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More and more electric school buses, which offer a much healthier ride to kids, are hitting the streets thanks in part to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. 

Published in the scientific journal Earth's Future and supported in part by funding from Environmental Defense Fund, a new research agenda focuses on the intersection between the increased use of storm surge barriers and the resulting estuary impacts. These are three key takeaways from our research. The post The impact of storm surge barriers on estuaries and ecosystems first appeared on Growing Returns.

By Elizabeth Arenz Hosbein When I graduated from Harvard Business School with a resume in finance, it was perhaps unexpected that I joined Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a leading environmental NGO, to spend a fellowship year investigating private equity (PE) from the outside. I had big questions to answer: to what extent are PE firms …

Delay Will Leave Millions of Americans Exposed to Harmful Levels of Smog Pollution

A new study shows the Texas Hill Country’s mounting water challenges are present in low-income communities and communities of color.

New Zealand is currently reconsidering how its forestry sector can contribute to meeting its long-term climate change targets, and what this means for its emissions trading scheme (NZ ETS). A recent paper from researchers at Motu Economic and Public Policy Research and the Environmental Defense Fund sheds light on New Zealand’s innovative treatment of forestry …

From a climate court win to a new wolf pack, here are the wins to help fortify you in the climate fight. These are this week's good news stories.

Six Focus Areas Will Help Protect Communities, Ensure Compliance with Bedrock Environmental Laws

Stronger oversight of the 3 million miles of U.S. pipelines critical for protecting communities and climate

Yesterday, the Washington State Department of Ecology (Ecology) released the results from Washington’s first Allowance Price Containment Reserve (APCR) auction, held on August 9th. At this auction, all 1,054,000 of the available APCR allowances were sold at the two APCR tier prices of $51.90 and $66.68, with 527,000 allowances available at each price tier. This …

EDF’s analysis indicates that methane emissions from gas pipeline leaks are significantly higher than current estimates by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory. This report details policy recommendations to reduce leakage from pipelines and EDF's methodology for estimating methane emissions from pipeline infrastructure. 

By Sofia Esquivel Elizondo Enthusiasm for hydrogen as a climate-friendly fuel of the future is everywhere. Hundreds of hydrogen energy projects worth more than $500 billion have been announced, and The International Energy Agency says hydrogen demand could increase sixfold by 2050. Scientists, though, are confident that this leak-prone gas can warm the climate when …

This report from EDF and WSP finds that the U.S. market for electric vehicle and battery manufacturing, which was turbocharged by passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) one year ago, has continued to race ahead and is not expected to slow down any time soon.

A group of environmental, civic and environmental justice organizations announced their demands for a major overhaul of the storm surge protection plan.

A year since the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was signed into law, this historic climate legislation has already led to $278 billion in private investment that will support more than 170,000 clean energy jobs across the country. And the work is just getting started. Manufacturing incentives in the law, which encourage companies to build the …

Pennsylvania has a long history of energy production, stretching as far back as the late 1700s. A central role in fossil fuels, however, is rooted in Pennsylvania’s past, not its future. The state is poised to become a leader in our nation’s transition to a clean, resilient zero-pollution economy. Pennsylvania will take an important step …

Environmental Defense Fund and WSP USA, update a report that released six months ago and find that, a year after its passage, the IRA has catalyzed rapid investment and job growth.

What’s New? For the first time, FDA has provided guidance on how to evaluate whether metal cookware is prohibited due to lead leaching into food. As part of an investigation to find the source of elevated blood lead levels in some refugee children, the Hazardous Waste Management Program in King County, Washington [1] encountered high …

What’s New? EPA recently asked its Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC), comprised of experts in the fields of toxicology and environmental chemistry, to make recommendations on implementing new approach methods (NAMs) for testing the safety of new chemicals. NAMs encompass a wide array of new evaluation strategies, including testing cell lines or invertebrates (rather than …

Where to find EDF +Business at New York Climate Week 2023 EDF +Business leaders and experts attending Climate Week: Lea Borkenhagen, Senior Vice President, EDF +Business Elaine Gowdy, AVP of EDF +Business Strategic Operations Victoria Mills, Managing Director, Climate Policy Leadership Elizabeth Sturcken, Managing Director, Net Zero Value Chains Andrew Howell, Senior Director, Sustainable Finance …

This blog was authored by Julia Ilhardt, former High Meadows Fellow, Global Climate Cooperation. It was originally published on EDF’s Climate411 blog channel. Read the full post here.  At the end of last year, 196 nations agreed to the historic Global Biodiversity Framework, which includes the goal to protect 30% of land and sea area …

This blog was authored by Julia Ilhardt, former High Meadows Fellow, Global Climate Cooperation.  At the end of last year, 196 nations agreed to the historic Global Biodiversity Framework, which includes the goal to protect 30% of land and sea area by 2030. Still, nature is woefully underfinanced, with investments in nature-based solutions needing to …

Seaweed is having a moment. I’ve been working on seaweed for 40 years, and I’ve never seen so many headlines about how seaweed can save the planet.  I can understand why. The need to save the planet is more pressing than ever. We must now dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions and, at the same time,

EDF is working with partners to drive global climate action at COP28, this year’s U.N. climate change conference.

In the arid region of Presidio County, Texas, residents have been grappling with a severe water crisis for decades. However, a steering committee has been formed to address the water infrastructure challenges and secure funding. The committee's unique approach focuses on equity, ensuring that every community's needs are considered. Their efforts could serve as a model for other counties in Texas and beyond.