Energy 360°

This week, BCG’s Tom Baker joins Joseph Majkut to discuss opportunities for U.S. leadership in the clean energy transition, highlighting the potential role of technologies like hydrogen and new policies in driving progress. They look at areas that could slow the build-out for low-carbon energy including grid modernization and new infrastructure.

In this week’s special episode, Ben Cahill and Jon Alterman discuss recent developments in the Middle East, U.S. policy objectives in the region, and how the oil market's response to geopolitical risks has changed. Further Reading: A Détente Option for Iran

This week, Ben Cahill speaks with Akshat Rathi, a senior climate reporter for Bloomberg and author of the book Climate Capitalism. In his book, Rathi explores how governments can create the right policy environment to unlock the potential for innovative climate solutions from businesses and individuals.  Further Reading: Climate Capitalism: Winning the Race to Zero Emissions and Solving the Crisis of Our Age.

On this special episode of Energy 360, Ditte Juul Jørgensen, Director General of DG Energy at the European Commission and Ambassador Geoffrey Pyatt, Assistant Secretary for Energy Resources at the U.S. State Department, talk with CSIS Energy Program director Joseph Majkut about the U.S.-EU Energy Council and its agenda for jointly addressing energy security and climate change.  Further reading: Joint Statement by the U.S. and EU following the 11th U.S.-EU Energy Council

This week, Ben Cahill talks with Georges Tijbosch about how certifying natural gas could help create a lower-emission energy future. Georges is the CEO of a company called MIQ, or Methane IQ. MIQ is a global leader in methane emissions certification. It aims to create transparency by providing buyers with information about the emissions associated with the natural gas they are purchasing. Read More: Why Methane & Certification?

This week, climate expert Nat Bullard joins Cy McGeady to discuss the key trends that are shaping our decarbonization future. He and Cy talk through surprises and challenges to decarbonization progress, including the impact of interest rates on capital flows, the need for investment in hard-to-decarbonize sectors like steel, the role of technology, and the potential of AI to both increase energy demand and unlock solutions for climate change. Nat emphasizes the importance of maintaining momentum in decarbonization efforts and scaling up existing solutions. Further Reading: Decarbonization: Stocks and flows, abundance and scarcity, net zero

This week, Adam Johnson, Managing Partner with Metis Endeavor, joins Gracelin Baskaran to share his insights on the role of critical minerals in the energy transition. Adam and Gracelin look at the mining sector’s pathway for supporting and sustaining the transition. They drill into the impact of U.S. government policies on private investments, the importance of government support and coordinated efforts across the sector, as well as the need for increased financing for mining projects. Adam also discusses some challenges and risks associated with investing in critical minerals, such as price volatility and competition with China.  Further Reading: Adding a Critical Minerals Agreement to the AGOA Reauthorization  What China’s Ban on Rare Earths Processing Technology Exports Means

This week, Tim Gould, Chief Energy Economist at the International Energy Agency joins Joseph Majkut, director of the CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Program, to discuss highlights from the World Energy Outlook and the need to scale up renewables, improve energy efficiency, reduce methane emissions, and address critical minerals production in order to maintain momentum for clean energy deployment. Tim Gould was appointed the Agency's Chief Energy Economist in 2021. As Chief Energy Economist, he provides strategic advice on energy economics across a wide range of IEA activities and analysis. Mr. Gould is also Head of the Division for Energy Supply and Investment Outlooks, in which capacity he co-leads the World Energy Outlook, the IEA's flagship publication, and oversees the Agency's work on investment and finance, including the World Energy Investment report. Mr Gould joined the IEA in 2008, initially as a specialist on Russian and Caspian energy, and in recent years has designed and directed the World Energy Outlook together with the IEA's Chief Energy Modeller while contributing to the Outlook as a principal author. Prior to joining the IEA, Mr Gould worked on European and Eurasian energy issues in Brussels and has ten years of experience in Eastern Europe, primarily in Ukraine. He graduated from Oxford University and has a post-graduate diploma from the School of Advanced International Studies of Johns Hopkins University.

This week, André de Ruyter, former CEO of Eskom the South African national power utility, joins Cy McGeady and Gracelin Baskaran to discuss South Africa’s energy sector and its energy transition plans. In the discussion, Andre draws on his time at Eskom to emphasize the importance of long-term planning and policy decisions for the electricity sector in South Africa.

Kevin Book, ClearView Energy Partners and Senior Adviser (non-resident), CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Program, and Liam Denning, Columnist, Bloomberg Opinion, joined Joseph Majkut, CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Program to assess which energy developments in 2023 have staying power and look ahead to the energy and climate issues to watch next year. Watch the CSIS Event: 2023 Energy and Climate Review

This week, Trevor Houser, a partner at the Rhodium Group, joins Allegra Dawes (CSIS) to discuss highlights from the Clean Investment Monitor. The Clean Investment Monitor, a joint project of Rhodium Group and MIT’s Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research, tracks public and private climate investments since 2018. In the past year, clean energy investment in the United States totaled $213 billion, a 37 percent increase from the previous year, largely due to new legislation passed in the United States (the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill, and the Chips and Science Act) and up 165 percent from five years ago. Further Reading: The Clean Investment Monitor: Tracking Decarbonization Technology in the United States The Clean Investment Monitor

This week, Geoff Dietz with the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas (RNG Coalition) joins Ben Cahill with the CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Program to discuss renewable natural gas (RNG). RNG is a domestic clean energy resource derived from the capture, cleaning, and conditioning of methane and other gaseous emissions from organic waste. Landfill projects and agricultural projects, particularly in dairy states, are the main sources of RNG production. Geoff and Ben discuss the future of RNG production, where demand for RNG is rising, and the potential economic and environmental benefits of RNG for the United States.

This week, Rohitesh Dhawan, the President and CEO of the International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM), talks with Gracelin Baskaran about responsible mining and the challenges faced by the global mining industry. They discuss the role of ICMM in improving the standards of responsible mining, emphasizing the importance of obtaining the consent of mining-affected communities and the need for a fair and balanced dialogue among stakeholders. Dhawan also shares his personal journey and passion for mining, highlighting the industry's potential to lift people out of poverty, contribute to conservation efforts, and drive the energy transition.

This week, Dr. Seong-ik Oh, Director General of the Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, joins Jane Nakano, senior fellow with the CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Program, to look at the differences between South Korea and Japan's energy policies and the factors that developed these different strategies. Dr. Oh also discusses how the dual challenge of energy security and climate change is advancing how Korea and Japan diversifying their energy production, including greater nuclear power and renewable energy resources. Dr. Oh is the author of the recent book: Overseas Energy Investment of Korea and Japan: How did Two East Asian Resources-Rare Industrial Giants Respond to Energy Security Challenges.

In the weeks following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, there was a flurry of articles, commentaries and videos predicting that the event signaled the end of globalization. Part of this prediction was based on policymakers and business leaders seeing the risks of global supply chains in countries with dissimilar political, economic and human rights alignments. What does the push to onshore and friend shore clean energy supply chains mean for global trade? How can trade be used as a tool to address climate change?  Allegra Dawes hosts this episode with Ambassador Jayme White, the Deputy United States Trade Representative; Peter Rashish, the Vice President and Director of the Geoeconomics program at the American German Institute; and Colin Grabow, a research fellow with the Herbert A. Stiefel Center for Trade Policy Studies at the Cato Institute; and special thanks to Emily Benson, the Director of the Project on Trade and Technology at CSIS.

In this episode, we look at two different sectors – the solar industry and the offshore wind industry. Both technologies are set to play important roles in decarbonizing the US’ and the world’s power supply. Allegra Dawes hosts this episode with MJ Shiao, the Vice President of Supply chain and Manufacturing for the American Clean Power Association; Scott Moskowitz, the Director of Strategy and Market Intelligence at QCells; Atin Jain, Senior Associate, BloombergNEF; and Varun Sivaram, the Group Senior Vice President for Strategy and Innovation at Orsted.

Batteries are critical for the energy transition. Can the US build a domestic industry for batteries from mining for minerals to producing batteries at scale? Allegra Dawes hosts this episode with Jay Turner, a professor of environmental studies at Wellesley College; Jasper Jung, the Executive Director of Global strategic initiatives and public policy with General Motors; Steve LeVine the editor of the online publication, the Electric; and Jon Evans, the CEO and President of Lithium Americas.

Green industrial policy is the new tool to address climate change, stimulate domestic manufacturing, and counter China. Where did this new policy experiment come from and what is at stake? Allegra Dawes hosts this episode with Jane Flegal, the former Senior Director for Industrial Emissions at the White House; David Victor, a professor of innovation and public policy at UC San Diego; and Joanna Lewis, an associate Professor of Energy and Environment at Georgetown University.

It’s been a little over a year since the passage of the IRA. How has the bill impacted the US’ energy transition strategy? Joseph Majkut and Deputy Secretary Dave Turk of the Department of Energy discuss how investment in clean energy has developed in the wake of the IRA.

The CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change team is launching a new podcast miniseries, New Shores, that will dive into the world of clean energy supply chains in the wake of the Inflation Reduction Act. Join us to learn about onshoring and friendshoring the energy transition.