Reporters’ Roundtable: What’s Driving US Energy Policy News in 2026?
Columbia Energy Exchange
From the affordability crisis and the data center boom, to the US government’s campaign to reinvigorate the Venezuelan oil market, energy is dominating headlines in unusual ways. And that’s all happening against a backdrop of upheaval in federal energy policy, which started on day one of the second Trump administration. As we begin the new year and head into midterm elections, there’s a dizzying number of crucial energy policy issues at play. So what issues are shaping US climate and energy policymaking in 2026? How might upcoming court rulings change things? As high utility bills...
info_outline
Anja Manuel on the Next Era of Great Power Competition
Columbia Energy Exchange
Great power competition—particularly between the United States and China—is intensifying. This rivalry is reshaping everything from technology supply chains and energy security to the future of artificial intelligence. This is happening at a time when US relations with India and Europe are under strain, largely due to policy uncertainty and the administration’s new trade strategies. So how should the US navigate this new era of great power competition? How do we balance economic competitiveness with security and energy objectives? Where do critical technologies like AI and...
info_outline
Oil and Venezuela: What’s Next?
Columbia Energy Exchange
Early on January 3, 2026, the United States apprehended Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife and removed Maduro from power. Maduro was transported to New York, where he now faces federal charges of narco-terrorism and drug trafficking. The situation in Venezuela remains highly fluid, as does the US policy response. President Trump has signaled a dramatic expansion of US objectives. He has suggested the US will be “running” the country during a transition and is seeking direct access to Venezuela’s massive oil reserves. In Caracas, interim President Delcy...
info_outline
Editor’s Pick: Sean Casten on US Energy Policy in a Partisan Era
Columbia Energy Exchange
This has been a crucial year for US energy policy. The passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act eliminated many of the clean energy incentives that were centerpieces of Biden-era climate policy. The rollback of key climate provisions from the Inflation Reduction Act led to contentious debate over America's energy future. With so many shifting priorities and questions around the direction and the pace of the energy transition, it’s unclear what 2026 will bring. So how are policymakers facing these challenges and working to accelerate clean energy deployment in a shifting political...
info_outline
Luisa Palacios and Eddie Fishman on the US Pressure Campaign on Venezuela's Oil
Columbia Energy Exchange
Over the past week, President Trump has intensified pressure on Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro by targeting the regime’s economic lifeline—oil. The United States has seized two oil tankers and is in pursuit of another, following President Trump’s declaration of what he called a “total and complete blockade” of vessels carrying Venezuelan crude subject to US sanctions. The move places one of Venezuela’s most valuable and strategic assets squarely at the center of the conflict. The country holds an estimated 17 percent of the world’s oil reserves and produces nearly one...
info_outline
From Hot Rocks to Clean Power: Roland Horne on the Future of Geothermal
Columbia Energy Exchange
If it seems like you're hearing a lot more about geothermal energy lately, that's because this clean, firm energy source is at a technological turning point. With roots in the 1970s, enhanced geothermal systems aren't exactly new. But they're finally hitting paydirt — or rather, steam — thanks to improved drilling techniques borrowed from the fracking boom. These advances have made geothermal energy production potentially viable outside of the Western states in the US, where it's long been a small but steady source of power. So what is the state of geothermal energy and what's behind...
info_outline
Emmanuel Lagarrigue on Climate Investing Today
Columbia Energy Exchange
Investment in clean energy technologies is on course to this year, according to the International Energy Agency. That’s more than twice the amount invested in fossil fuels. But 2025 also brought lots of geopolitical, economic, and political uncertainty to clean technology investing. Waning enthusiasm for climate action in some governments and intensifying trade wars have created more risk for many investors. So how much are these policy shifts impacting climate investment strategies? How have investors in the United States reacted to the roll-back of some key incentives in the...
info_outline
Amy Harder on Climate and Energy Reporting
Columbia Energy Exchange
The national conversation around climate change is shifting. There’s more focus on energy affordability and demand, as well as on the dual role artificial intelligence plays as both a climate problem and potential tool for lowering emissions. Likewise, there’s been a shift in how the media covers these issues. shows that news coverage of climate has declined in recent years — as have the number of local newsrooms. Yet, surveys indicate that news consumers want more coverage of climate change. So do reporters and editors, based on strong interest in the at the Center on...
info_outline
In a Charged Environment, FERC Faces Demands for Energy
Columbia Energy Exchange
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission regulates the United States’ energy transmission, pipeline networks, and wholesale rates for electricity. For much of its history, FERC was a little-known federal agency. But that’s changing. Today, topics like energy affordability and the urgent build-out of data centers to support AI are putting FERC in the spotlight. The Trump administration is also exerting pressure on the agency. This fall, Energy Secretary Chris Wright directed the commission to fast-track grid connections for certain large loads, such as data centers. But many...
info_outline
World Energy Outlook 2025: Navigating Divergent Futures
Columbia Energy Exchange
Around the globe, and here in the United States, energy markets face huge uncertainties. They include everything from rising geopolitical tensions to a wave of new liquefied natural gas supply, and from concentrated critical mineral supply chains to growing demand for electricity. These uncertainties are reflected by the International Energy Agency in this year’s , which explores a range of possible energy futures — particularly around oil and gas demand. So how have energy policies at the country level, growing economic warfare, and rising prices impacted the IEA’s outlook? How...
info_outlineIn July, the Trump administration released what it calls an AI action plan. In it, along with several executive orders, the White House lays out its vision for building and expanding the country’s AI infrastructure.
Key tenets of that vision include removing regulatory hurdles and accelerating US dominance in the industry. It also has broad energy and security implications.
So how could the administration's high-risk, high-reward approach increase US market share in AI? Will it create tensions with major AI companies while potentially democratizing access to AI capabilities? And how does the plan diverge from Biden-era AI support, especially around environmental and energy considerations?
To discuss the action plan, we convened some of the leading AI experts at the Center for Global Energy Policy in early August, and this week on Columbia Energy Exchange we are sharing an audio recording of their discussion.
David Sandalow, CGEP’s inaugural fellow and the host of the AI, Energy and Climate podcast, moderated the panel. David also co-directs the Energy and Environment Concentration at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University and was the lead author of the “Artificial Intelligence for Climate Change Mitigation Roadmap” report for the Innovation for Cool Earth Forum.
Aaron Bartnick, Jared Dunnmon, and Ashley Finan joined David on the webinar.
Aaron Bartnick is a global fellow at CGEP, where he focuses on technology and economic security. He also serves as chief of staff at the neural engineering company Science Corporation and as a fellow at Carnegie Mellon University’s Critical Technology Initiative.
Jared Dunnmon is a non-resident CGEP fellow and the co-founder and chief scientist of a maritime logistics startup. He previously served in the Department of Defense as technical director for artificial intelligence at the Defense Innovation Unit, was vice president of future technologies at battery firm Our Next Energy, and was an early team member at Snorkel AI.
Ashley Finan is a CGEP global fellow who previously served in senior leadership roles at Idaho National Laboratory, where she worked on nuclear energy and national security issues.
Credits: Hosted by Jason Bordoff and Bill Loveless. Produced by Mary Catherine O’Connor, Caroline Pitman, and Kyu Lee. Engineering by Gregory Vilfranc.