Events

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.

Last year, Congress directed the Federal Communications Commission to create the National Broadband Plan—a program to provide a blueprint for federal policy to make at-home broadband connections more available and affordable to people all over the country. When the plan was published, some argued that if executed correctly, it would move the country toward a world-class communications network. Others argued that the plan missed the mark, helping to keep hidden the important structural changes the country must enact in order to keep up with the rest of the developed world.

On April 8th, 2011 at the National Conference for Media Reform in Boston, Policy Integrity’s J. Scott Holladay will sit on a panel called “The National Broadband Plan: A Bold Start or Missed Opportunity?” This session will explore the elements of the NBP that are working, those that are behind schedule, and those that are missing entirely.

Various policy issues in environmental and health-related matters force policymakers to trade human lives against other values. The NYU Center for Bioethics, in conjunction with the NYU Program in Environmental Studies, is bringing together scholars from several fields, including philosophy, law and, economics, to discuss whether and how this can be done in a morally acceptable manner. The one-day conference will feature five original, unpublished papers and an introductory address by Professor Dan Brock of the Harvard Program in Ethics and Health.

Many countries around the world face a range of environmental risks-including loss of biodiversity-along with extreme economic challenges and the threat of political instability. Balancing these sometimes competing concerns, while highlighting the economic benefits associated with environmental protection, is a key challenge for many developing countries. Cost-benefit analysis can serve as a useful tool to clarify tradeoffs, increase government transparency, and inform the international community of areas of risk where financial or other forms of support are most needed.

On January 11, the dean of NYU School of Law, Richard Revesz, and Olivier Langrand, Executive Vice President of Public Sector Engagement at Conservation International, held a discussion on the economics of international biodiversity preservation. To listen to the conversation, click here.

As developing countries advance, they face increasingly complex environmental and public health challenges. These challenges will require governments to incorporate more sophisticated tools into their policy-designing process. Governments will also need to be better informed as they take on more complicated regulatory problems. Further, as developing countries continue to face limitations on financial resources, it will be important for their officials to determine which policies maximize net benefits for their societies. Cost-benefit analysis can be an important tool to allow developing countries to reach policy decisions based on a better understanding of the ultimate effects of these policies. This will be the focus of a conversation between a select group of scholars, practitioners, and government officials with expertise in environmental, public health, and energy policy.