High Energy Planet

International development reporter Adva Saldinger joins host Katie Auth for the first episode of season 5 to discuss how the Trump administration is reshaping the world of development finance for energy and climate. Adva explains the rising prominence (and shifting mandate) of the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC) – and the questions being raised about its speed, credibility, and accountability. She and Katie also dig into how the World Bank is navigating pressure from the US, including a compromise over its climate strategy.
About the Guest:
Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex where she covers development finance and U.S. foreign aid policy. Adva authors the weekly Devex Invested newsletter that focuses on the role of business and finance in addressing global challenges. A journalist with nearly two decades of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa.
"I think if you want a deal to get through, you need to pretty clearly be able to link it to a benefit to the US economy and be able to articulate that pretty well."
- Adva Saldinger, Season 5 of High Energy Planet
Covered in This Episode
A Reshuffled Landscape: Katie asks Adva how her beat has changed since the start of the second Trump administration, and Adva explains that with USAID gone, the Development Finance Corporation and the Millennium Challenge Corporation have become the central players in US development policy — though a clear, unified policy vision still hasn't emerged.

DFC's Pivot to Fewer, Bigger Deals: Katie and Adva dig into why DFC, following a congressional reauthorization that more than tripled its investment cap to over $200 billion, is now chasing fewer, larger, more strategic deals in energy, infrastructure, and critical minerals.

Congress, the Board, and the Cost of Speed: Katie and Adva unpack Congressional pushback on transparency and accountability, reports of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick blocking deals at the board level, and whether DFC's faster timelines means cutting corners on due diligence.

The I Squared Capital Blueprint: Adva walks Katie through DFC's $1.5 billion natural gas deal in South and Southeast Asia, and what it reveals about what it now takes to get a deal approved: a clear, articulable benefit to the US economy.

Treasury's World Bank Wish List: Katie and Adva talk through Secretary Bessent's asks of the World Bank and how World Bank President Ajay Banga has managed the pressure from the Bank’s largest shareholder.

The Climate Compromise, and What's Next: Adva and Katie discuss how the World Bank kept its Climate Action Plan but dropped its 45% climate target, and consider a possible future where DFC drives US strategy while the World Bank is responsible for the traditional development mission.

Resources
Follow Adva Saldinger's reporting at Devex

Read more about DFC’s congressional reauthorization: DFC gets a long-awaited glow-up

Read about DFC's $1.5 billion energy platform with I Squared Capital, the largest project the agency has undertaken

Adva mentioned an op-ed from four World Bank executive directors. Read it here: The World Bank is moving to climate action that counts, focusing on results

Find more information at EnergyForGrowth.org.
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Imagine a world with electricity so abundant that it powers jobs, boosts innovation, and improves living standards at massive scale. And so universal that no person’s potential is wasted because energy is too limited or expensive where they live.
High Energy Planet, from the Energy for Growth Hub, explores how we build that future.
In Season 5, we’re focused on the US government’s wild shifts in energy and development policy. What’s actually happening? What does it mean for partners? For investors? For philanthropy? And most of all: how do we reinvent energy and climate diplomacy for a world that has fundamentally changed?
Season 5 starts September 15 – new episodes monthly.
Hosted by Katie Auth, deputy executive director of the Energy for Growth Hub.
This show is brought to you by the Energy for Growth Hub. Subscribe so you don’t miss an episode.
Learn more:
Visit the Energy for Growth Hub

Learn more about host Katie Auth

Read Katie's Substack: 'Aid Interrupted'

Learn more about High Energy Planet and find transcripts on the web

For the last episode of Season 4, Rose and Katie are joined by Matthew Yglesias, journalist and author of the Substack, Slow Boring. They cover everything from the value and political future of US foreign assistance, to climate politics and the new “abundance” movement, and how we navigate a rapidly changing media ecosystem.

Ken Opalo, associate professor at Georgetown University and author of An Africanist Perspective, joins the show to discuss what’s really behind chronic underinvestment in Africa’s power sector, what US policymakers are missing, and what gives him hope for the future of African development.

Rose and Katie unpack the fallout from the Trump administration’s dismantling of USAID and what it means for global energy investment and energy access. Drawing on their experience in US government, they explore the ripple effects of these cuts, the impact on local and international partners, and the broader shifts in development assistance. They also reflect on the role of public service, the evolving nature of US engagement abroad, and how to navigate this new reality.