Zero: The Climate Race

What’s worse for the planet than Big Oil? The world’s food system, argues environmental journalist and campaigner George Monbiot in his new book Regenesis. He makes a passionate case for how current agricultural practices not only damage the environment, but prevent vast amounts of land from being rewilded and restored to its natural state. Monbiot speaks with Bloomberg Green reporter Akshat Rathi about his proposed solutions, which include an end to livestock farming entirely and using new technologies like precision fermentation to meet the world’s rising demand for protein. 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 to Kira Bindrim and Stacey Wong. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the next three years, 1TW of solar power will be added to the global grid and competition is driving solar prices even lower. And after years of innovation in China, Japan, and Germany, the U.S. is finally getting in the game in a major way through its IRA which offers incentives to manufacture cleantech in the U.S. In early 2023, the South Korean company QCells announced it would build a domestic supply chain in the U.S. to gain access to enormous tax credits. But in a global marketplace, is this worth doing? Despite solar's potential, manufacturing its parts has never been a reliable business. This week Akshat talks to Jenny Chase of BloombergNEF and an expert on the solar industry about its boom/bust cycle, why solar's growth means electricity may soon be free during the day, and what QCells is up against. We also hear from Lindsay Cherry of QCells about how the company will achieve its ambitious goal to build a solar supply chain from scratch.Akshat will be traveling to Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne and Delhi over the next few weeks. Fancy meeting for a drink? Sign up here. Read More: Preorder Akshat’s book Preorder Jenny's book Biden Push to Spur Solar Production Gets $2.5 Billion Boost Zero: How Europe ditched Russian fossil fuels with spectacular speed How solar is making free electricity during the day 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, Brian Eckhouse, Nayeli Jaramillo-Plata, and Abraiya Ruffin. 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.

Where’s all the oil money going? What’s happening with cycling in France? And how far behind China is the US on solar? 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. Akshat will be traveling to Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne and Delhi over the next few weeks. Fancy meeting for a drink? Sign up here. More Links: Big oil’s pullback from clean energy matters less than you might think Stats on US solar installations Cycle Lanes in France Shell, Repsol, Petronas Ads Banned in UK for Greenwashing Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim, Dave Sawyer, Gernot Wagner, Nayeli Jaramillo-Plata, and Abraiya Ruffin. 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.

Canada is a leading producer of oil and gas. It’s also one of the few G7 members with a carbon tax. As Minister of Environment and Climate Change in 2015, Catherine McKenna was charged with getting Canadians on board with that policy. One of the most important tactics was calling it “a price on pollution.” Carbon taxes are having a moment after the Paris Climate Finance Summit and Cath joins Akshat this week to talk about the political practicalities of passing a carbon tax. She has advice about who to lean on, handling threats, and why focusing on outcomes above all else is the key to climate policy that works. Akshat will be traveling to Singapore, Sydney, Melbourne and Delhi over the next few weeks. Fancy meeting for a drink? Sign up here. More Links Interview of Justin Trudeau Carbon taxes at the Paris Climate Summit Transcript of this conversation with Catherine McKenna The World Bank 2023 Report on the State and Trends of Carbon Pricing Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim, Dave Sawyer, Gernot Wagner, Nayeli Jaramillo-Plata, and Abraiya Ruffin. 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.

China is the world’s factory, and has the emissions to match. But in a planned economy, with weak environmental regulation, can anyone take on this pollution? Today’s guest, Ma Jun, did. In 2006 he began publishing “Pollution Maps” online that detailed levels and sources of air and water pollution. Ma Jun faced pushback, but his work made it possible for people in China to discuss pollution and climate change in a serious way. His work has since gained acceptance from the government and the corporations like Apple and Nike that he tracked down as sources. Ma Jun joined Akshat in Davos for a conversation about the power that data can have, how environmentalism has changed in China, and the role the rest of the world must play in asking questions. Read more: Ma Jun’s book China’s Water Crisis A case study of Ma Jun’s work and its effect on environmentalism in China from Columbia University A recent history of air quality in China from University of Chicago Panel at Columbia: Meeting the Energy and Climate Needs of Emerging Economies Bonus episode: How wildfire smoke and air pollution affect your health Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim and Dan Murtaugh. 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.

Policy can make or break climate action. Usually, national policy gets the most attention, but what local and regional governments do can make a bigger difference, especially in large countries like the US, India and China. This week, Akshat Rathi speaks with three US governors – Jay Inslee of Washington, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, and Eric Holcomb of Indiana – about how they navigate partisan politics and the need for climate action. As governors who control state budgets and priorities, their decisions now could supercharge national climate action, or hinder it. More on the topic: How solar is becoming the midwest’s new cash crop Podcast: How wildfire smoke and air pollution impacts your health Zero’s episode with Leah Stokes about working on the IRA with Gov. Jay Inslee Crash Course: Conservatives vs. EGS with Saijel Kishan 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 Brian Eckhouse, Aaron Clark, Jen Dlouhy, 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.

Last week, 50 world leaders met in Paris with the goal of moving trillions in climate finance to developing countries. What was achieved, and what is still left to do? Akshat Rathi was on the ground and gives Oscar Boyd his key takeaways. More: Climate Change and Poverty Are Our Era’s Existential Battles We need trillions to fix the climate. Finally there’s a serious plan. Five Takeaways From the Paris Summit to Fix Global Climate Finance 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 Natasha White 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.

Tesla is a household name, but few people have heard of the Loan Programs Office (LPO), one of Tesla’s crucial early backers. Part of the US Department of Energy, the LPO is tasked with awarding government-backed loans to clean-tech. In 2010, it loaned Tesla $465 million to help it weather the fallout from the financial crisis and build out the production of the Model S. With the signing of the Inflation Reduction Act last summer, the LPO was supercharged. It now has more than $400 billion to help the US achieve its climate goals. Jigar Shah is the director of the LPO and joins Zero to give an exclusive on the organization's biggest ever loan: $9.2 billion to BlueOval SK, a joint venture between US auto giant Ford and South Korean battery manufacturer SK On. The money will be used to build battery factories for Ford’s growing line of electric vehicles. Jigar explains why he chose to make this loan, how it fits into President Joe Biden’s electric vehicle ambitions, and how he deals with the risks of investing in pioneering technologies. Read more: Read Bloomberg's deep dive on the Ford loan. The Department of Energy’s liftoff reports Article: Tesla’s shrewdest product is proving to be its charging network Article: Ford’s electric pickup is built from metal that’s damaging the Amazon 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 Ari Natter, Keith Naughton, Gabriella Coppola and 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.

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. Next week, he’ll be presenting the latest version of the agenda to world leaders in Paris, at a summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron. 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 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.

A hotter planet is also a smokier one, as residents of New York City are finding out this week. As the intensity and size of wildfires grows, more and more people are being exposed to dangerously unhealthy air. Just how dangerous? Oscar Boyd asks Akshat Rathi to explain the health effects of exposure to intense air pollution. It’s not a new problem, but it’s a growing one and many of us will need to learn how to deal with the risks. Related stories from Bloomberg Green: How wildfire smoke affects human health Justin Trudeau on the Zero podcast The Australian climate elections on the Zero podcast A documentary on Australia’s bushfire babies The Big Take podcast on the Black Summer bushfires Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Janet Babin, Kira Bindrim, Zahra Hirji, Kendra Pierre-Louis and Todd Woody. 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.

How often do you think about how much your pension or 401(k) is contributing to climate change? Chances are not much, but a growing movement wants you to do just that. Richard Curtis is the writer behind Love Actually, Mr. Bean, Blackadder and Four Weddings and a Funeral. His latest project is not a movie, but a campaign group called Make My Money Matter, which wants to make British retirement plans and banks greener by raising awareness about the trillions of dollars in pensions that are invested in fossil fuel companies. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi asks Richard about how he went from writing for the screen to making your retirement money green, what can be done to stop greenwashing in the financial sector, and whether he'll ever write a climate romcom. Read more: Make My Money Matter’s film with Rose Leslie and Kit Harrington Natasha White’s article on Gabon’s carbon credits 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 Alastair Marsh, Natasha White 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.

Dipender Saluja is the Managing Director of Capricorn Investment Group, a venture capital firm with $9B under management. He was an early investor in Tesla. Today Dipender leads Capricorn’s clean tech investments effort and is betting on nuclear fusion, next gen batteries and electric aviation as the next moneymakers in decarbonizing the economy. Dipender has worked in Silicon Valley for 35 years. This week, Akshat talks with him about why he got interested in venture capital, climate tech, and how his start in the semiconductor industry informs his investment strategy. Listen to the interview with Rebecca Shirley of World Resources Institute and Makthar Diop of International Finance Corporation to learn more about clean energy financing in developing nations here. Read more: Leslie Kaufman’s story about TerraCycle here. A transcript of the episode Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim, Venkat Viswanathan, and Dashiell Bennett. 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.

This week a new report was released by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) that says we are likely to exceed 1.5C of warming for a single year at some point in the next five years. It’s a big deal for many reasons, especially because limiting global warming to within 1.5C of pre-industrial temperatures is a key goal of the Paris Agreement. In this bonus episode of Zero, Akshat Rathi and Oscar Boyd talk about what the WMO report says and why it matters. Read more about the WMO report: Breaching 1.5C threshold temporarily in next five years ‘more likely than not’ Climate pledges reach threshold to keep warming below 2C 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 Zahra Hirji, Olivia Rudgard 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.

At their best, cities can be a climate solution: densely packed places with good public transport, effective health care, and plenty for everyone to do. Combined with clean energy, they become carbon-efficient centers. But cities can also be a climate disaster: Low levels of vegetation, big concrete buildings, high traffic and poor airflow create the perfect conditions for extreme heat waves. As cities grow and an ever greater percentage of the population become urban dwellers, the impacts of these heat events will be felt by more and more people. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi talks with Global Chief Heat Officer Eleni Myrivili, about how cities can be made more resilient to heat, and why aircon is not a solution we can rely on. Read more: A profile of Eugenia Kargbo, Chief Heat Officer in Sierra Leone. Olivia Rudgard’s article on Happisburgh’s disappearing coastline. A full 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 and Laura Millan. 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’s been eight months since President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act. Already the hundreds of billions of dollars it contains for clean energy and slowing climate change —alongside private venture capital investments — are funding a wide array of climate technology projects, from decarbonizing infrastructure to rust-based battery storage. This week we are sharing an episode of the Bloomberg podcast The Big Take that looks at where all the money in U.S. President Biden's signature climate bill has gone. Bloomberg climate reporter Eric Roston and senior reporter Akshat Rathi talk with Big Take host Wes Kosova about how climate tech is no longer a corner of the economy–it’s fast becoming the economy. And reporter Zahra Hirji joins to talk about some of the ways the IRA’s spending is starting to show up in our everyday lives. Read the story by Akshat Rathi and Eric Roston here. Find more from The Big Take, here. And help out Zero by taking our listener survey, 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 to Kira Bindrim and The Big Take team. 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.

Amazon made Jeff Bezos very rich. In 2020, he decided to pledge a portion of that wealth — $10 billion — to launch the Bezos Earth Fund. It is the largest commitment to climate philanthropy ever made and, by most measures, a vast amount of money. But it is also a small fraction of the $3.5 trillion that is needed annually to hit net zero by 2050. To make an impact, it has to be spent strategically and attract a lot more money from governments and corporations. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi asks Bezos Earth Fund CEO Andrew Steer how the fund spends its billions, what counts as success, and how competition between billionaires is shaping climate philanthropy. 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 to Kira Bindrim, as well as Robin Pomeroy at the World Economic Forum for arranging studio space. 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 world is in the middle of the sixth mass extinction and this time it's being driven by human activity. Slowing it down will provide benefits for tackling climate change, and solutions to reign in global warming will help stem biodiversity loss. But this win-win scenario isn't straightforward to put into action. In December, world leaders gathered at COP15 in Montreal and agreed upon a new global biodiversity framework, with 23 targets including a goal of protecting 30% of all land, waters and oceans by 2030. The details on how that target will be implemented, however, are vague, and vast amounts of money will be needed to fund nature protection in biodiversity-rich, economically poor countries. Akshat Rathi speaks with Rebecca Shaw, chief scientist at the World Wildlife Fund; Monica Medina, the US assistant secretary of state for oceans and international environmental and scientific affairs; and Bloomberg Green’s Eric Roston, about what it means to protect biodiversity, and who will fund it. 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.

Steel is the backbone of modern society, and it’s also responsible for 7% of global greenhouse-gas emissions. Last summer, Bloomberg Green reporter Akshat Rathi visited a US startup that says they can clean it all up. Operating in a suburban office park in Colorado, Electra claims to have developed a way to get through the most energy-intensive part of steelmaking at temperatures lower than fresh coffee. Akshat dives into the science and story of Electra with CEO Sandeep Nijhawan. This episode first ran in October 2022. This week, Electra was awarded BloombergNEF's Pioneers award for its research into low-carbon steel. Read more about the award and see all 12 winners of the 2023 Pioneers Award here. Read the full feature about Electra here. Read a transcript of this episode, here. Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our senior producer is Christine Driscoll and our producer is Oscar Boyd. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/greenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Electric aviation fulfills two futuristic promises – flying cars and emissions-free air travel. This week, meet the professor who is working to make it happen. Venkat Viswanathan, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University, is working to create a battery that can power an aircraft on a trip over 200 miles. Venkat talks to Akshat about the network of people involved in electric aviation, how long it will take to develop such a light and powerful battery, and why aviation is the most important problem for batteries to solve. 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 to Blake Maples, Stacey Wong, Sharon Chen, and 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 Sultan Al Jaber was made president of COP28, the year’s biggest climate summit, there was outrage. How can the head of a giant oil company Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. – think Exxon and BP combined – convince the world to cut emissions faster? But Al Jaber isn’t an oil boss cut from the same mold. He spent a decade as a renewables executive. This week on Zero, Bloomberg Green Executive Editor Aaron Rutkoff talks to Senior Reporter Akshat Rathi about his new in-depth profile of Al Jaber exploring a world of contradictions. You can read the full article “The Oil Sheikh’s Climate Fixer”. 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 Gilda Di Carli, Stacey Wong, and Kira Bindrim. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/greenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, a visit to the energy startup trying to replace coal with a very cheap battery. Form Energy has attracted nearly $900 million in investments and is building its first manufacturing facility in the US. Its big innovation relies on rust. Really. The materials scientists at Form have taken the same process that’s a symbol of time slowly passing and turned it into electricity. It’s one of the first big bets that batteries could help push the grid closer to running without fossil fuels altogether. You can read more about Form Energy and see what the battery looks like 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 to Kira Bindrim and Blake Maples. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/greenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do you rebuild an international organization for the climate era? That’s what the Paris-based International Energy Agency has done over the past decade. Founded in 1974 to secure oil supplies for its members, the IEA has become a leading voice on the need to cut emissions. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi asks Fatih Birol, executive director of the IEA, when global emissions will peak, if it’s possible to get there sooner, and why India’s solar revolution is keeping him optimistic. Want to know more about the IEA story? Pre-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.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s latest report is out and it makes for sober reading. Published roughly every seven years, IPCC reports are the most established body of knowledge on climate change and unique in that their summary gets a signoff from every country on the planet. The report’s findings feature in everything from government policy to investment decisions. In this bonus episode, Akshat Rathi and Oscar Boyd talk about what the latest IPCC report says, and why it matters so much. Read more about the latest IPCC report, about how one sentence in an IPCC report changed the climate game and about how IPCC reports become a showdown between science and global politics. 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 and 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.

What happens when a "climate bank" goes under? This week, Bloomberg Green reporter Akshat Rathi interviews the CEO of an AI battery startup that had just received $3 million in funding about the stresses of recovering money from Silicon Valley Bank as it collapsed. Then, Bloomberg reporter Mark Bergen explains what made SVB so important to climate tech funding and which institutions might be poised to take its place. Read more about the collapse and its impact on climate tech, 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 Venkat Viswanathan, Brian Eckhouse, Mark Bergen, Coco Liu, Olivia Rudgard, Josh Saul, David Baker, Sommer Saadi, and 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.

If you’ve got the technology that can change the world, are you the best person to implement it? Investors pay careful attention to the CEO of any company, but in climate tech, they deserve special scrutiny – much of the science has never been brought to scale and they are competing against the status quo, massive trillion-dollar industries. It takes business acumen to launch a profitable business and the stakes are high, so some investors prefer a seasoned entrepreneur to a scientist. Bloomberg Green reporter Akshat Rathi talks to Katie Rae, who has a different philosophy. Katie is the head of The Engine, a venture firm affiliated with MIT that invests in early stage climate tech companies, often helmed by scientists. How does she make the case to investors and what does she teach the scientist wanting to be a CEO? 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 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.

Since the Human Development Index was established in 1990, it has trended gradually upward, as people’s health, wealth and opportunities have improved. But in 2019, it went into a decline then made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic and the fallout from the war in Ukraine. The impacts of these events on reversing human progress could be dwarfed by climate change, says Achim Steiner, head of the United Nations Development Programme. However, the solutions to the climate problem also offer the potential to build a more inclusive and fair future that allows humanity to thrive. Bloomberg Green reporter Akshat Rathi asks Steiner about the opportunities and threats climate change poses to global development, how countries can plan for more climate refugees, and what rising inequality means for a world facing multiple crises. Read Oxfam’s report on inequality and climate change, 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 to Kira Bindrim, Sommer Saadi and Stacey Wong, as well as Robin Pomeroy at the World Economic Forum for arranging studio space. 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 Russia attacked Ukraine last year, it expected to win in a three-day blitz. Instead, it’s become a protracted war with impacts felt far and wide — disrupting food systems, supply chains, geopolitics and the global economy. Europe’s most remarkable response to the war isn’t to do with sending in tanks or billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine. Instead, it’s been the surprising speed with which it has ditched Russian fossil fuels and strangled the source of funding for Russia’s war machine. In this episode, Zero’s producer Oscar Boyd asks Bloomberg News reporters Will Mathis and Akshat Rathi how Europe managed this feat, and what that means for the continent’s climate goals. Read Akshat and Will’s full article, complete with charts and graphs that show the speed of the transition. This is what a LNG tanker looks like. 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 to Todd Gillespie, John Ainger and 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.

As Germany’s climate envoy, Jennifer Morgan stands alongside John Kerry and Xie Zhenhua of China as one of the world’s top climate negotiators. But she is no typical bureaucrat. Jennifer considers herself an “activist diplomat,” and before taking up the position of envoy, she headed up Greenpeace, known for its political activism and climate stunts. Bloomberg Green’s Akshat Rathi sat down with Jennifer at the World Economic Forum in Davos to ask her whether the EU needs to compete more aggressively with the US on climate tech, how Germany is justifying the expansion of its coal mines, and why reforming the World Bank is vital for helping developing countries deal with climate impacts. 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 to Laura Millan, John Ainger, Petra Sorge, Olivia Rudgard and 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.

This summer, Bloomberg Green reporter Akshat Rathi visited Imprint Energy, a Silicon Valley startup that prints batteries. Using the same tools as screenprinters, Imprint Energy prints thousands of batteries to power shipping labels that can report the movement, temperature, and even humidity that packages are exposed to. Imprint’s batteries are being tested by companies that ship food, crop seeds and even vaccines. Akshat speaks with founder and inventor Christine Ho about how she bootstrapped the company, raised $25M, and why these small batteries made of a glue-like goo can cut down waste and reduce emissions. What do Imprint's batteries look like? Check them out 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 to Venkat Viswanathan and 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.

Sweden is known for its climate ambition, and was the first country to set a goal to reach net zero by 2045. Yet a new government aligned with the far-right Sweden Democrats has thrown that commitment into question. Enter Romina Pourmokhtari who, at 26 years old, became the country's youngest-ever cabinet member when she was chosen as climate minister in October. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi asks Romina whether Sweden will still meet its climate commitments, how her first 100 days in office have been, and what she hopes to achieve on climate now that Sweden is chairing the European council. 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. Special thanks to Niclas Rolander, Lars Paulsson and Kira Bindrim.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In 2020, Silicon Valley investor Chamath Palihapitiya said he wanted to create a holding company for climate tech and asked for people to submit their frameworks for making it happen. Whoever was chosen as a finalist would help implement it. He got over 1,500 submissions, but he never ended up making that holding company. Why? Will this ever be possible? Bloomberg Green reporter Akshat Rathi talks to Chamath about the difficulty of learning to invest in climate tech, the future of his investing kingdom, and how much you can teach yourself about batteries. In this episode, we talk about Warren Buffett, investing, and what makes a climate investment. If you want to hear why Buffett thinks an oil company can be a climate bet, check out our episode with Occidental Petroleum CEO Vicki Hollub: Oil boss Vicki Hollub is selling 'net-zero oil'. Do you buy it? 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. Special thanks to Bailey Lipschultz, Kira Bindrim, and Brian Eckhouse.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The wind industry is exploding, growing from just 2% of global electricity supply to 7% in a decade. But to achieve net zero by 2050, we're going to need a lot more wind turbines, both on land and out at sea. On this week’s episode of Zero, Orsted CEO Mads Nipper tells Akshat Rathi how the company transformed itself from a fossil fuel giant into the world's largest developer of offshore wind power, and the challenges the industry faces. It’s not just a story of clear corporate strategy chasing an opportunity, but also of heavy government intervention and many happy accidents. Read energy reporter Will Mathis’ story on the pressures faced by the wind industry here, and what 2023 has in store for renewables, here. Want to know more about Orsted's story? Pre-order Akshat’s book, Climate Capitalism, 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.

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.

What causes a restaurant critic to trade the gourmet for the green? Why does a Shell geophysicist leave their decade-long career working on oil and gas fields? What makes a war-crimes lawyer want to pursue a career in climate? And why would a travel executive become a solar installer? This week on Zero, listeners tell us why they quit their jobs to work in the climate space, and what advice they have for others who want to do the same. A special thank you to everyone who sent in their story. 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.

Throughout history, no social movement has succeeded without utilizing property destruction as a tactic, and if the climate movement is to be effective it will have to do the same. So says Andreas Malm, author of How to Blow Up a Pipeline, on this week’s episode of Zero. But how do you delineate between justifiable sabotage and unacceptable violence? And is there a risk that escalation backfires as a strategy? 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/greenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The task of cutting emissions is becoming more urgent by the day. Are democracies up to the challenge? Do we have time to let the usual course of consensus-building and debate play out, or should governments around the world prioritize climate action at any cost? In this week’s episode of Zero, Bloomberg Green’s Akshat Rathi puts these questions to Daniel J. Fiorino, director of the Center for Environmental Policy at American University and author of Can Democracy Handle Climate Change? 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/greenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Carbon offsets are everywhere – a $2 billion dollar industry that’s set to grow even more as the US is even incorporating them in its effort to fulfill international climate pledges. Yet in the thirty years since they were created, they have not been proven to work. How did such a good idea go wrong and why is it so sticky? In this episode of Zero, Akshat talks to Mark Trexler of The Climatographers, who helped build the first carbon offset program in 1988, about what went wrong with offsets and if there’s any way to fix them. Read more about the dodgy world of carbon offsets in Bloomberg’s three part investigation. 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 www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What’s worse for the planet than Big Oil? The world’s food system, argues environmental journalist and campaigner George Monbiot in his new book Regenesis. He makes a passionate case for how current agricultural practices not only damage the environment, but prevent vast amounts of land from being rewilded and restored to its natural state. Monbiot speaks with Bloomberg Green reporter Akshat Rathi about his proposed solutions, which include an end to livestock farming entirely and using new technologies like precision fermentation to meet the world’s rising demand for protein. 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 to Kira Bindrim and Stacey Wong. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit www.bloomberg.com/green.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

COP27 ended with a historic agreement on loss and damage, but other major challenges remain — including the gap that has long existed between energy needs in Africa and the funding that the continent receives. As the “Africa COP” comes to an end, Akshat speaks with two experts about the continent’s unique financing challenges: Rebekah Shirley, director of research, data and innovation at the World Resources Institute Africa, explains the “chicken and egg problem,” and IFC Managing Director Makthar Diop, who talks about the institution's strategy for reaching $60B in funding by 2025. We’re also joined by Bloomberg News editors Siobhan Wagner and Will Kennedy to discuss what happened on the sidelines of COP27. 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 to Kira Bindrim and Stacey Wong. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/greenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lewis Pugh has swum across seas and in between melting sea ice, but the hardest part of his work is what comes after – contributing to negotiations to protect those same bodies from development. And he’s been successful: In 2016 he got the Russians to sign a pact to create a marine protected area in the Ross Sea – one of the few healthy seas left, and the size of Britain, France, Germany, Italy put together. A negotiation should be an exploration, not a battle, he tells Akshat Rathi. Pugh also talks about how he got his start, the swim that made him into an environmental advocate and what he wants to come out of COP27. Akshat speaks with Salma El Wardany, a Bloomberg News energy and commodities reporter based in Cairo, and Zero producer Oscar Boyd, about their experiences of COP27. 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 to Kira Bindrim and Stacey Wong. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/greenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Whether the so-called implementation COP will live up to its promise will be answered this week as negotiators begin to do the work of writing the final agreement. Bloomberg Green Reporter Akshat Rathi spoke with young climate activists about their engagement with this COP, the difficulty of activism in a repressive country and how they are making change in their own nations. We’re also joined by Bloomberg News reporters John Ainger and Jen Dlouhy to discuss the latest announcements from the conference regarding loss and damage. Read our story on the difficulties climate activists faced at COP27. 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 to Kira Bindrim and Stacey Wong. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/greenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As week one wraps up at COP27 in Sharm El Sheik in Egypt, Bloomberg Green Reporter Akshat Rathi talks with Patricia Espinosa, who until August 2022 was the executive secretary of the UNFCCC, the body charged with organizing the annual COP climate conferences. Espinosa tells Zero what goes on behind the scenes at COP to get the 200 participating member states to agree, and why the global platform is vital for making any progress on climate issues. We’re also joined by Yinka Ibukun, Bloomberg News West Africa Bureau Chief, to hear about whether the “African COP” is living up to its name. 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 to Kira Bindrim, Laura Millan and Stacey Wong. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/greenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We are rapidly approaching the end of week one at COP27 and all eyes are turning to the US, with President Biden to make a visit on Friday. Bloomberg Green Reporter Akshat Rathi sits down with White House Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi to talk about the Biden administration’s climate accomplishments in climate policy and how the US will make its impressive commitments reality. We’re also joined by John Fraher, the head of ESG and energy at Bloomberg News, to talk about how shifting domestic and international politics are playing out at COP27. You can watch Bloomberg Live’s COP27 coverage 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 to Kira Bindrim and Stacey Wong. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/greenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

After a frenetic two days of discussions at COP27, with hundreds of leaders arriving in Egypt, the demands of vulnerable countries are clear: show us the money. On Zero’s second episode from Sharm el-Sheikh, we’re joined by Prime Minister Philip Davis of the Bahamas, to hear about the impacts of climate change on the low-lying archipelago nation, why he wants developed countries to pay for the protection of Bahamian oceans, and Caribbean nations’ demands for a levy on oil exports. We’re also joined by Bloomberg Green executive editor Aaron Rutkoff, who updates us with the latest from COP27. 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 to Kira Bindrim and Stacey Wong. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/greenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

COP27 has begun, with 45,000 delegates expected to attend the two-week conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. One of the key discussion points is financing for “loss and damage,” the idea that developed countries with high historical emissions should pay for climate damages in developing countries. On Zero’s first episode recorded at COP27, we’re joined by Professor Saleemul Huq, Director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development and a champion of climate vulnerable countries. With loss and damage being formally on the agenda of this year’s climate negotiations, Huq explains what’s at stake. We also hear from Bloomberg contributing editor Allegra Stratton, the UK’s spokesperson for COP26, on how COP27 can build upon the achievements of last year. 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/greenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

While the United States fancies itself a global climate leader, the country is coming off a decade of tumultuous policy: It signed the Paris Agreement in 2015, withdrew two years later, and didn’t rejoin until 2021. Now, as the country counts down to midterm elections and the start of COP27 climate talks in Egypt, Americans are taking stock of whether US President Joe Biden has lived up to his promises. Akshat Rathi talks to Leah Stokes, a political scientist who contributed to the Inflation Reduction Act, the biggest US climate bill. They also talk about how the IRA came together, her wish list for additional green policies, and how the IRA will affect US standing at COP27. 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/greenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Weather data is invaluable. It influences the decisions of governments and companies around the world. It’s used to predict energy consumption, harvests, and even when countries might go to war. So what does it mean when vast portions of the world have insufficient weather data in an era of worsening climate change? This week on Zero, Bloomberg Green reporter Laura Millan tells the story of weather stations 61223 in Timbuktu, and what its sudden closure means for climate science across the African continent, and the upcoming negotiations at COP27. Read Laura’s full story on weather station 61223 and Africa’s lack of climate data 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. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit bloomberg.com/greenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Finally made to reckon with the climate crisis, most oil companies are turning to clean-energy technologies. Not Occidental Petroleum. Akshat Rathi talks to Oxy CEO Vicki Hollub to find out why. Under Hollub’s leadership, Oxy became the first US oil company to set a science-based target to reach net zero. The road it has chosen to get there is an atypical one. Rather than reducing oil and gas production, Oxy wants to make net-zero oil by investing heavily in carbon-capture technology. Rathi asks Hollub how exactly Oxy will build out this technology, how it will pay for it, and why she believes her company’s oil is the way to tackle climate change. Read a full 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/greenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pitches the country as a leader on climate and says it is on track to reduce emissions 45% by 2030. The reality is different. Canada has the second highest per-capita CO2 emissions in the G-20, its oil industry is booming, and its emissions remain persistently high. On this week’s episode of Zero, Trudeau joins Zero host Akshat Rathi to discuss when Canada’s emissions will start to fall for real, and how it can achieve its climate pledges when its economy and politics remain so tied to oil and gas. This conversation was recorded live at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa at an event hosted by the Canadian Climate Institute and the Net Zero Advisory Body. Read a full 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/greenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Climate was the defining issue of this year’s elections in Australia, with independent and green candidates promising climate action sweeping into power. Now the country has a new climate law, enshrining a 43% cut in emissions by 2030. But does it live up to what the science demands? Joining Zero this week are two politicians that were instrumental to passing the bill: Adam Bandt, leader of the Australian Greens, and David Pocock, whose journey from Australia’s rugby captain to politics has made him a deciding vote in the country’s senate. Read a full 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/greenSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.