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
News Release
Coalition of over 40 organizations supports the End EPA Abuse Act
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute sent a coalition letter to Congress in support of legislation that would put a stop to the most egregious…
Blog
Freedom of furnaces: One more reason to celebrate America’s 250th
Freedom of furnaces may not be on the minds of most Americans as we gear up for the nation’s 250th Anniversary, but thanks to…
Blog
A federal gas tax holiday won’t do much to ease the pain at the pump
The best policy ideas for making gasoline more affordable – faster permitting for domestic drilling and pipeline construction alongside fewer regulations targeting refineries or…
Search Posts
Blog
The latest on nuclear power bans: Illinois poised to take an important step
The Illinois nuclear construction ban will soon be a thing of the past.Earlier this year, both state chambers, through a supermajority vote, passed…
Blog
Free the Economy podcast: The future of energy and environmental policy with Travis Fisher
In this week’s episode we cover the political path toward abundance, the need for permitting reform beyond the National Environmental Policy…
PJ Media
Biden Uses Cold War Law to Nuke Your Gas Furnace
PJ Media cites CEI’s Ben Lieberman: The money comes from a presidential slush fund authorized by the Democrats’ trillion-dollar Inflation Reduction Act (that…
Blog
CEI’s The Surge: Carbon tariffs, CAFE standards, 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…
News Release
COP explainer begins CEI’s focus on United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) today begins its focus on the 28th meeting of the Conference of Parties of the the United Nations…
Study
The UN’s Annual Climate Conference
I remember the first Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP) I participated in.1 It was back…
Daily Caller
Biden Admin Tries To Spin Faltering EV Market, But Its Talking Points Don’t Add Up
“Even a mediocre pizza restaurant could sell lots of pies if they give them away,” Marlo Lewis, senior fellow for the Competitive Enterprise Institute,…
Testimony
Ben Lieberman Testimony: Hearing on “Burdensome Regulations: Examining the Effects ofDepartment of Energy Regulations on America’s Job Creators.”
Chair Williams, ranking member Velazquez, and members of this committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Ben Lieberman and…
Blog
12 important amendments for the House Interior, environment spending bill
The House is currently debating H.R. 4821, its Interior and environment spending bill. There are many good amendments being considered on the floor.
Blog
CEI’s The Surge: Climate change slush fund, the true cost of EVs, 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…
Blog
Pope’s letter on climate change misses mark
The Vatican is concluding the last week of the 2023 Synod of Synodality, a three-year series of discussions involving Catholic bishops and selected…
Blog
US to import more oil from Venezuela, still denying domestic energy projects
The Biden administration suspended certain sanctions on Venezuela’s oil and gas operations Wednesday. The Treasury Department stated that this action was taken…
Blog
The Surge: Energy and Environmental Updates – Appliance efficiency standards, IRA tax credits, and more
The following is the second edition of CEI’s new biweekly publication “The Surge.” If you are interested in analysis and perspective on current…
Comment
CEI comments on NHTSA’s proposed Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA’s) proposed corporate average fuel economy (CAFE) standards for passenger…
Blog
Congress should prohibit the EPA’s use of IRA subsidies to justify its regulations
Instead of taking a regulatory or “stick” approach to address many issues within the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), legislators specifically chose to use subsidies…
Fox News
Biden admin issues eco regulations impacting air conditioners, refrigerators
Fox News cites Senior Fellow Ben Lieberman on EPA regulations targeting HFCs: “This is likely to raise the costs — it may raise…
Fox News
Biden’s depletion of emergency oil stocks comes back into focus amid Israel-Hamas war, price surge
Fox News cites Senior Fellow Ben Lieberman on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve: “There are a lot of reasons why the Biden administration should…
Fox News
Biden’s depletion of emergency oil stocks comes back into focus amid Israel-Hamas war, price surge
“There are a lot of reasons why the Biden administration should not have used the SPR to try to bring down prices — one…
Blog
No, electricity markets are not free markets: A Q&A with Cato’s Travis Fisher
The following is a Q&A with Travis Fisher, director of Energy and Environmental Policy Studies at the Cato Institute Q:…
Fox News
Biden admin issues restrictions on gas furnaces in latest war on appliances
Fox News cites Ben Liberman on the war against home appliances: “It’s just spreading to more and more appliances. It seems that…
News Release
Biden administration releases extreme five-year plan for offshore oil and gas lease sales
The Biden Administration released a new five-year plan for offshore oil and gas leases, approving just three lease sales. Director of CEI’s…
Comment
CEI Comments on National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations Revisions Phase 2
To Brenda Mallory, Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality: The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) is a non-profit public interest organization committed to…
Blog
Biden’s war on energy continues with unprecedented restrictions on offshore oil and gas lease sales
Today, the Interior Department (DOI) released its five-year plan (2024-2029) for offshore oil and gas lease sales. In a press release, the…
Comment
CEI Comments on Proposed NEPA Implementing Regulations
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Phase 2 of the Council on Environmental Quality’s (CEQ’s) proposed revision of its National Environmental Policy…
Blog
Introducing CEI’s The Surge: Gas stove bans, Biden admin blocking oil and gas leases, the Blackout Plan, and more
The following is the debut edition of CEI’s new biweekly publication “The Surge.” If you are interested in analysis and perspective on current energy and…
Blog
Biden taps Strategic Petroleum Reserve more than any other president
Instead of actually addressing the root causes of high gas prices, President Joe Biden is depleting the …
Comment
Comments on the Department of Energy’s Proposed Energy Conservation Standards for Residential Water Heaters
I. INTRODUCTION The undersigned free market and consumer organizations have a longstanding interest in bringing to light the deleterious consequences of federal regulations,…
Blog
‘On a crash course with energy reality’: Study finds EPA’s Blackout Rule will hurt the US grid
Center of the American Experiment recently published a study modeling the impact of the Biden administration’s new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rule…
Blog
Biden admin blocks oil and gas leases in Alaska, hurting Alaskans and all Americans
The Biden administration took two aggressive steps in its war on energy last week. The US Department of the Interior (DOI) announced…
News Release
EPA, Corps release WOTUS rule amendments, offer no opportunity for public comments
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) released amendments today to their January “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS)…
Blog
How the Inflation Reduction Act takes aim at gas stoves
The American people have reacted very negatively to potential federal regulations targeting natural gas stoves in favor of electric versions. But beyond regulations,…
News Release
CEI leads coalition urging Congress to dismantle the environmental subsidies in the Inflation Reduction Act
The Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), joined by more than 40 representatives of free-market oriented and conservative groups, sent a letter to Congress today…
Fox News
On Inflation Reduction Act anniversary, energy groups demand end to ‘Green New Deal-type policies’
Fox News cites CEI’s Daren Bakst on the Inflation Reduction Act:The letter to Congress, led by the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI), argued that “cronyism”…
Letters
Dismantling the Inflation Reduction Act green Subsidies Coalition Letter
August 16, 2023Dear Members of Congress:On the first anniversary of enactment of the so-called Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the undersigned organizations strongly urge you…
Fox News
Biden turns the lights out on yet another one of your home’s essentials
Don’t expect to see incandescent light bulbs for sale anymore. They are now an illegal product thanks to a Biden administration regulation,…
News Release
Falling energy prices mask inflation, despite official numbers showing little change from June to July: CEI analysis
The Consumer Price Index ticked up slightly from June to July, but CEI Senior Economist Ryan Young explains why the true inflation problem…
Blog
CEI warns EPA: Biden Blackout Plan is unauthorized, harmful, and unrealistic
In West Virginia v. EPA, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, which was the Environmental Protection Agency’s…
Forbes
Joe Biden’s Split Personality on Energy Project Permitting
On Friday, the Biden Administration proposed a new rule to amend the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations. Unfortunately, the new rule…
Federalist Society
Explainer Episode 58 – Natural Gas Bans, Appliance Efficiency Standards, and Consumer Choice
Ben Lieberman, Senior Fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute joins James W. Coleman, Professor of Law, Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law to…
Fox News
Biden’s new crackdown on another appliance will be worse than gas stoves
We have seen a big consumer backlash in 2023 over Biden administration bureaucrats targeting gas stoves, but that could pale in comparison…
Experts warn Biden admin’s water heater crackdown will hike prices, reduce consumer choice
Fox News cites Ben Lieberman on consumer choice issues: “One of the things about these appliance standards — they’re…
News Release
CEI supports prohibition on multi-billion-dollar government slush fund in agriculture appropriations bill
The House of Representatives is set to vote on H.R. 4368, the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations…
The Washington Examiner
Carbon tariffs will hurt trade, national interests, and consumers
Carbon tariffs are a bad idea that won’t go away, and now the European Union has launched the first one,…
Fox News
Biden admin cracks down on another popular home appliance
Fox News cites Senior Fellow Ben Lieberman on proposed regulations on household appliances: “It’s just spreading to more and…
Fox Business
VIDEO: Ben Lieberman on Fox’s Varney & Company
CEI’s Ben Lieberman joined Varney & Company to discuss high gas prices and energy policy.
Fox News
Washington State’s Nation-Leading Gasoline Prices Should Serve as a Warning
Vacationers hitting the highways currently face a nationwide average price of $3.52 per gallon of gasoline, according AAA. However, the price varies widely among states.
Study
Global Infrastructure Permitting
Executive Summary The construction of major infrastructure projects, such as power plants, highways, and ports, is heavily regulated. In major industrial economies, such projects…
Forbes
Why The ‘Social Cost Of Carbon’ Can Not Be Used In Cost-Benefit Analysis
The social cost of carbon (SCC) quantifies the economic damage associated with emitting a ton of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Regulatory impact analyses…
Blog
Why Washington state has the highest gas prices
The price of gas in Washington State is currently the highest in the nation averaging $4.99 per gallon as of June 28, 2023.
Blog
The lethal impact of rising energy prices
Many of us are all too familiar with the grimace we make when we open our monthly utility bills. The soaring cost of energy…
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