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Energy Explained
Get the latest as our experts share their insights on global energy policy.
Six Key Issues That Defined Climate Week 2025
CGEP scholars reflect on some of the standout issues of the day during this year's Climate Week
Blog
by Erica Downs, Dave Turk, Kate Guy, Gautam Jain, Luisa Palacios, David Sandalow, Vivek Shastry & Jack Andreasen Cavanaugh • October 10, 2025
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Hear in-depth conversations with the world’s top energy and climate leaders from government, business, academia, and civil society.
Building a New Energy Industrial Strategy
Industrial policy, supply chain security, and economic competitiveness are central to how we think about clean energy deployment. As the Trump administration pulls back federal support for the...
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October 16, 2025
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The global oil market is in free fall, following the collapse of a meeting last week of OPEC and non-OPEC producers. Saudi Arabia decided to surge its output, sending oil prices tumbling. This historic oil price crash is weighing on stock markets already reeling from the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Low oil prices raise questions about the future of U.S. shale production, OPEC’s credibility and effectiveness, the geopolitical motivations and the fallout for Saudi Arabia and Russia, the fiscal impacts on key oil-producing countries, the implications for the battle against climate change, and much more.
In this edition of Columbia Energy Exchange, Jason Bordoff is joined by three experts who study energy markets, geopolitics, and policy to delve into these complex issues: Helima Croft, Amy Myers Jaffe, and Bob McNally.
Helima Croft is a Managing Director and the Head of Global Commodity Strategy and Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Research at RBC Capital Markets. She is a CNBC contributor, she started her career at the CIA after earning her PhD from Princeton University.
Amy Myers Jaffe is the David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment and Director of the Program on Energy Security and Climate Change at the Council on Foreign Relations. Amy previously served as Executive Director for Energy and Sustainability at the University of California, Davis, as Founding Director of The Energy Forum at Rice University’s Baker Institute, and she is also the Co-Chair of the Center on Global Energy Policy’s Women in Energy Steering Committee.
Bob McNally is a Non-Resident Fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy, and Founder and President of The Rapidan Energy Group, a consulting firm based in Washington DC. From 2001 to 2003, Bob served as the top international and domestic energy adviser on the White House staff, holding the posts of Special Assistant to the President on the National Economic Council and, in 2003, Senior Director for International Energy on the staff of the National Security Council. He is also the author of Crude Volatility, a history of oil markets and efforts to manage them, published through the Center on Global Energy Policy’s book series with the Columbia University Press.
More Episodes
Building a New Energy Industrial Strategy
Industrial policy, supply chain security, and economic competitiveness are central to how we think about clean energy deployment. As the Trump administration pulls back federal support for the...
Is Permitting Reform About to Break Through?
Last year, an energy permitting reform bill sponsored by Senators Joe Manchin and John Barrasso passed out of committee but failed to gain full support in the US...
US Energy Policy in a Partisan Era
Following the rollback of key climate provisions from the Inflation Reduction Act, the debate over America's energy future is increasingly contentious. The passage of the One Big Beautiful...
Is ‘Gold Standard’ for Energy Data in Trouble?
Everyone from energy executives to traders on Wall Street to policymakers across the US depend on accurate, timely information about energy production, consumption, and trends. At the heart...
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Publications
Six Key Issues That Defined Climate Week 2025
CGEP scholars reflect on some of the standout issues of the day during this year's Climate Week
Blog
by Erica Downs, Dave Turk, Kate Guy, Gautam Jain, Luisa Palacios, David Sandalow, Vivek Shastry & Jack Andreasen Cavanaugh • October 10, 2025
Trends and 2025 Insights on the Rise of Electric Vehicles in the USA
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.
Renewable Energy Development in the GCC: Progress Made and Challenges Ahead
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have not only the world's lowest costs for oil and gas production but also the lowest costs for electricity generated from renewable energy sources.
