Power Map

This week, Jonathan Pershing, Deputy Special Envoy for Climate at the U.S. Department of State, joins Joseph Majkut (CSIS) to look at what to expect from the upcoming COP26 meetings in Glasgow. Dr. Pershing discusses what is at stake for these international negotiations, which countries are stepping up their efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and which are lagging on their national commitments. They also discuss what the Biden Administration brings to this year’s meetings, whether Congress will have climate legislation in place before the meetings begin, and how the U.S. has been coordinating with other countries to raise ambitions, and hopefully ensure a successful agreement coming out of COP26. 

This week, Alice Hill, climate risk and resilient expert with the Council on Foreign Relations, joins CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Program Director Joseph Majkut and discusses her recent book, The Fight for Climate After COVID-19. The two explore lessons from the response to covid-19 to inform building resilience in the face of climate risks, how states can better prepare for climate impacts, and if adaptation might have a role at COP26.

This week, CSIS Energy Security and Climate Change Program Director Joseph Majkut talks with Dr. Robert Kopp, a climate scientist, and professor at Rutgers University, about the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report. The contribution of Working Group 1, which reports the physical science of climate change, was released this past August. Dr. Kopp was the lead author of that report's chapter on sea-level rise. They dive into some of the climate science and modeling that supports the IPCC report and discuss the challenge of communicating the findings of a report of this size and scale.

This week, Dr. Cecilia Han Springer with the Global China Initiative at Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center joins Nikos Tsafos and Jane Nakano (CSIS Energy) to talk about announcements from China at last week’s U.S. General Assembly meetings. Chinese President Xi Jinping said that the country would stop supporting (or building) new coal-fired power projects overseas and would move towards clean energy projects. Dr. Springer walks us through what this important announcement does and doesn’t include, what it says about China’s broader climate ambitions, implications for the Belt and Road Initiative, and how China will need to continue domestic efforts to reduce coal plants and lower emissions. for more on China's overseas coal finance, please check this: https://www.csis.org/analysis/chinas-commitment-stop-overseas-financing-new-coal-plants-perspective.

In today’s special release, Joseph Majkut and Nikos Tsafos (CSIS) talk with Jesse Jenkins (Princeton University) about the new draft legislation in the Congress designed to lower U.S carbon emissions from the electric power sector over the next ten years.

This week, Ira Joseph (S&P Global Platts) joins Nikos Tsafos (CSIS) to discuss natural gas markets. They dive into what’s behind recent gas price upheavals, then turn to European supply concerns, LNG exports, and U.S. production levels. They also look at the longer-term future of global gas as it competes not only with coal, especially in parts of Asia, but increasingly with renewables.  

This week, Kevin Book (Clear View Energy Partners) and Sarah Ladislaw (RMI) join Nikos Tsafos (CSIS) for a look at climate and energy policies under the new Biden administration.The Administration came in with some ambitious climate and energy policies. Kevin, Sarah, and Nikos assess how much progress the Administration has made so far in moving those policies forward, both at home and internationally. They look at its broad emissions reduction plans, the development of climate-leaning industrial policy, and how the Administration is incorporating environmental justice into their policies. For more, read how Biden plans to decarbonize transportation.

This week, Partha Bhattacharyya (former chairman, Coal India Limited​) joins Sandeep Pai (CSIS/JTI) to discuss how Coal India Limited is preparing for a clean energy future. Mr. Bhattacharyya was chairman of Coal India from 2006-2011. Coal India Limited (CIL) is the largest coal producer in the world and how it manages the energy transition has major implications for the coal industry in India. They look at the strategies Coal India can use to diversify its portfolio, challenges to Coal India and the coal sector in navigating this energy transition, and how companies can ensure a just transition for the workers and communities most at risk.

This week Christi Tezak (Clear View Energy Partners) joins Ben Cahill (CSIS) to discuss oil pipelines in the United States. Christi and Ben look at how the Biden Administration is approaching pipeline issues, new actions from state-level governments, recent court rulings, and how these decisions may impact future pipeline projects.

This week, Ben Cahill (CSIS) is joined by Brian O’Callaghan and Jesse Burton to discuss how Covid-19 recovery can be more just, equitable and green. Brian is Lead Researcher and Project Manager of the Oxford University Economic Recovery Project, and Jesse is with the University of Cape Town and a Senior Associate with E3G, where she provides analysis and policy advice on coal transitions in South Africa and globally. Together, they look at how governments can ensure that their economic spending packages can accelerate a green recovery while also being inclusive and fair for all communities. For more, read: A Just Green Recovery from Covid-19 / https://justtransitioninitiative.org/a-just-green-recovery-from-covid-19/