Energy Policy Now

• Beyond Yield: Climate, Nutrition and the Future of Farming

  Dr. Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, chair of global food security research network CGIAR, on adapting agriculture for climate and food security. --- Global agriculture changed dramatically during the 20th century as small, traditional farms were replaced by large-scale, monoculture farming in many parts of the world. This shift led to a dramatic increase in food production, helping to feed a global population that today exceeds 8 billion. Yet the revolution in agriculture has created a new set of challenges. Modern farming is more resource-intensive than ever, requiring substantial investments in machinery and a heavy reliance on chemical inputs like synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. These shifts have introduced new economic risks for farmers, who can struggle to keep up with rising input costs and volatile markets. Meanwhile, the widespread cultivation of bulk cash crops has often come at the expense of soil health, crop diversity, and the nutritional quality of the food we grow and consume. On the podcast, Dr. Lindiwe Majele Sibanda—professor of agriculture at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, cattle farmer in Zimbabwe, and board chair of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)—discusses current efforts to make agriculture more resilient and sustainable. These include the revival of traditional crops, regenerative soil management techniques, and innovations aimed at reducing reliance on fossil fuels. Sibanda also examines how such practices can support environmental and climate goals while improving farmer livelihoods and strengthening long-term food security. Lindiwe Majele Sibanda is board chair of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Related Content Cooling People, Not Spaces: Surmounting the Risks of Air-Conditioning Over-Reliance https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/cooling-people-not-spaces-surmounting-the-risks-of-air-conditioning-over-reliance/ Closing the Climate Finance Gap: A Proposal for a New Green Investment Protocol https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/closing-the-climate-finance-gap-a-proposal-for-a-new-green-investment-protocol/ Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• Planning for Net Zero in an Imperfect World

  Ambitious climate policies may overlook practical constraints. Kleinman Center Visiting Scholar Niall Mac Dowell explores what deliverable paths to net zero might require. --- The Earth’s average temperature surpassed the 1.5°C threshold for the first time in 2024—a milestone driven in part by El Niño, but also a stark warning about our broader climate trajectory. While temperatures may moderate slightly in 2025, the world remains far from taking the decisive action needed to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change. The obstacles to meaningful progress are complex, spanning economics, politics at local and global levels, and questions of technological scalability. The good news is that these are solvable challenges. Yet, despite our collective capacity, we’ve struggled to overcome the headwinds that continue to slow decisive climate action. On the podcast, Niall Mac Dowell, visiting scholar at the Kleinman Center and professor of Future Energy Systems at Imperial College London, takes stock of where we are now. His work focuses on the transition to a low-carbon economy, with recent research exploring the feasibility of clean energy development projections and the role negative emissions could play in achieving net-zero goals. He shares his perspective on what it will take to move more decisively toward a sustainable energy future. Niall Mac Dowell is Professor of Future Energy Systems at Imperial College London. The official transcript for this episode is available on the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy website: https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/commentary/podcast/ Related Content Has Europe’s Emissions Trading Scheme Taken Away a Country’s Ability to Reduce Emissions? https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/has-europes-emissions-trading-scheme-taken-away-a-countrys-ability-to-reduce-emissions/ Closing the Climate Finance Gap: A Proposal for a New Green Investment Protocol https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/closing-the-climate-finance-gap-a-proposal-for-a-new-green-investment-protocol/ Climate Action in the Age of Great Power Rivalry: What Geopolitics Means for Climate https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/climate-action-in-the-age-of-great-power-rivalry-what-geopolitics-means-for-the-climate/ Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• Can California’s Emissions Market Survive Past 2030?

  Danny Cullenward, vice chair of California’s Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee, explores the legal and policy challenges that threaten the future of the state’s carbon cap-and-trade market. --- For more than a decade, California’s cap-and-trade program has been a key component of the state’s broader efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve a net-zero carbon economy by 2045. Yet the future of California’s cap-and-trade program is uncertain. The program is currently authorized only through 2030, and significant debate exists over whether its administrator, the California Air Resources Board, has the legal authority to extend it beyond that date. Danny Cullenward, a senior fellow with the Kleinman Center and vice chair of California’s Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee, explores the political and legal questions surrounding the program’s future. He also explains how uncertainty about the program’s longevity could slow investments in clean infrastructure and limit the market’s effectiveness in driving down the state’s climate emissions. Danny Cullenward is a senior fellow with the Kleinman Center, and the vice chair of California’s Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee. The official transcript for this episode is available on the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy website: https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/commentary/podcast/ Related Content California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/californias-low-carbon-fuel-standard/ Has Europe’s Emissions Trading Scheme Taken Away a Country’s Ability to Reduce Emissions? https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/has-europes-emissions-trading-scheme-taken-away-a-countrys-ability-to-reduce-emissions/ Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• Bridging the Partisan Climate Divide

  Former Republican U.S. congressman Bob Inglis offers a conservative perspective on climate solutions in discussion with Penn climatologist Michael Mann. --- Politically conservative and concerned about climate change? In this special episode of the Energy Policy Now podcast, Penn climatologist Michael Mann talks with Bob Inglis, former Republican Congressman from South Carolina and current executive director of RepublicEN.org, about bridging the partisan climate divide. In a wide-ranging conversation recorded live during Energy Week at Penn 2025 at the University of Pennsylvania, Mann and Inglis discuss a conservative view on climate change, how conservative messaging on climate has evolved over time, and how common solutions might be found in an era of partisan climate divide. Inglis also offers his view on carbon pricing and strategies to reign in carbon emissions in the U.S. The conversation is moderated by Sanya Carley, faculty director of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy. Bob Inglis is a former U.S. representative for South Carolina’s 4th congressional district. He is the executive director of RepublicanEn.org at George Mason University. Michael Mann is director of the Center for Science, Sustainability and the Media at the University of Pennsylvania. Sanya Carley is the Mark Alan Hughes faculty director of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy. Important note on the conversation: Due to a technical problem, the first two minutes of Bob Inglis’ conversation are difficult to hear (from 5:40 to 7:40). We’ve transcribed those two minutes in the show notes, below, to make it easier to follow along. A full transcript of this and all Energy Policy Now podcasts is available on the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy website. Bob Inglis (5:40): Yeah, so for my first six years in Congress I said that climate change is nonsense. All I knew was that Al Gore was for it. And as much as I represented Greenville-Spartanburg South Carolina, that was the end of the inquiry. Okay, pretty ignorant. But that’s the way it was my first six years. Out of Congress six years, as you just heard, doing commercial real estate law again and then, had the opportunity to run for the same seat again before, our son had just turned 18, so he was voting for the first time, and he came to me and he said, dad, I’ll vote for you. But you’re going to clean up your act on the environment. His four sisters agreed, his mother agreed. New constituency, you know. So you got to respond to those people who can change the locks on the doors to your house, you know. So, very important to respond to these people. And so that was step one of a three step metamorphosis. Step two was going to Antarctica with the [House of Representatives] Science Committee and seeing the evidence in the iceberg drillings. Step three was another Science Committee trip and, um, really a spiritual awakening which seems improbable, right, on a godless Science Committee trip, because we all know that all scientists are godless. Right? Well, apparently not. Because this Aussie climate scientist was showing me the glories of the Great Barrier Reef. I could see he was worshipping God in what he was showing me. You know, St. Francis of Assisi supposedly said “preach the gospel at all times. If necessary use words.” So Scott Heron, this Aussie climate scientist who’s now become a very dear friend was doing that. I could see it in his eyes, it was written all over his face. It was in his excitement about what he was showing me. He was clearly worshipping God. So I knew we shared a world view. Forty words were spoken. Related Content How Identity Politics Shape U.S. Energy Policy https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/commentary/podcast/how-identity-politics-shape-u-s-energy-policy/ Climate Action in the Age of Great Power Rivalry: What Geopolitics Means for Climate https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/climate-action-in-the-age-of-great-power-rivalry-what-geopolitics-means-for-the-climate/ Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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• Carbon Tariffs & Global Trade: Inside the EU’s CBAM Plan

  The European Union’s carbon border tariff arrives in January. An architect of the plan discusses its impact on trade, competition, and climate. --- On January 1, 2026, the European Union will launch its Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)—the world’s first carbon tariff on imported goods. Designed to support the EU’s ambitious decarbonization goals, CBAM will impose a carbon fee on imports such as steel, aluminum, and fertilizers, while seeking to ensure the competitiveness of European industries. In this episode, Mohammed Chahim, the European Parliament’s lead negotiator on the carbon border fee, breaks down how CBAM will work, its role in the EU’s broader climate strategy, and what it means for global trade. He also discusses how the tariff could affect exporters to the EU, including the United States, and how policymakers aim to navigate potential trade disputes. Dr. Mohammed Chahim is a Dutch member of the European Parliament and its lead negotiator for the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Related Content Has Europe’s Emissions Trading Scheme Taken Away a Country’s Ability to Reduce Emissions? https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/has-europes-emissions-trading-scheme-taken-away-a-countrys-ability-to-reduce-emissions/ Closing the Climate Finance Gap: A Proposal for a New Green Investment Protocol https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/closing-the-climate-finance-gap-a-proposal-for-a-new-green-investment-protocol/ Senator Sheldon Whitehouse on the Rising Prospects for a U.S. Carbon Border Fee https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/commentary/podcast/senator-sheldon-whitehouse-on-the-rising-prospects-for-a-u-s-carbon-border-fee/ Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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