This website uses cookies as well as similar tools and technologies to understand visitors’ experiences. By continuing to use this website, you consent to Columbia University’s usage of cookies and similar technologies, in accordance with the Columbia University Website Cookie Notice.
Energy Explained
Get the latest as our experts share their insights on global energy policy.
How DOE’s Announcement on Data Centers Could Impact the Grid
The US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has directed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to make a rule that would help rapidly move electricity onto the US grid in large amounts.
Podcasts
Hear in-depth conversations with the world’s top energy and climate leaders from government, business, academia, and civil society.
Amy Harder on Climate and Energy Reporting
The national conversation around climate change is shifting. There’s more focus on energy affordability and demand, as well as on the dual role artificial intelligence plays as both...
Events
Find out more about our upcoming and past events.
December 10, 2025
• 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
est
Responsible Mining in Latin America: The Extractive Transition and Social License, a Crossroad for the Andean Region
The event is for CUID holders only. Please note: space is limited. The Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA invites Columbia University students to a...
Event
• Large Conference Room
Center on Global Energy Policy
Center on Global Energy Policy
Long a leader in progressive climate change legislation, the European Union doubled down on those ambitions this week as it pushed forward a groundbreaking green stimulus package to revive its pandemic-ravaged economies. On July 21, 2020, EU leaders reached agreement, subject to ratification by the European Parliament and national legislatures, on their new green stimulus, a package entitled Next Generation EU. This package will make fighting climate change central to Europe’s recovery, with large sums earmarked for green investments and carbon reduction goals. There remains disagreement about the package and criticism from some member states that are heavily dependent on hydrocarbons, as well as from some environmentalists who say it doesn’t go far enough. At the end of last week, the EU parliament approved a non-binding resolution criticizing the deal.
On this episode of the Columbia Energy Exchange, host Jason Bordoff is joined by someone who has been at the forefront of the EU’s response, Executive Vice President of the European Commission in Charge of the European Green Deal, Frans Timmermans. Frans Timmermans is a Dutch politician and diplomat who has served as First Vice President of the European Commission since 2014. Since December 2019, he has served as the Executive Vice President of the European Commission for the European Green Deal and simultaneously as the European Commissioner for Climate Action. He was previously Minister of Foreign Affairs and State Secretary for Foreign Affairs for the Netherlands. Earlier in his career, he was a member of the Dutch House of Representatives for the Labour Party and a civil servant in the diplomatic service of the Netherlands before becoming active in politics.
What policies help stimulate economic activity, can be done in a reasonably quick timeframe, and also help address climate change? They discuss what’s included in the Next Generation EU package and what the deal might mean for carbon reduction, climate change and economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, both in the EU and around the world.
More Episodes
Amy Harder on Climate and Energy Reporting
The national conversation around climate change is shifting. There’s more focus on energy affordability and demand, as well as on the dual role artificial intelligence plays as both...
In a Charged Environment, FERC Faces Demands for Energy
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulates the United States’ energy transmission, pipeline networks, and wholesale rates for electricity. For much of its history, FERC was a little-known...
World Energy Outlook 2025: Navigating Divergent Futures
Around the globe, and here in the United States, energy markets face huge uncertainties. They include everything from rising geopolitical tensions to a wave of new liquefied natural...
Building Energy Policy on Evidence
Elected officials face huge challenges when it comes to energy policymaking. They have very little time to learn complicated, nuanced issues. They're bombarded by information — some of...
Relevant
Publications
Regulatory Progress for Project-Based Carbon Credit Markets: Pre-COP30 Roundtable Summary
On November 6, 2025, in the lead-up to the annual UN Conference of the Parties (COP30), the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia University SIPA convened a roundtable on project-based carbon credit markets (PCCMs) in São Paulo, Brazil—a country that both hosted this year’s COP and is well-positioned to shape the next phase of global carbon markets by leveraging its experience in nature-based solutions.
Summaries
by Gautam Jain, Preetha Jenarthan, Victoria Barreto Vieira do Prado + 3 more • December 04, 2025
America’s Toothless Sanctions on Russian Oil
Last month, the Trump administration imposed fresh sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, signaling a renewed desire to drive Moscow to the negotiating table in its war against Ukraine. But although these measures have the potential to harm the Russian economy, just how much damage they inflict will depend largely on one actor: Beijing. China bought almost half the oil Russia exported in 2024, evading Washington’s existing restrictions in the process. And new sanctions alone will do little to push China into significantly reducing its purchases.
What the Global Electric Vehicle Market Signals for US Automakers and Policymakers
Commentary
by Pierpaolo Cazzola • November 24, 2025
Opinion: Time for CT to rethink its climate strategy
Connecticut needs an honest debate, and fresh thinking, to shape a climate strategy fit for today, not 2022.
