Complete list of press releases

(WASHINGTON – Dec. 4, 2020) The following is a statement from Eric Schwaab, senior vice president of EDF Oceans, on the progress Japan is making to sustainably manage 100% of its national waters:

“Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced yesterday that his country would join with 13 other nations to adopt an ambitious set of actions to sustainably manage 100% of national waters to protect the ocean and solve global challenges.

“We applaud Japan for its commitments and the serious down payments it is already making to achieve these goals. In particular, Japan is currently implementing a new law that represents the most far-reaching reforms to the country’s fishing practices in 70 years.

“And even as I write, Japanese legislators have just enacted another law known as the Domestic Trade of Specific Marine Animals and Plants Act, put forward earlier this year by the Suga Administration. This act creates strong anti-IUU fishing measures that will help put a stop to the scourge of illegal fishing that undermines ocean health around the world. The bill was supported by a broad coalition of Japanese and international NGOs, including EDF.

“Japan’s actions set a strong example for other nations to follow as we seek to sustainably manage 100% of our ocean.”

Environmental Defense Fund Europe welcomes the United Kingdom’s announcement of its climate commitment under the Paris Agreement to reduce its emissions by at least 68% by 2030 relative to 1990 levels. The target was released in advance of the European Council meeting next week when it is expected that the EU will confirm its 2030 target.

“The UK’s ambitious new target puts the UK firmly on the path to reaching its goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

“The target to reduce emissions by at least 68% is what is needed from the host of next year’s pivotal climate talks at COP 26 in Glasgow, and from the president of the G7 – two critical arenas where the UK’s leadership will be instrumental to aggressive international climate action.

“The UK must now begin the hard work required to implement the new target. The UK has signaled that it plans to reach this target domestically – without using offsets – so we look forward to seeing a detailed plan. Achieving this target will potentially be more complex and expensive without access to the EU’s Emission Trading System.”

• Jill Duggan, Executive Director of Environmental Defense Fund Europe

(December 3, 2020) A report released today finds that electric utilities in the U.S. have a legal obligation to plan for the dangers of climate change, and that such planning will be critically important for the utilities’ ability to operate in the future.

The report, Climate Risk in the Electricity Sector: Legal Obligations to Advance Climate Resilience Planning by Electric Utilities, was released today by Environmental Defense Fund and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School.

Among its findings:

• Electric utilities are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change because of their immense infrastructure and duty to provide safe, reliable electrical service.
• Many electric utilities are already confronting higher temperatures, changing rain patterns, and more intense storms. Those challenges will intensify in the future because of climate change.
• Effective climate resilience planning is necessary to help electric utilities prepare for the future. Failure to plan could mean more climate-induced service disruptions that threaten public health and safety and increase costs for consumers.

Climate resilience planning is also necessary for electric utilities, with relevant implications under state public utility law and under tort law.

• Under state utility law, electric utilities have a duty to ensure adequate service, which includes taking reasonable steps to minimize outages.
• Tort law establishes a duty of care that obligates electric utilities to avoid foreseeable harm when performing acts that could injure others.

The well-documented dangers of climate change mean utilities should consider climate impacts to fulfill these obligations. Utilities could be vulnerable if they fail to address the increasing likelihood of cognizable harms because of climate change. The report finds that few utilities are now doing high quality climate resilience planning, but that the tools and data needed for such planning are increasingly available.

You can read the report here, read a two-page summary here, and read our blog post about the report here.

(Reno, NV – December 2, 2020) Yesterday, the Nevada Climate Initiative released its inaugural State Climate Strategy, detailing the threats from climate change in the state of Nevada. The strategy includes policy recommendations to reduce climate emissions from key sectors, but critically, also recognizes the need to consider an enforceable cap on emissions to ensure that the state meets its greenhouse gas reduction goals: achieving 28% below 2005 levels by 2025; 45% below 2005 levels by 2030; and net-zero by 2050.

“This report is an important step forward in the fight against climate change in Nevada, and it also clearly illustrates the need for more ambitious action to cut harmful climate and air pollution that is straining Nevadans’ health and economy.

“Importantly, the report presents a strong pathway forward for policy action, recognizing the need for an enforceable cap on pollution — which can be achieved with a flexible, market-based approach that incentivizes businesses to curb pollution. This approach is a critical piece in a suite of policies necessary for meeting the state’s climate goals, and it should be designed to lift up the communities most burdened by climate impacts and air pollution.

“Now, the state will need to double-down on developing a market-based approach and complementary policies that can actually curb pollution at the pace and scale required. With rising heat and severe droughts threatening the state’s future, Nevada leaders must get serious about swiftly delivering a concrete policy framework that can protect Nevadans from the worst climate impacts.”

• Katelyn Roedner Sutter, Manager for U.S. Climate at Environmental Defense Fund.

(Washington, D.C. – December 2, 2020) The leaders of four of America’s largest and most influential environmental and science organizations – Environmental Defense Fund, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club and Union of Concerned Scientists – are jointly calling on eight automakers to withdraw from a Trump administration lawsuit challenging state clean car authority, and instead lead America toward the clean cars of the future.

The Trump administration has finalized rules to roll back the popular and successful national Clean Car Standards while also eliminating states’ authority to set protective clean car standards – authority that is part of the Clean Air Act and has been in use for more than half a century. California and 13 other states and the District of Columbia – representing more than a third of U.S. new car sales – have committed to strong clean car standards.

Both Trump administration rollbacks are being challenged in court, including by the four major environmental and science groups. A number of key auto manufacturers, including Ford and Honda, are publicly supporting the states’ clean car standards. However, other automakers joined the lawsuit in support of the Trump administration.

Last week, General Motors announced that it was withdrawing from the lawsuit. GM CEO Mary Barra said “the ambitious electrification goals of the President-elect, California, and General Motors are aligned to address climate change by drastically reducing automobile emissions” and expressed confidence “that the Biden Administration, California, and the U.S. auto industry, which supports 10.3 million jobs, can collaboratively find the pathway that will deliver an all-electric future.”

Eight other automakers – Fiat Chrysler, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru and Toyota – are still part of the lawsuit in support of the Trump administration.

Today, the heads of the four environmental and science groups released the following joint statement, calling on those eight automakers to show immediate leadership in support of clean car standards:

“The federal and California clean car standards have saved thousands of lives from deadly air pollution, are the most important climate safeguards in our nation, and save families hard-earned money at the gas pump at a time when every dollar saved could not be more important. The American people have been asked to pay a heavy price for the recent attacks on these life-saving protections with their health and their pocket books.

“We respectfully request that you immediately withdraw from litigation against the vital U.S. and state clean cars program. We also ask that you publicly commit to provide leadership in supporting the next generation of clean car standards to help eliminate the array of climate, nitrogen oxides and particulate pollution from new motor vehicles by 2035 while creating new high quality jobs.”

- Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund

- Gina McCarthy, president and CEO of Natural Resources Defense Council

- Michael Brune, executive director of Sierra Club

- Kenneth Kimmell, president of Union of Concerned Scientists

“President-elect Joe Biden has made clear he will put job creation and climate change at the center of his agenda. The selection of Neera Tanden and the reported choice of Brian Deese for key positions are further indications that Biden will focus on building a strong economy and taking bold action to reduce climate pollution.

“Neera Tanden, who will be nominated to be Director of the Office of Management and Budget, is a champion for climate action. As president of the Center for American Progress, she has pushed for bold plans to create jobs, build healthy and equitable communities, and reduce climate pollution. Her leadership at OMB will ensure strong coordination of efforts across the federal government to address greenhouse gas pollution and build climate resilience. In addition, she will work to advance rulemakings designed to faithfully carry out the laws passed by Congress. With Neera Tanden we are assured of smart policy decisions to reduce pollution and preserve our environment for future generations.

“Brian Deese, who has reportedly been chosen to lead the National Economic Council, has demonstrated his commitment to climate action at every stage of his career. From his service in the Obama White House to his work pushing companies to improve their environmental performance, Brian Deese has consistently fought for environmental protection and climate safety. In the White House, Deese played an important role in the negotiations that led to the historic Paris Climate Agreement. Deese was also instrumental in the 2009 rescue of the U.S. auto industry and the American jobs it saved, and he helped achieve an agreement that set ambitious goals to reduce vehicle pollution. That experience will be invaluable as the Biden administration pushes for zero-emissions vehicles to address America’s largest source of climate pollution. In the private sector, Deese led the Sustainable Investing Team at Blackrock, using the leverage provided by that position to prioritize climate risk.

“These two choices, along with others that have been announced, bode well for a long overdue push to reduce climate pollution. We need experienced, battle-tested leaders who are committed to climate action if we’re going to make real progress. Having Neera Tanden and Brian Deese in government is another sign that Joe Biden is serious about bold climate action.”

- Elizabeth Gore, EDF Senior Vice President, Political Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(WASHINGTON- November 30, 2020) Environmental Defense Fund today launched a major effort to promote clean transportation and clean energy to boost the economy, cut harmful pollution and create healthier communities. Beginning with a six-figure digital and TV ad buy in Florida, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona and Ohio, this national campaign will rally support for policies that create jobs while cleaning up the largest sources of climate pollution in the United States.

“President-elect Biden and the new Congress have a historic chance to boost the economy while making our communities healthier and building a more secure future for our children. Transitioning to clean transportation and clean energy are popular across the board – and so are the jobs and clean air benefits that come with them,” said Derek Walker, Vice President, US Climate, at Environmental Defense Fund. “Trucks, buses, cars and power plants are the largest sources of climate pollution in America, and we can create millions of jobs and reduce air pollution in frontline communities if we work together on bold, common sense solutions.”

EDF is calling for 100% clean electric power by 2035, all new cars to be zero emissions by 2035, and all new trucks and buses to be zero emissions by 2040.

Transitioning to a zero-emission transportation sector will put over one million people to work, build up our manufacturing base to boost our COVID-battered economy and make American businesses more competitive in international trade — while tackling the country’s leading source of climate pollution. The amount of freight being moved by trucks is expected to increase about 25% by 2030, making it even more important that we address pollution from these vehicles.

A less polluting transportation sector will also protect our health and save thousands of lives. A cleaner transportation system, devised through an inclusive process that centers community needs, has the potential to bring significant public health and economic benefits to communities of color and lower-income neighborhoods. Those communities are more likely to be located near highways and be directly exposed to the harmful soot and smog pollution emitted by trucks, buses and cars.

We can achieve these transportation and power sector goals with a major investment and commitment by public officials and industry leaders to use every opportunity to cut pollution:

• Mobilize investments in U.S. manufacturing to create over one million jobs and develop pollution standards that will save thousands of lives – accelerating our nation’s transition to 100% zero-emission new cars by 2035 and 100% zero-emissions new trucks and buses by 2040.
• Build a national network of 500,000 charging stations —up from about 68,000 in 2019 – in urban and rural communities alike.
• Ensure communities of color and low-income neighborhoods receive the health, cost savings and job benefits of clean power and transportation anchored in community-based priorities; and create high quality, clean economy jobs in places that now rely on fossil fuel production.
• Adopt policies — including tax credits, grants, R&D investments and other incentives — that will accelerate the ability of the power sector to achieve 100% clean electricity by 2035.

The initial ad campaign will run during the first week of December, timed with virtual visits to lawmakers by constituents, EDF members and our partners. Grassroots activities and additional paid media will continue nationally through next year.

The ads in English and Spanish can be seen here.

La organización Environmental Defense Fund hoy lanza una campaña que promueve el transporte y la energía limpia para impulsar la economía, reducir la contaminación del medio ambiente y crear comunidades más saludables. Comenzando con una campaña publicitaria, con anuncios digitales y televisivos de seis cifras en Florida, Nevada, Colorado, Arizona y Ohio, la cual reunirá apoyo para medidas políticas que puedan crear buenos empleos mientras se deshacen de las mayores fuentes de contaminación climática en los Estados Unidos.

“El presidente electo Joe Biden y el nuevo Congreso tienen una oportunidad histórica para impulsar la economía y al mismo tiempo crear comunidades más saludables y construir un futuro más seguro para nuestros niños. La transición al transporte y la energía limpia son populares en todos los ambientes, al igual que los empleos y los beneficios del aire limpio que los acompañan”, dijo Derek Walker, vicepresidente de Clima de EE. UU. de Environmental Defense Fund. “Los camiones, autobuses, automóviles y plantas de energía son las mayores fuentes de contaminación climática en Estados Unidos, y podemos crear millones de empleos y reducir la contaminación del aire en aquellas comunidades más afectadas si trabajamos juntos en soluciones audaces y con sentido común”.

EDF urge por energía eléctrica 100% limpia para 2035, que todos los automóviles tengan cero emisiones para 2035 y que todos los camiones y autobuses tengan cero emisiones para 2040.

La transición a un sector de transporte de cero emisiones pondrá a trabajar a más de un millón de personas, fortalecerá nuestra base de fabricación para impulsar nuestra economía afectada debido al COVID-19 y hará que las empresas estadounidenses sean más competitivas en el comercio internacional, al tiempo que aborda la principal fuente de contaminación climática del país. Se espera que la cantidad de carga transportada por camiones aumente alrededor de un 25% para 2030, por lo que es aún más importante que abordemos la contaminación de estos vehículos.

Un sistema de transporte más limpio, diseñado a través de un proceso inclusivo que centra las necesidades de la comunidad, tiene el potencial de brindar importantes beneficios económicos y de salud pública a las comunidades de bajos recursos y las comunidades de color. Ya que es más probable que estas comunidades estén ubicadas cerca de carreteras y estén directamente expuestas a la contaminación dañina del hollín y el humo emitida por camiones, autobuses y automóviles.

Estos objetivos se pueden lograr con una gran inversión y compromiso por parte de los funcionarios públicos y los líderes de la industria tales como:

● Invertir más en las fábricas en EE. UU. lo cual establecerá más de un millón de trabajos y crear estándares de contaminación que salvarán miles de vidas, acelerar la transición de nuestra nación hacia automóviles con un 100% de cero emisiones para 2035 y camiones y autobuses con un 100% de cero emisiones para 2040.

● Construir una red nacional de 500.000 estaciones de carga (arriba de las 68.000 que se encuentran en el 2019) tanto en comunidades urbanas como rurales.

● Asegurarse que las comunidades de color y aquellos de bajos recursos reciban ahorros de costos y los beneficios de salud y laborales de la energía limpia y crear buenos trabajos en lugares que ahora dependen de la producción de combustibles fósiles.

● Adoptar medidas políticas, incluyendo créditos fiscales, subvenciones, inversiones en I + D y otros incentivos, que acelerarán la capacidad del sector de la energía para lograr un 100% de energía limpia para 2035.

La campaña publicitaria se ejecutará durante la primera semana de diciembre, programada con visitas virtuales a los legisladores apropiados por parte de los constituyentes y miembros de EDF y nuestros socios. Las actividades y los medios pagados adicionales continuarán a nivel nacional durante el próximo año.

El anuncio publicitario en español se puede encontrar aquí.

(HARRISBURG, Pa.) Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf today vetoed Senate Bill 790, the fundamentally flawed legislation that would have reduced health and environmental protections for the oil and gas industry and shifted costs and risks to taxpayers.

The bill would have effectively rolled back regulations for operators who use conventional methods of drilling to produce oil and gas. It would revert environmental protections back to decades-old standards and, in some cases, make them even weaker.

“We commend Gov. Wolf for vetoing a dangerous bill that would put the health and safety of Pennsylvanians at risk. This sledgehammer of a law would roll back decades of common sense safety and environmental protections, creating scores of unintended consequences.”

• Adam Peltz, Senior Attorney, Energy

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND

Among the most overt issues with the bill are:

• A provision to allow operators to replace residential water supplies they damage with a substitute that doesn’t meet Pennsylvania’s drinking water standards.
• Arbitrary limits on bonding and financial assurance measures. This move could increase the likelihood that taxpayers, not oil companies, would have to pay to remediate orphaned and abandoned wells. Pennsylvania is already dealing with a multi-billion-dollar orphaned and abandoned well legacy problem because of historically lax bonding and financial assurance requirements.
• The effective elimination of reporting of certain spills that damage land and water resources, creating extraordinary risk to groundwater and streams.
• An unwise relaxation of well integrity, groundwater protection, and plugging and remediation standards that runs counter to common industry practices.
• Limited local government input, public participation and public resource protection.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“The bipartisan Electric Vehicle Mobility Area Planning Act (EV MAP) is an important step toward a clean and dependable transportation system. Identifying and mapping the needs of electric vehicle owners and other stakeholders will be important in order to build out a national network of charging and related infrastructure that can adequately support growing numbers of clean vehicles. 

“In addition to research, we will also need substantial investment as we move towards the goal of a clean transportation system that benefits our economy, reduces climate pollution and helps foster healthier communities. Representatives Tom O’Halleran and Michael Burgess, M.D. deserve credit for their effort to build support for these smart, pro-jobs policies.”

• Elgie Holstein, Senior Director for Strategic Planning

“With today’s announcement, General Motors joins the ranks of other key auto manufacturers, including Ford and Honda, who support the leadership of California and other states that are protecting human health and the environment from vehicle pollution while creating made-in-America jobs. By withdrawing from litigation challenging the state clean cars program and making new investments in the manufacture of zero emitting vehicles, General Motors’ is proving our nation can reduce pollution and achieve healthier communities and a safer climate while creating one million high quality jobs. We call on all U.S. and all global automakers to follow suit and reject the Trump administration’s legal attack on state clean car programs, and to join General Motors and the rapidly growing number of manufacturers that are committing to 100 percent new zero emitting vehicles for our nation.”

- Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund

(NEW YORK – Nov. 23, 2020) President-elect Joe Biden has tapped former Secretary of State John Kerry as Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change with a position on the National Security Council, according to the Office of the President Elect.

“Secretary Kerry is one of the world’s most effective climate champions, both in the U.S. and abroad. As Secretary of State in 2015, he helped negotiate the Paris Agreement on climate change, making him the ideal person to restore U.S. global climate leadership now – while also ensuring that climate is integrated into all aspects of national security and foreign policy. The creation of this new role and selection of Kerry for it is an important sign that President-elect Joe Biden is making climate change central to U.S. foreign policy.

“With the increasing devastation of climate impacts around the world, and the opportunities for expanding U.S. climate ambition and encouraging others to do the same in the lead-up to next year’s climate talks in Glasgow, Secretary Kerry is well-positioned to get the U.S. acting aggressively on climate change once again. As he well knows, we have no time to lose.

“We congratulate Secretary Kerry and look forward to working with him.”

• Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund

This week, the governing Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) — the United Nations agency that sets standards for global aviation — took an important step forward on climate progress: it approved select tropical forest protection programs for airlines’ use in offsetting carbon dioxide emissions of international flights. ICAO’s decision means that reductions in emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, known as REDD+, certified by these programs are now eligible credits for airlines to use in accounting for their emissions in ICAO’s Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). 

“ICAO’s decision connects limits on aviation carbon pollution with investments in tropical forest protection and restoration, and is a win for nature, countries, companies and communities. After more than a decade of work on REDD+ frameworks under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and other fora, this marks the first time that REDD+ credits have been approved for use within a global compliance carbon market system.

“ICAO’s decision to include large, jurisdictional-scale REDD+ programs in CORSIA sends a critical signal to companies and policymakers about the value of tropical forest protection to meet climate goals. It shows forest countries that there is tangible demand for emissions reductions of the highest environmental and social integrity. Approval of these programs will drive progress in reducing emissions at the scale needed to achieve the climate goals set by the aviation industry and in the Paris Agreement.”  

• Ruben Lubowski, Associate Vice President for Climate and Forests and Chief Natural Resource Economist 

Background
Ending tropical forest loss, along with restoration and reforestation efforts, can reduce overall global greenhouse gas emissions by at least 25 percent and is indispensable for meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement.

Jurisdictional-scale forest protection and restoration programs can provide highest quality emissions reductions, at scale. 

As EDF analysis shows, global climate cooperation through carbon markets can enable double the emissions reductions under current Paris pledges for the same cost as countries acting alone. REDD+ accounts for a majority of this potential to increase global climate ambition in the coming decades. 

The inclusion of jurisdictional REDD+ credits in CORSIA will provide a secure supply of high-quality offsets to help the global aviation sector achieve its goals. It will also catalyze critical finance flows for forest protection and restoration and, in doing so, help protect biodiversity and support local livelihoods.  

The forest-carbon credits approved by the ICAO Council are based on emissions reductions  measured at the level of entire countries or subnational jurisdictions, rather than of stand-alone projects, with some exceptions made for the smallest projects. “Jurisdictional” scale frameworks provide incentives for national and subnational governments to work alongside the private sector, communities, producers, and civil society to protect forests across entire landscapes. The approved jurisdictional programs include the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) and the Verified Carbon Standard’s Jurisdictional and Nested REDD+ (JNR) methodology. 

ART uses as its standard The REDD+ Environmental Excellency Standard (TREES), which  sets a high bar for environmental and social integrity for credits from REDD+ at a jurisdictional and national scale. EDF has helped to establish the Emergent Forest Finance Accelerator, a non-profit finance intermediary to facilitate large-scale REDD+ transactions, using the ART framework, and is collaborating with ART, Emergent, the UN REDD Programme, and Forest Trends on the Green Gigaton Challenge: Bringing REDD+ to Scale. This initiative seeks to set a demand signal that can scale up to at least a billion tons per year in emissions reductions transacted from high-integrity jurisdictional REDD+ by 2025.

ICAO has clearly moved forward on accounting, as well. The focus of the Technical Advisory Body and ICAO Council on ensuring that programs obtain from host countries written attestations that the host countries will properly account for the transferred reductions, should put wings to the efforts of Parties in the climate treaty talks to finalize clear guidance to assure environmental integrity and prevent double counting of emission reductions, so that carbon markets can do what they do best: catalyze ambitious action to achieve environmental goals.

(Santa Fe, N.M.) Scientists from Environmental Defense Fund today published an updated estimate of oil and gas methane emissions in New Mexico. The estimate includes new analysis that finds proposed pollution rules put forward by the state’s regulatory agencies would reduce methane emissions by just 21% statewide, as compared to reductions of 56% possible with a set of comprehensive policies proven to be cost-effective in other oil and gas producing regions.

“Gov. Lujan Grisham’s administration has an excellent chance to enact meaningful safeguards that eliminate loopholes and maximize health and climate benefits,” said Jon Goldstein, director of regulatory and legislative affairs at EDF. “This data sends a clear message that stronger action is needed to protect communities and families across the state and achieve the governor’s goal of nation-leading rules.”

These new estimates come as Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s Environment Department (NMED) and Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department (EMNRD) work to fulfill her commitment to address the state’s methane problem via “nation-leading” rules to reduce air and climate pollution from the oil and gas sector.

Comparing policy solutions

Our analysis of the rules proposed by NMED and EMNRD accounts for how both rules would work in tandem to curb emissions and reveals that they would reduce only 21% of methane emissions and 19% of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the oil and gas industry across the state.

The NMED proposal contains excessive carve-outs for low-producing wells and those under certain pollution thresholds, and would exempt 95% of wellsites in New Mexico from regulation, per EDF analysis of NMED’s own publicly available permitting data. This severely limits the pollution reductions possible in parts of the state at risk of exceeding federal ozone standards.

“The Environment Department’s mission is to protect New Mexicans from pollution, but this analysis makes clear that the agency must eliminate proposed loopholes in order to meet that charge,” said Goldstein. “Strong, cost-effective solutions are available for reducing emissions, and both the science and economics point to the importance of adopting robust final rules.”

By comparison, a suite of comprehensive rules built upon what leading states have put in place – and which removes exemptions proposed by NMED – would curb 56% of methane emissions and 58% of VOCs from oil and gas statewide, and provide roughly double the emission reductions of the state’s current proposal in key oil and gas producing counties facing unhealthy air quality, such as Eddy, Lea, San Juan and Rio Arriba Counties.

EDF estimates the state’s oil and gas operators emit over 1.1 million metric tons of methane annually, roughly the same as the state’s own estimates in its recently-released 2020 Climate Strategy. This amount of methane carries the same near-term climate impact as 25 coal-fired power plants.

Additionally, the oil and gas sector releases an estimated 337,500 metric tons of smog-forming VOCs every year, a primary building block of the ozone pollution that is hitting the state’s major oil and gas producing counties hard. Ozone pollution causes respiratory illness and threatens public health, especially for vulnerable groups such as children and the elderly.

Maximizing state revenue

Unchecked emissions carry a significant economic cost for New Mexico. Vented, flared and leaked methane wastes $271 million worth of natural gas annually. If captured, this would translate to an additional $43 million in tax and royalty revenue for the state every year.

At a time when New Mexico faces significant fiscal challenges, that money could be invested in priorities like health care, infrastructure and education. For example, lost state revenue from methane waste would be enough to increase pre-K enrollment by 80% and enroll more than 7,000 additional New Mexico children in early education programs.

Third-party economic analysis also finds that comprehensive state methane rules without NMED’s current exemptions are extremely cost effective, delivering a 30% return on investment for New Mexicans, including $1.2 billion in avoided air quality nonattainment costs and $126 million in human health benefits.

Deepening emissions knowledge

EDF drew on the most recent peer-reviewed science as well as satellite remote sensing data collected by the Tropospheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) to conduct this emissions analysis.

“Leveraging the latest scientific research alongside satellites’ rapidly growing ability to monitor and measure emissions enables us to deliver actionable data for regulators, industry and the public,” said Hillary Hull, senior manager of research and analytics at EDF.

These findings align closely with site-based measurements being taken in the Permian Basin, including those via EDF’s ongoing Permian Methane Analysis Project, and underscore the efficacy of satellite observation for achieving robust and accurate measurements.

The full analysis is available online at edf.org/nm-oil-gas

(Anchorage, Alaska) – Today, a broad coalition of Alaska snow sports athletes in partnership with EDF Alaska, released statewide messaging urging Alaska’s leaders to take a strong stand on climate change.

The video premiered for the first time during a virtual meeting between Senator Lisa Murkowski and the snow sports athletes featured in the video. Athletes include:

• Andre Horton, Former Member, US Ski Team
• Bailey Schaeffer, Junior Iditarod Winner (2018)
• Rachel Steer, Olympic Biathlon Team Member (2002, 2006)
• Alex Wilson, Olympic Freestyle Moguls Team Member (1998)
• Brooke Edwards, Avalanche Educator
• Gabe Gibbs, Freestyle Snowboarder
• Alaska Winter Stars

“Our responsibility as Alaskans, Americans, and participants in a broader global society, is we have a real obligation to address climate change,” said Senator Lisa Murkowski. “Rather you derive your livelihood or your life’s passion from winter activities, climate change has had a direct impact on you. We need to accept the responsibility to reduce emissions in a way that gives good strong signals that this will be enduring policies that allow us to endure this curve.”

“In Alaska, they think you can’t be for addressing climate change without being against fossil fuel,” said Andre Horton, former member of the U.S. Ski Team. “The two can exist for our generation. We have to do both.”

“I guide on lots of glaciers and have watched them dramatically recede during my 25 years of guiding up here,” said Brooke Edwards, guide and avalanche instructor. “We can’t just flip the switch from an oil economy to all renewable resources, but I do think it’s time to start that shift.”

“I’m from Kotzebue originally. When I was a kid and we would go trick or treating, I would have to wear full snow suits over my princess costume and it’s not like that anymore,” said Bailey Schaeffer, 2018 Junior Iditarod Winner. “And we’ve seen a huge change in caribou migration. It’s been a real eye opener the past three or four years on how much it’s changed.”

“Our focus is our two kids. Alyeska has pushed their start date for at least the last three years, and the ski club has had a real challenge with that. Kids are going to other places where there is snow. When I first moved here, the chance for early season training was a real advantage for our athletes,” said Alex Wilson, ‘98 Olympic Moguls Team Member. “I want to preserve the lifestyle we love for our kids in the future.”

“We realize we’ll probably sneak by in our lifetime,” said Rachel Steer, ‘02 and ‘06 Olympic Biathlon Team. “We feel like we’re at this tipping point. It seems like the change is accelerating and it feels very time sensitive.”

“There’s a lot of proposals in the mix right now,” said Murkowski. “At least we’re starting to get the template of what we might be able to advance through a bipartisan proposal. I would encourage you, as you talk about this issue, to urge Congress to do something together. If we don’t do it together, it’s not going to last. You need a trajectory that’s going to move us forward.”

The dwindling snow season in Alaska is impossible to ignore. Parts of the state are warming about 2.5 times the rate of the Lower 48 states, and the state as a whole is warming twice as fast as the global average. And in the last 20 years, Alaska’s snow season has shortened by several weeks.

Climate change is impacting much more than Alaska’s snow. Between 2005 and 2014, the number of coastal flood days observed on the Pacific Coast was more than six times as high as the number observed in the 1950s. Alaska has more area burning in wildfires than any other state, and the wildfire season is now 40% longer than in the 1950s. Impacts, especially to Alaska’s economy, will get much worse in the future if our leaders don’t take action now.

The video will be boosted on YouTube and on EDF Alaska’s Facebook Page.