Connecticut League of Conservation Voters: Dan Esty

Showing posts with label Dan Esty. Show all posts

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Emissions Charges and Necessity as Mother of Invention

In a New York Times op-ed article published today, Connecticut’s Commissioner of Environmental Protection, Dan Esty, and world renown economic competitiveness authority Michael Porter, explain how greenhouse gas emissions charges would unleash entrepreneurial spirit and innovation across a broad range of enterprises - from multinational businesses to back-of-the-garage inventors.

The authors make a case that innovation in energy productivity and renewable energy would help stimulate global growth and free up resources to meet other pressing needs.

The authors write that the best way to drive energy innovation would be a modest emissions charge of $5 per ton of greenhouse gases beginning in 2012, rising to $100 per ton by 2032. The low initial charge, starting next year, would make the short-term burden on consumers and businesses almost negligible.

If necessity is the mother of invention, then emissions charges may be just the kick in the pants that modern society needs to change our fossil fuel ways.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Malloy Officiates as Esty Sworn in as DEP Commissioner

CTLCV was pleased to be in attendance at the swearing in ceremony of DEP Commissioner Dan Esty on Friday, March 18. The ceremony took place in the Phoenix Auditorium at the DEP headquarters in Hartford. Governor Dannel Malloy officiated, underscoring his commitment to the environment and the Department of Environmental Protection.

Watch both their remarks, and read more at Pomp, Circumstance and a New Era at the DEP (CT Mirror).

Monday, March 14, 2011

Missed the Esty Confirmation Hearing? Watch it here.

On March 10, the Executive & Legislative Nominations Committee held a hearing on the appointment of Yale Professor Dan Esty, as Commissioner of the proposed Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Following his address to the Committee (below), Esty took questions from a handful of legislators for nearly three hours, with Senator Len Fasano questioning the nominee for the better part of an hour.

Without exception, Esty responded with graciousness, respect, and intellectual agility throughout the proceedings.

According to unofficial reports from the Executive & Legislative Nominations Committee, all committee members voted in favor of Esty’s nomination, save Reps. Stephen Dargan and Matt Ritter, who were absent.

HR 21, the resolution confirming Esty’s nomination as Commissioner of Environmental Protection, is expected to be voted on in the House on Wednesday, March 16.

Read CTLCV’s support for Esty’s nomination here. Watch Esty’s remarks to the committee below (13 min.)

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Esty Confirmation Hearing Rescheduled for Next Week

Dan Esty’s confirmation hearing was rescheduled for next week. Christine Stuart of the CT News Junkie offers details. Read the full story at http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/ctnj.php/archives/entry/esty_nomination_delayed/

Thursday, February 10, 2011

GOVERNOR MALLOY SELECTS DANIEL ESTY TO HEAD NEWLY FUSED DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION

- 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.

###

Contact: David Bednarz | Deputy Press Secretary, Governor Malloy | 860. 524.7315 (o) | 860.770.9792 (c)

Early News Coverage:

Bipartisan advocates for smart, sustainable environmental policies in Connecticut