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This report is the fourth in a series prepared by Resources for the Future (RFF) and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) that examines policies and programs to promote fairness for workers and communities in a transition to a low–carbon economy. This report focuses on federal labor policies and includes a limited discussion of state programs.

New report from EDF and Soil Health Partnership helps farmers better understand the benefits, opportunities and limiting factors associated with common conservation practices. The post Understanding the impact of conservation tillage on operating expenses first appeared on Growing Returns.

Today, Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) reintroduced an ambitious bill that would significantly cut climate pollution across the economy while investing in mitigation, adaptation and the economic well-being of communities across the country.

New report by EDF finds that air pollution standards that ensure all heavy-duty trucks and buses sold for community use are zero-emitting by 2040.

On February 19, the U.S. officially reentered the Paris Agreement after being on the sidelines for four years. Even with the federal government beginning to restore and strengthen climate leadership, states still have a critical role to play in putting climate action points on the board. Oregon’s recently launched Climate Protection Program has the potential …

Last year, a collection of 15 states and Washington D.C. committed to transitioning to zero-emission trucks and buses via a multi-state memorandum of understanding. This year will be a critical year for the effort, as these states begin to pinpoint the suite of policies needed to foster this transition in an equitable, maximally beneficial way.

Every pre-COVID school day, approximately 480,000 school buses carry more than 25 million children to school across the United States. Most of them run on diesel fuel and spew pollution that causes cancer, triggers asthma attacks and makes climate change worse. Indeed, of the over 40,000 school buses registered in the U.S. in 2019, only …

EDF Statement from Elizabeth Gore, Senior Vice President, Political Affairs

By proactively investing in natural infrastructure and conservation priorities, Congress can begin to build protections for the coastal ecosystems that help protect communities, while creating jobs and reducing the costs of future disasters. The post 3 actions Congress can take now to build more resilient coasts first appeared on Growing Returns.

The latest California-Quebec auction was fully subscribed, based on results released today. This is the second quarter in a row where all allowances sold, which is good news for the state’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. There is still opportunity, however, for more ambition in the program moving forward. Today’s results, by the numbers All 54,773,607 …

Action will carry forward vital work to develop a comprehensive, mandatory framework to produce useful climate-related disclosure.

More than 50 advocacy organizations today called on leaders in Congress to make significant investments to accelerate the transition to a just 100% clean economy as part of an economic recovery

Electricity system operators balance supply and demand precisely at every moment of every day through market design grounded in economic principles. As the share of variable renewable resources like wind and solar electricity on our electricity system increases, system operators, policy makers and energy market regulators are facing new questions on how to design the …

To avoid the worst consequences of climate change, companies must reduce their reliance on diesel-powered trucks to move goods – and they must act quickly. Transportation is expected to be the largest source of new greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions through 2050, and a major driver of dangerous air pollution, which is disproportionately concentrated in low …

Innovation funds and labs have long been in practice. Private companies have used various vehicles to spark innovation and incubate new products or services for decades. Today we’re watching as environmental challenges become more severe, urgent and prolific. Pressure is on to find solutions and deploy them more quickly than ever before. We must take …

A prediction: 2021 will be the year that Wall Street rethinks its relationship with K Street. With corporate political spending and lobbying under increasing scrutiny and a new administration advancing financially material, government-wide climate action, financial institutions have good reason to reassess their climate lobbying. While some banks and asset managers have pushed for climate-friendly …

ESG: Using finance to drive real change

As stakeholder demand for climate leadership surges and as the business benefits of climate action become clear, executives are increasingly embracing net zero by 2050 as the new business imperative. This means setting net zero by 2050 goals, and turning these pledges into progress. As the Transform to Net Zero initiative stated in its position …

McDonald’s and Environmental Defense Fund’s collaboration began three decades ago, when we partnered in an effort to reduce solid waste from the company’s restaurants. The results? Over the next decade, McDonald’s eliminated more than 300 million pounds of packaging (including the polystyrene clamshells), recycled 1 million tons of corrugated boxes and reduced restaurant waste by 30%, while …

The urgency for companies to accelerate the transition to electric vehicles is underscored as demand for e-commerce, and with it last-mile deliveries, soars. The result: more fossil-fuel based trucks on the road that contribute to greenhouse gas emissions worsening air pollution. Companies are setting ambitious climate goals, and zero-emissions shipping will be critical for hitting …

The Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) might not be a household name, but electricity customers across Texas have plenty of reason to be thankful for its latest actions. Recently, the PUC has made some key decisions to protect Texas’ competitive electricity markets and make sure all Texans have access to affordable and clean electric energy.

Last summer, Texas’ electric grid was put to the test by scorching temperatures that sent power demand soaring and raised the specter of potential brownouts. Thankfully, the grid did what it was designed to do and pulled through without any major issues. This week, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas released its projection for how …

As Texans contend with the threat of the COVID-19 virus and an economic downturn, the state’s Public Utility Commission has adopted a proposal to prevent customers from having their power shut off in the midst of the current crisis. Chairman DeAnn Walker initially put forward a set of policies on Tuesday to protect the state’s …

This post was co-authored by Alexander Golub, Adjunct Professor of Environmental Science at American University. Shutterstock For companies that are large emitters of greenhouse gases, uncertainty about policies to address climate change can be a real challenge. But our new paper in the journal Energy shows how companies that invest now in a novel approach to climate mitigation could …

Earlier this month, EDF’s Office of Chief Economist hosted a virtual fireside chat with Jason Bordoff, Professor of Professional Practice and Founding Director of Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy and Marianne Kah, an Adjunct Senior Research Scholar and Advisory Board member at the Center. Prior to joining Columbia, Bordoff had served in the …