Shift Key with Robinson Meyer and Jesse Jenkins

Heatmap News
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Shift Key with Robinson Meyer and Jesse Jenkins

Every week, Heatmap News Executive Editor Robinson Meyer and Princeton University Professor and energy systems expert Jesse Jenkins make sense of the biggest shift of our time -- navigating the energy transition away from fossil fuels. Drawing on their years of experience reporting on and researching climate change and decarbonization, Meyer and Jenkins unpack the most important issues of the week and how the impacts of climate change and efforts to address it are transforming our economy, politics, and society at large. Music by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 4 DAYS AGO

    The Early Lessons of Trump’s ‘Energy Dominance’

    Congress is still debating the fate of the Inflation Reduction Act, but the Trump administration has already torn up energy and climate policies across the federal government. It’s time to step back and try to take stock. How much damage has the Trump administration already done to decarbonization? What’s most worrying? What was going to happen anyway? And what might still be saved?  On this week’s episode of Shift Key, Rob and Jesse go agency by agency to understand the most important changes and try to understand the deeper agenda — including potential points of incoherence or disagreement. Shift Key is hosted by Jesse Jenkins, a professor of energy systems engineering at Princeton University, and Robinson Meyer, Heatmap’s executive editor. Mentioned: Trump’s effort to undo the EPA endangerment finding The incoherence of Trump’s energy agenda Offshore Wind Faces Its ‘Worst Case Scenario’ Under Trump Trump’s effort to block the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund How Tesla gets rich selling EV compliance credits The next front of Trump’s legal war is contract law Jesse’s upshift; Rob’s upshift. -- Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    43 min

  2. FEB 19

    How to Talk to Your Friendly Neighborhood Public Utility Regulator

    The most important energy regulators in the United States aren’t all in the federal government. Each state has its own public utility commission, a set of elected or appointed officials who regulate local power companies. This set of 200 individuals wield an enormous amount of power — they oversee 1% of U.S. GDP — but they’re often outmatched by local utility lobbyists and overlooked in discussions from climate advocates.  Charles Hua wants to change that. He is the founder and executive director of PowerLines, a new nonprofit engaging with America’s public utility commissions about how to deliver economic growth while keeping electricity rates — and greenhouse gas emissions — low. Charles previously advised the U.S. Department of Energy on developing its grid modernization strategy and analyzed energy policy for the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. On this week’s episode of Shift Key, Rob and Jesse talk to Charles about why PUCs matter, why they might be a rare spot for progress over the next four years, and why (and how) normal people should talk to their local public utility commissioner. Shift Key is hosted by Jesse Jenkins, a professor of energy systems engineering at Princeton University, and Robinson Meyer, Heatmap’s executive editor. Mentioned: PowerLines MIT’s Utility of the Future study Who’s controlling our energy future? Industry and environmental representation on United States public utility commissions Previously on Shift Key: How to Fix Utility Bills in America Rob’s downshift; Jesse’s downshift. -- This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by … Download Heatmap Labs and Hydrostor’s free report to discover the crucial role of long duration energy storage in ensuring a reliable, clean future and stable grid. Learn more about Hydrostor here. Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 9m

  3. FEB 12

    What Senator Brian Schatz Wants Climate Advocates to Know

    The first few weeks of the new Trump administration have seen an onslaught of anti-climate actions: an order punishing the wind industry, an attempted reversal of the Environmental Protection Administration’s climate authority, and a brazen — and possibly unconstitutional — attempt to freeze all spending under Biden’s climate laws. Democrats’ climate legacy seems to be under assault. How will they respond?  Senator Brian Schatz has represented Hawaii in the U.S. Senate since 2010. He is the chief deputy whip for the Democratic Party. A self-described climate hawk, he helped shape what became the Inflation Reduction Act, and he has emerged as an early voice of opposition to the second Trump administration. He was previously Hawaii’s lieutenant governor and a state lawmaker.  On this week’s episode of Shift Key, Rob and Jesse talk to Schatz about congressional Democrats’ plan to push back against Trump, what the clean energy needs to do for the next four years, and whether this climate backlash to Trump should be different than the last one. Shift Key is hosted by Jesse Jenkins, a professor of energy systems engineering at Princeton University, and Robinson Meyer, Heatmap’s executive editor. Mentioned: The Courts Blocked Trump’s Federal Funding Freeze. Agencies Are Withholding Money Anyway. How Government Grants Actually Turn Into Cash Jesse’s downshift; Rob’s upshift. -- This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by … Download Heatmap Labs and Hydrostor’s free report to discover the crucial role of long duration energy storage in ensuring a reliable, clean future and stable grid. Learn more about Hydrostor here. Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 3m

  4. FEB 5

    The U.S. Auto Industry Wasn’t Built for Tariffs

    Over the past 30 years, the U.S. automaking industry has transformed how it builds cars and trucks, constructing a continent-sized network of factories, machine shops, and warehouses that some call “Factory North America.” President Trump’s threatened tariffs on Canadian and Mexican imports will disrupt and transform those supply chains. What will that mean for the automaking industry and the transition to EVs? Ellen Hughes-Cromwick is the former chief economist at Ford Motor Company, where she worked from 1996 to 2014, as well as the former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Commerce. She is now a senior visiting fellow at Third Way and a senior advisor at MacroPolicy Perspective LLC.  On this week’s episode of Shift Key, Rob and Jesse chat with Ellen about how automakers build cars today, why this system isn’t built for trade barriers, and whether Trump’s tariffs could counterintuitively help electric vehicles. Shift Key is hosted by Jesse Jenkins, a professor of energy systems engineering at Princeton University, and Robinson Meyer, Heatmap’s executive editor. Mentioned: Trump’s Tariffs are a Warning Rob’s downshift; Jesse’s up-ish-shift. -- This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by … Download Heatmap Labs and Hydrostor’s free report to discover the crucial role of long duration energy storage in ensuring a reliable, clean future and stable grid. Learn more about Hydrostor here. Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 2m

  5. JAN 29

    The Trump Policy That Would Be Really Bad for Oil Companies

    On February 1 — that is, three days from now — President Donald Trump has promised to apply a tariff of 25% to all U.S. imports from Canada and Mexico, crude oil very much not excepted. Canada has been the largest source of American crude imports for more than 20 years. More than that, the U.S. oil industry has come to depend on Canada’s thick, sulfurous oil to blend with America’s light, sweet domestic product to suit its highly specialized refineries. If that heavy, gunky stuff suddenly becomes a lot more expensive, so will U.S. oil refining. Rory Johnston is an oil markets analyst in Toronto. He writes the Commodity Context newsletter, a data-driven look at oil markets and commodity flows. He’s also a lecturer at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy and a fellow with the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines. He previously led commodities market research at Scotiabank. (And he’s Canadian.) On this week’s episode of Shift Key, Jesse and Jillian attempt to untangle the pile of spaghetti that is the U.S.-Canadian oil trade. Shift Key is hosted by Jesse Jenkins, a professor of energy systems engineering at Princeton University, and Jillian Goodman, Heatmap’s deputy editor. Robinson Meyer is off this week. Mentioned: How the U.S. and Canadian oil industries evolved together Johnston on how tariffs could disrupt a finely calibrated relationship Jesse’s upshift; Jillian’s upshift. -- This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by … Intersolar & Energy Storage North America is the premier U.S.-based conference and trade show focused on solar, energy storage, and EV charging infrastructure. To learn more, visit intersolar.us. Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    50 min

  6. JAN 22

    How Wildfires Destroyed California’s Insurance Market

    The Los Angeles wildfires have killed at least 27 people, destroyed more than 17,000 structures, and displaced tens of thousands. In the next few months, the billions of costs in damage to homes and property will ripple through the state’s insurance market — and likely cause its insurer of last resort to run out of money. Benjamin Keys has studied how natural disasters, rising sea levels, and increasing exposure to risk have driven up insurance costs nationwide. He is a professor of real estate and finance at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and one of the country’s top experts on climate change, home values, and insurance markets. On this week’s episode of Shift Key, Rob and Jesse talk with Keys about how California broke its insurance market, why insurance costs are rising nationwide, and how homeowners, home buyers, and communities can protect themselves. They dive into President Donald Trump’s dizzying first day of executive actions and how they’ll affect the future of energy development. Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap, and Jesse Jenkins, a professor of energy systems engineering at Princeton University. Mentioned:  Keys’ testimony to Senate budget committee about climate risks in the housing system Keys’ research on climate risk in mortgage escrow data This pre-wildfire reporting on California’s insurance system and the site of the Eaton Fire Rob’s downshift; Jesse’s downshift. -- This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by … Intersolar & Energy Storage North America is the premier U.S.-based conference and trade show focused on solar, energy storage, and EV charging infrastructure. To learn more, visit intersolar.us. Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 12m

  7. JAN 15

    A Beginner’s Guide to the Hydrogen Economy

    Hydrogen. What are you even supposed to think about it? If you’ve spent serious time focusing on climate policy, you’ve heard the hype about hydrogen — about the miraculous things that it might do to eliminate carbon pollution from cars, power plants, steel mills, or more. You’ve also seen that hype fizzle out — even as governments have poured billions of dollars into making it work. On this week’s episode of Shift Key, Rob and Jesse give you a rough guide for how to think about clean hydrogen, which could help decarbonize the industrial — even the molecular — side of the economy by storing energy and helping to make clean steel and chemicals. Do we really need hydrogen to fight climate change? Where would it be useful? And why has it failed to take off in the past? What will Trump and China mean for global hydrogen policy? Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap, and Jesse Jenkins, a professor of energy systems engineering at Princeton University. Mentioned: How the Haber-Bosch process was transferred after WWI There’s Something for (Almost) Everyone in the Hydrogen Tax Credit Rules The Hydrogen Ladder Why it’s so hard to ship hydrogen The hydrogen tax credit could have had unintended emission consequences — here’s the study about why Jesse on why Biden’s hydrogen rules are on the right track Jesse’s upshift; Rob’s downshift. -- This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by … Intersolar & Energy Storage North America is the premier U.S.-based conference and trade show focused on solar, energy storage, and EV charging infrastructure. To learn more, visit intersolar.us. Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 12m

  8. JAN 8

    Have China’s Emissions Already Peaked?

    China’s greenhouse gas emissions were essentially flat this year — or they recorded a tiny increase, according to a recent report from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, or CREA. A third of experts surveyed by the report believe that its coal emissions have peaked. Has the world’s No. 1 emitter of carbon pollution now turned a corner on climate change?   Lauri Myllyvirta is the co-founder and lead analyst at CREA, an independent research organization focused on air pollution and headquartered in Finland. Myllyvirta has worked on climate policy, pollution, and energy issues in Asia for the past decade, and he lived in Beijing from 2015 to 2019.  On this week’s episode of Shift Key, Rob and Jesse talk with Lauri about whether China’s emissions have peaked, why the country is still building so much coal power (along with gobs of solar and wind), and the energy-intensive shift that its economy has taken in the past five years. Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap, and Jesse Jenkins, a professor of energy systems engineering at Princeton University. Mentioned: The CREA report: China’s Climate Transition: Outlook 2024 Chinese EV companies beat their own targets in 2024 How China Created an EV Juggernaut Rob’s upshift; Jesse’s upshift. -- This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by … Intersolar & Energy Storage North America is the premier U.S.-based conference and trade show focused on solar, energy storage, and EV charging infrastructure. To learn more, visit intersolar.us. Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 3m
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Every week, Heatmap News Executive Editor Robinson Meyer and Princeton University Professor and energy systems expert Jesse Jenkins make sense of the biggest shift of our time -- navigating the energy transition away from fossil fuels. Drawing on their years of experience reporting on and researching climate change and decarbonization, Meyer and Jenkins unpack the most important issues of the week and how the impacts of climate change and efforts to address it are transforming our economy, politics, and society at large. Music by Adam Kromelow. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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