search
Home / Government / Energy Policy Now

Latest Episodes

filter_list
The Cost of Pulling Back from China in the EV Transition
Dec 02, 2025 55 min

The Cost of Pulling Back from China in the EV Transition

John Helveston of George Washington University discusses why a U.S. pullback from China on EVs is risky, and why engagement could strengthen America’s auto industry. --- China has rapidly become th...

How the Trump Administration Is Reshaping Nuclear Oversight
Nov 18, 2025 44 min

How the Trump Administration Is Reshaping Nuclear Oversight

The Trump administration’s nuclear ambitions raise new questions about safety, speed, and regulatory independence. --- The Trump administration has made nuclear power a centerpiece of its energy ag...

U.S. Offshore Wind at an Impasse
Nov 04, 2025 47 min

U.S. Offshore Wind at an Impasse

What the U.S. offshore wind power crisis says about energy megaprojects, risk, and political resilience. --- After a surge of optimism, the U.S. offshore wind industry faces its most serious challe...

Union Leaders Push Clean Energy Jobs Agenda in Pennsylvania
Oct 07, 2025 1h 12m

Union Leaders Push Clean Energy Jobs Agenda in Pennsylvania

With federal funding being pulled back, leaders of Pennsylvania’s top labor unions push state policy to deliver clean energy jobs. --- For generations, union members have mined Pennsylvania’s coal,...

The Conflicted Role of Auditors in Carbon Markets
Sep 23, 2025 42 min

The Conflicted Role of Auditors in Carbon Markets

Auditors are billed as carbon market watchdogs. But conflicts of interest may undermine their credibility. --- The voluntary carbon market is poised for rapid growth, with airlines soon required to...

U.S.–China Competition in the Age of Trump’s Energy Law
Sep 09, 2025 40 min

U.S.–China Competition in the Age of Trump’s Energy Law

Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act reorients U.S. energy policy, redefining its rivalry with China and the global transition. --- Once, climate and clean energy were common ground between the Unite...

Why This Energy Transition is Different
Jul 22, 2025 45 min

Why This Energy Transition is Different

Though today’s energy transition is often framed as new, it follows patterns we’ve seen before. Cutler Cleveland of Boston University’s Institute for Global Sustainability explores the historical c...

Will Interconnection Reform Unlock the Grid?
Jul 08, 2025 50 min

Will Interconnection Reform Unlock the Grid?

Thousands of clean energy projects are waiting to connect to the grid. How many will make it through, and will it be soon enough to keep the grid reliable? --- Electricity demand in the U.S. is ris...

Will "Big Beautiful Bill” Derail Clean Energy Growth?
Jun 17, 2025 42 min

Will "Big Beautiful Bill” Derail Clean Energy Growth?

BloombergNEF’s Derrick Flakoll discusses the outlook for U.S. clean energy development under the House version of Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.” --- On May 22, the House of Representatives passed it...

Renewable Energy’s Land Use Reckoning
Jun 03, 2025 44 min

Renewable Energy’s Land Use Reckoning

As renewable power grows, land use decisions will influence its environmental impact. ---  Decarbonizing the electric grid will require a dramatic expansion of renewable energy by mid-century,...

Consumers on the Sidelines? The Fight Over the Grid’s Future
May 20, 2025 52 min

Consumers on the Sidelines? The Fight Over the Grid’s Future

As electrical grid operators move to fast-track gas projects, consumer and environmental advocates raise red flags. --- The U.S. electricity grid is undergoing a dramatic transformation. As coal pl...

Beyond Yield: Climate, Nutrition and the Future of Farming
May 06, 2025 40 min

Beyond Yield: Climate, Nutrition and the Future of Farming

Dr. Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, chair of global food security research network CGIAR, on adapting agriculture for climate and food security. --- Global agriculture changed dramatically during the 20th ...

Planning for Net Zero in an Imperfect World
Apr 22, 2025 44 min

Planning for Net Zero in an Imperfect World

Ambitious climate policies may overlook practical constraints. Kleinman Center Visiting Scholar Niall Mac Dowell explores what deliverable paths to net zero might require. --- The Earth’s average t...

Can California’s Emissions Market Survive Past 2030?
Apr 08, 2025 39 min

Can California’s Emissions Market Survive Past 2030?

Danny Cullenward, vice chair of California’s Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee, explores the legal and policy challenges that threaten the future of the state’s carbon cap-and-trade m...

Bridging the Partisan Climate Divide
Mar 25, 2025 47 min

Bridging the Partisan Climate Divide

Former Republican U.S. congressman Bob Inglis offers a conservative perspective on climate solutions in discussion with Penn climatologist Michael Mann. --- Politically conservative and concerned a...