![](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/d1edf265-49e4-496e-b22a-fdc2ec621c04/53001592875_c16e1f4ee0_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C3377&w=800)
From Mining to Moscow, How Geopolitics Shape the Energy Transition
![](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/d1edf265-49e4-496e-b22a-fdc2ec621c04/53001592875_c16e1f4ee0_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C3377&w=2000)
No matter what your feelings are about climate change, you need to care about the deployment of electric vehicles.
Setup
Does going electric mean buying lithium from Russia and Venezuela? What happens if the United States takes carbon action while competitors don’t? Experts weigh in on the geopolitical implications — and opportunities — of a global transition to cleaner energy.
- 2023 Festival
- World
- Environment
Explore More
World
![Gettyimages 1488043800](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/4f1048e8-0b45-4e5c-ab68-b59fdc805164/GettyImages-1488043800.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=ab287a&q=80&rect=2240%2C0%2C4480%2C4480&w=400)
![Gettyimages 1488043800](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/4f1048e8-0b45-4e5c-ab68-b59fdc805164/GettyImages-1488043800.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=2240%2C0%2C4480%2C4480&w=400)
Conflict and suffering can bring out the worst in people, but it can also bring out the best. This is one of the lessons New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has learned...
![Meet 7 Women Leading the Way to a Brighter Climate Future](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/11e09403-1a70-4720-abb0-8c203f892106/GettyImages-1415703633.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=738%2C0%2C3733%2C3733&w=400)
Women are crucial to the climate movement, but their voices are often underrepresented and their work goes under-supported. Meet just a few of the women from this year’s Aspen...
![Global Affairs](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/44bccdbd-af20-4238-accc-18fd46aba397/GettyImages-959876146.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=267&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C4245%2C2832&w=400)
The war in Ukraine continues to reshape European security and global alliances, while the war in Gaza raises urgent questions about humanitarian aid and international interven...
![Gettyimages 110925335](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/9060cbea-f0ea-4983-ae0b-7f4cdd4923a8/GettyImages-110925335.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&mono=ab287a&q=80&rect=435%2C0%2C3744%2C3744&w=400)
![Gettyimages 110925335](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/9060cbea-f0ea-4983-ae0b-7f4cdd4923a8/GettyImages-110925335.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=400&q=80&rect=435%2C0%2C3744%2C3744&w=400)
The grim stream of news from the Middle East has been making it more and more difficult to hold onto hope for peace. When and how will the conflict in Gaza end? And could war...
![Chasing Hope](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/2f55539f-2197-464f-8b26-2929b02cf707/53824051485_57d377543e_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=600&q=80&rect=1613%2C0%2C2576%2C3864&w=400)
As one of the foremost reporters of his generation, Nicholas Kristof has been witness to century-defining events and atrocities around the world. How has he managed to weaponi...
![Closing Session](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/48047a1f-d980-4abf-ae89-bfbd1c8bc246/53824584793_ab831623a7_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C160%2C3200%2C1800&w=400)
![Extreme Heat: The Silent Killer of Climate Change](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/b5e2e176-6cbe-4d92-b593-011e59139c36/6.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C97%2C4651%2C2616&w=400)
Heat is now the top weather-related cause of death in the U.S., killing more people than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined. An environmental journalist and two city ch...
![There’s an Energy Transition Happening in Your Backyard](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/038a9839-e479-49fe-ab58-0fbb6194b7d8/energytransition.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C430%2C8256%2C4644&w=400)
Every transition comes with tradeoffs, and even clean energy carries negative consequences. As they mine for critical minerals or build solar arrays on sensitive land, clean e...
![The African Century](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/bdb124db-886c-4221-854e-1e6893bfb3be/53824085325_aa02dd6d1f_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=600&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C3100%2C4650&w=400)
Africa is a rising giant. By 2050, one in four people on the planet will be African, and by 2060, Africa will have the largest labor force in the world. A former Nigerian pres...
![Sci-Fi or Reality? Talking Tomorrow’s Climate Tech](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/67c1104a-0ac3-459e-9a92-d199aebe8b33/53821312503_cbf498aa31_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C4651%2C2618&w=400)
It sounds like sci-fi: Scientists are beaming solar energy from space, subbing seaweed for plastic and brightening clouds to reflect sunlight to lower temperatures in a warmin...
![Putin's Dark Ambitions](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/481f31c4-6bd2-406a-8490-b3d6e1256186/53821056506_5ddc4af828_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C483%2C4651%2C2618&w=400)
With the war in Ukraine in its third year, Putin shows no sign of tempering his military ambitions. Though global pressure on Russian investment has so far failed to crush the...
![The Power of Place: Youth Opportunity in Latin America, India and Africa](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/84fd7a2d-7412-47b0-a1e1-54beeb6835a3/53821058621_a78c29e4cc_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C242%2C4650%2C2616&w=400)
Of the 1.2 billion youth aged 15 to 24 worldwide in 2019, close to half were out of school, out of work or underemployed, and this number will continue to grow. Listen as glob...
![World On Fire: The Root Causes of Populism, Authoritarianism and The Whole Global Mess](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/4700f9bb-c301-465b-8b69-e45f7b40c4c4/53821548735_330bf43d6d_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=600&q=80&rect=1292%2C0%2C2067%2C3100&w=400)
Right-wing populism is surging worldwide, in places as diverse as India, the Netherlands, Argentina, France and the United States. What are the cultural and social forces driv...
![Facing Down Mexico’s Drug Cartels](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/fd17863f-b861-4c43-8d5b-73b66fa4095e/53820181357_d26db50e0c_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C242%2C4650%2C2616&w=400)
Hear from Mexican investigative journalist Anabel Hernández, who risks her life to investigate drug cartels and the people in power who protect them, and former assistant U.S....
![The Future of the Middle East: Diplomatic Perspectives](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/04671f8b-e95f-49fb-bce0-0f574c76da19/53817839011_cb9537b309_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C0%2C5887%2C3313&w=400)
The October 7 attack by Hamas and the devastating nine-month war in Gaza have shattered hopes for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and reduced the likelihood of expa...
![The Future of the Middle East: A Leader Reflects](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/0c13e8ec-4a83-4eda-a2ea-09918fd9b959/53818040274_b065f2a48f_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C312%2C6000%2C3375&w=400)
The October 7 attack by Hamas and the devastating nine-month war in Gaza have shattered hopes for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and reduced the likelihood of expa...
![Presented by GE Vernova: It’s Electrifying! Tech and Climate Reshape Everything, Everywhere, All at Once](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/a3e37e2c-0596-4e40-ac71-5a6f22b8749d/240626_electrifying_006.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=600&q=80&rect=1111%2C0%2C1778%2C2667&w=400)
Even as the clean energy transition is underway, AI and global development are demanding more energy than ever. What’s the best plan to bring massive amounts of zero- and low-...
![Unfreedom of the Press](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/5fd59d79-ac11-435a-ad5a-ef27610dd2ac/53816160140_43f14d0363_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=1%2C307%2C5882%2C3309&w=400)
As repressive regimes clamp down on the press, they are now targeting media owners. China shut Hong Kong’s Apple Daily and locked up owner Jimmy Lai. Guatemala’s El Periódico...
![Climate of Hope](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/7a778d45-9072-483d-bc15-ec7c61ffac34/53817220503_5fae6aa65a_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C173%2C4651%2C2618&w=400)
Amid the stark realities of our planet's degradation, there are bright glimmers of hope in conservation efforts around the world. Paul Nicklen and Cristina Mittermeier use mas...
![Antisemitism Then and Now](https://aspenideasfestival.imgix.net/382c8b7c-339f-482f-97fc-b968d694e503/53815733914_364958c8a8_o.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=min&fm=jpg&h=225&q=80&rect=0%2C261%2C5598%2C3149&w=400)
With antisemitism resurgent, Simon Schama, acclaimed author of “The Story of the Jews,” speaks about the magnitude of the problem, examining “the oldest hatred” from the time...