Toward the Energy Transition: Policy Design and Challenges in Energy Use and Infrastructure

Session Submission Type: Panel

Abstract

Decarbonizing the energy system across key sectors is a central climate policy priority, yet progress in the energy transition depends critically on how policies are designed, implemented, and enforced. This panel brings together three papers that examine how policy design, regulatory structures, and institutional constraints shape fuel use and energy infrastructure in the United States.

The first paper examines climate policy in aviation, analyzing how overlapping programs such as the Renewable Fuel Standard, Low Carbon Fuel Standard, and the Inflation Reduction Act Section 45Z shape the development of sustainable aviation fuel. Using a partial equilibrium framework, it shows that while different policy designs can deliver similar emissions reductions, they generate substantial differences in overall costs and in how those costs are distributed across regions and sectors. These results highlight key trade-offs between efficiency and equity and underscore the importance of policy coordination in designing effective decarbonization strategies.

The second paper focuses on the cement industry, one of the most carbon-intensive sectors, and examines how climate policy shapes firms’ investment decisions to switch from coal to natural gas. Using detailed plant-level and spatial data within a two-stage model of investment and procurement competition, the paper shows that demand-side policies, such as green procurement, create uneven incentives for adopting cleaner technologies across firms by reshaping competition and access to demand. It also highlights key trade-offs: while switching to natural gas can reduce emissions, it often requires pipeline expansion, which may impose environmental pressures on local communities.

The third paper addresses regulatory barriers in the energy transition, focusing on how fossil fuel infrastructure projects are evaluated in federal approval processes. Using evidence from filings related to the Mountain Valley Pipeline, it shows that regulators, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, may face informational asymmetries and institutional pressures that limit their ability to fully account for climate impacts. The findings highlight how existing regulatory frameworks can allow fossil fuel projects to advance despite climate concerns, raising important questions about regulatory capacity and the alignment of infrastructure decisions with climate policy goals.

Chair and discussant roles may be updated prior to the conference.

Policy Area

• Natural Resource, Energy, and Environmental Policy

Discussant

• Anton Rozhkov, New York University

Organizer

• Yixin Yang, University of Maryland, College Park

Individual Presentations

• Policy interactions and costs of decarbonizing aviation - Presenting Author: Mengying Wu, Harvard University

• Green Procurement and Fuel Switching in the U.S. Cement Industry - Presenting Author: Yixin Yang, University of Maryland, College Park

• Gas industry obstruction in US federal energy regulatory filings - Presenting Author: Alaina D Kinol, Emory University

• Regulating the Boom: Strategic Behavior in Louisiana’s Fracking Industry - Presenting Author: Arifah Hasanbasri, University of Pittsburgh