CLIMATE VICTORIES

  Lots of good news from Climate Solutions:

  U.S. energy storage made record gains last year HERE 

  The Los Angeles City Council voted 12-0 to ban new drilling and to close all 5,000 existing oil and gas wells in the city. HERE 

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency agreed to a deadline to update rules curbing water pollution from slaughterhouses and rendering plants. HERE 

  Formerly toxic wasteland transforms into a national park after decades-long effort. HERE 

  A recently published study found 26 Australian species have recovered to the point where they are no longer considered to be threatened under Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. HERE 

  The Fish and Wildlife Service finally protected the most imperiled population of a small, stout catfish species called the Frecklebelly Madtom. The Service also proposed safeguarding 134 miles of two rivers as critical habitat.  HERE 

  Kenmore announces program to save 1 million American Homes $1B by simplifying home electrification. HERE 

  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finally protected a very rare plant called the Prostrate Milkweed under the Endangered Species Act. HERE 

  Diamondback Terrapins in Florida are finally protected from drowning in recreational blue crab trapsthat don’t include inexpensive, easy-to-use devices to keep turtles out. Florida now requires those devices for all recreational traps. HERE

  Governor Jared Polis just endorsed renaming Mt. Evans as Mt. Blue Sky to honor the Cheyenne and Arapaho people. HERE

  From ECA Partner Climate Action Now (CA ECA members: download the app and enter code 128):

  • The Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal by oil companies who were ordered by a Louisiana state court to pay damages for environmental damages in Cancer Alley and other areas of the state. The decision clears the way for 42 lawsuits filed since 2012 against a total of 200 oil and gas companies in state courts. HERE 
  • More good Cancer Alley news! The U.S. Department of Justice is suing a major Japanese petrochemical company, Denka, over Clean Air Act violations, arguing that its chemical plant in Reserve, Louisiana, poses an unacceptable risk to the health and welfare of the area’s majority-Black population. The suit is the first to come out of a larger probe from the federal government into environmental racism in Cancer Alley which began 10 months ago. HERE
  • The European Union’s carbon price rose above 100 euros ($106) per metric ton of emissions for the first-time last week! The EU’s carbon price has been on a swift upward trajectory since 2020, when EU lawmakers implemented new rules to accelerate the bloc’s decarbonization efforts. EU lawmakers plan to drive down the cap on carbon emissions until it reaches zero — potentially by 2039. HERE

  California to ban the sale of new gasoline cars. This decision, to take effect by 2035, will likely speed a wider transition to electric vehicles, because many other states follow California’s standards. Tailpipe Emissions Are Notoriously Hard to Cut. California’s New Gas Car Ban Will Help HERE 

  In a major victory for the climate,
a judge just halted federal coal leasing nationwide until the Bureau of Land Management properly studies the coal program’s globally significant climate damage. HERE 

  At the time of the 2004 spill, Taylor Energy downplayed the extent of the leak, claiming it was less than 3 gallons of oil per day. The truth was much worse: as much as 29,274 gallons per day were flowing into the ocean.
Now, the company must pay to clean up its mess. HERE


The Bureau of Land Management agreed to remove all trespassing cows annihilating Arizona’s San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area. This 55,000-acre biodiversity hotspot harbors some of the last populations of a rare, beautiful plant called the Huachuca water umbel. More information HERE


The world’s first hydrogen-powered passenger trains are here! HERE
From Climate Action Now (an ECA partner):

An abandoned Berlin airport is being transformed into a climate-neutral, car-free neighborhood! The site will have 5,000 new apartments—along with schools and stores that all residents can walk to. If Germany can do it, so can we! HERE

 

Community farming meets community solar! On the Colville Reservation in Washington, two greenhouse domes will house the state’s first ‘agrivoltaics’ project, where food and electricity can grow in tandem on small acreage. The practice, which began in Europe, is now gaining traction in the U.S. HERE

 

Due to climate change, Nevada says goodbye to grass. Within the next couple of months to a year, grass will be completely eliminated. HERE

 

 

The United Nations General Assembly, the UN’s highest decision-making body, adopted a resolution to universally recognize the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment for all people. More information HERE 

 

Massachusetts passed a massive climate and clean energy bill, it’s first. The legislation contains allows some cities and towns to ban fossil fuel infrastructure in new and major construction projects HERE

 

 

A judge struck down federal plans to extract massive amounts of fossil fuels from public lands in Montana and Wyoming. HERE

 

 

“Big Win” for public lands and climate as US judge reinstates coal lease ban HERE

 

New York, Maryland, Colorado, West Virginia, New Jersey, Connecticut and more all passed new laws this year to put more electric school buses on the road. More HERE

 

 

In world first, Chile bans single-use food and beverage products over three years. While similar bans in other countries and cities address single-use plastics, Chile’s ban extends to other materials, including cardboard and poly-coated paper.  HERE

Thanks to Florida young people, in a strategy led and supported by Our Children’s Trust, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ new renewable energy rule sets the following renewable energy goals for Florida’s electric utilities: at least 40% by 2030, 63% by 2035, 82% by 2040, and 100% by 2050. HERE