Energy Security and Climate Initiative

[On COP 24 U.N. climate negotiations] In some ways, the biggest challenge in Katowice is just going to be the sheer amount of text that'll be produced.

[On recent research in climate science] Global warming is accelerating. [These] three trends [falling air pollution enabling more of the sun’s warmth to reach the Earth’s surface,aerosol pollutants reflecting sunlight, and a long-term natural climate cycle in the Pacific entering a warm phase] will combine over the next 20 years to make climate change faster and more furious than anticipated.

[On COP 24 U.N. climate negotiations and the Paris "Rulebook"] There’s also the issue of checking up on each country’s measurements. Before the Paris agreement, China was considered a “developing” nation subject to less-stringent reporting requirements. That changed after 2015. What will the reporting requirements be and how will they be verified? That’s what the negotiators will be duking out in Poland. I’m curious to see how far they get.

[On the state of mulilateralism in the world today, and its effects on energy and climate issues] The global political environment is really challenging right now, with nationalism taking hold in many countries.

[On U.S. role in climate leadership, in run-up to COP 24] It is an almost complete abdication. We have really, really dropped out of our leadership position. If we don't lead, who does? It's not clear who that's going to be and if anyone will fill that role.

[On U.S. role in the world on energy and climate issues in lead-up to COP24] The global political environment is really challenging right now. It is a challenging time just for the idea of multilateralism in general.

[On COP 24 U.N. climate negotiations] I think it's fair to say it's the most important, consequential talk since Paris.