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
Find out more about our upcoming and past events.
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
Podcast
40 Years Later: America’s Soft Energy Path — Amory Lovins, Rocky Mountain Institute
September 6, 2016
In 1976, Amory Lovins wrote a 10,000-word essay in Foreign Affairs that proposed a radically different path for America’s energy future. Rather than continuing to rely on nuclear and fossil fuels, Lovins suggested what he called the “soft energy path” – one of efficiency and renewable energy. It has been 40 years since Lovins, now Co-founder & Chief Scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute, wrote his seminal article. CGEP Director Jason Bordoff sits down with Amory to discuss the evolution of hard and soft energy paths and the choices now facing the US and the world.
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
A Last Chance for Iran
America should give diplomacy a final shot—while preparing to use military force.
More energy is more security
The incoming Trump administration should embrace a diverse energy mix, including renewables, for the sake of economic and national security.
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
