Environmental Defense Fund

SACRAMENTO — The California State Legislature will vote today on the state budget agreement reached with Governor Gavin Newsom. “California is filling the gap created by the elimination of federal incentives and making all kinds of electric vehicles more affordable. Combustion engine emissions are California’s leading cause of smog and climate pollution. By making electric vehicles more affordable, more families and businesses will be empowered to help protect our health and the air we breathe.

Last summer, I wrote that the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act would “put the U.S. on a more expensive, more dangerous, and more harmful path.” We have one year of evidence that it’s done exactly that. President Trump’s signature tax law, along with the administration’s decisions to curtail our energy independence, undercut a domestic manufacturing resurgence and undermined energy security right when demand is expected to skyrocket. It has limited choices for American families and imposed new costs.

Washington, D.C. — Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the national, health-based limit on fine particulate matter (PM2.5), also known as soot, that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) strengthened in 2024. Soot, made up of tiny toxic particles that lodge deep in the lungs, results in severe health harms, including premature death, and comes from sources like vehicle exhaust pipes, power plants, and factories.

(WASHINGTON) – The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry this week released a discussion draft for its Agricultural Act of 2026: Farm Bill 2.0. While this discussion draft includes some improvements from the House version, it ultimately does not meet the current moment.

SACRAMENTO — California, Washington state and Québec have signed an agreement to link their Cap-and-Invest programs in a unified carbon market. “This is a crucial next step to expand North America’s largest economy-wide carbon market, pioneered by California in partnership with Québec. By joining forces, Washington, California and Québec can cut climate pollution faster while driving greater investment in affordable clean energy.

Salt Lake City, UT – Today, after more than five years of work, Utah’s Board of Oil, Gas and Mining finalized updates to its antiquated oil and gas bonding regulations. This process started after a 2019 performance audit found that “bond amounts and bond structures for oil and gas wells were last updated 16 years ago [2003], which is concerning given ongoing industry technological advances. Insufficient bond amounts and bond structures pose a financial risk to the state.

(Washington, D.C. – June 23, 2026) The Lead Service Line Replacement Collaborative (LSLRC) recognized 16 people and programs that have demonstrated excellence in one or more facets of lead service line (LSL) replacement.

(London) Environmental Defense Fund Executive Vice President, Impact, Angela Churie Kallhauge issued the following statement today in response to the United Nations Secretary-General’s call for accelerated global action to cut methane emissions during London Climate Action Week: “The Secretary-General is right: cutting methane is one of the clearest tests of whether the world can deliver on its climate promises. We applaud his leadership and UNEP’s years of work to bring the world to this point.

(Washington, D.C. – June 22, 2026) The State of California announced today that it is suing the Trump administration for its latest attack on California’s efforts to protect its residents from harmful air pollution. The lawsuit, filed in federal district court, challenges EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin’s supposed reclassification of four California clean air safeguards as “rules” and his transmission of those actions to Congress for “review” under the Congressional Review Act (CRA).

Environmental Defense Fund is thrilled to see the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART) issue Costa Rica's jurisdictional credits — a milestone that demonstrates that the jurisdictional REDD+ model of forest conservation can successfully move from program development to carbon credit transactions at scale. The issuance demonstrates the LEAF Coalition’s proof of concept, which EDF has worked toward since the Coalition's founding in 2021.