AC Broadcast

Nuclear energy has seen a resurgence in the last year, with the US nuclear energy policy landscape having been dramatically transformed by President Donald Trump's May 2025 executive orders on nuclear energy. This session will address newcomers and existing stakeholders to nuclear energy—including regional leaders in the US and globally—by exploring the roles of government, industry, and philanthropy in galvanizing investments in new nuclear projects.

As the global energy system transforms alongside intensifying strategic competition, a new threat landscape is emerging—one of cyber vulnerabilities, physical infrastructure exposure, and dangerous concentrations in critical supply chains. This session examines the specific risks that keep energy leaders up at night: which threats are most underappreciated, what defensive investments are most urgent, and how the public and private sectors can coordinate to protect the systems and products modern economies depend on the most.

“By 2030, 44 percent of new demand in global oil and gas is going to be met by Western Hemisphere countries: Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Guyana,” says US International Development Finance Corporation CEO Ben Black at the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum.

“That infrastructure needs to be built,” he tells the Atlantic Council’s Landon Derentz.

Watch the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum for more.

From critical minerals to resilient supply chains, the 2026 Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum gathers global decisionmakers to tackle the infrastructure investments shaping the energy landscape for decades to come.

At the 2026 Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum, leading voices in policy and industry explore how nuclear energy, trade competition, and innovation will define the future of energy.

Setting the tone for the tenth Global Energy Forum, the opening keynote will address the United States’ vision for American energy leadership at a moment when US energy policy increasingly serves as a defining force in how the world shapes a more secure and resilient global energy landscape.
Speakers

The Hon. Chris Wright
Secretary,

US Department of Energy

Session Chair

Brian Sullivan
"Power Lunch" Co-Anchor and Senior National Correspondent,
CNBC

The opening leadership conversation of the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum Day 2.

Speaker:
Amos Hochstein
Managing Partner, TWG Global

Session Chair:
Brian Sullivan
"Power Lunch" Co-Anchor and Senior National Correspondent, CNBC

Is the US moving fast enough to reduce its dependence on Chinese critical minerals?

“We cannot move fast enough, but we can move faster—and we are,” Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) tells the Atlantic Council’s Jenna Ben-Yehuda at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Forum.

Coons says the United States must build policy structures that transcend individual administrations to secure its critical minerals and energy supply chains. He talks about how the DOMINANCE Act, which he co-sponsored as part of a bipartisan group in the House and Senate, is a core pillar of that long-term strategy.

Watch the Atlantic Council Global Energy Forum for more.

North America's combination of abundant resources, established production capacity, and deeply interconnected infrastructure represents a strategic energy advantage unmatched by any other region. But realizing that advantage requires more than simple access to resources—it demands a cohesive strategy that links US, Canadian, and Mexican energy assets to shared economic and security objectives. This session explores the value and characteristics of a cohesive North American energy strategy and its role in promoting energy and economic opportunities at home and abroad.