Climate justice

New automobile standards to make for cleaner car travel, improve air quality, protect public health, fight climate change

WASHINGTON – Today, March 20, [2024], the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced final national pollution standards for passenger cars, light-duty trucks, and medium-duty vehicles for model years 2027 through 2032 and beyond. These standards will avoid more than 7 billion tons of carbon emissions and provide nearly $100 billion of annual net benefits to society, … Read more

Clean mobility community, school projects across California receive $33M from state air board

SACRAMENTO – The California Air Resources Board (CARB) recently awarded $33 million in grants to support projects that increase access to zero-emissions transportation and diversify mobility options for schools and communities that service more than 20 low-income areas, including a new effort that empowers communities with resources to plan for future transportation projects. The programs, … Read more

Environmental groups chalk up victory. Major So. Cal. polluters could face financial penalties

Los Angeles – In a major win for polluter accountability, a legal settlement announced today will require the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) to adopt a rule that could fine polluters for their emissions contributing to the region’s poor air quality. Plaintiffs estimate that a fee rule could result in SCAQMD collecting over … Read more

Multiple illegal imports of HFCs prevented through EPA enforcement actions

WASHINGTON – Today [Jan. 29, 2024], EPA is announcing a settlement with Open Mountain Energy, LLC, a geothermal power generation company, for the attempted illegal import of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which is the latest in a series of enforcement actions EPA has taken recently against importers of HFCs. HFCs are a super climate pollutant with global warming … Read more

Permian Basin gas, oil subsidies boost air pollution, cost billions: NRDC report

WASHINGTON — Amid record industry profits and rising climate damages, a new NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) report documents 57 federal and state subsidies that the fossil fuel industry receives in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico that incentivize extraction, cost taxpayers billions, worsen climate change and increase harmful air pollution. The authors … Read more

Top air, climate polluters named in UMass Amherst Updated Indexes

Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) today published their latest Greenhouse 100 Polluters Index, Toxic 100 Air Polluters Index and Toxic 100 Water Polluters Index, revealing the top industrial polluters in the United States. PERI has also updated its Air Toxics at School database, which tracks air pollution at every … Read more

Biofuel megaproject operations halted by Bay Area court

MARTINEZ, Calif.— The Contra Costa County Superior Court today [Oct. 12, 2023] ordered Phillips 66 to halt its plan to operate a biofuel refinery in Rodeo, California. The court put the Bay Area megaproject on hold until the county fully complies with environmental review requirements that it violated when first approving the project. Communities for … Read more

Q & A interview with Courage California’s Angela Chavez on Climate Justice

Alan Kandel: Angela, Courage California is the organization you represent. What is Courage California’s purpose and what is your role? Angela Chavez: Courage California is a statewide multi-issue advocacy organization. We believe in a progressive, equitable, and representative California, powered by our people. By providing accessible digital tools, such as our California Voter Guide and Annual … Read more

Appellate court rejects proposed Utahan railway permit

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court today [Aug. 18, 2023] rejected the U.S. Surface Transportation Board’s permit for the proposed Uinta Basin Railway, designed to quadruple oil production in Utah’s Uinta Basin and move crude through the Colorado Rockies to Gulf Coast refineries. Today’s [Aug. 18, 2023’s] ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the … Read more

EPA again abruptly ends weak-ozone-standards reconsideration

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today [Aug. 21, 2023] that it is pulling the plug on its reconsideration of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone, commonly referred to as smog and starting a lengthy, slow full review. As a result of today’s decision, if the EPA doesn’t pick up … Read more