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Energy Explained
Get the latest as our experts share their insights on global energy policy.
How DOE’s Announcement on Data Centers Could Impact the Grid
The US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright has directed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to make a rule that would help rapidly move electricity onto the US grid in large amounts.
Podcasts
Hear in-depth conversations with the world’s top energy and climate leaders from government, business, academia, and civil society.
Amy Harder on Climate and Energy Reporting
The national conversation around climate change is shifting. There’s more focus on energy affordability and demand, as well as on the dual role artificial intelligence plays as both...
Events
Find out more about our upcoming and past events.
December 10, 2025
• 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm
est
Responsible Mining in Latin America: The Extractive Transition and Social License, a Crossroad for the Andean Region
The event is for CUID holders only. Please note: space is limited. The Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University SIPA invites Columbia University students to a...
Event
• Large Conference Room
Center on Global Energy Policy
Center on Global Energy Policy
Guest
Nader Sultan
Former CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation
Since the 1930’s when oil was first discovered in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, the countries that make up the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) — Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman, and Bahrain — have been key players in the global oil market. While their vast endowment of oil resources has enhanced the region’s economic and geopolitical importance, it has also linked its fate to the cycle of oil prices. The rapid pace of change in the energy sector today, from the rise of US shale and the historic collapse in oil prices to the growing international commitment to address climate change, poses key challenges for the GCC. How the countries deal with these issues will have profound implications for them and the world as a whole.
On this episode of Columbia Energy Exchange, Jason Bordoff, the director of the Center on Global Energy Policy, sat down with Nader Sultan, the former CEO of Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, who is now a Senior Partner in the company F&N Consultancy as well as the Director of the Oxford Energy Seminar. The discussion touched on a range of topics, including:
- How are GCC countries adapting to the lower oil price environment?
- What are the implications of Saudi Arabia’s ambitious National Transformation Program?
- How has the Paris climate agreement affected GCC business plans and long-term energy strategies?
- Does OPEC still matter for the world in terms of oil production decisions? Is Saudi Arabia still a swing producer?
- How do geopolitics weigh on OPEC relations and decisions, especially given the tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia?
This conversation was originally recorded on June 14, 2016.
More Episodes
Amy Harder on Climate and Energy Reporting
The national conversation around climate change is shifting. There’s more focus on energy affordability and demand, as well as on the dual role artificial intelligence plays as both...
In a Charged Environment, FERC Faces Demands for Energy
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulates the United States’ energy transmission, pipeline networks, and wholesale rates for electricity. For much of its history, FERC was a little-known...
World Energy Outlook 2025: Navigating Divergent Futures
Around the globe, and here in the United States, energy markets face huge uncertainties. They include everything from rising geopolitical tensions to a wave of new liquefied natural...
Building Energy Policy on Evidence
Elected officials face huge challenges when it comes to energy policymaking. They have very little time to learn complicated, nuanced issues. They're bombarded by information — some of...
Relevant
Publications
Regulatory Progress for Project-Based Carbon Credit Markets: Pre-COP30 Roundtable Summary
On November 6, 2025, in the lead-up to the annual UN Conference of the Parties (COP30), the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia University SIPA convened a roundtable on project-based carbon credit markets (PCCMs) in São Paulo, Brazil—a country that both hosted this year’s COP and is well-positioned to shape the next phase of global carbon markets by leveraging its experience in nature-based solutions.
Summaries
by Gautam Jain, Preetha Jenarthan, Victoria Barreto Vieira do Prado + 3 more • December 04, 2025
America’s Toothless Sanctions on Russian Oil
Last month, the Trump administration imposed fresh sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, signaling a renewed desire to drive Moscow to the negotiating table in its war against Ukraine. But although these measures have the potential to harm the Russian economy, just how much damage they inflict will depend largely on one actor: Beijing. China bought almost half the oil Russia exported in 2024, evading Washington’s existing restrictions in the process. And new sanctions alone will do little to push China into significantly reducing its purchases.
What the Global Electric Vehicle Market Signals for US Automakers and Policymakers
Commentary
by Pierpaolo Cazzola • November 24, 2025
Opinion: Time for CT to rethink its climate strategy
Connecticut needs an honest debate, and fresh thinking, to shape a climate strategy fit for today, not 2022.
