Pacific Environment - Protecting the living environment of the Pacific Rim

Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the majority of California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) waiver request for the Commercial Harbor Craft Rule, including most of the zero-emission requirements.   This regulation paves the way for zero-emissions harbor craft such as ferries, tugboats and workboats. This rule will significantly improve the air  Californians living by … Read more

WASHINGTON – Today, Congresswoman Nanette Barragán (D-CA) introduced the Zero-Emission Vessel Innovation Act, a bill that would support the development and deployment of clean shipping technology to transition to zero-emission vessels. The legislation would significantly reduce pollution, promote environmental justice, and green the shipping industry—a vital component of the global economy and coastal communities. Maritime shipping … Read more

Just in time for the holidays, the Ship It Zero campaign is bringing visibility to the impacts of dirty ocean shipping caused by mega retailers all year round but especially as they ship their goods during the holiday season. The campaign has announced the release of its 2024 Retailer Shipping Decarbonization Progress Reports, which calls … Read more

SEATTLE — On November 5, 2024, voters in Washington defeated a ballot initiative that would have repealed the Climate Commitment Act (CCA), the market-based cap-and-invest program requiring the state’s largest polluters to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. More than 575 organizations in a diverse coalition including labor, Tribal, environmental and business stakeholders joined together to protect … Read more

WASHINGTON, DC (October 29, 2024) — Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the recipients of the Clean Ports Program Grants. These grants were made possible under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 which provided $3 billion to fund zero-emission port equipment and infrastructure as well as climate and air quality planning for U.S. ports.  … Read more

SEATTLE (October 28, 2024) – This past June, the Port of Seattle became the first port in the nation to independently require that 100% of all cruise vessels homeported in Seattle be shore power capable and utilize shore power by 2027, three years before the Port’s previous goal of 2030. Today, the Port of Seattle … Read more

As Amazon races to kickoff the holiday season with its two-day Prime Day member events on October 8th and 9th, Pacific Environment’s Ship It Zero campaign is again sounding the alarm about the harms caused by Amazon’s ever-increasing fossil-fueled deliveries with the launch of the Ship It Zero 2024 Amazon Decarbonization Progress Report.  The progress … Read more

SEATTLE (Traditional Puget Sound Salish and Duwamish Lands) — Since Amazon announced its “Climate Pledge” initiative to reduce emissions in September of 2019, the company continued to expand its U.S. shipping and deliveries pollution – and today, a joint investigation by Stand.earth Research Group (SRG), the Clean Mobility Collective (CMC), and the Ship it Zero … Read more

A policy paper released today by Pacific Environment reveals that there is a huge body of scientific work and studies that show that Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (ECGS) – otherwise known as scrubbers – are detrimental to the marine environment, wildlife and people’s health.  Read the paper. “Ship pollution: From air to ocean. The science … Read more

BERKELEY, Calif. (May 21, 2024) — Two reports co-released today by Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California Berkeley and Energy & Environmental Research Associates delve into policy changes and technology to decarbonize ocean going vessels. Non-profit Pacific Environment commissioned these reports. This set of reports seeks to inform stakeholders and policymakers on potential … Read more

SINGAPORE (April 16, 2024) – During Singapore Maritime Week 2024, Pacific Environment and the Ulsan Port Authority signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlining a vision of multi-year collaboration to accelerate zero-emission shipping and ports in the Republic of Korea, within Asia, across transpacific and global corridors. The MOU Signing Ceremony occurred during a joint … Read more

London, 22 March, 2024 — As this week’s meeting of the International Maritime Organization’s Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 81, March 18-22) winds down, the Clean Shipping Coalition welcomed the growing support for a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions levy, but warned that IMO member states must also maintain focus on other key issues such as … Read more