Welcome to the July 2024 edition of Pacific Environment’s monthly e-newsletter! This is an opportunity to highlight some of our work and share our victories for communities, climate and wildlife. Plastics How are you celebrating Plastic Free July? As we usher in the last week of Plastic Free July, our team at Pacific Environment has … Read more
According to an article by TradeWinds, the California Air Resources Board is exploring regulatory and voluntary measures to reduce emissions by oceangoing vessels in transit to California ports. And that CARB is in the early stages of its work, but typically rulemaking takes three to five years. Pyxis Ocean retrofitted with WindWings setting sail for … Read more
Welcome to the June 2024 edition of Pacific Environment’s monthly e-newsletter! This is an opportunity to highlight some of our work and share our victories for communities, climate and wildlife. Arctic, Marine & Climate LinkedIn Live “Tide Talk” Did you miss our LinkedIn Live? We (“tide”) talked everything from the plastic threat to sea life … Read more
Last week, the Pacific Environment team returned home from the fourth meeting of the United Nations Global Plastics Treaty negotiations (also known as INC-4) in Ottawa, Canada. This meeting brought together delegates from over 160 countries, as well as hundreds of industry, civil society, Indigenous Peoples, rightsholders, health advocates and other observers. Our team focused … Read more
International Workers’ Day, also known as May Day, is the internationally-recognized labor holiday to honor the invaluable contributions of workers everywhere. This day started as a way to commemorate a general strike in the United States where workers fought for the adoption of the eight-hour workday, which began on May 1st, 1886. Today on May … Read more
On April 24, the Biden administration announced its first-ever national goal to transition the U.S. to a zero-emissions freight sector (i.e., truck, rail, aviation, and maritime), as well as a commitment to develop a national zero-emissions freight strategy. The whole-of-government strategy includes new federal funding, continued engagement with stakeholders on zero-emissions freight infrastructure and forthcoming … Read more
Late yesterday, Plastic Pollution Coalition along with many other organizations from the Break Free From Plastic allies delivered 345,606 petition signatures from civil society calling on the Biden administration to negotiate a legally binding treaty that centers impacted communities, public health, and human rights while acknowledging the myriad impacts that plastic poses at all stages … Read more
In a victory for people and climate, the California Air Resources Board amended the Commercial Harbor Craft Rule in 2022, setting the first zero-emissions mandate for ferries in the U.S and requiring cleaner engine upgrades for tugboats and other regulated vessels. However, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has yet to approve these lifesaving amendments. … Read more
By James Gamble, Senior Director, Arctic Program Home to imperiled polar bears, bowhead whales and more than 5,000 species of wildlife, the Arctic is feeling the brunt of climate change more than any other region in the world. Snow and ice are melting at an increasing rate – contributing to rising sea levels and causing … Read more
Originally posted on the Wilson Center’s New Security Beat blog. China has rapidly moved to address escalating food and beverage packaging waste, including the 2018 ban on importing plastic recyclables, the implementation of extensive urban waste sorting pilots, and the 2022 prohibition of non-biodegradable single-use plastics. But China’s plastic mountains are still growing. While exerting … Read more
Originally published by E&E News here E&E NEWS PM | Shannon Wright, a longtime environmental advocate whose resume includes stints with Greenpeace and Amazon Watch, is the new leader of the San Francisco-based group Pacific Environment. She took over in January as executive director of the group that’s aimed at protecting the environment and wildlife in … Read more
Thank you, Chair. In the spirit of moving us to Working Groups, Pacific Environment will be brief. As we go into Working Groups, we want to remind nations: this week is the IMO’s final chance to put the global shipping industry on a 1.5 degree Celsius aligned decarbonization pathway. On Levels of Ambition, the draft … Read more
The maritime industry is a vast realm of opportunities, where women are making waves and reshaping the course of the shipping world. We embarked on a journey to honor the remarkable achievements and contributions of women in maritime across the globe. From leading organizations to driving innovation, these trailblazers are breaking barriers and leaving an … Read more
Here are seven accomplishments I’m especially proud of this year. They would not have been possible without your generosity and passion. We won strong international protections for Arctic and Alaskan communities and wildlife. New rules now require ships to avoid fragile marine ecosystems around three islands in the Bering Sea (Nunivak Island, St. Lawrence Island, and King Island)—reducing the … Read more
Will you chip in to help us meet our goal of raising $1,000 this #GivingTuesday? Every gift helps. Your #GivingTuesday donation will help support 4 waste audits in January 2019. Why waste audits? Because they are a critical first step to designing zero waste solutions that will help cut down on ocean plastic pollution. By sorting through … Read more
Southeast Asia, and especially Vietnam, is becoming the world’s new dumping ground. Following China’s recent import ban on recyclables, the influx of shipments of international plastic waste has been outpacing the construction of recycling facilities, piling up in Vietnam’s ports and triggering a temporary ban on plastic imports this past summer. Will Vietnam hold strong … Read more
In Utqiaġvik, Alaska, the northernmost community in the United States, last winter’s temperatures were so warm that algorithms in weather monitoring stations were flagging them as false. Biologist Craig George says “the term is no longer ‘climate change’ in Utqiaġvik, it’s ‘climate changed.’” With Alaska and the rest of the Arctic warming twice as fast … Read more