A New Unifying Issue: Just About Everyone Hates Data Centers
Recent election results and evidence from states show misgivings about the growth of AI and the ramifications for energy costs and the environment.
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Energy’s Digital FutureHarnessing Innovation for American Resilience and National Security By Amy Myers Jaffe, Research Professor and Managing Director at the Climate Policy Lab at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, and Co-Chair of the Women in Energy Steering Committee at the Center on Global Energy Policy. Disruptive digital technologies are poised to reshape world energy markets. A new wave of industrial innovation, driven by the convergence of automation, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics, is remaking energy and transportation systems in ways that could someday end the age of oil. What are the consequences—not only for the environment and for daily life but also for geopolitics and the international order? Amy Myers Jaffe provides an expert look at the promises and challenges of the future of energy, highlighting what the United States needs to do to maintain its global influence in a post-oil era. She surveys new advances coming to market in on-demand travel services, automation, logistics, energy storage, artificial intelligence, and 3-D printing and explores how this rapid pace of innovation is altering international security dynamics in fundamental ways. As the United States vacillates politically about its energy trajectory, China is proactively striving to become the global frontrunner in a full-scale global energy transformation. In order to maintain its leadership role, Jaffe argues, the United States must embrace the digital revolution and foster American achievement. Bringing together analyses of technological innovation, energy policy, and geopolitics, Energy’s Digital Future gives indispensable insight into the path the United States will need to pursue to ensure its lasting economic competitiveness and national security in a new energy age. About the AuthorAmy Myers Jaffe is research professor and managing director at the Climate Policy Lab at Tufts University’s Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. She also serves as the co-chair of the Women in Energy Steering Committee at Columbia University’s Center on Global Energy Policy. She is coauthor of Oil, Dollars, Debt, and Crises: The Global Curse of Black Gold (2009) and coeditor of Natural Gas and Geopolitics: From 1970 to 2040 (2006), among other books. |
Economic, political, and fiscal realities have shifted energy policy priorities across the globe toward the goals of affordability and competitiveness.
CGEP scholars reflect on some of the standout issues of the day during this year's Climate Week
Plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) are reshaping the transportation energy landscape, providing a practical alternative to petroleum fuels for a growing number of applications. EV sales grew 55× in the past decade (2014–2024) and 6× since 2020, driven by technological progress enabled by policies to reduce transportation emissions as well as industrial plans motivated by strategic value of EVs for global competitiveness, jobs and geopolitics. In 2024, 22% of passenger cars sold globally were EVs and opportunities for EVs beyond on-road applications are growing, including solutions to electrify off-road vehicles, maritime and aviation. This Review updates and expands our 2020 assessment of the scientific literature and describes the current status and future projections of EV markets, charging infrastructures, vehicle–grid integration and supply chains in the USA. EV is the lowest-emission motorized on-road transportation option, with life-cycle emissions decreasing as electricity emissions continue to decrease. Charging infrastructure grew in line with EV adoption but providing ubiquitous reliable and convenient charging remains a challenge. EVs are reducing electricity costs in several US markets and coordinated EV charging can improve grid resilience and reduce electricity costs for all consumers. The current trajectory of technology improvement and industrial investments points to continued acceleration of EVs. Electric vehicles are increasingly adopted in the USA, with concurrent expansion of charging infrastructure and electricity demand. This Review details these trends and discusses their drivers and broader implications.