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_outline
Building Energy Policy on Evidence
Columbia Energy Exchange
Elected officials face huge challenges when it comes to energy policymaking. They have very little time to learn complicated, nuanced issues. They're bombarded by information — some of it from organizations that are tightly aligned with ideological or political movements. Whether it’s from industry or civil society, the information policymakers receive, even if accurate, can often come with an agenda. Plus, translating academic research into policy comes with its own challenges. All of this makes building energy policy based on independent, trusted expertise difficult, especially in...
info_outline
A Changing Atmosphere at the Upcoming UN Climate Summit
Columbia Energy Exchange
The ten years since the Paris Agreement was signed at the UN Climate Change Conference, COP 21, have been the ten hottest years on record. And the outcome that the Paris Agreement sought — limiting global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels — is now widely considered unattainable. There are other hurdles as well. Many nations have not submitted climate action plans, or nationally determined contributions, to the UN. And President Trump says he plans to re-withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement. Still, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change marches on....
info_outline
Unpacking Recent Sanctions on Russian Oil
Columbia Energy Exchange
Last week, President Trump announced that he was imposing significant new sanctions on Russia. It’s an effort to cut off revenue Russia needs for its war in Ukraine. This comes at a time when Russia’s oil industry is also under pressure from intensifying Ukrainian attacks on refineries, crude pipelines, and export terminals. It’s also happening as producers have been ramping up output amid signs of cooling demand growth. Yet the sanctions could still bite. Especially given that the Treasury sanctions announcement came with the explicit warning that secondary sanctions—targeting...
info_outlineBefore it invaded Ukraine, Russia was Europe's single largest supplier of imported natural gas. But now that the European Union is considering an outright ban on all Russian gas by the end of 2027, Russia is pivoting to Asia, courting China as both a crucial new market for its gas and an important geostrategic ally.
When Russian President Vladimir Putin traveled to China at the end of August, the visit produced a series of cooperation agreements. Among them: a deal between Gazprom and the China National Petroleum Corporation to advance the long-discussed Power of Siberia 2 pipeline, a massive project that, if completed, could send 50 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas to China each year. But the announcement is short on many details, including pricing, financing, and a timeline.
So what — beyond symbolism — does this deal actually deliver for both Russia and China in the short term? What prompted China to sign the agreement after years of delays? And what does it tell us about China's efforts to diversify its energy imports?
This week, Jason speaks with three scholars from the Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), Anne-Sophie Corbeau, Tatiana Mitrova, and Erica Downs, about the possible impacts of the Power of Siberia 2 pipeline agreement. The trio also recently co-authored a post about the PoS2 news on the CGEP website.
Anne-Sophie is a global research scholar at CGEP, where she focuses on hydrogen and natural gas. She previously worked as a senior analyst at BP and the International Energy Agency. Tatiana is a CGEP research fellow with twenty five years of experience dealing with Russian and global energy markets. Erica is a senior research scholar at CGEP, where she focuses on Chinese energy markets and geopolitics. Earlier in her career she held senior roles in the China Studies program of the CNA Corporation and at Eurasia Group.
Credits: Hosted by Jason Bordoff and Bill Loveless. Produced by Mary Catherine O’Connor, Caroline Pitman, and Kyu Lee. Engineering by Gregory Vilfranc.