Leah Garden

Washington, D.C.

Climate Tech Reporter at Trellis

Climate Tech Reporter at @GreenBiz, 2021 Environment Fellow @ypfp. Master's in Sustainability Management at @AmericanU. Open to tips: [email protected]

Articles

EU simplifies reporting requirements for Deforestation Regulation

1 week ago | trellis.net | Leah Garden

The scale back relaxes the rules for companies importing specific commodities into the bloc. The change is a result of corporate lobbying that claimed the initial standards were expensive and burdensome. The regulation is the latest of many to be diluted around the globe. The European Union walked back mandates placed on commodities that were meant to mitigate the impact of associated deforestation, following a growing global trend of corporate climate disclosure simplifications.
Why the future of clean energy funding is (for now) at the state level

2 weeks ago | trellis.net | Leah Garden

$10 million was recently granted to a clean energy development project in Los Angeles County. Developers kept sharp eyes on state government newsletters so they would be ready to pounce on grant opportunities. California isn’t the only state funding clean energy projects.
What Canada's pause on climate-disclosure requirements means

2 weeks ago | trellis.net | Leah Garden

The intent is to lessen the financial burdens on domestic businesses in the wake of current tariff chaos. But at least 1,300 Canadian enterprises remain bound to submit reporting to the EU in the next three years. Opponents of the decision believe that the demand for credible sustainability information will continue. Canada announced that it has paused all mandated corporate climate disclosures, citing the unstable global economy.
How to propose climate legislation in today's political climate

3 weeks ago | trellis.net | Leah Garden

Two prominent Republicans have reintroduced a bill to hold foreign importers accountable for carbon emissions. But the Foreign Pollution Fee Act (FPFA) could increase domestic emissions as manufacturers ramp up production to compensate for fewer imports. Republican Senators Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Bill Cassidy (La.) reintroduced a 2023 bill that would impose a 15 percent tax on imported goods containing aluminum, cement, iron and steel, fertilizer, glass and hydrogen.
PSA: These 26 Republicans support preserving IRA energy credits

3 weeks ago | trellis.net | Leah Garden

The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) created dozens of clean energy tax credits that allowed businesses across the country to decarbonize their operations. Now, the Biden-era law is under threat, with many GOP lawmakers expressing desires to cut many of the same clean energy credits that created hundred of jobs in their states. However, there are still ways for businesses to lobby for the preservation of certain IRA credits.
Climate United Fund v. Citibank (and EPA): What you should know

1 month ago | trellis.net | Leah Garden

Climate United sued the EPA and Citibank for freezing nearly $7 billion in funding towards decarbonization projects. The first suit of its kind during the second Trump administration, its ruling will set a precedent for any future litigation accusing the federal government of illegally withholding funding. Climate United, often referred to as America’s green bank, sued the EPA and Citibank over its congressionally appropriated funds being frozen.
EU's carbon pricing scheme lowers emissions to 50% of 2005 levels

1 month ago | trellis.net | Leah Garden

The EU’s cap-and-trade scheme — the Emissions Trading System (ETS) — released data showing that participating sectors have reduced emission to 50 percent of 2005 levels. The reductions keep the EU on track to meet its 62 percent emissions decrease by 2030 goal — thanks, in large part, to a 12 percent emissions reduction seen in the power sector. The ETS’s progress proves climate mitigation economics can be a success, right as the EU has been slowly shifting right after its 2024 elections.
Why a green cement bill might just make it into law

1 month ago | trellis.net | Leah Garden

The IMPACT Act, a low-emissions cement bill, passed with a large majority in the Republican-held House. The bill allows states to decide whether they want to take advantage of a $15 billion to implement low-emission cement, concrete and asphalt R&D and initiatives. The bill was successful in this anti-climate era because funding was already designated and lobbying was strategic.
Trump's tariffs endanger California-Mexico clean energy deal

1 month ago | trellis.net | Leah Garden

California Governor Gavin Newsom thought he’d delivered a clean technology manufacturing boon to his state with a new four-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Alfonso Durazo Montaño, the governor of Sonora, Mexico. Then President Donald Trump announced rounds of tariffs. To say the story is still developing is an understatement, but how it does will matter a great deal to a great many people and businesses on both sides of the border. Here’s what we know so far.
Clean energy reps lobby Congress to save tax credits. You can too

1 month ago | trellis.net | Leah Garden

Clean energy industry representatives are taking to Capital Hill this week to protect clean energy tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Organized by Clean Energy for America (CE4A) and representing more than 100 companies, lobbyists are asking Republican representatives to maintain crucial clean energy tax credits. “The default position is full repeal of these energy tax credits,” said Andrew Reagan, president of CE4A and organizer of the lobbying push.