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

Wall Street Journal
How to Beat the High Cost of Cooling
President Trump doesn’t hide his dislike of federal appliance regulations, from water-stingy shower heads that he says make it difficult “to take care of my…

Blog
Power plant greenhouse gas emissions don’t contribute significantly to ‘dangerous air pollution’
CEI recently submitted comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Proposed Rule to repeal greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for fossil fuel power…

News Release
EPA proposes rule to overturn regulatory finding justifying major restrictions on consumer choice: CEI analysis
Today, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency’s proposed rule that would overturn the 2009 endangerment finding. For 16 years, this finding has been…
Search Posts
Law & Liberty
Zero Impact’s Grim Cost
Philosopher and energy expert Alex Epstein sets himself two goals in his new book, Fossil Future—one significantly more difficult than the…
News Release
Declaring National Climate Emergency Would Be an Abuse of Power and Further Raise Energy Prices
WASHINGTON—Recent reports suggest President Biden is considering declaring a “national climate emergency” citing authority under the Defense Production Act to impose energy policy in…
Blog
Green Politics Leads to Higher Gas Prices
Americans have been plagued by high gas prices in recent months, with recent polls showing fuel costs at the top of the list of…
News Release
Remembering Pat Michaels (1950-2022)
The Competitive Enterprise Institute and the entire policy community lost a friend and colleague last week. We mourn the death of Dr. Patrick J. Michaels…
Blog
DOT’s Doublespeak Carbon Reduction Program
The Department of Transportation (DOT) is proposing to require its state and metropolitan counterparts to reduce on-road carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from portions of…
The Federalist
How the Supreme Court Upended EPA’s Power Grab and Curbed the Administrative State
The Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency upends the EPA’s assertion of authority, under the Obama and Biden administrations, to…
Blog
Some Good News on the Mountain Valley Pipeline
There are a lot of bad federal policies currently blocking American energy. Perhaps worst of all are measures bottling up Appalachia’s abundant natural gas that…
News Release
CEI Experts React to Supreme Court’s West Virginia v EPA Decision
WASHINGTON—In deciding West Virginia v. EPA today, the Supreme Court held that Congress never authorized the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate carbon emissions from…
Testimony
CEI Expert Testimony at Legislative Hearing to Strengthen Energy Infrastructure, Efficiency, and Financing
House Subcommittee on Energy 2123 Rayburn House Office Building June 22, 2022 Legislative Hearing to Strengthen Energy Infrastructure, Efficiency, and Financing Remarks of Ben…
Blog
Yellen Proposes Capping Oil Prices? Not Quite
Cable news and Twitter are aflame with outrage today that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen proposed price caps for oil. Fortunately, the rumors are false.
Blog
The Many Arbitrary and Capricious Aspects of SEC’s Climate Risk Disclosure Rule
Yesterday (June 16), CEI submitted two comment letters to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on its proposed rule: “The Enhancement and Standardization of…
Blog
The New Joe Biden – Friend of American Industry?
In recent months, President Biden has undertaken several measures he claims will encourage domestic drilling, mining, and manufacturing. It’s a big change from 2021 when…
American Banker
Financed emissions are banks’ latest climate-change challenge
American Banker cites CEI Senior Fellow Richard Morrison on financed emissions: Shareholders are already deciding whether companies should disclose more information about their emissions, often…
The Washington Post
Biden wants to rebuild the EPA. He doesn’t have the money to do it.
The Washington Post cites CEI Director of Energy and Environment Myron Ebell on the EPA’s budget: “I’m happy to see the…
Blog
America’s Heat Pump Emergency
The Biden administration announced it will use the Defense Production Act (DPA)—a Korean War-era statute allowing presidents to demand American industry increase production of anything…
Blog
More Staycations This Summer, Thanks to Biden’s Gas Price-Raising Agenda
Memorial Day Weekend kicks off the summer driving season, and vacationers will be paying record-high gasoline prices—and quite a few families may even have to…
Fox News
Washington’s war on air conditioning heats up
It’s the scariest moment of the year for many homeowners – that first really hot day, usually in May, when we turn…
Creators
Pumping Up Prices
Creators cites CEI Senior Fellow Ben Lieberman on gas prices: “If big oil could raise prices anytime they wanted and get…
News Release
Biden Cancels Oil Lease Auctions
With gas prices way up, the Biden administration has just canceled significant oil and gas lease sales pending before the Department of the Interior. CEI…
Blog
A Bad Day for Incandescent Light Bulbs – and Freedom of Choice
Consumers are better off with choices, and worse off when federal regulators step in and take them away. That’s the best way to view today’s…
Blog
CEI Comments Explain Why FERC’s Greenhouse Gas Regulatory Policy Cannot Pass a Cost-Benefit Test
Today, the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) filed comments on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) proposal to consider climate change impacts in reviews…
Comment
CEI Comments to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission: Docket No. PL21-3-000
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Order on Draft Policy Statements, March 24, 2022. Docket No. PL21-3-000 Comments submitted by Marlo Lewis, Patrick Michaels, and Kevin Dayaratna.
Blog
The Flipside of Earth Day
If I wanted America to fail,To follow, not lead,To suffer, not prosperTo despair, not dreamI’d start with energy.I’d cut off America’s supply…
News Release
Final NEPA Rule Will Encourage Anti-Development Lawsuits Against Fossil Fuel Projects
The White House today released its final rule updating the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the law governing permitting and environmental review for new federal…
American Energy Alliance
In the Pipeline, Daily Energy News
The American Energy Alliance cites Senior Fellow Marlo Lewis, Jr.’s “SEC Ignores the Easiest Way to Reduce Climate Policy Risks – Oppose the NetZero Agenda”…
Blog
SEC Ignores the Easiest Way to Reduce Climate Policy Risks – Oppose the NetZero Agenda
The Security and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) rationale for its proposed climate risk-disclosure rule does not pass the laugh test. The SEC claims it seeks…
Blog
E-15 May Do More Food Price Harm than Gas Price Good
The Biden administration Environmental Protection Agency has announced an emergency waiver allowing gasoline blends containing up to 15 percent ethanol in a bid to…
Blog
Algae and High Gasoline Prices
If you have managed to avoid record-high gasoline prices by using algae fuel instead, you have former President Barack Obama to thank. If not, you…
Blog
Time for a Sensible Sense of Congress Resolution on the Paris Agreement
National Journal yesterday confirmed what has become increasingly obvious since October 2021: “Biden’s Climate Goals Are in Peril.” The Democrat-controlled Congress has failed…
Blog
Rep. Bill Johnson Asks Oil CEOs to Stop Apologizing and Be Proud of Producing Energy
The House Energy and Commerce Committee held a long hearing yesterday to harangue oil company CEOs for price gouging as the cause of high…
Desert Sun
Gas Station Owners, Oil Companies Are Not to Blame for High Gas Prices
Whenever the price at the pump increases, so does the finger-pointing, but much of the blame game over high gasoline prices is neither accurate nor…
News Release
New IPCC Report Deals in Politically-Convenient Fictions Rather than Fact-Based Reality
WASHINGTON—The United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) today released the findings of its third working group, focused on mitigation and adaptation to…
Blog
Invoking Defense Production Act Won’t Unleash Domestic Mining
President Biden is reportedly going to invoke the Defense Production Act for the minerals needed to make electric vehicle (EV) batteries. But it’s all…
Inside Sources
Who NOT to Blame for High Gasoline Prices
Whenever the price at the pump increases, so does the finger-pointing, but much of the blame game over high gasoline prices is neither accurate nor…
The Washington Examiner
Will Ukraine Invasion Spark Another Trans-Alaska Pipeline Moment?
Could Russia’s invasion of Ukraine convince the Biden administration to abandon its opposition to increased domestic oil and natural gas production? It seems doubtful, but…
Blog
Further Thoughts on the Supreme Court’s Clean Power Plan Case
I heartily recommend the reply briefs by petitioners West Virginia and Westmoreland Mining Holdings, LLC in the Supreme Court’s Clean Power Plan case,…
Blog
The Russian Invasion of Ukraine And Energy Prices: Myth vs. Fact
Candidate Joe Biden repeatedly promised to aggressively target new domestic oil and natural gas projects in the U.S. as part of his climate change…
News Release
After Bloom Raskin Withdrawal, Biden Should Nominate Someone Focused on Financial Stability, Monetary Policy
President Biden’s nominee to be Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Sarah Bloom Raskin withdrew her nomination from consideration today, after it became clear that…
Inside Sources
Russia’s Invasion Impact Hits Beyond Oil to Mining and Metals
Much has been said about the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on oil and natural gas markets and the lessons for American energy policy.
Fox and Friends First
VIDEO: Myron Ebell Joins Fox & Friends First
Director for the Center for Energy and Environment Myron Ebell joins ‘Fox & Friends First’ to discuss President Biden’s Russian oil ban and the need…
The Washington Times
Why Biden Energy Policies Have Contributed to Surging Oil Prices
The Washington Times cites Director of the Center for Energy and Environment Myron Ebell on why the Biden Administration should change its stance…
Fox Business
West Virginia vs. EPA at Supreme Court: Energy Costs at Stake as Ukraine-Russia War Rages
Fox Business cites Director of the Center for Energy and Environment Myron Ebell on the West Virgina v. EPA Supreme Court case:…
The Washington Times
Journalists Under Fire in Russian Invasion of Ukraine
The Washington Times cites Director of Center for Energy and Environment Envir Myron Bell on how the Biden Administration’s anti-energy policies will continue to harm…
News Release
Biden Admin’s Reinstatement of California’s Power to Rig Auto Markets Deserves to Lose in Court
The Biden Administration announced today it will reinstate the waiver that allows California to set its own fuel economy standards. CEI experts argue it faces…
News Release
Unless Biden Admin Reverses its Anti-Energy Policies, Russian Oil Imports Ban Will Hurt American Consumers
The Biden administration announced a ban on oil imports from Russia, in response to the invasion of Ukraine. CEI experts reacted to the decision. Director…
Blog
Climate Change as an “Existential Threat” Is So 2021
President Joe Biden confirmed in his State of the Union address to Congress on March 1 that climate change was last…
Blog
Clean Power Plan Litigation: The Supreme Court Should Rein in the EPA
On Monday, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency. Depending on how the Court decides it, the case…
News Release
CEI Experts React to President Biden’s State of the Union Address
President Joe Biden delivered his first State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress tonight. CEI policy experts weighed in on his…
The New York Sun
Why the EPA Needs a Lesson in Constitutional Law
The Supreme Court on Monday has a chance to remind the Environmental Protection Agency that there are limits to its power. During the Obama administration,…
Real Clear Energy
Will the Supreme Court Rein in the EPA?
The Supreme Court will soon hear oral argument in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency. The Court will examine the lawfulness of the Obama administration’s…
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