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Energy Explained
Get the latest as our experts share their insights on global energy policy.
Making Nuclear Regulatory Reform Durable: Efficiency Backed by Credibility and Predictability
The United States is at a rare inflection point for nuclear energy, with unprecedented momentum behind deployment and regulatory reform as nuclear becomes central to energy security, AI competitiveness, and state and corporate climate goals.
Podcasts
Hear in-depth conversations with the world’s top energy and climate leaders from government, business, academia, and civil society.
Laura Holgate on the Promise and Perils of Nuclear Innovation
The Trump administration has prioritized nuclear energy expansion, aiming to increase US nuclear capacity fourfold by 2050. This nuclear energy resurgence in the US is a rare issue...
Events
Find out more about our upcoming and past events.
February 16, 2026 - February 18, 2026
• 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
est
The Energy Transition from a Fiscal Angle – A Two Part Workshop
This workshop will be conducted in two parts: Part one on February 16 from 1:00 PM to 2:00 PM EST, and Part two on February 18 from 1:00 PM to...
Event
• Center on Global Energy Policy
1255 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10027
1255 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10027
News
Dr. Luay al-Khatteeb Joins the Center on Global Energy Policy as a Distinguished Visiting Fellow
July 15, 2021
Dr. Luay al-Khatteeb, a former Minister of Electricity for the Republic of Iraq, has joined Columbia’s Center on Global Energy Policy as a Distinguished Visiting Fellow. In this role he will focus on the energy dynamics in the Middle East and specifically on economic reform in post-conflict states like Iraq and their efforts towards lowering carbon emissions.
“We’re thrilled to have Dr. al-Khatteeb return to the Center,” said Jason Bordoff, Founding Director of CGEP. “He brings valuable expertise in energy from the Middle East. As we continue to think through what a global energy transition needs to look like, his first hand experience in the region will help guide our policy research.”
Among several goals he outlined, Dr. al-Khatteeb said he would focus on the impact the Paris Agreement has had on the Middle East’s resource-rich economies post-COVID-19. This includes looking at resource-based development strategies and economic growth, distribution of natural resource rents, challenges related to domestic demand growth, diversification, and the deployment of renewables.
“I will also investigate the implications of emerging technologies on the energy transition,” said Dr. al-Khatteeb. He said he would analyze the future of the fossil fuel market and energy policies across the region. He will examine the creation of a sensible balance in conflicting energy agendas and challenges ahead in both the electricity and petroleum industry for selected OPEC countries.
Dr. al-Khatteeb is also the founding director of Iraq Energy Institute, and a former Foreign Policy Fellow at Brookings Institution. His professional experiences span over twenty years in business development and public policy with executive capacities as director and senior advisor to various multilateral institutions, international oil companies, commercial banks and management consulting firms. He is working on two books, the first addresses the comparative energy policy frameworks in federal systems, and the second on the political economy of Iraq post 2003.
Related
More News
Turkey emerges as key EU gas market risk as US-Iran talks unfold
“Any additional volatility in pipeline flows from Iran to Turkey would deepen Turkey’s bid in the Atlantic basin LNG market, diverting incremental cargoes from northwest Europe,” said Benjamin Gage, founder of Balance Point Research. This would likely result in higher European benchmark TTF prices, with the market needing to “reprice higher to protect its share of flexible LNG supply”, he added. American and Iranian diplomats held a first round of negotiations in Oman on Friday, easing immediate fears of escalation, although there was no decisive breakthrough, including around Iran’s nuclear programme. Turkey imported around 22mcm/day of natural gas via pipeline from Iran in 2025, Gage said,
US natural gas exporters brace for global glut
A surge of liquefied natural gas around the globe could hurt American exporters who continue to build new projects.
Relevant
Publications
Assessing US Government Efforts to Support Fossil Fuel–Reliant Communities
The decline of domestic fossil fuel production in the United States poses serious economic risks for communities that rely on fossil fuel industries for jobs and public revenues. Many of these communities lack the resources and capacity to manage those risks on their own. The absence of viable economic strategies for affected regions is a barrier to building the broad, durable coalitions needed for an equitable national transition to cleaner energy sources.
Reports
by Noah Kaufman • February 05, 2026
Making Nuclear Regulatory Reform Durable: Efficiency Backed by Credibility and Predictability
The United States is at a rare inflection point for nuclear energy, with unprecedented momentum behind deployment and regulatory reform as nuclear becomes central to energy security, AI competitiveness, and state and corporate climate goals.
How a Conflict in Iran Could Affect Oil Markets in the Gulf Arab States
Multiple US–Iran conflict scenarios carry materially different risks for global oil infrastructure, transit routes, and prices.
