News Release
New CEI Paper Asks: Would More Electric Vehicles be Good for the Environment?
The environmental benefits of “zero emission” electric vehicles are often touted, but rarely discussed are the many environmental downsides associated with creating and powering EVs.
Study
Would More Electric Vehicles Be Good for the Environment?
Executive Summary The environmental advantages of electric vehicles (EVs) over internal combustion engine-powered vehicles are as obvious as the lack of a tailpipe emitting air…
Blog
Comments to EPA’s Proposed Aircraft GHG Rule Show Industry Support, Activist Opposition
The comment period for the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed first-ever greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions standards for commercial aircraft ended on October 19. There…
Blog
Students Need More Air Conditioning, Not More Climate Policy
There’s a long and growing list of problems activists blame on climate change, including students’ reduced ability to learn due to hotter classroom temperatures. However,…
Comment
CEI Comments to DOE on Proposed Change to Shower Regulations
Blog
Senate Reaches Bipartisan Deal to Raise Air Conditioner Costs
Democrats and Republicans on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee just agreed to a measure that would raise the cost of air conditioning…
Blog
California’s Rolling Blackouts Cast Further Doubt on Electric Vehicles’ Future
However, California’s rolling blackouts underscore the difficulties that a massive scaling up of electric vehicles would entail. The problem is that EVs don’t really reduce…
Blog
Department of Energy Proposes More Water and Less Government Intrusion in Showers
The Department of Energy has proposed a rule loosening existing the federal requirements and allowing more water from showers. This is good news for those…
Blog
Can 15 States Be Wrong? Yes, When They Want More Federal Appliance Regulations!
Fifteen states have threatened to sue the Trump administration unless the Department of Energy sets new energy efficiency standards for 25 appliances. Almost every point…
Blog
Donald Trump Jr.’s Opposition to the Pebble Mine Shouldn’t Matter
Well-connected sportsmen, often Republicans, have been known to side with environmental obstructionists on occasion. When they learn that one of their isolated hunting or fishing…
Blog
NEPA Reform Gives More Power to the People, Less to Environmental Lawyers
The Trump administration’s recent changes to the National Environmental Policy Act would reduce the years of red tape and litigation that frequently blocks job-creating energy…
Blog
Environmental Protection Agency Finalizes Reforms to Its Environmental Appeals Board
The Trump administration has placed a priority on streamlining the delays and red tape holding back many private sector projects. The EPA's final rule making…
Blog
EPA Proposes First-Ever Aircraft Greenhouse Gas Limits
Today, the EPA proposed the first-ever limits on greenhouse gas emissions from commercial aircraft engines. Although it is unusual for the Trump administration to push…
News Release
Trump Administration Rule Reforms NEPA, Congress Must Finish the Job
President Trump today announced a final rule reforming the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) process of evaluating and granting permits for major new energy infrastructure…
Blog
Final Rule on National Environmental Policy Act an Important Step to Get America Back to Work
Along with its regulatory reforms, the Trump administration has also sought to unleash the American economy by streamlining the federal permitting process for major infrastructure…
Blog
House Select Committee Climate Report A Pre-COVID-19 Time Capsule
On June 30, the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis released its report. There is little original in the report. Most of its sweeping…
Blog
Air Conditioning Can Help Fight COVID-19—If Federal Policy Allows It To
COVID-19 persists into the time of year when most Americans rely on air conditioning, so many are asking whether cranking up the cold air helps…
Blog
Tax Breaks for Wind and Solar—Bad Energy Policy, Bad Post-Coronavirus Recovery Policy
The House of Representatives’ $1.5 trillion dollar infrastructure package is being sold to the public as a post-coronavirus job creation bill. It now includes the…
Daily Energy Insider
New England Ratepayers Association’s Stance on Full Net Metering Gains Support
Daily Energy Insider quotes CEI Senior Fellows Marlo Lewis and Ben Lieberman regarding the NERA’s stance on retail net metering: NERA in April filed a…
Comment
CEI Comments on NERA Petition Concerning Unlawful Wholesale Sales
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is a public policy and analysis organization committed to advancing the principles of free markets and limited government. We are…
Blog
Supreme Court Decision Big Win for Energy—and America
Today the Supreme Court handed down a 7-2 decision allowing the construction of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, a 600-mile project bringing natural gas produced in…
News Release
#NeverNeeded Report: EPA Should Grant Waivers to Renewable Fuel Standard, Congress Should Sunset the Program Entirely
A bipartisan group of governors of five states -- Louisiana, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming -- have requested a waiver from requirements of the federal…
Products
Suspend and Eventually Eliminate the Renewable Fuel Standard
The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) has faced many unexpected turns since it was created by Congress in 2005 and expanded in 2007, so the impact…
Blog
Trump Executive Order to Expedite Project Approvals
President Trump on June 4 issued an Executive Order intended to expedite the federal approval process for major infrastructure projects. “Economic Recovery from the COVID-19…
Blog
EPA Finalizes Rule Limiting State Abuses of Clean Water Act to Block Fossil Energy Projects
On June 1, the EPA issued a final rule clarifying that the Clean Water Act cannot be used by states to block energy projects based…
Blog
EPA Removes One Hurdle to Alaska’s Pebble Mine, but Others Remain
On May 28, the EPA notified the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers that it will not challenge its ongoing review of the Pebble Mine in…
Blog
IRS Relaxes Requirements for Renewable Energy Tax Credits—Coronavirus Edition
On May 27, the IRS issued a notice expanding the tax relief for renewable energy developers seeking to qualify for tax credits. Ironically, this announcement…
Blog
Wood Heaters—One Cheer for Trump EPA’s Modest Regulatory Reform
The Trump administration’s reforms of past regulatory excesses range from excellent to little better than no change at all. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA)…
Blog
Are “Earth-Friendly” New Refrigerants Toxic?
Bills have been introduced in both the House and Senate to restrict hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), the refrigerants currently used in most air conditioning and refrigeration systems.
Blog
Senate Bill Introduced to Extend Alternative Fuels Tax Credit
Sens. Lamar Alexander and Tom Carper have introduced Securing America’s Clean Fuels Infrastructure Act, extending and increasing the tax credits for alternative transportation fuels. It…
Blog
EPA Sends Proposed Aircraft GHG Rule to White House for Review
On May 1, the EPA sent its first-ever proposed rule on aircraft greenhouse gas emissions to OMB for review. Promulgated pursuant to the Clean Air…
Blog
Coronavirus Emergency Is No Reason for Delaying Energy Project Approvals
On April 29, five members of Congress sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that nicely summarizes why the energy infrastructure approval and…
Blog
Businesses Critical of Costly Climate Bill Finally Get to Weigh In
The American Manufacturing and Innovation (AIM) Act would limit the production of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), the class of chemicals used as refrigerants in most air conditioning…
Blog
EPA Takes Step in Support of Coal-Refuse-to-Energy
Green groups oppose efforts to deal with the coal refuse problem that plagues many coal mining communities in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The EPA is…
Comment
Comments of the Competitive Enterprise Institute on S. 2754, the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2019 Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works April 6, 2020
The Competitive Enterprise Institute is a public policy and analysis organization committing to advancing the principles of free markets and limited government. We have raised…
Blog
Pipeline-Starved New York City Avoids Natural Gas Shortages this Winter, but May Face Problems in the Future
New York City made it through another winter without any serious natural gas shortages, but it may not be so lucky next year. National Grid…
Blog
The Next Alleged Environmental Threat: Coal Falling off Trains
Proponents of climate change are repurposing older statutes into climate policy tools, even though they were never intended for that purpose. The environmentalists’ goal is…
Blog
Fly the (Greenhouse) Friendly Skies, If You Can Still Afford to under the House COVID-19 Bill
Airports haven’t been this empty since after 9/11, so it is not surprising that airlines would be recipients of tens of billions of assistance in…
Blog
Federal Court Decision Underscores Need for NEPA Reform
The comment period has closed for the Council on Environmental Quality’s proposed updates to the implementing rules for the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Many…
Blog
Refrigerants Debate Moves to House
American consumers dodged a bullet when the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act failed to become part of the larger Senate energy package, which has stalled on…
Comment
CEI Comments on Proposed Updated NEPA Procedural Regulations
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) proposed update of National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) procedural regulations.
News Release
CEI Urges Senators To Vote No on Unnecessary and Wasteful Energy Legislation
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) opposes S. 2657, the package of energy bills set for a vote today in the U.S. Senate, and urges senators…
Blog
Washington’s Latest Attack on Air Conditioning
Think air conditioning isn’t expensive enough? Then you’ll love a proposed amendment to the Senate energy bill that restricts the refrigerants used in millions of…
Comment
Questions for the Record
The Honorable John Shimkus (R-IL) Is it true that the replacements for HFCs are more expensive than their counterparts? If so, what impact will this…
Blog
Trump Wants Less Federal Meddling in Home Energy Use, but Some in Congress Want More
Federal energy efficiency standards have a long history of unintended adverse consequences, from more expensive light bulbs with questionable light quality to dishwashers that take…
Blog
Trump Administration Better on Permit Approvals for Energy Projects than for Minerals Projects Like the Pebble Mine
The Trump administration is doing a good job reducing red tape and streamlining the permitting process for energy production and energy infrastructure projects, but on…
Blog
Department of Energy Finalizes Process Rule for Appliance Efficiency Standards
There are a number of problematic Department of Energy (DOE) efficiency standards for home appliances. Perhaps worst of all is the one resulting in dishwashers…
Study
The American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act: Myth vs. Fact
Beginning in the 1970s, concerns that the refrigerants used in most air conditioners and refrigerators were leaking into the air and depleting the Earth’s ozone…
Comment
Testimony of Ben Lieberman Before House Subcommittee on Environment and Climate Change
Chairman Tonko, Ranking Member Shimkus, and Members of this subcommittee, thank you for this invitation to speak today at this hearing on H.R. 5544, the…
News Release
NEPA Reforms a Big Step toward Correcting Worst Abuses of Environmental Permitting Process
The White House Council on Environmental Quality today released a proposed rule reforming the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Blog
2019: A Great Year for Light Bulb Freedom
Whatever else one may say about 2019, it was a banner year for consumer choice when it comes to light bulbs, culminating in the December…
Blog
Supreme Court to Hear Important Natural Gas Pipeline Case
Next February, the U.S. Supreme Court will review the 2018 decision by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, Cowpasture River Preservation Association, et al. v. …
Blog
Trump Can’t Do Much About Toilets, But Can Stop Other Anti-Homeowner Regulations
President Trump created more controversy than usual last week when he complained about water-saving faucets, shower heads, and—especially—toilets. “You turn on the faucet and you…
Blog
House Committee Releases Tax Bill to Extend Electric Vehicle, Wind, and Solar Handouts
In what amounts to the tax component of the Green New Deal, the House Ways and Means Committee released a draft of its “Growing Renewable Energy…
Blog
Environmental Protection Agency Revises Risk Management Program for Industrial Facilities
“First, do no harm,” is good ethical advice for regulators as well as doctors, but the Obama-era Environmental Protection Agency took a risk management program for…
Blog
Congress Breaking Promises, Extending Tax Credits for Electric Vehicles, Wind, and Solar
It is not unusual for Congress to keep extending a supposedly temporary federal program, and that includes the tax credits for electric vehicles and wind…
News Release
CEI Urges Opposition of S. 2754, the “American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2019”
In response to the introduction of this bill, CEI Senior Fellow Ben Lieberman said: …
Blog
Environmental Protection Agency Proposes Appeals Board Reform
The Trump administration has placed a high priority on shortening the delays and cutting the red tape holding back many private sector development projects. The Environmental…
Blog
Free-Market Groups Support Trump Light Bulb Reform
The Bush and Obama administrations imposed a number of restrictions on light bulbs, but the Trump administration is pushing back on behalf of consumers. Today,…
Blog
‘Art of the Deal’ Meets Renewable Fuel Standard
It’s the ultimate dealmaker versus the ultimate dealmaking challenge. President Trump has again sought changes to the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) that he hopes both…
Inside Sources
5 Reasons Trump Is Right to Save Incandescent Light Bulbs
Americans will have more freedom of choice now that the Trump administration’s Department of Energy has set about undoing Obama-era regulations targeting incandescent light bulbs in favor…
Inside Sources
Air Conditioning – Saving Lives but Getting No Love
Every summer brings heat waves, but recent summers have also brought waves of criticisms about air conditioning. We are told that it is unnecessary, unhealthy and…
Blog
Department of Energy Expands Consumer Choice in Light Bulbs
The Trump administration took a pro-consumer step today as the Department of Energy finalized a rule that will allow certain types of lower-cost light bulbs to…
News Release
White House Draft NEPA Guidance Unlikely to Reduce Delays and Litigation for Infrastructure Projects
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) and several other free market groups submitted comments on the White House Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ) Draft National Environmental…
Blog
Climate Rent-Seeking Backfiring on Chemours
In perhaps the most egregious example of climate change-related rent seeking to date, chemical giants Chemours and Honeywell have joined forces with environmental activists to…
Blog
New Rule to Limit State Government Abuse of Clean Water Act for Climate Activism
Making good on a promise made in an April 10th Executive Order entitled Promoting Energy Infrastructure and Economic Growth, the Environmental Protection Agency has proposed a rule restricting…
Blog
Senate Highway Bill with First-Ever Climate Title Unanimously Clears Committee
On July 30th, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW) passed S. 2302, America's Transportation Infrastructure Act of 2019. The vote was 22-0.
News Release
CEI Applauds EPA Decision to Withdraw Preemptive Veto of Pebble Mine Project
This week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it intends to withdraw the Obama Administration's preemptive rejection of the Pebble Mine project in Alaska and…
Blog
House Democrats Announce Alternative to Green New Deal
Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, announced on July 23rd the start of a sweeping effort to legislate a 100 percent…
Blog
Department of Energy Grants Petition To Speed Up Dishwashers
The Department of Energy (DOE) on July 2nd announced the first step in reversing energy efficiency standard that resulted in dishwashers taking hours to clean…
The Solar Tribune
Clean Energy Public Policy: What are the Possible Policy Mechanisms
The Solar Tribune cites Senior Fellow Ben Lieberman on appliance energy standards. “The goal is to reduce energy bills, but even DOE admits…
Blog
Climate Policies, Not Climate Change, Are Bigger Threat to World’s Poor
The most recent United Nations climate report, this one from the Human Rights Council, is titled “Climate Change and Poverty” and asserts that “climate change…
News Release
CEI Calls on EPA to Immediately Respond to Request for Correction to Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment
The Competitive Enterprise Institute today announced it sent a letter to EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler, demanding a response to CEI’s Request for Correction made on…
News Release
House Members Should Vote No on Amendment to Block Pebble Mine Project
The House of Representatives is expected to vote as early as tomorrow on the Huffman Amendment to H.R. 2740 (amendment 63 to Division E of…
Blog
Electric Vehicle Tax Credits Not Popular with Americans: Poll
A recent survey conducted for the American Energy Alliance clearly shows that the public does not support congressional efforts to extend or expand federal tax credits for purchasers of…
Blog
Union Gets Nasty over Natural Gas Pipeline Rejection
Friction between the trade unions that build energy infrastructure and the politicians who routinely block these projects has been growing for the last decade—especially as…
Blog
EPA Streamlines Infrastructure Approval Process under Clean Water Act
Making good on its promise in Executive Order 13868 to combat the abuse of section 401 of the Clean Water Act by states seeking to block…
Daily Caller
Trump May Adopt an Obama-Era Climate Policy
Blog
Study Confirms China Cheating on United Nations Environmental Agreement
A study published in the journal Nature provides further confirmation of illegal production of trichlorofluoromethane (CFC-11) from China.
Blog
California Leads Nation in Gas Prices, Climate Policies a Growing Contributor
The large gasoline price disparity between California and the rest of the country has jumped to nearly $1.20 per gallon. High fuel taxes and stringent clean…
Blog
ConEd Expanding Existing Pipeline Capacity Amid Ban on New Construction
We have previously reported on Consolidated Edison’s recent restrictions on new natural gas hookups in the greater New York metropolitan area as a consequence of…
Fox News
Ben Lieberman: There’s a new addition to the list of enemies of the planet — buildings (yes, buildings!)
Environmentalists and their friends in Congress dislike an ever-expanding list of materials and industries American families rely on, from fossil fuels to vehicles to logging,…
Blog
Another Day, Another Blocked Pipeline into New York
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation on May 15th rejected a natural gas pipeline that would have brought supplies into the state via New York…
Daily Caller
LIEBERMAN: Trump May Adopt An Obama-Era Climate Policy
Believe it or not, the Trump administration is seriously considering entering into a global environmental treaty that was a key part of the Obama climate…
Blog
Can Trump Save Your Air Conditioner from the Deep State?
It happens every spring—on the first hot day, homeowners switch on their air conditioners that have sat idle since September, cross their fingers, and pray…
Blog
Congressional Democratic Leaders Meet with President on Infrastructure Bill
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and other congressional Democrats met with President Trump on April 30 to discuss an infrastructure package.
Blog
Administration Takes on Anti-Infrastructure Misuse of Clean Water Act
President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order on April 10th that is intended to limit the misuse of the Clean Water Act of 1972…
Blog
On Climate Policy, ‘Low-Hanging Fruit’ May Not Be So Tasty
On Wednesday, April 10, the House Energy Subcommittee will hold a hearing called Investing in America's Energy Infrastructure: Improving Energy Efficiency and Creating a Diverse…
Blog
Despite Green New Deal Complaints, House Democrats Rush Vote on New Climate Bill
On Thursday April 4th, the House Energy and Commerce Committee marked up H.R. 9, the Climate Action Now Act, which was introduced only the week…
Blog
Response to Conservative Supporter of Kigali Amendment
The Kigali Amendment is a United Nations environmental measure proposed by the Obama administration, and that ought to be reason enough for conservatives to be…
Blog
Trump Administration Trying to Please Everyone on Renewable Fuel Standard
In trying to please both the supporters and the critics of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), the Trump administration may end up pleasing neither. …
Blog
Interior States Take on Coastal States over Climate-Related Project Approvals
When the state of Washington rejected a proposed new coal export facility in 2017, it probably expected the usual appeals from the project’s developers. But it…
Blog
Washington Post’s Climate Alarmism Reaches the Sports Page
The news and opinion pages of the Washington Post have for years been filled with climate alarmism, but now it is spreading to the sports…
Blog
Maryland Considers Another Anti-Gas Pipeline Measure
The abundant natural gas produced in Pennsylvania and West Virginia could do a lot of good for East Coast states—reducing electric bills, improving reliability, and…
The Washington Examiner
The Inefficiency of Efficiency: Appliance Standards Often Cost More Than They Save
It is hard to find anything in Washington more inefficient than an efficiency standard for home appliances. Each standard can require more than 30 bureaucratic…
Blog
Three Reasons Kigali Amendment Favors China over America
Beginning in the 1970s, many policymakers became concerned that the refrigerants used in most air conditioners and refrigerators were leaking into the air and depleting the…
Blog
House Democrats Take on Department of Energy over Appliance Efficiency Standards
The Department of Energy (DOE) has been regulating the energy efficiency of home appliances since 1987, ostensibly for the benefit of consumers, but the Obama-era…
Blog
EPA Finally Initiates Air Quality Assessment of Renewable Fuel Standard
The Environmental Protection Agency recently announced that it is taking comment on the air quality impacts of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) and will complete a study…
Blog
More New England Natural Gas Pipelines Needed, But Unlikely
New England continues to struggle with barely-adequate electric reliability, especially during the region’s winter cold spells. This is due in large part to the retirements of…
Blog
Appalachian Trail Should Not Block New Energy Development
The Department of Justice is pushing back against a federal court decision that could jeopardize the future availability and affordability of natural gas across America’s…