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

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) analyzed 393 environmental and energy-related bills introduced between January and March 2026 to identify trends in bipartisanship. The report finds that 45% of these bills were bipartisan, with higher success rates for advancing through the legislative process compared to non-bipartisan bills. Bipartisan consensus is strongest in areas with concrete economic focuses or specific, narrow scopes—such as oceans, biodiversity, and disaster management—particularly when the legislation avoids explicit climate change terminology.

• Analysis of 393 environmental and energy-related bills from January to March 2026 showed that 45% were bipartisan, meaning they had at least one Republican and one Democrat as a sponsor or cosponsor.
• Bipartisan bills are more likely to advance in 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 highest level of bipartisan agreement, with approximately 67% of related bills receiving bipartisan support and one-third of those advancing at least one legislative step.
• Bipartisan success is more common in bills that have a concrete economic focus, a narrow scope (such as protecting a specific species or reauthorizing a program), and avoid using the term "climate change."
• While energy bills overall were largely non-bipartisan in the first quarter of 2026, specific technologies including nuclear, hydropower, geothermal, and waste-to-energy, as well as national security concerns, fostered bipartisan cooperation.

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} }