Election 2024 and U.S. climate policy

Climate policy has been a significant focal area at the federal level over the past three years, notably with the passage of legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The IRA and IIJA will be essential for the transition of the United States to a carbon free society by 2050. They will also have wide-reaching state and local impacts, including in Michigan.

The 2024 election is an ideal time to examine how current U.S. climate policy is working and what the next few years could look like. For instance, many challenges remain in the implementation of the IRA and the IIJA (e.g., permitting and land use), while the impacts on major industries like automotive manufacturing are still being studied. Bringing together the deep knowledge of scholars at the Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan and the policy and research expertise of Brookings with  this event will explore important aspects of recent legislation as well as the future of climate policy in the United States.

Welcome Remarks:
Celeste Watkins-Hayes, Dean, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
 

Framing the Issue 
Brahima Coulibaly, Vice President and Director, Global Economy and Development program, Brookings Institution
 

Panel Discussion – Choices for the future 

Samantha Gross, Director, Energy Security and Climate Initiative and Fellow in Foreign Policy at Brookings
Sanjay Patnaik, Director, Center on Regulation and Markets and Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at Brookings
Barry Rabe, J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy

Phil Roos, Director, State of Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy
Moderator: Kelly House, environmental reporter for Bridge Michigan
 

Keynote and discussion 
Tonya Allen, President, McKnight Foundation
Moderator: Cecilia Rouse, President, Brookings Institution

Faculty Expert

Celeste M. Watkins-Hayes

Joan and Sanford Weill Dean of Public Policy; Director, Center for Racial Justice; Jean E. Fairfax Collegiate Professor of Public Policy; University Diversity and Social Transformation Professor; Professor of Sociology; Research and Community Impact Fellow, Anti-Racism Collaborative

Watkins-Hayes is an internationally-recognized scholar and expert widely credited for her research at the intersection of inequality, public policy, and human service institutions, with a special focus on HIV/AIDS; poverty; and race, class, and gender studies. Dr. Watkins-Hayes has published three books, numerous articles in journals and edited volumes, and pieces in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and Chicago Magazine.

Faculty Expert

Barry Rabe

J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy

Rabe examines the political feasibility and durability of environmental and energy policy, with a particular emphasis on efforts to address climate change in the U.S. and other federal systems. His most recent books examine the politics of carbon pricing and the limitations of unilateral executive branch policy actions. Current research explores the politics of intensive but short-lived greenhouse gases, such as methane and HFCs. Recent policy engagement includes work with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Interior, the Department of Commerce, and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.

• energy and environmental policy
• Celeste Watkins-Hayes
• Barry G. Rabe
• Barry Rabe
• 2024 elections
• Brookings Institution
• climate policy
• Brahima Coulibaly
• Samantha Gross
• Sanjay Patnaik
• Phil Roos
• EGLE
• Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy
• Tonya Allen
• Cecilia Rouse
• McKnight Foundation
• Kelly House
• Bridge Michigan
• Inflation Reduction Act
• Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act