Energy 360°

This week, David Terry, Executive Director of the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) joins Morgan Higman (Clean Resilient States Project, CSIS) to look at how states are working together and with the federal government to craft workable and innovative solutions to implement energy policies. They cover the recent fall NASEO meeting and issues important to the agenda, including transportation, grid resiliency, energy efficiency, equity, and workforce development. They also discuss how states engaged with the international agendas at the recent COP meeting in Glasgow. For more, please read The Role of U.S. States in Addressing Climate Action.

This week, Gaylor Montmasson-Clair with Trade & Industrial Policy Strategies (TIPS) and Srestha Banerjee with iForest join Sandeep Pai (CSIS) to explore the opportunities and challenges for coal dependent regions in India and South Africa to create just and sustainable pathways to diversify their economies. For more, read Understanding Just Transitions in Coal Dependent Communities: Case Studies from Mpumalanga, South Africa, and Jharkhand, India  

This week, Chandra Bhushan with iFOREST and Jesse Burton with the University of Cape Town join Sandeep Pai (CSIS) to look at how key themes of just transitions are important in the context of CoP26 meetings. They then discuss the key priorities on the ground for a just transition away from coal in the major economies of South Africa and India.  For more, read Understanding Just Transitions in Coal Dependent Communities: Case Studies from Mpumalanga, South Africa, and Jharkhand, India

This week, Jonathan Pershing, Deputy Special Envoy for Climate at the U.S. Department of State, joins Joseph Majkut (CSIS) to look at what to expect from the upcoming COP26 meetings in Glasgow. Dr. Pershing discusses what is at stake for these international negotiations, which countries are stepping up their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and which are lagging on their national commitments. They also discuss what the Biden Administration brings to this year’s meetings, whether Congress will have climate legislation in place before the meetings begin, and how the U.S. has been coordinating with other countries to raise ambitions, and hopefully ensure a successful agreement coming out of COP26. 

This week, Alice Hill, climate risk and resilient expert with the Council on Foreign Relations, joins CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Program Director Joseph Majkut and discusses her recent book, The Fight for Climate After COVID-19. The two explore lessons from the response to covid-19 to inform building resilience in the face of climate risks, how states can better prepare for climate impacts, and if adaptation might have a role at COP26.

This week, CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Program Director Joseph Majkut talks with Dr. Robert Kopp, a climate scientist, and professor at Rutgers University, about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report. The contribution of Working Group 1, which reports the physical science of climate change, was released this past August. Dr. Kopp was the lead author of that report's chapter on sea-level rise. They dive into some of the climate science and modeling that supports the IPCC report and discuss the challenge of communicating the findings of a report of this size and scale.

This week, Dr. Cecilia Han Springer with the Global China Initiative at Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center joins Nikos Tsafos and Jane Nakano (CSIS Energy) to talk about announcements from China at last week’s U.S. General Assembly meetings. Chinese President Xi Jinping said that the country would stop supporting (or building) new coal-fired power projects overseas and would move towards clean energy projects. Dr. Springer walks us through what this important announcement does and doesn’t include, what it says about China’s broader climate ambitions, implications for the Belt and Road Initiative, and how China will need to continue domestic efforts to reduce coal plants and lower emissions. for more on China's overseas coal finance, please check this: https://www.csis.org/analysis/chinas-commitment-stop-overseas-financing-new-coal-plants-perspective.

In today’s special release, Joseph Majkut and Nikos Tsafos (CSIS) talk with Jesse Jenkins (Princeton University) about the new draft legislation in the Congress designed to lower U.S carbon emissions from the electric power sector over the next ten years.

This week, Ira Joseph (S&P Global Platts) joins Nikos Tsafos (CSIS) to discuss natural gas markets. They dive into what’s behind recent gas price upheavals, then turn to European supply concerns, LNG exports, and U.S. production levels. They also look at the longer-term future of global gas as it competes not only with coal, especially in parts of Asia, but increasingly with renewables.   

This week, Kevin Book (Clear View Energy Partners) and Sarah Ladislaw (RMI) join Nikos Tsafos (CSIS) for a look at climate and energy policies under the new Biden administration. The Administration came in with some ambitious climate and energy policies. Kevin, Sarah, and Nikos assess how much progress the Administration has made so far in moving those policies forward, both at home and internationally. They look at its broad emissions reduction plans, the development of climate-leaning industrial policy, and how the Administration is incorporating environmental justice into their policies. For more, read how Biden plans to decarbonize transportation.

This week, Partha Bhattacharyya (former chairman, Coal India Limited​) joins Sandeep Pai (CSIS/JTI) to discuss how Coal India Limited is preparing for a clean energy future. Mr. Bhattacharyya was chairman of Coal India from 2006-2011. Coal India Limited (CIL) is the largest coal producer in the world and how it manages the energy transition has major implications for the coal industry in India. They look at the strategies Coal India can use to diversify its portfolio, challenges to Coal India and the coal sector in navigating this energy transition, and how companies can ensure a just transition for the workers and communities most at risk.

This week Christi Tezak (Clear View Energy Partners) joins Ben Cahill (CSIS) to discuss oil pipelines in the United States. Christi and Ben look at how the Biden Administration is approaching pipeline issues, new actions from state-level governments, recent court rulings, and how these decisions may impact future pipeline projects.

This week, Ben Cahill (CSIS) is joined by Brian O’Callaghan and Jesse Burton to discuss how Covid-19 recovery can be more just, equitable and green. Brian is Lead Researcher and Project Manager of the Oxford University Economic Recovery Project, and Jesse is with the University of Cape Town and a Senior Associate with E3G, where she provides analysis and policy advice on coal transitions in South Africa and globally. Together, they look at how governments can ensure that their economic spending packages can accelerate a green recovery while also being inclusive and fair for all communities.  For more, read: A Just Green Recovery from Covid-19 / https://justtransitioninitiative.org/a-just-green-recovery-from-covid-19/

This week, Michael Greenstone (University of Chicago) joins Nikos Tsafos (CSIS) to discuss the recently published roadmap for energy and climate policy published by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC). This roadmap brings to the U.S. climate debate a host of practical recommendations to lead the transition to a decarbonized economy. Nikos and Michael look at key issues including carbon pricing, transportation, and efficiency while also looking at how to apply lessons learned from previous strategies. Read the Report: U.S. Energy and Climate Roadmap: Evidence-based Policies for Effective Action (https://epic.uchicago.edu/us-energy-and-climate-roadmap/)  

This week, Neelima Jain (CSIS Wadhwani Chair in U.S.-India Policy Studies) is joined by Saurabh Kumar (Energy Efficiency Services Limited or EESL) and Rahul Walawalkar (India Energy Storage Alliance) to discuss the role that energy storage can play in helping India meet its clean energy goals. Together, they examine the policy, regulatory, and economic opportunities and challenges facing both energy storage and Indian electricity sector.

This week, Ben Cahill (CSIS) is joined by Daniel Raimi and Wes Look (Resources for the Future) to discuss the latest report in their series focused on ensuring fairness for workers and communities in transition. They talk about the opportunities and challenges facing fossil fuel communities in the United States as well as policy strategies that should be adopted to help workers transition into the clean energy economy. For more read, https://www.rff.org/publications/reports/enabling-fairness-for-energy-workers-and-communities-in-transition/

This week we look at whether the Department of Energy is set up to meet the new climate and energy goals set out by the Biden Administration. Our guests, Tim Lieuwen (Georgia Tech), Adam Cohen (AUI and CSIS), and Leland Cogliani (Lewis Burke Associates) talk with Jane Nakano (CSIS Energy) about why modifying DoE’s current organization could help to meet some of the new mission objectives and the challenges and opportunities that come with any federal reorganization plan.   Read the white paper: https://research.gatech.edu/sites/default/files/inline-files/energy-ecosystem_lieuwencohen_021821_final-v2.pdf

This week, Jane Nakano (CSIS) talks with Representative Elaine Luria about energy and climate priorities for Representative Luria’s district. Representative Luria was first elected to represent Virginia’s Second Congressional District in 2018. Her district includes many coastal communities as well as 8 military installations. Previously, she served two decades in the Navy, retiring with the rank of Commander. Jane talks with Representative Luria about how her background as nuclear-trained officer played a role in her move to become a member of Congress as well as some of the key issues and policies she is advancing not only for her district but for country at large.

This week, Bloomberg energy and commodity reporters Javier Blas and Jack Farchy join Ben Cahill (CSIS) for a discussion of their new book, The World for Sale: Money, Power and the Traders Who Barter the Earth’s Resources. Their discussion focuses on the influential role that commodity traders have played in global oil markets over the past four decades and looks ahead to how the commodities business may need to respond to new demands of the global energy economy.

As the energy transition in India accelerates, how do decisionmakers ensure that the transition is a just and equitable transition? Neha Sharma (CIF and JTI), Ajay Mathur (International Solar Alliance), Srestha Banerjee (iForest), and Mike Ward (CIF) look at the underlying drivers of India’s energy transitions, and key considerations for creating a just transition, including the need for fairness and equity, geographic disparities, lack of social mobility, labor policy, and energy access. This week’s episode is part of the Just Transitions Initiative, a partnership of the CSIS Energy Program and the Climate Investment Funds. For more, visit the Just Transition Initiative. Neha Sharma is Evaluation and Learning Specialist at the Climate Investment Funds and a core team member of the Just Transitions Initiative Ajay Mathur is Director General–designate for the International Solar Alliance, and formerly the Director General at the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in India Srestha Banerjee is Program Head fo