The second term: Robert Stavins on energy and environmental policy

We spoke with Robert Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government Environment and Natural Resources Program, about energy and environmental policy issues the president will face in the next four years.

Q: What are the top priorities for a second Obama administration in energy and environmental policy?

A: The Obama administration faces a number of impending challenges in the energy and environmental policy realm in its second term, which I would characterize – in very general terms – as finding balance among three competing factors: (1) demands from some constituencies for more aggressive environmental policies; (2) demands from other constituencies – principally in the Congress – for progress on so-called “energy security;” and (3) recognition that nothing meaningful is likely to happen if the country’s economic problems are not addressed.

Q: What will be the potential challenges/roadblocks in the way of implementing those top priorities?

A: The key challenge/roadblock the administration faces in its second term as it attempts to achieve some balance among the three competing objectives above is the reality of a very high degree political polarization in the two houses of Congress.