Columbia Energy Exchange

Columbia University
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Columbia Energy Exchange

Columbia Energy Exchange features in-depth conversations with the world’s top energy and climate leaders from government, business, academia and civil society. The program explores today’s most pressing opportunities and challenges across energy sources, financial markets, geopolitics and climate change as well as their implications for both the U.S. and the world.

  1. 1 DAY AGO

    Minimizing Damage as Mining for Critical Minerals Ramps Up

    The clean energy transition has a dirty underside. To move away from fossil fuels and toward solar, wind, batteries, and other alternative sources of energy, we have to intensify mining operations for critical minerals like lithium, copper, and cobalt. According to a Global Witness analysis of S&P Global data, copper mining will increase more than 25% between 2021 and 2028. Cobalt mining will be up more than 100%. Lithium, more than 300%. And all that mining has serious environmental and social impacts, particularly in developing countries. This week, host Bill Loveless talks with Vince Beiser about his latest book “Power Metal: The Race for the Resources That Will Shape the Future.” Vince is an author and journalist whose work has appeared in Wired, Harper’s Magazine, The Atlantic, and The New York Times, among other publications. They discuss cleaning up the chase for critical minerals, advancing the clean energy transition while minimizing mining impacts globally, and what role the U.S. government can play, particularly with an incoming Trump administration.

    48 min

  2. 19 NOV

    Inside the 2024 World Energy Outlook

    Rising electricity demand. Heightened geopolitical tension. Fragility in energy markets. These are some of the big stories shaping the energy transition outlined in the International Energy Agency’s newest World Energy Outlook.  Even as the IEA says the world is shifting from the "Age of Oil" to the "Age of Electricity," we are still far from achieving net-zero targets. And the tensions highlighted in the latest Energy Outlook illustrate how difficult the transition will be.    This week, host Jason Bordoff talks with Tim Gould about the 2024 World Energy Outlook, published in October. They discuss the significant progress countries have made on the energy transition, and the structural shifts in economies and energy use that lie ahead.  Tim is the International Energy Agency's chief energy economist. As part of his role, he co-leads the World Energy Outlook. Tim joined the IEA in 2008 as a specialist on Russian and Caspian energy. Prior to joining the IEA, he worked on European and Eurasian energy issues in Brussels.

    57 min

  3. 12 NOV

    Where Climate and Trade Policy Meet

    In passing and signing the Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, Congress and the Biden administration infused hundreds of billions of dollars into the energy transition. It was the largest investment in energy and climate in U.S. history.  At the same time, the law left many countries worried over provisions requiring domestic manufacturing, which some see as protectionist. It’s a friction that’s part of ongoing green trade tensions. As other countries implement their own major climate action plans, some include industrial policies that challenge international trade rules and norms.  Two years in, how are other countries responding to the Inflation Reduction Act? Can trade policy catalyze investment in and around clean energy in emerging markets and developing economies? And what does the concept of “friendshoring” mean? This week host Jason Bordoff talks with Sarah Bianchi about her work in the Biden administration and how climate policy and trade policy intersect. Sarah is a senior managing director and chief strategist of international political affairs and public policy at Evercore ISI. She is a distinguished visiting fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy and is on the advisory board of CGEP’s new Trade and Clean Energy Transition Program to examine the intersection of climate action, trade policy, national security, and industrial strategy. She has nearly 30 years of experience in both the public and private sector. Most recently, she served as deputy U.S. trade representative from 2021 to 2024, overseeing critical trading relationships across Asia and Africa. Her portfolio covered all aspects of trade, including the energy transition and the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act.

    43 min

  4. 5 NOV

    Re-Run: ‘The Untold History of Climate Science and Politics’

    In 1953, the New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in the World Series, “From Here to Eternity” won the Academy Award for Best Motion Picture. And on May 24 deep in the  education section of The New York Times, there was a short piece titled “How Industry May Change Climate.” In the years after, scientists went from writing about the possible impacts of pollution on climate to warning U.S. presidents. And energy policy expert and scholar Jay Hakes says there’s much more to the story. From scientists who quietly worked to address growing environmental threats, to lawmakers who deliberated in Congress and the White House over what to do about them, Jay says there’s a history that hasn’t been told. In his new book, Jay looks at these early climate change pioneers and asks about the challenges they faced.   What was it like trying to influence the White House? What solutions did these pioneers offer? And how can their stories further our discourse around climate change today?  This week, we go back to a conversation from August between host Bill Loveless and Jay Hakes about his book “The Presidents and the Planet: Climate Change Science and Politics from Eisenhower to Bush.”  Jay is a scholar and author on U.S. energy policy. From 2000-2013 he served as the director of the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library. He also served in both the Obama and Clinton administrations, including a seven-year stint as director of the U.S. Energy Information Administration.  Jay’s other books include “Energy Crises: Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Hard Choices in the 1970s” and “A Declaration of Energy Independence.”

    54 min

  5. 29 OCT

    How to Make the Energy Transition More Equitable

    Emerging markets and developing economies are set to account for the largest source of emissions growth in the coming decades, according to the International Energy Agency. As population growth in developing countries around the world increases, so will their demand for energy. And historically, these countries have looked to fossil fuels to support their demand growth. But even though emissions from these countries are increasing, their historical cumulative emissions pale in comparison to those emitted by a few wealthy countries – including the U.S. It’s an imbalance that has major implications when it comes to equity and the energy transition. This week host Jason Bordoff talks with Rahul Tongia about his work on climate equity and his views on net-zero emissions commitments. They also discuss carbon pricing, as well as his approach to establish a system that incentivizes low-emissions countries to keep their emissions lower, even as they use fossil fuels for longer. Rahul is a senior fellow with the Centre for Social and Economic Progress in New Delhi, where he co-leads the Energy, Natural Resources, and Sustainability group. He helped establish the Smart Grid space in India and is founding advisor of the India Smart Grid Forum. Rahul is a non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and a professor at Carnegie Mellon University.

    57 min

  6. 22 OCT

    Balancing AI's Growing Energy Demands

    The artificial intelligence boom is fueling a massive uptick in energy demand globally.  A Goldman Sachs report from earlier this year claimed that processing a single ChatGPT query requires almost ten times the amount of electricity as a single Google search.  But it’s not just ChatGPT queries driving up demand. As we transition to more renewable energy sources, AI is becoming critical to managing and improving efficiency across our electric grid.  So how are some of the biggest American tech companies securing the power they need to meet demand? They’re going nuclear.  Tech giant Microsoft recently secured a deal to restart the last functional reactor at Three Mile Island with access to 100% of the power generated. And Amazon announced a $500 million investment to develop small modular nuclear reactors. It’s a sign that large tech companies see data centers – and the AI they enable –  as critical to their futures.  This week, host Bill Loveless talks with Jason Bordoff and Jared Dunnmon about their latest co-written column for Foreign Policy, titled “America’s AI Leadership Depends on Energy.” Jason is founding director of the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. He’s also a professor of professional practice in international and public affairs, the co-founding dean emeritus at the Columbia Climate School, and a former senior director on the staff of the U.S. National Security Council. Jared is a nonresident fellow at the Center on Global Energy Policy. He’s also a former technical director for artificial intelligence at the U.S. Defense Department’s Defense Innovation Unit.

    55 min

  7. 15 OCT

    How Oil Markets Are Responding to Uncertainty in the Middle East

    Escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, the world’s seventh-largest producer of crude oil, have fueled concern over oil price volatility for the past few weeks.  But the oil market isn’t reacting to geopolitical tensions in the Middle East as dramatically as it has in the past. Despite an ongoing war in Gaza and Israel, Israel’s attack on Hezbollah, and attacks by Houthis in the Red Sea, the price of oil hasn’t changed much. China’s slowing economy and the U.S.’ increased domestic production of oil seem to be keeping prices down… at least for now.  Still, renewed fighting between Israel and Iran has oil markets feeling nervous. A regional war could drive up prices, impacting the global economy.  In an interview recorded yesterday, host Jason Bordoff talks with Helima Croft and Javier Blas about the current state of oil markets, and how global instability could impact their future.  Helima is a managing director and head of global commodity strategy and Middle East and North Africa research at RBC Capital Markets. Helima joined RBC Capital Markets from Barclays, where she was a managing director and head of North American commodities research.  Javier is an opinion columnist for Bloomberg covering energy and commodities. Javier is coauthor of  the 2021 book “The World for Sale: Money, Power and the Traders Who Barter the Earth’s Resources.”

    59 min

  8. 8 OCT

    Europe at a Crossroads: Innovation, Energy, and Competitiveness

    Europe is facing a critical challenge. When it comes to advanced technology innovation, labor productivity, and affordable energy, it's not keeping up with the U.S. and China. At least that’s the take from Mario Draghi, former European Central Bank president, in his European Commission report last month titled, “The Future of European Competitiveness.” The last five years for the European Union have been tumultuous – from the pandemic to an energy crisis sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, to the European Green Deal. How Europe moves forward in the face of these challenges will directly impact its short and long-term energy security, and the pace of its transition to clean energy. And it’s all playing out against the backdrop of an ever-worsening climate crisis.  This week, host Jason Bordoff talks with Kadri Simson. Kadri has been the European Commissioner for Energy since 2019. Before that, she was the Estonian minister for economic affairs, and held various other positions in the Estonian government.  Kadri visited the Columbia campus during Climate Week in New York City. They discussed the impact of Russia’s attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, Europe’s progress in weaning itself off Russian gas, and member states’ attitudes toward nuclear power, among other topics.

    57 min
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Columbia Energy Exchange features in-depth conversations with the world’s top energy and climate leaders from government, business, academia and civil society. The program explores today’s most pressing opportunities and challenges across energy sources, financial markets, geopolitics and climate change as well as their implications for both the U.S. and the world.

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