Climate and Energy

Senior Counsel

Peter has been an environmental, land use, and consumer attorney and advocate since 1983. He has held various roles in Washington, DC including Of Counsel at the Center for Food Safety; Vice President for U.S. Government Policy at Conservation International; Director of International Conservation at Defenders of Wildlife; and Staff Attorney at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. Additionally, he worked as a contracted consultant on endangered species recovery efforts with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Turner Endangered Species Fund in New Mexico. Prior to that, he served as an Attorney and Policy Analyst for the U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, and was also in private law practice. His career has centered on bringing the best science to bear in environmental protection efforts; he has specialized in working with scientists so their findings can inform good policy, as well as in federal litigation. Most of his work has been in aid of wildlife conservation in the fields of pesticides, genetically modified organisms, invasive species, wildlife disease prevention, international trade, land use conflicts, and other areas. Peter received his law degree from the University of Puget Sound (now Seattle University) School of Law and also has a master’s degree in Environmental Studies from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, with a focus on conservation biology.

BLOG | The Risks of Paying for Agricultural Greenhouse Gas Sequestration

by Peter Jenkins | February 17, 2021
As climate programs are revived under the new Administration, the role of greenhouse gas reduction offsets ​in agriculture are under fresh scrutiny ...

PEERMail | Cautious Optimism for Biden’s Climate Direction

by Tim Whitehouse | February 1, 2021
New Biden Administration orders on climate and public lands are a call to action. Now the real work begins, and it’s not going to be easy ...

Maryland Clean Energy Program Has Big Dirty Component  

by PEER | January 28, 2021
Consumers Paying More for High-Polluting Renewables “Dressed in Green ...

Maryland Renewable Energy Report

by Susan Sargent | January 27, 2021
A large and growing portion of Maryland’s renewable “clean energy” comes from high-polluting energy sources ...

BLOG | Biden’s Approach to Climate Disruption: What Will It Mean for Federal Agencies?

by Guest Contributor | January 21, 2021
President Biden has called for a “whole of government” approach to addressing climate disruption. What does this mean ...

Arctic Refuge Becoming Oil & Gas White Elephant 

by PEER | December 28, 2020
Desperate Last-Minute Government Maneuvers Denote Industry Disinterest ...