2015, 195 countries adopted the Paris Agreement during the United Nations Climate Change Conference to help develop sustainable solutions for global environmental issues such as nuclear cleanup and global warming. In the last five years, there has been an increase in the number of spe- cialist consulting firms that focus specifically on environmental con- cerns. The growth of such firms is a response to organizations seeking solutions to specific problems. The Global Environmental Consultancy predicts a rise in specialist firms in the field of climate change and energy services, predicted to grow by more than 30 percent during the next five-years, and in Latin America and Africa/Middle East, growing by 33.6 percent and 26.7 percent, respectively. TBRC expects that this trend will push the global market further up to 2022.
Information provided by The Business Research Company (www.thebusinessresearchcompany.com).
Figure 1: The global market for environmental consulting services is expected to grow from $33 billion in 2017 to $37 billion in 2020.
Conservation groups identify priority projects to restore Louisiana’s coast. Land loss crisis
legislature earlier this year — were selected from the more than 100 master plan projects for their ability to deliver the greatest impact if implemented quickly. The project recommendations include sediment diversions, freshwater diversions, marsh creation, barrier island and headland restoration, ridge restoration, hydrologic restoration, and oyster reef restoration (see Figure 1). The recommendations come at a critical time for Louisiana, which is losing a football field of land every 100 minutes. Without action, the state could lose an additional 2,250 square miles of land over the next 50 years. Meanwhile, funds from the BP oil spill settlement, the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act, and other funding sources are flowing to the state for coastal restoration. These resources make it possible to implement large-scale restoration projects across the coast protecting communities from St. Bernard to the Texas line, nationally significant industries and natural resources, and world class habitats and landscapes. Figure 1: Project recommendations include sediment diversions, freshwater diversions, marsh creation, barrier island and headland restoration, ridge restoration, hydrologic restoration, and oyster reef restoration
National and local conservation groups working together to address Louisiana’s severe land loss crisis released a report, Restoring the Mississippi River Delta: A Recommended List of Coastal Restoration Projects and Programs, outlining 17 priority projects for restoring the Mississippi River Delta and coastal Louisiana. Restore the Mississippi River Delta — a coalition comprised of Environmental Defense Fund, the National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation, and the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana — jointly authored the report, which outlines a suite of restoration projects that, if prioritized for implementation, would build and maintain land across Louisiana’s nationally significant coast. The coalition’s priority restoration projects—all components of the 2017 Louisiana Coastal Master Plan approved unanimously by Louisiana’s
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