Energy Evolution

By S&P Global Commodity InsightsNews Science Business News

Energy Evolution episodes

May 05, 2020 Cobalt in the time of Corona: refining, mining and pricing
S&P Global Platts Battery Metals podcast looks at how cobalt markets are faring during the current coronavirus pandemic.

Emmanuel Latham is joined by Battery Metals editor Melvin Goh to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on Chinese cobalt sulfate refining, the developing situation in the DRC, anticipated market developments and what this all means for cobalt prices.
13 min
April 30, 2020 Energy transition to be shaped by world response to COVID-19
The coronavirus pandemic could help accelerate the investment shift from oil and gas to renewable energy. But the pace of that transition depends heavily on how governments direct economic recovery spending, and whether the consumer behavior changes induced by the pandemic prove permanent. In this episode, the Energy Evolution team spoke about these issues with Fatih Birol of the International Energy Agency, environmentalist and writer Bill McKibben, Amy Myers Jaffe of the Council on Foreign Relations, and Mark Lewis, head of climate change investment research at BNP Paribas Asset Management. Check out the article accompanying the episode here. Co-hosts Dan Testa, Allison Good and Taylor Kuykendall are veteran journalists with broad expertise covering the utility, oil and gas and mining sectors. Subscribe to Energy Evolution to catch upcoming episodes!
39 min
March 30, 2020 Small reactors could be a big deal for nuclear industry
States developing long-term plans to zero out carbon emissions by mid-century are key to driving adoption of advanced nuclear technology, Dr. José Reyes, a co-founder of NuScale Power said on S&P Global Market Intelligence's Energy Evolution podcast.

NuScale is developing a new design for nuclear small modular reactors, or SMRs, which could be useful for states moving toward a system in which "firm" carbon-free power generation technology is needed to complement renewables.

Co-hosts Dan Testa, Allison Good and Taylor Kuykendall are veteran journalists with broad expertise covering the utility, oil and gas and mining sectors. Subscribe to Energy Evolution to catch upcoming episodes!
21 min
March 27, 2020 Lithium demand heads for 2020 decline as market feels effects of coronavirus
Joe Lowry of Global Lithium -- known as "Mr. Lithium" -- forecasts lithium demand to fall in 2020 compared with 2019, the first annual decrease in many years.

Lowry examines the impacts of the coronavirus outbreak on the lithium market with Henrique Ribeiro of S&P Global Platts.
29 min
March 13, 2020 Coronavirus pandemic, oil price crash shake up energy industry
As the COVID-19 pandemic drives crude oil prices into the $30 per barrel range, the Energy Evolution team takes a look at what the global economic slowdown means for fossil fuels, utilities and renewable energy. Listen to the episode, and subscribe to catch future episodes. (Photo: AP)
13 min
March 05, 2020 China battery metals sector remains optimistic about 2020 demand despite weak Q1
In this episode of the S&P Global Platts Battery Metals podcast, Platts head of APAC Metals Insights Paul Bartholomew, analyst Lucy Tang, and associate editor Joyce Zhang discuss how the coronavirus outbreak is affecting China's automobile and new energy vehicle industry, and illustrate the details of the latest Platts survey on battery metals and lithium outlook.
10 min
February 21, 2020 Climate concerns driving the financial world away from fossil fuels
This month, S&P Global Market Intelligence's Energy Evolution dives into the growing trend of bankers, insurers and other parts of the financial industry ditching fossil fuels to help stave off the worst impacts of climate change.
The already growing divestment movement gained some more momentum early in 2020. In January, BlackRock Inc., the world's largest asset manager, announced it would be divesting from certain coal companies. The next month, the Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc said it would be moving away from financing activities in the coal, oil and gas sectors if those companies do not have credible transition plans in line with the Paris Agreement on climate change in place by the end of 2021.
"We're entering a new era of finance," BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said on the asset manager's recent earnings call. "The investment risks presented by climate change are set to drive a significant reallocation of capital, and companies, investors and governments will all need to be more prepared."
Energy Evolution analyzes these developments and more in an episode aimed at getting listeners up to speed on what is becoming an emerging credit issue for coal companies and the rest of the fossil fuel sector. Experts and representatives from the Sierra Club, Moody's Investors Service, Ceres and Peabody Energy Corp. are all featured on the latest episode.
"I think we shouldn't discount the fact that divestments hurt the company's reputation and reputational risk is, is real, and it's something that companies care a lot about," Sierra Club campaign representative Ben Cushing told Energy Evolution. "That sort of reputational risk, combined with real financial pressures, can have a meaningful impact on the development of fossil fuels."
Peabody is among the largest coal miners in the world. The company's official stance on climate change is that it is occurring, and humans contribute to the problem. However, they insist the solution to the problem is the development of technology like carbon capture and storage, particularly as a means for deploying coal power generation to developing countries.
"Divestment won't stop the demand for fossil fuels and the demand for coal around the world," Svec said. "What it will do is displace responsible producers with those that no one would have any say-so over any of their active governance and so on. So we don't think that's the best approach."
The podcast episode also examines the idea that the oil and gas sector are beginning to find themselves in the same crosshairs of divestment as the coal industry. While the sector may have more time to react to growing climate concerns than the coal sector, how they respond now could make a big difference in their financial fortunes going forward.
Subscribe to Energy Evolution to catch future episodes, now available on Soundcloud, iTunes, Spotify and Stitcher.
(Photo: AP)
28 min
February 20, 2020 Climate concerns are driving the financial world away from fossil fuels
BlackRock Inc., the world's largest asset manager, recently announced it would be pulling out of its investments in certain parts of the coal sector. The move is part of a broader trend where banks, insurers and other parts of the finance world are pledging to stay away from fossil fuels to address concerns about climate change. Join us on Energy Evolution, where this month we check in on what is being said about the rising fossil fuel divestment trend and talk to activists, analysts and a representative of the largest coal company in the U.S. about what is going on and what may be next.
28 min
February 04, 2020 What's in store for Nickel over 2020?
The S&P Global Platts Battery Metals podcast kicks off 2020 with a deep dive into nickel. Platts Editor Henrique Ribeiro is joined by Jason Sappor, nickel analyst at S&P Global Market Intelligence, to discuss his expectations for the nickel market in 2020, the implications of the Indonesian ore export ban, and what this means for the EV battery industry. You can learn more in our quarterly Platts Battery Metals Insight.
13 min
January 23, 2020 The forces driving a gas-fired power plant glut
After an S&P Global Market Intelligence investigative team uncovered the powerful incentives to build natural gas-fired power plants in the U.S., the Energy Evolution podcast interviewed some of the "Overpowered" series' sources and authors to follow up on why utilities are adding gas generation despite flat demand and some states' efforts to adopt more renewable energy.

Energy Evolution also talked to sources from the Overpowered series about why the PJM Interconnection — the country's largest market for electric power — may continue to over-procure gas generation capacity, how Virginia state officials are starting to push back against Dominion Energy Inc.'s electricity demand forecasts and what the Oxnard, Calif., city council is doing to acquire more power from renewable resources after rejecting the Puente Power Project proposed by NRG Energy Inc. and Edison International utility Southern California Edison Co.

Subscribe to Energy Evolution on Soundcloud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Stitcher.

(Photo: AP)
19 min

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Interviews, analysis and reporting from S&P Global Energy on energy and commodities' transition to a cleaner future. Host Eklavya Gupte speaks with policymakers, industry professionals and S&P…