
Michael Panfil
Senior Director and Lead Counsel of Climate Risk & Clean Power
Description
Michael Panfil is the Senior Director and Lead Counsel of Climate Risk & Clean Power at Environmental Defense Fund, where he works to advance the development and implementation of efforts designed to reduce climate-destabilizing emissions. Michael engages before energy, environmental, and financial regulators as well as before federal courts across the country to secure durable solutions and sustainable practices.
In addition to his work with EDF, Michael serves as Scholar in Residence at American University, Washington College of Law and as Adjunct Professor at Howard University, School of Law. He is also a vice chair of the Climate Change, Sustainable Development, and Ecosystems Committee of the American Bar Association’s Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources and a Board Member for the Energy Justice Law & Policy Center.
Background
Prior to joining EDF, Michael spent time with the White House, Council on Environmental Quality and United Nations. He received his BA from the College of Wooster and JD from Columbia Law School.
Publications
Selected publications include:
- Resilience and Private Law’s Duty to Adapt, North Carolina Law Review (Forthcoming 2022) (with Jim Rossi).
- Disclosure of Climate-Related Financial Risk, N.Y.U. J. Legis. & Pub. Pol’y (Forthcoming 2021) (with Madison Condon, Sarah Ladin, Jack Lienke, and Alex Song).
- Risk in the Electricity Sector: Legal Obligations to Advance Climate Resilience Planning by Electric Utilities, Environmental Law Review (2021) (with Romany Webb and Sarah Ladin).
- Attleboro to EPSA: The Pace of Change and Evolving Jurisdictional Frameworks in the Electricity Sector, UCLA J. Envtl. law & Policy, 38(1) (2020).
- Wholesale Electricity Market Principles, 9 Mich. J. Envtl. & Admin. L. 145 (2020) (with Rama Zakaria).
Latest pieces
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Stakeholder guide to the SEC’s proposed rule on climate-related disclosure
Initiative on Climate Risk and Resilience Law, April 4, 2022 -
Climate change creates financial risks. Investors need to know what those are.
Climate 411 Blog, March 30, 2022 -
Power companies, businesses, and experts support EPA authority to address climate pollution at Supreme Court
Climate 411 Blog, February 18, 2022 -
Evaluating climate risk in NEPA reviews
EDF, February 15, 2022 -
Safeguarding EPA’s authority at the Supreme Court is a climate imperative
Climate 411 Blog, December 16, 2021 -
Safeguarding Americans’ financial futures from climate change
Climate411, November 9, 2021 -
Washington and Wall Street must act now to protect Americans’ financial futures from unfolding climate change harms
EDF Climate 411, October 25, 2021 -
What the SEC can do to protect investors, companies, and people from another Texas power crisis
Climate 411 Blog, June 28, 2021
Press materials
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New California Laws Will Give Investors More Information about Climate-Related Financial Risks
October 7, 2023 -
EPA Announces Plan to Strengthen Protections from Coal Plant Mercury Pollution
April 5, 2023 -
Sabin Center, EDF Launch Website to Track Inflation Reduction Act’s Climate Provisions
March 8, 2023 -
EPA Finds Mercury and Air Toxics Standards “Appropriate and Necessary”
February 17, 2023 -
EDF, Sierra Club Sue Environmental Protection Agency to Protect People from Gas-Burning Power Plant Pollution
December 8, 2022 -
New Plan Protects Federal Supply Chain from Climate Risks
November 10, 2022 -
EDF, Sierra Club Plan to Sue the Environmental Protection Agency to Protect People from Pollution Discharged by New Gas-Burning Power Plants
September 30, 2022 -
EDF “Strongly Supports” Proposal to Strengthen Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, Protect Millions from Smog-Forming Coal-Plant Smokestack Pollution
June 22, 2022