Off The Charts Energy Podcast

As director of the California Governor’s Office of Planning and Research and senior climate advisor to Gov. Gavin Newsom, Kate Gordon spends a great deal of time thinking about how states can build climate resiliency into their growth plans. We talked with Gordon about mitigation, adaptation, and resilience in one of the country’s largest, most diverse, and most proactive states. Gordon, a co-author of the Fourth National Climate Assessment’s chapter on adaptation, detailed ways California is boosting its economic growth while becoming better able to weather the wildfires, sea level rise, and other climate impacts already affecting the state.

Colorado Governor Jared Polis recently announced a roadmap for the state to generate 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2040. At the same time, he signed a suite of legislation to decarbonize the electricity sector, expand energy efficiency programs, and more. Much of the responsibility for delivering these goals will fall on the shoulders of Will Toor, the executive director of the Colorado Energy Office. Toor joined us to talk about these clean energy efforts and others, including work to get more electric vehicles on the road and to reduce emissions from various sectors.

A series of extreme weather events, reports warning of the dire consequences of unmitigated carbon emissions and grassroots activism have propelled climate change to a level of importance in Congress not seen in nearly a decade. Axios Energy Reporter and inaugural EPIC Journalism Fellow Amy Harder sat down with freshman Congressman Sean Casten (D-Ill.), a former clean energy entrepreneur and scientist, and EPIC Director Michael Greenstone, during the Congressman's visit to EPIC in late May. The group discussed climate and energy policy solutions, the politics of energy and climate change, defining innovation and more in this edition of 'Off the Charts.'

On May 29th, Congressman Sean Casten (D-Ill.) joined Axios’ Amy Harder to discuss the outlook for climate and energy policy in the current Congress, as well as the broader outlook for renewables in the United States.

To explore the ability of non-federal actors in the U.S. to mitigate climate change, the Phoenix Sustainability Initiative hosted a conversation with Chris Wheat, director of strategy and city engagement for the American Cities Climate Challenge at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) to a packed auditorium in the Saieh Hall for Economics on the University of Chicago campus. EPIC’s Amir Jina, an assistant professor at the Harris School of Public Policy, moderated the discussion.

Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS)are perhaps the best-known state-level policy for addressing climate change, requiring that a certain percentage of a state’s electricity come from renewable sources. New research by EPIC Director Michael Greenstone on the cost and effectiveness of RPS served as the catalyst for an expert panel discussion with EPIC’s 2018-19 Policy Fellows, Melanie Kenderdine and McKie Campbell, moderated by Axios Energy Reporter and EPIC Journalism Fellow Amy Harder.

Climate change is a complex subject to cover at any time, let alone at a time in history when basic science is undermined and criticized. How have reporters and media organizations changed how and how often they cover climate change? To what extent are those shifts reflective of changes in policy and politics, science and society’s perception of the issue? ‘Off the Charts’ host Jeff McMahon tackles these issues and more with Axios energy reporter and EPIC journalism fellow Amy Harder.

EPIC Director Michael Greenstone sat down with Anne Pramaggiore, senior executive vice president and CEO of Exelon Utilities, to discuss the rapidly changing landscape for utilities.

Innovation in clean energy is often said to be a critical component to successfully reducing greenhouse gas emissions. History suggests, however, that more R&D spending doesn't always result in lower emissions. How can policymakers make the most of every R&D dollar? What's politically possible in Washington? And what technologies should we be watching for?

Recently, Axios energy reporter and EPIC journalism fellow Amy Harder discussed this topic at a dinner in downtown Washington, DC. She was joined by EPIC Director Michael Greenstone; EPIC policy fellow McKie Campbell, a managing partner of BlueWater Strategies and former staff director for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee; and Rich Powell, executive director of the ClearPath Foundation, which works to advance conservative policies that accelerate clean energy innovation.

U.S. climate policy is in a state of significant uncertainty. Over the past year, federal policy has lurched backward through a series of regulatory rollbacks aimed at easing emissions limits on power plants, vehicles, and industry. Yet, in spite of this shift at the national level, policy in California—the world’s fifth largest economy—has grown more ambitious.

Over her 40 year career, California Air Resources Board Chair Mary Nichols has played a pivotal road in developing and implementing the state’s environmental and climate policy agenda. What have been the major successes and challenges for California’s climate policy? What lessons can California offer the nation and world? And how will the state move forward at a time of significant uncertainty at the federal level?

Nichols sat down with EPIC Director Michael Greenstone to discuss these questions and more. The discussion, hosted by EPIC and the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, was moderated by Juliet Eilperin, senior national affairs correspondent for The Washington Post. It was part of a two-part series on the lessons national and global policymakers can glean from California’s climate policies.