Biography:

Greg Dotson is an academic expert in energy and environmental law, particularly as they relate to climate change. Before joining the faculty in Oregon Law, Dotson served as the Vice President for Energy and Environmental Policy at the Washington, DC–based multidisciplinary think tank the Center for American Progress. Prior to that, he served as US Rep. Henry A. Waxman’s lead energy and environmental policy staffer from 1996 until 2014. During his time on the Hill, he was the lead environmental policy staffer on numerous pieces of legislation including the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. Greg was also engaged in congressional oversight and investigations, including numerous high-profile inquiries into political interference with climate science, the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster, hydraulic fracturing, and the energy market abuses of Enron. Starting in 2021, he served as Democratic Chief Counsel for the US Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.

Recent Media:

• Trump seeks to halt state, local climate laws, puts Oregon mandates at risk (Oregonlive, April 9, 2025)
• ‘Unleash American blackouts’: Experts warn Bonneville job cuts bring immediate and long-term risks to Pacific Northwest (Oregon Public Broadcasting, Feb. 20, 2025)
• 2 years after the Inflation Reduction Act became law, Oregon wins big (Oregon Public Broadcasting, Aug. 16, 2024)
• Do voters care about climate change? How going green divides this election (ABC News, Aug. 8. 2024)
• Trump versus Biden: what the rematch could mean for three key science issues (Nature, March 6, 2024)
• EPA Puts the Pedal to the Metal to Electrify Transportation (Sierra Magazine, April 14, 2023)
• Law professor tackles climate change legislation in US Senate (OregonNews, May 2, 2022)
• How Fast Will Biden Need To Move On Climate? Really, Really Fast (National Public Radio, Feb. 2, 2021)
• A Look At The Future Of Biden's Climate Change Policies (National Public Radio, Jan. 27, 2021)
• Congress takes action against ‘super greenhouse gases’ in coronavirus stimulus (Grist, Dec. 22, 2020)
• From oil to renewables: 4 state energy fights to watch (E&E News, Sept. 29, 2020)
• What stands in the way of all those climate plans? The election — and the filibuster. (Grist, July 22, 2020)
• States are banning coal. Will it change the electricity mix? (E&E News, July 20, 2020)
• Oregon lawmakers were supposed to vote on a climate change bill. Republicans walked out — again. (The Washington Post, Feb. 24, 2020)
• The down and dirty on Oregon's 'Cap and Trade' bill (Portland Tribune, Feb. 21, 2020)
• GM, Toyota and Chrysler side with White House in fight over California fuel standards, exposing auto industry split (The Washington Post, Oct. 28, 2019)
• Killing California car pollution rules could also kill speed limits (Grist, Oct. 2, 2019)
• Why Trump’s dirty cars gambit will lose in court (National Resources Defense Council, Sept. 17, 2019)
• Climate laws: When it comes to clean energy jobs, tired myths die hard (Eugene Weekly, April 4, 2019)
• Democrats are divided over the Green New Deal (High Country News, Jan. 14, 2019)
• New power plant rule sounds a lot like dead climate bill (E&E News, Aug. 29, 2018)Why EPA’s U-turn on auto efficiency rules gives China the upper hand (The Conversation, March 29, 2018)
• Industrial Strength: How the U.S. Government Hid Fracking’s Risks to Drinking Water (Inside Climate News, November 16, 2017).
• After lawsuits, Trump administration enables highway emissions tracking program (CBS San Francisco Bay Area, Sept. 26, 2017)
• OPINION: Oregon energy leadership in the aftermath of federal abdication (The Oregonian, June 4, 2017)
• Oregon county seeks to block LNG project with ballot measure (Oregon Public Broadcasting, May 8, 2017)
• Now under attack, EPA’s work on climate change has been going on for decades (The Conversation, March 9, 2017)
• 'Absurd' Entek pollution gag order more than meets the eye (The Oregonian, April, 21, 2017)