In recent years, especially under the Biden administration, there has been an unprecedented attack on the supply of reliable and affordable energy, from reducing oil and gas lease sales to the administration’s efforts to shift from reliable electricity sources to renewable energy sources. The partisan Inflation Reduction Act is a central piece of the harmful electrification effort that will undermine the electricity grid. If all of this was not bad enough, there are also governmental efforts to limit Americans from using reliable and affordable energy, such as efforts to severely limit the availability of gas-powered vehicles and bans on natural gas appliances.
Ensuring abundant, reliable, and affordable energy is a must, as is consumer freedom when it comes to energy. The Competitive Enterprise Institute advocates for policies to keep energy abundant, affordable, and competitive. Carbon fuels—coal, natural gas, and oil—provide about 80 percent of U.S. and global energy. They are the world’s dominant energy sources because, in most markets, they beat the alternatives in both cost and performance.
CEI is leading efforts to defend the personal energy choices of Americans. We advocate for policies that will stop government at all levels from banning or restricting what good and services Americans can choose to best meet their needs.
For decades, CEI has opposed regulatory overreach from the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies that put undue costs on energy industries and consumers. These include President Biden’s new power plant rule, the “Blackout Plan,” which would ignore the major questions problems detailed in West Virginia v. EPA, increase consumer electricity prices, and threaten grid reliability. CEI’s research and policy proposals have been instrumental on energy issues.
Featured Posts
Reason
The Case for Eliminating Energy Star
Reason cited CEI’s expert on the EPA A March white paper from the Competitive Enterprise Institute on modernizing the EPA says “green purchasing programs” like Energy…

Blog
House Republican letter urges an end to all IRA handouts via the reconciliation bill
Congressional Republicans were unanimous in their opposition to the Green New Deal when it was introduced in 2019, and for very good reason given that…

Blog
CEI’s The Surge: California waivers, IRIS, and more
If you are interested in analysis and perspective on current energy and environmental issues, then we encourage you to subscribe to this new publication and…
Search Posts
The Washington Times
Countries with Freer Economies More Likely to Have Better Environmental Health, Report Finds
The Washington Times cites Director for the Center for Energy and Environment Myron Ebell on fossil fuels: But as Mr. Biden tries to…
News Release
Biden ‘Leaders Summit on Climate’ Change to Pursue Impossible Goals
On April 22 and 23, President Biden plans to convene an online Leaders Summit on Climate, live streamed for public viewing. CEI’s Myron Ebell criticized…
Climate Depot
‘Green Fraud’ Book Review: ‘Exposes Elaborate Con Game’ – The Roadmap for the ‘Great Reset’
Climate Depot cites CEI’s GND video series: According to the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a libertarian think tank, phasing out fossil fuels…
Washington Times
Democrats Push Biden to Adopt Carbon Tax to Help Pay for Infrastructure Spending
The Washington Times cites Director of the Center for Energy and Environment Myron Ebell on the idea of a carbon tax: “The…
The Liberty Beacon
Roadmap for the ‘Great Reset’
The Liberty Beacon blog cites CEI’s GND video series: According to the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), a libertarian think tank, phasing out…
Real Clear Energy
The Happy Warrior Saves His Best Climate Writing for Last
S. Fred Singer, who died last year, was an emeritus Professor of Environmental Sciences at the University of Virginia, well-known for his written and…
The Wall Street Journal
It Takes Lots of Permits to Save the Planet
President Biden’s infrastructure plan proposes to spend trillions of dollars toward achieving zero greenhouse emissions by 2050. It won’t reach that goal, for two reasons.
Blog
Are Electric Vehicles the Right Choice for Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Consumers? Much Depends on Battery Life
A recent Wall Street Journal story compares an electric vehicle (EV) with a similarly sized internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle over their useful lives,…
E&E News
Dems Prep Vote To Overturn Trump-Era Methane Rule
E&E News cites Vice President for Policy Wayne Crews on the Congressional Review Act: Deploying the CRA is not even a strategy…
Blog
Contrasting Approaches to Energy Policy on Display in Two House Energy and Commerce Committee Bills
It is not hard to distinguish bad federal energy policy from good. Bad policy picks winners and losers among competing energy sources and technologies by…
The Washington Times
Big Oil Increasingly Open To Carbon Tax To Head Off More Stringent Environmental Regulations
The Washington Times cites Director of the Center for Energy and Environment Myron Ebell on the carbon tax: Myron Ebell, the director…
Blog
Does the Rebound Effect Undercut Savings from Energy Efficiency Standards?
There are plenty of reasons to oppose Department of Energy (DOE) efficiency standards for home appliances such as those for air conditioners, refrigerators, clothes washer/dryers,…
Letters
Coalition Letter Opposing Any Carbon Tax
Dear Members of Congress, We oppose any carbon tax. A carbon tax raises the cost of heating your home in the winter and cooling your…
Blog
Senate Votes Today on Rep. Debra Haaland’s Nomination to Be Interior Secretary
The Senate at 5:30 p.m. today will vote on Interior Secretary nominee Rep. Debra Haaland (D-NM). In a statement posted March 11 on the…
Arizona Daily Sun
Texas Blizzard is a Preview of Biden’s Blackout Agenda
The huge blizzard that knocked out electricity for several days for 10 million Texans in mid-February is a scary preview of what life would be…
The Washington Times
Biden’s Climate Agenda Likely To Push Gas Prices Even Higher
The Washington Times cites Director for th Center for Energy and Environment Myron Ebell on gas prices: “People are more sensitive to…
Blog
Twelve States Challenge Legality and Constitutionality of Biden Administration’s Use of Social Cost of Carbon
In a lawsuit filed this week, 12 state attorneys general (AGs) are asking a federal district court in Missouri to place an “immediate and…
Real Clear Policy
General Motors’ Projections on Electric Cars Are a No Go
It seems like every big car manufacturer is climbing on the electric bandwagon, even those, like General Motors, that have been burned by the technology…
News Release
House Democrats’ Climate Bill Will Restrict Domestic Energy Sources and Raise Americans’ Utility Bills
House Energy and Commerce committee Democrats today introduced a new bill, the so-called CLEAN Future Act, aimed at restricting the use of reliable energy sources…
Blog
Report: California’s Electricity Price-Boosting Environmental Measures Disproportionately Harm the Poor
A new report published by Next 10 and the University of California, Berkeley Haas School of Business, “Designing Electricity Rates for an Equitable Energy…
Blog
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Considers the Nomination of Rep. Debra Haaland to Be Secretary of Interior
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee this week held a two–part hearing to consider the nomination of Rep. Debra Haaland…
National Review
The Great Texas Power Crash
In the Japanese classic movie Rashomon, three witnesses to a murder give earnest but conflicting accounts of what happened. In the end, the audience is left wondering.
The Daily Caller
Democrats Keep Getting Their Climate Change Doomsday Predictions Wrong
The Daily Caller cites Director for the Center for Energy and Environment Myron Ebell on incorrect climate predictions: Competitive Enterprise Institute environmental…
Inside Sources
If electric vehicles (EVs) are as fantastic as claimed, why do they need so many government handouts?
Proponents of EVs are increasingly using the “I Word” – inevitability. They say EVs make too much sense for consumers, not to mention the planet,…
News Release
Grid Problems in Texas Won’t Be Solved by More Subsidies and Mandates for Wind and Solar
Freezing temperatures and strong storms led to widespread blackouts in Texas over the weekend, with more than 4 million Texans living without power. Director of…
Blog
Study: Electric Vehicles Driven A Lot Less Than Previously Assumed
A recently published study finds that electric vehicle (EV) owners drive them considerably less than previously assumed. This finding, if true, would greatly undercut claims about…
The Pipeline
Joe Biden’s Climate Nirvana — and Ours
Since Washington was locked down on inauguration day, President Joe Biden was free to spend his first day in office signing stacks of Executive Orders rather than…
Blog
Feeding the Hand that Smites: Union Leaders Protesting Biden’s Cancellation of Keystone XL Pipeline Endorsed Him Despite Campaign Pledge to Kill the Project
One of President Biden’s first official acts on Inauguration Day was to rescind the construction permit for the Keystone XL pipeline (KXL). Although canceling the…
Blog
Has the Honeymoon Already Ended Between Biden and Trade Unions over Keystone XL?
It didn’t take long. On his first day in office, President Biden revoked the federal permit granted by Donald Trump for the Keystone XL pipeline,…
The Washington Times
Boebert Bill To Block Paris Climate Agreement Reignites Senate Ratification Debate
The Washington Times cites Director for the Center for Energy and Environment Myron Ebell on the Paris Agreement: Opponents had urged Trump…
Blog
D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Vacates Trump EPA’s Replacement for Clean Power Plan
A panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 on January 19 to vacate the Trump administration’s Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule,…
News Release
CEI Files Opening Brief in Case Seeking More Lenient CAFE standards
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) filed its opening brief in CEI v. NHTSA, contending the Department of Transportation (DOT) and the Environmental…
The World News
Trump Officials Removed From White House After Faking Approval For Papers Which Downplay Climate Crisis
The World News cites Senior Fellow Patrick Michaels on NCAs: Another paper, on the four National Assessments of Climate Change conducted by…
Blog
Will the Next Labor Secretary Support Job-Killing Climate Measures?
President-elect Biden has selected most of his nominees to head the federal departments, and he has made clear to them that addressing climate change should…
News Release
EPA Administrator Wheeler Unveils Final Science Transparency Rule During CEI Forum
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler unveiled the agency’s final rule on strengthening transparency in pivotal science this morning during a policy…
The Telegraph
Commentary: Angela Logomasini — Dangerous Consequences of Junk Science
Author Richard Weaver was certainly correct when he asserted that “ideas have consequences” in his 1948 book by the same name. It’s also true that…
Blog
Biden Names Climate Alarmists to All Top Environment and Energy Positions
President-elect Joe Biden this week announced his choices for the top environment and energy positions in his administration. All are climate alarmists, which confirms earlier…
Blog
New CEI Video Series Looks at the Effects of Green New Deal Policies
In 2019, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezand Massachusetts Senator and fellow progressive Ed Markey introduced the Green New Deal, a Back-to-the-Dark-Ages manifesto that seeks to…
Blog
COVID-19 Vaccine Shows that the World Needs More Refrigeration and Less Anti-Refrigeration Climate Policy
Refrigeration has had a substantial positive impact on public health in the U.S. and other developed nations where it is in widespread use. Increased market…
NewsTalk 1320 WJAS
NewsTalk 1320 WJAS
NewsTalk 1320 WJAS cites CEI senior fellow Ben Lieberman on Electric Vehicles (EVs) and environmental costs. “Ben Lieberman is a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise…
News Release
Trump Administration Denies Alaska Pebble Mine Permit, Denying Economic Opportunity to the State and the Nation
The Trump administration, via the Army Corps of Engineers, today denied a permit to the Pebble Mine in Alaska, to the great detriment of economic…
Blog
Carbon Pricing Would Make Electricity Markets Less Efficient
On Monday (November 16, 2020), I submitted comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on its proposed policy statement encouraging regional trading…
Reason
Department of Energy Rolls Back Obama’s Dishwasher Restrictions
Reason cites Competitive Enterprise Institute on dishwashers and regulation. It’s probably been a long time since the president used a dishwasher or did his dishes…
The Intelligencer-Edwardsville
Commentary: Myron Ebell — Treaty withdrawal a cause to celebrate
The most consequential deregulatory action taken by President Donald J. Trump — the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris climate treaty — finally…
Blog
U.S. Withdraws from Paris Agreement: Six Questions for a Potential Future Biden Administration
The United States officially exited the Paris Climate Treaty on Wednesday, November 4, the first day on which a party may withdraw from the pact…
Blog
Robert E. Murray, RIP
Robert E. Murray, founder of Murray Energy and a fiercest opponent in industry of global warming alarmism, died age 80 on October 25 at his…
Inside Sources
A Celebration: U.S. Withdrawal from the Paris Climate Treaty Becomes Official
The most consequential deregulatory action taken by President Donald J. Trump in his first term — the withdrawal of the United States from the Paris…
EnergyWire
5 energy issues to watch if Trump wins
EnergyWire cites CEI General Counsel Sam Kazman on U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) dishwasher policy. “We’re hopeful that some of the progress we’ve seen in…
The Western Journal
2 more years of AOC: New York’s 14th congressional district goes to her again
The Western Journal cites Competitive Enterprise Institute on Green New Deal. In total, the deal would cost the average American household nearly …
Blog
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Calls for Carbon Pricing
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on October 15 proposed a policy statement to (1) “clarify its jurisdiction” over Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) and…
Staff & Scholars

Sam Kazman
Counsel Emeritus
- Antitrust
- Automobiles and Roads
- Banking and Finance

Paige Lambermont
Research Fellow
- Capitalism and Free Enterprise
- Energy
- Energy and Environment

Marlo Lewis, Jr.
Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Energy
- Energy and Environment

Ben Lieberman
Senior Fellow
- Climate
- Consumer Freedom
- Energy

Jacob Tomasulo
Policy Analyst
- Climate
- Energy
- Energy and Environment