Energy systems can shape political institutions and make some nations more vulnerable to trade wars than others
The geopolitical fight to come over green energy
The struggle for sustainable energy will soon put China, the US and Europe on a geopolitical collision course. But moving away from fossil fuels is a Herculean task, and a greener politics will not transcend tragedy.
The Death of the Carbon Coalition
Existing models of U.S. politics are wrong. Here’s how the system really works.
Why China and Europe should collaborate to ‘defossilize’ the world’s carbon
The world needs non-fossil sources of carbon. It’s a no-brainer for nations working towards this goal to join forces.
The New Geopolitics Of The Green Transition
The only path forward for tackling the climate crisis hinges on cooperative industrial strategies to coordinate clean energy investment and infrastructure development.
Imperial State Capitalism
A new geopolitics is shaping the development of AI and the energy transition.
Climate solutions most likely to reach ‘positive tipping points’ revealed by scientists
Global shift towards clean electricity could trigger ‘cascade’ of progress, helping reduce air pollution, cut waste and revive oceans
The Case for a European-Chinese Green Pact
Jean Pisani-Ferry & Beatrice Weder di Mauro think both sides have much to gain from pursuing closer economic ties through clean energy and technology.
Carbon Tariffs 101
We evaluate the economic and environmental consequences of taxes on imported goods based on their carbon content. The analysis uses the simplest possible partial equilibrium framework, with one small open economy and a global pollution externality. It relies on graphs of supply and demand, rather than equations or formulas, hoping to reach readers familiar with basic economics. Despite its simplicity, the framework imparts numerous lessons. (1) Absent a domestic price on carbon, a carbon tariff imposes the same costs on domestic consumers as a domestic carbon price, but a carbon tariff also subsidizes domestic pollution. (2) If one small country imposes a carbon tariff, with or without a domestic carbon tax, the economic incidence of the tariff falls on its consumers. (3) If a holdout country joins the rest of the world by enacting its own carbon regulation and consequently imports more from other countries, those increased imports are not “leakage.” They are the cessation of leakage from when the holdout country’s policy was lax. And (4) if other countries do not appropriately regulate emissions, no single small country can use a combination of carbon taxes and carbon tariffs to fully correct the problem caused by its consumers or producers.
What comes next with the energy shock?
The disruption to oil supply, oil prices and the world economy has been surprisingly manageable so far
China’s $143 billion push to dominate the global EV industry
After years of investing in Europe, Chinese EV and battery firms are turning to Asia, Africa, and Latin America
How China’s Renewable Push Upends Geopolitics w/ Kate Mackenzie & Tim Sahay
China Is The World's First Electrostate - CleanTechnica
Carbon emissions in China fell slightly int he first quarter of 2025 as more renewable energy and storage came available.
How Xi sparked China’s electricity revolution
Beijing’s aggressive pursuit of energy self-sufficiency could give it the upper hand in the trade war with the US
‘The damage is done’: global oil crisis has changed fossil fuel industry for ever, IEA chief says
Exclusive: International Energy Agency’s Fatih Birol, the world’s leading energy economist, also says UK should largely forgo North Sea expansion
Electrification | Ember
Electrification can refer to different processes depending on the context. For example, increasing electricity access in emerging economies. At Ember, we focus on a specific type of electrification: replacing fossil fuels with electricity in sectors like transport, heating and industry. This kind of electrification cuts emissions and improves energy efficiency by replacing fossil fuels with clean power.
