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
Real Clear Investigations
The Greenhouse Gas Windfalls Blew Hard for Solar in the Biden EPA
Real Clear Investigations cited CEI’s expert on the EPA “At a minimum, it is questionable how the Biden EPA decided to award the $7 billion,…
C-SPAN
Daren Bakst and Joe Bonfiglio on Proposed EPA Regulatory Rollbacks
CEI’s Daren Bakst appeared on C-SPAN’s Washington Journal this morning on a panel discussing the rollback of the EPA Watch more at C-SPAN…

Blog
Trump cancels Biden’s heat pump crisis
It isn’t easy figuring out the single most ridiculous Biden administration climate policy, but its declaration that electric heat pumps are critical to the…
Search Posts
FIU News
Environmental forum brings together diverse viewpoints, experts on environmental policy
“If you’re serious about climate but you’re also serious about democracy, you’re going to have to figure out how to make them work together.” New…
Blog
Has Gary Gensler turned the SEC into a regulatory ‘Hotel California’?
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler hadn’t testified before the U.S. House of Representatives for 18 months. Republican members made up for lost…
News Release
Biden EO on ‘Environmental Justice’ Poses Threat to all Americans
The Biden administration today announced a new executive order purporting to “further embed environmental justice into the work of federal agencies.” CEI regulatory and…
Blog
Texas v. EPA could save the day for cars that go vroom
The Competitive Enterprise Institute this week filed its reply brief for private petitioners in State of Texas et al. v. Environmental Protection Agency.
News Release
House Passes Energy Bill that Will Increase Domestic Energy Production and Lower Costs for Consumers
The U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1 today, an extensive package of energy policies aimed at increasing domestic energy production, easing permitting delays for…
Blog
Three Important Policy Reforms in H.R 1
The House of Representatives this week is expected to consider H.R. 1, the “Lower Energy Costs Act.” Here are three of the most…
New York Post
Biden’s latest target in his war on appliances: air conditioning units
“What these standards do is enforce a level of efficiency that doesn’t make sense,” the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Ben Lieberman told…
News Release
CEI Publishes Collection of Kevin D. Williamson Writing on the Religious Character of the Environmental Movement
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) published a new monograph today by writer-in-residence Kevin D. Williamson, titled “Inside the Carbon Cult: Reports on…
Study
Inside the Carbon Cult
Foreword Kevin D. Williamson has a pretty good claim to being the best columnist in the United States right now. I don’t say that lightly.
Blog
CEI Advises CEQ to Withdraw Its NEPA Guidance on Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change
Last week I submitted comments advising the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to withdraw its proposed guidance on consideration of greenhouse gas (GHG)…
News Release
Biden Administration Approves Oil Exploration Project in Alaska, but Larger Restrictions Promised Soon
According to reports, the Biden Administration is prepared to approve an oil exploration project in northern Alaska. The administration is said to be pairing…
Fox News
5 ways Biden is still coming for your gas stove
Who knew President Joe Biden hated gas stoves so much? Not only does he have multiple federal agencies targeting them, but he is also going…
Blog
The War On Natural Gas – Pipeline Edition
The Biden Administration’s climate change-inspired war on natural gas continues on multiple fronts. Most recently in the news are the regulatory attempts to curtail the use…
Testimony
QFR Answers from Marlo Lewis Regarding the Senate Budget Committee Hearing on 03/03/23
Dear Senator Grassley, Thank you again for inviting me to present testimony at the Senate Budget Committee’s March 1, 2023 hearing “Rising Seas, Rising Costs:…
News Release
Daren Bakst Joins CEI as Deputy Director of the Center for Energy and Environment
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) announced today that Daren Bakst will join the organization as senior fellow and deputy director of the Center for…
Testimony
Testimony of Marlo Lewis, Ph.D., Senior Fellow in Energy and Environmental Policy, Competitive Enterprise Institute
Chairman Whitehouse, Ranking Member Grassley, and honorable members of this Committee, thank you for the opportunity to present testimony on behalf of the Competitive Enterprise…
E&E News
DOE Rule May Block 50% Of Current Gas Stove Models
“This proposed rule comes with a somewhat controversial background regarding another agency. I think it’s still very, very concerning for natural…
Blog
Less is More – EPA’s Methane Rule and the Social Cost Paradox
CEI this week submitted comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) proposed rule to establish new and more stringent methane emission standards for…
Blog
It’s Not Just Stoves – Biden Administration Regulators Going After Many Other Appliances
Do you think that Joe Biden’s regulators are sticking to promises not to target gas stoves? Think again, and it is not just stoves but…
Fox News
California’s grid faces collapse as leaders push renewables, electric vehicles, experts say
“They already are suffering,” said Myron Ebell, the director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment. “They’re, in…
Comment
CEI Comments on EPA Methane Emission Performance Standards for the Oil and Gas Sector
February 13, 2023 Docket No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2021–0317-1460 Standards of Performance for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources and Emissions Guidelines for Existing Sources: Oil and Natural Gas…
Blog
Administration’s Recent Crackdown on Domestic Mining at Odds with Its Electric Vehicle Agenda
President Biden could hardly be more aggressive in trying to foist electric vehicles (EVs) on the American public, regardless of whether they really meet our…
Washington Examiner
Democrats and Republicans: Unite around abundance
Inflation may finally be starting to wane, but there is no clear end in sight to the economic turmoil that Americans have experienced for nearly…
Blog
It Isn’t Just Gas Stoves That Biden Regulators Dislike – EPA Adding Costly Red Tape To Air Conditioners
In response to a strong consumer backlash, Biden administration regulators now insist they are not considering a ban on natural gas stoves, at least…
Comment
Comment to EPA on AIM Act Restrictions on the Use of Certain Hydrofluorocarbons
INTRODUCTION The undersigned free-market organizations have a longstanding interest in bringing to light the deleterious consequences of federal regulations, which are often neglected by agencies…
Governors' Wing & Solar Energy Coalition
One Republican stands between the far right and ESG
Myron Ebell, director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment, called McHenry “a really good, free-market conservative” and…
News Release
CEI Commends House for Passing H.R. 21, the Strategic Production Response Act
The House of Representatives passed H.R. 21, the Strategic Production Response Act today. The bill, sponsored by House Energy and Commerce Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers…
Fox News
Democrats, eco groups take aim at other home appliances amid gas stove debate
CEI’s Ben Lieberman is cited on Fox News the home appliance and gas stove debate: “There’s bad news for almost every room in the…
News Release
CEI Leads Coalition in Support of H.R. 21, the Strategic Production Response Act
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), joined by 13 conservative and free market-oriented organizations, sent a letter to Congress in support of H.R. 21,…
Letters
Coalition Letter to Congress in Support of H. R. 21, the Strategic Production Response Act
Dear Member of Congress: We, the undersigned organizations and individuals, write to express our strong support for H.R. 21, the Strategic Production Response Act,…
Real Clear Energy
Joe Biden’s Opposition to Natural Gas Hits Home
There’s no doubt that the Biden Administration is fully on board with the climate activist community’s war on the natural gas industry. From slow walking…
Daily Caller
Biden Admin’s Gas Stove Crusade Is Just A Preview Of What’s To Come
It was an amazing media 180. Just days after a wave of stories about the threat to asthmatic children from natural gas stoves and the…
E&E News
White House releases latest regulatory plans
The White House on Wednesday afternoon released its latest plans for rulemaking on energy, the environment and beyond. The fall Unified Agenda emerged…
The Boston Herald
Lieberman: Whales on losing side of wind energy
Environmentalists want to crack down on the Maine lobster industry in the name of protecting endangered whales, but they turn a blind eye to the…
Blog
CNN Cheers Proposed New Restrictions on Light Bulbs
CNN has some great news for American consumers—your choices in light bulbs are being reduced! The Department of Energy (DOE) will soon propose a new…
Real Clear Energy
The DOE’s Press Release on Federal Building Standards Is Inaccurate and Misleading Puffery
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) recently released the pre-publication version of a proposed rule to “establish energy performance standards for the construction of new federal…
Products
Free to Prosper: Infrastructure Permitting Reform
In the midst of an economic crisis that has seen American families squeezed at the pump and in their home electricity bills, America needs to…
Products
Free to Prosper: Environment, Energy, and Climate
President Biden campaigned on a promise to “end fossil fuel.” Some dismissed it at the time as rhetorical bluster. We now know he was serious.
Giving Ventures
PODCAST: CEI’s Kent Lassman Joins Giving Ventures
CEI President Kent Lassman joins Giving Ventures to discuss areas for energy policy reform. Click here to read more.
Letters
CEI Joins Coalition Letter Rejecting Building American Energy Security Act of 2022
Dear Majority Leader Schumer, Minority Leader McConnell, Speaker Pelosi, and Minority Leader McCarthy: The undersigned organizations write to express our strong opposition to Senator Joe…
Blog
Conversations from COP27: Kent Lassman Interview Series
CEI President Kent Lassman attended the annual COP27 conference in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt as a non-governmental observer, formally the 27th meeting of the Conference…
USA Today
America needs the nuclear option to keep our homes warm – and to fight climate change
In early November, the U.S. Department of Energy chose Westinghouse to build a new, much-needed nuclear-power plant, one that will employ “the most advanced light…
Blog
Gas Prices Are Lower than a Year Ago: What Does that Mean for Inflation?
Even with inflation near 40-year highs, gas prices are lower than a year ago, and not just in real, inflation-adjusted terms. They’re lower even…
Blog
COP27: CEI’s Kent Lassman Interviews Rep. Miller
CEI President Kent Lassman attended the annual COP27 conference in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt as a non-governmental observer, formally the 27th meeting of the Conference…
Blog
COP27: CEI’s Kent Lassman Interviews Rep. Cloud
CEI President Kent Lassman attended the annual COP27 conference in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt as a non-governmental observer, formally the 27th meeting of the Conference…
Blog
COP27: CEI’s Kent Lassman Interviews Rep. Weber
CEI President Kent Lassman attended the annual COP27 conference in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt as a non-governmental observer, formally the 27th meeting of the Conference…
Blog
COP27: CEI’s Kent Lassman Interviews Rep. Curtis
CEI President Kent Lassman attended the annual COP27 conference in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt as a non-governmental observer, formally the 27th meeting of the Conference…
Blog
Some Climate-Related Items that Recently Caught My Eye
Manhattan Contrarian Francis “Buddy” Menton hit two homers this week. In “Don’t Be So Sure the Climate Extremists Have Won,” Menton offers hopeful words…
Net Zero Watch
Video: Mario Loyola Joins Net Zero Watch to Discuss COP27
Senior Fellow Mario Loyola joined Net Zero Watch to discuss COP27 and international climate policy.
National Review
COP27 Cables: Cash, Promises, and Absurdity
As was the case for the COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, I’m filing cables on the annual United Nations–led climate-change confab. This year, COP27,…
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