How Trump could undo portions of Biden’s climate legacy
Biden's most recent climate initiatives are all but certain to be short-lived, mostly thanks to an obscure law that tends to come into play every four years.
Energy Explained
Get the latest as our experts share their insights on global energy policy.
Trade Policy Disputes at COP Are Here to Stay
This year’s Conference of the Parties (COP-29) broke new ground with the Baku Initiative for Climate Finance, Investment, and Trade (BICFIT)—the first high-profile COP initiative to place trade...
Podcasts
Hear in-depth conversations with the world’s top energy and climate leaders from government, business, academia, and civil society.
Transforming America’s Power System
This week host Jason Bordoff talks with Cheryl LaFleur and David Hill about the incoming Trump administration, its impact on FERC, and the status of permitting reform measures.
Events
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January 30, 2025
• 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm
est
Can AI Help Reduce Emissions of Greenhouse Gases?
Please join the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs for a special webinar "Can AI Help Reduce Emissions of...
Webinar
• Zoom Webinar
Guest
Fatih Birol
Executive Director, International Energy Agency
2022 was a landmark year for the energy transition. The world added a record amount of renewable energy, expanding the global installed capacity by nearly 10%. Electric vehicles also had a record year, reaching 10 million sales worldwide, a stunning 55% increase over the previous year. Yet despite this tremendous progress, the world is still not on track to meet its climate goals, with oil and gas demand predicted to be higher in 2030 than today.
Meanwhile, volatility in global energy markets is continuing to drive uncertainty over the future of the energy transition. Imbalances between supply and demand drove energy prices to dizzying heights last year, and 75 million people around the world lost access to electricity as a result.
What will it take to bring clean energy deployment in line with climate goals? What does the energy transition mean for the future of fossil fuels? And how can world leaders protect energy reliability in the transition to net zero?
This week host Jason Bordoff talks with Fatih Birol.
Fatih is the executive director of the International Energy Agency, the intergovernmental organization tasked with providing data and policy analysis regarding the global energy sector. He spent more than 20 years at the IEA prior to becoming executive director. Most recently, he served as chief economist, in charge of the organization’s flagship publication, the World Energy Outlook. Before joining the IEA, Fatih worked for OPEC, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.
This episode of the Columbia Energy Exchange is a recording of a live, in-person conversation that took place on April 12th during the Columbia Global Energy Summit 2023.
More Episodes
Transforming America’s Power System
This week host Jason Bordoff talks with Cheryl LaFleur and David Hill about the incoming Trump administration, its impact on FERC, and the status of permitting reform measures.
COP29: A Veteran’s Account of the UN Process
The international climate negotiation process stands at a critical juncture. At the recent COP29 summit in Azerbaijan, nations struggled to find common ground on financial support and carbon...
The Cybersecurity Stakes of the Energy Transition
The energy transition is transforming how we power our world – clean energy systems are becoming more interconnected, automated, and reliant on digital infrastructure. But with this transformation...
Minimizing Damage as Mining for Critical Minerals Ramps Up
The clean energy transition has a dirty underside. To move away from fossil fuels and toward solar, wind, batteries, and other alternative sources of energy, we have to intensify mining operations for critical minerals like lithium, copper, and cobalt.
Relevant
Publications
Fossil Fuel Provisions of the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 and Their Effects on Climate Goals
A bipartisan permitting-reform proposal in the US Senate includes provisions that reduce barriers to an improved electricity transmission system, which would help fortify the country’s energy system and accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels.
Fact Sheet
by Noah Kaufman • December 20, 2024
The Key to a Successful Trump Energy Agenda Is Electricity
Rather than drill, baby, drill, it should be build, baby, build.
2024 Aspen-Columbia Global Energy Forum Report
This report captures diverse perspectives and offers a comprehensive look at the challenges and pathways toward a sustainable energy future.
External Publications
by Jason Bordoff, Mari Elka Pangestu & Luisa Palacios •
The Aspen Institute Energy and Environment Program
• November 11, 2024
The US has a Hydrogen Demand Problem – Despite Generous Incentives
When the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) was passed in August 2022, it triggered unprecedented enthusiasm among potential hydrogen suppliers.[1] More than two years later, progress on final investment...
