CETEP
The Center for Energy, Transportation, and Environmental Policy is an interdisciplinary network of scholars and partners that extends across the University of Tennessee, to every level of government, the nonprofit sector, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), and industry representatives.
Overview
We build on the legacy of Senator Howard H. Baker Jr.’s work in the areas of energy and environmental policy, studying the interaction of energy, transportation, and the environment to develop economically sound policies that improve quality of life for citizens in Tennessee, the U.S., and around the world.
Mission: To address critical energy and environmental challenges by creating policy relevant research and educational opportunities that integrate natural, physical, and social science.
CETEP Events
CETEP hosts a variety of events, including E&E Forums and the Southeast Energy Policy Forum. If you are interested in learning more or exploring recordings and summaries of past events, please view the link below.
Upcoming Events
Stay connected with CETEP through our upcoming events, where students, faculty, and policy leaders come together to explore timely issues shaping our communities. Our events offer opportunities to engage, learn, and be part of meaningful conversations that extend beyond the classroom.
Past Events
Whether you want to rewatch a previous CETEP event or catch one you missed, our event recaps are a great place to start. Each recap offers a brief overview of what was covered, along with a direct link to the full video recording.
The energy and environmental challenges we face will not wait for perfect solutions — they demand rigorous inquiry, courageous policy, and the conviction that knowledge, honestly pursued, can enable the economy and the environment to coexist.
Charles Sims
TVA Distinguished Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy
Center for Energy, Transportation, and Environmental Policy
E&E Forums
CETEP hosts a variety of events, including E&E Forums and the Southeast Energy Policy Forum. If you are interested in learning more or exploring recordings and summaries of past events, please view the link below.
Research
CETEP’s research integrates natural, physical, and social science to address issues of energy consumption and conservation, nuclear energy, renewable energy, air and water pollution, ecosystem services, and climate change. Our affiliated faculty and scholars work at the intersection of energy and transportation technology innovation, the natural environment, energy markets, and human behavior.
Southeast Energy Policy Forum
CETEP hosts a variety of events, including E&E Forums and the Southeast Energy Policy Forum. If you are interested in learning more or exploring recordings and summaries of past events, please view the link below.
News
See how CETEP faculty and students are making an impact beyond the classroom. This includes media features and expert commentary to coverage of student research and achievements.
Academic Offerings
The Baker School offers several degrees that prepare students to produce and critically evaluate public policy that enables clean air and water, provides reliable and affordable energy, and preserves healthy ecosystems.
Undergraduate Certificates
The Baker School’s undergraduate certificates are available as either add-on or stand-alone credentials for currently enrolled students. Each certificate consists of 12 credit hours of coursework. Explore the Energy Policy Certificate and the Nuclear Policy Certificate.
Graduate Certificates
The Baker School’s graduate certificates are available both as add-on credentials for currently enrolled students and as stand-alone programs for students at other institutions or for individuals who already hold a bachelor’s degree or higher. Explore the Agricultural and Environmental Policy Certificate and the Energy Policy Certificate.
Concentrations
Beyond prerequisites and core requirements, the undergraduate major consists of 45 credit hours, including 30 hours of core coursework, a minimum of 3 hours in professional development, and 12 hours in a concentration. Explore CETEP-focused concentrations in Agricultural Policy, Energy Policy, and Nuclear Policy.
CETEP Affiliates
The Center for Energy, Transportation, and Environmental Policy’s faculty, experts, and affiliates bring together interdisciplinary expertise to address today’s most pressing energy, transportation, and environmental challenges through impactful research, policy engagement, and real-world collaboration.
The Environmental Policy Uncertainty (EPU) Index
The Environmental Policy Uncertainty (EPU) Index measures changes in uncertainty surrounding environmental policy in the United States by analyzing more than 300 million newspaper articles published since January 1985. Using the NewsBank news aggregator, which includes approximately 15,000 local, regional, and national U.S. newspapers, the index tracks how frequently environmental policy uncertainty is discussed over time.
The methodology begins by identifying articles related to general economic policy uncertainty. To qualify, an article must include terms associated with the economy (such as economic or economy), uncertainty (such as uncertain or uncertainty), and at least one policy-related term, including Congress, Federal Reserve, legislation, regulation, White House, or deficit.
From this group of articles, those specifically addressing environmental policy are identified using a set of 31 environmental keywords. An article is included in the Environmental Policy Uncertainty Index only if it meets the general economic policy uncertainty criteria and contains at least one environmental keyword. These terms represent five major areas of environmental policy commonly discussed in academic literature: air and water pollution, climate change, non-renewable energy, renewable energy, and biodiversity and habitat conservation.
To construct the index, the monthly number of qualifying articles is divided by the total number of newspaper articles published during the same month. These monthly values are then normalized relative to the 1985–2009 average, creating a standardized time series that allows for meaningful comparisons over time. For example, an index value of 198 in January 2017 indicates that environmental policy uncertainty was discussed in newspapers at a rate 1.98 times the average observed between 1985 and 2009.
For additional details on the methodology and data, see Palikhe, Schaur, and Sims (2024).