Energy Policy Now

Norway is pursuing a future rich in fossil energy and climate solutions. Can its oil company, Equinor, reconcile these priorities and continue to reliably finance the country’s expansive social welfare system? Equinor’s Clean Energy Chief weighs in. --- Much has been made of Norway’s efforts to address climate change.  The country has set the goal of going carbon neutral by the middle of the centu...

Bipartisan carbon pricing proposals have started to appear at the national level, which begs a question: what’s the right price for carbon? An advisor to California and RGGI carbon markets offers insights. --- Over the past two years the idea of putting a price on carbon has gathered new and often unexpected support from across the political spectrum. In 2017 a group of former Republican leaders o...

China is aggressively expanding its electric vehicle industry, with the aim of becoming a leader in the global automotive market. --- China produces as many electric vehicles as the rest of the world combined, the result of aggressive government policies to boost EV demand and manufacturing. The push to electrify is part of China’s broader effort to control air pollution in its cities, where car o...

Congress has played down climate change while demanding that the Pentagon tackle climate-related security risks. A former DoD environmental lawyer looks at military efforts to address climate, and political mine fields along the way. --- When one thinks of major security threats to the United States it’s pretty standard to conjure up images of hostile foreign armies or terrorist groups. Yet over t...

Mankind’s impact on Earth extends well beyond climate change to the broader biosphere, where the conditions that nurtured the development of modern humans are at risk of being lost in a new epoch known as the Anthropocene. --- Climate change makes headline news, but mankind's changes to planet Earth go well beyond rising temperatures. In this episode of Energy Policy Now prominent earth syste...

A group of investors that manages $80 trillion in assets forecasts bold policy action on climate by the mid-2020s. What will such action mean for capital markets and economies? --- Principles for Responsible Investment, a London-based organization focused on socially responsible investment, has introduced a dramatic vision of a global response to climate change. PRI, which is supported by the Unit...

Vox writer David Roberts weighs in on the media’s role in shaping views on energy and the environment. --- Vox Media’s David Roberts is one of the nation’s top energy and environmental journalists, and now also a Senior Fellow with the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy.  In this episode of Energy Policy Now, Roberts discusses the media’s coverage of the politicized issues of energy and climate and...

Piyush Goyal, India’s minister of railways and coal and past minister of renewable energy, discusses his country’s efforts to provide universal electricity access while limiting power sector pollution and climate impact. --- India is home to the world’s most ambitious electrification effort. By the spring of 2019, India’s government aims to connect the 30 million rural Indian homes that remain wit...

As Washington relaxes standards governing methane leaks, oil and gas industry leaders pledge to limit emissions. An economist and an environmental advocate examine the impact of methane leaks and the credibility of industry efforts to contain them. --- In September, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of the Interior pushed forward two separate regulations that will, in effect,...

IPCC lead climate author Oliver Geden talks about how politicians view the IPCC’s 1.5 degree report, and implications for climate action. --- On October 8ththe Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its report on Global Warming of 1.5 degrees. The report describes expected environmental, economic and social impacts brought by 1.5 degrees Celsius of climate warming, and the actions that...

As natural gas has grown in importance as a fuel for electricity generation, have gas pipelines become the electric grid’s Achilles heel? A cybersecurity expert discusses the risk posed by the grid’s growing dependence on gas. --- Natural Gas fuels a third of the nation’s electricity generation, and the strong economics of natural gas are likely to cause its use to widen its use in years to come....

Can the U.S. electric grid remain resilient as the threat of cyber and physical attack rises? Pennsylvania PUC Chair Gladys Brown talks about state and federal efforts to safeguard the electric power system. --- The electricity industry has taken advantage of network communications technologies to deliver power more efficiently and reliably. But as information technology becomes interwoven into th...

Can policymakers effectively prepare for an uncertain future climate? The Kleinman Center’s Mark Alan Hughes discusses emerging decision models for climate mitigation and adaptation. --- Policymakers increasingly face the challenge of deciding on pathways to mitigate and address the impacts of climate change, yet no clear view exists into the impacts of rising temperatures, changing weather patter...

Can EPA’s Clean Power Plan replacement survive the courts? An architect of the Clean Power Plan weighs in. --- In August the Environmental Protection Agency revealed its replacement for the Clean Power Plan, the Obama-era regulation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the electric power industry. The replacement plan, championed by current EPA acting administrator Andrew Wheeler with backing f...

After a decade of false starts, the U.S. offshore wind industry is poised for real growth. The Chief of the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s renewables office takes a look at offshore wind’s future. --- After years of high hopes but little development, the U.S. offshore wind industry finally seems poised for growth following a series of major offshore project announcements this year. In Ma...

Fresh water resources are becoming scarce even as water demand from cities, industry and agriculture rises. Can seemingly inevitable conflicts over water, and their environmental consequences, be avoided? --- Access to fresh water has become an immediate concern in the United States. In recent years, unprecedented droughts have gripped central and western parts of the country, even as demand for w...

President Trump has acted to boost fossil fuel development in the U.S. But market forces, and disruptive trade policies have more than offset the administration’s pro-oil and coal efforts. --- In his year and a half in office, President Donald Trump has acted to make good on his campaign promises to grow the U.S. oil, natural gas, and coal industries during his presidency. Trump has taken a series...

In the coming years 1.6 million acres of formerly protected Alaskan wilderness will be the site of new oil exploration and drilling. Can the state balance energy development and its environmental heritage? --- In December the Trump Administration opened the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to energy development, as part of the administration’s tax reform package. The opening was the culmination of...

A number of states are pushing legislation that would require 100% renewable energy supply. But challenges ranging from high costs to the duck curve could make such targets hard to reach. --- A number of states are taking it upon themselves to lower carbon emissions by adopting aggressive clean energy targets. In states like California, Washington, and Massachusetts, lawmakers are considering legi...

As distributed energy grows, so does cyber risk to the grid. Two energy security experts discuss solutions. --- In recent months the threat of cyber attack on the nation’s electricity system has come into urgent focus. Earlier this year the FBI and Department of Homeland Security made public a series of cyberattacks that penetrated the control systems of several nuclear power stations. Another rec...

What might the EPA look like without current Administrator Scott Pruitt? Two regulatory experts discuss the future direction of the agency. --- EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has come under bipartisan fire for an array of ethical missteps that range from lavish spending on travel to the granting of illegal pay raises for select EPA staffers. Over the past week, staunch Pruitt supporters such as Se...

How far can the states go in implementing climate regulations against Washington’s will? Two regulatory experts discuss the legal limits to local climate action. --- Over the past 15 months the Trump administration has moved to eliminate or water down a host of environmental regulations tied to energy use. The administration has rejected the Clean Power Plan, sought to relax rules that limit metha...

As sea levels rise, nuisance flooding is the first wave of assault on coastal cities. Can we protect our coasts from inundation, or is retreat inevitable? --- Jeff Goodell, author of the New York Times award-winning book, The Water Will Come: Rising Seas, Sinking Cities, and the Remaking of the Civilized World, talks about the impact of rising seas on America’s coastal centers in the decades to co...

Carbon Cap and Trade is gaining momentum, most recently with China’s plan to build the largest carbon market. But how successful has cap and trade been in limiting emissions, and what can new markets learn from past mistakes? --- Carbon cap and trade has made headlines in recent months as governments turn to carbon markets to limit greenhouse emissions. The biggest announcement came in December, w...

Self-driving trucks promise to revitalize the trucking industry. But increased energy demand and air pollution are possible downsides. --- Self-driving technology is making its way onto America's roads. Companies including Lyft, Ford and Google's Waymo are investing heavily to develop driverless vehicles and transportation services. Driverless technology is also being developed for the t...