Congress, White House Reconciliation Package Must Maintain Historic Climate Investments for Shipping, Ports and Freight

WASHINGTON (October 28, 2021) –The White House and key members of Congress have released a $1.85 trillion framework for the upcoming reconciliation package, which includes a historic $550 billion to invest in combating the ongoing climate crisis. Tyler McFadden, Federal Climate Policy Manager at Pacific Environment, made the following statement: “Pacific Environment welcomes this historic … Read more

Walmart, Target Must Take Accountability for Spiking Port Pollution in Los Angeles, Long Beach

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Biden-Harris administration authorized 24/7 operations at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to ease import backlogs, working with top importers including Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and Lowe’s to accelerate shipments of goods throughout the country yesterday. The Ship It Zero Coalition calls on the Biden-Haris administration, Walmart, Target, … Read more

UN Shipping Agency Fails to Reduce Shipping Industry’s Climate Emissions

Failure to reduce the shipping industry’s climate emissions marred the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO’s) recently concluded meeting involving representatives of more than 60 countries. Pacific Environment and other civil society observers expressed dismay at the lack of agreement or even consideration of meaningful action to address the climate crisis by the U.N. shipping agency’s Marine … Read more

Big Oil’s Plan B: More Plastic

Big Oil is racing to make more plastic as demand for fossil fuel energy is plummeting. Fossil fuels are the core element in the production of plastics. Faced with falling profits from dirty energy use, the industry is proposing massive expansion of the petrochemical production of plastics—drowning our communities and oceans in plastic trash. Our … Read more

Making “Zero Waste” Cool in Vietnam

Professor Nhan Nguyen brings his passion for reducing plastic waste into the classroom at RMIT University in Ho Chi Minh City. “Climate change and plastic pollution are the environmental issues of our time,” Nhan says. “Vietnam doesn’t contribute much to climate change, but we are a major contributor to plastic pollution. I want my students to know about these … Read more

Help Us Take On Plastic Pollution

Did you know that more than 90% of plastic waste is never recycled? Instead, most of it is being sent to landfills and incinerators, or polluting our land and our oceans. Meet Mrs. Lan who is working on the frontlines of plastic pollution in Vietnam. Mrs. Lan picks through household trash to make her living … Read more

UN Shipping Body Fails to Implement Its Own Greenhouse Gas Reduction Plan

Hopes for bold action to reduce the global shipping sector’s huge greenhouse gas emissions were dashed this week when a ‘business as usual’ draft text was approved. In pursuing this outcome, many countries have actively worked to undermine the IMO Initial Strategy goals, and knowingly broken their Paris Agreement commitment to pursue 1.5℃ compatible emissions … Read more

Pacific Environment Condemns Oil Spill in Mauritius

San Francisco, California – On August 6, 2020, a Japanese-owned, Panamanian registered deep sea bulk carrier MV Wakashio began leaking fuel oil off the small island state of Mauritius, sparking an environmental catastrophe. Pacific Environment’s team has since worked to mobilize public awareness and an urgent international response. As of August 12, a reported 1,000 … Read more

“No Delays or Softening of Climate Action at California Ports,” Pacific Environment Tells State Authorities

Pacific Environment and Environmental Defense Fund today urge the State of California to move forward overdue climate mitigation and public health measures in California ports. Specifically, we call on the California Environmental Protection Agency and the California Air Resources Board to reject several proposals we’ve become aware of asking for delays or roll backs in … Read more

Earth Day Webinar: How to Get Ships off Fossil Fuels

UPDATE: If you missed the webinar, you can watch it now on our YouTube channel. Ships connect the world. The coronavirus crisis reminds us just how much. While millions are on lockdown and entire economies closed, the international shipping industry is working at full speed — moving the foods, goods, and medical supplies the world … Read more