NEW YORK CITY (December 19, 2024) — The New York City Council introduced Bill LS 17648 today that calls for a feasibility study of zero-emission port operations by 2040 that includes all aspects of port transportation, maintenance, loading and unloading, ocean-going vessels, handling equipment, trucks and locomotives. The feasibility study would be delivered one year … Read more
WASHINGTON (December 16, 2024) — On December 11, President Biden announced a U.S. Maritime Decarbonization Action Plan that builds on the foundations presented in the administration’s U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization. The maritime decarbonization plan provides near- and long-term strategies for decarbonizing the maritime sector and identifies key actions that the federal government and … Read more
Cristhian Tapia-Delgado shares his personal journey from growing up in Long Beach to becoming a passionate advocate for environmental justice and clean air in frontline communities impacted by port pollution.
Read how activists join Pacific Environment at the UN International Maritime Organization’s conference.
This month, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) Headquarters was packed with about 100 clean air advocates in attendance, who erupted in cheers as the South Coast AQMD’s governing board voted unanimously to adopt the Railyard Indirect Source Rule (ISR). A big win for clean air, the facility-based measure aims to reduce harmful … Read more
On a perfect San Francisco morning on July 12, history was made. The world’s first hydrogen-powered passenger ferry, the Sea Change, made its inaugural sail from the San Francisco Ferry Building to Pier 41 near Fisherman’s Wharf. The vessel will ferry people the 1.2 nautical miles three times a week for free: a short trip, … Read more
July 15th is Arctic Sea Ice Day, an opportunity to draw attention to the rapid decline of sea ice and wildlife habitat. According to the nonprofit Polar Bear International, “The Arctic is now warming nearly four times as fast as the rest of the planet, causing the sea ice to melt. Sea ice is crucial … Read more
SEATTLE, Washington — 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. The order passed by the Port of Seattle Commission yesterday takes effect in the 2027 cruise season, three years before the … 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
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
WASHINGTON, DC [September 28, 2023] — In a letter sent to President Biden on World Maritime Day, 45 organizations called for an Executive Order to decarbonize maritime shipping. The Biden administration has already made significant commitments to eliminate emissions from the shipping industry, as well as to accelerate the development of zero-emission fuels and technologies … Read more
Civil society groups are deeply concerned by the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) failure to firmly align global shipping with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C temperature-warming limit, at the 80th Marine Environment Protection Committee meeting (MEPC 80) this week. The IMO’s 175 member states failed to agree on absolute emission reduction targets for 2030 and 2040, … Read more
Civil society groups are deeply concerned about developments at the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) climate negotiations this week (ISWG-GHG-15), in particular regarding the 2030 and 2040 climate targets that are necessary to put global shipping on a 1.5°C-aligned transition and ensure an equitable transition. The IMO’s 175 member states must urgently listen to climate … Read more
The global shipping industry can reduce emissions by nearly 50% by the end of the decade, according to a new study by CE Delft. These findings come as the UN’s International Maritime Organization (IMO) is about to reach an agreement on climate targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from ships in July. Civil society groups call on … Read more
The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) agreement on shipping climate targets expected next month could be the starting gun for the radical climate action our planet desperately needs. Civil society groups are calling on the IMO member states to urgently support halving climate pollution from ships by 2030 and reaching zero-emission by 2040, at the Intersessional Working Group on Greenhouse … Read more
Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) today introduced a pair of bills aimed at reducing air pollution created by the global shipping industry. Whitehouse introduced the International Maritime Pollution Accountability Act, new legislation aiming to decarbonize the emissions-heavy maritime shipping industry, prevent the release of criteria air pollutants in port … Read more
Paris, France (June 2, 2023) – The second meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-2) for a global agreement to end plastic pollution concluded today at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, with civil society organizations appealing to governments not to allow the use of dilatory tactics and procedural questions to set back progress and lower … Read more
In honor of International Plastic Free Day and ahead of the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations, Pacific Environment has released a report that underscores the serious threats of plastic pollution, and presents a new global model showing how the plastics and petrochemical industries will need to change in order to stay within the 1.5 degree Celsius … Read more
U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel Tuesday continued to tout the benefits of the proposed North Slope-to-tidewater gas pipeline and LNG export project, contrary to the Biden administration’s commitment to align its actions with a 1.5 °C pathway. Ambassador Emanuel took the stage during Governor Dunleavy’s Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference. “To push the Alaska gas … Read more
In honor of International Plastic Free Day and ahead of the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations, Pacific Environment has released a report that underscores the serious threats of plastic pollution, and presents a new global model showing how the plastics and petrochemical industries will need to change in order to stay within the 1.5 degree Celsius … Read more