Partner at Rhodium Group
Over the last six years coal prices have gone from record highs to plummeting lows, putting three of the four largest U.S. coal firms into bankruptcy. Although coal mining employment has been declining for decades, Donald Trump campaigned for the U.S. presidency on a platform that promised to reverse what he called his predecessor’s “war on coal.” Since taking office, the new administration has begun to reverse Obama-era environmental policies, and is fielding increasing calls from policymakers and industry alike to do more for coal firms and jobs. This month, West Virginia governor Jim Justice proposed that the federal government provide subsidies to revive the Appalachian coal industry, calling the issue a matter of national security. Yet the Trump Administration rejected a coal industry push to win a rarely used emergency order to protect coal-fired power plants, a decision that has angered some coal executives.
To put all of these recent developments into context, host Jason Bordoff sits down with Trevor Houser, a partner at the Rhodium Group, to discuss a report they co-authored together with Peter Marsters this year–Coal Make a Comeback?–about the U.S. coal industry, its decline, and prospects for its recovery.
Indonesia’s economy is closely tied to its natural resources. It’s the world’s fourth largest producer of coal, and Southeast Asia’s largest gas supplier. But even with its connection...
Across the U.S., large scale renewable energy projects, transmission lines, and mining sites for critical minerals are built on or near tribal lands. For example, the federal government...
Geopolitics looms large over the global economy. A recent client survey by Goldman Sachs found geopolitics is the top investment risk of this year, overtaking inflation and the...
Cleaner alternatives to the oil and gas that power vital industries are necessary for economy-wide decarbonization. E-fuels, or electrofuels, are touted by some as a carbon neutral solution...
Three CGEP scholars weigh in on the consequences of the Biden administration’s decision to pause pending approvals of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports from the US to non-free...
How COP28 Demonstrated What’s Missing From Climate Diplomacy
2024 is the “ultimate election year,” with more voters than ever heading to the polls in a record 64 countries representing half of the global population.[1] This includes...