Shows
Ideas UntrappedPower to the PeopleWelcome to Ideas Untrapped podcast. In this episode, I speak with economist Sugandha Srivastav about the hidden political economy of electricity in developing countries. Using examples from her study of Pakistan's electricity market, we explored how opaque power purchase agreements, regulatory capture, and poor procurement practices drive high costs and unreliable supply in many developing countries that are in desperate need of energy. Sugandha also shares bold insights on how competitive markets and renewable energy, especially solar, can transform the power sector and deliver affordable electricity for all. Dr Sugandha Srivastav is a Lecturer in Environmental Economics and a...
2025-05-2752 min
An Electric Revolution3. Did the Kidnapping of a Solar Pioneer in 1909 Set Back Solar Power?This week we are talking about the life of George Cove, a Canadian inventor and entrepreneur. Born in Nova Scotia in 1863 or 1864, Cove presented his first “solar electric generator” in 1905 in the Metropole Building in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He then moved to the US to continue work on his solar device. In 1909 he exhibited four solar panels on a New York rooftop, which were used to charge lead-acid batteries. This was decades before the first conventional photovoltaic solar panel as we know it today was invented at Bell Labs. Cove intended to use t...
2025-04-0932 min
VoxDev Development EconomicsThe high price of Pakistan’s polluting power contractsWhere does electricity come from? In developing countries, the power sector uses
long-term, rigid contracts called power purchase agreements (PPAs) between a
private generator and government-owned utilities. These PPAs are not usually
competitive, their terms – including payment guarantees by which suppliers get paid
even when there is no demand – are often secret, they can last for up to 30 years,
and they guarantee the use of fossil fuels far into the future. Sugandha Srivastav
tells Tim Phillips about how the privatisation of electricity generation has created a
way to move money “from the public coffer...
2024-11-2729 min
Wicked Problems - Climate Tech ConversationsCan Chris Stark be the Gareth Southgate of UK Climate Tech?Guests:Adam Bell, Director of Policy at StonehavenMegan Kenyon, Policy Correspondent at The New StatesmanSugandha Srivastav, British Academy Fellow and Lecturer in Environmental Economics at the Smith School, Oxford UniversityOne week after Labour’s sweeping victory, we ask three of the smartest observers of UK climate and climate tech policy about early moves like the hiring of Chris Stark, the removal of the offshore wind ban, and picking a fight with NIMBYs - some of whom may turn out to be people who otherwise argue for faster climate action in the Greens and Lib Dems. Ca...
2024-07-121h 15
Let's Talk DevelopmentResponding to Pakistan's Climate CrisisDespite contributing to only about 0.9% of the global greenhouse gas emissions, Pakistan remains high amongst the list of countries that are most vulnerable to climate change. Dr. Faraz Hayat, Tim Dobermann and Dr. Sugandha Srivastav discuss climate change in Pakistan in light of the ongoing COP28 negotiations where they examine the pace of progress towards reducing emissions globally. Focusing on the growing financing needs for undertaking mitigative and adaptative activities aimed at combatting climate change in Pakistan, they explore the various climate financing options available to the country which can help navigate the climate crisis.
2023-12-0439 min
Energy InsightsHow Solving Energy Poverty Will Boost Health and Climate GoalsEnergy Insights speaks with Sugandha Srivastav about all things energy poverty and developmental and energy economics.Sugandha is a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellow and lecturer in the Environmental Economics at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at Oxford University. Throughout her career she's focused on designing effective climate policy in low and middle-income countries, along with exploring incentives for clean energy innovation and finance and the political economy of energy transitions.We talk about energy poverty and access, the developmental implications of energy poverty, the micro and macro costs on countries with populations...
2023-07-1452 min
FuturemakersWhat did the Paris Climate Agreement change?What did the Paris 2015 Climate Agreement change? what did the politicians at Paris actually achieve? On the 12th December 2015, at the 21st COP in Paris, representatives of 196 states reached an agreement to combat climate change that was celebrated around the world. With the long-term goal of keeping global temperature to below two degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels, and covering areas such as nationally determined contributions and global stocktakes, Paris was heralded as a huge break-through. But four years on, and against the backdrop of the United States announcing its intention to withdraw from the agreement, what did the politicians at...
2019-11-071h 04
FuturemakersWhat did the Paris Climate Agreement change?On the 12th December 2015, at the 21st COP in Paris, representatives of 196 states reached an agreement to combat climate change that was celebrated around the world. With the long-term goal of keeping global temperature to below two degrees centigrade above pre-industrial levels, and covering areas such as nationally determined contributions and global stocktakes, Paris was heralded as a huge break-through. But four years on, and against the backdrop of the United States announcing its intention to withdraw from the agreement, what did the politicians at Paris actually achieve?
Join our host, philosopher Peter Millican, as he explores this topic with F...
2019-11-031h 04