Climate 411

As another legislative session ends, how does New Mexico regain climate leadership?

By Alex DeGolia / Published: April 19, 2023

Photo Credit: Getty Images

With each passing year, communities across New Mexico feel the mounting and undeniable pressures from climate change. At times last year, nearly three-fourths of the state was experiencing severe drought. The largest wildfire in the state’s recorded history ripped through New Mexico communities. And mountain snowpack, even in snowy winters, produces less and less water for people and wildlife.

New Mexicans can see clearly how fundamental aspects of their culture and identity are threatened — and want their state leaders to act.

Also posted in Cities and states, Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Health, News / Comments are closed

Forest climate finance must be more equitable to support Indigenous Peoples and local communities

By Guest Author / Published: April 12, 2023

This post was co-authored by Julia Paltseva, Senior Analyst at EDF, and Tuntiak Katan from the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin (COICA). For more resources on high forest, low deforestation (HFLD) crediting, visit edf.org/hfld. This post has also been translated into Spanish and French (leer en español, l ire en français).

Tuntiak Katan of the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA). Photo by Leslie Von Pless, EDF

Forests are an essential part of the climate change solution, and their effective conservation requires the empowerment of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, or IPLCs. Around the world, IPLCs have stewarded forests for generations. However, in the face of growing economic pressures to cut forests down, current incentives designed to keep forests standing are largely inaccessible to communities living in areas of historically low forest loss, known as high forest, low deforestation regions, or HFLD.

An effective and equitable global REDD+ incentive-system for reducing deforestation should reward all relevant jurisdictions and actors, including both historical emitters and historical protectors of carbon stock, like IPLCs. We must eliminate forest loss in areas where it is already occurring. At the same time, we must also avoid future increases in deforestation in areas of historically low forest loss – HFLD regions.

Guardians of the forest
Indigenous Peoples and local communities are some of the best forest protectors, especially when equipped with strong tenure and land rights. In Mesoamerica, IPLCs steward half of forested areas. In the Amazon, Indigenous Peoples manage more than 30% of the rainforest, and satellite imagery shows deforestation rates in Indigenous territories are roughly half of what they are in similar surrounding lands. IPLCs typically practice sustainable forest management, through agroforestry and low-impact agriculture, allowing them to both provide for their needs and effectively conserve the forests.

Despite a successful track record of maintaining intact forests, forest communities have directly received less than one percent of international government aid for climate change mitigation and adaptation over the last decade.

Also posted in Carbon Markets, Forest protection, Indigenous People, International, REDD+ / Comments are closed

3 ways to include rural communities in emerging climate solutions

By Akin Olumoroti / Published: April 3, 2023

Rural communities across the United States are extraordinarily diverse, all experiencing a wide variety of landscapes, cultural identities and ways of life. But many express common concerns — they are watching their populations deplete as the country urbanizes, their economic systems are becoming more perilous, and there is a feeling of being left behind as the rest of the country moves towards new solutions that are not designed for their reality — including climate solutions. Despite being essential stakeholders in climate solutions, rural communities are often excluded from the conversation around their deployment.

As we continue to transition to cleaner forms of energy and as recent Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act investments begin to roll out, there will be a need for the development and deployment of energy technologies at a scale we haven’t seen before now. To ensure that all communities have the resources and support they need to mitigate the impacts of climate change, it is important for governments and other organizations to include rural communities in their work.

The Rural Vision for Climate Innovation project set out to learn about rural attitudes and perceptions of climate innovation through 30 stakeholder interviews with ‘grasstop’ leaders and regional focus groups. We wanted to understand how rural Americans view climate investments and invite them to tell us how they want these solutions to show up in their communities.

Here are three main takeaways from the project:

Also posted in Agriculture, Cities and states, Economics, Energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Innovation / Comments are closed

Understanding how communities are vulnerable to climate change is key to improving equity and justice

By Jeremy Proville / Published: March 29, 2023

Hurricane Harvey dropped more than 60 inches of rain on the greater Houston region in 2017.

This blog was co-authored by Dr. Grace Tee Lewis, Senior Health Scientist, Climate and Health

Last month, Environmental Defense Fund and Texas A&M University published a new study that found all states in the U.S. are at risk from the effects of climate change, particularly neighborhoods experiencing disproportionate environmental harms and risks, health disparities and infrastructure problems. We published our research paper, Characterizing vulnerabilities to climate change across the United States, in response to a growing push to identify and address these climate injustices and inequities. This movement is exemplified by the Biden Administration’s executive order to ensure environmental and economic justice are key considerations in how the administration governs on the issue of climate change.

With the Biden Administration’s recent legislation – including the Inflation Reduction Act, Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act (IRA, BIF and CHIPS) – we have a historic opportunity to tackle decades of systemic neglect in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color. We can help level the playing field by directing resources to build resilience and adaptability in the right places across our country.

Also posted in Climate Change Legislation, Health / Comments are closed

EPA’s Good Neighbor Rule will protect millions of people from poorly-controlled smokestack pollution

By Noha Haggag / Published: March 28, 2023

(This post was co-authored by EDF analyst Jolie Villegas)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) just finalized its Good Neighbor Plan this month and that means millions of people in downwind states will be protected from unhealthy smokestack pollution that blows across state lines.

The new plan will significantly reduce smog-forming nitrogen oxides (NOx) pollution from fossil fuel power plants and industrial sources in 23 states.

EPA’s action addresses an urgent problem: NOx pollution from power plants without modern pollution controls. As depicted below, well over half of the NOx pollution from coal units in states covered by the Good Neighbor Plan is from coal units without modern pollution controls.

Graphic: EDF

Also posted in Cities and states, Clean Air Act, Health, News, Smog / Read 2 Responses

DOE announced its largest-ever investment in decarbonizing industry. Here’s how it addresses key challenges.

By Sonali Deshpande / Published: March 28, 2023

Photo Credit: Marcin Jozwiak for Pexels

This blog was co-authored by Natasha Vidangos, Senior Director, Climate Innovation and Technology.

Decarbonizing industry is a critical step to stabilize our climate. The sector can be tough to get a handle on — it’s on track to become the largest-emitting sector within the next couple of decades, and it involves the production of a wide variety of goods, from cement, steel, and chemicals to food and beverages. Historically, heavy industry is also a significant source of local pollution, often leading to direct harm to nearby communities, which tend to be communities of color. This complex yet critical piece of our economy needs a transformation — one that leverages cleaner and more efficient energy and processes while establishing mechanisms to ensure better outcomes on the ground. Identifying, developing and deploying transformative solutions is not an easy task: It requires innovative ideas, ambitious plans and investments, and coordination across a diverse set of stakeholders. Federal support is crucial for testing and validating these new technologies in a real-world setting, reducing the barriers to safe and effective adoption.

Also posted in Innovation, Science / Comments are closed

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