Energy Policy Now - Kleinman Center for Energy Policy

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John Kerry on Climate Diplomacy Without U.S. Leadership Oct 20, 2026

Show notes

Carnot Prize recipient John Kerry on what political will, markets and diplomacy mean for the next phase of climate action.

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John Kerry has served in the U.S. Senate, as Secretary of State and, most recently, as President Biden’s Special Presidential Envoy for Climate. One constant over his more than four decades of public life has been his commitment to the environment and, perhaps most prominently, his efforts to protect Earth’s climate. He was present at the launch of the first global climate framework in Brazil in 1992, and his diplomatic efforts as Secretary of State were central to making the Paris Agreement a reality in 2015.

In recognition of his leadership, in September the Kleinman Center awarded Secretary Kerry the 2026 Carnot Prize for his contributions to energy policy. On the podcast, Kerry discusses the U.S. role in the global effort to combat climate change, including its on-again, off-again relationship with the Paris framework and where that relationship stands today. He also shares his views on the future role of the U.S. in climate diplomacy, and on why advances in technology and the economics of clean energy have not yet been matched by political and diplomatic progress.

Related Content:

2026 Carnot Prize Policy Lecture and Award Ceremony https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/events/2026-carnot-prize-policy-lecture-and-award-ceremony/

Breaking Down or Charging Up? Local Political Repercussions from Clean-Energy Manufacturing Investments https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/breaking-down-or-charging-up-local-political-repercussions-from-clean-energy-manufacturing-investments/

Policy Design Issues for Border Carbon Adjustments https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/policy-design-issues-for-border-carbon-adjustments/

Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Paying More for Less: The Rising Cost of Home Gas Oct 06, 2026

Show notes

As home gas use declines, rising infrastructure costs are pushing consumer gas bills higher.

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Americans are using less natural gas at home, yet their gas bills continue to rise. A growing share of those bills now reflects the cost of maintaining and upgrading gas distribution networks, even as electrification and state climate policies raise questions about the long-term role of gas in buildings.

James Van Nostrand, a senior fellow with the Kleinman Center and policy director at the Future of Heat Initiative, discusses how rising infrastructure spending has reshaped household gas costs and why extensive pipeline replacement has not necessarily produced better safety outcomes. He also examines a growing challenge for utility regulation: how to manage increasingly overlapping gas and electric systems that can provide many of the same household services.

Van Nostrand, former chairman of the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, explores when continued investment in gas infrastructure may become uneconomic, whether targeted electrification could offer a lower-cost alternative to replacing aging pipelines, and what regulators and policymakers can do to ensure that the transition is both reliable and affordable.

James Van Nostrand is a senior fellow with the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, and policy director at the Future of Heat Initiative.

Related Content:

Coping Under Strain: How Climate, Utility Disconnections, and LIHEAP Shaped Household Energy Strategies During the Pandemic https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/coping-under-strain-how-climate-utility-disconnections-and-liheap-shaped-household-energy-strategies-during-the-pandemic/

Energy and the Economics of Affordability https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/commentary/podcast/energy-and-the-economics-of-affordability/

Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Can PJM Reform Its Own Governance? Sep 22, 2026

Show notes

PJM is under pressure to overhaul how it makes decisions. The harder question is whether the market can reform itself, and what meaningful change would require.

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The PJM Interconnection, the nation’s largest electricity market, is under growing pressure to reform the way it makes decisions. FERC’s push for change follows years of mounting concern over PJM’s ability to respond to challenges ranging from electricity supply and rising costs to rapidly growing data-center demand. Those concerns have now culminated in a broader question: whether the way PJM is governed is itself making the market’s problems harder to solve, and whether PJM can reform that system from within.

Seth Blumsack, director of the Center for Energy Law and Policy at Penn State University, explains how PJM makes decisions, why power is divided among its leadership, members and other stakeholders, and where that system can break down. He discusses the relatively limited role of states and consumers, how PJM compares with other regional electricity markets, and how much of its current predicament can really be blamed on governance.

Blumsack also looks at FERC’s unusual effort to broker governance reform through mediation, the changes now being considered, and what may happen if PJM and its stakeholders cannot agree on a path forward.

Related Content:

Data Center Regulation (Or Not) in Pennsylvania: Part 1 https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/commentary/blog/data-center-regulation-or-not-in-pennsylvania-part-1/

Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hormuz and China’s Energy Advantage Sep 08, 2026

Show notes

The Hormuz crisis tests China’s energy security while highlighting its growing clean-tech advantage.

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The closure of the Strait of Hormuz following the outbreak of war between the U.S. and Iran has disrupted about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows, driving up energy costs around the world. Yet China, the world’s largest energy consumer and oil importer, has so far weathered the disruption with relatively little economic impact. Strategic stockpiles, alternative fossil fuel supplies, and domestic energy resources have all contributed to China’s resilience, while clean energy and electrification have played a more limited role.

Scott Moore, a Faculty Fellow with the Kleinman Center and Director of China Programs and Strategic Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses what the Hormuz crisis reveals about China’s energy strategy and its position as the world’s dominant clean-energy manufacturer. He also explores how the crisis could accelerate global demand for renewable energy and electric vehicles, and argues that the United States needs a new approach to Chinese clean-energy technologies if it hopes to compete in a future in which critical energy supply chains are increasingly concentrated in China.

Scott Moore is a Faculty Fellow with the Kleinman Center and Director of China Programs and Strategic Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania.

Related Content:

Breaking Down or Charging Up? Local Political Repercussions from Clean-Energy Manufacturing Investments. https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/breaking-down-or-charging-up-local-political-repercussions-from-clean-energy-manufacturing-investments/

When Geopolitics Disrupts Energy Systems https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/commentary/podcast/when-geopolitics-disrupts-energy-systems/

Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the Archive: The Cost of Pulling Back from China in the EV Transition Aug 25, 2026

Show notes

For the month of August, we’re highlighting episodes from the 2025-2026 season of Energy Policy Now. We’ll be back with new content, and a new season, on September the 8th.

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.

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China has rapidly become the center of global EV innovation, producing cars that are cheaper, faster to develop, and increasingly competitive in international markets. The United States, by contrast, is pulling back, eliminating incentives and pursuing policies that distance the country from China just as the global EV transition accelerates.

George Washington University’s John Helveston, whose work focuses on global EV markets and China’s manufacturing system, argues that this course risks sidelining the U.S. from the technologies and supply chains shaping the automotive future. On the podcast, he explains why a more pragmatic approach that protects national security and workers while engaging with China’s central role in the EV ecosystem may be essential for America’s long-term position in the global auto industry.

John Helveston is an associate professor in the department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering at George Washington University.

Related Content

Electric Vehicle Penetration and Urban Spatial Restructuring: A Case Study of Beijing with Geospatial Machine Learning https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/electric-vehicle-penetration-and-urban-spatial-restructuring-a-case-study-of-beijing-with-geospatial-machine-learning/

Battling for Batteries: Li-Ion Policy and Supply Chain Dynamics in the U.S. and China https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/battling-for-batteries-li-ion-policy-and-supply-chain-dynamics-in-the-u-s-and-china/

Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

From the Archive: When the Last Mile Turns Hot: Delivery Drivers in a Warming Climate Aug 11, 2026

Show notes

For the month of August, we’re highlighting episodes from the 2025-2026 season of Energy Policy Now. We’ll be back with new content, and a new season, on September the 8th.

An economic sociologist discusses the growing heat dangers facing last-mile delivery drivers, and why federal protections remain stalled.

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E-commerce has transformed the way goods move through the American economy, driving unprecedented growth in parcel deliveries and intensifying competition among major carriers and the U.S. Postal Service. Yet this push for speed and volume now unfolds amid longer, more intense heat waves, exposing the nation’s roughly 1.5 million delivery drivers to climate-driven temperature extremes that pose growing risks on their routes.

In this episode, economic sociologist and Kleinman Center faculty fellow Steve Viscelli discusses how rising heat intersects with the structure of the delivery industry. He describes the job conditions that can leave drivers vulnerable, from demanding routes to the use of monitoring technologies that encourage workers to stay on pace even when temperatures climb.

Viscelli looks at the policy landscape that shapes these conditions, explains why federal heat protections for workers have been slow to materialize, and how this reality affects drivers’ day-to-day experience. He also points to steps some states are taking to set their own standards to address hotter and more demanding delivery seasons.

Steve Viscelli is an economic and political sociologist at the University of Pennsylvania and a faculty fellow with the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy.

Related Content:

Energy System Planning: New Models for Accelerating Decarbonization https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/energy-system-planning-new-models-for-accelerating-decarbonization/

Who Buys Down the Risk When Federal Funding Recedes? https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/commentary/blog/who-buys-down-the-risk-when-federal-funding-recedes/

Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Agriculture, Energy, and the Challenge of Resilience Jul 28, 2026

Show notes

The modern agricultural system delivers an extraordinary abundance and variety of food at relatively low cost, thanks in part to abundant and affordable energy. Can those benefits be preserved without creating unacceptable exposure to disruption?

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Recent disruptions to food and energy markets have drawn renewed attention to the links between agriculture, energy, and global trade. Fertilizer production, transportation networks, and global supply chains all rely on abundant and affordable energy.

Bernhard Dalheimer, an expert on agricultural market shocks and an assistant professor of macroeconomics and trade in Purdue University’s Department of Agricultural Economics, explores how energy shapes modern agriculture through transportation, fertilizer, and biofuels, and how disruptions move through agricultural systems in different ways across regions and economies.

He also examines one of the central challenges facing modern agriculture: how to maintain the benefits of highly interconnected agricultural and energy systems while reducing their exposure to disruption. Dalheimer explores the role diversification can play in reducing risk while preserving the benefits that abundant energy and global trade have made possible.

Related Content

The Energy-Agriculture Nexus: A Multi-Year Research and Policy Agenda https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-energy-agriculture-nexus-a-multi-year-research-and-policy-agenda/

Climate Change and Migration in Central America: Evidence from New Environmental Event Data https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/climate-change-and-migration-in-central-america-evidence-from-new-environmental-event-data/

Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Energy and the Economics of Affordability Jul 14, 2026

Show notes

Can the energy choices we make today influence affordability for decades to come?

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Affordability has become one of the defining issues in American politics. Rising costs for housing, healthcare, groceries, and energy continue to strain household budgets. But economist Heather Boushey argues that affordability runs much deeper than prices alone. It reflects how the economy is structured, the kinds of jobs and opportunities the economy creates, and how the benefits of economic growth are shared.

Boushey, a professor of practice with the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy and head of the EconClimate Lab, discusses the relationship between affordability, energy, and economic opportunity.

Drawing on decades of work at the intersection of economics and public policy, as well as her experience as chief economist for the White House Investing in America Cabinet during the Biden administration, she explains why energy plays a central role in economic growth and competitiveness, why she believes that “what we make here matters,” and how investments in domestic industries can shape long-term economic opportunity. Boushey also reflects on what the Inflation Reduction Act set in motion, what may endure from the law, and what its implementation reveals about the challenge of sustaining long-term economic strategies in a short-term political environment.

Related Content

Breaking the Lock on Urban Climate Finance: A Proposal for a Green Cities Guarantee Fund to Support Climate Resilient Infrastructure in Cities https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/breaking-the-lock-on-urban-climate-finance-a-proposal-for-a-green-cities-guarantee-fund-to-support-climate-resilient-infrastructure-in-cities/

Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The West’s New Electricity Markets Jun 23, 2026

Show notes

Southwest Power Pool’s expansion into the West marks a major step toward greater regional coordination of the electric grid.

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Earlier this year the Southwest Power Pool, the electric grid operator for much of the central United States, expanded into the Western Interconnection, becoming the first Regional Transmission Organization to operate in both the Eastern and Western grids. The move comes as Western utilities seek to address rising electricity demand, the integration of growing amounts of clean energy, and concerns about future grid reliability, challenges that broader regional coordination may help address.

SPP plans to build on that expansion with Markets+, a new regional market initiative scheduled to launch in 2027. Together, these efforts represent one of the most significant pushes yet toward greater electricity market coordination in the American West. They also come as California’s grid operator pursues its own effort to expand regional market participation through its Extended Day-Ahead Market, or EDAM, giving Western utilities multiple paths toward closer regional integration, each with different approaches to governance and market oversight.

On the podcast, SPP Chief Executive Officer Lanny Nickell discusses SPP’s expansion into the West and the development of Markets+. He explains why Western utilities are becoming more interested in regional coordination, the tradeoffs between independence and larger markets, and what these developments may mean for the future of the electric grid in the American West.

Lanny Nickell is the Chief Executive Officer of Southwest Power Pool.

Related Content

Mobile Energy Storage: Flexibility for the Energy Transition https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/mobile-energy-storage-flexibility-for-the-energy-transition/

Congestion in General Equilibrium: Nodal Electricity Pricing, Production, and Welfare https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/congestion-in-general-equilibrium-nodal-electricity-pricing-production-and-welfare/

Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Is a New Era of Electricity Prices Beginning? Jun 09, 2026

Show notes

For years, electricity prices broadly tracked inflation. New pressures may be changing that.

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Electricity prices have become a major political issue in the United States, with policymakers increasingly focused on rising utility bills and the costs of meeting growing electricity demand. At the same time, renewable energy has often been blamed for driving prices higher.

But what does the data actually show?

Ryan Hledik of The Brattle Group discusses research conducted with Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory on U.S. electricity price trends. The research finds that, nationally, electricity prices have largely tracked inflation, though significant regional differences tell a more complicated story. Hledik explains the factors that really drive electricity prices, the role of renewable energy, natural gas, and infrastructure investment, and why electricity costs vary so dramatically across the country.

Hledik also explores whether 2025, when electricity prices rose faster than inflation nationally, marks the beginning of a new era of rising electricity prices, or a temporary departure from a longer-term trend.

Ryan Hledik is an alumni policy advisor with the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy and a principal with The Brattle Group.

Related Content:

Boomtowns in the Battery Belt: Risks and Opportunities of Clean Energy Investments in Small Towns of America https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/boomtowns-in-the-battery-belt-risks-and-opportunities-of-clean-energy-investments-in-small-towns-of-america/

How PJM Is Grappling With Data Center Power Demand https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/commentary/podcast/how-pjm-is-grappling-with-data-center-power-demand/

Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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