The CEI has been instrumental in forcing the EPA to provide records demonstrating that the legally required due diligence had been performed when the EPA declared CO2 as a “pollution” (it wasn’t) and thus subject to regulation.
And while I can’t speak to how many at CEI have been influenced by Ayn Rand, it’s clear that some have per this article.
This is also true of the Heartland Institute. And in fact, this is true for much of the opposition to Global Warming. And it’s fairly common to find references to Rand in comments/posts of various skeptic blogs, such as Watt’s Up With That.