Energy & Environment

Innovation can break the gridlock on nuclear waste

By Michelle Brechtelsbauer

Innovation has always been a key tenet of the nuclear power industry. With scientific consensus building that nuclear power must play a significant role in mitigating climate change, there has been renewed focus on fuel design and fuel cycle research to support the next generation of nuclear technology. This attention also creates an opportunity to reinvigorate innovation on back-end technologies that may prove to be the key to circumventing the longtime political impasse on nuclear waste.

Assessing Saudi Vision 2030: A 2020 review

By Stephen Grand, Katherine Wolff

Executive summary When global oil prices collapsed in summer 2014, Saudi Arabia confronted one of the most daunting economic challenges of its modern history. Upon ascending to the throne the following year, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his son Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (now the crown prince) responded by developing an ambitious […]

The storm still comes: Invest now, while we still can

While we don’t know the nature of the next crisis we’ll face, we know it’s inevitable—much like climate change, a crisis whose own potential devastation is virtually incalculable, and against whose ominous backdrop future public health crises will unquestionably unfold. Among its many lessons, COVID-19 has taught us that in preparation for an uncertain future, we must devise ways to create a healthier, more inclusive and resilient future for all.

US foreign policy and Euro-Caspian energy security: The time is now to build the Trans-Caspian Pipeline

By Matthew Bryza, Robert M. Cutler, and Giorgi Vashakmadze

The Southern Gas Corridor (SGC) represents a historic success for Azerbaijan and the European Union (EU) in regard to their common quest for new energy supply sources and routes. Over the last decade, the EU has intensified its efforts to expand the SGC, seeking to attract gas from Turkmenistan. The time is now ripe to connect Turkmen gas with SGC infrastructure and the European market through a Trans-Caspian Gas Pipeline.

Ukraine’s gas market reform: A success story that needs to be acknowledged

By Dr. Aura Sabadus

Ukraine's experience over the past five years with natural gas market reform and regulatory alignment proves that European Union rule transfer is possible in Ukraine, provided it remains committed to positive policy change.

Ukraine’s $7 billion Russian gas transit deal at risk amid claims of political pressure

By Aura Sabadus

Alleged political pressure targeting Ukraine's recently unbundled gas transmission system operator GTSO is threatening to undo Ukraine's energy sector reforms and derail a multi-billion dollar transit contract with Russia's Gazprom.

Ukraine’s worst move yet

By Alan Riley

The Ministry of Finance “dismissed” Walter Boltz, the chair of the Ukrainian gas transmission system operator MGU. If that independence is undermined, Gazprom may pull the transit contract and with it the guaranteed fees that Ukraine needs.

New challenges and dwindling returns for Russia’s national champions, Gazprom and Rosneft

By Anders Åslund & Steven Fisher

As Russia’s economic future is clouded by negative demographic trends, new energy technologies and efficiencies, volatile commodity prices, and the likelihood of continued Western sanctions, Gazprom and Rosneft, Russia’s two natural resource champions face a comeuppance: international competition, global and regional market access, capital investment, and revenue/cost efficiency.

US nuclear energy leadership: The way forward

By Amb. Thomas Graham Jr.

The recently released report, Restoring America’s Competitive Nuclear Energy Advantage, commissioned by the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Nuclear Fuel Working Group, is an important step forward for US national security, the battle against climate change, and the health of the US economy. After decades of misguided policy, this report puts the United States back on track in leading a worldwide nuclear energy system that is effective, reliable, and carbon free.

Iran oil exports face a tough future even after the coronavirus

By Omid Shokri Kalehsar

Even before the coronavirus pandemic erupted, Iran’s oil exports were declining as a result of secondary US sanctions.