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Energy Explained
Get the latest as our experts share their insights on global energy policy.
The Future of LNG Trade: Inflexible, Inefficient, and Polarized?
This Energy Explained post represents the research and views of the author. It does not necessarily represent the views of the Center on Global Energy Policy. The piece...
Podcasts
Hear in-depth conversations with the world’s top energy and climate leaders from government, business, academia, and civil society.
The Nexus of Climate Policy and National Security
As President Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan laid out a strategy for what he called a “foreign policy for the middle class.” Using the metaphor of a...
Events
Find out more about our upcoming and past events.
April 29, 2025
• 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm
edt
Stabilizing Your Career in a Rapidly Changing Industry
Please join the Women in Energy initiative at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia SIPA for a public roundtable featuring Claire Steichen, Founder of Clear Strategy Coaching. The fast-evolving energy...
Event
• Online
Podcast
Protecting the U.S. Power Grid From Cyber Attacks
September 25, 2017
Guest
Marcus Sachs
Senior Vice President and Chief Security Officer, North American Electric Reliability Corporation
From a cyber attack this summer against at least a dozen power companies including the Wolf Creek Nuclear plant in Kansas, to continued assaults on Ukraine’s power grid by hackers, the need for increased cybersecurity measures to protect the grid and related components, like power generation, transition and distribution, has never been more real. Just this month the Trump Administration announced it is giving awards worth as as much as US$50 million to national laboratories for energy infrastructure resilience and cybersecurity projects.
To learn what these growing threats mean to the security of U.S. energy infrastructure, how well prepared private and public entities are for such attacks, and the role of public policy to prevent them, host Bill Loveless speaks with Marcus Sachs, Senior Vice President and Chief Security Officer for the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, a not for profit regulatory authority responsible for assuring the reliability and security of the power system in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Marc was a White House appointee in the George W. Bush administration, Vice President for National Security at Verizon, and he is a retired U.S. Army Officer and author of several books on information security.
More Episodes
The Nexus of Climate Policy and National Security
As President Biden’s national security advisor, Jake Sullivan laid out a strategy for what he called a “foreign policy for the middle class.” Using the metaphor of a...
Trade War Turbulence and Clean Energy
It’s hard to overstate how consequential President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs have been for American economic policy. While the administration has paused the steep reciprocal tariffs it announced...
Front Lines of the Energy Transition
In energy policy circles, the word “resilience” often refers to future-proof systems or infrastructure designed for the transition away from fossil fuels. But resilience means something different to...
Columbia Energy Exchange Podcast
• April 8, 2025
Europe’s Energy Trilemma
The European Union’s energy landscape is transforming rapidly, as the bloc works to reduce emissions, lower energy prices, and decrease dependence on Russian fuel—three goals proving to be...
Relevant
Publications
Energy and Climate Issues During the Trump Administration’s First 100 Days
President Donald Trump has made energy a clear focus for his second term in the White House. Having campaigned on an “America First” platform that highlighted domestic fossil-fuel growth, the reversal of climate policies and clean energy incentives advanced by the Biden administration, and substantial tariffs on key US trading partners, he declared an “energy emergency” on his first day in office.
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
Lessons from the Nuclear Waste Negotiator Era of the 1990s for Today’s Consent-Based Siting Efforts
Nuclear power is being weighed in energy transition plans around the world, as countries seek to replace fossil fuels with low-carbon alternatives while also meeting growing energy demand and maintaining reliability and affordability.
Reports
by Matt Bowen • September 11, 2024
Utility Policies and Practices to Alleviate US Energy Insecurity
Millions of US households struggle to meet their energy needs due to low wages, rising living costs, and other historical and structural drivers of poverty.
