Green funding under attack in the US

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♻️ This week’s sustainability news

Trump admin weaponises the law against ‘green bank’

What’s happening: Even though two federal court orders told the Trump administration to start giving out federal grants and loans again, at least $19 billion from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was still not being distributed to state and local governments and nonprofits according to environmental and legal experts keeping an eye on this issue. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has also promised to try to get back another $20 billion that the agency spent last year on the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund program. He has asked the Department of Justice to investigate what he described as a rushed plan to spend all the money quickly with less oversight. A top federal prosecutor in Washington quit on Tuesday because she wouldn't follow an order from Justice Department leaders to tell a bank to freeze accounts with the $20 billion. Denise Cheung, who led the criminal division in the US Attorney’s Office in Washington, explained in a letter that officials from the Trump administration were pushing her to start a criminal investigation without enough evidence.

Why it’s happening: Environmental advocates argued that Zeldin was wrongly criticizing the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, also known as the ‘green bank’ program. The EPA spent over a year working with the Treasury Department to create a standard financial setup, similar to what the government has used in the past to manage funds. Last year, the EPA transferred $20 billion to Citibank. This money was given to eight recipients in August, long before the election. Supporters of the program say it was carefully chosen through a process that started over a year before the awards were given.

Why it’s important: Across the US, the halt in spending has disrupted environmental and community programs approved by Congress in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Projects affected include clean drinking water, air quality checks, hurricane recovery, and electric school buses. Many neighbourhoods, particularly those where low-income Black and Latino people live, are still recovering from hurricanes that struck in 2016 and 2018. The $20 billion from the 'green bank' program is part of the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. It aims to help nonprofits and financial institutions act as green banks. Eight groups received between $400,000 and $7 billion each to fund projects that reduce climate pollution. A lot of this money is focused on helping low-income communities, where it's often tough to get private funding. The recipients have started using the funds for various projects, such as $250 million for electric trucks at the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports, $31.8 million for a solar project at the University of Arkansas, and $10.8 million for solar projects on Tribal lands in Oregon and Idaho.

📖 Read the full article: Climate and environmental justice programs stalled by Trump freeze, despite court orders

National parks affected by job cuts

What’s happening: The US Forest Service is letting go of about 3,400 new employees, and the National Park Service is letting go of around 1,000 employees, according to Reuters. This is part of President Donald Trump's plan to reduce government spending. The changes impact employees who are still in their trial period and work at places like the Appalachian Trail, Yellowstone, Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthplace, and the Sequoia National Forest.

Why it’s happening: The US Forest Service and the National Park Service are reducing their staff as part of Trump and his adviser Elon Musk's campaign to radically cut back the US bureaucracy. The Forest Service will not lay off firefighters, law enforcement, and some meteorologists. The National Park Service will keep 5,000 seasonal jobs but will let go of 1,000 employees.

Why it’s important: Around 325 million people visit National Park sites each year in the US while some 159 million use national forests annually. The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), a nonprofit group supporting parks since 1919, says that budget cuts would severely harm the country's parks, which are already short on staff and money. Even before these cuts, the National Park Service received only one-fifteenth of one percent of the federal budget. Despite this, every dollar spent on parks creates $15 in economic benefits.

More gas and oil licences could be cancelled in the UK

What’s happening: Ministers in the UK are considering new rules for fossil fuel extraction after a recent landmark court case. According to the Guardian, this could lead to the cancellation of thirteen more oil and gas licenses.

Why it’s happening: The UK government recently admitted that many more licenses might be illegal. This follows disagreements within the cabinet about the future of two big oil and gas fields, Rosebank and Jackdaw. Last month, it was found that their licenses were given unlawfully because the applications didn't consider the emissions from burning the extracted oil and gas. Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, who has called drilling at Rosebank "climate vandalism," is currently discussing how new oil and gas projects should handle their emissions. The outcome of these discussions will determine if these projects can proceed. In an exchange with Green MP Carla Denyer, Energy Minister Michael Shanks acknowledged that thirteen oil and gas fields awaiting approval are affected by a recent court decision.

Why it’s important: Climate experts including Tessa Khan at Uplift, who brought the successful case against Rosebank, have argued that allowing new oil and gas fields would breach the UK’s climate goals. Alexander Kirk, a fossil fuels campaigner at Global Witness, said the consultation should result in the cancellation of all the new licences in the pipeline.

📖 Read the full article: Thirteen more oil and gas licences could be cancelled after Rosebank court ruling

😇 People doing great things

Climate change workshops

Removing confusion and encouraging action: Climate change is a big problem that impacts everyone, but many people don't fully understand it. We need to act quickly, and learning more about it can help us respond better. Climate Fresk delivers fact-based information in order to better understand and encourage people to take positive steps to fight climate change. They aim to build a rapidly growing group of people who can share this important climate knowledge, helping us move towards a world with less carbon. Climate Fresk is a non-profit organisation founded in 2018 by Cédric Ringenbach to accelerate the spread of their methodology and to train and upskill Climate Fresk facilitators. We recently had the chance to attend a guest dinner program organised by local group Transition Bondi, where Mylene from Climate Fresk was a speaker. The workshop was set up in an interactive way as a card game where all participants had the opportunity to be involved and speak up. The card game was both engaging and knowledgeable. Mylene’s dedication and expertise as a volunteer made us feel both inspired and capable of contributing positively to our community. It’s a reminder that big changes have to start small and sometimes you are the right person to make it happen.

⭐️ Weekly inspiration

Turkey targets net zero by 2053

New legislation from the ruling party: On Thursday, Turkey's President Erdogan and his AK Party introduced a climate change bill to parliament that aims to create a carbon market board and an emissions trading system (ETS), with the draft law outlining how it will regulate planning and implementation tools used to reach this goal.

Norway officially ends fur farming

Nearly 200 farms must shut down by the end of this month: Norway once housed around 300 fur farms exporting pelts to high-end fashion markets worldwide, but in 2018 a survey showed that the majority of Norwegians supported banning fur farming entirely and the same year the government announced fur farming would be phased out.

The White Lotus Season 3 earns green credential

Season 3 is set in Thailand: Environmental Media Association (EMA) awarded the hit show’s newest season their Gold Seal for sustainable production, based on how well it complies with criteria developed by EMA and the sustainability departments of major studio Board members.

Sainsbury’s converts food waste into biofuel in the UK

To power its heavy goods vehicles: The supermarket giant will exclusively use a biofuel derived from its own food waste from March to fuel 30 trucks at its Emerald Park distribution centre in Bristol, half of the site’s fleet, which will eliminate over 3,000 tonnes of CO₂ annually, equivalent to the yearly electricity consumption of 1,950 households.

US airport installs world-first power generated from jet blasts

Created by US-based JetWind Power Corporation: The Energy Capturing Pods (ECPs) were installed at Dallas Love Field Airport to capture aircraft-generated wind and transform it into renewable energy, with the pods designed to be adaptable across various transportation sectors, including heliports, trains, and roadways.

Diageo invests millions to electrify distillery

Cameronbridge Distillery, one of Europe’s largest grain whisky producers: The company behind brands like Gordon’s, Tanqueray, and Smirnoff has unveiled the multi-million-pound decarbonisation initiative to cut its carbon footprint by over 90%, an annual CO2 reduction of 33,000 tonnes and enough power to sustain 110,000 homes.

Energy efficient London house wrapped in cork

The house in south Tottenham has been nominated for various awards: The house is covered with dark expanded cork, a popular building material because it insulates well, is eco-friendly, and has aesthetic appeal, with the designer (and owner) of the house wanting to make homes more sustainable and energy efficient.

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