Columbia Energy Exchange
Columbia Energy Exchange features in-depth conversations with the world's top energy and climate leaders from government, business, academia and civil society. The program explores today's most pressing opportunities and challenges across energy policy, financial markets, geopolitics, and climate change as well as their implications for both the U.S. and the world.
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Javier Blas on CERAWeek and the Energy Market's Reckoning
<p >Today marks the last day of CERAWeek, the annual energy industry conference sometimes described as the Davos of energy. As oil and gas CEOs and government officials gathered in Houston, efforts to broker a ceasefire in Iran failed, and US oil and gasoline prices whipsawed.</p> <p >Speaking at the conference, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said that the current supply disruptions would be short term, framing rising energy costs as a trade-off for the administration's goal of regime change in Iran. Meanwhile, some oil and gas CEOs warned of coming shortages and said the supply shock is not yet...
Kurt Campbell on China's Approach to Energy Security and Statecraft
<p >The month-long Iran conflict has rapidly expanded, drawing in actors across the Middle East and raising concerns about broader regional escalation. As a result, we're seeing impacts on energy markets around the world, including across the Indo-Pacific. </p> <p >Roughly 80% of the oil and gas flowing through the Gulf is destined for Asia, and disruptions are already being felt in major importing economies like Japan and South Korea, which remain heavily dependent on Middle Eastern supplies.</p> <p >But the consequences go beyond energy. The crisis is also adding a new layer of complexity to the U.S.-China r...
Iran Conflict Brief: How the Energy Shock Is Reshaping Investment
<p >Nearly a month in, the conflict in Iran appears to have hit a critical inflection point. Over the weekend, President Trump gave Iran a 48-hour ultimatum to open the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes on its power infrastructure, which Iran credibly warned would trigger reciprocal attacks on GCC energy infrastructure. President Trump then postponed those strikes after what the administration described as productive talks with Iran on ending the conflict—talks that Iran denied are happening. </p> <p >Meanwhile, a supply shock of historic proportions is unfolding. Some 16% of world oil supply has been disrupted, more than double the...
Iran Conflict Brief: The High Cost of Attacking Energy Infrastructure
<p >As the conflict in the Middle East enters its 20th day, events on the ground have shifted into a critical new phase marked by direct strikes on core energy infrastructure. With the Strait of Hormuz closed for three weeks, effectively bottling up nearly a fifth of the world's oil and LNG supply, recent escalations have turned the crisis from energy flow disruptions to potentially long-term physical damage. </p> <p >Following Israeli strikes on the South Pars gas field in Iran, retaliatory attacks hit Qatar's Ras Laffan—the world's largest LNG plant—and key energy assets across the UAE, Kuwait, and Saudi...
Michael Gerrard and Jeff Holmstead on Next Chapter in US Climate Policy
<p >The climate policy landscape in the US is in flux. Last month, the Environmental Protection Agency repealed its own power to regulate greenhouse gases. Two weeks later, the Supreme Court said it will hear a case which the city of Boulder, Colorado, brought against the oil companies ExxonMobil and Suncor that could determine the fate of lawsuits brought by cities and states against fossil fuel companies over damages from climate change. </p> <p >Since its adoption in 2009, EPA's endangerment finding — which says that greenhouse gases harm public health and welfare — had formed the legal foundation for major federal climate regul...
Iran Conflict Brief: A 'Tacit Bargain' Protecting Gulf Energy
<p >As the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran enters its third week, the complexities of the global energy landscape are deepening by the hour. Shut-ins of Middle Eastern upstream oil production are now approaching 10 million barrels per day, 20% of the world's liquefied natural gas remains shuttered, and the Strait of Hormuz is effectively closed to normal maritime traffic. And while a historic 400-million-barrel release from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve helped blunt oil prices from rising further over a hundred dollars per barrel, flow rate limitations mean such stockpiles may only meet one fifth of the ongoing daily disruptions.</p> <...
Iran Conflict Brief: What It Will Take to Open Up the Strait of Hormuz
<p >In energy markets, all eyes are on the Strait of Hormuz. As of March 11, 2026, this vital passage is effectively closed to tanker traffic, stranding almost a fifth of world supplies of crude oil, oil products, and liquefied natural gas. </p> <p >Yesterday, oil prices retreated sharply on a tweet from US Energy Secretary Chris Wright, claiming that the US Navy had escorted a tanker through Hormuz. That tweet was retracted, and was followed by reports that US intelligence had detected signs Iran had begun placing mines in the Strait. </p> <p >To help sort through the quickly-changing events in th...
New Rapid Response Series: The Iran Conflict Brief
<p>The conflict in the Middle East is evolving with incredible speed, creating a landscape where the complexities of understanding both immediate and long-term outcomes have never been greater.<br /> <br /> We'll still be here every Tuesday for our deep-dive conversations on the global energy landscape. But the speed of events in Iran and across the region demands a different kind of coverage. That's why we're launching a new limited series: the Iran Conflict Brief.<br /> <br /> It's a rapid-response podcast hosted by Daniel Sternoff and other experts from Columbia University SIPA's Center on Global Energy Policy. In conversations with other...
How the Iran Conflict Is Reshaping Russia and China's Energy Security
<p >Since the US-Israeli bombing campaign began in Iran, energy markets around the world have been on edge as the conflict threatens immediate and long-term energy supplies. We've seen major disruptions throughout the Gulf region, with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and massive price spikes and swings in oil and natural gas. </p> <p >This is of course exposing serious vulnerabilities across global energy markets and it's putting a spotlight on what's happening in the deeply integrated markets of Russia and China. </p> <p >Even before the conflict started, Russia's energy sector was struggling under the weight of inf...
The Widening Middle East Conflict and Its Impact on Energy
<p >On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a campaign against Iran targeting military infrastructure and the regime's core leadership. Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several senior officials died in the attacks, which triggered a leadership crisis and inflamed tensions throughout the Middle East. </p> <p >In the immediate aftermath, Iran launched extensive barrages of drones and ballistic missiles aimed at Israel, US military bases, and other targets in neighboring Gulf states. Energy prices rose sharply.</p> <p >This regional shift carries immediate and enduring consequences for global geopolitics and the stability of international energy flows. The outcome of the...
