Center on Global Energy Policy

On Thursday, April 19, 2018, CGEP celebrated its 5th anniversary and hosted the annual Columbia Global Energy Summit.  The half-day forum included keynote remarks, interviews and plenary conversations with senior energy sector leaders focused on key issues and questions at the intersection of energy policy, financial markets, the environment and geopolitics.  This is a recording of a keynote conversation between: Fatih Birol, Executive Director, International Energy Agency, and Jason Bordoff, CGEP.

On Thursday, April 19, 2018, CGEP celebrated its 5th anniversary and hosted the annual Columbia Global Energy Summit.  The half-day forum included keynote remarks, interviews and plenary conversations with senior energy sector leaders focused on key issues and questions at the intersection of energy policy, financial markets, the environment and geopolitics.  This panel discussion focused on U.S. energy markets in transition. Panelists: Charif Souki, Chairman of the Board, Tellurian Inc. Peter Kagan, Managing Director, Warburg Pincus LLC Scott Sheffield, Chairman of the Board, Pioneer Natural Resources Amy Jaffe,  David M. Rubenstein senior fellow for energy and the environment and director of the Energy Security and Climate Change program, Council on Foreign Relations; Chair of CGEP Women in Energy Steering Committee Dan Yergin, Vice Chairman, IHS-Markit Moderator: Mona Sutphen, Partner, Macro Advisory Partners;  Former Deputy White House Chief of Staff  

On Thursday, April 19, 2018, CGEP celebrated its 5th anniversary and hosted the annual Columbia Global Energy Summit.  The half-day forum included keynote remarks, interviews and plenary conversations with senior energy sector leaders focused on key issues and questions at the intersection of energy policy, financial markets, the environment and geopolitics.  This is a recording of a keynote conversation between Dan Brouillette, Deputy Secretary, US Department of Energy, and Jason Bordoff, Founding Director, CGEP. 

On Thursday, April 19, 2018, CGEP celebrated its 5th anniversary and hosted the annual Columbia Global Energy Summit.  The half-day forum included keynote remarks, interviews and plenary conversations with senior energy sector leaders focused on key issues and questions at the intersection of energy policy, financial markets, the environment and geopolitics.  This panel discussion focused on the global energy outlook. Panelists: Fu Chengyu, Former Chairman of SINOPEC and CNOOC, Member of UN global compact board, Chairman of UNGC Network China Matt Harris, Founding Partner, Global Infrastructure Partners Avril Haines, Senior Researcher for Columbia World Projects, former US Deputy NSA and US Deputy CIA Director Ajay Mathur, Director General, The Energy and Resources Institute John McCarrick, Acting Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs, Bureau of Energy Resources, US Department of State  Moderator: Jonathan Elkind, Sr. Research Scholar, CGEP

On Thursday, April 19, 2018, CGEP celebrated its 5th anniversary and hosted the annual Columbia Global Energy Summit.  The half-day forum included keynote remarks, interviews and plenary conversations with senior energy sector leaders focused on key issues and questions at the intersection of energy policy, financial markets, the environment and geopolitics.  This panel discussion focused on climate change - what's next on technology and policy? Panelists: Cameron Hepburn, Professor of Environmental Economics, University of Oxford Jeannette Wing, Avanessians Director of the Data Science Institute and Professor of Computer Science, Columbia University George David Banks, Former Special Assistant to President Trump for International Energy and Environment Tom Werner, President and CEO, Sun Power Ruth DeFries, Denning University Professor of Sustainable Development, Columbia University  Moderator: David Sandalow, Inaugural Fellow, CGEP

On Thursday, April 19, 2018, CGEP celebrated its 5th anniversary and hosted the annual Columbia Global Energy Summit.  The half-day forum included keynote remarks, interviews and plenary conversations with senior energy sector leaders focused on key issues and questions at the intersection of energy policy, financial markets, the environment and geopolitics.  This keynote conversation is with Ryan Lance, CEO, ConocoPhillips, and Dan Yergin, Vice Chairman, IHS-Markit. 

CGEP hosted a book talk with Dr. Johannes Urpelainen, the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz Professor of Energy, Resources and Environment at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and CGEP Fellow, on his new book, Renewables: The Politics of a Global Energy Transition where he and co-author Michaël Aklin offer a comprehensive political analysis of the rapid growth in renewable wind and solar power. Following Dr. Urpelainen's presentation, he joined by Shayle Kann, CGEP Non-Resident Fellow and Senior Vice President of Research and Strategy at Energy Impact Partners, and Colleen Regan, Head of U.S Utilities and Market Reform, North America at Bloomberg New Energy Finance for a discussion on renewable energy deployment more broadly including cost declines, power sector economics, carbon markets, and climate-finance. CGEP Inaugural Fellow, David Sandalow moderated the discussion.

Over the coming decades, digital technologies are set to make energy systems around the world more connected, intelligent, efficient, reliable, and sustainable. But getting everything right will not be easy. The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently completed its first ever analysis to comprehensively depict how digitalization is reshaping the energy sector and to provide more clarity for decision makers on what digitalization means for the energy sector – http://www.iea.org/digital/. The Center on Global Energy Policy hosted a presentation and discussion with Dave Turk, IEA’s Acting Director for the Sustainability, Technology and Outlooks Directorate and Head of the Energy Division, who co-led this new IEA analysis and will present the report’s key findings. Following Mr. Turk's presentation, Patricia Culligan, Robert A.W. and Christine S. Carleton Professor of Civil Engineering and member of the Data Science Institute's Smart Cities Committee at Columbia University, joined him on a panel to engage in a discussion on the fascinating confluence of digital technologies and energy. CGEP Fellow and Senior Research Scholar, Jonathan Elkind moderated the conversation. 

Solar energy, once a niche application for a limited market, has become the cheapest and fastest-growing power source on earth. What’s more, its potential is nearly limitless—every hour the sun beams down more energy than the world uses in a year. But in his new book, Taming the Sun: Innovations to Harness Solar Energy and Save the Planet (MIT Press, 2018), Dr. Varun Sivaram, Philip D. Reed Fellow for Science and Technology at the Council on Foreign Relations and CGEP Adjunct Senior Research Scholar, warns that the world is not yet equipped to harness erratic sunshine to meet most of its energy needs. And if solar’s current surge peters out, prospects for replacing fossil fuels and averting catastrophic climate change will dim.  Innovation can brighten those prospects, Dr. Sivaram argues. Financial innovation is already enticing deep-pocketed investors to fund solar projects around the world, from the sunniest deserts to the poorest villages. Technological innovation could replace today’s solar panels with coatings as cheap as paint and employ artificial photosynthesis to store intermittent sunshine as convenient fuels. Systemic innovation could add flexibility to the world’s power grids and other energy systems so they can dependably channel the sun’s unreliable energy. Unleashing all this innovation will require visionary public policy: funding researchers developing next-generation solar technologies, refashioning energy systems and economic markets, and putting together a diverse clean energy portfolio. To discuss the state of solar energy and his new book, which Bloomberg has called "the first important policy book of 2018," the Center on Global Energy Policy hosted a talk with Dr. Sivaram. Following Dr. Sivaram's presentation, CGEP Founding Director, Jason Bordoff moderated the discussion.

In the wake of President Trump’s announcement that he intends to have the United States leave the Paris climate accord, many American states, cities, and corporations declared: “We are still in.” Beyond the rhetoric, however, how strongly committed is America’s corporate sector to taking steps to reduce climate change? Can corporate actions on climate support, rather than detract from, growth in markets and profitability? How much impact are corporations feeling from the abrupt change in climate policies between the last US Administration and the current one? What kinds of climate policies are most favored by the corporate sector? As part of our on-going speaker series “Where Next on Climate?” the Center on Global Energy Policy hosted a presentation and panel discussion on climate, energy, and development. Kevin Knobloch of Tufts University’s Climate Policy Lab presented results from a soon-to-be-completed research project entitled “The Relationship between Clean Energy/Climate Policy and Expanding Corporate Markets.” This project involved structured interviews with C-suite leaders in major corporations and private equity houses. After Knobloch’s presentation, we had a panel discussion with: •    Kevin Knobloch, Tufts University •    Geoffrey Heal, Columbia Business School •    Nancy Meyer, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES) •    John MacWilliams, Center on Global Energy Policy

No region remains more important for the global energy scene than the Middle East, and the influence of the Gulf Arab States remains extremely high. In order to understand current trends in energy markets, and their implications for economies and geopolitical relations of the Gulf states, the Center on Global Energy Policy hosted a discussion with an outstanding panel of leading decision-makers and analysts:   • Dr. Matar Al Neyadi, Under Secretary, UAE Ministry of Energy • Dr. Adnan Shihab-Eldin, Director General, Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Science • Dr. Helima Croft, Managing Director and Global Head of Commodity Strategy, RBC Capital Markets • Dr. Bernard Haykel, Professor of Near Eastern Studies & Director, Institute for Transregional Study of the Contemporary Middle East, Princeton University • Nabil Al-Khowaiter, Senior Advisor, Saudi Ministry of Energy, Industry, and Mineral Resources

The global energy landscape is changing. What are the key factors influencing the shift in the energy mix and the pace at which it is changing? The Center on Global Energy Policy hosted a presentation of the BP Energy Outlook - 2018 Edition with Group Chief Economist Spencer Dale. The BP Energy Outlook outlines BP’s views of future global energy markets through to 2040 and explores key uncertainties. 

Like many nations around the world grappling with climate change and threats to the natural environment and public health, Canada is taking action to address these challenges, including ratification of the Paris Agreement and a pledge to reduce domestic greenhouse gas emissions by thirty percent in 2030 from 2005 levels. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called for a national carbon pricing plan among other policies, at the same time that the government is making strategic investments to sustain the country’s transition to a clean-growth economy. The Center on Global Energy Policy hosted a conversation with the Hon. Catherine McKenna, Canadian Minister of Environment and Climate Change. Minister McKenna offered brief remarks focused on Canada’s work in climate change, but most of the time was devoted to answering students' questions. CGEP Fellow and Senior Adjunct Research Scholar, Jonathan Elkind moderated the conversation.

On February 13, 2018, the Center on Global Energy Policy hosted a presentation by John Conti, Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Energy Information Administration, of the EIA's Annual Energy Outlook 2018. The Annual Energy Outlook provides modeled projections of domestic energy markets through 2050, and includes cases with different assumptions of macroeconomic growth, world oil prices, technological progress, and energy policies. CGEP Fellow John MacWilliams moderated the discussion following the presentation.

In a world struggling to respond adequately to the challenge of climate change, how should we think about the implications of efforts to alleviate poverty by facilitating energy development that enables economic opportunity – and what are the implications of success on climate change? A better understanding of the implications for climate change of energy access and of energy for further development can inform effective policy responses and investments in technology and R&D – which may be especially important in a time of uncertainty about national policies across the industrialized world. As part of CGEP's on-going speaker series “Where Next on Climate?” the Center on Global Energy Policy hosted a presentation and panel discussion on climate, energy, and development. Philippe Benoit, Senior Associate for the Energy and National Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), presented findings from his on-going work on these topic. Following Mr. Benoit's presentation, he joined a panel discussion with the following experts:  Ellen Morris, Adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs, Columbia/SIPA  Kathleen Auth, Deputy Energy Office Director, Power Africa, US Agency for International Development (USAID)

The Center on Global Energy Policy hosted a fireside chat with Commissioner Neil Chatterjee of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Commissioner Chatterjee discussed a number of pertinent issues including power markets and efforts to promote grid reliability and resilience, natural gas markets, and infrastructure development, among others. CGEP Founding Director, Jason Bordoff moderated the discussion.

Center on Global Energy Policy launched The Fracking Debate, the upcoming book in the Center on Global Energy Policy Series published by the Columbia University Press. In his book, author Daniel Raimi, Senior Research Associate at Resources for the Future, Lecturer at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, and faculty affiliate with the University of Michigan Energy Institute, gives a balanced and accessible view of oil and gas development, explaining the key issues surrounding the shale revolution. Following Mr. Raimi’s presentation, he joined Thomas Murphy, Director, Penn State Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research and John Hanger, former Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, on a panel on fracking. The discussion was moderated by CGEP Founding Director, Jason Bordoff.

Economic sanctions are a key part of international affairs, but they have been widely criticized for decades as being too inefficient, unwieldy, inconsistent with the interests of business and industry, and brutally inconsiderate of humanitarian concerns.  At the center is a question of whether and how to do sanctions right. The Center on Global Energy Policy celebrated the launch of a new book by Senior Research Scholar Richard Nephew, The Art of Sanctions: A View From the Field. Mr. Nephew, the former Principal Deputy Coordinator for Sanctions Policy at the Department of State, presented key conclusions from his new book and then joined a panel discussion about current events and U.S. sanctions policy. The conversation focused on sanctions design, particularly as it relates to industry and foreign countries.   Expert panelists will include: Ed Crooks, U.S. Energy Editor, Financial Times (moderator) Jackie Shire, former member of the United Nations Panel of Experts on Iran Dr. Tim Boersma, Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy 

Recent events in Venezuela – from missed debt payments and calls for debt restructuring to the arrest of Citgo officials and the appointment of a general with no experience in the oil business  as oil minister and head of state oil company PdVSA – signal an acceleration of the country’s crisis.  Although President Nicolas Maduro consolidated his political power following the Constitutional Assembly election of July 31, the situation on the ground continues to spiral downwards. Accelerating oil production declines and recently-imposed US financial sanctions  are muting the effect of recent oil price gains, even as the quality of Venezuelan crude exports becomes increasingly erratic. Meanwhile, the links between Caracas and Moscow appear to be deepening.     To discuss these momentous developments, CGEP organized a panel discussion featuring three experts on the country's finances, economy, politics and oil industry: Francisco Monaldi, Rice University and Fellow, Center on Global Energy Policy  Luisa Palacios, Medley Global Advisors and Fellow, Center on Global Energy Policy  Miguel Angel Santos, Harvard University The discussion was moderated by Antoine Halff, Senior Research Scholar and Director of Global Oil Markets at the Center on Global Energy Policy.

Under the Belt and Road Initiative, the Chinese government will provide hundreds of billions of dollars for thousands of projects across Asia, Europe and Africa.  This will include funding for power plants, transmission lines and other energy infrastructure.  The Chinese government has emphasized “green development” as an important feature of the Belt and Road Initiative, highlighting its commitment to environmental protection, low-carbon development and the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.  CGEP hosted a discussion of the Belt and Road Initiative and its impacts on sustainable development. David Sandalow – Inaugural Fellow and Director, US-China Program for the Center on Global Energy Policy and Xu Qinhua from Renmin University moderated the discussion with the following group of experts: Fu Chengyu — former Chair, China National Offshore Oil Company and former Chair, Sinopec Li Junfeng — former Director-General, National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation, NDRC Han Wenke — former Director, Energy Research Institute, NDRC Zhao Xijun, Renmin University Qinhua Xu — Director, Center for International Energy and Environment Strategy Studies, Renmin University  Michael Eckhart — Managing Director and Global Head of Environmental Finance of Citigroup & Adjunct Professor of Columbia University's School for International and Policy Affairs  Deborah Lehr — Vice Chairman, Paulson Institute Nobuo Tanaka — President of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and CGEP Fellow

The Center on Global Energy Policy hosted a discussion on the outlook for offshore energy production in a low oil price environment. Jason Bordoff, CGEP Founding Director, moderated the discussion and we were pleased to be joined by: Lars Christian Bacher, Executive Vice President, Development & Production International, Statoil Tommy Beaudreau, Partner, Environment, Land & Resources Department of Latham & Watkins and former Chief of Staff at the US Interior Department Antoine Halff, Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy Amy Jaffe, David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow for Energy and the Environment at the Council on Foreign Relations Adrián Lajous, non-resident Fellow, Center on Global Energy Policy and former Director General of Pemex

China and the US are the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters.  In October, President Xi opened China’s 19th Party Congress declaring that China is “taking a driving seat in international cooperation to respond to climate change.”  As President Trump arrives in Beijing for bilateral meetings, please join us please join us in exploring questions such as: What are China and the U.S. each doing to address climate change?  Can cooperation between China and the US. on clean energy and climate survive a period in which the U.S. President questions the scientific consensus on climate change and rejects the Paris climate accords?  What impact would potential energy trade disputes have on both countries?  To address these and related questions, David H. Rank, a career Foreign Service Officer who who served until June as Charge d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Beijing, offered keynote remarks on US-China relations. After Rank’s remarks, CGEP Fellow and Senior Adjunct Research Scholar Jonathan Elkind moderated a discussion on energy and climate collaborations featuring: David Rank, former Charge d’Affaires at the US Embassy in Beijing Kelly Gallagher, Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy, Director of the Center for International Environment & Resource Policy, Tufts University’s Fletcher School  Anthony Yuen, Director and Global Energy Strategist Commodities Strategy, Citi Research David Sandalow, CGEP Inaugural Fellow and Director of the CGEP China Program

On the eve of the 23rd Conference of the Parties (COP-23) under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (November 6 to 17, in Bonn), CGEP hosted a panel discussion on the future of international climate negotiations. What are the stakes for the United States and other parties at COP-23 and in the broader UNFCCC negotiations? Can the other parties sustain momentum in the wake of the announcement by President Trump that the United States intends to withdraw from the Paris climate accord? In what ways could the US announcement affect the UNFCCC process going forward? Jonathan Elkind, Fellow and Senior Adjunct Research Scholar at CGEP moderated the discussion which featured the following experts: Susan Biniaz, former U.S. Department of State Climate Lawyer; Lecturer in Law, Columbia Law School Daniel A. Reifsnyder, former Co-Chair of the Paris Agreement Negotiations; former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Environment, U.S. Department of State Scott Barrett, Lenfest-Earth Institute Professor of Natural Resource Economics, School of International and Public Affairs 

On October 30, 2017, the Center on Global Energy Policy was honored to welcome Chairman Liu Zhenya, Chairman of the Global Energy Interconnection Development and Cooperation Organization and Chairman of the China Electricity Council, and the former CEO of the world’s largest electric utility, China State Grid, to deliver keynote remarks on global energy interconnection and the transition to a low carbon economy. David Sandalow, Inaugural Fellow at CGEP, moderated a discussion following Chairman Liu's remarks.  

President Trump announced he will no longer certify the Iran nuclear agreement is in the U.S. national interest. This decision will have consequences for the United States in the Middle East as well as potentially beyond. CGEP hosted an expert panel to discuss the decision and its implications, its impact on the Iran nuclear agreement itself, how Congress, U.S. partners, and Iran will react, and, what will come next for U.S. sanctions and energy markets. Expert panelists included: Richard Nephew, former Principal Deputy Coordinator for Sanctions Policy at the Department of State and CGEP Senior Research Scholar Avril Haines  former White House Deputy National Security Advisor and former Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency for the Obama Administration  Helima Croft, Head of Commodity Strategy, ‎RBC Capital Markets Jason Bordoff, CGEP Founding Director (moderator)

The Center on Global Energy Policy hosted a presentation and discussion of the IEA's Renewable Energy Market Report 2017 with Heymi Bahar, Renewable Energy Markets Analyst at the International Energy Agency and Project Manager of the Report.  This report examines how renewable energy in the power, heat and transportation sectors will evolve over 2017-22 in the context of global decarbonization goals. It explores recent renewable deployment, policy, market and cost trends across different regions and countries, particularly as costs for wind and solar PV continue to fall. This year’s report includes additional analysis on renewable consumption of electricity vehicles and off-grid solar PV segment. The Renewable Energy Market Report 2017 also assesses the potential impact of enhanced policy action for the electricity and transport sector under its accelerated case, which would position the world firmly on a path to a more sustainable and secure energy system.

CGEP was honored to welcome Ibrahim Baylan, Swedish Minister for Policy Coordination and Energy, as guest speaker at our Fall 2017 Energy Leaders Forum. Minister Baylan offered keynote remarks focused on Swedish and international energy and climate change initiatives. Following his remarks, Minister Baylan had a one-on-one conversation with David Sandalow, Inaugural Fellow at CGEP, about issues including women in the clean energy sector.

CGEP hosted a presentation and discussion of IEA's World Energy Investment 2017 report with Laszlo Varro, Chief Economist at the International Energy Agency. CGEP Fellow, John MacWilliams moderated the discussion following Mr. Varro's presentation. World Energy Investment 2017 is the second annual IEA benchmark analysis of energy investment. It highlights the ways in which investment decisions taken today are determining how energy supply and demand will unfold tomorrow, complementing the forecasts and projections found in other IEA publications.

The Tamer Center for Social Enterprise and the Center on Global Energy Policy hosted a presentation by Howard Bamsey, Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund (GCF). ED Bamsey discussed climate finance and the role of GCF. After his keynote remarks, panelists joined CGEP Inaugural Fellow, David Sandalow for an actively moderated discussion focused broadly on climate finance and next steps following President Trump's announcement to pull out of the Paris Agreement and end U.S. contributions to the GCF.  

CGEP hosted a discussion with Meghan O'Sullivan, Professor of the Practice of International Affairs and the Director of the Geopolitics of Energy Project at Harvard University’s Kennedy School, former Special Assistant to President George W. Bush, and former Deputy National Security Advisor for Iraq and Afghanistan. Dr. O'Sullivan discussed her new book, Windfall: How the New Energy Abundance Upends Global Politics and Strengthens America’s Power. 

The Center on Global Energy Policy hosted the global launch of the International Energy Agency’s annual natural-gas market analysis and forecast report. Renamed Gas 2017, the market report provides a detailed analysis of supply and trade developments, infrastructure investments, and demand-growth forecast through 2022. Dr. Fatih Birol, the IEA’s Executive Director, and Peter Fraser, the head of the IEA’s Gas, Coal and Power Markets Division presented the report. Bob McNally, Founder and President of The Rapidan Group and Center on Global Energy Policy Fellow moderated the discussion following the presentation.

Eirik Wærness, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at Statoil, presented Statoil’s Energy Perspectives 2017 Edition at CGEP. Following his presentation, Director Jason Bordoff led a discussion with Eirik and Geoff Heal, Donald C. Waite III Professor of Social Enterprise at Columbia University's School of Business. Energy Perspectives is published each year by Statoil. You can find Eirik's presentation online, along with with a video of the event. Follow and engage with the Center on Global Energy Policy online: @ColumbiaUEnergy; http://energypolicy.columbia.edu/

As the energy landscape continues to transform--from the rapid growth rates of low-carbon fuels to questions about the future of oil demand to a more integrated global gas market--it is important to understand the trends and developments driving this change. The Center on Global Energy Policy hosted a presentation on BP's Statistical Review of World Energy 2017 with Spencer Dale, Group Chief Economist. After the presentation, CGEP Director Jason Bordoff moderated a conversation where Mr. Dale was joined by Antoine Halff, Sr. Research Scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy, and Amy Myers Jaffe, Executive Director of Energy and Sustainability at the UC Davis Graduate School of Management.

CGEP hosted a conversation on the future of renewable energy in New York. Jason Bordoff, Professor of Practice in International and Public Affairs at SIPA and Founding Director of the Center on Global Energy Policy, moderated a conversation with a group of distinguished speakers: Knut M. Aanstad, President, Statoil Wind US LLC; Dan Esty, Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy, Yale University; Richard Kauffman, Chairman of Energy and Finance for New York; Eric Martel, President and CEO, Hydro-Quebec; and Vijay Modi, Professor of Mechanical Engineering; Director, Infrastructure Programs, Millennium Villages Project.

The Center on Global Energy Policy’s Women in Energy program hosted a public panel discussion on the future of clean transportation technology and innovation including smart mobility, electric vehicles, and battery technologies from the technological maturity, market readiness, and policy outlook perspectives.  The panel included the following speakers: Christina Lampe-Onnerud, CEO and Founder, Cadenza Innovation; Robyn Marquis, Project Manager, Clean Transportation Program at NYSERDA; Goksin Kavlak, Graduate researcher, Trancik Lab at the Institute for Data, Systems and Society (IDSS) at MIT; and Sharon Di, Assistant Professor, The Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University.

The decline in US coal mining played a prominent role in the 2016 US presidential campaign. Donald Trump repeatedly promised to revive the US coal industry and bring back mining employment by removing environmental regulations. President Trump has reiterated these promises since the election. But can coal make a comeback?  CGEP held a panel discussion with the following experts: Jim Rogers, Former President, CEO and Chairman, Duke Energy; Dr. Geoff Heal, Donald C. Waite III Professor of Social Enterprise, Columbia Business School; Trevor Houser, Partner, Rhodium Group; Jason Bordoff, Professor of Practice in International and Public Affairs, SIPA; Director, Center on Global Energy Policy; and Peter Marsters, Research Analyst, Rhodium Group.  

To kick-off Earth Week, CGEP and the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law hosted a discussion with leading experts who presented and compared strategies for deep decarbonization in the United States by 2050. The panel included the following distinguished experts: Jeff Sachs, Director, Center for Sustainable Development, The Earth Institute; Karl Hausker, Senior Fellow, World Resources Institute; Geoff Heal, Donald C. Waite III Professor of Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School; Judi Greenwald, Principal, Greenwald Consulting; and Michael Gerrard, Director, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.   

CGEP hosted a special conversation between Mr. Amin Nasser, President and CEO of Saudi Aramco, and Dr. Daniel Yergin, Vice Chairman of IHS Markit and a member of CGEP's Advisory Board, as part of the 2017 Columbia Global Energy Summit.  

Keynote Conversation on the future of transportation with Jeff Holden, Chief Product Officer, Uber Technologies and Dr. Dan Yergin, Vice Chairman, IHS Markit.

Research spotlight on carbon capture, utilization, and storage with: Dr. Alissa Park, Director, Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy, Columbia University; Dr. Peter Kelemen, Chair, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Columbia University; Julio Friedmann, Senior Advisor for Energy Innovation, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory; Ahmad O. Al Khowaiter – Chief Technology Officer, Saudi Aramco; and David Sandalow, Center on Global Energy Policy.

Panel on changing global natural gas markets with: Charif Souki, Chairman, Tellurian Inc.; Jeroen van der Veer, former CEO, Shell; Fu Chengyu, former Chair, Sinopec and former Chair, CNOOC; Dr. Tatiana Mitrova, Fellow, Center on Global Energy Policy; and Dr. Tim Boersma, Sr. Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy.

Panel on oil markets in transition with: Scott Sheffield - Executive Chairman of the Board, Pioneer Natural Resources; Adam Sieminski, James R. Schlesinger Chair for Energy & Geopolitics, CSIS; former U.S. Energy Information Administration Administrator; Dr. Dan Yergin, Vice Chairman, IHS Markit; Antoine Halff, Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy; and Amb. Carlos Pascual, former Special Envoy and Coordinator for International Energy Affairs, U.S. Department of State; Fellow, Center on Global Energy Policy.

Panel on the outlook for environmental policy with: Diane Regas, Executive Director, Environmental Defense Fund; Bob Perciasepe, President, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions and former Deputy Administrator of the U.S. EPA; Jim Connaughton, former Chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality for President George W. Bush; Karen Harbert, President and CEO, Institute for 21st Century Energy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce; and Dr. Phil Sharp, Center on Global Energy Policy, former President of Resources For the Future.

Keynote Conversation on technology’s role in the clean energy transition with Lisa Jackson, VP of Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives, Apple and former U.S. EPA Administrator. Moderated by David Sandalow, Inaugural Fellow, Center on Global Energy Policy.

Keynote conversation on energy, economics, and trade with Jack Lew, Visiting Professor of International and Public Affairs, SIPA and 76th Secretary of the Treasury, and Jason Bordoff, Founding Director, Center on Global Energy Policy.

The Center on Global Energy Policy was honored to host a conversation with European Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič. The discussion was broad ranging and touched on a number of topics including: the geopolitical context of Russia, LNG, and energy security; the European Commission's focus on energy transition in Africa Climate change; and the European Union's relationship with the United States. Distinguished experts who joined VP Šefčovič on the panel included: Natasha Udensiva, Jonathan Elkind, Vijay Modi, and Tim Boersma.

Building on research from the Center on Global Energy Policy—a three-part series on nuclear technology, the geopolitics of nuclear energy, and U.S. policy—this panel examined the history of nuclear power, its future, and the policy and business choices that lie ahead. This event was made possible, in part, by support from the Sasakawa Peace Foundation. Distinguished experts on the panel included: Dr. Andrew Kadak, Tim Frazier, Dr. Patricia Culligan, Dr. Nicola de Blasio, and Richard Nephew.  

NYU's Center for Global Affairs, the Energy Policy International Club (EPIC), and the Center on Global Energy Policy's Women in Energy program co-hosted a public panel focused on energy start-ups. We had experts working in companies that focus on energy efficiency, clean energy finance, and technology joining us to share their experience entering these fields and offer advice on the types of skills companies are looking for. They also provided insights on how the industry is evolving as well as the current state of women in the energy start-up sector. The panel included the following experts: Ali Adler, Claire Johnson, ‎Mouchka Heller, and Angela Ferrante.  

The Center on Global Energy Policy's Women in Energy program hosted a public panel focused on the future of the renewable energy jobs market. This panel explored different sectors of the market and addressed its current state, where the opportunities are focused, and where there is most need for innovation. We had experts with backgrounds in the private, public, and international arenas joining us to share their experience entering these fields, providing insights and advice on how the industry is evolving as well as the current state of women in the renewable energy field. The panel included the following experts: Elle Carberry, Greentech Capital Advisors; Kristen Graf, Women of Wind Energy; Yera Ortiz de Urbina, International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA); Kristine Pizzo, New York Power Authority; and Nilda Mesa, Earth Institute.    

Perhaps no region matters more to the oil and broader energy markets than the GCC group of countries. Understanding the drivers of the region’s reform movement, assessing its chances of success and the potential impact of both success and failure on the region’s stability and oil industry dynamics, has become a pressing if daunting challenge for oil market analysts and anyone with an interest in the energy industry and energy markets. The Center on Global Energy Policy hosted a panel discussion with a distinguished set of experts including: Ed Morse, Citigroup; Dr. Adnan Shihab-Eldin, Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences; Dr. Steffen Hertog, London School of Economics; Dr. Bernard Haykel,  Princeton University; Dr. Joseph Westphal, former US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia; Jason Bordoff, Professor of Professional Practice and Founding Director, Center on Global Energy Policy, SIPA (moderator).

The Center on Global Energy Policy hosted the official US Launch of the BP Energy Outlook - 2017 Edition with BP Group Chief Economist Spencer Dale. The BP Energy Outlook considers a base case, which outlines the “most likely” path for energy demand based on assumptions about future changes in policy, technology and the economy.  Beyond the base case, the Energy Outlook examines some of the key issues that will shape energy supply and demand through to 2035, and explores possible alternative outcomes. Center Director Jason Bordoff moderated a discussion following the presentation. You can find a copy of the report here: http://energypolicy.columbia.edu/events-calendar/bp-energy-outlook-2017-edition