The Big Switch

Things have shifted dramatically since we aired our last episode. There’s now a crisis in Ukraine and sanctions on Russian oil and gas. This is all on top of record demand for petroleum products and electricity as the world emerges from lockdowns.

So this week, we’re bring you an episode about energy security from the other podcast that we have here at the Center on Global Energy Policy, the Columbia Energy Exchange. If you like the show, please head give it a rating and review.

An increased demand for energy following COVID-19 lockdowns created a severe energy supply crunch in Europe this winter. And now, decisions from corporate executives and government leaders to reduce or outright ban the purchase of Russian oil has forced energy prices even higher. For a look at how energy markets can be leveraged to end Russia’s war in Ukraine and accelerate the transition to clean energy– all while reducing the risks of nuclear proliferation– host Jason Bordoff spoke with former US Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz.

A key architect of the Paris Agreement and Iran nuclear deal, Moniz is currently the CEO of the Energy Futures Initiative and the Nuclear Threat Initiative. Before joining the Obama administration as Secretary of Energy, Dr. Moniz served as Under Secretary of Energy and as Associate Director for Science in the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the Department of Energy. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Moniz was a Physics and Engineering Systems Systems Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he founded the MIT Energy Initiative.

In this conversation, Dr. Moniz sheds light on the energy security threats created by the Russia-Ukraine conflict, where things stand on the Iran deal and the future of energy innovation amid turbulent times for the markets.

This is the fourth episode of a five-part series exploring the European energy crisis in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. If you haven’t listened to the first three episodes, we recommend you start there.

After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, many Germans and Poles installed heat pumps and residential solar panels to reduce their dependence on Russian fossil fuels.

But do the countries have the skilled workforce they need to meet rapidly growing demand?

In this episode, we examine the role of these technologies in building the net-zero economy—and how supply chain problems and a shortage of trade workers has hindered the mobilization of clean technologies.

Then, we look at the efforts to solve these bottlenecks with campaigns to recruit a new wave of electricians, engineers, and other craftspeople.

Electric autonomous vehicles shuttle us to high-tech mass transit hubs. Our fare system is contactless. We’ve already paid via a customized, equitable subscription model. All the trains and buses are on time. And we don’t have to wait in traffic. This is a world in which we can hop in a car to get somewhere, but we don’t have to.

In this episode, the second in our five-part series on transportation, Dr. Giovanni Circella paints a picture of a net zero world in which public transportation improves our quality of life, while also reducing carbon emissions.

What will it take to get there?

Dr. Circella and Dr. Melissa Lott talk about electrifying transit, coordinating autonomous vehicles for the public benefit, land use planning, fare pricing, and why so many in developing countries aspire to car ownership.

And we tell the story of TransMiCable, an electric cable car system in Bogotá, Columbia, and the researchers who are tracking the impact on the long commutes and air quality for residents of some of its poorest neighborhoods.

Guests: Dr. Giovanni Circella directs the 3 Revolutions Future Mobility Program at UC-Davis and is a Senior Research Engineer at Georgia Tech. Dr. Olga Lucia Sarmiento is a Professor of the Department of Public Health at the School of Medicine at Universidad de los Andes. Brett Marsh is a journalist and photographer based in Oakland, CA.

The Big Switch is produced by Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy in partnership with Post Script Media. This episode was produced by Daniel Woldorff and Alexandria Herr. Theme music and mixing by Sean Marquand. A special thanks to Natalie Volk, Kirsten Smith and Kyu Lee. Our executive editor was Stephen Lacey.

What does a toaster oven have to do with carbon emissions? This week, Melissa and producer Alexandria Herr dissect one to find out. Turns out carbon emissions are embedded in everything around us – from the clothes we wear to our kitchen appliances.

Melissa also talks to energy expert Chris Bataille about what it will take to decarbonize the heavy industries that produce these everyday objects.

Guest: Chris Bataille is an expert on climate and energy policy. He is an associate researcher at the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations in Paris (IDDRI) and a lead author on the Industry chapter of the upcoming Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Report.

The Big Switch is produced by Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy in partnership with Post Script Media. This episode was produced by Alexandria Herr and Daniel Woldorff. Theme music and mixing by Sean Marquand. A special thanks to Natalie Volk, Kirsten Smith and Kyu Lee. Our executive editor is Stephen Lacey.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine sparked supply shortages, fears of blackouts, and a scramble to find new sources of energy.

In this season of The Big Switch we’re trying to answer the trillion-dollar question: Will the energy crisis speed up or slow down Europe’s clean energy transition? And what will it mean for the rest of the world?

Over the next five episodes, we’ll look at Poland and Germany specifically to figure out how they’re navigating supply shocks, and planning for the future.

This show is all about trade-offs. This season, we’re talking about tradeoffs on a grand scale. Because the decisions Europe makes now in response to this ongoing crisis have consequences around the world.

Season 3 of The Big Switch drops June 28th. Listen on Apple podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.