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This Energy Explained post represents the research and views of the author(s). It does not necessarily represent the views of the Center on Global Energy Policy. The piece...
The rollback of the Inflation Reduction Act through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act has reshaped America's climate and energy landscape by cutting tax incentives for wind and...
While various efforts continue to be made to estimate fashion’s environmental footprint, major gaps remain in how to decarbonize material production and reshape business practices.
Event
• International Affairs Building, 420 W. 118 St., New York, NY 10027
Room/Area: 1501
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Energy, Development and Climate Change: How development successes are fundamentally altering the global energy landscape
Past Event
April 23, 2019
1:00 pm - 2:00 pm
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As recently as 2000, industrialized countries consumed more than half of the world’s energy resources. Today, about fifteen years later, more than half of the world’s energy is being consumed in developing countries where there are over 6 billion energy consumers . . . and their share of consumption is expected to increase over the next several decades, more than doubling industrialized country consumption by 2040. And with these changes, the center of gravity of the energy landscape is shifting to the developing world. From investments to energy flows to emissions, developing countries will be the key drivers going forward. Notwithstanding this shift, developing countries still remain relatively poor compared to the OECD and other advanced economies. For example, even China, the world’s second largest economy, has a GDP per capita that is still a fraction of OECD countries, while India, Indonesia and other developing countries face even larger poverty gaps. How these countries use energy to raise the standards of living of their populations will not only determine their own development but will have global implications, notably on the effort to address climate change. Philippe Benoit will discuss some of the dynamics driving the use of energy to promote development and their implications for addressing the climate change challenge. Speaker bio: Philippe Benoit is currently Adjunct Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University leading the work of its Center on Global Energy Policy in the area of energy for development. He is also a senior associate (non-resident) with the Center on Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC. He has worked in the area of energy, development and climate change for over 20 years, including as head of the Energy Environment Division at the International Energy Agency, as Energy Sector Manager for the World Bank, and as Director-Energy Project Finance for SG Investment Bank. He has a BA from Yale University, a JD from Harvard Law School, and a DESS from the University of Paris I, Pantheon-Sorbonne. Event is co-sponsored by the Economic and Political Development Concentration, Energy and Environment Concentration and the Center on Global Energy Policy.
At a time when policymakers worldwide are re-assessing global net-zero targets and international climate goals, political shifts are driving rapid changes in energy and industrial policy. These shifts...
Event
• Penn Club of New York, 30 W. 44 St., New York, NY 10036
Room/Area: Spruce Street Room
How can AI help the energy transition? Can the dramatic advances in artificial intelligence reshaping all our lives be mobilized to accelerate the transition to clean, low-carbon energy?
Event
• Pulitzer Hall, 2950 Broadway, New York, NY 10027
Room/Area: Joseph D. Jamail Lecture Hall, 3rd Floor
While various efforts continue to be made to estimate fashion’s environmental footprint, major gaps remain in how to decarbonize material production and reshape business practices.
Event
• International Affairs Building, 420 W. 118 St., New York, NY 10027
Room/Area: 1501
Exploring the promise of AI in fighting climate change. AI is rapidly changing our lives. Climate change is an existential threat to us all. How do we mobilize...
This Energy Explained post represents the research and views of the author(s). It does not necessarily represent the views of the Center on Global Energy Policy. The piece...
On July 22, 2025, CGEP hosted a virtual roundtable under the Chatham House Rule on the World Bank's June 2025 announcement that it would reverse a long-standing, informal policy of excluding nuclear projects from its lending portfolio.
30 years ago last month, a brutal heatwave struck Chicago, killing more than 700 residents. As the city and much of the United States recently experienced another period of extreme heat, this anniversary serves as a reminder that heat remains one of the deadliest climate-related hazards — killing more people each year than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined — particularly for communities burdened by decades of disinvestment and structural barriers to health and safety.
