Jessica Uhl on the Fractured Energy Transition: Why Speed Matters Now

The clean energy transition had real momentum at the end of 2024. It was buoyed by federal support, billions of dollars of investment in new technologies, and broad acknowledgment of the costs of climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions. But major roadblocks have emerged over the past 18 months. US support for some forms of clean energy was revoked. And rising energy costs, due in part to an urgent call for data center build-out, have made affordability a priority for many stakeholders.

The challenge is truly daunting. Despite significant clean energy investments, some 80 percent of the world's energy is still derived from fossil fuels. Tariffs and supply disruptions have made clean energy infrastructure harder to build.

So what does all of this mean for the speed and scale of the energy transition? How are businesses navigating so much instability when billions of dollars and decades-long infrastructure commitments are at stake? And what does this all say about whether the global energy system can ever be clean, accessible, and affordable?

Today on the show, Bill Loveless speaks with Jessica Uhl about the challenges of and opportunities for making energy abundant, accessible, and clean.

Jessica has held senior leadership roles in upstream oil and gas, renewables, and power technology, including serving as CFO of Shell and later as president of GE Vernova. Jessica is now a senior advisor with the Three Cairns Group, an investment and philanthropic firm focused on the climate crisis. She also serves on a number of boards, including the executive and advisory boards at the Center on Global Energy Policy.

Credits: Hosted by Jason Bordoff and Bill Loveless. Produced by Mary Catherine O'Connor, Caroline Pitman, and Kyu Lee. Engineering by Gregory Vilfranc.