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New Atlanticist

Mar 24, 2020

The implications of the coronavirus crisis on the global energy sector and the environment

By Jennifer T. Gordon

The current drop in oil demand—caused, in large part, by severe reductions in travel due to the coronavirus—combined with the Saudi-Russia oil price war has simultaneously, if temporarily, lowered greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). However, the drop in GHG emissions is likely to be unsustainable in the long term, and the currently low cost of oil has raised questions about the future of clean energy deployment and climate action.

Coronavirus Energy & Environment

New Atlanticist

Jan 21, 2020

Trump hails “time for optimism” on climate change, but US leadership still missing

By David A. Wemer

While “Trump is right [that] this is a time for both optimism and action,” John E. Morton, a nonresident senior fellow with the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center, said, Trump “is wrong to suggest that the future lies in fossil fuels.” By emphasizing fossil fuel production, Livingston said, “Trump missed a key opportunity to sell the story of a United States that can still—with the right policies—commercialize zero-carbon technologies as well as any other country in the world.”

Climate Change & Climate Action Energy Transitions

Global Energy Forum

Jan 9, 2020

International grid integration: Efficiencies, vulnerabilities, and strategic implications in Asia

By Phillip Cornell

In order to meet growing global demand for electricity, and in response to an increase in renewables, power networks and markets are evolving and becoming increasingly interconnected. South and Southeast Asia have already had some success with interconnections, and China’s vision and Belt and Road Initiative loom large in the region, but there are geopolitical concerns to contend with. Could a US model manage these concerns? What is the state of regional power markets in Asia and investment in regional grid infrastructure, and what responses are we already seeing to emerging trends?

Climate Change & Climate Action Energy Markets & Governance
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Phillip Cornell is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Global Energy Center. He is a specialist on energy and foreign policy, global energy markets and regulatory issues, critical energy infrastructure protection, energy security strategy and policy, Saudi Arabian oil policy, Gulf energy economics, and sustainable energy transition policy.

He is currently principal for energy and sustainability at Economist Impact. 

Prior to joining the Atlantic Council, Cornell was a senior corporate planning advisor to the chairman and CEO of Saudi Aramco, where he provided market analysis and business development support to the executive management during the implementation of Saudi oil price strategy. In that capacity, he also provided advice to the Royal Court in the context of Saudi economic transition and foreign policy.

From 2011-2014, he was special advisor to the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA) in Paris, responsible for strategic messaging and policy advice to the Executive Office of the IEA. Previously, he developed IEA simulations and war-gaming among ministries in preparation for major oil and gas emergencies.

Before joining the IEA, Cornell served with NATO as the senior fellow and director of international programs at the NATO School (NSO) in Oberammergau, Germany, where his policy research focused on NATO and energy security. During that period, he also served on the secretary general’s committee in Brussels to develop NATO policy in the area of energy infrastructure security.

Cornell has held research positions at the Naval Postgraduate School (Monterey), the Royal United Services Institute (London) and the Center for International Security and Cooperation (Stanford), and he is the author of a number of articles and volumes on energy security and security policy. He holds Masters degrees with distinction in International Economics (energy focus) and European Studies (security focus) from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He received his BA cum laude in International Relations from Stanford University.