Complete list of press releases

Today, EU high-level government representatives will be aligning their negotiating position on the single most important program to tackle aviation’s climate impact. The governing Council of the UN’s International Civil Aviation Organization, in a meeting that starts next week, is slated to adopt key decisions on its flagship Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, known as CORSIA. Environmental Defense Fund urges EU leaders to keep a united stance to make the carbon offsetting and emission reduction program work.
 
“As ICAO moves to decide which carbon credits airlines can use to comply with their international emissions limits, EU governments can use their collective diplomatic outreach to safeguard CORSIA’s integrity,” said Annie Petsonk, International Counsel for Environmental Defense Fund.“ EU States that are also ICAO Council members can press ICAO to deliver transparency, bar old dubious credits, and ensure each carbon credit is only counted once.”
 
While the EU requires flights within the EU to comply with its Emissions Trading System (EU ETS), in 2017 it stopped the clock on that system’s coverage of flights between Europe and third countries, to give ICAO a chance to negotiate a high-integrity global measure. With the ICAO Council’s decision pending, the global accord’s credibility is on the line.
 
Earlier this month a letter co-signed by EDF and other leading NGOs warned the ICAO Council of a “substantial backlash” if it fails to deliver a robust program of high integrity to reduce climate pollution from airlines. For Europe, the task rests on the seven member States currently sitting on the ICAO Council – Germany, France, Spain, Italy, Finland, Greece, and the Netherlands.
 
“EU countries must show their commitment to stand up CORSIA with integrity. If CORSIA is peppered with bad quality, double-counted emissions units, its effectiveness will be fundamentally weakened. Our ability to tackle climate change will therefore have taken a backward step,” said Petsonk. 

EDF joined hundreds of Americans at a public hearing in Washington, DC today on proposed changes that would significantly weaken the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), America’s bedrock environmental law, including by limiting what agencies can study and how much Americans learn about the climate impact of the federal government’s policies and major actions.

“Today, we face a growing climate crisis where raging wildfires, devastating floods and record-breaking temperatures are becoming the new normal,” yet the Trump Administration’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) is considering a proposal “potentially allowing major federal projects and actions to move forward without adequate climate change consideration or disclosure,” said EDF Legal Fellow Dena Adler in her testimony at the hearing today.

CEQ has proposed to drastically weaken requirements under NEPA for agencies to study the impacts of government actions, including not having to review the “cumulative” or “indirect” effects, a change that will hamper agencies from reviewing the full climate change effects of federal actions and ultimately facilitate more emissions and intensify climate change.

This proposal also discourages agencies from looking at impacts that are “remote in time, geographically remote, or the product of a lengthy causal chain.” These restrictions would tie the hands of agencies in evaluating projects, therefore reducing transparency on both the federal government’s contribution to climate change as well as the risk to federally funded projects from increasing impacts such as sea level rise. 

These ill-advised rollbacks come as an increasing number of Americans are alarmed and concerned about climate change, and as more and more businesses and local and state governments are stepping up to cut their climate pollution.

Adler also requested that CEQ provide additional opportunity for the public to weigh in on this misguided proposal by extending the comment deadline and providing additional opportunities for testimony.

EDF legal intern Dan Ress also testified at a Denver hearing on the proposal last month.

The public has until March 10^th to weigh in on this proposal. You can ready the full testimony by Adler and Ress here.

(Washington, DC – February 21, 2020) “Today, the Trump Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) unveiled its draft risk evaluation for the known human carcinogen trichloroethylene (TCE), which – as in previous draft risk evaluations – fails to conform with the nation’s updated chemical safety law, won’t sufficiently protect the public’s or workers’ health and reverses the agency’s longstanding science policies. 

“While we have yet to fully scrutinize the draft, the following alarming details bear highlighting now:

• EPA once again ignores all exposures and risks to the general public. This means ignoring nearly 3 million pounds of TCE released annually to air, water, and land. 
• EPA has excluded fetal heart defects from determinations of health risks of TCE exposure. This decision is grave; it not only underestimates the lifelong risks of the chemical, especially to the developing fetus, it also presents yet another example of this administration bowing to polluters’ interests over public health protection. 

“With this draft risk evaluation, the agency is turning its back on its most recent, peer-reviewed assessment of TCE, which used the most sensitive effect – fetal cardiac defects, supported by a diverse body of scientific evidence – as the key driver for determining TCE’s risks to human health. That prior assessment followed long-standing agency policy and practice to use the most sensitive endpoint supported by sufficient evidence to evaluate risks to public health. In abandoning that strong precedent, EPA has now, on dubious grounds, chosen to use less sensitive endpoints, effectively putting public health at greater risk.

“We will be submitting extensive comments to the agency detailing the above and other concerns.”

- Dr. Jennifer McPartland, Senior Health Scientist, Environmental Defense Fund

(WASHINGTON, DC) The U.S. Department of Agriculture today introduced its Agriculture Innovation Agenda, which outlines a vision for increasing U.S. agricultural production by 40% and cutting the associated environmental footprint 50% by 2050.

“The fundamental goals of the USDA climate roadmap to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve water quality, and increase soil and forest health are imperative to building climate resilience on the front lines – America’s farms.

“What USDA presented today is a roadmap that points U.S. agriculture in the right direction after weathering one of the most difficult years on record.

“However, there are a few missing pieces that will need to be addressed before farmers can be expected to deliver on this ambitious vision.

“For starters, USDA must use the best available science to determine the true emissions reduction potential of agricultural conservation practices. In addition to commitments to improve conservation data collection and analysis, the agency must also boost investments in science and economic resources to equip farmers with the information they need to make measurable progress and reduce risk.

“2020 is a new year and a new opportunity for USDA to double down on investments in conservation practices that will make America’s farmers – and the world – less vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.”

• Callie Eideberg, Director of Agricultural Policy and Special Projects

(BATON ROUGE, LA – February 20, 2020) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today praised Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards for prioritizing the development of policies that will aim to reduce emissions and strengthen coastal resilience in a speech outlining his second-term priorities for Louisiana’s coast.

“Governor John Bel Edwards is working to protect Louisiana’s future by identifying the need to limit greenhouse gas emissions. His leadership is a sign that reducing emissions is vital to our collective future, even for states with deep connections to traditional energy industries.

“While Louisiana has become a model for climate resilience and adaptation, Governor Edwards understands that the state’s future also depends on limiting sea level rise to the greatest extent possible. That requires Louisiana to do its part to reduce emissions.

“Under the leadership of Governor Edwards, Louisiana is the latest in a growing list of states making commitments to address the driving force of climate change. EDF supports his efforts and stands ready to work with his administration to craft the policy framework necessary to put a limit on emissions and protect Louisiana’s coast from the urgent threat of sea level rise.”

A global coalition of non-governmental organizations is warning a United Nations body of “substantial backlash” if it fails to deliver a robust program of high integrity to reduce climate pollution from airlines.

In a letter to the UN International Civil Aviation Organization Council, the International Coalition for Sustainable Aviation said “the stakes could not be higher” for the Council as it considers rules to establish a carbon offsetting and reduction program known as CORSIA for the aviation sector. 

“Your decisions could show your commitment to stand up CORSIA with integrity so that it supports emission reductions projects and low-carbon economic development,” the letter states. “But if you end up putting out the welcome mat for bad quality, double-counted emissions units, you will destroy CORSIA’s potential effectiveness, compromise the credibility of ICAO and the world’s airlines, and make global climate change worse.”

“Aviation is one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse-gas emissions, and, if no action is taken, carbon pollution from airplanes worldwide is expected to triple by 2050 as 30,000 new large aircraft take to the skies,” said Annie Petsonk, International Counsel for Environmental Defense Fund, one of the signatories to the letter. 

“If CORSIA is peppered with bad quality, double-counted emissions units, its effectiveness will be fundamentally weakened, as will the credibility of the UN’s ICAO Council and the world’s airlines. Our ability to tackle climate change will have taken a backward step.” 

During its March 2-20 session, the UN aviation body will decide which carbon offset programs airlines can use under CORSIA, which caps the net carbon dioxide emissions of most international flights at 2020 levels. Its decision could make or break international efforts to reduce aviation’s climate footprint. 

The NGOs of the International Coalition for Sustainable Aviation are urging Council members to bar old, questionable carbon credits, ensure carbon credits aren’t double counted, and make ICAO’s decision processes transparent.  

“The ICAO Council and CORSIA should be part of the solution. Transparent, effective, high quality international standards – this is what CORSIA should stand for,” said Petsonk. “If ICAO gets this right, consumers, governments and the public will be able to hold the aviation sector accountable for its climate commitment. ICAO needs to make CORSIA work.”
 
 

(Sacramento – February 12, 2020) EDF and NRDC have filed in federal district court in opposition to the Trump administration’s radical legal attack on California’s collaboration with Quebec to cut climate pollution – an unprecedented lawsuit filed by the Trump administration as part of its continuing attacks on California’s lifesaving and innovative climate pollution reduction programs.

The Trump administration is suing California over its coordination with Quebec to cut dangerous climate pollution. Both governments developed independent cap-and-trade programs to reduce climate pollution but coordinated their carbon markets in order to create additional benefits for their residents.

EDF and NRDC filed a brief in opposition to a Trump administration motion for summary judgment on two claims alleged in the case.

“The lawsuit is the latest step in the Trump administration’s efforts to undermine health and environmental safeguards for millions of people in California. The Trump administration has attacked California’s clean air, clean car and clean water standards – and now this,” said EDF senior attorney Erica Morehouse. “Californians are afflicted by life-threatening droughts, wildfires and sea level rise linked to climate change, and the Golden state has developed an innovative climate policies to address the climate crisis.”

“The Trump administration has no business attacking California’s collaboration with Quebec to cut carbon pollution. It may have ceded leadership in the battle against climate change but that does not compel California to do so as well,” said Alex Jackson, senior attorney in NRDC’s Climate and Clean Energy Program.

California and Quebec have been working together for years to cut climate pollution through their coordinated cap-and-trade program. The Trump administration sued California in October asserting unprecedented constitutional claims. EDF and NRDC forcefully refute the Trump administration’s threadbare assertions the coordination violates the constitution’s Compact Clause or Treaty Clause:

“No state agreement has ever been invalidated under the Compact Clause, and none has been held to be an impermissible treaty since the Supreme Court recognized the invalidity of the Confederacy. [citation omitted] And the federal government has apparently never before sued a state under either provision.” (Brief, page 2)

“On the contrary, states have entered hundreds of agreements with foreign nations or subnational jurisdictions on a broad sweep of subjects from environmental policy to promotion of commerce to reciprocal recognition of driver’s licenses.” (Brief, page 2)

“Plaintiff’s real objection appears to be to California’s entire program to reduce the state’s [climate] emissions, not the coordination of its emissions market with that of Quebec…. California and Quebec’s coordinated market in [climate] emission allowances has no effect whatsoever on the federal government’s ability to take any action on climate change, or more aptly here, to continue to refuse to take any action… That this Administration has ceded the field in the battle against climate change does not compel the State to do so as well.” (Brief, pages 1 and 3)

The case is before the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California.

The California Attorney General filed a cross motion for summary judgment and opposition, and the International Emissions Trading Association also filed in opposition to Trump administration’s motion.

(MERIDA, YUCATAN – Feb. 6, 2020) — Mexico is well positioned to build climate resilience into its fisheries management and make significant contributions to the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, according to leaders speaking at an annual meeting focused on sustainable fisheries and climate change.

“Protecting the oceans benefits the environment and ensures the livelihoods of those who work in the fisheries sector, seeking sustainability for everyone,” said Lina Pohl, representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, during her participation at the ninth meeting of sustainable fishing and climate change in Merida, Yucatan, Mexico, organized by Environmental Defense Fund of Mexico (EDF de Mexico).

“Mexico is a helping hand and can be an example and leader in the fight against climate change for other countries in the region and the world. We have the opportunity to take advantage of this experience to join forces and curb the threats of climate change to the oceans and fisheries,” said Pohl during her presentation at the meeting.

Oceans cover more than 70% of the surface of our planet, provide half of the world’s oxygen, remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, house 80% of Earth’s life and produce nutritious food. The FAO estimates that fishing accounts for about 17% of the animal protein consumed by the world’s population and provides 20% of the average animal protein contribution per capita to some 3.2 billion people. “This valuable superfood can contribute to the fight against the obesity and malnutrition in Mexico, hence the importance of ensuring its sustainability,” said Pohl.

“At EDF, we believe there is hope in the oceans if we ensure resilient fisheries in the face of climate change,” said Laura Rodriguez, vice president of the Oceans program for Latin America at Environmental Defense Fund. “To achieve this, we have designed a multi-pronged framework consisting of five key tenets: 1) putting in place effective fishery management and governance; 2) looking forward, while retaining lessons learned from the past; 3) building and strengthening international institutions; 4) strengthening the resilience of the entire marine ecosystems; and 5) applying principles of fairness and equity to guide policy decisions.”

Rodriguez stressed that Mexico is on time to undertake a coordinated effort to build climate resilience into management approaches so that fisheries continue to provide the services upon which millions of people depend, and thus contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals. “We have an opportunity at a national, regional and global level to increase cooperation and face climate change. For this reason, at EDF we congratulate and express our commitment to support the efforts carried out within the framework of the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy and the FAO’s Committee on Fisheries, or COFI.”

The ninth meeting of sustainable fisheries and climate change brought together actors from Mexican and Latin American fishery sectors for two days to seek innovative solutions in favor of effective governance, fisheries management systems based on the best available information, and transparent, inclusive, participatory and adaptive decision-making processes that put fishers and their communities in the center.

(NEW ORLEANS, LA – February 12, 2020) Today, the Gulf Ecosystem Restoration Council (RESTORE Council) voted to approve funding for two important restoration priorities in the Gulf, including investing $130 million in a critical diversion project in Louisiana’s Maurepas Swamp. As ecosystems and wildlife continue to recover nearly 10 years after the Gulf oil disaster, the River Reintroduction into Maurepas Swamp project would use restoration funds from the oil spill to reconnect one of the largest forested wetlands complexes in the nation with the Mississippi River to prevent further wetland loss and habitat degradation. In the face of climate change and sea level rise, the project will benefit more than 45,000 acres, providing a wetland buffer that can reduce storm surge for communities stretching from the Greater Baton Rouge to the Greater New Orleans regions.

The vote came just days after the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released its draft environmental assessment outlining options to mitigate potential impacts from the construction of the proposed West Shore Lake Pontchartrain levee project, which will impact forested wetlands in the immediate vicinity of the Maurepas Swamp. Unfortunately, that draft assessment did not include the alternative of using the construction of the Maurepas diversion itself as mitigation for the West Shore Lake Pontchartrain levee project, representing a missed opportunity for combining restoration and protection projects together to maximize their benefits.  

Restore the Mississippi River Delta – a coalition of national and local conservation organizations committed to coastal Louisiana restoration including Environmental Defense Fund, the National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana and Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation – issued the following statement in response:

“The River Reintroduction into Maurepas Swamp project is vital to protecting one of the largest remaining swamps in the Gulf in the face of habitat loss and climate change. The RESTORE Council’s funding of this project will benefit wildlife, such as the bald eagle, that depend on the swamp for habitat and people that benefit from the buffer it provides from storms and sea level rise. 

“Louisiana, once known for its abundant swamps, has increasingly become known for ‘ghost swamps’ devoid of life and productivity. We must act with urgency to protect what remaining swamp habitat exists for the benefit of wildlife and people in our state and across the nation.

“While this vote is a big step forward, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has the power to help this restoration project advance with greater urgency and at lower cost to the public by including it as a mitigation option for the nearby West Shore Lake Pontchartrain levee project. Selecting the Maurepas diversion for mitigation makes sense for the ecosystem, and will enable the State of Louisiana to commit precious restoration funding to other important projects across the coast. It would also provide the most environmentally beneficial mitigation for the levee project by enhancing the ecosystem the levee project will damage.”

More background on the River Reintroduction to Maurepas Swamp project:

This diversion, planned near Angelina, will provide sediment and fresh water to existing wetlands in Maurepas swamp. Dominated by bald cypress and water tupelo trees, the Maurepas swamp complex is one of the largest forested wetlands in the nation. However, levees constructed along the river have isolated the area from spring floods and the vital fresh water, nutrients and sediment they bring. This isolation, coupled with rising salinities throughout the Pontchartrain Basin while the MRGO was open, has left the swamp in a state of rapid decline – trees are dying, and young trees are not growing to replace them. The River Reintroduction into Maurepas Swamp project will benefit the swamp by reconnecting it with the river, aiding the prevention of further wetland loss and the conversion of swamps to marshes, as well as helping to offset future increases in salinity throughout the western Pontchartrain Basin. The fine grain sediment may also increase elevation to a point where there are periods without inundation so that seeds can germinate, perpetuating the forest into the future.

Today EPA released the draft of its annual Greenhouse Gas Inventory which includes estimates of methane emissions from natural gas and petroleum systems. While EPA has made some updates to their methodology, the inventory shows oil and gas emissions remain unacceptably high, with virtually no change between 2016 and 2018.

“This inventory shows a disturbing lack of progress in cutting oil and gas methane pollution, one of the key drivers of the climate warming we’re experiencing today. In the face of this persistent problem, the Trump administration’s effort to eliminate common-sense methane standards is nothing less than reckless and underscores the need to reduce our dependence on oil and gas as quickly as possible.”

· Matt Watson, Vice President, Energy

(NEW YORK) “BP’s 2050 net zero goals provide a welcome benchmark against which its future investment decisions will be judged.

“Looney deserves support and credit for starting BP on the journey towards carbon neutrality and policy leadership. The direction is good, and we look forward to hearing more about the specifics. Time will tell if he gets BP where it needs to go. It’s real actions and verifiable emissions reductions that will be the measure of success.”

• Fred Krupp, President, Environmental Defense Fund

(WASHINGTON, DC – February 11, 2020) Momentum for a clean future is building today after Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) introduced the Clean Economy Act that puts the country on a path to net-zero climate pollution by 2050.

“EDF strongly supports Senator Carper’s Clean Economy Act which is another example of the growing momentum across the Congress for bold climate action,” said Elizabeth Gore, Senior Vice President, Political Affairs. “By uniting support behind the strong emission reduction target of net-zero climate pollution by 2050, we can increase clean energy development, enhance domestic job creation, advance critical technology innovation and protect public health.”

This important bill has a broad coalition of support with 32 co-sponsors.

Senator Carper’s bill comes just weeks after House Chairman Pallone unveiled the CLEAN Future Act, which lays out specific solutions to get the country to 100% Clean by 2050. It also follows Representative Donald McEachin’s 100% Clean Economy Act, which was introduced in the House of Representatives with over 160 co-sponsors.

(Washington, D.C. – February 10, 2020) EDF is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to uphold an order that permits energy storage to compete fairly in wholesale power markets.

EDF filed a brief with the D.C. Circuit late Friday outlining support for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Order 841.

“Removing market barriers to provide energy storage a pathway to compete is critical to realizing a clean energy future,” said EDF Director of Federal Energy Policy and Senior Attorney Michael Panfil. “FERC’s order levels the playing field between energy storage and traditional fossil fuel generators, and unlocks the resource’s enormous environmental and cost-savings potential for all Americans.”

FERC’s Order 841 “remove[s] barriers to the participation of electric storage resources” in wholesale power markets. The order could catalyze energy storage deployment by up to 50 gigawatts, according to expert analysis. The order unlocks critical benefits from such deployment while carefully respecting longstanding state authority to craft climate and clean energy policy.

Opponents, including an association of traditional utility companies and NARUC, sued to block the rule. EDF is intervening in the case in support of FERC’s order, along with NRDC and VoteSolar, both represented by EarthJustice. You can read the full brief here.

A coalition of state Attorneys General; a coalition of clean energy trade associations including the Energy Storage Association, the Solar Energy Industries Association, and the Counsel for Advanced Energy Economy; and a coalition of innovative tech companies including Sunrun, Tesla, Vivint Solar Developer, and ENGIE Storage Services also filed briefs in support of Order 841.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

(WASHINGTON, DC – February 10, 2020) Today, Environmental Defense Fund issued the following statement after the Trump Administration released its Fiscal Year 2021 budget proposal:

“The Trump Administration is once again prioritizing polluters at the expense of the health and safety of Americans. This budget cuts funds for critical programs that protect families from pollution while gutting funding for renewable energy and ignoring the climate crisis. It further surrenders America’s global climate leadership and, if enacted, would exacerbate environmental injustice.

“We will fight against this dangerous proposal — and we expect that even many of the President’s strongest supporters in Congress will reject these shameful cuts to environmental enforcement, public health protections and the foundations of a 100% clean future.

“If the Trump Administration has its way, we will see more asthma attacks, more heart disease, and more cancer.

“Americans deserve to have clean air to breathe and clean water to drink. We urge members of the House and Senate to reject this harmful budget and work together to ensure that the federal agencies that protect our health and environment have the resources needed to carry out their missions.”

· Elizabeth Gore, Senior Vice President, Political Affairs

“We must meet the growing threats posed by a changing climate with increased investments in technology and infrastructure that will help transition us to a 100% clean economy. That should include expanding the accessibility of charging stations and related infrastructure in order to make electric vehicles (EV) more available to the public.

“This bill from Congressman Andy Levin and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is a much-needed step on the path toward electrifying our transportation sector. A national network of publicly available charging stations is necessary to make EV’s both affordable and practical for American families. This critical infrastructure is essential to the future of EV’s and to the fight against climate change.”

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