New Episode of Resources Radio: “Big Decisions in Federal Legislation, with Amy Harder”
WASHINGTON, DC—Resources for the Future (RFF) today released a new installment of Resources Radio: “Big Decisions in Federal Legislation, with Amy Harder.”
In this episode—the first in our ongoing “Big Decisions” spin-off series—guest host and RFF President and CEO Richard G. Newell talks with Amy Harder, an energy and climate change reporter at Axios. Harder previews the environmental policy discussions that could animate decisionmakers next year, whether Democrats win the presidency and majorities in both chambers of Congress, or President Trump prevails again. Regardless of who gains the majority in this year’s presidential election, Harder sees potential for bipartisan compromise on limiting hydrofluorocarbons or supporting carbon capture technologies, and she predicts that confirming Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court could impact the federal government's authority to implement environmental regulations.
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.
Notable quotes from the podcast:
- Waning political support for market-based climate policy: ”History repeats itself, or at least rhymes with itself. After the 2008 economic crash … the problem that happened [with former President Obama’s environmental efforts] is that he put a huge down payment on clean energy, but he didn't follow it up with a market response. And most experts say that there needs to be some market signal. So far, I still do not see the political support for a market-based climate policy—even less so, now, with the entire world in a recession.” (8:45)
- Polarized politics shapes environmental policy: “Climate change has become so polarized over the last decade that policies that are really intricately tied with climate change often run into political headwinds so much more than tangential issues like conservation and public lands, which was at the heart of the Great American Outdoors Act. … You still see Congress coming together to do big things in that respect.” (9:55)
- Environmental lawsuits would be curbed by a more conservative Supreme Court: “With the continued tilt to the Right by the Supreme Court, one big concern I would have if I were a Democrat or environmental leader is that there would be three remaining liberal justices, and you need four to agree to take up a case. There could be a lot of cases that are filed by environmental groups that might not even see the light of day at the high court, if Trump succeeds in confirming a conservative justice.” (19:35)
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.
Resources for the Future (RFF) is an independent, nonprofit research institution in Washington, DC. Its mission is to improve environmental, energy, and natural resource decisions through impartial economic research and policy engagement. RFF is committed to being the most widely trusted source of research insights and policy solutions leading to a healthy environment and a thriving economy.
Unless otherwise stated, the views expressed here are those of the individual authors and may differ from those of other RFF experts, its officers, or its directors. RFF does not take positions on specific legislative proposals.
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