Energy Explained
Get the latest as our experts share their insights on global energy policy.
U.S. State Actions to Help Fossil Fuel Communities Navigate the Energy Transition
The world has committed to transitioning away from fossil fuels to avoid the most severe threats of climate change.[1] Communities across the United States rely on fossil fuel...
Podcasts
Hear in-depth conversations with the world’s top energy and climate leaders from government, business, academia, and civil society.
Inside the 2024 World Energy Outlook
Rising electricity demand. Heightened geopolitical tension. Fragility in energy markets. These are some of the big stories shaping the energy transition outlined in the International Energy Agency’s newest...
Events
Events
Trade Policy
Trade and Clean Energy Transition Program Launch
Past Event
September 26, 2024
4:30 pm - 6:00 pm edt
The Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA is hosting a series of energy and climate-focused events during Climate Week NYC from September 22-29, 2024. These events will bring together policymakers, industry leaders, scholars, and students to discuss innovative solutions, share research, and promote policies for a sustainable and equitable energy future. Topics include global renewable energy, geopolitical dynamics, critical minerals supply chains, financing, trade, and energy access. Be sure to see all our activities during the week.
Around the world, countries are making transformative investments and deploying innovative trade policies to meet the urgent challenge of climate change. This pivot towards green trade and industrial policies has coincided with a broader reassessment of the purpose and function of global trade norms, rules, and institutions. Resolving the tensions between trade and climate–and seizing the opportunities trade presents in the transition to a low-carbon economy–is essential to developing a comprehensive global strategy to facilitate the shift from fossil fuels to clean energy.
This event will serve as the first public gathering organized by the Trade and Clean Energy Transition Program, a joint program with the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA, in partnership with Columbia SIPA’s Institute of Global Politics (IGP). Key decision-makers in the trade, climate, and foreign policy communities, as well as industry representatives, will discuss the past, present, and future of climate-aligned trade and industrial policy and its impact in a pivotal election year around the world. The discussions will focus on lessons learned and the path forward for policymakers seeking to build on and foster cooperation around transformative achievements such as the Inflation Reduction Act and the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism.
Key topics will include a world defined by multiple non-identical border carbon adjustments, the treatment of green subsidies, China’s dominance of cleantech supply chains, the effects of a diminished WTO on trade cooperation, and emerging economies’ role in the green transition.
Confirmed speakers include:
- Roberto Azevêdo, Founding Partner at YvY Capital and former WTO Director General
- George David Banks, Republican adviser on manufacturing, trade and climate policy
- Jim Connaughton, Chairman of the Climate Leadership Council Center, Climate and Trade
- John Corrigan, Senior Director for Trade and Climate, Silverado Policy Accelerator
- Jennifer Hillman, Professor of Practice, Georgetown University Law Center, and former WTO Appellate Body Member
- Reta Jo Lewis, President and Chair of the Board of Directors, Export-Import Bank of the United States
- Catrina Rorke, Senior Vice President for Policy and Research, Climate Leadership Council
- Kadri Simson, Commissioner for Energy, European Union
Relevant
Publications
With or Without Tax Credits, a US-Indonesia Critical Minerals Agreement Could Raise Environmental Standards and Diversify Supply
This commentary addresses the importance of Indonesian nickel supply to US climate goals, and why a US-Indonesia critical minerals agreement could be beneficial for both countries.
Commentary
by Tom Moerenhout • November 21, 2024
The Large Benefits of a Small Pivot from a President Harris on Climate Tariffs
President Biden has merged the nation’s climate and trade policy strategies, with tariffs as a defining feature.[1] Duties have been imposed on imports of solar panels, steel, aluminum,...
The Case for Strengthening Sanctions Regimes to Fight Corruption
As new industries are emerging to support the energy transition, anti-corruption sanctions are an important part of the international effort to ensure that the global economy operates on...
