- Links to early news coverage at bottom of post
- Contents of the Governor’s press release follow:
(HARTFORD, CT) - Governor Dannel P. Malloy today named Yale professor Daniel C. Esty to be the commissioner of his new Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), an agency that will consolidate Connecticut's widely dispersed energy functions, including the Department of Public Utility Control, with the Department of Environmental Protection to allow for a more effective coordination of state energy and environmental policies.
"Reducing the number of state agencies by consolidating all of our energy functions into one unit will be unprecedented in the state and will bring with it a number of benefits," Governor Malloy said. "I am glad that Dan Esty has agreed to accept this challenge, and with it, the directive to better integrate and coordinate our state's energy and environmental policy in order to strengthen our ability to protect the environment; to clean, conserve and lower the cost of energy; and to set the table for rapid and responsible economic growth. His experience advising private companies and the President of the United States, coupled with his knowledge of environmental law and policy is second-to-none, and I know this new department will be on the cutting edge of environmental and energy policy with Dan at the helm."
"It is an honor to have been selected to lead this newly-formed agency, especially as it undergoes a major transition," Esty said. "The state is undoubtedly in a period when we need to make serious changes to our energy policies that are fully engaged with a target of lowering costs for both individuals and businesses. The job creation benefits that will result from fixing the state's energy system are a significant factor in boosting economic development here at home."
Esty is one of the world's leading experts on environmental strategy. He has advised top executives from dozens of companies around the world on environment and sustainability issues, and served as an advisor on energy and environmental issues for President Obama's campaign and as a member of his Presidential Transition Team. A former senior official at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Esty is the Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy at Yale University. He is also the Director of the Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy and the Center for Business and the Environment at Yale.
Esty has written books and articles on environmental strategy, competitiveness, policy reform, and regulation. Esty's recent prize-winning book with Andrew Winston, Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage, argues that sustainability has become a critical element of corporate strategy. He holds a B.A. from Harvard, an M.A. from Oxford, and a law degree from Yale.
Creating the new Department of Energy and Environmental Protection will enable the state to continue its environmental conservation and regulation functions and to couple them closely with energy policy and pricing. Organizationally, the state's energy policy will become centralized in the agency through the creation of two new bureaus: the Bureau of Energy Policy and Efficiency, responsible for the development and analysis of state energy policy, and the Bureau of Utilities Control, formed by transferring the Department of Public Utility Control.
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Contact: David Bednarz | Deputy Press Secretary, Governor Malloy | 860. 524.7315 (o) | 860.770.9792 (c)
Early News Coverage:
- http://ctmirror.org/story/11459/malloy-names-yale-prof-obama-adviser-environment-commissioner
- http://blogs.courant.com/capitol_watch/2011/02/daniel-esty-yale-professor-rho.html
- http://blogs.courant.com/rick_green/2011/02/dan-esty-new-malloy-commish-is.html
- http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/ctnj.php/archives/entry/yale_professor_named_to_head_enviro-energy_department/
- http://www.newstimes.com/news/article/Malloy-picks-Yale-professor-Daniel-Esty-to-lead-1007254.php
- http://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Malloy-picks-Yale-professor-Daniel-Esty-to-lead-1007254.php
- http://www.theday.com/article/20110210/NWS12/110219992/1047
- http://www.hartfordbusiness.com/news16808.html
There is concern from within the environmental community that the current budget deficit will mean that environmental protection and oversight will be short-changed, "penny wise and pound foolish."
ReplyDeleteIn particular, environmental policy may seem at odds with budgetary constraints in the areas of energy efficiency, costs, impacts and alternatives. That should not be the case.
It is a great relief to have the appointment of Dan Esty, a person who is knowledgable about environmental impacts and sustainability, assigned to the task of seeking wise energy policy, in a structure which brings the two policy areas under one roof.
We wish him well, and look forward to working with him and the business community to forge significant progress and a clearer focus in the coming years under the new Malloy administration.