All Things Sustainable (formerly ESG Insider)

Energy transition discussions shift to pragmatism amid policy uncertainty

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Apr 4, 2025

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This episode features Paul Gruenwald, Chief Economist at S&P Global Ratings, who discusses balancing immediate energy concerns with long-term sustainability amidst policy uncertainties. Arshad Mansoor, CEO of EPRI, examines how AI will shape future electricity generation to meet increasing demands. Damian Beauchamp, from 8 Rivers, shares insights on innovative clean energy solutions aimed at achieving net-zero emissions. The conversation unveils a pragmatic approach to addressing energy security, affordability, and climate challenges in today's fluctuating landscape.

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INSIGHT

Balancing the Energy Trilemma

The energy industry acknowledges the need for energy transition and decarbonization.
However, they emphasize the importance of balancing sustainability with energy security and affordability.

INSIGHT

Impact of Policy Uncertainty

Policy uncertainty, particularly regarding tariffs, is a major concern for the energy industry.
Uncertainty creates hesitation in investments and spending, potentially slowing economic growth.

INSIGHT

AI's Impact on Energy Demand

AI is driving increased demand for electricity, requiring more gas-powered plants in the short term.
This highlights the interconnectedness of technology, energy, geopolitics, and macroeconomics.

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To understand how companies at the heart of the energy industry are approaching the energy transition, we took the All Things Sustainable podcast on the road to Houston, Texas to cover CERAWeek, the annual S&P Global conference informally known as the industry’s “Super Bowl.”

As we’ll hear from today’s guests, many discussions at CERAWeek 2025 March 10-14 focused on pragmatism and realism.

We talk with S&P Global Ratings Chief Economist Paul Gruenwald about balancing near-term concerns around energy affordability, security and reliability with longer-term concerns about sustainability and climate change.

Paul also discusses the impact of tariff uncertainty in the US.

“Markets hate uncertainty, whether you're in the financial markets or you're in the energy markets and producing the energy that we all need,” Paul says. "Even if you align with the broad objectives of the new administration, I think all the back-and-forth and the drama around the tariffs have really put a damper on some of that excitement.”

We speak to Arshad Mansoor about how the world can meet demand for electricity to power growing AI usage. Arshad is President and CEO of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), a research organization that focuses on US electricity generation and delivery.

To understand how energy companies are navigating the current transition landscape, we sit down with Cate Hight, a partner at global consultancy Bain & Company.

And we talk to Damian Beauchamp about the role of policy in enabling technology innovation. Damian is President and Chief Development Officer at 8 Rivers, a clean energy and climate technology company that develops sustainable infrastructure solutions like carbon capture to help the global energy industry achieve net-zero.

Listen to a replay of the S&P Global webinar, ‘Capturing $60T energy transition opportunities, while managing $25T climate risks ’.

Listen to our podcast episode, ‘Talking energy transition with the US Department of Energy’.

Listen to our podcast interview with ExxonMobil at CERAWeek.

Learn more about S&P Global’s energy transition data here.

This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1 and not by S&P Global Ratings, which is a separately managed division of S&P Global.

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