Stay informed

By Vrinda Suresh, Julia Mason and Doug Rader  During the last two weeks of August 2022, delegates from across the globe gathered in New York City for the Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Conference, or IGC5, to develop a new treaty to protect biodiversity in offshore waters, called the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement, or …

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency took an important step toward slashing a tiny but toxic pollutant that’s inhaled daily by millions of people – soot. But experts say the agency needs to go further to protect the public.

Strong protections that go further to curb pollution from routine flaring are critical to protect communities and the climate

“Protect our groundwater rights and Texas aquifers.” That was the rallying cry for a group of landowners at a key Texas Senate committee meeting last November on the potential danger of a massive Central Texas groundwater export project. The landowners depend on groundwater from the Carrizo Wilcox Aquifer, which encompasses the Carrizo and underlying Simsboro …

(Sacramento, CA — Jan. 10, 2023) Earlier today, Governor Gavin Newsom released a proposed budget for California’s next fiscal year, outlining expenditures on a range of issues impacting human health, education, and the environment. The proposed spending necessarily reflects the uncertainty of California’s fiscal situation but also works hard to “keep promises” and uphold previous commitments, as the Governor emphasized in his press conference.

EPA’s Important Initiative to Protect People from Soot Pollution Should be Further Strengthened to Save Lives

This legislation paves the way for producers to generate additional revenue from lowering emissions and storing carbon, while also building resilience to droughts, variable rainfall and other climate impacts that are already making a difficult profession even harder. 

The Inflation Reduction Act is a win for the climate. Here are five more laws from around the world that aim to protect the environment.  

The U.S. passing the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 wasn't the only major accomplishment across the globe in the fight against climate change. Here are some major climate steps taken around the world.

Statement of Elizabeth Gore, EDF Senior Vice President for Political Affairs

To address climate change, the U.S. is making a historic investment in farmers, ranchers and rural communities, helping them cut emissions, prepare for climate impacts that are already here, and create good jobs along the way.

The Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED) is the new DOE office with $20B from the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act with a focus on scaling up emerging technologies through demonstration projects. EDF offers pointers to help OCED have catalytic impact.

What will it take to decarbonize the gas distribution system? EDF and partners produced a new report setting out guiding principles and strategies to inform decarbonization of the gas utility and corresponding end uses.

This blog was co-authored by Maggie Ferrato, Manager, Global Climate Cooperation and Pedro Martins Barata, Associate Vice President, Carbon Markets & Private Sector Decarbonization. With the desert sands of Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt behind us, we’re looking ahead toward COP28—and the opportunity to make further progress on Article 6, a key component of the Paris Agreement.   …

On December 7, the Virginia Air Board voted to proceed with a proposed regulation ending Virginia’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a proven program in 12 states that cuts pollution and raises investments for communities. Governor Youngkin initiated this harmful and unlawful rollback earlier this year, claiming that RGGI was a “bad …

The Institute for Policy Integrity and Environmental Defense Fund submitted joint comments supporting guidance documents as important steps toward addressing the risks that climate change poses to the structural integrity of our financial system.

Water utilities are increasingly posting interactive maps online to help residents identify whether their homes are connected to lead service lines (LSLs). EDF's new blog series, Mapping Lead Pipes, will explore how utilities are approaching maps, evaluate which map features are most and least effective, and share best practices to help guide future efforts.

By Maria Doa, PhD, Senior Director, Chemicals Policy What’s the Issue? EPA grants exemptions from full safety reviews for approximately half the new chemicals submitted by the chemical industry. Once those exemptions are granted, EPA very rarely revises or revokes them—even in the face of new information. The Toxic Substances Control Act allows EPA to …

Capturing the mind-boggling amount of natural gas — aka methane — wasted each year across the oil and gas industry would mean progress for both the climate crisis and the energy crisis. We know that solutions exist and what these are, and we know that a lot can be done without building expensive infrastructure that would incentivize continued oil and gas dependence.

U.S. Postal Service Makes the Right Choice for America's Future with Clean Vehicles

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) signed the Record of Decision approving permits for the Mid-Barataria Sediment Diversion. Backed by decades of inn

Statement from Mary Barber, Director, State Affairs at Environmental Defense Fund

Last month, EDF co-hosted a workshop in Houston on the state of zero-emission heavy-duty vehicles in Texas. Partnering with Evolve, the Houston-Galveston Area Council and Port Houston, we met at the NRG Center with dozens of industry experts, government officials, fleet managers and drivers to talk about the economic and environmental opportunities that transitioning to …

EDF statement from Eric Schwaab, Senior Vice President for People and Nature and Qin Hu, Vice President EDF China

Statement of Elizabeth Gore, EDF Senior Vice President for Political Affairs