What you’ll get in this solo episode of Energy Thinks

In last week’s Both True, I wrote about a shift I’m watching closely: climate priorities being repackaged as affordability arguments. Affordability is now the governing political test on energy—and some decarbonization-first advocates are repositioning their programs as the key to energy affordability.

This week’s solo pod picks up the next, harder question: What do you—the oil and gas leader—do with this insight?

If your first move is to scoff and say, “That’s just climate masquerading as affordability,” you will be correct. But you are unlikely to be effective.

In this solo episode, I work through:

* Why being right is not the same thing as being effective

* What oil and gas leaders can and cannot credibly call out

* How to respond when affordability arguments skip over energy system complexity

* Why emotional discipline is a core leadership skill

* What political signals from California and Democratic presidential politics may tell us about where energy arguments are headed next

A preview

On the “first simple answer”: “A lot of what is climate masquerading as affordability is a sincere, first, simple solution. And we all need to be committed to working further on that topic to get to the actual, more nuanced answer.”

On why calling it out may not work: “If you say, ‘Oh, that’s just climate masquerading as affordability,’ everyone is just going to roll their eyes and look the other way.”

On what to do instead: “Let’s go up to 100,000 feet. Let’s look at a longer time scale. Let’s explore the question of affordability in a bigger physical context.”

On the real leadership test: “I do 100 percent believe in telling the truth. The subtle thing I want to emphasize here is: When, where, and how can we be effectively persuasive?”

Bonus content for this episode

My latest book, The Myth and The Moment.

My most recent Both True, “Is Climate Action ‘Energy Affordability?’”

Mentioned: Politico’s “Tom Steyer Is Running the Most Expensive Campaign in America. It Might Win Him the California Governorship, and “Tom Steyer’s Climate Pivot Signals New Playbook for Dems.”

Tell me what you think: “Doing Data Centers the Not-Dumb Way” Volts podcast with Jigar Shah.

Relevant podcasts of mine: “Climate Plans Get Punched in the Face” and “Energy Abundance Is Non-Negotiable. Responsibility Is, Too.”

Watch the episode on YouTube or listen to the podcast on Substack.

What to do next in The Moment?

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To effective truth-telling,

Tisha

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