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
Europe at a Crossroads: Innovation, Energy, and Competitiveness
October 8, 2024
Guest
Kadri Simson
European Commissioner for Energy
Europe is facing a critical challenge. When it comes to advanced technology innovation, labor productivity, and affordable energy, it’s not keeping up with the U.S. and China. At least that’s the take from Mario Draghi, former European Central Bank president, in his European Commission report last month titled, “The Future of European Competitiveness.”
The last five years for the European Union have been tumultuous – from the pandemic to an energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to the European Green Deal. How Europe moves forward in the face of these challenges will directly impact its short and long-term energy security, and the pace of its transition to clean energy. And it’s all playing out against the backdrop of an ever-worsening climate crisis.
This week, host Jason Bordoff talks with Kadri Simson. Kadri has been the European Commissioner for Energy since 2019. Before that, she was the Estonian minister for economic affairs, and held various other positions in the Estonian government.
Kadri visited the Columbia campus during Climate Week in New York City.
They discussed the impact of Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, Europe’s progress in weaning itself off Russian gas, and member states’ attitudes toward nuclear power, among other topics.
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
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
The Key to a Successful Trump Energy Agenda Is Electricity
Rather than drill, baby, drill, it should be build, baby, build.
