Energy & Climate Comments
Short commentary by ORF America Energy & Climate experts on current issues. Comments from previous years can be found here.
By Cauvery Ganapathy
Disruptions triggered by the Iranian blockade of the Strait of Hormuz have interrupted global efforts at industrial reshoring, data center-led digitization, electrification, and the reinforcement of defense production lines, while also posing risks to global food security.
By Mannat Jaspal
The only real winners will be those that draw lessons from the crisis and move quickly to build robust energy security frameworks — one that integrate securitization, resilience, and transition planning to safeguard the present and insulate the future.
By Cauvery Ganapathy
In Venezuela’s case, as was the case with Iraq, it is the systematic domestic mismanagement of its resources coupled with inequities of political agency that diminished the value of its natural wealth. American engagement in Venezuela’s oil sector may soon demonstrate, like it did in the United States’ Iraqi sojourn, how deep-rooted these structural fractures are.
By Caroline Arkalji and Telmen Altanshagai
In the coming decades, green steel will shape whether heavy industry can remain both competitive and environmentally-aligned. The remaining question is whether policy frameworks, financing mechanisms, and workforce strategies can move at the same pace.
By Vishal Manve
India has largely resolved the political signaling problem around nuclear energy. The harder phase now begins: building the human capital, regulatory resilience, and industrial depth necessary to sustain multi-decade deployment.
By Sarah Salah
There is no question that Greenland holds substantial mineral wealth. Most mining exploration sites in Greenland are located along the coast, making port infrastructure essential for transporting heavy equipment and extracted materials. Yet declining sea levels threaten the long-term viability of deep-water ports built today, potentially rendering them too shallow within decades.
By Mannat Jaspal, Parul Bakshi, Cauvery Ganapathy, Lydia Powell, and Piyush Verma
As we enter 2026, climate and energy policies are being shaped not only by decarbonization imperatives. Geopolitical upheaval, technological competition, economic transformation, supply chain resilience, and national security concerns are exerting influence over the future of energy and climate policies worldwide.
By Piyush Verma
India’s latest Union Budget marks a subtle but important shift in how the country is framing its energy priorities. Rather than centering the narrative solely on clean energy targets or renewable capacity additions and relevant policy support, the Budget signals a broader and more mature emphasis on energy security.
By Holly Stevens and Siddharth Sharma
As demand for electric vehicles, battery storage, clean energy systems, and advanced technologies continues to accelerate, Australia’s resource base and mining history, Canada’s resource base as well as its mining and industrial capabilities, and India’s market scale and commitment to value-added manufacturing could support diversification across multiple stages of the value chain.
By Ashwini Thakre and Piyush Verma
No single country can efficiently develop the entire critical minerals value chain on its own, particularly for rare earths and battery materials. Cooperation among the United States, Australia, Japan, and other Indo-Pacific economies reflects a growing recognition that resilience lies not in isolation, but in diversified and trusted networks.
By Caroline Arkalji
For utilities and developers, a robust U.S. battery-storage industry would reduce dependence on overseas suppliers, cut logistical and tariff-related costs, and accelerate project deployment. If the United States seizes this moment, it can position itself as a global leader in grid-scale battery manufacturing and deliver a more reliable, competitive, and secure energy system for the decades ahead.
By Ashwini Thakre and Piyush Verma
China’s diplomatic control over sector may become the very trigger that unwinds its dominance. By weaponizing concentration, Beijing accelerated diversification efforts that many democracies had treated as optional. The shock exposed the liabilities of a system built on single-country dependence and encouraged a coordinated wave of investment across the United States, Europe, Japan, South Korea, and Australia.
By Piyush Verma
Strengthening the EU-India energy partnership would unlock significant economic opportunities for both regions, fostering innovation, job creation, and strengthening security. How India and the EU align their energy strategies through their trade agreement will have far-reaching consequences for the world’s future.
By Medha Prasanna
Joint innovation in water-efficient cooling, collaborative investment in low-carbon hyperscale campuses, and harmonized approaches to land and community engagement could make the U.S.–India partnership a global benchmark in data infrastructure.
By Telmen Altanshagai
The implications of PS-2 for Mongolia are double-edged. The project could provide new revenues, jobs, and energy diversification, while elevating Mongolia’s role in regional energy flows. But it also risks eroding the very sovereignty and strategic autonomy that Ulaanbaatar has sought to preserve through its “Third Neighbor” policy.
By Caroline Arkalji
Securing strategic minerals against intensifying natural risks is no longer just a business challenge; it must be a global policy priority. The energy transition cannot succeed on unstable foundations; the world needs smarter, safer, and fairer mines designed to withstand current and future environmental risks.
By Piyush Verma
By meeting clean energy targets ahead of schedule, expanding nuclear and hydrogen capacity, and securing critical mineral supply chains, India is positioning itself as a model for climate-conscious growth that does not compromise on economic or strategic goals.
By Hansika Nath
Clean technology has emerged as a key area of convergence in trade talks between India and the EU.
By Piyush Verma
While challenges remain in terms of generation mix, grid integration, infrastructure resilience and storage capacity, India’s clean energy milestone sends a clear message: ambitious goals, backed by policy, innovation, and investment, can deliver real-world impact.
By Medha Prasanna
The latest nuclear policy steps – and technological advances in SMRs – pave the way for new kinds of cooperation between the United States and India.
By Caroline Arkalji
How can India’s transition to green energy ensure that new job opportunities are accessible to all workers, especially those in carbon-intensive industries?
By Caroline Arkalji
How are Global South nations tackling the challenges that arise with rapid urbanization?
By Medha Prasanna
Will the outcome of this November’s presidential election result in a large shift in the United States' climate and energy relationship with India, or will policy remain the same no matter who is leading the United States?
