New Episode of Resources Radio: “Big Decisions in Administrative Law, with Jody Freeman and Jeffrey Holmstead”

WASHINGTON, DC—Resources for the Future (RFF) today released a new installment of Resources Radio: “Big Decisions in Administrative Law, with Jody Freeman and Jeffrey Holmstead.”

In this episode—the second in our ongoing “Big Decisions” spin-off series—guest host and chair of the RFF Board of Directors Sue Tierney talks with Jody Freeman, director of the Environmental and Energy Law Program at Harvard Law School, and Jeffrey Holmstead, a former assistant administrator at the US Environmental Protection Agency. Both guests this week reflect on their experiences working on environmental policy during the hectic early years of a new presidential administration and discuss upcoming challenges for either a Biden presidency or another Trump term as the pandemic persists, global economic woes continue, and climate change intensifies. While Freeman has concerns that confirming Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court could reduce the authority of environmental regulators, Holmstead contends that the court’s conservative turn could be an opportunity for Congress to take the lead in pursuing ambitious energy legislation again.

Stay tuned for more episodes in our month-long spin-off series, “Big Decisions: The Future of US Environmental and Energy Policy.” Every Tuesday in October, RFF President Richard G. Newell and RFF Board of Directors Chair Sue Tierney will share guest-hosting duties and chat with leading decisionmakers, analysts, researchers, and reporters about the big decisions that will impact US environmental and energy policy in the years to come.

Listen here.

Notable quotes from the podcast:

• Climate change will intensify under the next president: “More intense hurricanes, more intense fires, a longer fire season—all the things we’re experiencing are worse because of developments in the world of climate … Everything looks like it’s on fire for the new president, and I think it’s going to be very challenging to figure out what to do, and in what order. And remember: presidents don’t have much time before the midterms, so they've got to figure out what their priorities are.” —Jody Freeman (18:17)
• Congress should lead on environmental policy: “I don’t think that a conservative Supreme Court is going to be opposed to environmental regulation, and I think they will do their best to see that agencies implement the statutes consistent with congressional intent … but it will be clear that the courts are not the place [to deal] with the solutions to climate change … [the US Environmental Protection Agency] can certainly do some things, but I think, ultimately, we should all be looking to Congress and hoping to come up with the kinds of solutions that can get enough votes to pass and be durable.” —Jeffrey R. Holmstead (25:31)
• With bipartisan help, Biden could pursue a clean energy standard: “I would expect a Biden administration to try to use the Clean Air Act and then set sectoral standards for the transportation sector, and for the electric power sector, and for the oil and gas sector, and so on ... We might wind up seeing a clean energy standard for which we might be able to attract Republicans’ support, because we have Republican states that have renewable portfolio standards where they’ve been very successful.” —Jody Freeman (27:33) 

Resources Radio is a weekly podcast series exploring timely environmental, energy, and natural resources topics. Episodes can be found on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Soundcloud, Spotify, and Stitcher.