Federal Climate and Public Health Rules

Federal Climate and Clean Energy Regulations—We advise policymakers on key regulatory design questions to support the development and implementation of effective and durable policies. The Biden administration has committed to an ambitious regulatory agenda, with multiple agencies working to finalize major climate and clean energy rules by the end of 2022. While these regulations must be developed quickly, they must also be designed carefully to withstand judicial review. We have extensive resources available on the clean car rules, the regulation of power plants, and EPA’s methane and VOC standards for oil and gas facilities.

Advanced clean energy technology such as carbon capture and sequestration (CCS), hydrogen, and advanced nuclear each require new approaches to ensure outdated regulations are not obstacles to progress. We provide research and analysis to inform well-designed, effective policies that can enable the clean energy transition while safeguarding public health and safety.

Stakeholder Engagement for the Legal Defense of Clean Energy Regulations—The legal durability of the Biden administration’s climate regulations is essential to achieving the administration’s objectives and deploying the clean energy solutions necessary to address climate change. Effective regulations must be grounded in science, technology, economics, public health, and law.  As a legal think tank, we convene stakeholders with such expertise to develop legal and regulatory solutions necessary for technology breakthroughs and evolving business models to succeed.

Environmental Justice—To address longstanding inequities in the distribution of environmental burdens, we analyze federal laws, regulations, and policies at EPA and beyond to assist community and coalition-based efforts to improve them. We also support the development of a more equitable federal disaster system through legal analyses and stakeholder engagement. Click here for our environmental justice page.

Regulatory and Policy Trackers—Our trackers focus on the Biden administration’s steps to advance clean energy deployment, environmental and public health protections, and environmental justice to explain progress and ensure accountability. We currently maintain our Regulatory Tracker and Federal Environmental Justice Tracker. We are not currently updating our Biden Environmental Action Tracker (progress the administration has made on President Biden’s climate orders), and have archived our EPA Mission Tracker (documenting the dismantling of EPA under President Trump).