WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Ocean Conservancy and Pacific Environment released a new report that provides a hopeful, achievable and most importantly a zero-emission vision for the U.S. shipping industry. If the U.S. can eliminate emissions from the shipping industry by 2035, not only will it help move the country in line with a 1.5 degree … Read more
All Aboard: How the Biden-Harris Administration Can Help Ships Kick Fossil Fuels provides 20 policies that create a roadmap for how the U.S. can move toward zero-emission fuels and ships, clean and renewable sources of onshore power at U.S. ports, and achieve zero emissions from the shipping industry in the next 15 years. Full Report … Read more
We support community leaders to fight climate change, protect the oceans, build just societies, and move away from fossil fuels toward a green economy. With your help, over the past year we supported local partners with more than $430,000 in grants, expert trainings and skill-building workshops, as well as travel stipends to advocate for change at international … Read more
Amid the crises we have been struggling with in 2020, in our communities, in our nation, and in the world, I find myself more appreciative than ever of your support. Let me share a few examples of how your contribution to Pacific Environment makes a meaningful and important difference in tackling one of our most important global emergencies: … Read more
On November 25, 2020, Pacific Environment wrote to A.P. Møller – Mærsk (“Maersk”), the world’s largest container shipping company, urging them to invest in zero-emissions vessel innovation and related infrastructure rather than host a $1.6bn share buyback. According to reporting by the Financial Times on November 20, 2020, A.P. Møller – Mærsk is preparing to … Read more
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
San Francisco, California. – Pacific Environment welcomes introduction of the landmark Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act of 2020 in the U.S. House of Representatives today and commends its authors for focusing in on curbing ships’ climate emissions. The shipping industry emits over 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide in addition to climate-warming super pollutants methane and … Read more
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
August 4, 2020 (San Francisco, California) — The International Maritime Organization (IMO) today released its Fourth IMO Greenhouse Gas Study. The study finds that total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from maritime shipping rose roughly 10% from 2012 to 2018 and are on track to exceed 2008 levels as early as 2019-2020. Carbon dioxide (CO2) constituted … Read more
Today, Pacific Environment thanks the UN’s Shipping Agency for hosting virtual dialogues on rapid decarbonization rules for international shipping. The meetings were held in part due to pressure from Pacific Environment and allies urging that the world cannot allow the COVID-19 crisis to exacerbate the climate crisis. Good technical progress made this week reveals that … Read more
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
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
Today, Pacific Environment and environmental allies urge the head of the UN’s Shipping Agency to proceed rapidly to decarbonize international shipping. Critical UN environmental meetings have been rightfully postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic — environmental groups support these actions, but the inability to convene in person must not be used as a pretext to … Read more
In February, our Arctic team returned to London to push for a ban on heavy fuel oil. Pacific Environment and Indigenous and international allies urged the United Nations to listen to science and respect the wishes of local communities to ban this dirtiest of all fossil fuels from the Arctic. The ban will directly protect … Read more
London, Friday February 21, 2020: NGOs and Indigenous groups today cautiously acknowledged progress by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and its Member States in agreeing on a draft regulation on heavy fuel oil (HFO) use and carriage in the Arctic, but denounced the inclusion of loopholes in the text that mean the ban will not come … Read more
Over 46,000 people want Carnival Corporation’s dirty cruise ships out of Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park. We made sure the National Park Service got that message. Two years ago, a Carnival-owned Holland America cruise ship illegally dumped 22,000 gallons of wastewater in Glacier Bay National Park. At the time, they were fined $250—a fraction of … Read more
London, February 17, 2020: NGOs today called on the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to protect the Arctic marine environment from the impacts of international shipping, by agreeing to a new regulation banning the use and carriage of heavy fuel oil (HFO) as fuel by ships operating in Arctic waters during this week’s “Arctic IMO Summit” in … Read more
London, January 27, 2020 – Responding to the discovery that some of the new blended low sulphur shipping fuels developed and marketed by oil companies to comply with IMO 2020 air pollution standards will actually lead to a surge in the emissions of a Super Pollutant known as Black Carbon, the Clean Arctic Alliance is … Read more
In this letter, six environmental groups – Pacific Environment, the Clean Shipping Coalition, EcoDes, EDF, Clima e Sociedade (iCS), and WWF – congratulate Kitack Lim on his election to a second term as the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization. They call on him to put all his efforts in 2020 into adopting effective global … Read more
With the support of activists like you, we are building people power around the Pacific Rim to fight climate change, defend the oceans, promote open and inclusive societies, and ensure a just transition to a clean energy future for all. Here are five accomplishments I’m especially proud of this year. They would not have been … Read more