(Michael S. Regan; Credit: North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality)If Michael Regan, President-elect Joe Biden’s choice for head of the EPA, is confirmed, he faces the challenge of revamping a battle-torn organization: he will be taking the helm of an agency that saw not only the scaling back of many environmental regulations but also an increasingly demoralizing atmosphere under the Trump administration.
Between upheaval within the agency, the weakening of certain environmental protections, and Biden’s own ambitious environmental agenda, Regan’s challenges will be manifold. He would do well to focus his first few months on a small handful of priorities, suggests Cass R. Sunstein, an opinion columnist for Bloomberg. These might include greenhouse gas emissions from motor vehicles, the social cost of carbon, and a green power plan, Sunstein writes; he adds that the best way to restore confidence to the agency is to make progress on concrete issues like these.
Biden’s climate-change plans include eliminating carbon dioxide emissions from the grid by 2035 and ensuring the country is on a solid path to net-zero emissions by 2050. His proposed team for the EPA prioritizes making clean energy jobs and environmental protection a cornerstone of his economic plans, writes the New York Times.
Regan currently heads the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. He previously worked on air quality policy at the EPA.
