Off The Charts Energy Podcast

During the campaign, Trump promised to roll back regulations that reduce carbon emissions in the power sector and put laid-off coal workers back on the job. Can he meet those promises?

For more, read these Forbes pieces by EPIC's Steve Cicala and Mark Templeton:

Who's Waging The War On Coal? Not The Government: www.forbes.com/sites/ucenergy/20…ent/#2964a2237543

Building On Clinton's Plan To Revitalize Coal Country: www.forbes.com/sites/ucenergy/20…try/#53f7d9105fc7

The common wisdom in oil circles used to be that as oil prices collapsed so would shale oil production. To date, that hasn’t happened. U.S. shale has been incredibly, unexpectedly, resilient, with major implications for everything from oil prices and transportation technology to climate change and geopolitics. With oil prices again flirting with $50 a barrel, many observers are asking is this the new normal? Has the industry been completely reshaped? And, what’s the long-term outlook for shale? Off the Charts host Sam Ori gets the answers from Thom Covert, assistant professor at the Booth School of Business.

Carbon emissions are down 30 percent thanks in large part to an increased use of natural gas and a near doubling of renewable generation. But amid these positive developments has emerged an unexpected casualty: America’s fleet of nuclear power plants. Plant owners are threatening to shut down unless they receive subsidies. And last week, New York agreed to provide these subsidies. Was it the right decision? And if not, what’s the path forward? EPIC’s Sam Ori talks with Steve Cicala, assistant professor at the Harris School of Public Policy.

The U.S. is in the midst of a major heat wave. The heat index has topped 100 degrees F for much of the country for the past week. And the U.S. is not alone. Record temperatures are being recorded in India and Southeast Asia. Bottom line: The world is well on its way to a record-shattering year for global temperature. This is more than just a meteorological marvel. High temperatures have implications for everything from human health to labor productivity to crime. And, these effects may be set to worsen with climate change. In fact, future temperature in some U.S. states could rival or surpass those of Mexico, India and Sudan today. What would that look like and how should we prepare? EPIC’s Sam Ori talks with Postdoctoral Scholar Amir Jina.

A massive amount of data is collected every day about how we use energy. But, that information isn’t made widely available to the innovators and entrepreneurs who could use it to help households improve energy efficiency—namely, because of privacy and other concerns. How can the legal barriers be removed to unleash this data?

Connie Hedegaard, the former EU Commissioner for Climate Action, played a key role in international climate talks. She joined EPIC’s Senior Fellow and former White House National Security Director for International Climate Policy Pete Ogden for a conversation on the road to Paris, from Paris and much more as part of an EPIC event and live recording of Off The Charts.

Coal powered China's rapid growth and the growth of other developed countries. Now, seeing the trade-offs, India serves as a test case for the future of development. Will India go with coal? Or will it blaze a new trail for emerging economies to follow?

As negotiators meet in Bonn, Germany, this week to iron out some of the details of the Paris climate agreement, EPIC’s senior advisor and former White House National Security Director for International Climate Policy Pete Ogden discusses what the Obama administration is feverishly working to get done during its final months.

Read Pete's piece in Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ucenergy/2016/05/19/in-last-months-in-office-heres-how-obama-is-working-to-cement-paris-climate-accord/#1292b36b407c

(Beginning soundbite contains clips from CNN and BBC.)

For decades, electricity generation has been thought of as a local issue. But this antiquated view is holding back the nation's transition to clean energy. Steve Cicala, from the Harris School of Public Policy, explains why in a discussion with host Sam Ori.

Read Steve's piece in Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ucenergy/2016/05/12/how-going-local-is-hamstringing-the-clean-energy-transition/#1824f8793a27

(Beginning soundbite contains clips from CNN and BBC.)

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court halted implementation of the central component of the Obama Administration’s climate strategy: The Clean Power Plan. The action is just one of many policy and market factors causing high uncertainty in the energy industry. What impact is all this uncertainty having on traditional and nontraditional energy businesses? Host Sam Ori sits down with Thom Covert from the Booth School of Business to get his take.

Read Thom's piece in Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ucenergy/2016/04/25/the-clean-power-plan-stay-could-slow-clean-energy-progress/#7819dd8f18ea

(Beginning soundbite contains clips from CNN and BBC.)