Common Ground: Where Environment and Energy Policies Find Consensus on Capitol Hill

An analysis of 393 environmental and energy bills introduced in the first quarter of 2026 reveals that 45% were bipartisan. Bipartisan bills showed a higher rate of legislative advancement (22%) compared to non-bipartisan bills (15%). The highest level of consensus was found in oceans and biodiversity, where approximately 67% of bills were bipartisan. Other areas of strong cooperation include disaster management, wildfires, and permitting reform. The report notes that successful bipartisan legislation often focuses on concrete economic impacts or specific, narrow scopes and typically avoids using the terminology of climate change. In contrast, energy bills were less bipartisan, with Republicans focusing on deregulation and Democrats on clean energy tax credits, although specific technologies like geothermal, hydropower, nuclear, and waste-to-energy maintain bipartisan support.

• Between January and March 2026, 45% of the 393 environmental and energy-related bills identified by EESI were bipartisan, meaning they had at least one sponsor or cosponsor from both the Republican and Democratic parties.
• Bipartisan bills are more likely to advance through the legislative process than non-bipartisan ones; 22% of bipartisan bills advanced at least one step, compared to 15% of non-bipartisan bills.
• Oceans and biodiversity represented the area of greatest consensus, with roughly 67% of related bills receiving bipartisan support and one-third of those advancing at least one legislative step.
• Bipartisan environmental legislation tends to be more successful when it has a concrete economic focus and avoids explicitly mentioning climate change.
• While energy bills overall were largely non-bipartisan, specific technologies including geothermal, hydropower, nuclear, and waste-to-energy enjoy strong bipartisan support.

APA

Gries, L. (2026). Common Ground: Where Environment and Energy Policies Find Consensus on Capitol Hill. Environmental and Energy Study Institute. https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/common-ground-where-environment-and-energy-policies-find-consensus-on-capitol-hill

Chicago

Gries, Laura. Common Ground: Where Environment and Energy Policies Find Consensus on Capitol Hill. Environmental and Energy Study Institute, 2026. https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/common-ground-where-environment-and-energy-policies-find-consensus-on-capitol-hill.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Gries |first1=Laura |title=Common Ground: Where Environment and Energy Policies Find Consensus on Capitol Hill |publisher=Environmental and Energy Study Institute |date=2 June 2026 |url=https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/common-ground-where-environment-and-energy-policies-find-consensus-on-capitol-hill |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{gries2026common, author = {Gries, Laura}, title = {{Common Ground: Where Environment and Energy Policies Find Consensus on Capitol Hill}}, institution = {Environmental and Energy Study Institute}, year = {2026}, month = jun, url = {https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/common-ground-where-environment-and-energy-policies-find-consensus-on-capitol-hill}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }