous pollution from its transportation sector. States have had that authority for half a century under the Clean Air Act, but the Trump administration unlawfully tried to invalidate California’s greenhouse gas and zero-emission vehicle standards – an action the Biden administration is now reconsidering.

California, meanwhile, has been pressing ahead with standards to reduce health-harming and climate pollution from cars, passenger trucks and SUVs. California Governor Gavin Newsom’s executive order set a goal of reaching all zero-emission new vehicle sales by 2035. CARB is now exercising its long-standing and independent authority to establish protective Advanced Clean Car II standards that will eliminate tailpipe pollution from new vehicles sold by 2035.

EDF just released a new report showing potentially massive benefits for California. According to EDF’s analysis, if all new cars, SUVs and passenger trucks sold in California are zero-emission starting by 2035, it could:

• Prevent up to 7,406 premature deaths in total by 2050
• Eliminate more than 1.2 billion tons of climate pollution by 2050
• Significantly reduce the smog-forming and particulate pollution that is linked to asthma attacks, bronchitis, and heart attacks
• Save Californians who buy a new zero-emission car or SUV in 2035 more than $13,000 over the life of the vehicle, compared to a gas-powered car or SUV
• Save the state of California $194 billion, cumulatively, by 2050 in health and economic benefits

CARB’s next public workshop will be in July. A detailed proposal for the Advanced Clean Cars II program could be unveiled by this fall.