Energy

As the world's population and our energy demands grow, resource extraction activities are moving further into remote and fragile areas where there are serious environmental consequences from extraction. Significant oil, gas, and coal reserves exist in ecologically rich wilderness areas of Alaska and the Russian Far East, including under the ocean floor. Beyond fossil fuels, large hydro-power dams are also not a viable and sustainable energy resource, as they destroy entire river basins and wildlife habitats while forcing communities to relocate.

For several decades, Pacific Environment has worked to reduce fossil fuel extraction with two goals in mind: mitigating climate change, and protecting fragile ecosystems with and for the communities that depend on the ecosystems' resources. By working with grassroots organizations and allies around the Pacific Rim, we are able to apply public pressure and force oil companies like Shell and ExxonMobil to implement best international social and environmental standards. We also work to block some of the world's largest fossil fuel projects through the accountability mechanisms of project financers such as the U.S. Export-Import Bank and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.

In Alaska, we're working to stop offshore oil and gas drilling in the Arctic and to keep dirty coal in the ground. In Russia, we fight on- and offshore oil and gas projects, but we also support communities in their struggles against large hydroelectric dams. RusHydro, the Russian dam monopoly, plans to dam the country's mighty rivers as a fix-all solution to energy and development needs. We also work in various Russian regions to promote renewable energy development through trainings and exchanges, developing the economic and political structure needed to promote small-scale hydropower, solar-electric stations, and wind power.

In California,  we are working to ensure that our home state gets back on its clean energy course and deploys the best clean energy policies to meet its 33% renewable energy goal by 2020. Learn more about our California energy work here.