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
CEI’s The Surge: Clean Power Plan repeal, CRA resolutions 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…

Blog
Trump, Congress overturn California’s gas-car ban
President Trump today signed three Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions of disapproval to overturn Biden administration Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) waivers greenlighting California’s plans…

News Release
EPA’s decision to allow California to ban new gas-powered cars by 2035 reversed after President Trump signs CRA resolution
California’s green light from the Environmental Protection Agency to ban new gas-powered cars by 2035 was revoked after Congress passed a Congressional Review Act (CRA)…
Search Posts
Blog
House Passes Two Bills to Reform EPA Settlement Abuse
By a 238-183 bipartisan vote on October 24, the House of Representatives passed the Stop Settlement Slush Funds Act of 2017 (H.R. 732).
Blog
EPA Releases Report on Pro-Growth Energy-Related Actions
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week released a report on its actions to implement President Trump’s “Executive Order on Promoting Energy Independence and…
The Daily Caller
EXCLUSIVE: Podesta’s ‘Green Company’ Forced to Close Because Hillary Lost the Election
The Daily Caller discusses the closing of a biofuels company headed by John Podesta with Marlo Lewis. Joule Unlimited, a secretive green energy company that…
The Daily Signal
EPA Chief Set to Bar Government-Funded Experts From Agency’s Science Panels
The Daily Signal discusses the EPA’s changes to its scientific advisory boards with William Yeatman. Pruitt revealed that he will issue a directive aimed…
Blog
EPA Administrator Pruitt’s Welcome Efforts to End Sue and Settle
On October 15, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt issued a directive taking on the practice known as “sue and settle,” whereby environmental…
Blog
Senate Budget Resolution Breathes Life into ANWR
By a 51-49 vote, the Senate this past week passed a budget resolution that creates a fast-track process for writing legislation to permit drilling in…
OneNewsNow
How Could EPA Avoid ‘Sue and Settle’ Problem?
OneNewsNow discusses the EPA’s “sue and settle” directive with Chris Horner. Lawsuits involving environmental groups and the EPA may not be going away, even…
Politico
New Challenge to Endangerment Finding
Politico’s Morning Energy covers a coalition letter, led by CEI, urging the EPA to review the “endangerment finding.” A group of 60 skeptics of…
Bloomberg BNA
Longer, Costlier Legal Battles Ahead as EPA Vows No Settling
Bloomberg BNA discusses the EPA’s ‘sue and settle’ directive with William Yeatman. EPA Administer Scott Pruitt’s refusal to settle environmental lawsuits means longer and…
Blog
Would Coal Miners Do Better Under Obama than Trump?
That’s allegedly the big takeaway from a presentation given on Tuesday, October 17, to the Energy Bar Association by Brattle Group analyst Marc Chupka.
The Daily Caller
Conservatives Renew Campaign to Invalidate a Key Pillar of Obama’s Global Warming Legacy
The Daily Caller covers our joint letter with the Science and Environmental Policy Project (SEPP) with 60 climate and health experts urging the EPA to reconsider…
Letters
CEI Submits Letter to EPA on Burdensome Endangerment Finding
View full document as PDF Dear Administrator Pruitt: On behalf of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) and the Science and Environmental Policy…
Newsmax
EPA Proposes Clean Break with Dirty Energy Politics
Newsmax discusses the EPA’s proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan with Marlo Lewis. Last week, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt issued…
The Washington Examiner
Repealing the Clean Power Plan Will Benefit All Americans
Although there is no shortage of policy reasons to repeal the Clean Power Plan, the plan also exceeds the legal authority delegated to the EPA…
The Washington Examiner
EPA Has ‘Plenty of Tools’ to Battle Climate Change Without Obama Regulations, Experts Say
The Washington Examiner discusses the Trump administration’s proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan with Myron Ebell. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt could…
Blog
My Take on Energy Department’s Prompt Letter to FERC
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the federal agency responsible for regulating interstate power flows, but the Federal Power Act authorizes the Department of…
The Guardian
Fightback Begins Over Trump’s ‘Illegal and Irresponsible’ Clean Power Repeal
The Guardian discusses the Trump administration’s proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan with Myron Ebell. The US is set for a fresh battle…
The Washington Free Beacon
Clean Power Plan Repeal Will Save $33 Billion in Compliance Costs
The Washington Free Beacon covers the Trump administration’s proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan. Repealing the Clean Power Plan will save $33 billion…
The Daily Caller
Despite EPA Actions, Obama’s Climate Agenda ‘Has Not Been Fully Dismantled Yet’
The Daily Caller discusses the Trump administration’s proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan with Myron Ebell. While Republicans and industry groups cheer the…
Breitbart
EPA Chief Scott Pruitt Proposes to Save $33 Billion with Repeal of Obama-Era Energy Plan
Breitbart covers the Trump administration’s proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt proposed to repeal the agency’s…
Bloomberg Politics
Trump Plays Down Health Hazard in Making Climate Rule Repeal
Bloomberg Politics discusses the Trump administration’s proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan. When President Barack Obama unveiled his plan to pare emissions from…
The Hill
Overnight Energy: EPA to Propose Clean Power Plan Repeal
The Hill covers the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) chief Scott Pruitt announced Monday that the formal proposal…
Breitbart
Exclusive–Trump’s EPA Transition Chair Myron Ebell: ‘Scrapping’ Clean Power Plan ‘Key Part of Deregulatory Agenda’
Breitbart covers the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan. Myron Ebell, the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s (CEI) director of Energy and Environment programs and…
Breitbart
Exclusive: EPA Document Proposes to Eliminate Clean Power Plan ‘in Its Entirety’
Breitbart covers the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to repeal the agency’s Obama-era climate change program,…
HuffPost
Trump Administration to Propose Scrapping Major Obama-Era Climate Change Policy
HuffPost covers the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan. The Trump administration is poised to scrap a policy limiting greenhouse gas emissions from…
Blog
EPA Proposes Clean Power Plan Repeal Rule
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt will soon release the agency’s proposed rule to repeal the Clean Power Plan.
Blog
Past-Due Nomination of EPA’s Number Two Official Is Welcome News
President Donald J. Trump nominated Andrew R. Wheeler to be deputy administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency on October 5th. Wheeler has worked since…
Blog
New Study on Self-Dealing at the IPCC
According to a new study published this week in the journal Scientometrics, an in-depth analysis of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s AR5 report…
The Daily Caller
Trump Will Soon Unveil His Own ‘Global Warming’ Policy – Here’s What That Might Look Like
The Daily Caller discusses the possible replacement of the Clean Power Plan with Will Yeatman. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is preparing to repeal…
Politico
CEI Sues for Paris Documents
Politico’s Morning Energy covers CEI’s FOIA lawsuit against the State Department regarding Paris Climate Treaty documents. The Competitive Enterprise Institute filed …
The Daily Caller
State Department Sued for Internal Records on the Paris Climate Accord
The Daily Caller covers CEI’s FOIA lawsuit against the State Department. A libertarian think tank filed suit against the State Department for records regarding…
The Washington Examiner
Competitive Enterprise Institute Sues State Department for Climate Change Communications of Obama Officials
The Washington Examiner discusses CEI’s FOIA lawsuit against the State Department with Chris Horner. The Competitive Enterprise Institute filed suit Tuesday against…
The Daily Caller
Cities, Activists Are Turning to the Courts to Enforce Global Warming Policies
The Daily Caller discusses the trend of activists taking legal action to enforce global warming policies with Chris Horner. The U.N. issued a report…
Axios
Axios Generate
Axios discusses the endangerment finding with Myron Ebell. “I don’t think you’re going to see [EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt] challenge the endangerment finding. I…
Blog
President Trump Outlines ‘American Model’ Tax Code
On Friday, September 29, President Trump outlined his tax reform package in a speech to the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) in Washington, D.C.
CQ Researcher
Should Climate Change Be a National Security Priority?
Climate change should not be a national security priority. Directing the Pentagon to focus on it will actually make America less secure. Generals know how…
Houston Chronicle
Trump Faces Next Climate Hurdle
The Houston Chronicle discusses the Paris Climate Treaty with Myron Ebell, President Donald Trump, three months after he pulled the U.S. out of the Paris…
Blog
Sen. Graham’s Perplexing Pivot to a Carbon Tax
Lindsey Graham's enthusiasm for a carbon tax may be less popular than he imagines.
Blog
White House Officials Raise New Hopes that U.S. Will Stay in Paris Climate Treaty
The Wall Street Journal set off a kerfuffle early Saturday evening, September 16, when it sent out an email news alert headlined, “Trump Administration…
CNBC
Trump Is Still Pulling Out of Paris Agreement, Despite Chatter of a Reversal, Experts Say
CNBC discusses the possibility of President Trump pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement with Myron Ebell. President Donald Trump is unlikely to reverse…
The Greeley Tribune
Yeatman-Cooke: The Math Behind Xcel’s ‘Colorado Energy Plan’ Defies Reality and History
Xcel Energy recently announced that it would use Gov. John Hickenlooper’s July executive order calling for climate change policy as reason to bypass the Colorado…
World Net Daily
Trump’s Inner Circle ‘Fighting’ to Keep Paris Climate Deal
World Net Daily discusses the future of the Paris Climate Accord with Chris Horner. Key White House officials are denying any change in President…
Blog
Former Gov. Christie Todd Whitman: Partisan of EPA Overreach
Gov. Whitman supported Hillary Clinton for president in 2016 and was in favor of the Obama administration's so-called Clean Power Plan.
The Washington Examiner
Hurricanes Present New Challenge to Trump’s Fast-Track Permit Plan
The Washington Examiner discusses the Trump administration’s infrastructure plan in the wake of recent hurricanes with Myron Ebell. The Trump administration, wanting to rebuild…
The Hill
Trump Officials Eying Replacement for Key Obama Climate Rule
The Hill discusses the Trump administration’s possible replacement of the Clean Power Plan with Myron Ebell. The Trump administration is planning to pursue a less…
Blog
Renewable Energy Update: Rolling Blackouts Down Under
Australia’s green energy policies are under siege and California has been stymied in its grid power grab.
Politico
Trump May Replace Obama’s Big Climate Rule — Not Just Repeal It
Politico discusses nex steps for the Trump administration in regards to the Clean Power Plan with Myron Ebell. The Trump administration is opening the…
Blog
House Moves on Interior-EPA Appropriations Bill with Policy Amendments
The House of Representatives this week considered an appropriations bill that combines eight separate spending bills for FY 2018.
Blog
Fuzzy Math behind Xcel’s New ‘Colorado Energy Plan’
The Colorado utility is claiming that unnecessarily retiring cheap power and then replacing it with new expensive power would somehow save ratepayers money.
Blog
Ten Years of Analysis and Advocacy for Affordable Energy
Here’s to ten more years of expanding production and supplies of affordable energy for all.
Blog
Why Should Millennials Want to Shrink Government Bureaucracy?
Free markets and limited government are for every generation.
Blog
Fuel Economy Regulations Threaten Vehicle Safety
In 1992 a federal appeals court found that CAFE undercuts vehicle safety, by causing cars to be made smaller and light in order to meet…
The Daily Caller
There’s A ‘Strong Moral Case For Energy Abundance.’ Here’s Why [VIDEO]
The Daily Caller interviews Myron Ebell on the future of energy policy and the moral case for energy abundance. Energy…
Blog
Climate Alarmists Exploit Hurricane Harvey to Score Political Points
Global warming alarmists exploit every weather disaster, and so it is no surprise that they are out in full force for Hurricane Harvey.
Bloomberg BNA
Corporate America May Be Best Hope to Re-Engage Trump on Climate
Bloomberg BNA discusses the possibility of a renegotiation of the Paris Climate Agreement with Myron Ebell. You’d think U.S. companies would be ready to…
Blog
President’s Summer Policy Update
When it comes to the institutions of capitalism, the advance of human welfare, and liberty, we are here because we love the work.
Blog
Motor Vehicle Fuel Efficiency Standards Are Inefficient: Study
The federal government’s Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program is a highly inefficient method for reducing either motor vehicle greenhouse gas emissions or U.S. oil…
Blog
EPA to Revise Greenhouse Gas Rules for Refurbished Trucks
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt this week approved a petition to revise the agency’s heavy truck greenhouse gas emission standards rule.
The Daily Caller
REPORT: ‘Many Of The EPA’s Functions Could Be Abolished’
The Daily Caller covers Myron Ebell’s suggested reforms for the EPA as part of CEI’s newest publication Shrinking Government Bureaucracy. Many Environmental Protection Agency…
Study
Rethinking the Environmental Protection Agency
View Full Document as PDF The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) budget is the most impenetrable of all federal department and agency…
Blog
Weak Allegations Fill NYT’s Latest Ill-Founded Pruitt Expose
The New York Times is back with another attempted blockbuster on Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt.
Blog
Congress, Courts Should Stamp Out EPA’s Power of the Purse
Federal judges should give greater thought to what is being asked of them when the government seeks a court order entering a consent decree that…
Morning Consult
Trump Administration Hits Snags in Effort to Halt Environmental Rules
Morning Consult discusses deregulatory happenings at the EPA with Myron Ebell. While the Trump administration has been aiming to make good on promises…
E&E News
Industry to EPA: We Want Rule ‘Fixed, Not Just Gone’
E&E News discusses industry recommendations for the Trump administration on the Clean Power Plan with Myron Ebell. Industry has delivered a clear message…
Politico
Conservatives Back Anti-SCC Bill
Politico’s Morning Energy covers a coalition letter, signed by CEI, supporting the Transparency and Honesty in Energy Regulations Act. A group of 20…
Blog
California Legislature Moves to Replace Federal Electric Vehicle Subsidies
Thanks to the federal government, purchasers of electric vehicles are given a $7,500 tax credit.
Politico
First Step Toward Climate ‘Red Team’?
Politico’s Morning Energy discussed the EPA’s “red team” review of climate science with Myron Ebell. The Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Myron Ebell says EPA…
The Washington Times
Obama’s Paris Climate Scheme Revelation
The New York Times on Aug. 24, 2014, broke a major news story: “Obama pushing Climate Accord in Lieu of Treaty.” It’s a clumsy headline…
Washington Examiner
Trump Administration Lining Up Climate Change ‘Red Team’
Washington Examiner discusses the “red team-blue team” environmental policy commission with Myron Ebell. The Trump administration is in the beginning stages of forming…
The New York Times
U.S. Reopens Harley Settlement, Cutting Funds for Pollution Reduction Plan
The New York Times covers the Harley-Davidson settlement recently changed by the Trump administration. Last year the United States government fined Harley-Davidson…
Blog
Jeff Clark Will Make an Excellent Assistant Attorney General
The Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote this Thursday on the nomination of Kirkland & Ellis attorney Jeffrey Bossert Clark to be…
The Daily Signal
Most of Obama’s Green Policies Persist at Department of Defense
The Daily Signal discusses climate change policy within the defense spending bill with Myron Ebell. As Congress considers green projects in a military…
InsideSources
Department of Energy Invests Additional $46M in Struggling Solar Energy Sector
InsideSources covers a coalition letter, including CEI, urging the House Appropriations Committee to cut the SunShot program. When it comes to solar power,…
Washington Examiner
Groups Push to Gut Pentagon’s Climate Directives in Spending Bill
The Washington Examiner covers a coalition letter led by CEI urging Congress to amend a spending bill to not make climate change a priority for…
The Washington Post
The Energy 202: Pentagon Climate Work in the GOP Crosshairs
The Washington Post discusses the Pentagon’s climate policies with Myron Ebell. The Department of Defense has for a long time now been quietly…
Reuters
Conservative Groups Urge Lawmakers to Gut Climate Programs in U.S. Military
Reuters covers a coalition letter, signed by CEI, supporting an amendment to the NDAA regarding climate change policies. A coalition of 14 conservative…
The Hill
United States Going It Alone on Climate Change: What It Means
The Hill discusses President Trump’s trip to the G-20 summit in terms of energy policy with Chris Horner. President Trump’s decision not to…
Blog
EPA Proposes Renewable Fuel Standards for 2018
The gap between statutory obligations and marketplace reality are too big to be managed via ad hoc yearly adjustments.
Morning Consult
Climate Activists Fear Group of 20 May Waver in Support for Paris Climate Deal
Morning Consult discusses the Paris Climate Agreement with Myron Ebell. Climate action advocates fear the United States’ decision to pull out of the…
Blog
Nuclear Power v. Renewable Subsidies
The world will always need an energy source independent of weather and geology, and nuclear is the only power supply able to meet the baseload…
Blog
Will the Swamp Let Trump Reform Fuel Economy?
The administration should explore the legal implications of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, which prohibits states, like California, from adopting or enforcing laws or…
Blog
Bad Week in Courts for EPA Policy
If the Trump administration had folded the Obama-era appeal of Judge Bailey’s decision, then the only legal precedent regarding the relevant section of the Clean…
Blog
Energy Week: Moving on from Energy Submission
President Donald J. Trump gave a speech at the Department of Energy in which he said that “our country is blessed with extraordinary energy abundance,”…
Blog
Kids’ One-Sided Climate Change Lawsuit Scheduled for Trial
Judge Thomas Coffin, U.S. Magistrate for the District of Oregon, yesterday set a trial date of February 5, 2018 to hear a lawsuit by a group of…
USA Today
Cut Energy Star from the Budget
Can the quest for energy efficiency be deadly? The horrendous London apartment building fire two weeks ago suggests that it can: One reason for the…
The Daily Caller
Energy Week Is About America’s Energy Future
The Trump Administration has proclaimed this week as “Energy Week” – a time to focus on pro-energy initiatives that can actually boost our economy, promote…
Blog
Is Shareholder Activism Surging or Peaking?
We could be seeing the crest of a movement juiced by the false expectation that Hillary Clinton would become president.
American Public Media
AUDIO: Myron Ebell Discusses Energy Week on APM’s Marketplace
June 26, 2017 – Director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment, Myron Ebell, discusses Energy Week and the Trump Administration’s energy…
Blog
Big Oil Wants Congress to Gouge Consumers
Earlier this week, the carbon tax advocacy group Climate Leadership Council (CLC) announced its List of Founding Members. “Founding Corporate Members” include three oil…
Blog
New Study Finds Carbon’s Private Benefits Exceed Social Costs
Private benefit of carbon dioxide exceeds social cost by anywhere from about 4:1 to 34:1.
Blog
Government Documents on EPA-VW Settlement Highlight Need for Congressional Oversight
It is well past time for a committee of jurisdiction to ask of the EPA: How much are you spending on the VW settlement?…
Blog
Exiting Paris Should Weaken Carbon Tariff Threat
Will other nations attempt to punish President Trump for pulling out of the Paris Agreement by imposing “border taxes”—aka carbon tariffs—on U.S. exports?…
Blog
What Congress and the Trump Administration Need to Do to Fix the EPA’s Broken Budget
Congress should demand that EPA submit a budget that is capable of being understood by lawmakers.
Blog
Will Paris Exit Harm U.S. ‘Clean Tech’ Firms?
We’ve heard it for months. If President Trump pulls out of the Paris Agreement, America will be “hobbled in the global race for clean energy…
The Daily Caller
Gov Jerry Brown Considers Linking California’s Cap-and-Trade Program to China
The Daily Caller covers a possible link of California’s carbon trading markets with China. Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown of California said Thursday he…
Blog
A Short & Concrete Defense of the Legal Risk Rationale behind the Paris Exit
The agreement could have been used to muck up the Trump administration’s planned rollback of Obama-era climate rules, including the Clean Power Plan…
Citation
VIDEO: How CEI Influenced President Trump’s Climate Decision
June 2, 2017 – Director of the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s Center for Energy and Environment, Myron Ebell, discusses how CEI’s efforts helped influence President Trump’s…
Blog
Paris Exit Enjoys Electoral Legitimacy Agreement Itself Lacked
Trump’s Paris exit fulfills a 2016 campaign pledge.
News Release
CEI Commends President Trump’s Decision to Cancel Paris Climate Agreement
Today, President Trump announced he would withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement. The Competitive Enterprise Institute commends the decision as a positive…
News Release
Why the Paris Climate Agreement Is All Pain, No Gain for Americans
As President Trump weighs his final decision on the Paris Climate Agreement, he should consider the benefits of withdrawing U.S. commitment from this harmful treaty,…
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