Complete list of press releases

(AUSTIN, TX) A comprehensive new data initiative organized by Environmental Defense Fund will use advanced emissions monitoring technologies to determine how much methane is escaping from the Permian Basin, one of the world’s largest oil and gas producing regions. The coordinated year-long research effort will generate scientifically robust emissions data to map and measure the scale of the problem, and facilitate better, faster solutions.

More than half of U.S. oil rigs are now in the Permian Basin. As production grows in the region, so do associated emissions and pollution. This brings a host of challenges to the community, not least of which is the toll on the environment.Tower monitors deployed at fixed locations, combined with mobile readings taken both on the ground and in the air, will fill urgent gaps in the public understanding of emissions. EDF-led science will incorporate remote sensing and satellite data sets collected by other researchers in order to achieve the most robust measurements possible.

“The data gathered here will better define the scope of the methane problem in the Permian and provide much-needed information so that companies, public officials and local communities can better manage emissions,” said Matt Watson, Vice President Energy at EDF, which is convening a team of leading research institutions and technology providers for the initiative.

The project is designed to estimate methane emission rates from basin-wide oil and gas production. Data will be published on a public platform on an ongoing basis, accompanied by trend analyses. Field measurements are scheduled to begin in November, and the first data release is targeted for early 2020.

Building on established science

The Permian basin, spanning over 86,000 square miles of West Texas and Southeastern New Mexico, is the hottest oil and gas play in the world, but much about methane emissions in the Permian remains a mystery. Nearly five million barrels of oil is produced each day in the basin, yet the majority of methane emissions go unmeasured, unregulated and unmitigated.

Researchers have also shown that nationwide methane emissions from the oil and gas industry are at least 60% higher than the EPA estimates.

Satellite data has identified significant methane hotspots in the Permian, as well as the burning of excess methane in a process known as flaring. Flaring wastes valuable natural gas, while unlit and malfunctioning flares can be major methane emitters. At least one recent study suggests the volume of methane vented or flared in the Permian has tripled in the past two years. 

The Permian data project will use cutting-edge remote sensing technologies and emissions quantifications algorithms — such as those demonstrated to map methane emissions in a ground-breaking partnership between EDF and Google Earth Outreach — to build a comprehensive database of emissions information.  

Research partners

“This project will combine multiple layers and multiple kinds of measurement to create the fullest, most accurate picture possible,” said Dr. Eric Kort of the University of Michigan. Dr. Kort, along with Dr. Mary Kang of McGill University and Dr. Adam Brandt of Stanford University, act as independent scientific advisors for the study.

Science and technology partners include Pennsylvania State University, the University of Wyoming, and Scientific Aviation, a leading provider of airborne emissions sensing.  

Pennsylvania State University will install a network of tower-based, stationary sensors to continuously measure methane concentrations, which will be analyzed to estimate regional emissions and how they change over the project.

University of Wyoming will deploy a vehicle-based, downwind approach to quantify site-level methane emissions from oil and gas sites, including as a comparison to aerial measurements.

In addition to the frequent data releases, findings from the scientific work conducted for this project will be presented for peer-review.

Texas and New Mexico

Findings from the study are intended to help guide how companies, states and the federal government measure, monitor and manage methane emissions.

Collected data from this project could facilitate better management by operators and transparency for local communities. A fuller, more robust picture of methane emissions could also drive more effective regulations.

The Permian spans the Texas and New Mexico border, and the two states have taken very different approaches responding to the methane challenge. Texas has yet to take significant regulatory action — and has done little to enforce the rules currently on the books.

New Mexico has also suffered from a lack of strong regulatory frameworks and oversight.  However, Gov. Michelle Lujan-Grisham announced earlier this year that the state is moving forward with a process to develop robust methane rules.

“Under Gov. Lujan Grisham, New Mexico is committed to crafting and implementing nationally-leading rules to cut methane waste and pollution.” said Sarah Cottrell Propst, Secretary of New Mexico’s Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. “Innovative, data-driven methane measurement projects can help New Mexico do just that.”

The sentiment is echoed by other officials including New Mexico Environment Department Cabinet Secretary James Kenney, who said, “Gathering accurate and reliable methane emissions data in the Permian Basin is key to developing a robust and science-based emissions reduction strategy.”

Focus on actionable solutions

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas; human-made emissions are responsible for at least a quarter of the warming we’re experiencing today. Worldwide, the oil and gas industry releases about 75 million metric tons of methane each year. The International Energy Agency estimates that the oil and gas industry can use today’s technologies to reduce emissions by 75% — two thirds of which are achievable at zero net cost to industry.

Cutting emissions is often as simple as tightening valves, closing tanks that have been inadvertently left open, or relighting flares. Science shows that the biggest emissions tend to come in random, unpredictable ways, which means proactive, regular monitoring is among the best reduction strategies.

Development of new methane monitoring technologies is happening at an accelerated pace, with more options coming to market every year — allowing companies to find leaks faster and reducing emissions at lower cost.

(WASHINGTON, D.C. – Oct. 2, 2019) The most important Mexican fisheries in terms of volume, value and their importance in generating livelihoods are at risk of serious impacts from climate change unless action is taken, according to new research co-authored by Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara and Mexican experts and published today in the journal PLOS ONE.  

The paper models how climate change will impact Mexican fisheries using several scenarios of temperature increase. According to the report, climate change will negatively impact 84% of the species analyzed — which account for 70% of Mexico’s landings — if action is not taken. Some of the greatest catch declines as a result of warming waters in Mexico came from key species such as red snapper, mahi-mahi, pacific sardine, jumbo squid, abalone and snook. A significant drop in these species will lead to adverse implications to coastal communities in Mexico. 

However, the paper also points out that the best strategy to offset climate change impacts on national fisheries in Mexico is to invest in sustainable management now.

“National fisheries, in Mexico and beyond, need to prepare for a climate change-impacted world. Their livelihoods depend on it,” said Laura Rodriguez, EDF associate vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean for the Oceans program, and co-author of the paper. “In the case of Mexico, over 350,000 fishers and their families depend on fishing for their livelihood. The path forward must promote in-country measures to enable the preservation and reproduction of fish by adopting sustainable fisheries management through policy reform.”

The research also points out that the process that was used to assess Mexican fishery resilience against climate change can provide a groundbreaking framework that other countries can repeat in their own local fisheries. With the help of expert engagement, the process used can be implemented relatively easily on a regional or nationwide scale.

“The good news here is any region in the world can use the model we created to drive local change. Assessing your fisheries against climate change is a great first step any country can take to better understand what’s at stake,” said Dr. Steven Gaines, dean of the Bren School, co-director of the Sustainable Fisheries Group in University of California, Santa Barbara and co-author of the report. “Our aim is to help countries prepare for climate change and identify durable climate adaptation solutions.”

This report on Mexico’s fisheries is a continuation of the recent global climate change report co-authored by EDF and academic partners. While last year’s study captured climate change through a global lens, this latest assessment intentionally captures a more local, close-up perspective. The continued production of similar analyses, from any and all vantage points, are crucial for the purpose of obtaining a better understanding of climate impact.

“Having more fish in the ocean, more food on the plate and more prosperous communities depends on our ability to generate more information around climate change. We are hopeful that this report will help pave the way for similar efforts across Mexico and the rest of the world. It’s truly essential if we want to properly plan for what’s to come,” said Laura Rodriguez.

(Washington, D.C. – September 27, 2019) Environmental Defense Fund and a coalition of environmental and public interest organizations have filed a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration from interfering with states’ long-standing authority to reduce dangerous pollution from cars.

The groups filed a complaint today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, one week after a similar lawsuit was filed by 23 states, the District of Columbia and two major cities.

“America has a long, bipartisan tradition of state leadership on clean cars. That leadership means millions of people have healthier air to breathe, stronger protections from dangerous climate pollution, and are saving hard-earned money on gas,” said Environmental Defense Fund general counsel Vickie Patton. “The Trump administration, acting unlawfully against clear statutory text and all common sense, is trying to revoke that state authority and block our progress on clean cars.”

The Trump administration announced last week that it would try to eliminate states’ clear authority to safeguard the health and well-being of their residents by setting more protective clean car standards – authority that is part of the Clean Air Act and has been in use for more than half a century. Strong clean car standards help protect Americans from the urgent threat of climate change and give us healthier air to breathe, reduce our dependence on imported oil, and drive the technological innovation that leads to economic prosperity and job growth.

Today, EDF and allies filed a lawsuit saying the administration’s declaration that federal law preempts state clean car standards “exceeds … statutory authority” and is “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, contrary to law, and unwarranted by the facts.” (Complaint, pages 2 and 3).

The Center for Biological Diversity, Conservation Law Foundation, Environment America, Environmental Law and Policy Center, Natural Resources Defense Council, Public Citizen, Sierra Club and Union of Concerned Scientists joined EDF in the complaint.

Last Friday, a coalition of states and cities filed a lawsuit to oppose the Trump administration’s actions. That coalition includes the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin; the Commonwealths of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia; the People of the State of Michigan; the District of Columbia; and the cities of Los Angeles and New York.

Also today, Environmental Defense Fund filed a protective petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit opposing the Trump administration’s issuance of preemption regulations. EDF believes the proper forum for this challenge is the D.C. District Court, but also filed in the D.C. Circuit Court out of an abundance of caution.

EDF has also requested records under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) related to the Trump administration’s unprecedented move to undermine state clean car standards. EDF filed FOIA requests with the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for their Response to Comment documents, which agencies prepare as part of a proper notice-and-comment rulemaking process. The FOIA requests will allow the public access to the same information the agencies had before them when issuing their decision.

(WASHINGTON, DC – September 26, 2019) Today, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously passed its Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill.

The bill would fund the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at $9.01 billion—a $161 million increase to FY 2019 funding level. The Senate Interior-Environment appropriations mark is more than $5 billion higher than the President’s FY2020 request.

“Interior Subcommittee Chair Lisa Murkowski and Ranking Member Tom Udall deserve our thanks for advancing a strong FY20 funding bill for EPA that will help protect our air, water, and public health,” said Elizabeth Gore, EDF Senior Vice President, Political Affairs. “We look forward to the upcoming conference process to secure robust funding for EPA’s missions and to further push back on anti-environmental proposals advanced by the Trump administration.”

(WASHINGTON, DC – September 26, 2019)—Representative Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) today introduced a meaningful and bipartisan carbon fee bill to incentivize businesses to curb climate pollution.

The Market Choice Act would place a fee on carbon emissions and use the revenues to revitalize and upgrade aging infrastructure. The bill also contains critical climate backstops that will help keep the program on track for reaching its emission reduction goals.

“Big national problems are solved with good policy and that is why EDF applauds Representative Fitzpatrick’s leadership for introducing the Market Choice Act,” said Elizabeth Gore, EDF Senior Vice President, Political Affairs. “This is a bipartisan approach to one of the greatest threats facing our planet. Representative Fitzpatrick’s bill is a serious proposal and would result in important infrastructure investments across the country. We should all work towards bold policy proposals that address the climate crisis and drive us towards a 100% clean economy.”

Representatives Francis Rooney (R-FL), Salud Carbajal (D-CA), and Scott Peters (D-CA) are cosponsoring the Market Choice Act.

(WASHINGTON, DC – September 26, 2019) This week, Environmental Defense Fund joined 34 public health, environmental justice, labor, and environmental organizations in filing comments opposing a proposed EPA rule that could allow thousands of major industrial sources of hazardous air pollution to exempt themselves from Clean Air Act standards.

EPA’s proposed rule would formally adopt an “air toxics loophole” under section 112 of the Clean Air Act, which requires the agency to establish rigorous emission standards for 187 dangerous pollutants such as benzene and mercury. Under the proposed rule, large industrial facilities across the country would be eligible to operate with weaker, or no, air pollution controls.

“The EPA must immediately withdraw this unlawful and harmful proposal to allow major polluters to circumvent common sense standards that protect our clean air,” said Tomás Carbonell, Director of Regulatory Policy and Lead Attorney at EDF.

“According to EPA’s own analysis, this proposed rule could allow nearly 4,000 industrial facilities nationwide to exempt themselves from rigorous clean air standards – adding an additional 2.4 million pounds per year of hazardous pollution to the air we breathe. Much of this pollution will disproportionately affect low-income and minority Americans.”

An EDF report found as many as 26 major facilities in the Houston area alone that are potentially eligible to use the loophole, and that those facilities could increase their emissions of toxic air pollution by as much as 152 percent.

The comments also demand that EPA withdraw a January 2018 memorandum by former Assistant Administrator Bill Wehrum, under which the agency began implementing the “air toxics loophole” without issuing a formal proposal or taking public comment. EDF, nine other public health and environmental NGOs, and the state of California filed legal challenges to that memorandum last year. Those challenges were recently dismissed by a federal appeals court on procedural grounds.

In addition to this letter, EDF joined four other public health and environmental organizations in filing detailed legal and technical comments opposing the proposed rule.

(NEW YORK) DTE Energy, the largest electric utility in Michigan, today announced plans to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in its electric generation by 2050, building on its previous pledge to cut these emissions 50 percent below 2005 levels by 2030 and 80 percent by 2040. In response, Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp released the following statement:

“DTE’s announcement is part of a growing—and essential—trend among major U.S. utilities. In recent months Xcel Energy and Duke Energy have also committed to cutting climate pollution and accelerating the transition to a clean energy economy. It is good to see leaders in the power sector stepping up the pace of change.

“To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, the U.S. must become a 100% clean economy by 2050, one that produces no more climate pollution than we can remove from the atmosphere. DTE’s latest commitment is another strong step forward. It recognizes that achieving this net-zero target will require public policies that incentivize innovation and drive down emissions across the economy. EDF encourages the company to accelerate the deployment of zero-emission technologies such as wind and solar in order to exceed its current target of a 50% carbon reduction by 2030. What happens in the next decade is absolutely critical.

“Carbon pollution is damaging the health of our citizens, our planet, and our economy. With climate change hitting home in all of our daily lives, Americans are calling for ambitious action across the entire economy. As DTE and other utilities continue the transition to truly clean generation, we expect they will also address upstream methane emissions from the natural gas they currently use to generate power. Since methane is a highly potent greenhouse gas, methane pollution must be sharply reduced.”

—Fred Krupp, President, Environmental Defense Fund

(NEW YORK, Sept. 25, 2019) Urgent global action is needed to create thriving, climate-smart fisheries in response to significant ocean warming detailed in a new United Nations report released today, said Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). 

The Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate is the first time the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has examined the impacts from climate change to the world’s ocean and ocean ice, and finds that the rate of ocean warming has doubled in the past three decades with enormous implications for marine life, ecosystems, food, nutrition and economic well-being, EDF said.

“It’s absolutely critical that nations come together now to create climate-smart fisheries for the future that take into account the many impacts that are likely to occur based on the IPCC report,” said Douglas Rader, chief oceans scientist for the EDF Oceans Program. “The integrity of ocean ecosystems translates to impacts on global nutrition, food security and the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people around the world. We cannot afford to leave the ocean — and in particular, fisheries — out of the climate change discussion. Our lives depend on it, literally.”

The fishing community is already seeing the impact of climate change as fish are migrating toward the poles and cooler waters, where they can find more habitable ecosystems. In addition, there is growing evidence that fish abundance will also be affected by climate change, which could decrease the amount of fish available in many places. This is particularly troubling for people in the developing tropics who rely heavily on fish for subsistence and income, EDF said.

Warmer ocean waters will have a number of other significant impacts, such as rising seas, changing weather patterns and shifts in entire food chains. Rising temperatures also disrupt carefully balanced ecosystems by changing oxygen levels, acidity and even salinity, with often disastrous consequences for some of the most important ecosystems on the planet, including coral reefs and life-sustaining upwelling systems like the Humboldt Current.

However, research developed by EDF in conjunction with others shows that, to some degree, we can still shape the impacts that climate change will have on global fisheries by reducing emissions while also enhancing resilience through better management.  And progress is being made. In places like Belize, recognition of climate impacts is in part responsible for driving momentum toward creating more sustainable fisheries management in preparation for the future.

“In Belize, we are doing everything we can to protect our fisheries against climate change,” said Ambassador Janine Felson, deputy permanent representative to the U.N. for Belize, which currently chairs the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS). “We nearly tripled the size of our no-take marine protected areas (MPAs) to defend our fisheries and the world’s largest barrier reef in conjunction with a proactive fisheries management policy. We made this decision because a healthy reef and vibrant fisheries sector is necessary for Belize to achieve its goals for reducing poverty, improving food security and nutrition and increasing investment for development.”

 While some nations are taking action to create climate-resilient fisheries, much more needs to be done and at a larger scale, EDF said. Improved management within countries and enhanced collaboration across national boundaries will help the world prepare for changes yet to come.

“The good news is that there is hope. In addition to reducing emissions, scientists agree that the single most important action we can take to help the ocean deal with climate change is to create thriving, resilient fisheries,” Rader said. “If you take care of fish, you’re taking care of a world where people and nature can prosper together. That’s because good fisheries management benefits both economic and ecosystem well-being.”

(NEW YORK, Sept. 24, 2019) The following is a statement by Doug Rader, chief oceans scientist at Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) Oceans Program, on the release of the High Level Panel for A Sustainable Ocean Economy report, issued today.

“The new report, issued today by the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, outlines tangible actions that can be taken to ensure more resilient seas. The report highlights that the protection and sustainable use of the ocean will help meet some of humanity’s most urgent needs.

 “Despite the challenges the ocean faces from climate change, there is a path toward greater resilience by managing fisheries for the future. In fact, fisheries are one of the best ways to combat climate effects on the ocean. If you take care of fish, you’re taking care of a world where people and nature can prosper together. That’s because good fisheries management benefits both economic and ecosystem well-being.

“As long as the most egregious emissions scenarios are avoided, good management today of changing fish stocks can offset nearly all of the catch losses of the ocean as a whole. It’s true that there will be shifts in production patterns that must be addressed — but it turns out that good strategies exist today to begin building climate-ready fisheries for tomorrow.

“Fish act as one of the primary components of what’s known as the ocean’s ‘biological pump.’ Just as the human heart pumps blood to vital organs that then clean and re-nourish it, fish and the complex food webs they support serve the same function for the ocean.

 “We know from experience and science that by taking care of the fish, we can enhance the resilience of coral reefs, marine food webs and the coastal communities dependent on fishing to pay their bills and put food on the table.”

(Washington, D.C. – September 24, 2019) The Trump administration has officially refused to help the state of New York reduce smog-forming pollution that blows across its borders and endangers the health of millions of people.

The administration just denied New York’s petition for help under the “Good Neighbor” provisions of the Clean Air Act.

“EPA’s decision means New Yorkers face an increased risk of serious illnesses, and Americans in all downwind states have another reason to believe EPA will not protect their health,” said EDF senior attorney Graham McCahan. “States that are working hard to clean up their air are at the mercy of their more-polluting neighbors, and EPA is shirking its duty to help them. How ironic that EPA announced this decision just after our courts upheld the most recent Cross-State Air Pollution Rule – and even said it should be strengthened.”

“The same coal-fired smokestacks that cause smog in our cities also cause acid rain in the Adirondack Park,” said William C. Janeway, Executive Director of the Adirondack Council, an environmental group that has been fighting acid rain since 1975. “The Adirondack Park has suffered the nation’s worst damage from acid rain, which has killed fish and forests and contaminated the food chain with mercury. The EPA’s refusal to enforce the smog rules means more acid rain damage in the Adirondacks. EPA has a moral and legal obligation to honor New York’s petition for relief from this pollution.”

Smog is linked to premature deaths, hospitalizations, asthma attacks and long-term lung damage. States that are working to reduce smog are often undermined by the dirtier air that blows across their borders from coal plants in upwind states. A new EDF analysis found that we’ve seen more than 2,500 instances of unhealthy smog so far in 2019 – instances that affected 185 million Americans across 40 states.

The Clean Air Act obligates EPA to safeguard downwind states against smog-forming pollution from coal-fired power plants and other sources in upwind states. Those obligations are described in what is commonly called the “Good Neighbor” provisions of the Clean Air Act.

New York submitted a petition to EPA in March of 2018 for help under those Good Neighbor provisions. The state has struggled with cross-state pollution from hundreds of sources in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. New York asked EPA to find that emissions from the sources in those nine states are significantly interfering with its ability to meet our national health-based smog standards.

In May, the Trump administration released a proposal to refuse New York’s request. EDF was one of the many groups across America that submitted comments and testified at a hearing opposing that action. In spite of that opposition, EPA has finalized its refusal to help New York.

Trump’s EPA has also denied requests from Maryland and Delaware for help with dangerous border-crossing pollution. Both states have gone to court over those decisions. EDF is part of a coalition of health, environmental and community groups that has joined the lawsuit in support of the states.

EPA’s decision not to help New York comes less than two weeks after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in favor of an updated and strengthened version of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule. That landmark emission standard was created under the “Good Neighbor” provisions to protect downwind states across the Eastern U.S. The court denied claims that the rule is too protective, and decided that one aspect of it must be strengthened further. EDF was a party to that case as well.

(SANTA FE, N.M.) Today Environmental Defense Fund released the findings of a report conducted by Synapse Energy Economics, a leading consulting firm specializing in energy, economic and environmental analysis, on the cost effectiveness of measures to curb oil and gas methane emissions in New Mexico. The study shows that comprehensive oil and gas emission reduction rules, such as those recommended by EDF, can deliver vast social and environmental benefit to the state’s residents at little cost to the state’s oil and gas operators.  

Methane is both a powerful greenhouse gas over 80 times more potent than CO2 over a 20-year timeframe and the primary ingredient of natural gas. Rules that incentivize its capture help the environment while ensuring more natural gas remains in the sales lines, rather than the atmosphere.

Recent estimates show New Mexico’s oil and gas operators emit over 1 million metric tons of methane annually, which has a near-term climate impact equivalent to 28 million automobiles and represents at least $275 million in lost energy resources. A suite of comprehensive, nationally-leading emissions reduction requirements, including quarterly leak detection inspections, no-bleed pneumatics and other measures, could lead to a 60% reduction in these emissions. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s administration has begun the process of developing rules to address this problem following the governor’s executive order directing state agencies to enact nationally-leading methane rules and reduce the state’s overall greenhouse gas emissions.

“Based on this analysis, we have determined that nationally-leading, comprehensive methane controls for New Mexico’s oil and gas industry are cost-effective across every set of benefits and costs we examined. This study illustrates that, even with a conservative estimate of the potential benefits and higher cost assumptions, comprehensive oil and gas emissions rules are cost-effective in New Mexico.”

• Dr. Asa Hopkins, Vice President, Synapse Energy Economics

 “This report is yet another indication of the tremendous opportunity the Lujan Grisham administration has to dramatically reduce methane waste and pollution from New Mexico’s oil and gas industry. Nationally-leading, comprehensive and enforceable methane regulations make sense no matter how you cut it — economically as well as in terms of public health and New Mexico’s climate.”

• Hillary Hull, Senior Manager, Research & Analytics, Environmental Defense Fund

Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and China Electricity Council (CEC) will deepen and facilitate US-China power sector collaboration under a memorandum of cooperation signed Monday, at the “US - China Power Sector Carbon Market Outlook” workshop held by EDF alongside the UN Climate Action Summit. The organizations aim to ensure successful participation in and operation of China’s power sector carbon market.

EDF and CEC will help the power sectors of the US and China exchange expertise and experiences, promote emissions reduction, build trading capacity for China’s power sector, and jointly conduct research to address the challenges power sectors face in carbon markets. In June 2019, EDF supported CEC in launching the Electricity Low-carbon Development Research Center to provide technology and capacity building for China’s carbon market.

Gwen Ruta, EDF’s Executive Vice President, said: “For the past 30 years, Environmental Defense Fund has supported the development of a market mechanism to help China address its environmental problems. Our experiences show that successful participation of power sectors in carbon markets determine the long-term viability and effectiveness of carbon pricing mechanisms. By working with the China Electricity Council, we’ll help the power sectors of the US and China cooperate towards the development of a successful carbon market in China.”  

In December 2017, the National Development and Reform Commission of China issued the “National Carbon Emissions Trading Market Construction Plan (Power Generation Industry),” marking the official launch of the carbon emission trading system. China’s power sector is the first sector to be covered by the system. The market covers about 1,700 companies, which have annual emissions of about 3.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide and account for about one-third of China’s carbon emissions. It is by far the world’s largest carbon emission trading market.

From 2006 to 2018, China’s power industry reduced carbon dioxide emissions by about 13.7 billion tons, compared with 2005.
“A successful national carbon market in China not only can drive down carbon emissions by significant and urgently needed levels, it can also accelerate low-carbon development and structural transformation of China’s power industry,” added Ruta. EDF will continue to support and closely monitor its development.

Wang Zhixuan, the Vice President of CEC said: “We have made great progress in developing non-fossil energy and reducing the use of coal. There is little room for further utilizing the energy efficiency of power plants to improve carbon reduction.” Wang also said China needs to tap the capacity of low-cost carbon reduction through an effective carbon market, to increase the proportion of non-fossil energy.

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, is currently the sole carbon market in the world that covers the power sector exclusively. 

Ben Grumbles, the Chair of RGGI Inc. and Secretary of the Maryland Department of the Environment, said “The program’s participating states have reinvested proceeds in strategic programs that have resulted in additional millions of emissions avoided, billions of dollars in consumer savings, hundreds of lives saved and increased resiliency in the power sector.” 

Andrew McKeon, the Executive Director of RGGI Inc., added “Given the on-going strategic reinvestment of proceeds since RGGI’s implementation in 2009, the region has achieved a reduction of over 50% in CO2 emissions from the power sector.” 

More than a dozen representatives from major power companies in China, including China Energy Investment Corporation, China Huaneng Group, China Huadian Corporation, State Power Investment Corporation, China Datang Corporation and Shenergy Company Limited, participated in the Sept. 23 forum remotely through video connection in Beijing.

Today, as millions across the nation are calling for climate action, an extensive coalition of 23 states, the District of Columbia and two major cities are taking legal action against the Trump administration’s attempt to repeal long-standing state authority to protect millions of people from the pollution emitted by cars.

The states – including both California and Michigan – filed a lawsuit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Environmental Defense Fund released the following statement:

“EDF stands with these states and cities that are protecting our clean air laws and protecting the health of millions threatened by the scourge of climate and air pollution. In the coming days, we will file suit to defend the state clean car safeguards that reduce dangerous air pollution and save Americans hard-earned money at the gas pump while spurring innovation and creating jobs.”

- Vickie Patton, Environmental Defense Fund general counsel

The Trump administration announced yesterday that it would try to revoke state authority on clean car standards – authority that is part of the Clean Air Act and has been in use for more than half a century.

The full list of states and cities filing today include: the states of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin; the Commonwealths of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia; the People of the State of Michigan; the District of Columbia; and the cities of Los Angeles and New York.

(NEW YORK, NY – Friday, September 20, 2019) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) President Fred Krupp issued the following statement on the global climate strike:

“The young people who led the biggest global climate change demonstration in history today understand that we cannot wait to act. And as Greta Thunberg told Congress earlier this week, we need only listen to every major climate science organization in the world to understand and share their sense of urgency.

“The young leaders determined to act on climate change are a diverse group that transcend the old partisan lines that have held back progress for far too long. They understand both what’s at stake for their generation, and the power they have to shape the future. The climate strike is inspiring, and we must do everything we can to help them defend the future.”

Today the California Air Resources Board voted to endorse the California Tropical Forest Standard. The Standard sets out stringent requirements for states and countries seeking to have their large-scale forest protection programs recognized in carbon markets such as California’s, while ensuring robust monitoring and oversight of such programs.
 
“Today’s decision shows California is committed to wielding its global influence to help prevent the destruction of tropical forests, one of the most significant contributors to global climate change. Tropical forest protection benefits Californians as well as communities and ecosystems across the entire planet.
 
“The Tropical Forest Standard sends a clear message that California sees itself as a catalyst in solving the global climate crisis, and acknowledges the essential role indigenous peoples play in forest protection. 
 
“As nations gather in New York to raise their ambition and recommit to climate action, there’s no better place to look for inspiration than to California and the Tropical Forest Standard. The rest of the world should follow California’s lead.”
 
Derek Walker, Vice President for U.S. Climate
 
Background:
 
The California Air Resources Board (CARB) has studied forest carbon credits for over a decade and released the draft Tropical Forest Standard in September 2018. The Standard was addressed at the November 2018 board meeting, then received further stakeholder input and Legislative recommendations. CARB has incorporated their recommendations into the revised proposal, which was approved at today’s monthly Board meeting.
                                                                                        
The Tropical Forest Standard requires jurisdictions to have comprehensive programs to address and monitor deforestation, ensure transparency and rigorous enforcement of those programs, and demonstrate independent third-party verification. At the same time, jurisdictions must show how they are developing more sustainable economic activities and addressing the root causes of deforestation. The Tropical Forest Standard establishes best-in-class standards for environmental integrity and social safeguards and requires stringent monitoring of emissions and deforestation rates, and careful oversight of forest-protection programs.
 
The Standard is supported by COICA (The Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin) and AMPB (Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests), which represent millions of indigenous and other traditional forest communities people across the Amazon Basin, Central America, and Mexico. These indigenous groups and others shared their support at today’s hearing.
 
Forest carbon credits that meet the rigorous requirements set out in the Standard could potentially be accepted in the state’s cap-and-trade program in the future after additional consideration and action by the Board