Off The Charts Energy Podcast

The United States just took a big step in confronting climate change with the passing and signing of the Inflation Reduction Act, arguably the largest single investment in U.S. climate policy to date. It's historic. But the bill passed with only Democratic support. Republicans, who rejected to the use of the reconciliation process to pass the bill, were unanimously opposed. Was there a realistic pathway to securing Republican votes? And what can be expected if Republicans take one or both Houses of Congress this November? To help unpack those questions and more, New York Times climate reporter and EPIC Journalism Fellow Lisa Friedman sat down with former Republican Congressman Carlos Curbelo, who proposed a carbon tax bill and co-founded the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus while in Congress. Carlos is a policy fellow at EPIC this year.

About a year ago, President Biden laid out his climate agenda. That agenda has since been roughly split into two Congressional actions: An infrastructure bill that passed last summer with bipartisan support, and the Build Back Better Act that still sits with the Senate. Recently, EPIC Policy Fellow Heather McTeer Toney, vice president of community engagement for the Environmental Defense Fund, and EPIC Journalism Fellow, Lisa Friedman, a climate policy reporter for The New York Times, sat down to talk about where things stand with climate change in the United States. Key to the discussion was the fact that the communities on the frontlines of climate impacts—often poor and minority communities—are seeing the money trickle down from the infrastructure bill and those communities are putting that money to work in building resiliency. In their eyes, Heather McTeer Toney said, we are already “building back better.”

After half a decade of low oil prices, things have changed pretty dramatically in recent months. Global benchmark oil prices are touching $120 a barrel this week, and gasoline prices in parts of the U.S. are topping out close to $7 a gallon. High prices have become a massive headache for policymakers already worried about rising inflation as the economy tries to restart following two years of pandemic shutdowns. While it is easy to point to Russia's war in Ukraine and the US and European embargo of Russian oil as the primary cause of high prices, the reality is that the oil market crisis is far bigger and more complex than the Russian situation alone. So how did we get here? What resolves this crisis? And ultimately, what does this mean for the transition to a green economy? To help answer those questions, EPIC's Executive Director Sam Ori recently sat down with Jeff Currie, global head of commodities research at Goldman Sachs. At Goldman, Jeff spends much of his time researching the oil market and forecasting oil prices to help guide investment strategies. Under his leadership, the commodities research team consistently ranks number one. Jeff is a CNBC Analyst of the Year and all around commodity market guru. And, he got his PhD from the University of Chicago.

Developing countries represent a large source of potential future carbon emissions as they seek to rapidly industrialize their economies. Yet, if the world is to hold future warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, these countries must identify a cleaner model of growth that relies on low- or zero-carbon fuels instead of fossil energy. This tension between maintaining access to inexpensive energy and addressing climate change was on full display last fall when countries met at the COP26 international climate talks in Glasgow, Scotland. India, already the world's third-biggest emitter, committed that half of its energy come from clean sources by 2030. At the same time, the country pushed for a key change to the final agreement: weakening language from a “phase out” of coal to a “phase down.” India is part of a cohort of countries seeking aid from richer nations to help them make the transition away from fossil fuels. How can developing countries balance their need for reliable energy with goals to transition away from fossil fuels? Are there signs of progress? And, what responsibility do developed nations bear for helping developing countries confront climate change? On May 10, EPIC hosted a conversation on climate policy in the developing world with Indian Member of Parliament Priyanka Chaturvedi, former U.S. Deputy Climate Envoy Jonathan Pershing, program director of environment at the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and EPIC Director Michael Greenstone. The event was moderated by EPIC's journalism fellow, Lisa Friedman, climate policy reporter for The New York Times. https://epic.uchicago.edu/events/event/can-the-world-phase-out-fossil-fuels-a-look-at-climate-policy-in-the-developing-world/

Energy demand continues to rise amidst impacts from geopolitical events. Yet, the United States remains committed to scaling up action at home and abroad to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Faced with energy security and climate concerns, could now be the time for a price on carbon? Carbon pricing has received considerable bipartisan pushback, with some conservatives arguing it will raise energy costs and some progressives saying it could exacerbate socioeconomic inequalities. But the idea has also gained supporters from both political parties, with Democrats and Republicans mulling the idea as recently as last fall. Economists, meanwhile, are largely united in their belief that carbon pricing is the key to transitioning to a low-carbon future by changing behaviors and incentivizing innovation. Join EPIC for a deep dive conversation into carbon pricing, and how a policy could be structured to help consumers, the climate and energy security. The event will include bp's head of state government affairs and third-party advocacy, Phil Cochrane, as well as EPIC's 2021-2022 policy fellows Heather McTeer Toney, vice president of community engagement for the Environmental Defense Fund, and former Congressman Carlos Curbelo (R-FL), who proposed a carbon tax-gas tax swap when he was in Congress. The event will be moderated by EPIC's journalism fellow, Lisa Friedman, climate policy reporter for The New York Times.

Last November, the international community concluded its 26th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland. Reviews were mixed. Among its successes, COP26 concluded the Paris “rulebook,” adopted a consensus decision on next steps, and produced a series of multilateral commitments on limiting methane emissions and deforestation, strengthening climate finance, and more. A surprise joint declaration between the United States and China offered hope that the world's two largest economies and carbon emitters can still work together. At the same time, despite substantial progress since adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015, the world remains off track to limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.  Key countries have not yet aligned their “nationally determined contributions” with the Paris Agreement's temperature goal. How should the world view COP26? Is progress being made, or are countries avoiding the tough choices? How essential is the United States? And where do international climate negotiations go from here? On February 1, EPIC hosted Sue Biniaz, Deputy to Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, who played a critical role in both the forming of the Paris Agreement and in the latest talks. Biniaz talked with EPIC journalism fellow and The New York Times climate reporter Lisa Friedman, who was in Glasgow covering the conference. They discussed the successes, setbacks and steps forward. https://epic.uchicago.edu/events/event/an-insiders-look-at-cop26-successes-setbacks-and-the-future-of-international-climate-diplomacy/

The federal oil and gas leasing process plays a critical role in deciding whether, where and when oil and gas resources on public lands are developed, the revenue the government takes in, and the extent to which the local environment is protected. But the process is due for an update. Recognizing the need for reforms, President Joe Biden temporarily suspended oil and gas lease sales in January while his administration could review the program—a review that is still ongoing. On November 15, EPIC hosted Interior Deputy Secretary Tommy Beaudreau for a conversation on the future of oil and gas drilling on federal lands, moderated by The Washington Post's Juliet Eilperin. Harris Public Policy's Ryan Kellogg, who provided recommendations to reform the process with Booth scholar Thom Covert earlier this year, joined the conversation.

Air pollution is the single greatest threat to human health globally, having a more devastating impact on life expectancy than communicable diseases like tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, behavioral killers like cigarette smoking, and even war. According to recent data from EPIC's Air Quality Life Index, or AQLI, people living in the most polluted regions of the world could see their lives cut short by 5 years or more. To dive deeper into the problem of air pollution and what policymakers are doing to confront it, EPIC will occasionally feature conversations with the AQLI's director, Ken Lee, and various government officials, advocates, health experts and others dedicated to reducing air pollution in the countries where they live. For our first conversation in this series, Lee talks with Gaurav Gogoi, an Indian member of Parliament who has been a vocal advocate for clean air.

Climate change is a top priority for President Joe Biden as he prepares to meet the world at the next international climate summit, COP26, in November. But how big of a priority is it for the American public? How much would they pay out of their own wallets to confront climate change? And, where do they stand on key issues? On October 26, EPIC hosted a conversation with the 2021-2022 Visiting Fellows in Policy Practice Carlos Curbelo and Heather McTeer Toney. Curbelo and McTeer Toney dug into the results of an EPIC/AP-NORC poll conducted to track opinions on central topics shaping the energy and climate landscape in the United States. EPIC Director Michael Greenstone joined the conversation, which was moderated by The Atlantic's Rob Meyer. Read more about the event: https://epic.uchicago.edu/events/event/where-do-americans-stand-on-climate-and-energy-policy/

You'll be hard pressed to find a climate agenda that doesn't include policies to encourage energy efficiency. It makes sense. Reducing energy consumption while lowering households' electricity bills and greenhouse gas emissions at the same time—a win for everyone, right? While the concept of doing more with less energy is appealing, research is piling up that these policies often don't deliver as promised and can be expensive ways to reduce carbon emissions. This as the Senate's infrastructure bill provides an historic investment into one of the central energy efficiency programs researchers have pointed to as underdelivering. Today, I'm talking with Harris Public Policy assistant professor Fiona Burlig about this line of research and ways policymakers could improve the programs. https://epic.uchicago.edu/area-of-focus/making-energy-efficiency-work/

Meeting the Biden administration's goal of transitioning to a carbon-free power sector will mean accelerating a shift away from coal that is already on its way. In our fourth episode in the series, Rob talks with Mark Templeton, the director of the University of Chicago Law School's Abrams Environmental Clinic, about the many levers that could be used to accelerate the transition from coal and ensure coal communities aren't left behind during this transition.

In our third episode in this special series, The Atlantic's Rob Meyer talks with Steve Cicala and Michael Greenstone to take a hard look at the barriers that today's fragmented grid imposes on the growth of renewables, and what steps the government can take to remove those barriers. But taking those steps will likely not be enough, and many in Washington are supporting a Clean Electricity Standard—though not everyone agrees on what qualifies as “clean.” https://epic.uchicago.edu/area-of-focus/decarbonizing-the-us-economy-with-a-national-grid/

Where does climate and energy policy go from here? In the new podcast miniseries The Roadmap, The Atlantic's Rob Meyer joins EPIC scholars to take a deep dive into timely climate and energy issues and the evidence behind needed policy changes, as described in the U.S. Energy & Climate Roadmap. For our second episode, Rob talks with EPIC Executive Director Sam Ori and Harris Public Policy's Koichiro Ito about transportation emissions. While new proposals to boost electric vehicles have dominated much of the Biden administration's transportation agenda, the predominate policy tool to reduce carbon emissions in this sector has historically been fuel economy standards—and they're due for an update. Rob, Sam and Koichiro explore what they are, where they came from, and where we go from here.

Episode 1 : The Case for a Carbon Price and How to Prevent Leakage For the first episode, Rob talks with EPIC Director Michael Greenstone and UChicago Law’s David Weisbach about one of the most important and political issues in climate policy: carbon prices. They also discuss one of the biggest questions surrounding carbon pricing, which is how to impose a carbon price without driving industry overseas and without exporting carbon emissions—a phenomenon called carbon leakage.  https://epic.uchicago.edu/us-energy-and-climate-roadmap/

Over the coming months, The Atlantic's Rob Meyer will join EPIC scholars to take a deep dive on timely climate and energy issues and the evidence behind needed policy changes laid out in the U.S. Energy & Climate Roadmap. Up first, David Weisbach will talk more about border tax adjustments and his recommendations to prevent carbon leakage. He'll be joined by EPIC Director Michael Greenstone for a larger conversation on carbon pricing.

Having served in several senior energy and environmental policy positions in the House of Representatives, Senate, EPA, and the White House—including most recently as special assistant to President Trump on energy and environmental issues—Michael Catanzaro knows both energy policy and the complicated politics behind it. The Atlantic’s Rob Meyer, a journalism fellow at EPIC, recently interviewed Catanzaro, who is now president of the consulting firm CGCN Group and a policy fellow at EPIC. The two talked about how a potential Biden administration might think about climate and energy policy, what to look for in a second Trump administration, and what steps Congress could take on these issues.

As the former chief economist for the California Air Resources Board, Emily Wimberger has spent her career at the intersection of critical energy and environmental issues, ranging from air pollution to fuel economy to carbon markets. The Atlantic’s Rob Meyer, a journalism fellow at EPIC, recently interviewed Wimberger, who is now a climate economist at the Rhodium Group and a policy fellow at EPIC. The two talked about the challenges of decarbonization, including the economics and politics surrounding fuel economy standards, where Jeff Bezos should spend the $10 billion he’s promised to the climate fight, and how a second-hand Honda Civic led her to a career in environmental economics.

On November 6th, EPIC and The Pearson Institute for the Study and Resolution of Global Conflicts convened a conversation about energy geopolitics and their economic implications, with a specific focus on the lessons learned from the Abqaiq attack. The event featured Robert McNally, the president of The Rapidan Group and a former senior director for international energy at the White House National Security Council; Suzanne Maloney, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director for Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution; and Harris Public Policy Professor Ryan Kellogg, an EPIC affiliated scholar who studies the economics of oil markets. The event was moderated by Robinson Meyer, EPIC’s Visiting Fellow in Journalism and a reporter for The Atlantic.

In an era of divided government, there has been concern over Congress’s ability to reach compromise and pass legislation. With Democrats in the majority in the House of Representatives and Republicans in control of the Senate and the White House, progress has been limited. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) is one of only five women Republican Senators and is considered by many to be a key leader for forging compromise in this environment. Senator Murkowski has time and again made headlines for key votes on everything from healthcare to climate policy.

The U.S. energy landscape is rapidly changing. As the cost of wind and solar power drops, allowing these energy sources to compete against coal- and natural gas-fired power plants, pressure is mounting to develop an electric grid that can sustain more renewables and deliver their power to more homes and businesses throughout the country. In the book “Superpower: One Man’s Quest to Transform American Energy,” Wall Street Journal reporter Russell Gold chronicles Michael Skelly’s mission to improve the U.S. electric grid by building a network of transmission lines to connect solar and wind hotbeds to areas of the country where demand for energy is high. Experts in the field broadly agree that this grid integration is the key to unlocking the clean, affordable grid of the future. The book provides deep insights on the challenges of achieving such a system and the opportunities ahead. Recently, EPIC’s Director Michael Greenstone sat down with Russell Gold to talk about “Superpower,” the characters and lessons it details, and the future of the U.S. electricity grid.

As director of the California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and senior climate advisor to Gov. Gavin Newsom, Kate Gordon spends a great deal of time thinking about how states can build climate resiliency into their growth plans. We talked with Gordon about mitigation, adaptation, and resilience in one of the country’s largest, most diverse, and most proactive states. Gordon, a co-author of the Fourth National Climate Assessment’s chapter on adaptation, detailed ways California is boosting its economic growth while becoming better able to weather the wildfires, sea level rise, and other climate impacts already affecting the state.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis recently announced a roadmap for the state to generate 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2040. At the same time, he signed a suite of legislation to decarbonize the electricity sector, expand energy efficiency programs, and more. Much of the responsibility for delivering these goals will fall on the shoulders of Will Toor, the executive director of the Colorado Energy Office. Toor joined us to talk about these clean energy efforts and others, including work to get more electric vehicles on the road and to reduce emissions from various sectors.

A series of extreme weather events, reports warning of the dire consequences of unmitigated carbon emissions and grassroots activism have propelled climate change to a level of importance in Congress not seen in nearly a decade. Axios Energy Reporter and inaugural EPIC Journalism Fellow Amy Harder sat down with freshman Congressman Sean Casten (D-Ill.), a former clean energy entrepreneur and scientist, and EPIC Director Michael Greenstone, during the Congressman's visit to EPIC in late May. The group discussed climate and energy policy solutions, the politics of energy and climate change, defining innovation and more in this edition of 'Off the Charts.'

On May 29th, Congressman Sean Casten (D-Ill.) joined Axios’ Amy Harder to discuss the outlook for climate and energy policy in the current Congress, as well as the broader outlook for renewables in the United States.

To explore the ability of non-federal actors in the U.S. to mitigate climate change, the Phoenix Sustainability Initiative hosted a conversation with Chris Wheat, director of strategy and city engagement for the American Cities Climate Challenge at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to a packed auditorium in the Saieh Hall for Economics on the University of Chicago campus. EPIC’s Amir Jina, an assistant professor at the Harris School of Public Policy, moderated the discussion.

Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS)are perhaps the best-known state-level policy for addressing climate change, requiring that a certain percentage of a state’s electricity come from renewable sources. New research by EPIC Director Michael Greenstone on the cost and effectiveness of RPS served as the catalyst for an expert panel discussion with EPIC’s 2018-19 Policy Fellows, Melanie Kenderdine and McKie Campbell, moderated by Axios Energy Reporter and EPIC Journalism Fellow Amy Harder.

Climate change is a complex subject to cover at any time, let alone at a time in history when basic science is undermined and criticized. How have reporters and media organizations changed how and how often they cover climate change? To what extent are those shifts reflective of changes in policy and politics, science and society’s perception of the issue? ‘Off the Charts’ host Jeff McMahon tackles these issues and more with Axios energy reporter and EPIC journalism fellow Amy Harder.

EPIC Director Michael Greenstone sat down with Anne Pramaggiore, senior executive vice president and CEO of Exelon Utilities, to discuss the rapidly changing landscape for utilities.

Innovation in clean energy is often said to be a critical component to successfully reducing greenhouse gas emissions. History suggests, however, that more R&D spending doesn't always result in lower emissions. How can policymakers make the most of every R&D dollar? What's politically possible in Washington? And what technologies should we be watching for? Recently, Axios energy reporter and EPIC journalism fellow Amy Harder discussed this topic at a dinner in downtown Washington, DC. She was joined by EPIC Director Michael Greenstone; EPIC policy fellow McKie Campbell, a managing partner of BlueWater Strategies and former staff director for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee; and Rich Powell, executive director of the ClearPath Foundation, which works to advance conservative policies that accelerate clean energy innovation.

U.S. climate policy is in a state of significant uncertainty. Over the past year, federal policy has lurched backward through a series of regulatory rollbacks aimed at easing emissions limits on power plants, vehicles, and industry. Yet, in spite of this shift at the national level, policy in California—the world’s fifth largest economy—has grown more ambitious. Over her 40 year career, California Air Resources Board Chair Mary Nichols has played a pivotal road in developing and implementing the state’s environmental and climate policy agenda. What have been the major successes and challenges for California’s climate policy? What lessons can California offer the nation and world? And how will the state move forward at a time of significant uncertainty at the federal level? Nichols sat down with EPIC Director Michael Greenstone to discuss these questions and more. The discussion, hosted by EPIC and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, was moderated by Juliet Eilperin, senior national affairs correspondent for The Washington Post. It was part of a two-part series on the lessons national and global policymakers can glean from California’s climate policies.

In this two-part episode, host Jeff McMahon explores a pair of University of Chicago studies on consumer energy behavior. First, McMahon sits down with EPIC’s Koichiro Ito, an assistant professor at Harris Public Policy, for insight on what motivates consumers to conserve energy. Does simple encouragement work? Or do prices need to rise for them to act? Then, McMahon is joined by Bob Rosner, founding co-director of EPIC and a distinguished UChicago physicist and former director of Argonne National Laboratory, and Kathleen Cagney, a sociology professor and director of the Population Research Center at the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at UChicago. The pair discuss the results of their survey examining attitudes toward smart meters and smart grids in low-income neighborhoods in Chicago.

From lead pipes in Flint, Michigan, and toxic sites in East Chicago to severe hurricanes and flooding in Texas, Miami and Puerto Rico, environmental and climate disasters pack a hard punch on low-income communities and communities of color. Earlier this year, EPIC’s Mark Templeton, a professor at the University of Chicago Law School and director of the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic, discussed the intersection of environmental and social justice issues with Jacqui Patterson, the director of what is now the NAACP’s largest program – the environmental and climate justice program. The discussion was part of an event hosted by the UChicago Phoenix Sustainability Initiative.

Over the past 15 years, Jennifer Granholm has played an outsized role in U.S. energy policy and politics. From 2003 to 2011, she served as Governor of Michigan, a period during which she navigated her state through the worst U.S. economic crisis since the great depression, and one that she saw as an opportunity to diversify Michigan’s industrial base through energy policy. As a member of President Barack Obama’s transition team in 2009, she helped build the team that would ultimately design and implement many of the president’s key energy and environmental policies. In 2016, she was tapped by the Clinton campaign to replay this role in a prospective Clinton Administration. EPIC Executive Director Sam Ori recently got the chance to sit down with Governor Granholm. They talked about the state of the U.S. auto industry, the Trump administration’s environmental policies, the role of energy and climate issues in the 2016 presidential election, and the future of U.S. energy policy.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has touted a “back-to-basics” agenda for the agency – giving states more control over their air quality compliance, and prioritizing cleanup of toxic Superfund sites, lead-tainted drinking water systems and abandoned mines. He’s done this while attempting to roll back efforts from the previous administration such as fuel economy standards, the Clean Power Plan, and the Waters of the U.S rule. However, in doing so, he faces two problems: regulations take time to reverse, and even if he is successful in reversing them he will likely continue to encounter legal challenges. How easy is it to undo a regulation? Has EPA proceeded effectively? Where does litigation on these rules stand, and what are the likely outcomes in the courts? Off the Charts host Jeff McMahon discussed these questions and more with EPIC's visiting policy fellow Jeff Holmstead, a former EPA Assistant Administrator for Air and Radiation and now a partner at Bracewell, LLP.

As China prepares to introduce a national emissions trading program this year, what can global leaders learn from other carbon markets? 'Off the Charts' host Jeff McMahon discusses the United States' first mandatory carbon market, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), with Sue Tierney, who served as assistant secretary for policy at the U.S. Department of Energy during the Clinton administration and is currently a senior advisor at the Analysis Group. RGGI, now almost a decade old, is made up of a collection of Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states that may soon include New Jersey and Virginia. What impacts has RGGI had on emissions and on the local economies of participating states? How does its design compare to other emissions trading programs, such as the California-Quebec-Ontario market and European Union market? And, what lessons can be drawn from its successes and challenges as China and other states and countries launch or contemplate their own market?

Hydraulic fracturing is perhaps the most important innovation in the energy system in the last half century. As a result of this innovation, U.S. production of oil and natural gas has increased dramatically. This has led to abruptly lower energy prices, stronger energy security and even lower carbon dioxide and air pollution emissions by displacing coal. That is certainly good news for our climate, and our health—with large reductions in air pollution dispersed around the country. But, while there are relatively few coal mines, conventional oil drilling sites and nuclear plants in the United States, tens of thousands of hydraulic fracturing wells have been drilled over the past few years from Pennsylvania to Colorado, Texas to North Dakota. With it being an everyday experience for many Americans, the practice has raised questions about the local impacts. Communities have reached very different conclusions about the benefits and costs, with some places banning it and others embracing it. Two recent studies have shed light on the impacts. On the benefits side, one study by EPIC Director Michael Greenstone and his coauthors found that fracking increases economic activity, employment, income and housing prices, with the average household benefitting by about $2,000 a year. However, if people’s understanding of the health impacts were to change, it is likely that this would alter the net benefits of allowing fracking. Since health is such a critical factor, Greenstone decided to dig in further by looking at the health of those born near fracking sites. He and his coauthors found that infants born to mothers living up to about 2 miles from a hydraulic fracturing site suffer from poorer health. The largest impacts were to babies born within about a half mile of a site, with those babies being 25 percent more likely to be born at a low birth weight. The United States’ continued access to the widely-dispersed benefits from hydraulic fracturing depends on local communities allowing it. How should we as a nation balance this challenge? What options do policymakers have at the federal, state and local levels? EPIC Director Michael Greenstone and EPIC’s inaugural policy fellows Jeff Holmstead and Sue Tierney explored these competing variables and the policy pathways to addressing them at the federal, state and local levels. The conversation was moderated by Axios reporter Amy Harder. This event was part of EPIC’s Energy Inquiry & Impact Series, designed to explore the latest energy data coming out of the University of Chicago and their impacts on policy discussions. Cutting-edge findings will serve as the launching pad to frame these deep-dive conversations, as researchers and EPIC policy fellows navigate ways to translate research into solutions.

As we move towards a smarter electric grid that incorporates more renewable energy sources, the importance of an intelligent transmission network is becoming increasingly apparent. Why isn’t it happening faster? What role do storage and microgrids play? ‘Off the Charts’ host Jeff McMahon talks with Ed Krapels, the CEO of the transmission and microgrid company Anbaric.

America’s hydraulic fracturing boom created a need for more ways to transport oil and natural gas around the country. But as the need for more energy infrastructure has increased, so has local opposition. While most are familiar with the battles surrounding the Keystone and Dakota Access pipelines, there is opposition to new projects in many states. This winter, New England received natural gas from a Russian tanker as interests in the region continue to oppose a pipeline to bring abundant natural gas from Pennsylvania up north. What is driving opposition to pipelines? How has the business of transporting fuel changed as the U.S. oil and gas industry shifted from a handful of hubs to shale plays dotting the country? And, what factors could cause shippers to change their calculus as they decide whether to transport by pipeline or rail? ‘Off the Charts’ host Jeff McMahon talks with Allen Fore from the pipeline company Kinder Morgan, along with EPIC’s Ryan Kellogg and Thomas Covert.

The United States is producing more oil than ever before and starting to export it abroad, all thanks to the shale oil boom. This boost in production has led to greater economic payoffs for the United States than energy independence ever would, wrote Harris Public Policy's Ryan Kellogg recently in Forbes. Kellogg sat down with 'Off the Charts' host Jeff McMahon to dig deeper into the dynamics at work and what it all means for the United States and global oil markets.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has played an important role in the Trump administration, rejecting a proposal from the Department of Energy to subsidize coal and nuclear plants and largely staying true to its independent roots. Recently, EPIC’s Steve Cicala, an assistant professor at the Harris School of Public Policy, got the chance to sit down with one of the agency’s past chairmen Jon Wellinghoff. They talked about the NOPR decision, what makes FERC’s culture unique, and the changing dynamics underway for electric utilities as distributed generation becomes a more important part of the U.S. energy mix.

On the heels of the Trump administration’s call for massive infrastructure spending, EPIC hosted three experienced leaders in government and industry to talk about the future of energy infrastructure. Former FERC chairman Jon Wellinghoff, CEO of the transmission developer Anbaric Ed Krapels, and a VP from pipeline operator Kinder Morgan Allen Fore discussed the opportunities and challenges facing development of U.S. energy infrastructure, and how policymakers and markets can overcome barriers to development. The panel was moderated by Steve Cicala, assistant professor at the Harris School of Public Policy.

One year in, President Trump’s climate policy agenda has largely focused on rolling back any progress started by his predecessor—from suspending a rule to limit methane leaks from oil and gas operations on federal land to beginning the process of repealing the Obama Administration’s signature climate change regulation, the Clean Power Plan, and withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. Central to the President's success in rolling back these efforts is a figure called the social cost of carbon. Host Jeff McMahon talks with UChicago Law's Mark Templeton and Roberto Borgert about the legal challenges surrounding the social cost of carbon that may undermine President Trump's efforts.

What is the conservative case for confronting carbon emissions, and the path forward in the current political climate? What environmental achievements are possible under the Trump administration? Our host Jeff McMahon talks with Jim Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and director of the White House Office of Environmental Policy under President George W. Bush.

The Trump Administration has undertaken efforts to expand fossil fuel development on federal lands by lifting a moratorium on new coal leasing, scaling back certain protections on federal lands, and moving to open up new areas for offshore drilling. At the same time, the Administration is moving to alleviate regulatory burdens on industry operations, most recently by proposing to roll-back certain safety requirements and structural reforms put into place after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. What are the implications of the Trump Administration policies? On January 24, 2018, EPIC hosted a conversation with Tommy Beaudreau, former Chief of Staff at the Department of Interior and the first-ever Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The conversation was moderated by Mark Templeton, director of the Abrams Environmental Law Clinic at UChicago Law School.

A Conversation with Bill Brown, CEO of NET Power by Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago & UChicago Podcast Network

EPIC Director Michael Greenstone talks with former Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz for an insiders look into his life, the climate threat, and the need for energy innovation in this special edition podcast.

Over the past two decades, rapid economic growth powered by cheap, conventional energy had fueled an incredible increase in Chinese living standards lifting millions out of poverty. Yet today, China is grappling with a new challenge: the environmental costs of that growth, most commonly experienced through dangerously high levels of air pollution that are shortening lives throughout the country. Chinese environmentalist Ma Jun is helping to change that. After convincing the Chinese government to encourage the release of real-time pollution data from industrial facilities, Jun and his nonprofit Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs created a smart phone app that allows the public to see, and report, where the worst polluters are located. This approach to pollution abatement, built on transparency, focuses on putting information out in the open in an organized and easily-accessible way, allowing citizens to call for change. Many in China credit the effort for helping to usher in recent signs of progress, and other countries are looking to the work as a model. EPIC hosted Ma Jun for a talk on the role of transparency, citizen engagement, and the future of environmental regulation.

The U.S. Department of Energy recently proposed a rule that would subsidize the ailing coal and nuclear industries, arguing that these sources of electricity are needed to ensure grid reliability as renewable fuels gain market share. Critics of the proposed rule say it is an unnecessary bailout of uncompetitive and dirty energy sources, and that renewables pose no threat to grid reliability. What are the major factors driving change in the U.S. grid? What are the challenges facing regulators? If Secretary Perry’s proposal is adopted, what effect will it actually have? EPIC and the Harris Energy and Environmental Association, in partnership with The Aspen Institute, hosted a panel discussion on the recent proposal, the underlying Electricity Markets and Reliability report, and the possible impacts to the future of U.S. energy.

As India, Niger, and the southern United States grapple with historic flooding, new research is illustrating the inclusive costs of climate events and whom they affect the most. A changing environment – via floods, droughts, or storms – affects residents indiscriminately, yet it is the economically disadvantaged who struggle to adapt and recover. The World Bank reports that climate change will drive an additional 100 million people into poverty by 2030, disproportionately affecting developing countries. Will changing weather patterns change demographic maps as those that can leave at-risk areas do? How do we factor inequality into resilience planning for climate change at the local and international levels?

A new study by EPIC's Fiona Burlig is the latest of several studies to show the projected savings from energy efficiency investments far outpace the actual returns. 'Off the Charts' guest host Jeff McMahon talks with Burlig to unpack the challenges.

During the campaign, Trump promised to roll back regulations that reduce carbon emissions in the power sector and put laid-off coal workers back on the job. Can he meet those promises? For more, read these Forbes pieces by EPIC's Steve Cicala and Mark Templeton: Who's Waging The War On Coal? Not The Government: www.forbes.com/sites/ucenergy/20…ent/#2964a2237543 Building On Clinton's Plan To Revitalize Coal Country: www.forbes.com/sites/ucenergy/20…try/#53f7d9105fc7