Pacific Environment and Ulsan Port Authority Sign MOU to Accelerate Zero-Emission Shipping and Ports Between US and Republic of Korea

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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

MEPC81: Support For Pricing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Shipping Grows But Important Pieces Of Puzzle Still Missing

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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

Mayor Hernandez-Thorpe signs first-ever pledge towards a fossil-free Antioch

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Mayor Lamar Hernandez-Thorpe made a world-leading commitment to reject public investments in new, renewed, fossil fuel infrastructure in Antioch and steer the city toward timely climate mitigation and resilience. “I’ve promised to address climate change head on,” said Mayor Lamar Hernadez-Thorpe. “We’ve ended oil and gas drilling in Antioch and, today, following a historic atmospheric river caused by … Read more

Pacific Environment Announces New Executive Director

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Pacific Environment welcomes Shannon Wright as its new Executive Director, effective Jan. 2, 2024. Ms. Wright’s background in international campaigning and her proven track record as a non-profit leader make her the perfect fit for Pacific Environment, an organization with a 30-year history of work supporting and partnering with communities and cultures to protect natural … Read more

With an Executive Order President Biden can take meaningful action to eliminate shipping emissions and advance environmental justice

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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

Pacific Environment Applauds Gov. Newsom’s Action on Fossil Fuels

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NEW YORK (September 20, 2023) — Today, in front of the United National Climate Ambition Summit hosted by UN Secretary-General, Governor Gavin Newsom highlighted California’s climate action and called out the oil and gas industry for their “continued lies.” Today’s remarks echo the message sent by the State of California’s lawsuit filed on September 16, … Read more

UN agrees on a new climate plan for global shipping, but not 1.5°C aligned

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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

Last chance to prevent shipping breach of Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C temperature limit

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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

Fuel Production Stakeholders Call for Ambitious Shipping Decarbonisation Policies

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A group of fuel production stakeholders, including H2Carrier and MAN Energy Solutions, today joined Environmental Defense Fund in support for the full decarbonisation of the shipping industry by 2050. The companies call on International Maritime Organization (IMO) Member States to develop policies that incentivize the production and adoption of sustainable fuels, and to adopt ambitious interim targets … Read more

UN climate deal for shipping will fail without ambitious 2030 goal

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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

On World Oceans Day, Whitehouse and Padilla Introduce Pair of Bills to Reduce Ocean Shipping Emissions

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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

Congressman Robert Garcia Introduces the ‘Clean Shipping Act’ to Address Port Pollution and Champion Environmental Justice for Local Port Communities

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Washington D.C.– Today, Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42), alongside Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), introduced the Clean Shipping Act of 2023. Congresswoman Nanette Barragán (CA-44) is a co-lead. Global emissions from all vessels account for about 3% of total GHG emissions each year; if international shipping was its own country, it would rank sixth on the list of largest … Read more

The Global Plastics Treaty negotiations ended on a precarious note

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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

New report calls for at least 75% reduction of plastics by 2050, reveals dire connection between plastic and climate

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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

US Ambassador Emanuel touts LNG false solutions, ignores climate crisis

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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

Biden Administration Approves Climate Warming Oil Project Despite Overwhelming Opposition

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Today, the Biden administration approved ConocoPhillips’ Willow project in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, despite the 4.5 million comments received from Americans calling to reject this climate harming project. The Record of Decision approves the development of Alternative E, as described in the Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement. The ROD denied two of the five drill … Read more

Pacific Environment Applauds Historic Oceans Treaty

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United Nations conference chair and Singapore’s Ambassador for Oceans and Law of the Sea Issues Rena Lee announced a historic international treaty to protect the high seas, which covers nearly half the planet. This deal is seen as vital to conserving 30% of the world’s lands and ocean by 2020, as agreed to by about 190 … Read more