Joshua Basseches

Joshua A. Basseches is the David and Jane Flowerree Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and Public Policy at Tulane University.

Basseches’ research and teaching focus on energy and climate policy and politics in the U.S. states, where most of the action in these policy areas has taken place thus far. He examines the roles of business interests, environmental and consumer advocacy organizations, and state-level policymakers in shaping the content and design of the policies that have emerged. He is especially interested in the role of investor-owned utilities, and how the unique aspects of their business model and regulatory considerations affect their policy preferences when it comes to state-level renewable energy policy. He co-chairs the State Politics Working Group of the Climate Social Science Network.

His forthcoming book with MIT Press, Owning The Green Grid, examines how partisanship, energy economy, and utility sector structure shaped renewable energy policies over time in seven U.S. states, housing one third of the nation’s population.

His other work has been published in peer-reviewed outlets such as Climatic Change, Review of Policy Research, Politics and Society, and State Politics and Policy Quarterly, among other outlets. His research has been supported by the American Political Science Association and the Climate Social Science Network, among others. His commentary has appeared in media outlets such as NBC News, The Boston Globe, Colorado Public Radio, and Vox, as well as in local outlets such as The Advocate/Times-Picayune, Louisiana Illuminator, and Louisiana Public Radio.