Climate 411

What We’re Watching in Reconciliation: Regular Updates from EDF

By Danielle Arostegui / Published: December 13, 2021

Photo Credit: John Williams

Through the process known as budget reconciliation, Congress is now crafting a bill that could include significant investments in climate action that will drive economic and job growth. There are going to be a lot of moving parts over the next few weeks, which is why EDF will be weighing in regularly in this space to help break down what’s happening, and why it matters.

Want a primer on the key issues EDF will be watching? Read all about them here.

Dec. 13: Build Back Better Act moves through the Senate; White House releases new Executive Order building on climate investments

The Build Back Better Act continued its march through the Senate last week, with several key sections of the legislation going through the process of being vetted for final passage. We’re hearing a final vote may be scheduled as soon as December 20. 

But even as we wait for the Build Back Better Act to move through the Senate, the White House is not hesitating to act on the climate crisis. Last Wednesday, President Biden signed an Executive Order on Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs through Federal Sustainability and released a Federal Sustainability Plan detailing the government’s plan to “walk the talk” on clean energy.  Read More »

Also posted in Cars and Pollution, Climate Change Legislation, Economics, Health, News, Policy / Read 1 Response

Governor Murphy’s 2030 climate goal demands a new climate game plan for New Jersey

By Drew Stilson / Published: December 10, 2021

Last month, Governor Phil Murphy elevated New Jersey’s fight against the climate crisis this decade by signing Executive Order No. 274, which commits the state to reducing greenhouse gas emissions 50% below 2006 levels by 2030. The Governor’s action is a critical step toward putting New Jersey on a path to do what is necessary to avoid the worst effects of climate change, and it aligns the state’s goals with those of the Biden administration. It also arrives at a crucial time, after New Jersey communities were hit with destructive flooding and tornadoes from Hurricane Ida earlier this fall and have been forced to confront the reality of increasingly severe and frequent storms.

But Governor Murphy’s climate legacy will not be secured by this commitment. It will be determined by the action he takes to deliver on it. Now that the goal to halve emissions by 2030 across all sectors of the state’s economy has been established as the formal policy of the state of New Jersey, Murphy will need to develop a policy framework that secures emission reductions in line with the target.

Read More »

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Oregon is finalizing a key pillar of its climate strategy. Will DEQ deliver the climate ambition that Oregonians are demanding?

By Kjellen Belcher / Published: November 19, 2021
Oregon wildfire.

Photo credit: US Bureau of Land Management.

This past summer, the Pacific Northwest endured record-breaking high temperatures, with Portland reaching 116 degrees F. Hundreds of Oregonians are still reeling from the wildfires of 2020 —  one of the most destructive seasons on record for Oregon. And a new study just revealed that Mt. Hood, an iconic Oregon landmark, will have low to no snowpack within the next 35 to 60 years, impacting Oregon’s water supply, winter sports season and other treasured natural resource industries.

Climate change is impacting every part of Oregon, and every action we take (or don’t take) will either solidify a very grim climate future or stop the ever-accelerating impacts of climate change and the immeasurable human suffering that goes with it.

But Oregon regulators have the power to take immediate action to address the climate crisis.

Read More »

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New EDF Research Shows More than 330,000 Workers Already Make Electric Trucks and Buses Throughout the United States, Potential for Tremendous Future Growth

By Ben Schneider / Published: November 15, 2021

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on the Build Back Better Act later this month, a bill with an unprecedented $555 billion in climate and clean air investments that will drive the creation of clean energy and manufacturing jobs. And the economic potential of manufacturing trucks and buses is underscored by two recent EDF reports – one examining the current landscape, and another offering a glimpse of what’s possible in the future.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans already make electric trucks and buses… Read More »

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Why the Department of Energy launched an ‘Earthshot’ effort to draw down and store carbon pollution

By Jake Higdon / Published: November 9, 2021

This blog was co-authored by Sonali Deshpande, Program Analyst for U.S. Climate at EDF.

At a COP26 event on November 5, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm announced a new, visionary effort to scale up solutions that can draw down and store carbon pollution from the atmosphere: The Carbon Negative Shot. 

The Carbon Negative Shot follows two other Energy Earthshot announcements from DOE this year on hydrogen and long duration storage, all aimed at achieving breakthroughs in emerging climate solutions this decade. It’s the latest way that DOE is demonstrating how it can deliver on President Biden’s whole-of-government approach to combating climate change.

While we need to prioritize slashing carbon and methane pollution this decade to have a fighting chance of reaching net-zero emissions by mid-century — the target that gives us the best chance of avoiding the worst effects of warming — the science suggests that we might also need to scale up strategies to pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere, known as carbon dioxide removal or CDR.

DOE’s new Earthshot aims to fund research and innovation to achieve durable and scalable carbon removal under $100 per ton of CO2 within a decade. To be clear, that’s an ambitious goal: currently, a ton of direct air capture can cost multiples of that. However, some experts believe that these costs can fall significantly with an aggressive research agenda. And there are plenty of other challenges beyond cost: storing the CO2 permanently and safely, engaging with communities to ensure they inform and benefit from CDR, and ensuring CDR does not compete with renewable energy generation and other vital infrastructure for land use, and more.

To explore ways to maximize the value and impact of the Carbon Negative Shot, DOE gathered a range of voices for the launch at COP26, including remarks from Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, and IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol; and a panel featuring, Assistant Secretary of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management and expert on CDR Dr. Jennifer Wilcox, Environmental Defense Fund President Fred Krupp, Microsoft’s Chief Environmental Officer Dr. Lucas Joppa; and moderated by Dr. Akshat Rathi, Climate and Energy Reporter for Bloomberg News.

Read More »

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Washington and Wall Street must act now to protect Americans’ financial futures from unfolding climate change harms

By Michael Panfil / Published: October 25, 2021

This piece was co-authored by Stephanie Jones, Attorney, Climate Risk and Financial Regulations, and Gabe Malek, Project Manager, Investor Influence at EDF.

Climate change poses grave risks across society, including “more frequent and intense storms, wildfires, and heatwaves as well as more damaging droughts and more extensive ecosystem losses.” All people face climate harms, today: “this year alone, extreme weather has upended the U.S. economy and affected one in three Americans.” Policymakers must act with urgency to protect all Americans in the face of the unfolding climate crisis, and safeguarding peoples’ financial health and stability is urgent and paramount – no American should face financial jeopardy due to the harms climate change poses to their retirement account or ability to prudently manage personal and home finances.

Importantly, Washington and Wall Street are increasingly taking steps to recognize and manage climate risks. A number of important activities have taken shape in recently weeks, all designed to protect Americans’ financial futures. Measures range from proposed rules that would improve lifelong retirement savings plan selection to report findings that make transparent the harms climate change presents to the foundational stability of our banking system.

Eight of the most significant recent U.S. developments in the last few months of 2021 are highlighted below. It is crucial that we build upon these steps and take concrete, urgent action now to protect families, all people with bank accounts small and large, investors from main street to wall street, retirees, and all who depend on a financial system that is not destabilized by climate change.

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