An often unexplored dimension of air quality issues, port communities have been disproportionately subjected to air pollution, but are now able to secure essential funding for port electrification and emissions-reduction through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. This announcement from the EPA provides a guiding light for port officials to improve the health of their already-overburdened communities.

Learn more about our work to protect port communities from air pollution.

Terrance Bankston, Senior Ports and Freights Campaigner at Friends of the Earth, released the following statement:

We’re elated by the EPA’s decision to finalize a significantly stronger air quality standard that will better protect all Americans, especially port communities. Many Americans have been subjected to disproportionate health risks from air pollution via port operations for decades. The biggest offender has and continues to be soot pollution from port emissions. For LatinX residents, the exposure to soot pollution is 75% higher. For Black Americans, the risk of dying from soot pollution is the highest, with a rate of over triple that of White Americans.

Today, we celebrate the EPA’s choice to prioritize people and the planet. Tomorrow, the hard work continues as we urge port officials to take advantage of the $3 billion that will be available through the EPA’s Clean Ports Program to fund zero-emission port equipment and technology. As a follow up to today’s action taken by the EPA, ports must focus their attention on implementing funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act. These bills create unique opportunities to support port emission-reduction efforts, which haven’t been prioritized historically. We encourage port stakeholders to use the EPA’s announcement as an opportunity to be on the right side of history.

Altorice Frazier, Executive Director and Community Organizer for Parents Engaging Parents New Jersey, said:

Parents Engaging Parents Inc. recognizes the critical strides made towards cleaner air with the EPA’s updated soot pollution standards. This progress reflects our mission to advocate for the health and well-being of all families, especially in Newark, New Jersey, where Black, Brown, and economically disadvantaged communities have faced longstanding disparities in environmental quality. The efforts of President Biden and EPA Administrator Regan to enforce stricter pollution controls align with our vision of a healthier, more equitable environment where children, regardless of their background, can play outside without the threat of asthma or other health risks. We celebrate this advancement towards reducing soot pollution but also acknowledge the need for ongoing action to ensure environmental justice. Consistent with our commitment to support parents and communities, we urge further policy enhancements to protect our air and health, guaranteeing everyone the right to clean air and a safe, vibrant community life.

Sharon Lavigne, Founder and Executive Director for RISE St. James in Louisiana, said:

Clean air is a fundamental right for all, so we appreciate this milestone change.  From the burning of fossil fuels to the bustling activity along ports, trains, the mighty Mississippi River, and the constant flow of big trucks throughout Cancer Alley, we find ourselves surrounded by pollutants.  This serves as a steppingstone, and we extend our heartfelt appreciation to President Biden and EPA Administrator Regan.  By reducing soot particles, health outcomes should also improve such as respiratory problems and cardiovascular diseases.

Jeffrey Richardson, Chairman for the Delaware Community Benefits Agreement Coalition in Wilmington, DE, said:

The announcement this week by the EPA that a lower level for Pm 2.5 has been established is objectively an improvement, as the previous level of 12 PM2.5, µg/m3 has been reduced to 9 PM2.5, µg/m3.  This is a step in the right direction. It must be tempered by the fact that the World Health Organization recommends a level of 5 PM2.5, µg/m3 . The new guidelines will provide port adjacent communities, like the ones in Wilmington Delaware, with another tool to address the damage of 100 years of port operations. There has been little regard to the concerns of community residents. This is a time for dramatic change on all environmental fronts and coordinated efforts to ensure that impacted communities actually receive the benefit of resources that have been allocated to clean the environment and specifically ports.

Paulina Lopez, Executive Director for the Duwamish River Community Coalition (DRCC) in Seattle, WA, said:

As a member of the Duwamish Valley in South Seattle, a near Port community, I am very grateful for this long overdue final rule towards clean and healthy air for overburdened communities with health inequities. We suffer from dangerous exposures to PM2.5.  Our community is one of the city’s most culturally and racially diverse neighborhoods and also the most overburdened with environmental pollution like black carbon and heavy metal concentrations.  We will be looking very closely at how our community meets revised standards and work with the Port of Seattle closely to move towards zero-emission technology to protect communities historically impacted by multiple pollution sources.

Communications contact: Erika Seiber, eseiber@foe.org

The post Environmental Justice Groups Celebrate EPA’s Decision to Raise Soot Standard appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

The Five-Year Program, which Interior approved on December 14, sets up three massive oil-and-gas auctions through 2029. Interior had originally proposed up to 11 offshore sales, eventually settling on three.

The oil industry lawsuit comes on the heels of another lawsuit from the American Petroleum Institute, Chevron, Shell, and the State of Louisiana to remove baseline protections for the critically endangered Rice’s whale in a December Gulf oil auction. It also follows recent moves by the industry to double down on fossil fuel development in the U.S., despite national and international commitments to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions to address the climate crisis. In November, more than one million gallons of crude oil leaked into the Gulf of Mexico, another major incident and predictable consequence of offshore oil-and-gas development.

Meanwhile, environmental groups and Gulf-based organizations filed a legal challenge of their own today to hold the Interior Department accountable for failing to adequately consider the public health impacts on frontline communities in its final Five-Year Program. While the program does consider the climate impact of continued oil-and-gas leasing, Interior failed to assess the environmental justice effects of continued offshore fossil fuel development – even after determining that this disparity is a critical issue directly linked to the program. Gulf coast residents already suffer disproportionate health burdens due to life-threatening, toxic industrial pollution stemming from federal offshore oil-and-gas leasing, and these harms will be extended with approval for future leasing. Interior also failed to properly evaluate the impacts of oil-and-gas leasing on endangered species, particularly how new leasing would further imperil the critically endangered Rice’s whale, one of the world’s most endangered marine species.

“Fossil fuel development is untenable if we want a livable future,” said Earthjustice attorney Brettny Hardy. “The oil and gas industry is already sitting on nine million acres of undeveloped leases. They certainly are not entitled to more. Although we acknowledge the government’s focus on climate impacts with the release of this five-year offshore leasing plan, we are taking legal action today because we are concerned about how it will jeopardize the health of overburdened communities.”

“In Houston and along the Texas Gulf Coast, the stakes are high: More fossil fuels means more carbon emissions, which means more intense hurricanes hitting the inadequately guarded petrochemical infrastructure that is already in place,” said Kristen Schlemmer, Legal Director & Waterkeeper for Bayou City Waterkeeper in Houston. “It is time for us to transition away from these industries, not enable further drilling in the years to come.”

“Healthy Gulf is critical of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s recent Five-Year Plan for oil and gas leasing on the Outer Continental Shelf in the Gulf of Mexico,” said Andrew Whitehurst, water program director for Healthy Gulf. “We highlighted errors and deficiencies in the agency’s analysis of harmful impacts that will further burden Gulf communities. We join as plaintiffs here to ask a federal court to review BOEM’s plan, and force the agency to improve it.”

“We are not surprised by this industry challenge, given its track record of suing every time the Biden Administration makes any attempt to break free from fossil fuels,” said Hallie Templeton, Legal Director for Friends of the Earth. “While the Five-Year Program does offer a record-low number of sales and greater focus on climate change, unfortunately it continues to unlawfully overlook many significant harms of the offshore drilling industry. Our lawsuit is another stand for the Gulf ecosystem, its nearby communities and all wildlife that continue to suffer at the hands of Big Oil.”

“The new 5-year offshore drilling plan was informed by nearly a million public comments against oil and gas drilling in U.S. waters. The industry’s unwarranted lawsuit belies the fact that new offshore drilling is broadly unpopular and is not needed to meet our nation’s energy needs. Moreover, new offshore drilling will increase carbon pollution and undermine U.S. and global efforts to address climate change, ” said Pete Stauffer, Ocean Protection Manager, Surfrider Foundation.

“Central and western Gulf communities are on the frontlines of offshore drilling disasters, extraction-related pollution, and the climate change fossil fuels are driving,” said Sierra Club’s Lands Protection Program director Athan Manuel. “The Biden Administration finalized a five year plan for offshore fossil fuel development that proposes three additional lease sales, but even that new leasing isn’t enough for these corporations. We will continue to fight to protect our communities and climate from the dangers of offshore drilling.”

“Industry’s lawsuit is unfounded and unwarranted,” said Brad Sewell, director of the oceans program at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council). “This plan still calls for more leasing in the Gulf, which is the last thing we need and in the last place we need it. Gulf waters have never been hotter. Rising seas are swamping the Gulf coast. It’s time to break, not deepen, our dependence on the very fossil fuels that are driving the climate and biodiversity crises. It’s time to make federal ocean policy part of the climate fix, not the problem. Reducing offshore drilling that exposes oceans, marine life and coastal communities to catastrophic risk and ongoing harm is the answer.”

The United States Geological Survey estimates that drilling on public land and in federal waters is responsible for almost a quarter of the greenhouse gases generated by the United States that are warming the planet. The industry currently has 9,000 unused leases or over 8 million acres of public water, and any further expansion of the fossil fuel industry will escalate the climate crisis, said Joanie Steinhaus, Ocean Program Director for Turtle Island Restoration Network.

“We already know that when companies drill, they spill,” said Oceana Campaign Director Joseph Gordon. “While our nation is facing a climate crisis, and coastal communities continue to recover from catastrophic oil spills, the oil industry selfishly wants to open up even more of our oceans for drilling. This comes even though oil and gas companies are already holding over 9 million acres of unused leases. Oceana is ready to stand up to the oil industry to keep it from further ravaging our oceans and our most vulnerable communities. Oceana will fight for those communities, and the oceans that surround them, to stop this deadly cycle of drilling and spilling.”

Communications contact: Brittany Miller, bmiller@foe.org, (202) 222-0746

The post Environmental, Gulf Groups React to API Lawsuit Targeting Five-Year Drilling Plan; Seek Stronger Protections for Gulf of Mexico appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

This project approval comes on the heels of President Biden’s pause on domestic LNG export permit approvals while the administration studies the climate impact of fossil gas exports, which affect global fossil fuel emissions. EXIM is also considering funding a gas project in Guyana and liquefied natural gas in Papua New Guinea, over objections from climate activists.

Friends of the Earth United States and partners sent an open letter to EXIM last month, asking the bank to halt a financing agreement of $400 million to Trafigura, which was approved in July 2023. This letter questions EXIM’s due process in analyzing loan recipients and its method of reconsideration when climate assessments are inadequate, and when financing recipients are charged with corruption.

EXIM has approved many fossil fuel projects since 2020, despite receiving directives from the Biden administration to move toward renewable energy financing. In 2023 the institution funded nearly $1 billion for overseas oil and gas development, violating President Biden’s 2021 Executive Order.

Kate DeAngelis, Senior Program Manager of International Finance for Friends of the Earth, said this:

Time and again the Export-Import Bank proves itself to a be a loose cannon, blatantly disregarding White House climate guidance to funnel hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars toward fossil fuels. EXIM cannot be expected to make good decisions with public financing if it cannot justify the logic of its own decisions or be trusted by its own committees. We call on EXIM Director Reta Jo Lewis to immediately halt all fossil fuel financing.

Contact: Shaye Skiff, Friends of the Earth United States, kskiff@foe.org

The post Export-Import Bank Votes to Proceed with Bahrain Project Financing in Closed-Door Process appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

Since 2018, thirteen major U.S. food retailers representing over $1.4 billion in annual food and beverage sales have established policies aimed at reducing toxic pesticides in their supply chains, signaling a significant shift taking place across the food retail sector. Kroger’s commitment follows in the footsteps of Whole Foods (NASDAQ: AMZN), which announced a pesticide policy in December, 2023, as well as Walmart (NYSE: WMT) and Giant Eagle. 

These industry efforts follow a multi-year campaign led by Friends of the Earth and supported by over 100 environmental, public health, farmer, and farmworker organizations across the country. Friends of the Earth’s Bee-Friendly Retailer Scorecard tracks company progress.

“We now understand that biodiversity collapse is as pressing a threat to planetary health and our food supply as climate change. And the over 1 billion pounds of pesticides used annually in U.S. agriculture are drivers of both,” said Kendra Klein, PhD, deputy director of science at Friends of the Earth. “It’s past time for U.S. food retailers to take swift action to eliminate the use of toxic pesticides in their supply chains and speed the transition to organic and other ecologically regenerative approaches to agriculture. Despite this promising industry trend, efforts fall far short of what is needed to protect pollinators, people, and the planet from toxic pesticides.”

Currently, Giant Eagle leads the pack. Its policy will eliminate the worst neonicotinoid pesticides in the company’s fresh produce supply by 2025. Research shows that U.S. agriculture has become 48 times more toxic to bees and other insects since the advent of neonicotinoid use three decades ago. The European Union has banned the worst neonicotinoids while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency lags behind the science.

Neonicotinoids and all other major classes of pesticides also decimate soil life, according to a recent meta-review co-authored by Friends of the Earth, making the base of our food chain more brittle, and impeding the soil’s ability to sequester carbon – a critical climate change mitigation strategy. And the same pesticides that threaten biodiversity also harm human health, including the farmworkers and rural communities on the frontlines of exposure. 

Another key approach leading companies are taking to pesticide reduction is requiring Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices in their supply chains. Four companies – Giant Eagle, Kroger, Walmart, and Whole Foods – are requiring all fresh produce suppliers to adopt IPM and to verify their compliance using a list of third-party certifications vetted by the IPM Institute of North America.

IPM can reduce use of pesticides by guiding farmers to use non-chemical approaches to manage pests first, such as rotating crops, planting resistant varieties and fostering beneficial insects. 

Nine other companies — Albertsons (NYSE: ASI), Aldi, Costco (NASDAQ: COST), CVS (NYSE: CVS), Dollar Tree (NASDAQ: DLTR), Meijer, Rite Aid (OTCMKTS: RADCQ), Southeastern Grocers, and Target (NYSE: TGT) — have created policies that encourage food and beverage suppliers to reduce use of pesticides of concern — including neonicotinoids, organophosphates and glyphosate — and to shift to least-toxic approaches like IPM, but the policies do not include metrics or targets for implementation.

Leading companies are also committed to growing their organic offerings. Organic is the gold standard for pesticide reduction. The certification prohibits over 900 synthetic pesticides otherwise allowed in agriculture. A growing body of science also highlights organic farming’s ability to regenerate soil, conserve water, enhance farmers’ resilience to droughts and floods, protect biodiversity, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, making it a critical approach to addressing climate change.

Communications contact: Haven Bourque, 415-505-3473, haven@havenbmedia.com

The post Kroger Joins Trend of Grocers Competing to Protect Bees and Biodiversity from Toxic Pesticides appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

JUNEAU (ÁAKʼW ḴWÁAN TERRITORY) — A broad coalition of Alaska Native Tribes, commercial fishers, small tourism businesses, conservation groups, and other forest advocates are seeking to defend last year’s reinstatement of National Roadless Rule protections across the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska by intervening in several legal challenges opposing the rule.

The coalition of Tribes and forest advocates, represented by Earthjustice and the Natural Resources Defense Council, is intervening to prevent industrial logging and damaging roadbuilding on over 9 million mostly undeveloped acres within the 17-million-acre Tongass National Forest.

When the Roadless Rule was reinstated last January on the Tongass National Forest by the U.S. Forest Service, the decision was widely celebrated by Tribal Nations in Southeast Alaska, across Alaska and nationally. The reinstatement decision recognized the need to preserve the Tongass’ roadless areas to protect cultural uses, enhance carbon storage, and conserve biodiversity, and noted strong and uniform support for the rule among Southeast Alaska Tribal Nations.

Despite the widespread popularity of Forest Service’s decision, the State of Alaska, two power companies and a coalition of business and industry supporters filed three separate lawsuits in September asking a federal court in Alaska to overturn the 2023 protections in favor of the 2020 Trump-era Roadless Rule excluding the Tongass.

Under the current Roadless Rule protections, sustainable economies that center the priorities of Tribes and local communities are taking root and flourishing. Overturning these protections would roll back progress toward a more sustainable future and bring back the threat of large-scale logging, which is why 16 Tribes, businesses, fishing, and conservation groups are intervening in the lawsuits today to uphold the rule.

The rule, which recognizes that Southeast Alaska’s future depends on sustainable uses of the forest, is intended to prevent large-scale industrial logging like clear cutting and to conserve the region’s old-growth forests. Old-growth forests are central to the cultures, traditions and lifeways of the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian people, essential for climate protection and important for many purposes to many people, communities and businesses who live on or near the forest.

While the Roadless Rule prohibits logging and logging roads, it allows for other development projects, including hard rock mines, federal-aid highways, utility lines, hydropower projects and other energy projects.

The following statements were issued in response to today’s filing.

Joel Jackson, President, Organized Village of Kake:

“The Roadless Rule has helped protect the Tongass National from harmful logging and road building. Without old growth timber, we lose an important carbon sink and habitat essential to the survival of salmon, people and many other species. The Tongass Roadless Rule is important to everyone – to our way of life and for streams, salmon, deer, and all the forest animals and plants.”

Norman Skan, President, Ketchikan Indian Community:

“The Roadless Rule is beneficial and allows our Tribe and community to thrive. Ketchikan Indian Community is committed to continue working with our tribal neighbors and other stakeholders on this critically important issue.”

Nathan Moulton, Tribal Administrator, Hoonah Indian Association:

“Our lifestyle, culture and foods are linked in critical and dynamic ways to the Tongass National Forest, and so are the economies that power our communities. The Roadless Rule reduces the risk of long-term exploitation of critical old-growth forests and promotes community vibrancy, Alaska Native cultures and food security. The Roadless Rule maximizes the economic, social and environmental sustainability of our Tribe and our region and must not be overturned.”

Mike Jones, President, Organized Village of Kasaan:

“The Roadless Rule has worked well for our Tribe and our community by helping to protect customary and traditional uses of our lands and waters, and the fish, wildlife, trees and plants. This helps us honor our ancestors and provide for current and future generations. The Roadless Rule must continue to be upheld across the Tongass National Forest.”

Wanda Culp (Tlingit), Tongass Hub Regional Coordinator, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network (WECAN):

“The Tongass Forest is home to the ancient Tlingit and Haida Indigenous Nations.  It is where my ancestry originates, my bloodline is Indigenous to this land, its DNA is my DNA. The air we breathe, the water we depend on, the land we live upon, all pristine. This is why we need to ensure the Roadless Rule stays in place—to protect the forest from harmful interests and to ensure a liveable future for all generations.”

Judy Daxootsu Ramos (Tlingit from Yaakwdáat Kwáan (Yakutat, Alaska), Raven moiety, Kwáashk’ikwáan Clan) Board Co-Chair, Southeast Alaska Conservation Council:

“Southeast Alaska is the traditional homeland to the Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian people and has been for thousands of years, but in the last 200 years, we’ve seen tremendous changes — I’ve seen it change drastically in my lifetime — the Roadless Rule is necessary to protect and respect our traditional homelands.”

Linda Behnken, commercial fisher and Executive Director, Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association:

“The Roadless Rule is essential for protecting the remaining intact ecosystems within the Tongass National Forest for generations to come. It would be short-sighted and irresponsible to roll back these protections that support critical habitat for fish and wildlife, sustainable fisheries, and coastal fishing communities, especially as we endure threats posed by climate change and ocean warming.”

Hunter McIntosh, president and executive director, The Boat Company:

“The Boat Company operates small cruise vessels and is part of a growing regional ecotourism economy focused on outdoor recreation and adventure tourism. Ecotours are trips where visitors learn about and admire nature in ways that contribute to conservation and the economic well-being of local communities. By managing roadless areas for outdoor recreation, local communities benefit, and visitors emerge refreshed by the well-known physical and emotional benefits of forest recreation. By preserving intact forests, policies such as the Roadless Rule provide economic benefits that outweigh industrial, extractive uses and protect important ecosystem service values such as carbon storage and sequestration, and fisheries and wildlife.”

Captain Dan Blanchard, owner and CEO, Uncruise Adventures:

“Each year UnCruise Adventures provide hundreds of visitors with scenic views of southeast Alaska coastlines, fjords and forests, and remote recreation experiences such as hiking, kayaking, beach combing and wildlife viewing. I cannot understate the importance of inventoried roadless areas to the ecotour economy.  Our clients expect to see “wild” Alaska and prefer natural landscapes that support healthy and iconic wildlife species such as bears or bald eagles.  Clearcutting and timber road construction in inventoried roadless areas will force us to divert our travel routes and reduce shore-based activities to avoid seeing or being around clearcuts.  These changes would negatively affect Southeast Alaska’s reputation as an uncrowded and high-quality adventure travel destination free from industrial activities.”

Karlin Itchoak, senior regional director for Alaska, The Wilderness Society:

“Reinstating the Roadless Rule was a significant and long-awaited victory for the Tongass and it was a direct result of Tribes and Indigenous peoples of Southeast Alaska demanding the protections of their ancestral homeland. Attempts to roll back these protections disregard their undying efforts and pose significant threats to the communities that depend on this sustainable forest, as well as the wildlife and sacred old-growth forest now protected from harmful development. We stand in solidarity with local Alaska Native leaders in demanding that the Roadless Rule holds firm and the voices of Southeast Alaska are heard to ensure that the Tongass rainforest is protected for the preservation of culture and future generations to come.”

Andy Moderow, senior director of policy, Alaska Wilderness League:

“The Roadless Rule is common sense policy that puts people and public lands first. Reinstating those protections in the Tongass National Forest is at the foundation of efforts to build a sustainable future for Southeast Alaska.  It’s also a flexible rule, that allows for community access, hydropower infrastructure, utility connectors, and other projects when they serve a legitimate public interest.  We will keep defending this rule whenever it is attacked, so that future generations can count on the Tongass National Forest just like we can today.”

Nicole Whittington-Evans, Alaska Program director, Defenders of Wildlife:

“Protecting the Tongass National Forest is an important step in recognizing the role our forests play in fighting the biodiversity and climate crises. Tongass Roadless areas protect rare intact old-growth forest habitat for wildlife and help address climate change by sequestering carbon. Defenders will not waver in our support for protecting this irreplaceable habitat.”

Cooper Freeman, Alaska Representative, Center for Biological Diversity:

“I’m outraged the Dunleavy administration is trying to open up more logging in the country’s largest forest carbon sink in the midst of the climate and extinction crises. Protecting more than half the Tongass is one of the best ways we can preserve this irreplaceable old-growth forest for future generations. We’ll do everything we can to make sure the spectacular Tongass is protected.”

Hallie Templeton, legal director, Friends of the Earth:

“As the country’s largest national forest and carbon sink, protecting the Tongass is essential for local communities and for our global battle against climate change. This is one of our last remaining truly wild places, and it demands ultimate protection from corporate interests. We are proud to continue fighting alongside our tribal, local business, fishing, and conservation partners to ensure that the Tongass and its natural abundance remain off limits to industrial development.”

Background

Situated in the southeast corner of Alaska, the Tongass is a temperate rainforest and the ancestral homeland of the Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian peoples. The islands, fjords, glaciers, and muskegs that make up the nation’s largest national forest provide some of the most rare and intact ecosystems in the world, providing critical habitat for wildlife including salmon, brown and black bears, bald eagles, flying squirrels, goshawks, and Sitka black-tailed deer.

These lands are integral to the ways-of-life of Alaska Native people in the region, who depend on roadless areas for hunting, fishing, gathering traditional medicines, and cultural uses. In addition, the region supports a thriving tourism industry and a local, sustainable, commercial fishing industry. Both industries depend on the forest’s intact ecosystem. The Tongass also serves as the country’s largest forest carbon sink, making its protection critical for U.S. efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions and to set a global example.

Originally adopted in 2001, the Roadless Rule is one of the most significant conservation measures adopted to protect the national forests of the United States. Applicable nationwide, it prohibits industrial logging and most roadbuilding in intact areas of the national forest system, with a few exceptions. Alaska’s Tongass National Forest was protected under the national rule in 2001 but was exempted first under the Bush administration and later under the Trump Administration. During the recent Trump-era rollback in 2020, the public submitted nearly half a million comments. Of those, 96% advocated for keeping Roadless Rule protections in place for the Tongass, and only 1% supported the Trump exemption.

In January 2023, in a much-celebrated decision, the Biden administration reinstated the Roadless Rule for the Tongass, protecting the forest once again from logging and roadbuilding.

The following Tribes and groups, represented by Earthjustice and NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council), are intervening to protect the Roadless Rule: Organized Village of Kake, Hoonah Indian Association, Ketchikan Indian Community, Organized Village of Kasaan, Women’s Earth and Climate Action Network, The Boat Company, Uncruise, Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, Southeast Alaska Conservation Council, Alaska Wilderness League, Sierra Club, Defenders of Wildlife, Center for Biological Diversity, Friends of the Earth, the Wilderness Society and NRDC.

Communications contact: Brittany Miller, bmiller@foe.org, (202) 222-0746

The post Alaska Native Tribes, Southeast Alaska Businesses and Forest Advocates Defend Tongass National Forest’s Roadless Rule appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

“Living next to Formosa Plastics, the perpetual risk to our health, livelihood, security, and hard-earned property is beyond anyone’s imagination,” said Sharon Lavigne, founder of RISE St. James. “Formosa Plastics would wipe the 5th district of St. James off the map, adding to the number of historically black communities that have become extinct due to the intrusion of petrochemical industries.” 

The facility can only be constructed with a federal wetlands permit. The International Monitor Formosa Plastics Alliance recently met with Biden Administration officials and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, delivering over 96,000 signatures to the letter asking that this permit not be granted.

“This ruling is incredibly disappointing and an indicator that the government is willing to put polluters over people,” said Nancy Bui, co-founder of the International Monitor Formosa Plastics Alliance. “Nevertheless, we will not stop the fight. We will continue to move forward until this Formosa Plastics facility is fully rejected and those affected by their destructive practices worldwide are compensated.”

Formosa Plastics has wreaked havoc on communities globally, from Vietnam to Texas. Their steel subsidiary paid the Vietnamese government $500 million after a toxic chemical spill in 2016, causing one of the most significant environmental disasters in Vietnam’s history. Thousands of victims have yet to receive compensation, Formosa Ha Tinh Steel continues to deny an independent environmental study on the current status of marine pollution, and 23 advocates are currently imprisoned for speaking out.

In Texas, Formosa Plastics repeatedly violated chemical accident prevention provisions in the Clean Water Act and discharged massive amounts of plastic pollution in waterways, leading to a $50 million settlement. Although the settlement included a mandate for zero discharge of plastic, the Point Comfort, Texas, plant has received $14.185 million in penalties for 563 violations since the settlement was enacted in February 2020. Since June 2021, the facility has been tested thrice weekly, with each test confirming ongoing violations. 

“It is possible to hold corporate polluters accountable,” said Diane Wilson, 2023 Goldman Prize Winner and environmental activist who led the lawsuit against Formosa Plastics’ Point Comfort facility. “This decision by the Louisiana courts is a huge blow to St. James residents’ right to clean water and air. We must persist and refuse to give up on stopping Formosa Plastics’ historic and extensive cycle of destructive pollution.”

“This ruling is another reminder that petrochemical companies lack accountability,” said Paloma Henriques, Senior Petrochemical Campaigner at Friends of the Earth. “The US government, backed by the courts, continues to allow rampant pollution that harms communities at the production site as well as our shared environment and oceans downstream. We need an immediate halt to new and expanded production facilities and a strong and binding Global Plastics Treaty. In addition, banks must stop financing reckless companies like Formosa Plastics. It’s time to step up and address the plastics crisis head-on.”

Communications Contacts: Erika Seiber, eseiber@foe.org // Gary Watson, gary@garywatsonllc.com

The post Environmentalists Condemn Louisiana Court’s Decision to Uphold Air Permits for Formosa Plastics Facility appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

The report comes as the New York Times reports the White House is likely to impose a pause on a massive LNG export project in Louisiana known as CP2, a move that may impact other proposed terminals as well.

The report, Methane Madness, examines eight proposed LNG projects being considered for approval by the Biden administration. These unbuilt LNG export projects would expand LNG export capacity into the Asia Pacific region, opening a massive market for Big Oil, and expanding commodity speculation. 

“Big Oil’s talking points about European energy security are cynical and inaccurate,” said Lukas Ross, Climate and Energy Deputy Director at Friends of the Earth. “It is past time for the Department of Energy to overhaul its broken, rubber stamp LNG process.”

The data shows that long-term LNG supply contracts are least likely to be signed with European buyers. If the Biden Administration greenlights these projects and they are brought online, over half of the LNG will be locked into contracts with Big Oil companies and commodity traders–loyal only to their own bottom lines.

“Record LNG exports drive up home heating prices for Americans, and line the pockets of fossil fuel CEOs, and these new planet-wrecking projects are not in the interest of the public ,” said Alan Zibel, an energy researcher with Public Citizen. “No amount of misleading energy industry lobbying can undo the simple reality that LNG exports force American consumers to pay more in the long run while U.S.-produced gas winds up in Beijing and Berlin. The expansion of U.S. LNG export capacity simply empowers Big Oil giants and commodity traders’ ability to earn eye-popping profits.”

Key Findings:

• Eight proposed LNG export projects regulated by the US government are locking-in long term contracts with purchasers – a key ingredient needed to attract investors and begin construction. But none of the eight projects have all the permits from the Biden Administration needed to proceed.
• If built, the eight pending projects will produce the annual equivalent of 113 coal plants in planet-warming emissions. President Biden could defuse these carbon bombs by pausing new Department of Energy approvals while existing regulations are overhauled.
• More than half of the volume from these pending facilities has been secured by commodity trading firms and Big Oil’s speculative trading arms. That means the LNG from these facilities, if they are built, will be sold wherever these so-called “portfolio players” can turn the biggest profit — undercutting industry claims that the expansion is needed for European energy security. Four of the five largest purchasers by volume from pending facilities are speculators.
• The temporary surge in LNG exports to Europe since the outbreak of war in Ukraine is not translating into long-term demand. Contracts with European customers represent the smallest share (18%) from pending LNG facilities. Contracts with Asia Pacific customers account for 30% of total volume, with the remaining 52% going to commodity firms and other portfolio buyers.

Contacts:
Brittany Miller, Friends of the Earth, bmiller@foe.org, (202) 222-0746
Jayson O’Neill, BailoutWatch, joneill@climatenexus.org, (406) 570-5019
Patrick Davis, Public Citizen, pdavis@citizen.org, (608) 770-4800

The post Fossil Fuel Speculators Benefit Most From Pending LNG Terminals, Sticking U.S. Consumers with Higher Bills, Analysis Shows appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

This week, Friends of the Earth United States and partners sent an open letter to EXIM, asking the bank to halt its payment of $400 million to Trafigura, a financing agreement that was approved in July 2023. This letter questions EXIM’s due process in analyzing funding recipients and its method of reconsideration when corruption is revealed. This comes on the heels of both the United States and Swiss governments launching investigations into the company’s affairs.

Despite this, EXIM last year gave Trafigura the massive financing of $400 million to purchase liquefied natural gas, a decision the groups charge was made based on flawed environmental damage assessments. EXIM is soon expected to approve $660 million for the Gas to Energy Project in Guyana, despite similar concerns from activists. In 2023 the institution funded nearly $1 billion for overseas oil and gas development, violating President Biden’s 2021 Executive Order.

Kate DeAngelis, Senior Program Manager of International Finance for Friends of the Earth, said this:

Companies like Trafigura continue to line their pockets with US taxpayer dollars, thanks to the US Export-Import Bank. EXIM should be embarrassed to be spending public funds on propping up companies who disregard the law and disrupt our planet, yet the institution shows no shame. We call on Chairwoman Reta Jo Lewis to live up to her climate pledges and drop this financing, and to invest in renewable energy projects that are better for people and the planet.

Contact: Shaye Skiff, Friends of the Earth United States, kskiff@foe.org

The post Amid Corruption Charges, Groups Demand EXIM Halt Payments to Trafigura appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

The surge of violence targeting civilians in Gaza and Israel is an affront to our core beliefs. As such, we strongly condemn Hamas’ brutal attack on October 7th that resulted in the death of nearly 1,200 people in Israel and the taking of more than 200 hostages. We also strongly condemn the Israeli government’s brutal and indiscriminate mass bombing campaign and intermittent blockade of food, medicine, fuel, and water, which has killed more than 22,000 Palestinians, injured more than 57,000 and dislocated more than 1.8 million people (80%+ of Gaza) to date. We mourn the generational impact that this violence will have on survivors, surviving family members, and the prospects for lasting peace in the region.    

Our core vision also means rejecting hate, bias, and oppression. As such, we decry threats against Jewish, Arab, and Muslim groups and individuals on college campuses and in workplaces and denounce the rise of all forms of bigotry and racism while upholding foundational First Amendment rights to peaceably assemble and express political opinions. Given that the free exchange of ideas is fundamental to a just and democratic society, we encourage leaders to condemn actions meant to stifle such speech on campuses and other public spheres while also condemning any discourse which aims to incite violence, fear and hate.   

Our commitment to a healthy and just world requires us to reject and work against militarism. Friends of the Earth has fought to decrease defense spending, oppose U.S. military interventions, and reduce the threat of nuclear war. While we acknowledge the right of countries and peoples to defend themselves and their territories, this defense must be conducted within international laws and conventions. We believe conflicts are resolved by focusing on root causes of the conflict through the recognition of our collective human dignity, and ensuring rights to clean water, healthy and culturally appropriate food, shelter, a right to self-determination, and a safe and healthy environment.  

Friends of the Earth United States demands: 

• The U.S. calls on the parties in Gaza and Israel to end the violence that is claiming so many innocent lives by implementing a mutual ceasefire that includes the immediate return of all innocent or uncharged detainees and hostages by all parties;
   
• All parties respect the distinction between government actors, combatants and civilians at the core of the post-World War II Geneva Conventions and International Humanitarian Law during this conflict, including the principle of proportionality.
   
• The U.S. insists Israel immediately stop the siege of Palestinian civilians and civilian infrastructure (including internet access) and allows for necessary food, water, fuel, medicine and humanitarian aid to enter Gaza to address the ongoing humanitarian crisis. 
   
• The U.S. ends all military aid that supports bombing of civilians, indiscriminate operations that endanger civilians, or the removal or dislocation of Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank.
  
   

Friends of the Earth United States calls on our leaders to advance these demands to achieve our humanitarian goals and ideals. The best reason for a ceasefire is that the war is a humanitarian disaster. As such, it is our hope that following a ceasefire the people of Israel and Palestine find their way to new leadership as a step toward achieving a lasting and just peace to end this tragic conflict. 

Communications contact: Erin Jensen, ejensen@foe.org 

The post Friends of the Earth U.S. Statement on Israel-Palestine Conflict appeared first on Friends of the Earth.

Senator Liz Krueger, lead sponsor of the bill, issued the following statement: 

“I am incredibly disappointed that the Governor has chosen to veto the Tropical Deforestation-Free Procurement Act. Just a week after the nations of the world produced the most aggressive joint statement yet from COP 28, this decision from the Governor sends a dangerous message that New York is not going to do its part. Vetoing this bill is a missed opportunity and a failure to take leadership on a critical issue that affects every New Yorker.

“Let’s be clear, this is not some esoteric issue for tree-huggers – the climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis threaten the very survival of human civilization. The days when New York’s leaders can pretend that what goes on in another part of the world has no impact on us are long past. It is crunch time to make sure New York is solidly on the path to fight climate change with everything we’ve got. That means we can’t ignore the emissions we outsource to other countries through our consumer choices. State government must take the lead in ensuring our procurement dollars are not driving deforestation in our planet’s critical tropical forests, exacerbating the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss, and threatening the rights and lands of Indigenous peoples.”

“At the same time, this bill would have given New York businesses a leg up on the competition by helping them clean up their supply chains. It was a win-win-win for people, planet, and New York’s economy. Unfortunately, now it’s a lose-lose-lose because of the Governor’s veto.”

Senator Krueger’s full statement is available here. 

Assemblymember Kenneth Zebrowski, lead sponsor of the bill issued the following statement: 

“As New York continues to take action to limit the state’s impact on climate change, I am disappointed in the vetoing of the Tropical Deforestation-Free Procurement Act. This legislation received bipartisan support in both houses, and created a feasible way to ensure that New York does not contribute to deforestation and the effects of these practices. Though this is not the outcome that I hoped for, I will continue to work towards passing legislation that accomplishes this goal.”

Advocates supporting the bill issued the following statements:

“The veto of the Tropical Deforestation-Free Procurement Act goes against New York’s commitment to combat the climate crisis and needlessly postpones crucial measures that protect both our businesses and front-line communities from its escalating hardships. This bill proposed immediate climate action that was not just vital, but completely feasible; its veto abdicates environmentally smart and just leadership to industries whose self-interest binds them to the status quo. New York can and must do better.” – Vanessa Fajans-Turner, Executive Director, Environmental Advocates NY

“Governor Hochul’s veto of this bill represents a grievous failure to meet the climate crisis with commonsense policy. The profound threat of the climate emergency is not in question; New Yorkers feel the impact with every hurricane, flood, wildfire, and heat wave. This bill would mitigate climate risk while empowering New York businesses and standing up for the rights of frontline communities. A true win-win. We are surprised and dismayed that the Governor’s office didn’t see the opportunity in front of them. But ending deforestation is far too important to give up on, and we will come back next year with an even stronger coalition to pass the bill. We thank Senator Krueger, Assemblymember Zebrowski, and the bill’s additional sponsors for their leadership.” – Jeff Conant, Senior International Forest Program Manager, Friends of the Earth U.S.

“Plain and simple, the veto of the Tropical Deforestation Free Procurement Act is a setback to address the urgent interconnected crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and social justice. We will not be deterred in our collective effort to stop the State of New York from funding climate destruction, which is causing extreme and almost all too common flooding in communities and basements across New York. The supporters of this act include Indigenous People across the globe, who are the first and worst impacted by climate change, and they share a greater burden with the loss of their ancestral lands to irresponsible multinational corporations.” –Marcus Sibley, northeast director of conservation partnerships at the National Wildlife Federation

“This bill enjoys widespread support among businesses because of the economic and climate benefits it would deliver. New York should not be in the business of awarding state contracts to multinational corporations involved in destroying rainforests, especially when such products can be produced right here at home. We’re disappointed in the Governor’s veto, and we remain committed to supporting this critical legislation again next year.” – Bob Rossi, Executive Director, New York Sustainable Business Council

“At a moment when global policy and the marketplace are undergoing a clear transformation on forest protection, Governor Hochul is holding New York back. At COP28 in Dubai, more than 190 countries resoundingly coalesced around the need to halt and reverse deforestation and land degradation by 2030. This week, President Biden has announced a proposal for ending logging in old-growth forests by 2025. This is not a question of if, but when, sustainability standards like those in the NY Tropical Deforestation-Free Procurement Act become the norm. With the stroke of her pen, Governor Hochul missed the opportunity to solidify New York State as a leader; instead, with this veto, she’s mired the economy in unsustainable practices.” –Jennifer Skene, Natural Climate Solutions Policy Manager, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council)

The Governor’s veto followed calls to the Governor to sign the legislation from dozens of groups including 50+ climate and justice organizations, businesses from across the state, and investors representing over $2.5 trillion in assets under management. 

Earlier this year, advocates including Indigenous leaders visiting from South America, Indonesia, and around the globe delivered more than 600,000 petition signatures, including from thousands of New Yorkers, to Governor Hochul asking her to sign the bill. Thousands of New Yorkers called and emailed the Governor in support of the bill.  

In recent weeks, the legislation gained a higher profile in the media, with coverage in the New York Times, NYS Public Radio, New York Daily News, and elsewhere. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio endorsed the legislation to his 62 million followers on Instagram.  

About The New York Tropical Deforestation-Free Procurement Act: 

• It would require state contractors who deal in tropical forest-risk commodities to demonstrate that their products don’t drive tropical deforestation or degradation.

• Would close loopholes in existing 30-year-old state law banning the use of tropical hardwoods for government projects.

• Would provide a bidding preference for small and medium-sized businesses, minority-and-women-owned businesses, and businesses fulfilling state contracts using New York products.

• Would create a supply chain transparency assistance program to support New York-based small and medium-sized businesses and women and minority-owned enterprises to achieve ethical and sustainable supply chains for forest-risk products. 

• Defines “tropical forest-risk commodities” to include soy, beef, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, wood pulp, paper and wood products, with other commodities to be considered by the Commissioner of the Office of General Services.

Communications contact: TJ Helmstetter, tjhelmstetter@foe.org

The post Legislators, Advocates Respond to Gov. Hochul’s Veto of The New York Tropical Deforestation-Free Procurement Act appeared first on Friends of the Earth.