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“Forever Chemicals” Called PFAS Show Up in Your Food, Clothes, and Home

ExplainerUnited StatesMolly M. Ginty, Courtney Lindwall
These toxic chemicals are so common in consumer products and manufacturing that they’re everywhere—including inside our bodies.
A river with green trees on either side, with yellow hills in the background

In Planning for Climate Change, Native Americans Draw on the Past

ExplainerUnited States, CanadaTim Vanderpool
Across North America, Indigenous tribes and nations are consulting their traditional ecological knowledge to help prepare for a warming world.
Homes lined on a street with large power plants right behind them, spewing out pollution

In a Win for Health, the EPA Toughens Limits on Soot Air Pollution

Expert BlogUnited StatesDr. Vijay Limaye, John Walke, Emily Davis
Today's agency action will deliver life-saving protections from dangerous air pollution.

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Key IRA Program Can Help Drive Transformation in Steelmaking

Expert BlogUnited StatesJackie Wong, Rachel Fakhry, Sasha Stashwick
As OCED prepares to invite applications for funding, NRDC and our partners have urged the office to focus on “first few,” high-impact demonstration projects in critical industrial sectors like cement, steel, and chemicals.

The Hard Work of Industrial Decarbonization Begins Now

Expert BlogUnited StatesSasha Stashwick
This year marked an inflection point in tackling the challenge of industrial decarbonization, with policymakers at multiple levels finally moving to adopt the policies we need.

NY and NJ: Centers of Action on Low Carbon Concrete Buying

Expert BlogNew York, New York City, New Jersey, EastSasha Stashwick

This has been a breakout year for policies aimed at reducing embodied carbon in the built environment, with Buy Clean and other public procurement initiatives emerging as among the most critical platforms for decarbonizing heavy industry. 

Climate Bill Will Invest Big in Cleaning Up Heavy Industry

Expert BlogUnited StatesSasha Stashwick
Governments around the world that are committed to climate action must have policies aimed specifically at decarbonizing the industrial sector. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 does exactly that.

Biden Administration Takes Important Step in Buying Clean

Expert BlogUnited StatesSasha Stashwick
The Government Services Administration will set a new standard for contractors to use low embodied carbon concrete, and new standards for environmentally preferable asphalt—part of a federal Buy Clean policy to reduce industrial emissions via public procurement.

Infrastructure Law Is a Chance to Build with Clean Materials

Expert BlogUnited StatesDeron Lovaas, Sasha Stashwick
Secretary Buttigieg must not overlook the opportunity to pair billions in infrastructure investments with programs to purchase low carbon construction materials—building railways, roads, and bridges with cleaner concrete, cement, and steel.

Biden Administration Shows Climate Momentum On Buy Clean

Expert BlogUnited StatesSasha Stashwick
The administration has taken multiple actions in the last year to advance Buy Clean. Most recently, it sought public comment on potential amendments to the Federal Acquisition Regulation.

2021 Saw Real Momentum for Clean Materials Procurement

Expert BlogUnited StatesSasha Stashwick
The Biden administration, Congress, and leading states are all taking action to leverage the government’s purchasing power to help decarbonize these important industrial sectors.

What the IPCC Really Says on Forest Biomass & Climate Change

Expert BlogInternationalSasha Stashwick

Reliance on forest-derived wood pellets for largescale electricity generation has increased dramatically over the last decade. Despite claims from forest biomass proponents, the IPCC does not even assess, let alone support, the use of forest bioenergy and BECCS as a…

The UK Must Stop Subsidizing Its #1 Climate Polluter: Drax

Expert BlogInternationalSasha Stashwick

A steady drumbeat of new research showing that Drax, the world’s largest biomass-burning power station, is exacerbating climate change and putting at risk the UK’s chances of meeting climate targets. 

Report: Leading Approach to BECCS Worsens Climate Change

Expert BlogInternationalSasha Stashwick

Adding to serious scientific concerns about the impacts of BECCS on public health, water and wildlife new research indicates that the UK’s current approach to BECCS won’t deliver promised climate benefits, and, perversely, will make climate change worse. 

Congress Can 'Build Back Better' With Low Carbon Materials

Expert BlogUnited StatesSasha Stashwick

The country is on the precipice of a generational investment to renew American infrastructure. Policymakers can ensure we literally ‘Build Back Better’ with cleaner concrete, cement and steel holding up the next generation of America’s schools, roads, bridges, and office…