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
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
September 16, 2020
The Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA announced today that Dr. Leah Stokes and Dr. Catherine Wolfram will participate in CGEP’s Visiting Faculty program for the fall term. The Center on Global Energy Policy’s Visiting Faculty program supports interdisciplinary research and understanding about key global energy and climate issues by inviting academic scholars from external institutions to become part of the Columbia community, focused on advancing smart, actionable and evidence-based policy solutions through research, education and dialogue.
Faculty are invited to participate by CGEP’s Academic Steering Committee, chaired by Dr. Geoffrey M. Heal, Donald C. Waite III Professor of Social Enterprise in the Faculty of Business, and Jason Bordoff, Professor of Professional Practice in International and Public Affairs and Founding Director of CGEP.
“Based at one of the world’s top research institutions, the Center on Global Energy Policy bridges the gap between academic research and policy,” said Dr. Heal. “Faculty who visit the Center through this program will have the unique opportunity to draw from and build on the broad academic research being conducted across the University, and to focus it on policy solutions, sharing ideas, creating solutions and fostering cooperation to address today’s most pressing energy and climate issues.”
CGEP awards Visiting Faculty positions to innovative scholars focusing on one of its core disciplines, including renewable energy, oil and natural gas, geopolitics, energy markets and finance, climate change and the environment, technology and innovation.
“We could not be more pleased to have Dr. Leah Stokes and Dr. Catherine Wolfram participate in our Visiting Faculty Program this semester,” said Mr. Bordoff. “Both of these scholars have made meaningful and lasting contributions in their fields, Leah in the intersection of public policy, political behavior, energy and climate, and Catherine in energy and environmental economics. Our team at CGEP and Columbia University at large will greatly benefit from their engagement in our research, events, and student-facing opportunities.”
CGEP’s Visiting Faculty program allows participants to share insights and engage with experts across Columbia University’s broad, multidisciplinary networks; identify new opportunities for high-impact research and programming; and raise the visibility of data-driven, actionable policy solutions. Through the program, participants host public events, faculty lectures and student seminars, and contribute to ongoing CGEP research initiatives.
About Dr. Leah Stokes
Dr. Leah Stokes is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and affiliated with the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management and the Environmental Studies Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). Her research examines public policy, public opinion and political behavior, with a focus on energy, environment and climate change. Her recent book Short Circuiting Policy (Oxford University Press) examines how interest groups have tried to weaken clean energy laws across the American states. Other ongoing projects include examining protests against energy infrastructure, political staff in Congress, environmentalists’ electoral participation, violence against environmental activists, and effective water conservation policy in California. Prior to academia, Dr. Stokes worked at the Parliament of Canada and Resources for the Future. She is also the co-Chair of the Scholars Strategy Network’s Working Group on Energy & Climate, and a Fellow at the Initiative for Sustainable Energy Policy at John Hopkins SAIS and the University of Calgary School of Public Policy. She completed her doctoral degree in Public Policy in the Department of Urban Studies and Planning’s Environmental Policy & Planning group at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received a Master of Science degree from MIT’s Political Science Department. Before that, she completed a Master of Public Administration degree in Environmental Science & Policy at SIPA and the Earth Institute at Columbia University. She also has a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology and East Asian Studies from the University of Toronto.
About Dr. Catherine Wolfram
Dr. Catherine Wolfram is the Cora Jane Flood Professor of Business Administration at the Haas School of Business, where she serves as Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Chair of the Faculty. She is a leading expert on energy and environmental economics, and serves as the Program Director of the National Bureau of Economic Research’s Environment and Energy Economics Program, and an affiliated faculty member in the Agriculture and Resource Economics department and the Energy and Resources Group at Berkeley. Dr. Wolfram has published extensively on the economics of energy markets. Her work has analyzed rural electrification programs in the developing world, energy efficiency programs in the US, the effects of environmental regulation on energy markets and the impact of privatization and restructuring in the US and UK. She is currently implementing several randomized controlled trials to evaluate energy programs in the US, Ghana and Kenya. She received a doctoral degree in Economics from MIT in 1996 and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard in 1989. Before joining the faculty at UC Berkeley, she was an Assistant Professor of Economics at Harvard.
About the Center on Global Energy Policy
The Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA advances smart, actionable and evidence-based energy and climate solutions through research, education and dialogue. Based at one of the world’s top research universities, what sets CGEP apart is our ability to communicate academic research, scholarship and insights in formats and on timescales that are useful to decision makers. We bridge the gap between academic research and policy — complementing and strengthening the world-class research already underway at Columbia University, while providing support, expertise, and policy recommendations to foster stronger, evidence-based policy. Recently, Columbia University President Lee Bollinger announced the creation of a new Climate School — the first in the nation — to tackle the most urgent environmental and public health challenges facing humanity.
Related
More News
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.
President Joe Biden sets new US climate target just weeks before Donald Trump takes office
Climate sceptic Donald Trump is expected to ditch climate plans when he takes office next month. But President Biden allies said the new target provides a "North Star" for regional governments and businesses that will continue to pursue climate action.
🔦 IEA to spotlight AI and power use
IEA to spotlight AI and power use
A strange new climate era is beginning to take hold
The next 10 years will look very different for the story of climate change.
Relevant
Publications
What Trump Can Do to Reverse US Climate Policy − and What He Probably Can’t Change
While he hasn’t released an official plan, Trump’s playbook the last time he was in office and his frequent complaints about clean energy offer clues to what’s ahead.
How the Next US President Could Shape Energy and Climate Policy
November’s election for president of the United States will have crucial implications for the nation’s and world’s energy and climate policies.
Blog
by Jason Bordoff, Karen E. Young, Erica Downs, Shayak Sengupta, Gautam Jain, Robert (RJ) Johnston, Ira Joseph, Luisa Palacios, Diego Rivera Rivota, Jonathan Elkind, Anne-Sophie Corbeau & Noah Kaufman • October 15, 2024
Climate of Contempt
Why is the United States struggling to enact policies to reduce carbon emissions? Conventional wisdom holds that the wealthy and powerful are to blame, as the oligarchs and corporations that wield disproportionate sway over politicians prioritize their short-term financial interests over the climate’s long-term health.
Books
by David Spence • September 11, 2024
Purchase Book
