2025 has been incredibly eventful for decarbonization — and not necessarily in a good way. The return of Donald Trump, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and the rise of data centers and artificial intelligence led to more changes for climate policy and the clean energy sector than we’ve seen in years. Some of those we saw coming. Others we really did not.

On this week’s episode of Shift Key, Rob and Jesse look back at the year’s biggest energy and decarbonization stories and examine what they got right — and what they got wrong. What’s been most surprising about the Trump administration? Why didn’t the Inflation Reduction Act’s policies help prevent the law’s partial repeal? And why have AI and the data center boom become a much bigger driver of power growth than we once thought?

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:

From the Shift Key archive: A Skeptic’s Take on AI and Energy Growth, with Jonathan Koomey

The R2 Is the Rivian That Matters

Ford, Hyundai US sales down slightly in November as EVs drag

Jesse’s upshift; Rob’s sorta upshift.

--

Music for Shift Key is by Adam Kromelow.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Biggest Lessons of a Not-So-Great Year for Climate Policy

Shift Key with Robinson Meyer

The Biggest Lessons of a Not-So-Great Year for Climate Policy