Session Details

Government's Role in Innovation

May 20, 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
The Government is a leading adopter and developer of advanced technologies. Learn how electric drive is getting energized by R&D, strategic infrastructure deployment, and accelerated support from all levels of government.

Bio

Gary Guzy brings three decades of experience in environmental law, regulation, and public policy through his leadership in government, business, and academia.  He is skilled at creating strategic partnerships and is known for bringing together diverse groups and resolving challenging public policy controversies through his close work with industry and environmental community leaders.  He is also a frequent speaker on emerging trends in environmental law.

Mr. Guzy recently served as Deputy Director and General Counsel of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.  In this position, he helped develop and guide the Obama administration’s environmental, public health, and clean energy agenda, bringing business insights to government policy and coordinating policy across government agencies.  For example, he spearheaded negotiations that achieved the Obama administration’s historic agreement to double motor vehicle fuel efficiency standards and significantly cut greenhouse gas emissions through the year 2025 with the support of automobile manufacturers, states, labor unions, environmental and consumer groups, and Congress.

Mr. Guzy was General Counsel of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Counselor to the EPA Administrator during the Clinton Administration.  He served as a member of the Administrator’s senior policy team, setting regulatory, legislative, and communications strategy.  He led efforts to design regulatory approaches to protect children’s environmental health, develop and defend new air quality and motor vehicle standards, defend EPA from Congressional oversight investigations, and protect iconic ecosystems such as the Everglades and Yellowstone National Park.  He also authored climate change opinions that were later ratified by the U.S. Supreme Court in its landmark decision finding that greenhouse gases are pollutants under federal law.

Mr. Guzy has served as the chief legal officer, sustainability officer, and climate strategist for a variety of business organizations.

Previous Experience

• Deputy Director and General Counsel of the White House Council on Environmental Quality
• APX, Inc., Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary
• Marsh, Inc., Global Practice Leader for Climate Risk and Sustainability
• Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Consultant
• General Counsel of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and as Counselor to the EPA Administrator
• Department of Justice, Senior Attorney

Memberships & Affiliations

• Mr. Guzy was an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center (2007-2009).  He developed the school’s first climate change law course.

Publications

• "Thoughts on Oral Arguments in Supreme Court GHG Case," Law360 (2/24/2014), Author
• "Climate Change and Insurance," Climate Change and U.S. Law (2007), Author