Statement: $6 billion in subsidies for distressed nuclear plants are misguided
Tapping into $6 billion in subsidies passed as part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Department of Energy launched a program on Tuesday to bail out the owners and operators of money-losing nuclear power plants.
Statement: Clean schools program means cleaner, healthier future
Vice President Kamala Harris will announce on Monday a clean schools infrastructure program, which features grant funding for public school energy upgrades, money for electric school buses, and investments in rural schools.
Statement: Weatherization funding takes advantage of the ‘cleanest energy’
President Joe Biden and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced on Wednesday $3.16 billion in new funding through the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) for residential energy upgrades.
Statement: EPA acts responsibly by relaunching climate science and policy website
WASHINGTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency reinstated its website centered on climate science and policy on Thursday. This information was removed from the EPA website by the previous administration. This relaunch is a strong signal that the Biden administration will restore the role of science in protecting our communities and public health.
Statement: U.S. officially rejoins the international Paris Agreement
WASHINGTON -- The United States officially rejoined the international Paris Agreement on Friday. The act brings America back into a key accord aimed at reducing planet-warming emissions.
Environment America had called on Biden to prioritize rejoining the Paris Agreement on his first day in office in the "First Things to Fix" report. The report presented 20 actions for the Biden administration to undertake in early days of office to undo the Trump administration’s rollbacks of environmental laws and protections.
Statement: Biden administration will make historic commitments to protecting America’s natural heritage
WASHINGTON -- As part of an executive order, President Joe Biden is expected to announce Wednesday a stop on all new drilling in public lands and waters. The president will also set a goal of protecting 30 percent of U.S. lands and oceans by the year 2030.
Statement: NOAA proposes important updates to right whale protections that seek to prevent species’ extinction
Critically endangered North Atlantic right whales may soon see updated protections, after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) posted a draft of their proposed rule to protect the species from fishing gear entanglements online on Wednesday.
Statement: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service punts on decision to list monarch butterflies under the Endangered Species Act
"It’s horrifying that the monarch’s population has fallen so low; it’s great to hear that the Fish and Wildlife Service, after conducting an ‘intensive, thorough review,’ agrees that the monarch deserves new protections. And it’s absurd that the agency is punting on any sort of plan to protect this important species."
Statement: Virginia becomes first southern state to join RGGI
RICHMOND, Va. -- Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday that Virginia is officially the first southern state to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a consortium of Mid-Atlantic and Northeast states which has worked together for more than a decade to successfully cut pollution from power plants.
Statement: Dual EPA rollbacks weaken clean water protections against toxic coal waste
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released two proposals today to roll back clean water protections against waste from coal-fired power plants. The first proposal would overhaul wastewater rules, drastically weakening safeguards that prevent utilities from discharging toxic pollutants like arsenic, lead and mercury into America’s waterways. The second proposal would significantly extend closure dates for coal ash disposal sites, allowing utilities to continue storing toxic coal debris in ponds that can leak or overflow, for decades.