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

Blog
President Trump’s three new energy executive orders: A quick overview
On April 8, President Trump signed three new executive orders (EOs) that address the United States’s energy sector. The key themes of the EOs include…

Blog
Congress needs to repeal the Biden EPA and California attack on gas-powered cars
The attack on gas-powered vehicles exists on multiple fronts, including through federal and state regulation.Regarding federal regulation, much of the attention has been focused on…

News Release
Senate votes to repeal Biden rule against water heaters
Today the U.S. Senate voted on a joint resolution to repeal a Biden-era Energy Department rule imposing unwarranted energy efficiency restrictions on consumer water…
Search Posts
The Blaze
Horowitz: How McCarthy debt deal will destroy our leverage for the rest of Biden’s term
Myron Ebell of the Competitive Enterprise Institute explains the problem with speeding up energy projects without first repealing the…
Blog
McCarthy-Biden debt-ceiling deal fully funds the climate-industrial complex
The deal to raise the debt ceiling announced Saturday by the White House and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) drops the provisions in the…
Blog
Repealing green energy subsidies must come before permitting reform in debt ceiling package
There are reports that the debt ceiling negotiators are close to agreeing on permitting reform provisions as part of the final package. This may sound…
Blog
EPA’s new coal rule: Still unlawful after all these years
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week posted the pre-publication draft of its proposed carbon dioxide (CO2) emission performance standards for fossil-fuel power plants…
Washington Times
EPA green rules increase blackout risks; emission caps on reliable fuels will shut down power plants
CEI’s Daren Bakst is cited on the Washington Times on blackout risk increases: The Environmental Protection Agency’s proposals for natural gas and coal-fired power plants…
Testimony
CEI’s Myron Ebell Testifies Before House Budget Committee on “Exposing the Woke, Wasteful, and Bloated Bureaucracy”
May 11, 2023 (Video of Myron Ebell’s congressional testimony can be watched here.) Chairman Arrington, Ranking Member Boyle, and Members of the Budget Committee,…
Blog
What I told the EPA about its attack on Americans’ cars and mobility
The Biden administration is using the whole of government to stop Americans from driving gas-powered vehicles. This campaign began right at the start of the…
Forbes
What’s Inside The House GOP Effort To Roll Back Support For Renewables In Exchange For Raising The Debt Limit?
The Republican Party in the House of Representatives, led by Speaker Kevin McCarthy, recently passed legislation aimed at raising the nation’s debt limit. The bill…
News Release
Biden EPA’s Power Plant Emissions Rule Seeks to Shutter Certain Power Plants without Authorization from Congress
President Biden’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a new proposed rule today mandating power plants reduce emissions drastically or shut down. The rule has…
Blog
EPA’s almost bare-naked electric car mandate
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week proposed new greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for model years (MYs) 2027-2032 passenger cars, light trucks,…
National Review
Stop Empowering OPEC+ by Restricting the Domestic Oil Supply
When, at the beginning of April, the 23 oil-exporting countries of OPEC+, including Russia and Saudi Arabia, announced cuts in oil…
The Boston Herald
Bakst: EPA Targets Americans’ Ability to Choose their Cars
The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed tailpipe emission regulations for new cars, making it more difficult for Americans to buy gas-powered vehicles. The rule is part of…
News Release
New York Law Banning Natural Gas in New Construction Is Bad Environmental Policy, Will Increase Costs for Residents
New York passed a new law banning natural gas and other fossil fuels in most new buildings today, the first state in the nation…
Inside Sources
EPA Is Attacking Americans’ Ability to Choose Which Cars to Drive
The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed tailpipe emission regulations for new cars, making it more difficult for Americans to buy gas-powered vehicles. The rule is part…
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…
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