Zero: The Climate Race

At the Bloomberg Green Festival, Akshat Rathi sits down with voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams and Ari Matusiak, who leads the nonprofit Rewiring America. Together, Abrams and Matuisiak are trying help middle and low-income families access the tax breaks that can help them affordably electrify their homes. They discussed why household emissions are such a big deal, how to connect existential questions about the future of the planet to kitchen-table decisions, and whether Joe Biden is still the right Democratic candidate for 2024. Explore further: Past episode with Bill Gates about what another Donald Trump presidency could mean for green investments Past episode with Bill Gates about the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act Past episode with political scientist Leah Stokes on whether the US could become a global climate policy leader Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Kira Bindrim and Matthew Griffin. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In fractured times, what does it take to reach agreement? That’s the question writers Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson set out to explore in a new play about the drama of climate negotiations. Kyoto, now running at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Swan Theater in Stratford-upon-Avon, tells the story of the 1997 Kyoto Summit as seen through the eyes of Don Pearlman, a notorious fossil fuel lobbyist and chain-smoking lawyer dubbed “the high priest of the Carbon Club” by der Speigel. Actor Stephen Kunken, who plays Pearlman, tells Akshat Rathi why he was drawn to the character, and what Kyoto can teach us about how agreement is achieved. Explore further: Past episode with Al Gore about breaking the petrostates stranglehold on climate progress Past episode about climate change storytelling with Kim Stanley Robinson, author of Ministry for the Future Past episode with Extrapolations writer and executive producer Dorothy Fortenberry about the growing demand for climate stories Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Kira Bindrim, Alicia Clanton, Anna Mazarakis, and Jessica Beck. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tackling climate change now requires not just reducing planet-warming emissions to zero, but also finding a way to draw down existing carbon dioxide from the air. Over the past few years, tech companies have taken the lead to seed hundreds of startups that want to sell carbon removal credits and help companies meet climate goals. But the failure of a major startup, Running Tide, has raised questions about the long-term viability of the market. This week on Zero, we hear from Nan Ransohoff, head of climate at Stripe, and pioneer of the carbon-removal market. Explore further: Past episode with Jennifer Wilcox of the US Department of Energy’s two gigantic carbon removal hub projects Past episode with Mark Trexler of The Climatographers about what’s wrong with carbon offsets and how to fix them Past episode with Notre Dame professor Emily Grubert about the state of carbon capture Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Kira Bindrim, Alicia Clanton, Anna Mazarakis and Jessica Beck. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Earlier this month, tech billionaire Bill Gates broke ground on a new nuclear plant in Kemmerer, Wyoming– a historic coal town. Gates tells Zero why he hopes the plant, which uses sodium for cooling, rather than water, will be the first of many in the country– no matter who wins this year’s election. “The idea of the US being more energy secure and US innovation allowing us to export, those things are still somewhat bipartisan in nature,” he says. Plus, he weighs in on AI as both a major generator of emissions and as a potential source of climate solutions. Explore further: Past episode with BNEF’s Claire Curry on how energy startups can dodge the valley of death Past episode with Brookfield Asset Management CCEO Connor Teskey on making renewables a profitable bet Past episode with Bill Gates on the significance of the Inflation Reduction Act Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Kira Bindrim, Kate Evans, and Alicia Clanton. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are living through the hottest year on record. That’s not news, but growing climate impacts make bigger and bigger news. At 1.3C of warming beyond pre-industrial levels, people are reckoning with a planetary system that’s out of whack. It’s not like the scientists didn’t see worsening impacts coming, but many of them have been surprised by the ferocity with which some have played out. On this week’s episode of Zero, Bloomberg Green’s Akshat Rathi speaks with his colleague Eric Roston, and Texas Tech University professor Katharine Hayhoe explains why we’re all experiencing “global weirding.” Explore further: Past episode about the role fire will play in shaping the 21st century. Past episode with UN’s global chief heat officer about redesigning cities. Past episode about finding trillions of dollars needed for climate adaptation. Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Kira Bindrim, Anna Mazarakis and Alicia Clanton. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 2016 fire that encircled the oil-producing town of Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada, forced more than 80,000 people to evacuate and left billions of dollars in damage in its wake. It was a disaster of record-breaking proportions, but also an inevitable byproduct of mankind’s obsession with burning fossil fuels. In this episode, John Vaillant, author of Fire Weather: A True Story from A Hotter World, explains how Canada’s fossil fuel industry came into being, why its existence made the Fort McMurray disaster more likely, and what our collective obsession with fire means for the future of our species. Explore further: Past episode about the COP28 text and the significance of agreeing to transition off fossil fuels Past episode with Bloomberg Opinion columnist David Fickling about whether the world has reached peak crude oil demand Past episode about how wildfire smoke and air pollution affect your health Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Kira Bindrim, Anna Mazarakis and Alicia Clanton. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

All of Japan's 54 nuclear reactors were shut down after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. As the country's energy needs soar, debate is heating up over whether to bring the world’s largest nuclear plant back online. In this bonus from The Big Take Asia, host K. Oanh Ha speaks to reporter Shoko Oda about her visit to the Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant and the challenges to rebooting it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Over the past 18 months, Tesla has missed its sales goals, seen its share price fall and waded through a series of dramatic decisions from Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk, who cut car prices, fired much of the Supercharger team and announced nebulous plans to release a robotaxi. All of that looks like a pivot away from the original mission of making mass-market electric cars, but does Tesla going off course really matter to the EV transition? On this week’s Zero, Bloomberg Opinion columnist Liam Denning digs into Tesla’s strategy and what its evolution means for global adoption of electric cars. Explore further: Past episode with Carnegie Mellon University professor Venkat Viswanathan on the futuristic promises of flying cars and emission-free aviation Past episode with Bloomberg NEF’s Colin McKerracher on why China has been successful in the EV transition where others haven’t been Past bonus episode with Bloomberg NEF’s Colin McKerracher on electrifying vans, trucks, and buses. Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Kira Bindrim, Brendan Newnam, Anna Mazarakis and Alicia Clanton. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Depending on who you ask, AI is either going to save the world or end it. The technology’s capacity for data-crunching and problem-saving can help predict weather events, making it easier to optimize power grids, prepare for natural disasters, and maximize crop output. But artificial intelligence is also energy intensive – and easy to apply to ethically questionable ends. For all of these reasons, Priya Donti, professor of electrical engineering and AI at MIT, decided to found Climate Change AI, a group dedicated to applying AI to tackle climate problems. Donti tells Akshat Rathi about some of the projects the group is funding around the world, and what the democratization of AI would look like in practice. Explore further: Past episode about Microsoft’s rising AI emissions, and President Brad Smith’s claim that the AI will do more good than harm Past episode with African Development Bank president Akinwumi Adesina about climate innovation projects across the African continent Past episode with climate scientist and champion for developing countries Saleemul Huq Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Kira Bindrim, Anna Mazarakis and Alicia Clanton. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Microsoft’s recent push to capitalize on artificial intelligence has made it the world’s most valuable company. But according to new figures, that ambition is coming at the expense of its climate goals. In 2020, the company pledged to be carbon-negative by the end of the decade. Instead, its emissions rose 30% between 2020 and 2023. Microsoft President Brad Smith says the company isn’t giving up on its green goals — and that the good AI can do for the world will outweigh its environmental impact. Akshat tells Zero producer Mythili Rao about his conversation with Smith, and how other tech giants will be making similar calculations. Explore further: Past episode with BNEF’s Jenny Chase on how to triple renewable energy by 2030 Past episode with Notre Dame professor Emily Grubert about the possibility of carbon capture Past episode with Electra CEO Sandeep Nijhawan on making zero emissions steel Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Kira Bindrim, Dina Bass, and Alicia Clanton. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After 14 years as a member of Parliament for the UK’s Conservative Party, Chris Skidmore quit the government in January — an act of protest over Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s decision to allow new oil and gas licenses. Skidmore says the party has lost its way when it comes to climate issues, costing the UK lives, jobs and opportunities for economic growth. In this episode, Skidmore also discusses the Net Zero Review he published while in office, and talks through climate solutions emerging outside of Westminster. Explore further: Past episode with Chris Stark of the UK’s Climate Change Committee about whether the era of climate consensus is over Past episode with Bryony Worthington, one of the authors of the UK’s Climate Change Act Past episode with three US governors– Republican and Democrat– about how they navigate partisan politics and the need for climate action. Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Kira Bindrim and Alicia Clanton. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Five years ago, the Green Party celebrated its best-ever results in European elections, ushering in a new era of legislative progress But Covid-19, inflation, supply chain woes and Russia’s war in Ukraine stalled its ambitions. Now, in the face of lagging poll numbers, Dutch Member of European Parliament Bas Eickhout is trying to convince voters that the party’s vision of an equal and ecological Europe is still relevant – and isn’t too costly. Explore further: Past episode with Daniel Fiorino on the challenge of democratic consensus-building when it comes to prioritizing climate policy Past episode exploring the government interventions that allowed Danish fossil fuel giant Orsted to become the world's largest developer of wind power Past episode with Europe's top industrialist Jim Hagemann Snabe on helping industrial behemoths reach climate goals Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Kira Bindrim, Alicia Clanton and John Ainger. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Africa currently loses between $7 billion and $15 billion a year because of climate change. If that trend continues, the sum could reach $50 billion by 2030. But African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina sees a way forward. He describes the financial instruments the bank is using to encourage investors to fund green development projects across the continent. Adesina talks about making climate investments more attractive globally, and unpacks the projects the bank is already funding – from solar panels in the Sahel to a hydroelectric dam in Mozambique. Explore further: Past episode with Avinash Persaud on simplifying the complexities of climate finance Past episode exploring how Brookfield Asset Management is making renewables profitable all around the world Past episode discussing how to get big money to invest in projects that help people adapt to a world that's already hotter than ever before Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producers are Mythili Rao, Magnus Henriksen, and Oscar Boyd. Special thanks this week to Kira Bindrim. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Denmark’s Vestas has been making wind turbines exclusively since 1989 — well before the notion of an energy transition was commonplace. But that foresight hasn’t made for smooth sailing: When Henrik Andersen joined Vestas in 2013 as a board member, the company was deep in debt and shareholders were worried. A decade later, Andersen is CEO and has pulled Vestas out of trouble yet again, just as wind power is starting to play a critical role in the global energy transition. Andersen describes some of the government policies that have hindered or helped the growth of this sector, and describes the innovations making wind harvesting even more efficient. Explore further: Listen to last week’s episode on the wind industry’s struggle and how one big player remains bullish. Read about how the wind industry is breaking free of European bureaucracy. Listen to an earlier episode on how to make the renewable energy industry profitable in developed and developing countries. Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producers are Mythili Rao, Sommer Saadi and Magnus Henriksson. Special thanks this week to Kira Bindrim and Will Mathis. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If you've paid much attention to the wind industry lately, the news isn’t great. Building new projects is getting more expensive and getting government permission to do it is taking longer than ever. Even major players like Orsted, Vestas and Siemens are struggling. But it's not all negative — there are still big players winning in wind. One of them is Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. This week, Bloomberg Green senior reporter Akshat Rathi speaks with CIP founder and managing partner Jakob Baruël Poulsen to understand how the industry is dealing with its many challenges, why CIP is still profitable and what will be needed for wind deployment to keep pace with climate goals. Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producers are Tiffany Tsoi, Sommer Saadi and Magnus Henriksson. Special thanks this week to Kira Bindrim and Will Mathis. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Clean energy technologies saw a record influx of investment last year: $1.7 trillion in total. But that still falls short of what’s needed to meet climate goals. With venture capital investment now falling, it’s increasingly difficult for startups to gain traction. Claire Curry, global head of technology, industry & innovation at BloombergNEF, follows the journeys of many young companies in the clean-tech space. On this week’s Zero, Curry tells Akshat Rathi about the kinds of innovative pathways that have proven successful. LanzaTech, for example, a nine-year-old carbon recycling technology company, works with Chinese steel companies looking for low-emissions solutions. H2 Green Steel also scaled quickly, in part through agreements reached with Mercedes Benz, IKEA and other big brands looking to access low-carbon steel. Curry explains how these approaches could be replicated by other startups. Listen to Zero’s episode about green-iron startup Electra. Listen to Switched On’s episodes on clean-energy investments and plastic recycling. Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producers are Mythili Rao, Magnus Henriksson, and Sommer Saadi. Special thanks this week to Kira Bindrim. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When the UK’s Climate Change Committee was formed in 2008, it both signaled the country’s seriousness about its environmental goals and gave other nations a template for setting their own climate policy. More recently, though, the UK appears to be backpedaling: Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has approved new oil and gas licenses and pushed back a ban on fossil fuel cars. To understand how we got to this contentious moment, and how the UK can reclaim leadership, Zero host Akshat Rathi sat down with the CCC’s chief executive, Chris Stark. Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producers are Mythili Rao, Sommer Saadi and Magnus Henriksson. Special thanks this week to Kira Bindrim and Jessica Nix. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The plastic problem is everywhere: in our oceans, communities, even inside our bodies. Plastic is abundant and very cheap, and the amount we produce is expected to triple by 2060 from 430 million tons a year to 1.2 billion tons, according to the OECD. The large amount of plastic could produce four billion tons of greenhouse gases, so a fix is becoming increasingly necessary. This week, Bloomberg Green senior reporter Akshat Rathi sat down with Inger Andersen, head of the UN’s Environment Program, to talk about an upcoming treaty that tackles increasing levels of plastic. You can read the transcript of this conversation here. Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim, Leslie Kaufman and Tiffany Tsoi. Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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When Brookfield Asset Management launched a $15 billion fund to expand clean energy in 2021, it was the largest private fund of its kind in the world. Now Brookfield is starting a second fund with billions from Alterra, which is backed by the United Arab Emirates. Zero host Akshat Rathi sat down with Brookfield Renewable Partners CEO Connor Teskey to talk about making climate finance work. You can read the transcript of the conversation here. Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producers are Tiffany Tsoi, Sommer Saadi and Magnus Henriksson. Special thanks this week to Kira Bindrim and Jessica Nix. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It is now cheaper to save the world than destroy it. But is capitalism up to the challenge of preventing the climate crisis? In his new book Climate Capitalism, Zero host Akshat Rathi introduces a dozen people who are already steering capitalism to solve the climate crisis: from the engineer who shaped China's electric car policies and the politician who helped make net-zero a UK law to the CEO who fought off a takeover attempt so he could stick with a sustainability strategy. Akshat argues that not only is capitalism capable of taking on the climate crisis, but harnessing it is the only way to solve the climate crisis in the time we have available. And yet while some improvements have been made over the past few years, the world is off track to meet its 2050 climate targets. So today on Zero, Bloomberg’s Greener Living editor Kira Bindrim sits down with Akshat to discuss his new book, and asks him: If climate capitalism is so doable, why does it seem so difficult? Read more: Order Akshat’s new book, Climate Capitalism Listen to the interview with Fatih Birol that Akshat mentions Hear Akshat and Kira talk about the reality of carbon footprints Read a transcript of this episode Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Anna Mazarakis, Gilda di Carli and Kira Bindrim. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit bloomberg.com/green. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

John Kerry is the Forrest Gump of climate. The guy you’ll find at every important turn in history doing something impactful. For the last three years, he has been the US special presidential envoy for climate and tasked with restoring the US’s global credibility on climate action. In a conversation with Akshat Rathi, Kerry reflects on those efforts, his frustrations and what still keeps him going at 80. Read Bloomberg Green's feature looking at Kerry's work in the envoy role. Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producers are Tiffany Tsoi, Sommer Saadi and Magnus Henriksson. Special thanks this week to Kira Bindrim and Jen Dlouhy. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Deal, hosted by Alex Rodriguez and Jason Kelly, features intimate conversations with business titans, sports champions and game-changing entrepreneurs who reveal their investment philosophies, pivotal career moves and the ones that got away. From Bloomberg Podcasts and Bloomberg Originals, The Deal is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart, Bloomberg Carplay, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can also watch The Deal on Bloomberg Television, and Bloomberg Originals on YouTube.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tom Steyer is a hedge-fund billionaire who made his money investing in distressed assets, including fossil fuel projects. He’s also an avowed climate activist and a major donor to US politicians seeking to tackle climate change. After a short-lived run for president, Steyer in 2021 set up Galvanize Climate Solutions, a firm that invests in companies and technologies promising emissions reductions this decade. It recently raised $1 billion. Zero host Akshat Rathi spoke with Steyer at COP28 in December, to ask why he got out of fossil fuels, the consequences of bad carbon accounting, and what the return of Donald Trump would mean for global climate ambitions. Read more: Tom Steyer Launches New Climate Tech Investment Fund With $1 Billion - Bloomberg Greening US Apartments Is New Project of Billionaire Tom Steyer - Bloomberg Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim, Tiffany Tsoi. Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This January, Davos will once again host the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting and bring together the world's business and political elite. In recent years, climate change has climbed ever further up the agenda at this high-altitude event. How did it happen? Akshat Rathi talks to Gail Whiteman, one person responsible for it. Gail is the founder of the Arctic Basecamp, and since 2017 has camped out for the week of Davos to deliver the urgent message about climate risks and the immense dangers it poses to the world economy. Read more about the state of snow in Davos and why the business elite are starting to care. Read a transcript of this episode, here. Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are fossil fuel companies needed in a clean energy future? Is the UK really backsliding on climate progress? And how can you find out more about solar? In the last episode of Zero for 2024, host Akshat Rathi and producers Oscar Boyd and Christine Driscoll talk about some of their favorite statistics that show people taking action on the climate crisis. Read more: World Energy Employment 2023 – Analysis - IEA Annual North Sea oil and gas licences - Energy Live News The Godfather of Solar Predicts Its Future - Bloomberg How to Quit Your Job for the Climate How to Crisis-Proof Climate Action Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim. Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we're sharing an episode from another climate podcast that you might like, Drilled. Zero’s host Akshat Rathi was a guest on Drilled earlier this year talking about his book, Climate Capitalism, and we’re dropping that episode in the feed today. If you like what you hear you can follow Drilled wherever you get your podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we’re sharing an episode from another climate podcast that you might like. It’s The Anti-Dread Climate Podcast from KCRW. If you like what you hear, check them out wherever you get podcasts. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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COP28 comes to a close. 200 countries came together, 100,000 people flew in, and what did they produce? A piece of text. But sometimes that piece of text can have real world consequences. In this week’s episode Akshat speaks with producer Oscar Boyd about what is in the final COP28 text and the significance of agreeing to transition off of fossil fuels. Read More: COP28 Nations Reach First-Ever Deal to Move Away From Fossil Fuels Climate Fight Takes Aim at Food in First Ever Net-Zero Plan Sign up to the Green newsletter Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim. Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Four billion people live in countries where climate change-related disasters are becoming more severe and frequent. Spending money to adapt, known as “climate adaptation finance” is a fraught topic. Who will pay for those adaptations and how, as well as a global goal on adaptation are all being discussed at COP28. To find out more, Akshat speaks with Patrick Verkooijen, head of the Global Center on Adaptation about the history of climate adaptation finance, what negotiations are taking place, and why the money promised still hasn’t arrived.Read More: A quick Q&A with Patrick Verkooijen at COP28 A UN report shows that the climate adaptation gap is growing Sign up to the Green newsletter Fill out Bloomberg Green's climate anxiety survey Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim. Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Former US Vice President Al Gore has been going to COP summits since the beginning. But he’s much more than a COP-goer. Many of today’s climate activists say that Gore’s climate documentary An Inconvenient Truth was the reason they became activists. The movie won an Academy Award in 2007 and also bagged him that year’s Nobel Peace Prize alongside the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Gore has become the de facto spokesman for climate change. In recent years and especially before COP28, he’s become much more vocal in calling out the villains. He has castigated the role of petrostates and oil companies who shape the COP agenda, saying they’ve “taken the disguise off” and are not good faith partners. Bloomberg Green senior reporter Akshat Rathi spoke with Al Gore at the Bloomberg Green Summit at COP28 in Dubai to ask him how to break the stranglehold petrostates have over COP, why tackling climate change solves many other major problems, and why big emitters can no longer hide. Read more: Al Gore Wants to Weaken Petrostates’ Power Over Global Climate Decisions — Bloomberg Akshat Rathi's book of essays about climate activists inspired by Al Gore Sign up to the Green newsletter Fill out Bloomberg Green's climate anxiety survey Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim. Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tripling renewables is one of the goals the COP28 discussions are circling around. It sounds good, but what will meeting it actually entail? Jenny Chase of BloombergNEF joins Akshat to break down where more investments are needed and why decarbonizing energy is the easy part. Listen to our previous episode with Jenny Chase on solar's explosive growth Sign up to the Green newsletter Fill out Bloomberg Green's climate anxiety survey Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim. Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today is the start of COP28. And for the next two weeks, Zero will be in the United Arab Emirates, along with more than 70,000 people who will come for the year’s biggest climate conference. These are set to be difficult negotiations. Getting every single country to agree to one common text is a gargantuan task. So for this first episode from COP, we wanted to hear from someone who’s been on the inside; someone who has helped forge global climate agreements from the ashes of broken diplomacy. Christiana Figueres is the cohost of the podcast Outrage & Optimism, and was formerly the head of the UNFCCC, the body tasked with running COP meetings. She took over the role at a low point in global climate negotiations in 2010 and her efforts culminated in the signing of the Paris agreement in 2015. Now, the world is way off track to meet that goal. So we wanted to hear from Christiana about what can be expected from COP28, the role the fossil fuel industry plays in negotiations, and whether the climate summit is still fit for purpose. More: Listen to Christiana's podcast, Outrage and Optimism Sign up to the Green newsletter Fill out Bloomberg Green's climate anxiety survey Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kate Mackenzie and Kira Bindrim. Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Trillions of dollars are needed to shift the world to a low-carbon future, but where will all that money come from? While momentum is growing in rich countries, developing countries are still struggling for finance. Without significant increases in the amount of money spent, the world is unlikely to meet its climate goals, and yet international negotiations are at a deadlock. Avinash Persaud has a plan: the Bridgetown Agenda. He’s the special envoy on investment and financial services for Barbados and is working with his country’s prime minister, Mia Mottley, to transform the global financial system. Together they are putting pressure on the World Bank and International Monetary Fund to turbocharge the roll-out of clean technologies in developing countries. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi sits down with Avinash to discuss his plan, and why he thinks now is the time these aging financial institutions can finally be reformed. Read more: A deep dive on the Bridgetown Agenda Mia Mottley’s full speech at COP27 Making polluters pay for loss and damage Cheaper currency risk hedging could unlock trillions Read a transcript of this episode Fill out Bloomberg Green's climate anxiety survey Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kate Mackenzie and Kira Bindrim. Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The UN Climate Conference COP28 starts next week. Before Akshat heads to the conference he’s joined by Aaron Rutkoff, the editor of Bloomberg Green, to talk about what COP’s current controversial president Sultan Al Jaber has accomplished so far and what he must achieve. They also decode COP jargon like “orderly decline,” discuss the stakes for the UAE’s biggest diplomatic exercise and expectations for the final communiqué. Listen to related episodes: Carbon removal's magic number Big promise, little success: The state of carbon capture We need trillions to fix the climate. Finally there's a serious plan. A kingdom built on oil now controls the world’s climate progress Read articles mentioned in this episode: UAE's Oil Boss Sultan Al Jaber Has a Plan to Fix COP28 John Kerry’s Promise of ‘Millions’ for Climate Damages Criticized by Activists COP28: How to Tell If a Climate Deal Will Succeed or Fail Fill out Bloomberg Green's climate anxiety survey Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Stacey Wong and Kira Bindrim. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit bloomberg.com/green. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

By 2025, China’s battery production capacity will be three times as much as the rest of the world combined. Why was it able to take such a commanding lead? Listen to an extract from Akshat Rathi’s new book Climate Capitalism to find out. Read more: How China Left the World Far Behind in the Battery Race - Bloomberg Read Climate Capitalism Fill out Bloomberg Green's climate anxiety survey Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit bloomberg.com/green. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

If reducing emissions from industry is the first step for carbon capture, then drawing down excess CO2 to reverse climate change is the next. This week Akshat speaks to Dr. Jennifer Wilcox, head of the US Department of Energy’s office that is funding two gigantic carbon removal hubs and many small demonstration projects. They talk about why carbon removal is so complicated, crucial, and hitting the magic number $100. This is the second in a two part series about carbon management. Listen to the previous episode in this series: Big promise, little success: The state of carbon capture Read More: Bill Gates-Backed Startup Uses Old Wood to Remove Carbon From Air Climeworks Battles Big Oil For $1 Trillion Carbon Capture Market Send us your questions about COP via [email protected] and we’ll try to answer them from the conference Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim, Brian Kahn, and Michelle Ma. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit bloomberg.com/green. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You may not know Jim Hagemann Snabe by name, but he has been called Europe’s top industrialist. Snabe has held leadership positions at some of the world’s biggest companies like Maersk and Siemens. He is now a chairperson of Northvolt, Europe’s largest battery manufacturer with 4,000 employees, $55B worth of orders and the competitive edge of greener batteries. Akshat spoke with Jim Snabe at the Bloomberg Tech Summit in London about how industrial behemoths like Maersk and Siemens can meet climate goals, whether zero-emission shipping will ever be a reality, and whether Northvolt can ever outcompete the Chinese battery industry. Send your questions about COP to [email protected] and we’ll try to answer them from the conference. Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit bloomberg.com/green. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

At Bloomberg, we’re always talking about the biggest business stories, and no one is bigger than Elon Musk. In this new chat weekly show, host David Papadopoulos and a panel of guests including Businessweek’s Max Chafkin, Tesla reporter Dana Hull, Big Tech editor Sarah Frier, and more, will break down the most important stories on Musk and his empire. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The U.S. is spending billions on carbon capture as a climate solution, but is it realistic? The method has been around for 50 years and used primarily as a way to extract more oil. To find out how and if carbon capture can work as a climate solution, Akshat speaks with Emily Grubert, a professor at Notre Dame about what tech demonstrations have actually demonstrated and where this precious resource should be deployed. This is the first in a two part series about carbon management. Read More Occidental Quietly Ditched World's Biggest Carbon Capture Plant What Carbon Capture Failures Say About Its Future Fill out Bloomberg Green's climate anxiety survey Listen More A kingdom built on oil now controls the world’s climate progress Peak oil is here. Well, maybe. Vicki Hollub is selling net zero oil, do you buy it? Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit bloomberg.com/green. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Saleemul Huq was a pre-eminent climate scientist and champion for developing countries. For many years, he was a lone warrior trying to bring the issues of adaptation and loss and damage to the UN negotiating table. His death last weekend caused an outpouring of emotion across the climate world. Ahead of COP28, Zero hears from some of Saleemul’s colleagues about his life, legacy and the hole he leaves behind in climate diplomacy. Read more: Saleemul Huq's obituary Saleemul Huq and Farhana Sultana's Guardian op-ed Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit bloomberg.com/green. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, the International Energy Agency published its flagship report: The World Energy Outlook. It's hundreds of pages long and makes some bold claims. It says in the year 2030, there will be 10 times as many electric cars on the road as today, 80% of all new power generation will be solar or wind, and demand for fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – will have peaked. The report is dominating climate news because what the IEA says makes a big difference to how governments tweak their energy policies. But how did an organization formed by a handful of countries in response to the 1973 oil crisis come to hold so much influence over our response to the climate crisis? For the answer, this week we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes: an interview with Fatih Birol, the head of the IEA. As we approach COP28, hosted by an oil power and led by the CEO of an oil company, it’s good to understand how international organizations can be successfully transformed in the face of climate change. Read more: Read the World Energy Outlook Global Oil Demand to Reach Its Peak This Decade, IEA Says— Bloomberg Want to know more about the IEA story? Order Akshat’s book, Climate Capitalism, here. Read a transcript of this episode here Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks this week to Eric Roston, Kira Bindrim and Will Mathis. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cars are only half the electric vehicle story. There are also billions of two and three wheelers that need to be electrified, as well as bigger vehicles like vans, trucks and buses. In this bonus episode of Zero, we’re joined again by Colin McKerracher, BloombergNEF’s head of advanced transport, to look beyond electric cars and hear how electrification is going for other forms of road transport. Are batteries still the answer? Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit bloomberg.com/green. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Peak oil is here, or is it? Depends on how you measure, but at least one person is sure crude isn’t coming back. This week Akshat speaks with Bloomberg Opinion columnist David Fickling about why he thinks the world has reached peak crude oil demand, what comes next, and what it all has to do with the American soap opera Dallas. Read more David’s original article: Peak Oil Has Finally Arrived. No, Really Not everyone agrees: The Harsh Truth: We're Using More Oil Than Ever Latest IEA forecasts: Global Oil Demand to Reach Its Peak This Decade, IEA Says Read or pre-order Akshat’s book Climate Capitalism Listen Listen to the interview with IEA head Fatih Birol Listen to the interview about EVs and oil demand with Colin McKraccher Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit bloomberg.com/green. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It is now cheaper to save the world than destroy it. But is capitalism up to the challenge of preventing the climate crisis? In his new book Climate Capitalism, Zero host Akshat Rathi introduces a dozen people who are already steering capitalism to solve the climate crisis: from the engineer who shaped China's electric car policies and the politician who helped make net-zero a UK law to the CEO who fought off a takeover attempt so he could stick with a sustainability strategy. Akshat argues that not only is capitalism capable of taking on the climate crisis, but harnessing it is the only way to solve the climate crisis in the time we have available. And yet while some improvements have been made over the past few years, the world is off track to meet its 2050 climate targets. So today on Zero, Bloomberg’s Greener Living editor Kira Bindrim sits down with Akshat to discuss his new book, and asks him: If climate capitalism is so doable, why does it seem so difficult? Read more: Order Akshat’s new book, Climate Capitalism Listen to the interview with Fatih Birol that Akshat mentions Hear Akshat and Kira talk about the reality of carbon footprints Read a transcript of this episode Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Anna Mazarakis, Gilda di Carli and Kira Bindrim. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit bloomberg.com/green. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The rise of electric cars is staggering. In 2016, just 700,000 electric cars were sold worldwide, this year it’ll be over 14 million. However, we are still off-track to meet climate goals. Colin McKerracher, head of Advanced Transport at BloombergNEF, joins Zero to discuss how electric cars can get on track to meet net-zero targets, why China has succeeded where others haven’t, and when we’ll finally see more electric cars on the roads than those burning fossil fuels. Read more: China Reaches Peak Gasoline in Milestone for Electric Vehicles Electric Vehicle Sales Top $1 Trillion in Wake-Up Call for Carmakers Electric Cars Are Winning Out Because of Consumers, Not Politicians Pre-order Akshat’s new book, Climate Capitalism Read a transcript of this episode. Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit bloomberg.com/green. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Brynn O’Brien not only reads corporate climate plans, she crunches the numbers. When they don’t add up, she calls her friends who manage trillions of dollars in assets and they all ask to speak to the manager. Brynn is the Executive Director of the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility, a shareholder activist organization that works to ensure that publicly traded companies with net zero goals are conducting their coal mining, electricity generation, and other activities in a way that ensures we hit the 1.5C Paris target. Recently, ACCR has replaced part of a board, brought forward coal plant closures, and filed a lawsuit that’s taking on greenwashing. Listen to other episodes: Listen to an episode about divestment with the writer behind Love Actually Listen to our episode about Australia’s “Climate Election.” Read More: AGL Plans Massive Expansion of Renewables as it Abandons Coal - Bloomberg Order Akshat’s book Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to David Stringer and Kira Bindrim. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit bloomberg.com/green. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Are two wheels better than four? Can cutting commuting cap carbon consumption? And where’s all the clean energy coming from? There are many climate numbers out there that we don’t get to talk about on Zero but that deserve attention. In this bonus episode, host Akshat Rathi and producers Christine Driscoll and Oscar Boyd talk about some of their favorite stats showing people taking action on the climate crisis. More Links: Electric Vehicle Output Report 2023 — BloombergNEF People who work from home all the time ‘cut emissions by 54%’ against those in office — The Guardian Electricity Market Report – Update 2023 — International Energy Agency You can pre-order Akshat's book here. Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit bloomberg.com/green See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Setting world records. Combing through warehouses of old electronics. Seeding the Chinese solar industry from afar. This is the life of Martin Green, a professor at the University of New South Wales in Sydney and the director of the Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics. Green’s work on solar panel design made the modern solar industry possible: 90% of solar panels made last year were based on his designs. He’s still going strong, too, regularly breaking new records in the pursuit of the perfect solar panel. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi sits down with the man many call “the godfather of solar” to hear firsthand how it happened, the next record he wants to break and whether solar panels are destined for space. Read more: Making Solar Panels Is 'Horrible' Business. The US Still Wants It. (Bloomberg) Listen to Akshat’s conversation with Jenny Chase (Apple Podcasts) Solar Power Investment Set to Surpass Oil Production Spending This Year (Bloomberg) China Leaves Everyone Behind in Race for Renewable Energy (Bloomberg) A transcript of this episode. Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Jill Namatsi, David Stringer, Jenny Chase and Kira Bindrim. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit bloomberg.com/green. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.