Patagonia announced new ownership today, nearly 50 years since founder Yvon Chouinard began his experiment in responsible business. Effective immediately, the Chouinard family has transferred all ownership to two new entities: Patagonia Purpose Trust and the Holdfast Collective. Most significantly, every dollar that is not reinvested back into Patagonia will be distributed as dividends to protect the planet.
August 29, 2022
Stephanie Rice, Willow Master Development Plan Project Manager
Bureau of Land Management
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20240
Dear Stephanie Rice,
I am writing to express Patagonia’s strong opposition to the Willow Master Development Project in America’s Western Arctic.
The Willow Project is the largest oil extraction project currently proposed on U.S. federal lands and would significantly increase oil and gas development in the Western Arctic at the expense of the health of the planet, the Western Arctic ecosystem, and the Indigenous communities who have resided in this area for thousands of years and who rely on this area for traditional food sources.
This unprecedented industrial development in a pristine and ecologically valuable part of our planet would lock in long-term destruction to the entire Western Arctic and would require huge investments in new fossil fuel infrastructure. The Bureau of Land Management’s environmental review process for this project has not properly addressed the serious impacts to public health, wildlife, land or water – all important pieces to us enduring and mitigating the climate crisis we currently face.
Preventing oil and gas extraction in the Western Arctic is essential to President Biden’s climate and conservation goals of reducing U.S. emissions, increasing land protections to reverse biodiversity loss, and growing natural carbon sinks by 2030.
Current estimates used in the DSEIS dramatically understate Willow’s potential climate impacts. The resource estimates used in federal environmental analyses do not capture the full range provided by ConocoPhillips. According to the analysis done by the BLM, an estimated 629 million barrels of oil would be produced across the life of this project between 2024 and 2050. In November 2019, ConocoPhillips released a resource estimate as high as 800 million barrels of oil equivalent for the Greater Willow Area.
Our window to act on climate is rapidly closing. Every new fossil fuel project makes it much harder for us to do what we need to avert truly catastrophic climate change. Burning the oil produced from the Willow project would release hundreds of millions more metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This project is of such a massive scale, and it would open more potential for development in the Western Arctic, that it represents a true departure from the Biden administration’s critical climate goals. In short, it is a terrible idea that would have grave impacts for our planet and future generations.
At a June 2021 market update (p. 10), ConocoPhillips SVP for Global Operations, Nick Olds, told investors that Willow Oil Project could be the next great Alaska hub. Olds also announced that ConocoPhillips has “identified up to 3 billion [barrels of oil equivalent] of nearby prospects and leads with similar characteristics that could leverage the Willow infrastructure. He also added that “this offers significant long-term upside to this project.”
We urge the BLM to choose the No Action Alternative, protect one of our last wild places, and leave a habitable planet to future generations. We need to transition to clean energy and end our dangerous, dirty, and costly dependence on fossil fuels, not double down on decades of oil development.
Sincerely,
Hans Cole, VP Environmental Activism
Patagonia
The lawsuit filed by Utah officials challenging President Biden’s restoration of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments is not only in direct opposition to the wishes of Indigenous Peoples, local activists, and the outdoor recreation community, it is an attempt to gut the Antiquities Act and chip away at the federal government’s ability to protect public lands and waters. Patagonia remains committed to protecting nature in partnership and solidarity with local and indigenous people. That’s why, alongside the Bears Ears Inter-Tribal Coalition and local conservation groups in Utah, we called on President Obama to establish Bears Ears National Monument, and it’s why we joined our partners to sue President Trump when he tried to rescind President Obama’s designation. At a time when significant progress is being made toward historic cooperative management of the monument between federal agencies and tribes, this lawsuit works to undermine the years of advocacy and overwhelming public support for this effort. We will continue to work closely with partners to protect this unique and sacred landscape, as the shortsighted greed of extractive industries knows no end.
Ryan Gellert, CEO, Patagonia
This statement was originally published on LinkedIn.
BAKERSFIELD, Calif.— Community and conservation groups and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management reached an agreement today to suspend new oil and gas leasing across more than 1 million acres of public lands in California’s Central Valley and Central Coast.
A separate agreement also requires the Bureau to conduct new environmental analysis before drilling is allowed on 4,000 acres leased in December 2020 in Kern County.
“These agreements require federal officials to disclose the harm that fracking does to the air, water and communities of Central California,” said Liz Jones, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “For decades this region’s people and wildlife have been paying the price of filthy fossil fuel extraction. That has to end, and we’ll do everything possible to make sure these pauses become permanent bans.”
Today’s agreements resolving the two cases follow two previous successful lawsuits filed by climate and community groups that prevented new onshore oil and gas leasing in California from 2012 to 2020.
“Protecting public lands is not only a step forward, but also a way to prevent several steps back,” said Cesar Aguirre, a senior organizer with the Central California Environmental Justice Network. “Using public lands to prop up the oil industry is dangerous to our green spaces and communities. We must protect our public lands not only for us to enjoy, but for us to protect Earth. Green spaces should not fall victim to oil drilling, especially because the extraction sites are the epicenter of the climate crisis. The less epicenters that are approved the less steps back we take.
In 2019 the Bureau broke the leasing moratorium and reopened 1.2 million acres of federal public land to drilling and fracking in Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare and Ventura counties. That came despite opposition from 35,000 people and 85 community and advocacy groups.
Environmental justice, conservation and business groups and the state of California filed lawsuits to challenge the management plan, citing the Bureau’s failure to fully evaluate the significant harms of fracking to communities and the environment.
“Today’s agreement protects the iconic landscapes that define central California, safeguards public health, and moves us closer to a cleaner energy future,” said Jeff Kuyper, executive director of Los Padres ForestWatch. “Fossil fuel extraction has wreaked havoc on our public lands, our farms and our neighborhoods for far too long. We now have an opportunity to chart a new course for safe and healthy communities throughout our region.”
“This agreement provides a long overdue reprieve for local communities and nearby national parks like Sequoia and Kings Canyon, which already face climate change driven drought, high temperatures and annual wildfires, as well as some of the worst air quality in the nation,” said Mark Rose, Sierra Nevada program manager with National Parks Conservation Association. “Opening up over one million acres for oil and gas drilling in one of the most polluted regions of the country was an egregious decision by the Bakersfield Bureau of Land Management under the previous administration, and we are happy to see the Biden administration taking steps to protect California’s overburdened communities and environment.”
“Central Valley residents and grassroots activists work every day to make their communities healthy, and today they got a win in the fight against air and groundwater pollution from oil and gas development,” said Daniel Rossman, California deputy director with The Wilderness Society. “This agreement represents an important step towards ensuring our public lands are managed to prioritize people, clean air, clean water, and climate over fossil fuel industry profits.”
“The future of our business depends on the health of the planet, especially the wild places loved by our community,” said Hans Cole, head of environmental activism at Patagonia. “We’re grateful to have worked with our NGO partners to require a full evaluation of the impacts of drilling and fracking on public lands in Central California. This is a win for the environment.”
In December 2020 the Trump administration relied on the same flawed environmental review to auction seven parcels of public land in Kern County for drilling and fracking. Conservation groups also challenged that decision. Parcels sold include land within an area of critical environmental concern and land neighboring Carrizo Plain National Monument.
“Today’s win is a testament to the grassroots activism of Central Valley communities, who have fought oil and gas leasing in their backyards and supported people, public health, wildlife and climate,” said Nathan Matthews, a Sierra Club senior attorney. “Temporarily halting drilling on these lease parcels in Kern County is an important step toward stopping the unconscionable move of opening up new federal public lands for oil and gas leasing in the Central Valley, a region already overburdened by impacts of oil and gas extraction. The Biden administration should implement a moratorium on oil and gas leasing on federal public lands.”
Developed leases would disproportionately harm people who live in the region. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than half of Kern County residents are Latinx and nearly 20% of residents live below the poverty line.
“This is a win not only for the environment and climate, but for the people who call Kern County home,” said Hallie Templeton, legal director for Friends of the Earth. “It is a disgrace that the federal government attempted to greenlight these leases without fully analyzing impacts on communities living nearby. Our victory has also worked to secure Spanish translation of pertinent documents, and live translation at public hearings, so that all stakeholders can truly have a seat at the table.”
New drilling would have intensified air and water pollution in the region, which already has some of the most polluted air in the nation and faces water scarcity and drought.
“The Bureau has repeatedly authorized oil and gas development in Central California without taking a hard look at the severe consequences to local communities or the environment,” said Michelle Ghafar, senior attorney with Earthjustice. “The agency must stop and fully evaluate the community and environmental impacts of all the oil and gas expansion it is authorizing on public land in order to comply with the law.”
Several analyses also show that climate pollution from the world’s already-producing fossil fuel developments, if fully developed, would push warming past 1.5 degrees Celsius. Avoiding such warming requires ending investment in new fossil fuel projects, including new federal oil and gas leasing, according to the International Energy Agency.
“Fracking on California’s public lands in the midst of our climate crisis and drought was always a pretty dubious idea and was straight-up unacceptable without proper environmental review,” said Ann Alexander, a senior attorney with Natural Resources Defense Council. “It’s crucial that the BLM takes the time to evaluate what opening up these lands to drilling would look like for local communities, who already live with crippling water shortages and some of the worst air in the country.”
Today’s agreements are subject to court approval.
Background
Fossil fuel extraction on federal public lands causes nearly a quarter of U.S. greenhouse gas pollution, worsening the climate and extinction crises and disproportionately harming Black, Brown, Indigenous and low-wealth communities.
Peer-reviewed science estimates that a nationwide federal fossil fuel leasing ban would reduce carbon emissions by 280 million tons per year, ranking it among the most ambitious federal climate policy proposals in recent years.
Oil and gas extraction uses well pads, gas lines, roads and other infrastructure that destroys habitat for wildlife, including threatened and endangered species. Oil spills, leaks and other harms from drilling have done immense damage to wildlife and communities. Fracking and drilling also pollutes watersheds and waterways that provide drinking water to millions of people.
The Center for Biological Diversity is a national, nonprofit conservation organization with more than 1.7 million members and online activists dedicated to the protection of endangered species and wild places.
Central California Environmental Justice Network has been promoting environmental justice in the San Joaquin Valley since 2000. Our mission is to preserve our natural resources by seeking to minimize or eliminate environmental degradation in the San Joaquin Valley. CCEJN focuses on advancing community resilience in disadvantaged communities by increasing the level of recognition of adverse health effects caused by pollution and serving as a hub for environmental activism in the Central Valley.
Los Padres ForestWatch is a community-supported nonprofit organization working to protect the Los Padres National Forest, Carrizo Plain National Monument, and other public lands throughout central California.
Since 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks. NPCA and its nearly 1.6 million members and supporters work together to protect and preserve our nation’s most iconic and inspirational places for future generations.
The Wilderness Society is the leading conservation organization working to protect wilderness and inspire Americans to care for our wild places. Founded in 1935, and now with more than one million members and supporters, The Wilderness Society has led the effort to permanently protect 111 million acres of wilderness and to ensure sound management of our shared national lands.
Patagonia is a Certified Benefit Corporation based in Ventura, CA that is recognized internationally for product quality and environmental activism. Patagonia has contributed more than $145 million in grants and in-kind donations to date to grassroots nonprofits working to protect people and the planet.
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action.
Friends of the Earth fights to protect our environment and create a healthy and just world. We speak truth to power and expose those who endanger people and the planet. Our campaigns work to hold politicians and corporations accountable, transform our economic systems, protect our forests and oceans, and revolutionize our food & agriculture systems.
Earthjustice, the nation’s premier nonprofit environmental law organization, wields the power of law and the strength of partnership to protect people’s health, to preserve magnificent places and wildlife, to advance clean energy, and to combat climate change.
NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council) is an international nonprofit environmental organization with more than 3 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world's natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Bozeman, MT, and Beijing. Visit us at http://www.nrdc.org and follow us on Twitter @NRDC.
Senator Patty Murray Senator Maria Cantwell
154 Russell Senate Office Building 511 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510 Washington, D.C. 20510
Governor Jay Inslee Senator Jeff Merkley
PO Box 40002 531 Hart Senate Office Building
Olympia, WA 98504-0002 Washington, D.C. 20510
Senator Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Re: Patagonia’s support for breaching the lower Snake River dams
Dear Senators Murray, Cantwell, Merkley, Wyden and Governor Inslee:
I am writing to express Patagonia’s strong support for breaching the four lower Snake River dams to prevent salmon extinction and to enable recovery of abundant, wild salmonid runs and other endangered species that depend on them. As you develop your plan for the Snake River, I urge you to produce a solution that protects salmon and other critical species, honors our nation’s commitments to Northwest tribes, invests in real clean energy replacement, and brings sustainable irrigation and transportation solutions for local communities.
Patagonia has been engaged in protecting wild, free-flowing rivers and the fish and communities that rely on those waters for decades. Our engagement with the Snake River goes back more than 25 years. In the last 10 years alone, we have provided $1.2 million in funding to grassroots groups working on this issue. In 2014, we produced a full-length documentary and associated campaign, DamNation, which featured the Snake River prominently, and followed up with a short film Free the Snake. At that time, as part of the film launch, we engaged our national and global audience in a campaign asking regional elected leaders and then-President Obama to take critical steps to remove the four lower Snake River dams.
We have continued these efforts at every opportunity, and given this long engagement and investment in the issue, we appreciate the public release of the “Lower Snake River Dams: Benefit Replacement Draft Report” and the opportunity to share these comments. First and foremost, we appreciate the focus of the report, which brings an opportunity for a thorough evaluation of dam removal as the critical solution and keystone component of a comprehensive salmon recovery strategy for the Pacific Northwest. To put it bluntly: we see no viable biological path for salmon and steelhead recovery and ESA delisting with the lower Snake River dams left in place. And, there is broad consensus among scientists that removing the dams and allowing for a free-flowing lower Snake River is essential to recovery of both wild, self-sustaining salmonid runs and the many other species that rely on them, notably the Southern Resident Killer Whale.
If the lower Snake River dams remain in place, the costs of maintaining the dams and funding mitigation programs that haven’t succeeded in recovering salmon populations will not only continue, but almost certainly increase as infrastructure ages and impacts from climate change require more expensive mitigation measures. We know that, to date, regional billpayers and national taxpayers have footed the more than $19 billion bill to attempt to save endangered runs of Snake River salmon, with little to show for it. Without dam removal, scientists tell us the salmon and steelhead will likely go extinct, and the costs to society will only mount.
However, we know that the current benefits of these dams can be replaced. For example, a 2022 study of power replacement options by Energy Strategies LLC found that “replacement portfolios will generate power at times when the region needs it the most, resulting in $69M - $131M million per year of energy value above and beyond what the LSR dams provide for the same time period.” We can keep the dams in place and pay more for less, or invest in truly clean energy resources that would provide more value than the output of the lower Snake dams. Over the long term, dam removal is the cheaper and more responsible solution.
We appreciate that the Draft Report acknowledges the direct and devastating impact that these dams have had on Northwest tribal nations and people. Tribal fishing has been gravely impacted by declines in salmon, steelhead, lamprey and other species. The Draft Report estimates that recovery of these stocks would boost annual tribal harvest by at least 29%. And, dam removal would enable access to more than 34,000 acres of land important to tribal peoples.
And, of course, these benefits would extend beyond tribes, to the larger fishing community. As late as 1978, there were more than 3,000 Washington-based commercial salmon trollers. Today, with depressed salmon populations, there are barely 100 — a loss of 6,000 jobs in the fishing fleet and more in onshore businesses that sell services, supplies and equipment. Opportunities for recreational fishing, and the jobs and economic activity they generate, have likewise been limited by the decline of salmon. According to the Draft Report, though, a restored salmon fishery could generate an additional $1 billion annually in income, and it would support up to 25,000 more jobs.
We request that the Final Report, in addition to its continued emphasis on the above points, address the following:
· While the Draft Report provides for a thorough analysis of the costs of both dam removal and the various replacement strategies for current services provided by the dams (energy, agriculture, transportation, etc.), it does not outline a similar analysis for the costs of keeping the dams in place, including all of the associated artificial and non-volitional fish passage programs meant to mitigate dam impact. Without a thorough cost comparison, final decision-making and public understanding of the true costs will be undermined. We request that this cost comparison include:
o Annual operating and capital costs for the four lower Snake River Dams, over 50 years.
o Current cost of mitigation programs (fish hatcheries, artificial/ non-volitional fish passage, trucking/ barging of fish, sediment management in the reservoirs, etc.) over 50 years.
o Potential or projected costs of new/ added mitigation programs, given current and likely impacts of climate change (e.g., reduction in river flows, increased temperatures in reservoirs, potentially less favorable ocean conditions, etc.), over 50 years.
o Calculation of likely cost savings with potential elimination and/or sunsetting of mitigation programs post-dam removal.
· The Final Report must address the fact that dams contribute significantly to climate change through emissions and amplification of other climate impacts. As noted in a recent petition to the EPA signed by more than 140 organizations, Petition-for-rulemaking-to-add-dams-and-reservoirs-as-a-source-category-under-the-Greenhouse-Gas-Reporting-Program.pdf (tellthedamtruth.com), a growing body of research shows significant greenhouse gas emissions (including CO2 and CH4) from reservoirs and other dam and reservoir operations. In order to truly understand and compare the climate-related costs and benefits of dam removal vs. continued dam operation, we need to quantify or at least estimate these climate impacts, over 50 years, including:
o Annual and projected carbon equivalent emissions from dam and reservoir operations.
o Current loss of carbon sequestration from submerged landscapes and riparian forests downstream, and potential gains in carbon storage from restoration of those same landscapes.
o Annual and projected carbon equivalent emissions from mitigation programs, including fish hatcheries, non-volitional fish passage, and sediment management.
Finally, we request that the Final Report focus on the planning and programs needed to reach an ultimate goal: full recovery and delisting of endangered species. Current Lower Snake River Dam fish mitigation measures rely heavily on hatchery production and non-volitional fish passage programs. Neither of these programs lead to self-sustaining ESA recovery goals and metrics. In addition, the current Lower Snake River dam reservoirs increasingly exhibit inadequate water quality (for example, increased water temperatures) to support listed salmon and steelhead life histories and migration along the river. An assessment of current and projected reservoir water quality and suitability for listed fish species using available climate projections, for at least 50 years, would indicate whether or not such forecasted water quality and availability conditions can support wild, self-sustaining fish populations with the dams left in place.
We must aim for this ultimate goal: bringing wild species back to natural, self-sustaining abundance. Failure to recover endangered salmonids would be a failure to honor treaties between the U.S. government and tribes. It would also be a failure for the planet.
Thank you for your efforts to deliver a holistic solution to this problem. Patagonia’s community — which includes avid anglers, paddlers, and conservationists — stands ready to support a strong plan in whatever way we can.
Please reach out if you have questions about any of the above comments. Our team would welcome the opportunity for more dialogue.
Hans Cole, VP Environmental Activism
Patagonia
The Honorable Chuck Schumer
Majority Leader
United States Senate
322 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Re: Patagonia’s support for climate investments
Dear Majority Leader Schumer:
On behalf of Patagonia’s employees and the planet we all depend on, I strongly urge your support for the once-in-a-generation opportunity to avoid the direst impacts of the climate crisis by supporting investments in clean energy in the budget reconciliation package.
The negotiations over the Build Back Better budget reconciliation package have identified a critical list of funding priorities to help address the climate crisis and move our country toward President Biden’s goal of 100 percent clean electricity by 2035, which will be even more important in the wake of last week’s Supreme Court decision in the West Virginia v. EPA case.
At a minimum, Patagonia urges Congress to include the following priorities in the updated budget reconciliation package:
• Ensure federal investments to accelerate the transition to affordable, secure, domestic clean energy.
• Seize the opportunity to lead the world in clean energy manufacturing and deployment to create jobs, strengthen supply chains and reduce costs for customers.
• Reduce inequity by targeting climate and clean energy investments in disadvantaged and frontline communities.
• Repeal the establishment of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge oil and gas leasing program.
Patagonia is a Certified Benefit Corporation that has contributed more than $145 million to grassroots nonprofits working to protect people and the planet. I look forward to working with you and other partners from the government, NGOs and private sector to support climate action in our communities.
Thank you for your leadership,
Hans Cole
VP of Environmental Activism, Patagonia
Today’s decision by the Supreme Court has made it harder to address the existential threat posed by the climate crisis, which affects all Americans, but disproportionately impacts low-income and historically marginalized communities. It’s clear from our early reading of today’s opinion that the Court has restricted the executive branch’s ability to protect those who are most affected by climate change and to support communities on the front lines of climate activism. Despite the misguided opinions of this Court, we’re more determined than ever to save our home planet. This is our purpose.
Ryan Gellert, CEO, Patagonia
June 28, 2022
The Honorable Deb Haaland, Secretary
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20240
CC: Brenda Mallory, Council on Environmental Quality Chair; Adrian Saenz, White House Office of Public Engagement; Gina McCarthy, White House National Climate Advisor; Ali Zaidi, Deputy White House National Climate Advisor
Dear Secretary Haaland:
I am writing to express Patagonia’s strong opposition to the Willow Master Development Project in America’s Western Arctic.
The Willow Project is the largest oil extraction project currently proposed on U.S. federal lands. This unnecessary production would cause devastating, long-term destruction to the health of the planet and the Western Arctic ecosystem, which supports caribou, geese, loons, salmon, polar bears and bowhead whales, along with Indigenous communities who rely on these traditional food sources.
The Willow Project calls for construction of up to five drill pads with up to 50 wells on each pad, a road system, an airstrip, pipelines, a gravel mine and more. Burning the oil produced from this project would release more than 260 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, equivalent to the emissions from 66 new coal-fired power plants per year.
Patagonia respectfully asks the Bureau of Land Management and Biden Administration to require a comprehensive review of the climate and conservation consequences of the Willow Project. Essential to this is ensuring a robust public process that allows time for a diversity and depth of input, especially during busy summer months (and subsistence seasons). We ask that you hold a comment period of 120 days to allow for that input and to ensure permitting decisions are made in accordance with the Administration’s climate and conservation goals.
Thank you,
Ryan Gellert
CEO, Patagonia
Caring for employees is the responsibility of business.
Caring for employees extends beyond basic health insurance, so we take a more holistic approach to coverage and support overall wellness to which every human has a right. That means offering employees the dignity of access to reproductive health care. It means supporting employees’ choices around if or when they have a child. It means giving parents the resources they need to work and raise children.
Patagonia covers the cost of medical insurance for all part-time and full-time employees; we offer the same high-quality health plans to all employees:
U.S. employees on our health plans are covered for abortion care. Where restrictions exist, travel, lodging and food are covered.
100% of co-pay costs for mental health visits are covered.
We support new parents with:
Two types of paid leave: 4 weeks of paid pregnancy disability leave and/or 12 weeks of paid parental bonding leave.
Private spaces to feed infants.
Child-care support for parents on work trips.
Subsidized, on-site high-quality child care.
Child-care stipends for parents who do not live near one of our child-care centers.
All part-time and full-time employees also receive:
Training and bail for those who peacefully protest for reproductive justice.
Resources to make informed decisions at the ballot box.
Time off to vote.
Note: This statement was originally posted on LinkedIn. See the original here.
Bobby L. Rush, Chairman
House Subcommittee on Energy
House Committee on Energy & Commerce
2125 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Fred Upton, Ranking Member
House Subcommittee on Energy
House Committee on Energy & Commerce
2322 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Re: Hydropower Licensing Reform and Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Hydropower Facilities
Dear Representatives Rush and Upton:
Thank you for hosting the May 12, 2022 hearing on “Modernizing Hydropower: Licensing and Reforms for a Clean Energy Future,” before the Subcommittee on Energy of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. Earthjustice appreciates the Subcommittee’s focus on increasing the role of Tribes and Native groups in hydropower development, and the recognition that hydropower facilities cause significant harms to fish, wildlife, and ecosystems.
Unfortunately, several participants at the hearing incorrectly characterized hydropower as a clean, carbon free resource. This is not the case. A growing body of scientific studies over the past two decades have established that dams and reservoirs produce and emit substantial amounts of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.1 These greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions include reservoir surface emissions, which occur when dams trap organic material and leached synthetic fertilizers that decompose beneath a reservoir’s water. Dam and reservoir operations also emit GHGs from several other emission points, including hydropower turbines, spillways, and downstream discharges.
Some individual facilities emit large amounts of GHGs, at levels equal to or greater than the GHG emissions from equivalent coal- and gas-fired power plants. For example, a scientific study shows that Hoover Dam and Lake Mead emit approximately 12.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) annually, while Kentucky Lake annually emits over 1.8 million metrics tons of CO2e.2 Moreover, the collective GHG emissions of dams and reservoirs are significant. Notably, a 2020 scientific study co-authored by a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) researcher estimated that reservoirs in Ohio are the state’s fourth largest anthropogenic source of methane emissions.3
On March 21, 2022, Earthjustice submitted a rulemaking petition to the EPA requesting that the agency add dams and reservoirs to its Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program.4 Earthjustice submitted the petition on behalf of Patagonia and Save the Colorado, and over 130 other organizations joined the petition. The petition requests that EPA require dam and reservoir facilities—including hydropower facilities—to report their annual GHG emissions to EPA and the public. This reporting will allow regulators, policymakers, and the public to have access to accurate and timely information on these facilities’ GHG emissions. Requiring dams and reservoirs to report their GHG emissions will also ensure that federal and state agencies and utilities make decisions on the future of the electric sector based on the best available information regarding hydropower’s GHG emissions, and not risk inadvertently pursuing a clean energy future that is not actually clean.
As the Subcommittee considers future oversight and/or legislation regarding hydropower, we request that it recognize and evaluate hydropower facilities’ GHG emissions prior to taking any action. Continuing to disregard this issue would ignore an important factor regarding future hydropower decisions and further exacerbate the climate crisis.
A copy of the rulemaking petition to EPA is attached, and we are happy to provide additional information on this issue.
Sincerely,
Michael Hiatt
Senior Attorney
Earthjustice
—
2
Laura Scherer & Stephan Pfister, Hydropower’s Biogenic Carbon Footprint, PLoS ONE (Sept. 14, 2016)
4
Petition from Michael Hiatt, Earthjustice, to Michael Regan, Adm’r, EPA (Mar. 21, 2022)
Plastics are essential to building durable, high-performance clothing. But they’re also accelerating the climate crisis, from the fossil fuels used to make materials like polyester to the plastic pollution that piles up once that clothing has been tossed.
Through the eyes of a lawyer (Maxine Bédat, ED of New Standard Institute), a climate reporter (Kendra Pierre-Louis) and Patagonia designer and product responsibility manager (Pasha Whitmire and Karba), The Monster In Our Closet – a new film from Patagonia Films - uncovers the dangerous threads that connect the clothing industry to the oil and gas industry and what we can all do on the individual, business and government levels to create the change that our planet needs.
The film looks at the New York Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act (A8352/S7428), the first US law to require large fashion companies to map, disclose and make progress on social and environmental targets. While the bill did not make it out of committee in this legislative session, Patagonia has been working with the coalition behind the bill – led by Maxine Bédat – and will continue do so with a goal of not only endorsing it but helping to see it through to final passage.
To create meaningful change, we need action from individuals, businesses and government:
Individuals can buy less and demand more.
Brands play can role in helping to shift the industry to invest in secondary waste streams, eliminate virgin petroleum sources from products.
We need the government to step in with legislation and broader regulation, like decreased tariffs for recycled and organic materials, documenting and disclosing supply chains (where clothes are made and who is making them), and incentives for companies who adopt materials from organic or recycled inputs.
We definitely don’t just need corporate marketing campaigns – we need transparency, accountability and action.
See here to view the film and to learn more about how Patagonia is rethinking plastics in products and the company’s goal to eliminate virgin petroleum from its supply chain.
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Albania takes an important step towards protecting the Vjosa forever as government signs commitment to collaborate on Europe’s first Wild River National Park
June 13, 2022 - Today, the Albanian government took the historic step of signing a commitment to collaborate with Patagonia on the establishment of a Vjosa Wild River National Park. In Tirana, this morning, Prime Minister Edi Rama, Minister for Tourism and Environment Mirela Kumbaro, and Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert joined Albanian and international NGOs from the Save the Blue Heart of Europe campaign, in a ceremony to mark the public signing of a memorandum of understanding between the two parties.
The agreement states that the Albanian government and Patagonia will work together to upgrade the protection level of the basin and the river ecosystem of the Vjosa River and its free-flowing tributaries to the IUCN Category II Level National Park. This is a major step closer to establishing Europe’s first-ever Wild River National Park and safeguarding the last big, wild river of Europe, forever.
The Vjosa River and its free-flowing tributaries form an ecosystem with substantial biodiversity of national and global significance, and the outstanding scenic values of the valley are the result of undisturbed natural processes. The ecosystem is host to more than 1,100 species of animals, including 13 globally threatened animal and two plant species. These ecological and cultural values provide great opportunities for eco-tourism and other economic benefits to the people in the region.
The Memorandum of Understanding between The Ministry of Tourism and Environment of Albania and Patagonia includes the agreements:
Parties will work to increase the protection level of Vjosa River to the level of IUCN Category II: National Park.
The National Park shall include the Vjosa river and its free-flowing tributaries.
Within 45 days of signing this MoU, the Parties shall establish a Working Group, headed by the Ministry of Tourism and Environment.
The Working Group will deliver a complete proposal for the National Park to the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, that includes, among other things, the zoning and boundaries of the National Park, stakeholder consultation, and eco-tourism opportunities.
Prime Minister Edi Rama says: “Albania’s Vjosa is nature’s unrelenting force, the only survivor of the wild rivers of our continent, the last river vein that bears no trace of contamination from the industrial development that has morphed Europe’s rivers into animals tamed for the energy-generation circus.
“Vjosa will remain the only wild water body that, just like on the day of its creation, will continue to bear witness to the wonder that once were the European riverbeds. Under the protective cloak of the National Park, Vjosa will stay intact for Albania, for Europe, for the planet we want for our children’s children.”
Minister for Tourism and Environment Mirela Kumbaro says: “In Albanian, Vjosa is both a river and a woman’s name. Indeed, Vjosa is the most perfect metaphor for Albanian nature - with its pearl-white stones that captivate the eye, the pebble islets with burgeoning wildflowers that speak in the language of the creatures populating this corner of Albania. It is a river that runs on a bed as old as the world, its meanders opening the doors to the frontier with the Greek neighbour, then flowing into the Adriatic Sea.
“But Vjosa is also a symbol of the human history of an important part of Albania, where the woman who nurtures the heart and hearth is the queen of the house, just like Vjosa is the ‘wild queen’ of European rivers. It defends its throne with a beautiful vigour, its tresses resembling those of the women of Permet, Gjirokastra, Tepelena, Mallakastra, Vlora, Fier, Memaliaj, Kelcyra, with the colours and shades of the sun-kissed skin of the girls of Selenica, where Shushica runs, and even those of Libohova, where Drino flows. This inseparable marriage of Nature and Man is our new project for a sustainable development of Vjosa National Park.”
Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert says: “Albania’s leaders have shown vision and commitment today, signaling to the world their intention to do something unprecedented in nature protection. Through our long-standing partnership with the NGOs behind the Save the Blue Heart of Europe campaign, we have learned first-hand just how exceptional the Vjosa is and are therefore humbled to work alongside the government and groups, devoting our skills and expertise to the establishment of Vjosa Wild River National Park.”
The environmental NGOs, businesses, local communities and others are committed to supporting the long-term aim of establishing the national park and offer their support in planning. With official, actionable steps, this unparalleled biodiversity hotspot will set a precedent for future nature protection in Europe.
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Note: This is a joint press release by The Ministry of Tourism and Environment of Albania and Patagonia.
About the Vjosa River in Albania
The Vjosa River in Albania is the last big, wild river in Europe, outside of Russia. The river and its tributaries flow freely from the mountains in Greece to the Adriatic coast in Albania. This wilderness area is made up of an enormous mosaic of different habitat types, from the narrow gorges in the upper part, to the wide braided river sections in the middle part, to the near-natural delta at the Adriatic Sea. The middle stretch alone is made up of at least eight habitat types that have the highest conservation importance, at EU level.
The surrounding watershed provides the villages with fertile land for agricultural activities such as crop production and livestock farming. The abundance and diversity of fish is vital for the well-being of local fishermen mostly in the lower part of the Vjosa. Eco-tourism on the Vjosa and its tributaries is ever-increasing, particularly in recent years in which enthusiasts have started to enjoy activities such as rafting, canoeing, kayaking and swimming.
About Patagonia
Founded by Yvon Chouinard in 1973, Patagonia is based in Ventura, California. A certified B Corp, Patagonia is in business to save our home planet. The company is recognized internationally for its commitment to authentic product quality and environmental activism, contributing nearly $145 million in grants and in-kind donations to date.
Patagonia, the Ventura, California-based outdoor apparel manufacturer has hired Tyler LaMotte as marketing director, EMEA. A purpose-driven brand builder with over 20 years’ experience in the outdoor industry, he will oversee marketing strategy for the brand, throughout EMEA. Responsible for building communities through outdoor sports and environmental activism, LaMotte will amplify the company’s reason for being: We’re in business to save our home planet.
A coalition of environmental, business, and recreational organizations—joined by the County of Ventura and the City of Ojai—filed suit in federal court today to challenge a commercial logging and vegetation removal project atop Pine Mountain and Reyes Peak in the Los Padres National Forest.
For nearly 40 years, Patagonia has been building durable, river-tested fly fishing gear. We make this equipment because we love fly fishing. We engineer it to be recyclable and repairable so it never needs to see the inside of a landfill because we believe that if you love something you protect it.
As our industry gathers for IFTD 2022, it’s never been more important to underscore our belief that fly fishing is about more than rods and reels, waders and boots. We’re showing up at IFTD in a non-transactional way to support our nonprofit partners and our activist community—we’re not selling product, we’re using our platform to reiterate our core values: wild fish and clean water.
Should Utah’s politicians abandon their legal threats seeking once again to roll back protections for Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments, Patagonia is glad to return to Outdoor Retailer in Salt Lake City,” said Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert. “We are disappointed the owners of Outdoor Retailer are blatantly ignoring the Indigenous Peoples, local activists and outdoor athletes who spent years working to conserve and protect wild lands in Utah by moving the show back to Salt Lake City. Until we hear a firm commitment to protect our national monuments, we remain steadfast in our position and won’t return to the trade show in Utah.
Sausalito, CA (March 14, 2022) - In a continuing effort to scale regenerative farming practices, Patagonia Provisions and Dogfish Head Craft Brewery have partnered to launch Kernza® Pils, a distinctively crisp and refreshing German-style pilsner beer made with Kernza, a remarkable perennial grain that draws down carbon from the atmosphere and sequesters it in the ground. Hitting shelves and taps starting today in select markets coast to coast, Kernza Pils is one of the most widely distributed Kernza-based beers on the market and marks a significant shift towards a more climate-friendly brewing industry.
Updated: January 18, 2022
The right to vote is a priority for Patagonia because it creates the foundation for progress on everything we care about. Thriving communities and the fate of our planet rely on electing leaders who share our sense of urgency. And that relies on every eligible voter having equal access to the ballot.
In 2020, nearly two-thirds of eligible voters cast a ballot in the general election. Patagonia was proud to play a role in that success through the nonpartisan initiative we co-founded called Time to Vote, which resulted in nearly 2,000 CEOs coming together to provide resources for American workers to vote. We also recruited and placed poll workers and gave paid time off to our employees to volunteer and vote. Last spring, we donated $1 million to groups working to protect and advance voting rights. Regardless of party affiliation, we sent a clear message to our employees that voting was important, and we were making time for them to participate in our democratic system.
After the 2020 election, Democratic and Republican officials from every state confirmed (several times over in some states), there was no widespread fraud. And yet, in 2021, at least 19 states passed 34 laws restricting access to voting and more than 440 bills with provisions restricting voting access were introduced in 49 states. Regardless of the motivations of those championing this legislation, the impact will be felt most by people of color, students, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
I am calling on the business community to join us in urging the Senate to pass the Freedom to Vote: John R. Lewis Act. This federal bill will help ensure election integrity and that you and your neighbor have equitable access to the ballot box.
The fate of our democracy, and ultimately, the planet is at stake.
To join us in urging the Senate to act, please call, email or tweet your senators.
The company won the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence in the Climate Innovation category for its commitment to nature and the planet
Patagonia Inc. today won the Award for Corporate Excellence (ACE) from the U.S. Department of State for Climate Innovation because of the company’s work in Argentina to protect nature and advance climate solutions.
The Department of State gives three annual Secretary of State awards to U.S. companies doing business in other countries, recognizing those that show leadership in their foreign operations and whose operating practices and decision-making exemplify American values and international best practices. Patagonia Inc., an outdoor apparel brand based in Ventura, CA, has worked to conserve land and water in its namesake region of Patagonia in Argentina and Chile through its support of Tompkins Conservation, led by former Patagonia CEO and current board member Kristine Tompkins.
“Congratulations to Patagonia for winning the Secretary of State’s Award for Corporate Excellence for its commitment to protecting nature and advancing innovative solutions to combat climate change,” said MaryKay Carlson, Chargé d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires. “Patagonia demonstrates exemplary leadership through its work to protect land and sea in Argentina while also reducing carbon emissions and its own energy footprint. Patagonia’s work makes a difference to local communities and helps create a better environment for the next generation.”
Patagonia was instrumental in a campaign that resulted in the provincial government of Tierra del Fuego banning salmon farming, which would have contaminated the pristine waters of the Beagle Channel.
Through it’s NetPlus product innovation, Patagonia has partnered with Bureo (a 2016 ACE winner) to transform discarded fishing nets recovered from Argentina into hat brims, reducing the need for virgin plastic and paving the way for other companies to use recycled plastic sourced from a traceable supply chain. And Patagonia’s Worn Wear program is changing consumption habits — repairing more than 130,000 garments, reducing waste and revolutionizing the apparel industry by making the used clothing market mainstream.
"We have rejected old ways of thinking and learned how to build a successful business that contributes to the future in a positive way,” said Alex Perry, Patagonia’s Director of Latin America. “We’re humbled by this global recognition and we will continue working toward Patagonia’s reason for being, which is to save our home planet. We could never do this without the grassroots environmentalists we partner with in Argentina and around the world.”
Founded in 1973, Patagonia is a Certified B Corporation and is recognized internationally for its commitment to product quality and environmental activism. Patagonia has contributed more than $145 million in grants and in-kind donations to date. Patagonia Argentina, a subsidiary operation of Patagonia Inc., was incorporated in Argentina in 2005.
Below is a press release that was originally shared by the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition.
DSCC AND WWF JOINT PRESS RELEASE
Volkswagen Group, Triodos Bank, Scania, and Patagonia today joined growing calls for a moratorium on the emerging deep-sea mining industry.
The world’s second-biggest car manufacturer, a leading ethical bank, a major commercial vehicle manufacturer, and sustainable outdoor clothing company have joined other major companies BMW Group, Volvo Group, Samsung SDI, Google, and Philips in pledging to keep minerals sourced from the deep sea out of their products.
In addition to putting the brakes on the rush to mine the deep sea, the statement signed by the companies also highlights the need to explore alternatives as a matter of urgency; reduce the demand for primary metals; develop responsible terrestrial mining practices, and transition to a closed-loop materials economy.
“Volkswagen is continuously working on sustainable mobility solutions for future generations. This includes high standards for responsibly shaped raw material supply chains. Seabed mining poses severe environmental risks that we take very seriously and that drives us to support the call for a moratorium.”
Dr. Frauke Eßer, Head of Global Supplier Risk and Sustainability Management, Volkswagen Group Purchasing:
“The deep ocean is the largest carbon sink on our planet and a vital natural solution to climate change. We need to do everything in our power to protect rather than destroy this phenomenal ally. It is powerful to see leading companies recognise and take action on this.” – Jessica Battle, WWF No Deep Seabed Mining Initiative Leader.
“Triodos Bank’s mission is to make money work for positive social, environmental, and cultural change. In this time of unprecedented crisis relating to our natural world, Triodos Bank believes it is very important to implement a mortarium on deep-sea mining. There is no place for an industry that risks compromising the services to our planet that the deep ocean provides.”
Iris Lether, Investment Strategist, Triodos Investment Management, a subsidiary of Triodos Bank.
“Humans need to continue rapidly transitioning to renewable energy sources, but in a responsible manner. No matter what reasons we hear for mining the bottom of the ocean, we need to recognize that it would create grave ecological threats and risks disturbing carbon locked away in the deep, with limited opportunities for proper oversight. In our pursuit of renewable energy, we need to ensure that any essential mining is done in the most ecologically responsible way, which means no deep-sea mining. We cannot allow extractive industries to keep raiding our land and water for financial gain, and we need to move away from the model of capitalism that necessitates endless growth at the expense of the planet.”
Hans Cole, Head of Environmental Activism, Patagonia.
“It is fantastic to see Volkswagen Group, Triodos Bank, Scania, and Patagonia supporting ocean health for future generations by taking action on deep-sea mining and committing to keeping minerals from the ocean floor out of their products. We hope this will inspire more companies to take up the baton and defend this vital life-sustaining ecosystem by saying ‘no’ to deep-sea mining.” – Farah Obaidullah, Global Campaigner with the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition.
The nascent deep-sea mining industry seeks to strip-mine materials 4-6 kilometres below the surface of the ocean, starting in the Pacific Ocean. The prospective mining companies argue the minerals are needed for new batteries, but breakthroughs in battery technology are evolving without them. The giga-scale Swedish battery manufacturer, Northvolt, for example, announced earlier this month that it has produced the first-ever lithium-ion battery cell with 100% recycled nickel, manganese, and cobalt.
The growing call from companies to safeguard the health of the deep ocean comes as scientists and policy experts continue to warn of the risks associated with deep-sea mining. More than 600 marine science & policy experts from over 44 countries have also called for a pause on the nascent industry, warning of a “loss of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning that would be irreversible on multi-generational timescales” and “uncertain impacts on carbon sequestration dynamics and deep-ocean carbon storage.” Earlier this year the influential IUCN World Conservation Congress in Marseille also passed a resolution with overwhelming support for a moratorium on deep-sea mining.
Farah Obaidullah continues, “As we look beyond COP26 and ramp up our efforts to tackle the climate crisis, we need to recognize the deep sea and the critical role this environment plays in locking away carbon. We cannot afford to open up a new frontier of industrial resource extraction in an environment that stands between us and the worst impacts of climate breakdown.”
