The Center for Applied Environmental Law and Policy (CAELP) is a left-of-center climate policy advocacy organization that supports stronger climate regulations on energy and businesses.¹ It was formerly a fiscally sponsored project of the Arabella Advisors-managed New Venture Fund,² but later received its own 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status from the IRS and filed its first Form 990 as an independent nonprofit in 2020.³

Brian Deese, who held prominent positions in both the Obama and Biden Administrations, was a board member at CAELP from 2019-2020, while also serving as global head of sustainable investing at BlackRock, Inc.^{4 5}

CAELP’s major funders include the Sequoia Climate Foundation, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund, the Heising-Simons Foundation, and the Energy Foundation (also known as the U.S. Energy Foundation).⁶

Background and Activities

The Center for Applied Environmental Law and Policy (CAELP) is a left-of-center climate policy organization that supports stronger climate regulations on energy and businesses.⁷ A 2017 grant description from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation explained that “CAELP’s initial focus will be on the power and transportation sectors, including both defense of federal policy frameworks as well as the rights of states to go beyond federal mandates.”²

CAELP was formerly a fiscally sponsored project of the Arabella Advisors-managed New Venture Fund.² It later received its own 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status from the IRS, and filed its first Form 990 as an independent nonprofit in 2020.³

On its website, CAELP lists numerous reports and other publications that it has commissioned and funded. Examples include:⁸

• Decarbonizing Industrial Heat: Measuring Economic Potential and Policy Mechanisms (October 2024)
• Electric Utilities and the IRA/IIJA: Ensuring Maximum Benefits for Consumers From New Federal Funding Opportunities (January 2024)
• Compliance Options Available to Individual Power Plants Under the Proposed Clean Air Act Section 111 GHG Rules (December 2023)
• Model Comparisons for Potential Impacts of the IRA on the U.S. Power Sector (August 2023)
• Measuring the Benefits of Power Plant Effluent Regulation (June 2023)
• Technology Advancement is Driving Electric Vehicle Adoption (May 2023)

CAELP publishes the U.S. Industrial Sector Heat Emissions and Temperature Dataset (HEATset), which it describes on its website as “an opensource, public dataset that is available to policymakers, advocates, and stakeholders as they consider strategies, options, and policy interventions that could support and accelerate the decarbonization of the U.S. industrial sector.”⁹

Leadership

The current and former leadership of the Center for Applied Environmental Law and Policy (CAELP) includes multiple individuals with professional experience at left-of-center environmental activist groups and higher education, as well as in government.

Staff

Jonas Monast is executive director of CAELP. He was formerly a climate and energy policy professor at the University of North Carolina School of Law and director of the Climate and Energy Program at Duke University’s Nicholas Institute. He has also previously served as legislative counsel for the Center for Responsible Lending and as a congressional fellow for former U.S. Senator Paul Wellstone (D-MN).¹⁰

Jay Duffy is a senior attorney at CAELP. He was formerly litigation director at Clean Air Task Force, and also worked with Clean Air Council.¹⁰

Peter Heisler is a senior attorney at CAELP. He formerly worked as an associate attorney at EarthJustice, and was a legal fellow at the Environmental Defense Fund.¹⁰

Megan Ceronsky formerly served as executive director of CAELP, before joining the Biden Administration in 2021 as associate counsel in the White House Counsel’s office.¹¹ During the Obama Administration, Ceronsky was special assistant and associate counsel to the president, working on energy and environmental issues, and was also a senior policy advisor in the Office of Energy and Climate Change. Before that, she was a senior attorney and director of regulatory policy at the Environmental Defense Fund.¹²

Kristin Brainerd was formerly a senior attorney and executive director at CAELP. She had previously held positions at both the Resources Legacy Fund and the Water Foundation.^{12 13}

Board of Directors

Norman Bay is a board member at CAELP.¹⁴ During the Obama Administration he was director of the Office of Enforcement at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, later becoming a commissioner and chairman of the Commission.¹⁵

Gary Guzy is a board member at CAELP. He was deputy director and general counsel at the Council on Environmental Quality during the Obama Administration, and general counsel and counsel to the administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency during the Clinton Administration.¹⁴

Carrie Jenks is a board member at CAELP. She is executive director of the Environmental & Energy Law Program at Harvard Law School.¹⁴

Brian Deese formerly served as a board member at CAELP, while simultaneously serving as global head of sustainable investing at BlackRock, Inc.⁴ According a Massachusetts Institute of Technology profile of Deese, while at BlackRock he “worked to drive greater focus on climate and sustainability risk in investment portfolios and create investment strategies to help accelerate the low‐carbon transition.”¹⁶ Deese appears as a board member on an archived version of CAELP’s website from February 2019,⁴ and is listed as a director on CAELP’s 2020 Form 990.⁵ Deese was also a board member at the League of Conservation Voters from 2019-2020.¹⁷

Before joining BlackRock, Deese was  a senior advisor in the Obama Administration, where he helped negotiate the Paris Climate Agreement. He was also acting director of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and deputy director of the National Economic Council. During the Biden Administration, Deese served as director of the White House National Economic Council.¹⁶

Financials

In 2022, CAELP reported total revenue of $4,498,123, virtually all of which was from contributions and grants. It reported total expenses of $2,638,740, and total net assets of $7,005,245.¹⁸

In 2021, CAELP reported total revenue of $4,200,000, all of which was from contributions and grants. It reported total expenses of $3,710,459, and total net assets of $5,145,862.¹⁹

In 2020, CAELP reported total revenue of $6,560,615, approximately 96 percent of which was from contributions and grants. It reported total expenses of $1,904,294, and total net assets of $4,656,321.²⁰

Major Funders

From 2021 through 2023, the Sequoia Climate Foundation gave CAELP a total of $6,720,000.²¹

From 2017 through 2022, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation gave CAELP a total of $4,600,000.²²

In 2020, the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund gave CAELP $3,900,000.²³

From 2019 through 2022, the Heising-Simons Foundation gave CAELP a total of $2,190,654.²⁴

From 2018 through 2022, the Energy Foundation (also known as the U.S. Energy Foundation) gave CAELP a total of $1,755,000.²⁵

In 2023, the Natural Resources Defense Council gave CAELP $185,000.²⁶

Independent Contractors

In 2022 CAELP’s highest-paid independent contractor was Grid Strategies, which it paid $340,350 for “programs consulting.”¹³

In 2021 CAELP’s highest-paid independent contractor was M.J. Bradley & Associates, which it paid $330,791 for “power sector analysis.”²⁷

In 2020 CAELP’s highest-paid independent contractor was Gigaton Strategies, which it paid $232,500 for “programs consulting.”⁵

 

1. “Our Mission.” Center for Applied Environmental Law & Policy. Accessed December 20, 2024. Available at: https://www.caelp.org/mission
2. Grant to New Venture Fund For The Center For Applied Environmental Law And Policy. William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. 8/15/2017. Available at: https://hewlett.org/grants/new-venture-fund-for-the-center-for-applied-environmental-law-and-policy/
3. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). Center for Applied Environmental Law and Policy. 2020.
4. “Our Board.” CAELP. February 15, 2019 (accessed via WayBack Machine). Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20190215072539/https://www.caelp.org/our-board/
5. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). Center for Applied Environmental Law and Policy. 2020. Part VII.
6. Author’s calculations based on respective Form 990 and Form 990-PF filings.
7. “Our Mission.” CAELP. Accessed December 20, 2024. Available at: https://www.caelp.org/mission
8. “Reports.” CAELP. Accessed December 20, 2024. Available at: https://www.caelp.org/reports
9. “Heatset.” CAELP. Accessed December 20, 2024. Available at: https://www.caelp.org/heatset
10. “Our Staff.” CAELP. Accessed December 20, 2024. Available at: https://www.caelp.org/staff
11. “Congratulations to Our Alumni Joining the Biden/Harris Administration.” Van Ness Feldman LLP. January 28, 2021. Available at: https://www.vnf.com/congratulations-to-our-alumni-joining-the-biden/harris-administration
12. “Our Staff.” CAELP. February 15, 2019 (accessed via WayBack Machine). Available at: https://web.archive.org/web/20190215135236/https://www.caelp.org/our-staff/
13. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). Center for Applied Environmental Law and Policy. 2022. Part VII.
14. “Our Board.” Center for Applied Environmental Law and Policy. Accessed December 20, 2024. Available at: https://www.caelp.org/board
15. “Norman C. Bay.” Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. Accessed December 20, 2024. Available at: https://www.willkie.com/professionals/b/bay-norman
16. “Brian Deese.” MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research. Accessed December 20, 2024. Available at: https://ceepr.mit.edu/people/deese/
17. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). League of Conservation Voters Inc. 2019-2020. Part VII.
18. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). Center for Applied Environmental Law and Policy. 2022. Part I.
19. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). Center for Applied Environmental Law and Policy. 2021. Part I.
20. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). Center for Applied Environmental Law and Policy. 2020. Part I.
21. See Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). Sequoia Climate Foundation. 2021-2023. Part XV.
22. See Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation. 2017-2022. Part XV.
23. See Return of Private Foundation. Wellspring Philanthropic Fund. 2020. Part XV.
24. See Return of Private Foundation (Form 990-PF). The Heising-Simons Foundation. 2019-2022. Part XV.
25. See Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). United States Energy Foundation. 2018-2022. Schedule I.
26. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). Natural Resources Defense Council Inc. 2023. Schedule I.
27. Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax (Form 990). Center for Applied Environmental Law and Policy. 2021. Part VII.