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Economic, political, and fiscal realities have shifted energy policy priorities across the globe toward the goals of affordability and competitiveness.
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It was great to see so many of you in my hometown last week for New York Climate Week–whether at various events and nightcaps or while giving you a ride through the traffic-clogged streets on my e-bike.
I’ll share a few quick observations from the week overall, as well as from the myriad events that the Center on Global Energy Policy organized.
There was more focus on the broader set of energy policy goals: not only decarbonization (as urgent as that is), but also security, affordability, and economic development. I heard multiple calls for more pragmatism and realism, which, as I recently told the The New York Times, are welcome but also seldom accompanied by a clear understanding of what those words mean other than we need to move more slowly to bring global emissions down–even as the extreme threats of climate change are only intensifying. (President Trump’s claim in his UN speech that climate change is a “con job” is not supported by the vast majority of scientific evidence.)
Issues of energy security and affordability were much higher on the agenda against a backdrop of growing geopolitical competition and conflict, geoeconomic fragmentation, and great-power rivalry. Critically important emerging market nations, such as India and Brazil, are increasingly caught in the middle of these tensions, a topic we explored at length in CGEP events this week (more below).
I heard a lot of optimism about how cheap renewables are and how they could eradicate geopolitical risks by ending dependence on globally traded oil and gas, with not enough recognition that the reason they are so cheap is a multi-decade Chinese industrial policy that means China now dominates those supply chains. (Despite its own rapid deployment of clean energy, China put forth a new nationally determined contribution this week widely viewed as underwhelming in ambition.) That’s not a reason to oppose renewables, but those new risks need to be acknowledged and addressed. There was also inadequate discussion about the massive fiscal challenges that lie ahead as the US deficit balloons and Europe ramps up defense spending, which risks constraining capital for the clean energy transition.
Energy affordability was also much more top of mind this year–with power prices rising in the US, artificial intelligence (AI) spurring rapid power demand growth, insufficient progress made in Europe to address the competitiveness impacts of high energy prices, and lower-income countries continuing to face cost challenges to expand energy access and clean cooking solutions. The constant refrain that solar and wind are the cheapest forms of energy has much truth to it, but is insufficient to address the myriad barriers – political economy, regulation, total system-level needs, geopolitics, etc. – to deploying clean energy faster.
The intersection of these national security, energy security, affordability, economic development, and geopolitical issues with the energy transition has been the focus of CGEP’s work since its inception, and feels ever more critical to addressing climate change today. As my friend Meghan O’Sullivan and I wrote in the New York Times nearly four years ago, “if climate ambition comes into tension with energy reliability or affordability or the security of energy supplies, climate ambition will lose.” Unfortunately, that captures well what we saw at Climate Week this year.
To start the week, I joined Amy Harder and Chuck McCutcheon at Axios House for a conversation with industry and policy leaders on how they are working to balance ambitious climate goals with energy affordability. It was very interesting to hear from Exelon CEO Calvin Butler and other industry leaders about the challenges they are facing to meet energy demands of customers while also navigating both decarbonization goals and cost concerns.
A highlight of the week was a high-level roundtable about how the turbulent geopolitical environment is impacting the energy transition that CGEP hosted with Sumant Sinha, CEO of ReNew, and Maurice Berns, Managing Director & Senior Partner; Chair, Center for Energy Impact at Boston Consulting Group (BCG). We were honored to have European Commission Commissioner Dan Jørgensen, US Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, my SIPA colleague Secretary Jack Lew, EQT Corporation CEO Toby Z. Rice and others join us to offer their reflections – and engage in some respectful dialogue and occasionally disagreement – on how the world is navigating today’s complex geopolitical landscape.
CGEP was honored to host COP30 Brazil President Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago for a timely conversation on key priorities for the COP presidency in Belem later this year, with a focus on the intersection of climate, energy, and trade priorities. CGEP and the Institute of Global Politics at Columbia University launched a new program on this topic last Climate Week, and the discussion with Amb. do Lago was held under that effort’s International Dialogue on Climate and Trade. The climate-trade nexus holds promise to strengthen climate ambition through industrial policies, subsidies, and carbon border measures, but also carries risks of friction, fragmentation, and unfairness. For many countries, particularly across the Global South, there is deep concern about being left further behind.
Amb. Do Lago discussed at length on the importance of climate and trade at the upcoming COP, and how CGEP/IGP’s dialogue helped inspire Brazil’s launch of the COP’s Integrated Forum on Climate Change and Trade, a three-year dialogue among interested governments to explore potential areas of collaboration and push ambition at the trade and climate nexus.
Our Women in Energy program organized a large number of events this week. One of the highlights for me is always welcoming everyone to the program’s annual (and VERY popular) careers reception at Climate Week, this year focused on connecting early and mid-career professionals to leaders tracking the flow of climate capital—from venture investments to government grants. The event is always a highlight of the week for me. It bridges the gap between energy, financial, and policy professionals on the one hand and students and early-career professionals on the other, helping them make valuable connections and discuss how to work in this increasingly popular career field. Later in the week, our Women in Energy Program Director Jessica Weis participated in a panel discussion at Goals House, hosted by GE Vernova and featuring their CEO Scott Strazik and Allen Blue, co-founder of LinkedIn, discussing how young people can work with companies to advance the global energy transition.
India and the Global South are taking on a bigger role on the world stage in all conversations around geopolitics, energy security, and a just energy transition. I really enjoyed chairing a high-level roundtable discussion with two friends from two of India’s best research institutions focused on global energy, climate change, and sustainability issues: Arunabha Ghosh, CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), and Rahul Tongia, Senior Fellow, the Centre for Social and Economic Progress. It was a rich discussion, allowing us to explore how countries in the Global South are approaching the need to both meet their rapidly growing energy needs while also trying to accelerate a transition to cleaner forms of energy. Additionally, we explored current tensions in the very important bilateral relationship between the US and India with insights from leaders such as Eric Garcetti, former Ambassador to India.
I also moderated a World Economic Forum (WEF) panel on the progress – and challenges – of the global energy transition with Sumant Sinha, David G. Victor, and Dr. Rebecca Boudreaux. We discussed clean energy financing trends, deep decarbonization, the challenges of geopolitical tensions for emerging markets like India, and what to expect from COP30. It was a great discussion to take stock of where we are today, and opportunities for progress in clean energy and clean fuels.
Another common topic of discussion at Climate Week this year was the challenge of meeting the rapid growth in power demand for data centers to support the increasing use of AI applications, as well as the potential for AI to provide a powerful tool to better manage energy systems, increase energy efficiency, and bolster clean energy deployment. CGEP co-hosted several conversations on this topic alongside Adam Tooze and the Columbia University Committee on Global Thought and the Yale Planetary Solutions, featuring Inaugural Fellow David Sandalow and thought leaders from industry, venture capital, and academia discussing the challenges and opportunities of this era of rapid AI growth.
CGEP also partnered with SIPA’s Columbia Institute of Global Politics for a set of engaging conversations about trends in US energy policy on the heels of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that rolled back parts of the Inflation Reduction Act, opportunities for bipartisan action on priorities like permitting reform, and how companies are navigating a new era of policy uncertainty, geopolitical competition, and rising state capitalism. The program featured a panel with global Chief Sustainability Officers from Equinor, GE Vernova, and ReNew, moderated by CGEP Distinguished Visiting Fellow Dave Turk, which focused on challenges and opportunities that global industrial leaders are facing in the increasingly dynamic and shifting global energy landscape. I then had a conversation with US Congressman Sean Casten on the current state-of-US energy policy and climate action, and where there may be opportunities for optimism in energy and climate policy in the future.
Our extraordinary scholars at CGEP hosted a number of other high-level roundtable conversations on topics such as financing critical mineral extraction, financing commercial-scale technologies, and project-based carbon credit markets. The conversations addressed issues such as whether the MP Materials deal could be a template for future deals, and what government taking equity stakes may mean for critical minerals and financing projects. They also discussed the potential for geothermal and nuclear energy, what regulations are needed for carbon markets, and where policy and investments can jointly advance progress on these issues.
Other events included one on Transforming Fashion’s Footprint: Innovation and Business, a sold-out on-campus event focused on key challenges and opportunities for climate and energy transition actions in the fashion sector.
Perhaps the most important insight I can share as a native New Yorker is that BY FAR the most convenient and efficient way to get around the city and avoid the UNGA gridlock is by bike. I had lots of people take me up on offers to ride on the back to zip through traffic to their next meeting or dinners, which was also a great way for me to have time to catch up with friends like former US Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz.
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