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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.
Jigar Shah Wants to Depoliticize Energy
As political support for clean energy has waxed and waned over the past twenty years, so has the government’s financial backing. In the 2010s, critics pointed to the...
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
Peter Davidson, former Executive Director of the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, joining as non-resident Fellow
September 8, 2015
The Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA) announced Peter Davidson today as a non-resident Fellow. Davidson’s work at the Center will focus on: 1) the intersection of energy and financial markets, specifically how innovations in financial and market products can lower the cost of energy and support the transition to a lower carbon energy future; and 2) the causes and impacts of the relative scarcity and abundance, respectively, of US and foreign capital to fund our energy future.
Davidson is joining the Center directly from his role as the Executive Director of the Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office where he served since 2013. Prior to joining DOE, Davidson served as a Senior Advisor for Energy and Economic Development at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and as the Executive Director of the Empire State Development Corp. Before entering public service, Davidson had an extensive career in the private sector, both as an entrepreneur in the media industry and working for Morgan Stanley and Lehman Brothers among other institutions. He earned his MBA at Harvard University and his BA at Stanford University.
“Peter has built his distinguished career in both the public and private sectors by leveraging on-the-ground insights with innovative thinking,” said Jason Bordoff, founding director of the Center on Global Energy Policy. “We are delighted that he will be bringing that same rigor and policy-relevance to his research as part of the Center’s growing portfolio. It’s very exciting to have him join our rapidly growing team.”
The Fellows Program brings prominent energy thought leaders to the Center on Global Energy Policy to research and write, teach, and otherwise contribute to Columbia University’s robust and deep intellectual community focused on energy issues.
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.
