Shift Key with Robinson Meyer and Jesse Jenkins

The Chinese electric automaker BYD is entering a new stage in its history. Last month, it sold [https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/byd-track-top-2024-sales-goal-outsell-ford-honda-2024-12-09/] more than half a million electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. BYD has already shipped more cars this year than Ford and Honda, and it is fast coming for Volkswagen, GM, and Toyota’s crowns as the world’s three largest automakers. Earlier this year, Rob and Jesse spoke with Ilaria Mazzocco [https://www.csis.org/people/ilaria-mazzocco], a senior fellow with the Trustee Chair in Chinese Business and Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington, D.C. She has watched China’s EV industry grow from a small regional experiment into a planet-reshaping juggernaut. On this week’s episode of Shift Key, we’re re-running that conversation — one of our favorites ever to happen on the show. We’ll be back with a new episode next week. Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap, and Jesse Jenkins, a professor of energy systems engineering at Princeton University. Mentioned: Why Ford and GM are scared of Chinese electric cars [https://heatmap.news/electric-vehicles/ford-gm-stellantis-byd] President Biden’s announcement of new tariffs on Chinese EVs [https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2024/05/14/fact-sheet-president-biden-takes-action-to-protect-american-workers-and-businesses-from-chinas-unfair-trade-practices/]. The EU’s lower tariffs on Chinese EVs [https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/eu-impose-multi-billion-euro-tariffs-chinese-evs-ft-reports-2024-06-12/] Trouble for Gotion's Michigan plant [https://www.bridgemi.com/business-watch/chinese-ev-battery-factory-planned-near-big-rapids-faces-renewed-scrutiny] Rob on the Biden administration’s China thought [https://heatmap.news/politics/biden-china-climate] Rob’s upshift [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-12-10/electric-vehicle-battery-packs-see-biggest-price-drop-since-2017]. -- This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by … Watershed’s climate data engine helps companies measure and reduce their emissions, turning the data they already have into an audit-ready carbon footprint backed by the latest climate science. Get the sustainability data you need in weeks, not months. Learn more at watershed.com [https://watershed.com/]. As a global leader in PV and ESS solutions, Sungrow invests heavily in research and development, constantly pushing the boundaries of solar and battery inverter technology. Discover why Sungrow is the essential component of the clean energy transition by visiting sungrowpower.com [https://en.sungrowpower.com/]. Intersolar & Energy Storage North America is the premier U.S.-based conference and trade show focused on solar, energy storage, and EV charging infrastructure. To learn more, visit intersolar.us [https://www.intersolar.us/]. Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The Inflation Reduction Act, President Joe Biden’s landmark climate law, is the biggest investment in clean energy in American history. It is also in danger. In January, the Trump administration and a GOP Congress will take over the federal government — and they have made a variety of promises about how they’ll disrupt the law, ranging from full repeal to a more “surgical” reform approach. On this week’s episode of Shift Key, Rob and Jesse talk with Kristina Costa [https://www.aspenideas.org/speakers/kristina-costa], who has worked since 2022 to implement the IRA’s climate provisions at the White House. She joins us to discuss what went right about the Biden administration’s rush to implement the law, why state government capacity is holding back Democratic policy goals, and why the federal government needs more tools to support energy innovation if it wants to keep up with China. She also discusses how the administration is trying to Trump-proof the law. Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap, and Jesse Jenkins, a professor of energy systems engineering at Princeton University. Mentioned:  Biden has obligated more than $100 billion in IRA grants [https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/biden-pushes-out-over-100-billion-clean-energy-grants-term-winds-down-2024-12-03/] The administration’s three big tax credit goals by the end of the year [https://heatmap.news/economy/final-hydrogen-tax-credit-45v]: hydrogen, advanced manufacturing, and technology-neutral clean electricity Jesse’s upshift [https://newatlas.com/aircraft/heart-aerospace-electric-x1-test-flight-2025/]; Rob’s upshift [https://heatmap.news/climate/giving-tuesday-climate-change].  (And here’s what’s 250 miles from three cities: Newark [https://milesofme.com/newark-nj/250], Chicago [https://milesofme.com/chicago-il/250], Las Vegas [https://milesofme.com/las-vegas-nv/250].) -- This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by … Watershed’s climate data engine helps companies measure and reduce their emissions, turning the data they already have into an audit-ready carbon footprint backed by the latest climate science. Get the sustainability data you need in weeks, not months. Learn more at watershed.com [https://watershed.com/]. As a global leader in PV and ESS solutions, Sungrow invests heavily in research and development, constantly pushing the boundaries of solar and battery inverter technology. Discover why Sungrow is the essential component of the clean energy transition by visiting sungrowpower.com [https://en.sungrowpower.com/]. Intersolar & Energy Storage North America is the premier U.S.-based conference and trade show focused on solar, energy storage, and EV charging infrastructure. To learn more, visit intersolar.us [https://www.intersolar.us/]. Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

It’s been a news-filled few weeks — so it’s time for a roundup. On this week’s episode of Shift Key, Rob and Jesse talk about what Trump’s cabinet selections might mean for his climate policy and whether permitting reform could still happen. Then Rob chats with Corey Cantor, senior EV analyst at BloombergNEF, about promising Q3 sales for U.S. automakers, General Motors’ turnaround, and how much the Trump administration might dent America’s EV uptake.  Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap, and Jesse Jenkins, a professor of energy systems engineering at Princeton University. Mentioned:  Heatmap: Trump’s pick for Energy Secretary is a big league fracking executive [https://heatmap.news/politics/chris-wright-energy] Chris Wright’s 2023 speech to the American Conservation Coalition [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pikLy2mRZOg], a GOP-aligned youth climate group What we know about Trump’s “whole of government” approach to energy [https://heatmap.news/climate/trump-national-energy-council] Heatmap: Trump’s OMB Pick Wants to Purge the Government of ‘Climate Fanaticism’ [https://heatmap.news/sparks/russ-vought-omb-trump] California could replace the EV tax credit [https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/california-governor-newsom-propose-clean-vehicle-rebate-if-trump-cuts-ev-tax-2024-11-25/], but Tesla would be excluded [https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/california-governor-newsom-propose-clean-vehicle-rebate-if-trump-cuts-ev-tax-2024-11-25/] EV sales hit a record high in the U.S. [https://www.coxautoinc.com/market-insights/q3-2024-ev-sales/] in Q3 Jesse’s midshift [https://www.cleaninvestmentmonitor.org/reports/clean-investment-monitor-q3-2024-update]; Rob’s upshift [https://www.linkedin.com/posts/tylerhnorris_how-did-texas-interconnect-70-more-generation-activity-7264322913971970051-gl-U/]. -- This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by … Watershed’s climate data engine helps companies measure and reduce their emissions, turning the data they already have into an audit-ready carbon footprint backed by the latest climate science. Get the sustainability data you need in weeks, not months. Learn more at watershed.com [https://watershed.com/]. As a global leader in PV and ESS solutions, Sungrow invests heavily in research and development, constantly pushing the boundaries of solar and battery inverter technology. Discover why Sungrow is the essential component of the clean energy transition by visiting sungrowpower.com [https://en.sungrowpower.com/]. Intersolar & Energy Storage North America is the premier U.S.-based conference and trade show focused on solar, energy storage, and EV charging infrastructure. To learn more, visit intersolar.us [https://www.intersolar.us/]. Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Here’s the bad news: The world is almost certainly going to miss the Paris Agreement’s goal of keeping global temperatures from rising beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels. The needed emissions cuts are too large and the direction of policy too slow to lead to any other outcome. In the next few decades, global warming will slip past the 1.5 degree mark — and temperatures will keep rising. What does that mean? What comes next? And how should we feel about that? On this week’s episode of Shift Key, Rob and Jesse chat with Kate Marvel [https://www.marvelclimate.com/], an associate research scientist at Columbia University and the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. We talk about why every 10th of a degree matters in the fight against climate change, the difference between tipping points and destabilizing feedback loops, and how to think about climate change in a disappointing time. Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap, and Jesse Jenkins, a professor of energy systems engineering at Princeton University. Mentioned:  The UN Environmental Program’s emissions gap report [https://www.unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2024] The IPCC’s monumental report on the risks of 1.5C of temperature rise [https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/chapter/chapter-3/] Jesse’s post-Trump op-ed: Trump Is Not the End of the Climate Fight [https://heatmap.news/ideas/trump-election-climate-fight] Rob’s piece from 2023 on the “end of climate science” [https://heatmap.news/climate/this-is-the-end-of-climate-science] Trump’s Energy Secretary-designate Chris Wright’s speech [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pikLy2mRZOg] at the American Conservation Coalition Summit Jesse’s downshift [https://www.reuters.com/business/autos-transportation/trumps-transition-team-aims-kill-biden-ev-tax-credit-2024-11-14/]; Rob’s upshift [https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/nyc-congestion-pricing-mta-board-vote/].  -- This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by … Watershed’s climate data engine helps companies measure and reduce their emissions, turning the data they already have into an audit-ready carbon footprint backed by the latest climate science. Get the sustainability data you need in weeks, not months. Learn more at watershed.com [https://watershed.com/]. As a global leader in PV and ESS solutions, Sungrow invests heavily in research and development, constantly pushing the boundaries of solar and battery inverter technology. Discover why Sungrow is the essential component of the clean energy transition by visiting sungrowpower.com [https://en.sungrowpower.com/]. Intersolar & Energy Storage North America is the premier U.S.-based conference and trade show focused on solar, energy storage, and EV charging infrastructure. To learn more, visit intersolar.us [https://www.intersolar.us/]. Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

The rollbacks are coming. Donald Trump’s incoming administration is expected to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, weaken the Environmental Protection Agency’s rules for power plants and tailpipe pollution, and — potentially — rewrite or repeal big swaths of the Inflation Reduction Act. Each of those actions would seem to provide an opening for the world’s No. 1 polluter — China — to assert global leadership and zip ahead in the next generation of clean energy technology. How will it respond? On this week’s episode of Shift Key, Rob and Jesse chat with Jeremy Wallace [https://sais.jhu.edu/users/jwalla62], the A. Doak Barnett Professor of China Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Wallace, a Heatmap contributor, helps us understand how China is thinking about Trump, the current state of China’s economy, and why China sometimes flexes its climate leadership — but just as often doesn’t. Shift Key is hosted by Robinson Meyer, the founding executive editor of Heatmap, and Jesse Jenkins, a professor of energy systems engineering at Princeton University. Mentioned:  Jeremy Wallace on how China will respond to U.S. reversals [https://goodauthority.org/news/trumps-election-will-likely-reverse-us-climate-action/] Jeremy’s writing on China, clean energy, and trade [https://heatmap.news/u/jeremy-wallace] Rob on how the Biden administration thought about China and clean energy [https://heatmap.news/economy/china-us-post-neoliberalism]  The Draghi report: EU competitiveness: Looking ahead [https://commission.europa.eu/topics/strengthening-european-competitiveness/eu-competitiveness-looking-ahead_en] -- This episode of Shift Key is sponsored by … Watershed’s climate data engine helps companies measure and reduce their emissions, turning the data they already have into an audit-ready carbon footprint backed by the latest climate science. Get the sustainability data you need in weeks, not months. Learn more at watershed.com [https://watershed.com/]. As a global leader in PV and ESS solutions, Sungrow invests heavily in research and development, constantly pushing the boundaries of solar and battery inverter technology. Discover why Sungrow is the essential component of the clean energy transition by visiting sungrowpower.com [https://en.sungrowpower.com/]. Intersolar & Energy Storage North America is the premier U.S.-based conference and trade show focused on solar, energy storage, and EV charging infrastructure. To learn more, visit intersolar.us [https://www.intersolar.us/]. Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.