Basav Sen joined the Institute for Policy Studies as the Climate Justice Project Director in February 2017. His work focuses on climate solutions at the national, state, and local level that address racial, economic, gender and other forms of inequality.
Prior to joining IPS, Basav worked for about 11 years as a strategic corporate campaign researcher at the United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW). He has also had experience as a campaigner on the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and global finance and trade issues. As a member of a grassroots neighborhood-based environmental group, he has been involved in local struggles on energy justice in Washington DC.
Latest
The Brutal Racial Politics of Climate Change and Pollution
Trump administration policies are systematically making natural disasters more harmful for the poor and people of color.
Texas Is Flooded Because Our Democracy Is, Too
Our culture of legalized bribery makes climate disasters more likely, but there's an alternative.
How Energy Department Whistleblowers Outsmarted the Trump Administration
Rick Perry was all ready to release a broadside against clean energy policies. Career civil servants pulled the rug out.
Dirty Energy's Quiet War on Solar Energy
Investing in the renewable energy economy is a win-win-win for consumers, but fossil fuel interests will do anything to prove otherwise.
Making Utility Bills Rise Again
The mercury is rising, and so are utility bills. So why does this administration want to scrap those Energy Star labels that help us save?
Trump’s War on the Climate Will Send U.S. Scientists Fleeing Abroad
But by pursuing aggressive climate change action, states can create opportunities for scientists and engineers to remain in the United States. Let’s just hope they don’t jump ship for France first.
The Silver Lining of Trump's Paris Withdrawal
Exiting the Paris climate pact is a colossal foreign policy mistake. But it may prevent the U.S. from watering down future agreements.
Cities and States Can Lead the Way Towards a Clean Energy Transition
As the Trump administration continues to falsely claim that fossil fuels are needed for job growth, cities and states can play a larger role in addressing climate change and creating jobs, IPS climate policy expert Basav Sen told Rising Up with Sonali.
Groups challenge DOE on grid study
Political attack against renewables to ignore billions in polluter welfare.
State and Local Governments Can Take the Lead on Climate Policy
Policy change at the state level can keep environmental policy rolling forward, even as the federal government tries to roll it back.
Solar Energy Is An Equity Issue
A new report explains how states and cities can lift up low-income households through green energy initiatives.
Let’s Face It: Coal Industry Is a Job Killer
Wind and solar could create many, many more jobs than coal — especially if the government stops propping it up.
New IPS Report Provides a Blueprint for States to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Trump Era
This report compiles existing state models for Renewable Portfolio Standards expansion and distributed solar access to low-income communities to create best practices for RPS legislation that can be replicated around the country.
Report: How States Can Boost Renewables With Benefits for All
Renewable Portfolio Standards and Distributed Solar Access for Low-Income Households
Low-income Families Will Bear the Brunt of Climate Change. This Organization is Working to Change That.
Renew Oregon is advancing innovative climate justice proposals, building on a legislative victory to expand the state’s use of renewable energy, with strong benefits for low-income consumers.
White House Declares War On Earth’s Atmosphere
But states are moving independent of the administration to protect us from a climate catastrophe.
More Secretary of State Email Trouble? This Time It's Rex Tillerson
Rex Tillerson used an email alias when he was the CEO of Exxon. Now, reports have emerged that those emails were used to cover up Tillerson's communications about climate change.
As the White House Drops the Ball on Climate, Expect the States to Pick Up the Slack
The consequences of Trump's proposed budget cuts to our environmental programs would be vast, but there's a lot cities and states can do to fight back, IPS climate policy experts Basav Sen and Janet Redman tell the Marc Steiner Show.
Help Spread the Word: #RPS4All
Help us spread the word about our latest report, "How States Can Boost Renewables with Benefits for All: Renewable Portfolio Standards and Distributed Solar Access for Low-Income Households."
Trump's War on the Climate
The administration is actively denying climate change, but cities and states are fighting back.