Recently, I had the
wonderful opportunity to ask Dr. Bryan Mignone, Senior Policy Advisor in the
Office of Policy and International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE), a few questions regarding his upcoming lecture, “Designing a Federal
Clean Energy Standard" (event information listed below). The
lecture will detail various ways in which the U.S. will develop a new Clean
Energy Standard (CES). In particular, three different designs will be featured
and outlined, all of which share the common goal of providing 80% clean energy
by 2035.
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Question: Why would you encourage students and faculty to
attend and learn more about the different designs of the Clean Energy Standard?
What are some of the main points that you find most important?
Dr.
Mignone: I hope to convey two main points. First, I will suggest that
there are many different types of policies and measures that could shape our
future energy system beyond the ones that get talked about the most. Second, I hope
to show how the type of quantitative analysis that gets discussed in public
policy departments can be used to help inform real policy decisions.
Question: You
have spent a lot of time on Capitol Hill and obviously are well acquainted with
road blocks. If you could explain briefly, what do you foresee will become the
main challenge to this new policy initiative ( business community, the debt
crisis, government budget....)?
Dr. Mignone: All new policy
ideas face hurdles. Frankly, one of the largest challenges to the Clean Energy
Standard will be getting the attention of lawmakers in an election year when
many other priorities compete for consideration. Since you asked about the
fiscal context, one nice thing about this policy proposal is that it does not
add to government spending and could potentially reduce it.
Question:
Do you feel at this time in American history and politics that you will be able
to gain support and momentum for this objective? What makes this time period so
different from other past years?
Dr. Mignone: Very few new
policy ideas get unanimous support when they are first introduced, but there is
a fair amount of institutional memory in Congress. In other words, the
legislative process requires quite a bit of education and communication over
time, and it is important to see any near-term effort as part of that larger,
longer-term process.
Question: What made you passionate about energy
policy and climate change? What inspired you to work in this area of policy?
Dr. Mignone: I am originally trained as a climate scientist. At
some point toward the end of my graduate career, I looked at my research and
the larger set of scientific information available and concluded that we knew
enough about the threat of climate change to act responsibly. At that point, I
personally became more interested in studying the solution than the problem,
and I have been in DC ever since!
Event information:
Speaker: Bryan Mignone,
U.S. Dept. of Energy
Title: "Designing a
Federal Clean Energy Standard"
Date: March 1, 2012
Time: 10:30AM to 11:30AM
(refreshments at 10:00AM)
Email contact: bea@marine.rutgers.edu
More information: http://rei.rutgers.edu/
Bryan Mignone is a
senior policy advisor in the Office of Policy & International Affairs at
the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). In this role, he leads a domestic policy
team and advises senior leadership on a wide range of climate change and energy
policy issues. Since arriving at DOE in 2009, Mignone has worked to bolster the
economic and quantitative analysis capabilities of the Policy Office,
overseeing a research portfolio spanning climate change impacts, adaptation and
mitigation. He has contributed to several specific activities and reports,
including the U.S. Government’s first social cost of carbon estimates, the
President’s clean energy standard proposal and DOE’s report on electric system
resource adequacy implications of air quality regulations, among others.
Mignone previously served as professional staff on the U.S. Senate Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources and as a fellow and research director at the
Brookings Institution, where he focused on market-based environmental policy
design and other climate and energy policy topics. Mignone was awarded a Ph.D.
in geosciences from Princeton University, a graduate certificate in science,
technology and environmental policy from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public
and International Affairs, and an A.B. in physics and philosophy from Cornell
University.
