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Energy Explained
Get the latest as our experts share their insights on global energy policy.
The Future of LNG Trade: Inflexible, Inefficient, and Polarized?
This Energy Explained post represents the research and views of the author. It does not necessarily represent the views of the Center on Global Energy Policy. The piece...
Podcasts
Hear in-depth conversations with the world’s top energy and climate leaders from government, business, academia, and civil society.
The Nexus of Climate Policy and National Security
As President Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan laid out a strategy for what he called a “foreign policy for the middle class.” Using the metaphor of a...
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April 29, 2025
• 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
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Stabilizing Your Career in a Rapidly Changing Industry
Please join the Women in Energy initiative at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA for a public roundtable featuring Claire Steichen, Founder of Clear Strategy Coaching. The fast-evolving energy...
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News
Former White House Special Assistant for International Energy and Environment, George David Banks, Joins Center on Global Energy Policy
April 18, 2018
NEW YORK, April 18, 2018 – The Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) announced today that George David Banks, who served from February 2017 to February 2018 as Special Assistant to the President for International Energy and Environment at the National Economic Council and National Security Council, will join as a research fellow and adjunct research scholar. He will focus on international climate policy, nuclear energy policy, and other issues.
“Dave Banks has served at the highest levels of government on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue, and brings unique and valuable perspectives about how the intersection of economics, geopolitics, and environment informs energy policy. At a time when policymakers in Washington D.C. are deeply divided along partisan lines, it is more important than ever that our energy choices reflect open dialogue and sound analysis,” said Jason Bordoff, Professor of Professional Practice in International and Public Affairs and Founding Director of the Center on Global Energy Policy. “We are pleased to welcome Dave to CGEP’s growing team.”
Banks has had a distinguished career in energy policy. Prior to his role in the Trump Administration, he served as Republican deputy staff director of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, Senior Advisor on International Affairs and Climate Change at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, foreign service officer at the U.S. State Department, and economic analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency. He was also deputy director of the nuclear energy program at the Center for Strategic & International Studies and a lobbyist and consultant for Boyden Gray & Associates. He currently serves as Executive Vice President of the American Council on Capital Formation and is a member of the ClearPath Foundation’s advisory board.
“It’s an honor to work with such a great team and prestigious institution,” said Banks. “I’m excited about this tremendous opportunity to help shape the evolving conversation on energy and climate through sound analysis and academic work at Columbia University. The Center is clearly a leader in developing innovative energy policy here in the United States and abroad.”
Banks has been awarded the EPA Climate Protection Award for Diplomacy and a Commendable Service Award from the Central Intelligence Agency. He holds a JD from George Mason University and a MA in economics and baccalaureate degrees in history, economics, and political science from the University of Missouri at St. Louis.
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The US doesn’t have a climate policy now — until Washington is back at the global table, world environmental progress will be slow: Noah Kaufman
Economist Noah Kaufman discusses the complexities of America's energy transition, highlighting the decline of coal despite federal rhetoric. He emphasizes the need to address the economic vulnerabilities of fossil fuel-dependent communities, particularly oil and gas regions often overlooked in climate policies. Kaufman also warns that potential tariffs and US disengagement from global climate agreements could hinder progress.
The real impacts of Trump 2.0 on energy finance
Be sure to sign into your Energy Central account (register for free here) to access this full post with the podcast recording. What does a change in U.S. presidential administrations have to do with stalled solar farms in Sub-Saharan Africa or wind projects in Southeast Asia? As it turns out, quite a lot. On this episode of Power Perspectives, we explore how U.S. policy shifts
Earth Day 2025: How the Trump administration’s policies will impact global decarbonization
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