EPA’s New Chief Gets to Work on Climate Goals—and Hiring Scientists
Michael Regan comes into a beleaguered agency with an ambitious agenda that could force change on everything from cars to power plants. And what about a carbon tax?
President Joe Biden has promised to put the U.S. on a path to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 that also turns around decades of environmental injustice, in which poorer and non-White communities have carried a heavier burden from pollution. Meeting both goals will go through Michael Regan, the new leader of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Before he even begins pursuing what he terms an “aggressive climate agenda,” Regan faces the daunting task of rebuilding an agency left in disarray by the previous administration. The EPA spent the past four years demoralized and belittled, with an exodus among rank-and-file staff. That means hiring hundreds of scientists just to fill vacancies.
In his last job as North Carolina’s top environmental regulator, Regan was known for navigating complicated issues by forging consensus—something that may be more difficult given the extreme polarization of today’s Washington. Should Biden’s multi-trillion-dollar American Jobs Plan make it through Congress, Regan will play a key role in implementing its climate provisions. Should the bill either die or be stripped of its climate provisions along the way, he’ll have to shoulder even more of the burden of Biden’s climate agenda.