Events

In December, the Institute for Policy Integrity will once again bring together leading practitioners, government officials, and academics for our annual workshop on cost-benefit analysis. The early sessions of the day will offer an introduction to economic analysis and its role in the regulatory process to those new to the material or in need of a refresher. The later sessions will take a more nuanced look at the regulatory system under President Obama and what the results of November’s election will mean for government regulation over the next four years.

Cass Sunstein is the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget, where he oversees the Obama administration’s regulatory agenda. In one of only a few public speaking engagements this spring, Sunstein visited the Institute for Policy Integrity at the New York University School of Law.

Dean Richard Revesz will present “Does Cost-Benefit Analysis Still Matter in a Hyper-Partisan Era: Three Stages in the Life of Cost-Benefit Analysis as a Regulatory Tool.” at Yale University. The event is hosted by the Yale Law School Center for the Study of Corporate Law and the Yale Law and Business Society.

Thursday, April 19, 2012
12:15 p.m.
Sterling Law Building – Faculty Lounge

Fears about the costs of controlling greenhouse gas emissions, including job losses and rising energy costs, have taken on particular importance in light of the global economic slump. A panel of experts, moderated by Institute for Policy Integrity Executive Director Michael Livermore, will discuss what climate change means for our economic future.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, January 10-11, 2012, the Institute for Policy Integrity and the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (an affiliate of the Rockefeller Family Fund’s Power Plant Finance Project) will bring together environmental advocates and attorneys from around the country for a two day training program on financial issues surrounding investments in existing and proposed coal-fired power plants and related coal facilities.

This training will include sessions led by Tom Sanzillo and David Schlissel on the basics of financial analyses, why these issues are important, and what are the key tools for finding information in financial filings.

The Institute for Policy Integrity will bring together leading practitioners, government officials, and academics for our third annual workshop on cost-benefit analysis. The day of sessions will include both introductory sessions providing background on cost-benefit analysis as well as several in-depth panels with leading national experts on the theme of transportation policies and climate change, as well as breakout strategy sessions on a number of issues.

On Thursday, September 15, 2011, Dean Richard Revesz spoke to scholars from Pennsylvania and other leading universities at the Penn Program’s workshop titled Regulatory Breakdown? The Crisis of Confidence in U.S. Regulation. Held at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, the event assessed US regulation in light of its current crisis of confidence.

In his speech, “Does Cost-Benefit Analysis Still Matter in a Hyper-Partisan Era?,” Dean Revesz discussed the continuing importance cost-benefit analysis will have in regulatory matters and the decisionmaking process. He spoke about his work with Policy Integrity in empowering environmental groups to apply economic analysis to their advocacy work and working with clinic students to train them to participate in the regulatory process. Dean Revesz’s speech also covered recent developments in the practice of cost-benefit analysis and possibly opportunities for its expansion. He closed by discussing the potential of cost-benefit analysis to bridge partisan divisions by providing a common ground where all interests are given weight.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, June 14–15, 2011, the Institute for Policy Integrity co-hosted along with the Rockefeller Family Fund a two day training on how the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) can be powerfully used in local environmental campaigns directed at existing or proposed coal-fired power plants. The event joined together environmental advocates and experts and practicioners from around the country for an in-depth discussion on the role of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) in shaping America’s electricity markets. Particular emphasis was placed on ways that civil society groups can effectively participate in regulatory proceedings before these bodies.

The event, organized in cooperation with David Schlissel of Synapse Energy Economics, Inc. included a set of detailed and highly practical sessions covering topics with direct relevance for advocates engaged in campaigns.

On Wednesday, May 25, the Institute for Policy Integrity and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hosted an Environmental Justice Virtual Roundtable Discussion. The session gathered a small group of leaders from local communities, businesses, government, and academia to focus on the concerns and challenges EPA faces in incorporating fairness and equity into decision-making. A particular emphasis was placed on how EPA can structure its decision-making both procedurally and substantively to better account for environmental justice concerns.

The discussion included topics such as determining the core questions that should be considered as environmental justice concerns are incorporated into rulemaking and the use of formal analysis and qualitative factors in weighing the environmental justice impacts of rules. Participants also explored the intersection of science and policy, weighing in on how the EPA should account for multiple exposures in risk assessment and whether or not the agency should expand beyond exposure to environmental pollutants in characterizing a community’s risk.

The roundtable event will inform the work of a Review Panel created by EPA as part of an ongoing effort to integrate environmental justice into regulatory development.

Join Michael Livermore, Policy Integrity’s Executive Director, and Eduard Niesten, Conservation International’s Senior Director of Conservation Stewards Program for a discussion on offering development investments in return for conservation services. Building sustainable financial and governance relationships between communities, governments, and the donor community can produce lasting solutions.