Ted Nordhaus
Ted Nordhaus is a leading global thinker on energy, environment, climate, human development, and politics. He is the founder and President of the Breakthrough Institute and a co-author of An Ecomodernist Manifesto.
Over the last two decades, he has helped lead a paradigm shift in climate, energy, and environmental policy. He was among the first to emphasize the imperative to "make clean energy cheap” and to articulate the political and economic challenges to pricing or regulating fossil fuels out of existence. He helped launch the pro-nuclear environmental movement and was among the first public figures to make the case for the environmental benefits of industrial agriculture. He was an early advocate of the view that regulatory reform would prove more important than environmental regulation in the transition away from fossil fuels.
Recent work
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EnergyAnalysis
Nov 1, 2026
The Original Environmental Economist: RIP Uncle Bill
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EnergyAnalysis
Oct 5, 2026
About Last Summer
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NatureAnalysis
Jun 19, 2026 · with Vijaya Ramachandran
It's Time for the World Bank to Scrap Its Climate Finance Targets
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FoodAnalysis
Jun 10, 2026
Rich World, Poor World
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EnergyAnalysis
Jun 3, 2026
Caught Between Hormuz and a (Chinese) Hard Place
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EnergyAnalysis
May 6, 2026 · with Alex Trembath
Who Killed The Liberal Patriot?
Press and news
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Press · Jan 23, 2024
Executive Director Ted Nordhaus’s statement on News that President Biden does not plan to re-nominate Commissioner Jeff Baran to the NRC
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In the news · Oct 20, 2022
How Ted Nordhaus brought realpolitik to climate politics
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In the news · Jun 5, 2022
Russia’s War Is the End of Climate Policy as We Know It
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In the news · May 2, 2022
California's Nuclear Vibe Shift