Barry Rabe

Faculty affiliates

Barry Rabe

J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy; Arthur F. Thurnau Professor; Professor of Environmental Policy; Professor of Political Science; Professor of the Environment

[email protected]

(734) 615-9596

Barry Rabe is the J. Ira and Nicki Harris Family Professor of Public Policy at the Ford School. He is also the Arthur Thurnau Professor of Environmental Policy, with courtesy appointments in the Program in the Environment, the Department of Political…

News

Ford school faculty available to weigh in on 2024 elections

Jan 28, 2024

The University of Michigan has published an experts guide to the 2024 elections. Ford School faculty are available to offer insights on relevant issues impacting the elections, including the following: Economics Betsey Stevenson, professor of...

Ford school faculty available to weigh in on 2024 elections

Publication

North American Colloquium publishes eight reports on climate policy analysis after a year of collaborative work

Apr 29, 2022

The North American Colloquium (NAC) is a forum that strengthens a wider North American conversation and more fruitful trilateral cooperation between Canada, Mexico and the U.S., led by the International Policy Center at the University of Michigan’s...

North American Colloquium publishes eight reports on climate policy analysis after a year of collaborative work

In the Media

Rabe on climate politics: Democrats should look to Virginia and Colorado

Jan 27, 2021 The Brookings Institution

As Democrats take control of government at the federal level, albeit narrowly, Professor Barry Rabe writes that congressional Democrats should follow the lead of Colorado and Virginia -- two states with similarly narrow Democratic-controlled...

Rabe on climate politics: Democrats should look to Virginia and Colorado

News

Governors have emerged as President Trump's main opposition, according to Rabe

May 1, 2020

Tensions between Democratic governors and President Trump has been growing for years. Response to the coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated and amplified those conflicts, so that Democratic governors, who have alternately criticized the President and...

Governors have emerged as President Trump's main opposition, according to Rabe

News

Rabe explores taxing methane emissions

Mar 16, 2020

Representing a new line of research, Ford School professor Barry Rabe explores the politics around taxing methane gas releases. Rabe argues that consensus among economists is “the best way to reduce climate risks linked to carbon dioxide emissions...

In the Media

Daily on Energy: Legal fight over Trump coal plant rule shows just how divided red and blue states are

Aug 14, 2019 Washington Examiner

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In the Media

Daily on Energy: Ohio's new law a blow to renewable electricity mandate momentum

Jul 25, 2019 Washington Examiner

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In the Media

Blue States Roll Out Aggressive Climate Strategies. Red States Keep to the Sidelines.

Jun 24, 2019 Governors' Biofuels Coalition

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In the Media

Red State Vs. Blue State: Climate Action Splits America

Jun 23, 2019 Clean Technica

In the 2016 election, the 14 US states with the least carbon-intensive economies voted for Hillary Clinton, while 26 of the 27 most carbon-intensive states voted for Donald Trump, reports the New York Times. Of the 15 state governors who now support...

In the Media

Red State Vs. Blue State: Climate Action Splits America

Jun 23, 2019 Clean Technica

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In the Media

Blue States Roll Out Aggressive Native weather Solutions. Pink States Bewitch to the Sidelines.

Jun 22, 2019 The Finance Time

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In the Media

Blue States Roll Out Aggressive Climate Strategies. Red States Keep to the Sidelines.

Jun 21, 2019 New York Times

At a time when the country is already deeply fractured along partisan lines, individual states are starting to pursue vastly different policies on climate change with the potential to cement an economic and social divide for years to...

News

Barry Rabe and climate change: the opinions of the 2020 Democratic hopefuls

Apr 19, 2019

While the field of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates grows and the first primaries approach, one of the top issues for the field is climate change. Since his inauguration, President Trump has reversed Obama-era environmental policies, focused...

News

A changing climate: Congress moves on climate change, Barry Rabe questions how far

Feb 18, 2019

After the Trump administration’s 2017 decision to back out of the Paris Agreement, a UN effort to mitigate harmful effects of greenhouse-gas-emissions, some members of congress began forming a bipartisan coalition to adopt the goals on a...

News

Barry Rabe expects Midwest to refocus on climate issues

Nov 14, 2018

With a change of governorships after the midterm elections, one previously passed-over issue is seeing a resurgence. Governors-elect are already showing signs of making climate issues a top-priority in Midwestern states. Daniel Cusick, reporter for...

News

Barry Rabe calls midterm climate initiatives an “amazing compilation of policy”

Nov 8, 2018

The 2018 midterm elections set an unprecedented amount of campaign spending, with one cause taking a surprising lead. In their November 5, 2018, article in E&E News titled “4 States Have Ballot Measures That Could Shape U.S. Climate Policy,”...

News

Rabe speaks with Michigan Radio's Environment Report on public support for carbon pricing

Jun 22, 2018

Professor Barry Rabe spoke on air with Michigan Radio's Rebecca Williams on June 21 about the tricky politics of climate change policies such as carbon taxing and cap-and-trade. The interview took place as the National Surveys on Energy and...

In the Media

WGTD's Morning Show

Apr 8, 2018 WGTD Radio, 91.1 FM, Wisconsin Public Radio

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News

Rabe & Mills: "State energy policy in the Trump era: Insights from public opinion"

Feb 5, 2018

An article by Barry Rabe and Sarah Mills, "State energy policy in the Trump Era: Insights from public opinion," was published in the December 2017 edition of the Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. Abstract In light of President Trump’s...

News

Rabe joins NAPA Panel of Fellows assessing Oklahoma Corporation Commission

Feb 2, 2018

Barry Rabe, director of the University of Michigan's Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy, has been appointed to a five-member National Academy of Public Administration Panel of Fellows that is charged with assessing the Oklahoma Corporation...

News

For Brookings, Barry Rabe discusses state and federal tension around climate policy

Jan 30, 2018

In a new blog for the Brookings Institution, Barry Rabe looks into the difficulties surrounding climate policy in America, detailing how fluctuating positions at the federal level have impacted states and their individual commitments.Barry Rabe is...

News

In Brookings, Barry Rabe talks "Carbon pricing durability and the case of California"

Aug 31, 2017

“Collectively endorsing carbon pricing as the preferred route to achieve pledged [greenhouse gas] reductions is relatively easy,” writes Barry Rabe in his latest Brookings blog. “Much harder is navigating the politics upon returning home.”Rabe’s...

News

Michigan News release: In climate policy, Americans want states to pick up federal slack

Jun 9, 2017

A majority of Americans across the political spectrum believe states are responsible for addressing climate change in the absence of federal policy, according to a new survey by University of Michigan researchers.The National Surveys on Energy and...

News

Rabe’s influential book on climate change policy to receive prestigious APSA award

May 31, 2017

Barry Rabe’s influential book about the politics behind U.S. climate change policy, Statehouse and Greenhouse: The Emerging Politics of American Climate Change Policy (Brookings 2004), will be honored with the American Political Science...

News

Rabe examines Pennsylvania's unorthodox resistance to energy taxes in new journal article

May 31, 2017

A new publication by Rachel Hampton and Barry Rabe, titled "Leaving money on the table: Pennsylvania exceptionalism in resisting energy severance taxes," was published in Commonwealth this month. In it, Hampton and Rabe reflect on Pennsylvania's...

State & Hill

A voice for local governments: CLOSUP and the M's, the power of partnership

Apr 29, 2017

It's been eight years since the Ford School launched the Michigan Public Policy Survey, which collects data and opinions about a broad range of state and local policy challenges from local government leaders across the state. After 16 surveys, 60...

A voice for local governments: CLOSUP and the M's, the power of partnership

State & Hill

Ford School faculty members share seven key strategies for effective collaboration

Apr 28, 2017

Ford School faculty members often engage in collective problem-solving--with other scholars, of course, but also with policymakers and practitioners all around the world. The goal of these collaborations? Finding better solutions, and mutually...

Ford School faculty members share seven key strategies for effective collaboration

News

Rabe in MLive on Trump's plan to review auto industry fuel economy targets

Mar 17, 2017

An MLive article published on March 15, “University of Michigan professors discuss Trump’s fuel economy review,” discusses President Trump’s plan to challenge the current Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) emissions targets that were central to...

News

In Brookings, Rabe asks “What will Scott Pruitt do if he cannot sue EPA?”

Dec 14, 2016

While we know a great deal about President-elect Trump’s EPA nominee, Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt, Barry Rabe writes for the Brookings Institution that it is highly unclear "just what he will do in his role.” The article, titled “What...