Number 2023-02
WHEREAS, the National Wildlife Federation has a rich history of commitments to natural resource conservation beginning with the first “Purpose of the NWF” in its 1936 Articles of Incorporation and the nearly 300 NWF Policy Resolutions citing resource conservation, including Resolution No. 1995-01 which called upon NWF to support energy conservation and energy efficiency as methods of protecting our natural resources, wildlife, and the environment; and
WHEREAS, fundamental principles of conservation include that conservation stands for prevention of waste through improved efficiency; the idea that natural resources must be developed and preserved for the benefit of the many, and not merely for the profit of a few; and for the benefit of both current and future generations; and
WHEREAS, plans for mitigating climate change (Net Zero Plans) include policies, investments, technologies, and processes that collectively will achieve net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 – thereby meeting goal of the Paris Climate Agreement to limit global warming at well below 2°C, ideally 1.5°C relative to pre-industrial levels; and
WHEREAS, net zero plans, importantly, identify technology-based and natural climate solutions that will reduce GHG emissions, or capture and sequester GHGs, but conservation practices that abate demand for natural resources, hereinafter ‘resource conservation-based solutions’ (RCBS), are underrepresented in many U.S. net zero plans; but reaching Paris Agreement goals will collectively require all solutions currently available and others yet to be developed; and
WHEREAS, there is an urgency for immediate to near-term deployment of RCBS given the cumulative nature of C02 and other greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere; the immediate availability of many relatively low-cost, proven RCBS for energy generation and energy demand in all economic sectors; and the advanced research for development of new and more efficient RCBS ongoing in the U.S. and globally; and
WHEREAS, within the electricity generation sector, RCBS include improved energy efficiency in production, conversion, storage, and transmission of electricity; and
WHEREAS, while it should not be used as an excuse for increasing energy use, RCBS can significantly abate both current demand and new demand for energy within all economic sectors; and
WHEREAS, many metals and other materials are critically important to the manufacture of renewable energy technologies, yet the USA is currently dependent upon nondomestic sources for many of these critical raw materials and other strategic raw materials (hereinafter ‘critical materials’), resulting in serious threats to energy independence, the environment and welfare of indigenous peoples, and the transition to a net-zero U.S. economy; and
WHEREAS, RCBS that reduce both the need for domestic extraction and American dependence upon nondomestic sources of critical materials include increased efficiency, socially and environmentally responsible source diversification (such as sourcing from mine tailings, desalinization and geothermal brines, etc.), substitution of readily available materials for scarce materials, and the application of a recover-reuse-repurpose-recycle-regenerate business model; yet, while some RCBS are commercially mature, many require further research, development, and demonstration; and
WHEREAS, while over-exploitation of natural resources harms the health of ecosystems and the wellbeing of people, energy conservation saves people money while providing quality-of-life benefits; and in addition to benefits for climate mitigation, conservation of energy resources offers sociocultural, economic, environmental, and wildlife benefits; and
WHEREAS, there is a great disparity from the implementation of some RCBS that require, up-front, in many cases prohibitive financial investments, thereby placing inequitable burdens on, and inequitable access to remedies for, lower income households, multi-unit dwellings, and some small businesses.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, at its Annual Meeting assembled June 21-24, 2023, call for plans for mitigating climate change – in addition to technology-based and natural climate solutions – to include early adoption of resource conservation-based solutions that aim to reduce current and expected increases in demand for clean energy and natural resources used in energy generation and deployment, and energy consumption in all economic sectors; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation calls upon the federal, state, and local governments and civil and private sector entities to apply principles and best practices of resource conservation to the generation, conversion, storage, and transmission of energy, and its consumption in all economic sectors; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation calls upon the same entities to support research, development, and deployment of resource conservation practices that reduce both the extraction and importation of critical raw materials used in clean energy generation, deployment, and consumption, and advance knowledge on the recovery, recycling, and repurposing of clean energy dependent materials; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation calls upon the same entities to develop policies that progressively reduce the burden on lower income households, multi-unit dwellings, and on small businesses to implement resource conservation measures introduced here that require up-front investments where costs, benefits, and remedies are currently inequitably distributed; and
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation calls upon industry to adopt best practices guided by resource conservation principles, and best available science to help mitigate environmental, social, and economic harm from critical materials extraction and processing, recognizing that best practices must be adaptive to rapidly evolving science and technology.