REEI Energy and Climate Podcast

There are a number of reasons why we have to halt the climate crisis. One of them is public health. In this episode we discuss these important questions:How do we rethink the future of healthcare when tackling climate change is only one of many challenges?What impacts will the COP28 UAE Consensus make on climate actions in reducing carbon emissions of healthcare sectors across the world?As one of the most trustworthy voices in the society and the key players in providing healthcare services, what can doctors and nurses play a crucial part in accelerating global climate mitigations?How can high-income economies collaborate with low-income ones to share best practices in both spearheading a more affordable and equitable healthcare reform and decarbonizing healthcare services?Today Zhao Ang has a conversation with Sonia Roschnik, Executive Director of the Geneva Sustainability Centre. The Centre, powered by the International Hospital Federation (IHF), was launched in 2022 in response to the need for hospitals and healthcare services to address climate change. Sonia has over three decades of experience in healthcare and sustainability policy. Support the show

To achieve a 100% renewable energy system worldwide by 2050 affordable or not? Apart from the maturing technology, like solar PV and wind power, are we too late to develop some alternative technologies such as carbon capture and storage, direct air capture, geoengineering, and small modular nuclear reactor? With the tightening time window to control carbon emissions in order to keep the global temperature rise on average by 2100 well below 2 degree Celsius, what can policymakers from major economies do to make the most use of the available and scalable low-carbon energy technologies? One of the best scholars who are able to answer these questions is Dr. Mark Jacobson from Stanford University. Over 15 years ago, he proposed a 100% renewable energy system based on water, wind, and solar energy (WWS) and has been working and researching the relevant energy policy and planning solutions for a variety of countries, states, and cities ever since. In this episode, Professor Jacobson discusses his ideas and research findings on the WWS system. Although you may not agree with most or even some of his arguments, the discussions are definitely to expand your learning on the future energy system and some key policy issues of addressing climate change. As he mentioned at the end of the talk, educating ourselves on such complicated climate and energy policy issues could be the first action point for each one of us. Support the show

Since 2020, not only some national governments but also many large multinational companies have announced their climate pledges - reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Among them are some oil and natural gas giants, such as BP, Shell, Chevron and ExxonMobil, which are the majors in the industry and the top contributors of the carbon emissions across the corporate world.  • How do we understand the majors' mid-term and long-term climate strategies? • Shall the end-users of oil and gas products, like the global consumers of conventional vehicles, share the responsibilities of burning dirty fuels, emitting carbon dioxide and causing climate change?• Among regulating corporations by setting up a phase-out timeline of old technology, nudging consumers to change behavior, and subsidizing the growth of a new low-carbon technology, which option shall policy makers choose?  • Why is it controversial for the majors from both Europe and the United States to invest in large amount of carbon offset projects? • Can the majors bet on the promised development of new technologies, like carbon capture and storage and direct air capture, and go through the energy transition in the long run? In this episode, Dr. Gregory Trencher from Kyoto University in Japan shares his research findings and viewpoints based on a new paper which he co-authors with the other two scholars.Further Reading: Trencher, G., Blondeel, M. and Asuka, J. (2023). Do all roads lead to Paris? Comparing pathways to net-zero by BP, Shell, Chevron and ExxonMobil. Climatic Change, 176, 83. Access:  https://link.springer.com/epdf/10.1007/s10584-023-03564-7?sharing_token=dvNVaGLdv_KAz5FFMnfFT_e4RwlQNchNByi7wbcMAY5d47vWLe-7NUah2sJ8amtONIx_6DNbZS-Ux9jIdwHqHp9jVCB68RK-96qeHy5tgfMDOkuPU-crNlM7_tp0QVsATBol9VNvWuW1djitKquffaUTZ1mebJBYjj9x0ENJJx4=Support the show

There are two major economic measures to reduce carbon emissions of energy system, carbon pricing and industrial policy. Which one is better to deliver climate targets?  What do the historical experiences of both emission trading systems and industrial policy in the E.U., China and the U.S. tell us? When competition rather than cooperation becomes the keyword in the new world economic order, will the Race to the Top industrial policy have a better chance to cut the global carbon emissions by nearly half against the levels of 2020 by 2030? What can we learn from the argument that climate change is far from an existential crisis and the unprecedented economic achievements across the world in the past seven decades have built up human capacities to adapt to climate change?  On today's episode, I have a conversation with David Driesen, a law professor from Syracuse University. Support the show

With both population and economy growing, Africa shall pursue a leapfrogging strategy in achieving the net zero energy system in the next three decades. However, some significant factors need to be addressed, like upscaled investment, accelerated deployment of low carbon energy technology, and international financial support.  In this episode, Jean-Benoit Fournier, a Canadian expert on climate financing and strategy, shares his observations and thoughts based on his first-hand experience on climate mitigation projects in African countries. He suggests that micro-financing in renewable energy projects need to scale up and be implemented in a smart way with focuses on community empowerment and sustainability criteria. Regarding the new financing scheme on phasing out coal faster between South Africa and G7 plus E.U., Fournier considers it a good model, but how effective the cooperation is carried out needs to be seen.  The African Union just became a permanent member of G20 at the G20 Summit in India. This big move may not only bring up African voice in global geopolitics but also trigger African climate ambitions as well as climate-friendly investments from outside. Now, African leapfrogging in climate mitigation is probably more achievable than before. Support the show

For years China has dominated in the global supply chains of critical minerals, which are crucial to deploying low carbon energy technology and accelerating the global energy transition. Particularly, China's dominance is very apparent in the global supplies of rare earth, graphite, manganese and cobalt. These minerals are critical to the production of electric vehicle batteries and wind power turbines. However, the food and oil & natural gas supply chains disruptions resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have made the policy makers of European Union (E.U.) act to de-risk the E.U. critical minerals supply. For E.U., this is a multi-faceted dilemma. On one hand, E.U. needs to speed up its actions in decarbonizing its energy system and build up strategic partnerships on circular economy and climate change with many developing countries. On the other hand, E.U. has to make strategic economic balance when China, its most important trading partner, and U.S., its strategic ally, engage in a long term rivalry and geopolitical tension. What can E.U. mitigate or de-risk the critical minerals supply? Today, Dr. Patrick Schröder, a senior fellow from the Royal Institute of International Affairs, shares his views and observations. Support the show

While the world enters a de-globalization era and the relationship between China and the U.S. turns from bad to worse, policy makers from many high-income countries prioritize de-risking the supply chains and diversifying trading activities, such as increasing the security of the critical minerals supply. Will this big policy change hold back the low carbon energy technology deployment in terms of pace and cost-effectiveness?Could the restructuring accelerate the formation of two economic blocks, which are led by the U.S. and China, respectively? How does the geopolitical tension between the powers influence the strategic management of critical minerals supply chains?  As the largest supplier of lithium around the world, what can Canberra do to mitigate the political, economic and environmental risks resulted from diversifying the supply chains? In this episode, Marina Zhang from the Australia-China Relations Institute at University of Technology Sydney shares her analysis on the questions with Energy Current host, Zhao Ang. 

U.S. – China climate cooperation is a crucial issue when we talk about tackling climate crisis. However, the bilateral relationship has been declining in the recent years, particularly since 2020. Under such a difficult situation, where will the U.S.-China climate and clean energy collaboration go? What lessons can the past cooperation experience imply? The G7 Summit in Japan last week may suggest that the 7 most developed economies are coordinating their industrial policies to pursue a more effective decarbonization pathway. By distancing China, this move could make the climate and energy cooperation between G7 member states and China more challenging. In this episode, Dr. Joanna Lewis, an expert on China clean energy policy and U.S. China climate and energy cooperation from Georgetown University shares her points of view on the related issues based on her new studies. China has gradually become a global leader in renewable energy and electric vehicle development since China initiated the renewable energy growth in about two decades ago. Because of manufacturing scale, investment capacity and enduring clean energy cooperation with U.S., Denmark and others, Dr. Lewis argues, China has the potential to support the acceleration of worldwide decarbonization, particularly in the countries of Global South. However, the complicated domestic economic and social situations and deteriorating international relations require the leaders from China, America and other major economies to seek a new strategy such as competitive cooperation to address climate crisis in a tightening time frame. Whether this optimistic scenario on climate and clean energy cooperation may succeed remains to be seen. 

Nuclear power plays an important role in the energy system in many big economies around the world. There are many debates related to this energy source, from energy security to addressing climate change to environmental and social justice. While some countries, like Germany, shut down the last nuclear power plants, others, like China, are still building new ones. Based on a new study published in the academic journal, Nature Energy, Ms. Lyssa Freese, a scientist from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Carnegie Institution for Science, and the leading author of the research, discusses how phasing out nuclear power in the United States may change air pollution distribution and bring higher health risk to the low-income communities. Based on the past policy experience and the paper's main findings, what can policy makers learn to avoid the unintended consequences in the energy justice area from the very beginning of policy design and planning? She also shares some ideas on how the current climate policy may accelerate American energy transition, from Inflation Reduction Act to the new regulations on pollutants emission standards and road transport decarbonization.   

How to address public crisis implies a nation's complicated institutional setting of economic, political, and cultural preferences and tolerance. A society's resilience in mitigating the crisis, from environmental pollution disasters to global pandemics to climate change, depends on the interaction between crisis and evolving institutions. In other word, it relies on whether policymakers are able to learn lessons from crises and renew institutions in order to face future challenges. Fighting the COVID-19 pandemic is a showcase and unique experience for each country around the world to reflect what successful policy measurements may be applied to mitigate even larger crises like climate change. In today's episode, Dr. Peter Orris, Professor of occupational & environmental medicine at the University of Illinois Chicago Health System, provides not only a comprehensive understanding of the American pandemic control experience from a public health expert point of view but also offers some historical and social-cultural analysis on the difference of policy interventions among diverse economies. For example, what were the dilemmas for the World Health Organization to deal with during the pandemic? Why had China stuck to the zero COVID policy in a way no other countries could afford?  How can the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the U.S. improve to mitigate the next public health crisis? In the end, Dr. Orris proposes a couple of mitigation strategies for addressing climate change based on his decades of experience in civic engagement and environmental activism. 

To achieve a 100% renewable energy system worldwide by 2050 affordable or not? Apart from the maturing technology, like solar PV and wind power, are we too late to develop some alternative technologies such as carbon capture and storage, direct air capture, geoengineering, and small modular nuclear reactor? With the tightening time window to control carbon emissions in order to keep the global temperature rise on average by 2100 well below 2 degree Celsius, what can policymakers from major economies do to make the most use of the available and scalable low-carbon energy technologies? One of the best scholars who are able to answer these questions is Dr. Mark Jacobson from Stanford University. Over 15 years ago, he proposed a 100% renewable energy system based on water, wind, and solar energy (WWS) and has been working and researching the relevant energy policy and planning solutions for a variety of countries, states, and cities ever since. In this episode, Professor Jacobson discusses his ideas and research findings on the WWS system. Although you may not agree with most or even some of his arguments, the discussions are definitely to expand your learning on the future energy system and some key policy issues of addressing climate change. As he mentioned at the end of the talk, educating ourselves on such complicated climate and energy policy issues could be the first action point for each one of us. 

The intense rivalry between the U.S. and China, the ongoing brutal war between Russia and Ukraine, and the potential geopolitical conflict risk in the South China Sea remain the big challenges to addressing the climate crisis via productive international cooperation. Under the complicated domestic and international situations and uncertainties, how can we understand the climate policy and actions in both the United States and China? Where could the fragile relationship between the two countries go in the next 2-3 years? In Part 1 of the conversation, Bill McKibben discusses how the dynamic interaction between social responsibility and hyper-individualism of the American nation generates influences on its collective climate actions in the past and why the changes of American society in the 1960s-1980s matter with the global climate efforts. In Part 2, McKibben is focused on China and shares his experience of multiple visits to China. His arguments on the future of world climate governance and international collaborations between China and U.S. remind us of the complexity of reducing global carbon emissions in a short time.

The intense rivalry between U.S. and China, the ongoing brutal war between Russia and Ukraine, and the potential geopolitical conflict risk in the South China Sea remain the big challenges to addressing the climate crisis via productive international cooperation. Under the complicated domestic and international situations and uncertainties, how can we understand the climate policy and actions in both the United States and China? Where could the fragile partnership between the two countries go in the next 2-3 years? In Part 1 of the conversation, Bill McKibben, a well-known author, and environmentalist, discusses how the dynamic interaction between social responsibility and hyper-individualism of the American nation generates influences on its collective climate actions in the past half century and why the long shift of American society matter with the global efforts on tackling climate change. In Part 2 of the conversation, Bill McKibben will focus on China and share his insights, hope, and analysis on the future world climate governance and collaboration as well as what the roles of both China and the U.S. could look like during the long journey. 

Indian Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) adventure plays a significant role in both providing sustainable mobility services and materializing its long-term national carbon neutrality goal. What does the road transport decarbonization in the past ten years inform its future ambition? Under the various challenges, from the global energy crisis, and supply chain restructuring, to economic recession and big powers competition, how can India strike a balance between climate actions and energy security? By 2030, will India become a major player in the ZEV manufacturing across the world? In this episode of Energy Current, Mr. Aditya Ramji, an energy economist, at the University of California, Davis, shares his research experience. 

Despite the high expectation in decarbonizing the fossil fuels sectors for years, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has not been scaled up. In the next 5-10 years, will comprehensive technology be a game changer in global climate mitigations? Can the oil and gas giants in the Middle East countries sustain their business in the future by both producing carbon as usual and sinking carbon as a world carbon storage hub? May carbon markets, either regional or national, make CCS business cost-effective? How can the governments from the major economies provide sufficient incentives to speed up the development and deployment of CCS? Dr. Xu Yuan, an associate professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, discusses his perspectives and opinions on these questions. 

Compared to Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV), Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV) has lagged behind during the electrification of road transport sector across the world in the past ten years. Under the new context related to technological competition among economic powers, energy crisis enhanced by the Russia-Ukraine war in Europe, the global supply chain security of critical materials in BEV manufacturing, as well as the greater role of hydrogen in energy transition, it's worthy of re-evaluating the potential of FCEV in accelerating the decarbonization of the transport sector. Professor Gregory Trencher from Kyoto University in Japan shares his research insights on these relevant issues in this episode of Energy Current. 

Enacted in 2021, China's National Carbon Market based on tradable performance standard, was promoted as a new effort to engage with international climate policy. It's too early to assess the emissions reduction impact of the so-called biggest carbon market in the world. Despite of the essential differences of market design, contextual institutions and the mild effects of the California's system in delivering carbon emissions reduction and environmental justice, Professor Alex Wang of UCLA School of Law explains why China may still learn from California's Greenhouse Gas Cap-and-Trade Program. In this episode, the discussion also touches the new direction of climate policy in the context of EU Green Deal and U.S. Inflation Reduction Act. Professor Wang shares his opinion on the academic exchange challenges facing scholars from both U.S. and China.  

Japan's Green Transformation Plan is the latest national strategy in pursuit of energy transition and carbon neutrality by 2050. As a major economy with probably the highest energy efficiency standard and greatest dependency on fossil fuels import around the world, Japan faces a range of challenges. Professor Jusen Asuka from Tohoku University in Japan discusses how the new policies on offshore wind and solar PV may play a big part and why the next generational nuclear power technology could be a double-edged sword. His argument on Japan's cautious role in China-US contest in low carbon technology and investment resulted from a series of American legislation, particularly, climate policy embedded in Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), suggests some relevant policy implications for Japan. Finally, his reading suggestion touches intergenerational justice, one of the most compelling issues on climate governance.

Indian Zero Emission Vehicles (ZEV) adventure plays a significant role in both providing sustainable mobility services and materializing its long-term national carbon neutrality goal. What does the road transport decarbonization in the past ten years inform its future ambition? Under the various challenges, from global energy crisis, supply chain restructuring, to economic recession and big powers competition, how can India strike a balance between climate actions and energy security? By 2030, will India become a major player in the ZEV manufacturing across the world? In this episode of Energy Current, Mr. Aditya Ramji, an energy economist, at the University of California, Davis, shares his research experience. 

The mutual benefits of economic growth between China and Australia had pushed the bilateral cooperation on science and technology, particularly the climate related technology, to a new level until a few years ago. However, the relationship has been deteriorating since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.  What does the dramatic change mean to Australian international scientific collaboration in the region? Do the sea changes of geopolitical situation between the two states and beyond suggest a different landscape of international scientific collaboration in the future? Diarmuid Cooney-O'Donoghue, Assistant Lecturer in Asian Studies at Monash University in Australia, shares his ideas on the history and challenges of Australian scientific and technology collaboration on climate and energy with China and others.

In 1980-2015, China experienced one of the longest economic expansion in the modern era. While playing a significant role in supplying affordable and reliable electricity, hydropower has also caused undisputed and large negative impacts on social, ecological and cultural aspects. Dr. Darrin Magee from Hobart and William Smith Colleges in America shares his research and observation on the controversy of China's hydropower development both in the past and in the present of pursuing carbon neutral targets. 

Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the first climate bill by U.S. federal government, will bring fundamental changes to American energy sector in terms of speeding up the penetration of low carbon technologies and clean power generation. Mr. Noah Lerner, who have gained working experience on energy decarbonization from private, non-profit and government sectors, discusses the opportunities facing climate friendly technologies investment in the U.S. as well as IRA's implications in the international climate negotiation and actions. 

What's the beauty of Inflation Reduction Act? Why is it hard, if not impossible, for Republican Party to do something in undermining the law? How can the first American climate law advance the international climate policy and energy transition? Is there any tension between the climate law and the recent supreme court ruling on the West Virginia vs. EPA case? In this episode will an American legal scholar answer these questions. 

International climate policy faces a range of challenges such as high energy cost and deteriorating relationship between China and America. How will both domestic and international situations influence the near to medium term climate actions of the three major actors, China, U.S. and EU? What could the climate cooperation among the three economies look like after the Taiwan Strait tension and American Inflation Reduction Act?  Dr. Patrick Schroeder from the Royal Institute of International Affairs, Chatham House, discusses these questions with Zhao Ang in the first episode of Energy Current Conversations.   

Since the first episode came out in September 2020, our team have produced over 60 episodes. Our discussions cover a variety of topics, from global climate negotiations to energy crisis, from decarbonization in healthcare sector to carbon pricing, from electric vehicles growth to China's carbon neutrality strategy.As an independent think in China, Rock Environment and Energy Institute, the creator of this podcast, will walk into a new chapter in late 2022. By the third week of August 2022, we will present a new season with brand new podcast title. You will be able to listen to more climate and energy policy-oriented debates and our discussants will mainly come from research institutions and think tanks across the world. Thank you for listening and following. For now, have a good summer holiday. See you in August. 

Despite of the high expectation in decarbonizing the fossil fuels sectors for years, Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) has not been scaled up. In the next 5-10 years, will the comprehensive technology be a game changer in the global climate mitigations? Can the oil and gas giants in the middle east countries sustain their business in the future by both producing carbon as usual and sinking carbon as world carbon storage center? May carbon markets, either regional or national, make CCS business cost-effective? How governments around the world provide sufficient incentives to speeding up its development and deployment? Throughout the discussion, Dr. Xu Yuan, associate professor of Chinese University of Hong Kong, will offer his perspectives and opinions on these pressing questions. 

As one of the most developed metropolitan areas, Hong Kong is a latecomer in the climate action arena in the region. By committing to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 last year, Hong Kong is catching up with other peer cities such as Tokyo and Seoul. In her annual policy address on October 6th 2021, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam announced some specific policy measures both in climate adaptation and mitigation. Can Hong Kong speed up its climate actions in the near future, like reducing the coal consumption faster and increasing more electric vehicles sooner? Mr. Kevin Li, a policy expert from a Hong Kong environmental NGO, argues that the government is capable of doing more and environmental groups and general public should play a role in the city's decarbonization pathway. In this episode, Zhao Ang and Kevin also discuss about renewable power potential, building energy efficiency and electric vehicles penetration.

We invited Dr. Mao Da, Director of Shenzhen Zero Waste (an environmental campaign group), to our program. He has over 18 years' experiences in environmental field China/overseas and a well-known public figure on waste issues in China. Shenzhen Zero Waste  has a very focused target, namely to reduce the toxic chemicals in consumer products on the major the E-commerce platforms like JD.com, Taobao, PDD... e.g. they started the campaign of reduce toxic chemicals in the children toy rubber ducks, and made remarkable achievements of enhancing the compliance rate from 25% to over 90% in four years time. If you are interested in more of Dr. Mao and his organisation's working model and influence, please listen to our EP60, we welcome your comments and feedback. Enjoy!

Right before the ease of Shanghai's two-month lock-down, China State Council  has been intensively convened and formulating a package of measures to stimulate economic activities, in order to get the economy back on track and keep major economic indicators within an appropriate range. This episode firstly discussed the logics behind this stimulus plan, and then analyzed the energy-related measures in the package. It is obvious that focus has been given on energy security and stable electricity supply in order to sustain its economic growth. In this context, policy makers support the growth of both fossil (mainly coal) and non-fossil fuels industries (mainly hydro, nuclear, wind). The rapid growth of wind and solar in the first four months this year were surely surprising, if building up the grid capacity to connect with more renewables, the stimulus plan will have a far-reaching impact on China's climate strategy and actions.

The “New Energy Vehicles Industry Development Plan (2021-2035)”, launched on November 2nd, 2020, sets a target of an approximately 20% share for new energy vehicles (NEVs) in new vehicle sales by 2025. The annual market penetration rate of electric vehicles exceeds 13% in 2021, it's therefore possible to achieve the 2025 target ahead of schedule. When China's transport sector will reach peak carbon? Should China's 2025 market penetration target for electric vehicles be increased? If it is to be increased, what major obstacles will be encountered? Ang and Yating from REEI will discuss about these questions in this episode.

In April 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) and England's public healthcare system, the National Health Service (NHS), have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, to help the two organizations cooperate on activities to promote and facilitate the decarbonization of healthcare systems around the world. A similar Memorandum was signed between the WHO and the United States's Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) in January 2022. These could signal the beginning of international collective effort on healthcare decarbonization. The health and climate platform, led by WHO and other actors, may advance climate responsibilities of healthcare sectors across the globe. Providing 20% of global medical product market, China should play a big part in the process. Can China use the ongoing healthcare reform as a valuable opportunity to promote a more environmental and socio-economic healthcare system? How are China's hospitals, health products manufacturers and policy makers able to catch up with the international best practices? Ang and Erin from REEI will discuss about these questions in this episode. 

In Feb 2022, Russia and China signed a new gas deal to supply 10 bcm of pipeline gas per annum to China, starting around 2025 for over 30 years from Russia's Far East. This contract is in addition to an agreement signed in 2014 to provide 38 bcm over 30 years, and bringing the combined annual gas deliveries of Russian gas to China to 48 bcm per annum under the two pipelines. China utilized 360 bcm of natural gas in 2021 and is expected to reach approximately 600 bcm by 2030. In this episode, Zhao Ang and Erin will discuss if this agreement with Russia will put China in a position to benefit from the disparities between Russia and the EU amidst the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war?

The "Medium and Long-term Planning for the Development of Hydrogen Energy Industry (2021-2035)", launched on March 23rd 2022, is a clear and strong message for supporting hydrogen development in China's 2060 carbon neutrality strategy context. Can China come on top in the competition to develop this new decarbonization technology among other major economies? Will the policy initiatives and institutional arrangements make China's green hydrogen or blue hydrogen manufacturing sector a forerunner in the next 5-10 years? REEI's Erin Pan and Ang Zhao will discuss these questions in this episode.

In July 2020, the South Korean government announced its Green New Deal, which included a list of investment projects to propel the country into a green economy. In today's episode, we'd like to re-broadcast a previous episode, in which Lin Jiaqiao from REEI and Ms. Chin Yusun from a Korea-based campaign group, Solutions For Our Climate discusses the Korea's “Green New Deal” and coal financing in China and South Korea. We think the discussion may help our listeners to understand the role of Green New Deal in Korea's low carbon power sector as well as the current status of coal financing in South Korea, whether any state-owned power enterprises are lobbying the government to back funding for domestic or overseas coal projects.

In 2021, the imported natural gas from Russia accounted for 40% of EU's annual gas consumption. Responding the Russian's invasion of Ukraine, EU have chosen the most difficult strategy to cope with the most challenging situation. One thing that EU have no choice is to cut off its natural gas dependence on Russia as much and quick as possible.  Today, we discuss a report, “A 10-Point Plan to Reduce the European Union's Reliance on Russian Natural Gas” published by International Energy Agency (IEA) in March 2022. Based on the report, we also examine the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on energy transition in the East Asian countries.

"The 2021 China Report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change" gave a detailed analysis of the health impacts of climate change in China and what Chinese government may do to overcome these challenges. In this episode, REEI's Erin Pan and Ang Zhao dissects this report. As World Health Organization suggests, climate change becomes the largest public health threat in this century. The policy makers in China may work harder to take systematic measures to integrate health aspect into climate change adaptation and mitigation.

The coal power upsurge in 2021 may raise the concern that China faces more challenges on peaking its national carbon emissions before 2030. However the breakdown of electricity consumption may suggest that the downturn of economic growth, low urbanization and aging population will reduce the power demand in the near future. In addition, the slower infrastructure construction and the electrification of road transport sector may boost higher share of electricity in tertiary sector and residential area. REEI's researchers argue that peaking before 2030 might be not a big issue but achieving carbon neutral goal by the middle of this century could pose challenges. 

On 9 February 2022, National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) organized an online meeting on stabilizing the price of thermal coal. The local energy regulatory authorities from major coal mining and coal power provinces and some large state-owned coal mining corporations attended this meeting. The national energy policy regulator's new effort just after the Chinese New Year holiday might temporarily relax the pressure of thermal coal price rise. But in the end it is the dynamic of supply and demand of power that determines the price of electricity. In today's talk, we re-broadcast the episode on the dilemma of avoiding power outages and decarbonizing the power sector, by which we hope our listeners gain comprehensive understanding on the pressing issues surrounding China's power supply.

Recently, a focus on the development in hydrogen fuel has pushed FCEVs (Fuel cell electric vehicles) once again to the forefront of road transportation decarbonization. In today's episode, we'd like to re-broadcast a previous episode, in which Ang Zhao discusses with Dr. Gregory Trencher about the potential of FCEVs and policy strategies from major players in the field, particularly in Japan. The exchange was based on a journal article by Dr. Trencher, "Overcoming barriers to developing and diffusing fuel-cell vehicles: governance strategies and experiences in Japan".

In today's episode, we'd like to re-broadcast a previous episode, in which Ang Zhao from REEI and Dr. Kenji Otsuka from the Institute of Developing Economies discussed the role of non-state actors in environmental governance in the Northeast Asia region. In 2021, we saw that non-state actors, including NGOs and industries, have been playing an increasingly significant roles in the global governance on climate related policy issues. We think the discussion may help our listeners to understand why the non-state actors matter in public policy debates despite of the different social and political contexts across countries.

By publishing "Achieving a Carbon Neutral Energy System in China by 2060", Shell becomes another international organization to present a carbon neutral roadmap for China by the middle of this century. What are the additional inputs and different policy recommendations in Shell's report? Why does the report, which is based on the database of International Energy Agency(IEA), draw a conclusion quite different from IEA's study? In this episode, Zhao Ang and Yuan Yating explain the similarities and difference of the two researches.

All climate mitigation actions have to be built upon quantification, monitoring, reporting and verification of carbon emissions. A newly launched database on carbon footprint of products in China aims to promote a participatory approach to support all kinds of organizations and businesses to assess the carbon footprint of products and services, as well as develop their carbon management strategies according to the assessments. However, the integrity of the database is far from sufficient. In this episode, Ang Zhao and Jiaqiao Lin introduce how the database was developed, how to use the data points to inform relevant policy discussions, and where the database may be improved.

Many advancements in energy and climate policy in 2021 will still be significant in 2022. In today's episode we'd like to look into the potential challenges and opportunities surrounding China's climate and energy events in 2022. We will discuss the power supply issue, how China's methane emission reduction commitment will be materialized and how China will enhance its NDCs ahead of the COP27 to be held in Egypt at the end of 2022.

On the last day of 2021, we would like to look back to all the episodes from this past year and see what we have learned from the major climate and energy events in 2021. At the same time, we would like to look ahead at an eventful year 2022 will bring. We've enjoyed sharing our podcast with our listeners this year, and we look forward to many more exciting episodes. 

China's electricity shortage this past year has caused significant impact on the global manufacturing supply chain. The ripple effect of it has already been seen around the globe, affecting consumers directly with shortages from paint to electronics. In this episode, we want to dissect the reasoning behind these disruptions, who were affected and looking ahead at how China can continue to grow its economy while staying on track its carbon neutrality goals.

Tsinghua University 3E Institute of China, in collaboration with Chatham House of UK, published a series of three reports in December of 2021. These publications gave a well rounded and detailed examination into China's climate risk evaluation and estimated economic loss, case studies and lessons from the current Chinese climate risk governance strategies, and policy recommendations for climate risks management. Today's podcast episode gives a thorough run down of the reports. The reports were published in both Chinese and English, which you can find at link: http://www.3e.tsinghua.edu.cn/article/130

The EU is taking a big step forward to address the "just" issue of waste trafficking by adopting new policy proposals. Environmental justice finally got another  chance to be embedded into policy measure. In this episode, we are rebroadcasting a conversation on how to pursue an inclusive and just transition to circular economy which was recorded about a year ago. In the interview, Dr. Patrick Schroder, senior researcher of Chatham House, the royal institute of International Affairs, talked about his new research on inclusiveness and justice of transition to circular economy. This discussion may help our listeners gain a better understanding on EU's new regulation on waste shipments and its implications on circular economy implementation in the future. 

Following COP26's "Global Methane Pledge" and "US-China Joint Climate Statement", China's methane reduction efforts became an area of international focus. In China's newest 14th Five Year Plan, Methane policies are set as priority for the first time. This episode takes a deep dive into the significance of Methane in combating climate change, and the 5 step action plan for methane reduction from Chinese Ministry of Ecology and Environment. 

Healthcare sector accounts for around 4.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. At COP26 in Glasgow, several countries and organizations committed to building a sustainable and low-carbon health system and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 or earlier. In this episode, we will share healthcare decarbonization pathways and introduce two case studies for energy efficiency improvements of public hospitals in China.

As COP 26 concluded on Nov 13th, COP26 president Alok Sharma commented that “We have kept 1.5 degrees alive. But its pulse is weak, and it will only survive if we keep our promises and translate commitments into rapid action.” What led to his conclusion? In this episode, Yating Yuan and Jiaqiao Lin from REEI reviewed and shared their views on the outcomes of this COP, mainly focusing on coal phase-down pledge, Article 6 and climate finance. If you like this episode, don't hesitate to share with others and follow our channel. 

All eyes are on Glasgow as COP26 heads towards its last days of discussion. REEI's Zhao Ang and Lin Jiaqiao starts the episode by summarizing key accomplishments and progress from COP26 this week. Following our last episode, where we interviewed Prof. Asuka from Tohoku University in Japan discussing issues related to COP and views on NDCs, this week we'll interview Mr. Lee Jieon  (climate and energy coordinator with Korea Federation for Environmental Movements, KFEM), to discuss about the South Korean's energy and climate policy in the context of COP26. Mr. Lee shared his views on Korea's commitment at COP26, local media reactions to South Korea's performance at COP26, and his thoughts on South Korea's progress in popular topics such as coal phase-out, coal financing and energy transition.  If you enjoy contents like this, please subscribe to our channel!