Climate 411

EDF’s new equity map shows state efforts to make the energy transition fairer for all

By EDF Blogs / Published: December 11, 2023

(This post was written by EDF interns Cyera Charles and Remeny White)

Across the U.S. states are passing laws that will ensure greater equity as we transition to a clean energy system. EDF has developed an interactive map – based on our new report, the State Climate Equity Survey – that documents states’ efforts to make their energy transition more equitable and healthier.

Our new map identifies which states require, allow, or promote consideration of equity and environmental justice in agency decision-making and budget-setting.

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Posted in Cities and states, Energy, News / Comments are closed

Financial Market Regulators Release Guidance Contemplating Oversight of VCM

By Holly Pearen / Published: December 4, 2023

This blog was authored by Holly Pearen, Lead Counsel for People & Nature at the Environmental Defense Fund.

Proposed Guidance from Financial Market Regulators Could Improve Integrity and Transparency in the Voluntary Carbon Market

Many of the world’s largest companies have committed to net zero, and high-quality carbon credits are increasingly seen as a key tool for meeting ambitious climate commitments. As a result, interest in voluntary carbon markets is surging: A 2023 survey found that nearly nine in 10 business leaders see carbon credits as an important component of corporate sustainability strategies. 

However, almost 40% of the companies surveyed noted that the voluntary carbon market’s “lack of regulation and transparency requirements” prevented deeper investment and indicated that improvements in price and intermediary transparency would increase their use of carbon credits as part of a wider sustainability strategy. Financial market regulators are in a unique position to directly address this significant barrier to investment and help rebuild trust, boost integrity and add critical investor protections in the voluntary carbon market.

Two proposals released in early December outline the important role of financial market regulators and offer specific suggestions for action.

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Posted in Carbon Markets, News, United Nations / Comments are closed

Nature is more important than ever to realizing climate goals at COP28

By Breanna Lujan / Published: November 29, 2023
Aerial view: Corcovado National Park, Costa Rica

Natural climate solutions include conserving tropical forest and ocean ecosystems. Photo: Eisenlohr, iStock

This blog was co-authored by Britta Johnston, Senior Policy Analyst for Natural Climate Solutions at EDF.

Heading into COP28, nature as a climate solution has been making headlines, and rightfully so. Sustainably conserving, restoring, and managing the world’s ecosystems is one of the most powerful tools we have to meet global climate goals.

A recent study finds that restoring global forests where they occur naturally could potentially capture 226 gigatons of carbon, and 61 percent of the carbon storage could come from protecting existing forests.

We are beginning to realize the promise of protecting forests. Another report finds that deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has dropped by 22.3 percent as a result of active intervention to curb forest loss – the lowest it has been since 2018.

Moreover, advancements in policies and practices to build resilience in boreal and temperate forest ecosystems, along with strategies for mitigating catastrophic wildfire, can ensure these ecosystems remain net greenhouse gas sinks.

Oceans also have climate mitigation potential. New evidence suggests that organisms in the mesopelagic zone, a region of ocean between 200 and 1,000 meters deep containing 95 percent of ocean biomass, may trap millions of tons of carbon each year by feeding in surface waters at night and diving back down in the day.

We have better science than ever before about nature’s role as a climate solution, and signs of progress on very important fronts. That’s why nature must be at the heart of conversation and action at COP28, both inside and outside the negotiation rooms.

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Posted in Carbon Markets, Forest protection, Indigenous People, International, Paris Agreement, REDD+, United Nations / Read 1 Response

The latest on climate change in the U.S. – from the Fifth National Climate Assessment

By Alice Alpert / Published: November 28, 2023

A wildfire in California, 2021

The U.S. government recently released the Fifth National Climate Assessment, a comprehensive report that shows the harmful impacts of extreme weather and other climate hazards are increasing for people across the United States.

The Fifth National Climate Assessment confirms messages in previous reports but brings the details into sharper focus for U.S. regions.

Climate change is increasingly expensive. The direct cost of exacerbated disasters costs the country a whopping $150 billion a year. But there are additional costs as well, including missed workdays from wildfires and heat when the air is so unhealthy that it is too dangerous to work outside.

Scientists can now confidently attribute worsening extreme weather in the U.S. to climate change, including heatwaves, droughts, heavy downpours like those that caused dangerous flooding in New York City in September, and  the deadly wildfires in Hawaii and the West.

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Posted in Basic Science of Global Warming, Extreme Weather, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Health, News, Science / Comments are closed

Article 6 moves to implementation, at COP28 and beyond

By Pedro Martins Barata / Published: November 20, 2023

This blog was authored by Pedro Martins Barata, AVP for Carbon Markets and Private Sector Decarbonization at the Environmental Defense Fund.

Since the Glasgow COP two years ago, there have been growing expectations to transform the market-based cooperation approaches outlined in Article 6 of the Paris Agreement into practical, effective actions for reducing global emissions. Article 6 is not just another clause in an international treaty; it serves as a practical framework for cooperative climate action that has the potential to unlock higher ambition for reducing carbon emissions and adaptation actions. As COP28 unfolds, it is set to complete the development stage of these mechanisms, paving the way for tangible, impactful action in the near future. 

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Posted in Carbon Markets, Forest protection / Comments are closed

The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative is at a critical juncture. Here are 3 ways it can put states on the path to meet our climate goals

By Peter Della-Rocca / Published: November 20, 2023

Since the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) began well over a decade ago, this group of Eastern states has successfully slashed climate pollution from power plants in half, generated substantial health benefits and raised $3 billion in proceeds that have been invested back into states.

Now this program, which puts a declining cap on power sector pollution, is at a crucial juncture that will determine its impact this decade.

Since February of 2021, RGGI Inc, the organization that oversees RGGI has been conducting its third program review — a process meant to assess RGGI’s successes, impacts and potential design changes. Given the opportunities offered by major investments in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), along with the fast-approaching 2030 deadline for the U.S. to reduce emissions by at least 50%, the stakes for the current program review are high.

EDF submitted public comment on the review, urging RGGI Inc to take several key steps as it plans the trajectory of RGGI through 2030 and beyond. First, RGGI Inc should align the program’s emissions cap with national and state climate commitments. Second, RGGI should include an interim target of at least 80% emissions reductions by 2030 to ensure that states take near-term action that lines up with where the power sector needs to be to achieve climate targets. Third, RGGI Inc should create a pathway to cover imported electricity as a means to mitigate emissions leakage (a situation where emissions from non-RGGI states may increase).

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Posted in Carbon Markets, Cities and states, Greenhouse Gas Emissions / Comments are closed