The Climate Pod

If we have any chance of staying under 2 degrees Celsius of warming above pre-industrial levels, the United States and China will have to act aggressively to reduce emissions in the next few decades and support the rest of the world as it decarbonizes. And to achieve that, both nations will have to work together effectively, which has become increasingly uncertain in recent years. So how do we change the current trajectory and steer away from escalating conflict? In his new book, The Avoidable War: The Dangers of a Catastrophic Conflict between the US and Xi Jinping's China, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who currently serves as President of the Asia Society, outlines a detailed plan for how the two global superpowers can establish strategic competition with each other without resorting to catastrophic war. He also weighs in on how the United States and China can work more effectively on the climate crisis and what we should learn in the breakdown in talks following Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan. Lastly, Mr. Rudd gives his thoughts on the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act in the United States and Australia's plan to reduce emissions by 43% by 2030 from 2005 levels. Buy The Avoidable War here Subscribe to our Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. Check out our updated website!

It's our 200th episode with David Roberts on the day the Inflation Reduction Act is signed into law! This is a very special one for us. One of our favorite guests, who was very cool to us early on when we were just getting started, is back to the talk about the biggest climate legislation in US history. Roberts is a longtime climate/energy writer that now runs the newsletter/podcast Volts, about clean energy and politics. He joins the show to unpack the Inflation Reduction Act, what he thinks will be the major benefits of the bill, how Democrats got the biggest investment in US climate history passed, how this compares to the Waxman-Markey failure, and what happens to the climate movement next. You can subscribe to Volts here. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. Check out our updated website!

On today's show, we're having some fun with one of our first in-person interviews with Adam Gardiner, guitarist/vocalist for Guster and co-founder of REVERB, which has helped lead the music climate revolution since 2004. We discuss why Adam started using his rock fame to promote climate action, how artists can green venues and help unite the music community to address the climate crisis, and what campaigns REVERB is focused on now. We recorded this live a few months ago, just hours before Guster took the stage and it's fantastic. More on REVERB: REVERB is a nonprofit dedicated to empowering millions of individuals to take action toward a better future for people and the planet. REVERB partners with musicians, festivals, and venues to green their concert events while engaging fans face-to-face at shows to take environmental and social action. Check out their current campaigns, ways to take action, and help volunteer. Follow REVERB on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. Check out our updated website!

The Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act. The 2022 midterm elections are less than 90 days away. With historic investments in climate action almost signed into law and historic stakes for the upcoming elections, what should the climate movement do now? We asked two political experts on this week's show. First, Nathaniel Stinnett, Executive Director of Environmental Voter Project, joins us to discuss new polling data in battleground states and what it means for climate-concerned voters. He also discusses why the climate movement is lacking in political power now and what we can do about it. Then, Lori Lodes, Executive Director of Climate Power, joins the show to discuss what the Inflation Reduction Act means to the climate movement in America, what we can learn from the passage of the Affordable Care Act, how climate politics are changing, and what is critical to accomplish more bold legislation now. Volunteer with the Environmental Voter Project here Volunteer with Climate Power here Subscribe to our Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. Check out our updated website!

This week, Dr. Sabine Hossenfelder, a theoretical physicist, a research fellow at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, and the author of the new book "Existential Physics: A Scientist's Guide to Life's Biggest Questions", joins us to discuss how understanding science can help us better understand the meaning of our own existence. We also talk about whether everything is actually happening all at once, if humans can create new universes, and whether or not human behavior is truly predictable. Check out Dr. Hossenfelder's YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/SabineHossenfelder Subscribe to our Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. Check out our updated website!

It's been a crazy week. Less than two weeks after Sen. Joe Manchin appeared to put an end to all hope of new federal climate spending, everything changed on Wednesday. Senate Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin announced an agreement on the Inflation Reduction Act, which, if passed, will include $369 billion for climate and energy proposals - the biggest climate bill in US history. Sen. Tina Smith has been at the center of the fight for a massive federal climate bill since negotiations started. Last year, she joined us on The Climate Pod to discuss the need for a Clean Electricity Standard and explain how the Build Back Better framework could transform the American economy and global emissions. She's back on the show to react to this week's news on the Inflation Reduction Act, discuss what happens next in the Senate, and what the Democrats plan to do to fight for more climate legislation if the bill passes. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. Check out our updated website!

Dr. Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize in Economics recipient and Distinguished Professor of Economics at City University of New York, joins the show to talk about what's driving the world's rising inflation rates, how investments in climate solutions would impact inflation and the economy, and the prospects of Congress passing a climate spending bill. Dr. Krugman also provides his thoughts on the Federal Reserve increasing interest rates, whether or not the US is in a recession, and what all of this means for climate investments. Plus, co-hosts Ty and Brock Benefiel discuss the importance of environmental and climate advocates building political power and the urgency to elect policymakers who will support climate solutions. Further Reading: Paul Krugman "I Was Wrong About Inflation" Paul Krugman "Climate Politics Are Worse Than You Think" Nathaniel Stinnett "Climate Movement Must Stop Hoping for Political Heroes" Subscribe to our Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. Check out our updated website!

Last week, Sen. Joe Manchin may have ended the possibility of new federal spending on climate provisions. Or at least it seems that way. What we know is that for the last year and half, people all over the world have waited and watched to see what Manchin would accept to push the United States toward meeting it's commitments in the Paris Agreement. And now, that answer may be nothing. In his recent piece, Joe Manchin's Fickleness Is a Needless Catastrophe, The Atlantic's Robinson Meyer unpacks the saga and why this time feels different. He joins the show to discuss his piece as well as explain the very real implications for the Senate's massive failure and what could happen next. Subscribe to our Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. Check out our updated website!

Solving the climate crisis is about more than just swapping out fossil fuels with renewables. Though renewable energy is required for a sustainable planet, understanding the political, social, and economic structures that have allowed for fossil fuels to be burned long after global warming reached dangerous levels is essential for attacking the root causes of the crisis. Professor Aviva Chomsky addresses these issues in her new book Is Science Enough? Forty Critical Questions About Climate Justice. In this conversation, Professor Chomsky explains why social, racial, and economic justice is just as crucial as science in determining how humans can reverse climate catastrophe. We also discuss the Green New Deal, the Degrowth movement, tension between unions and the environmental movement, and why climate change is a democracy problem. Read Is Science Enough? Subscribe to our Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. Check out our updated website!

This week, Adrienne Buller joins the show to discuss her new book "The Value of a Whale: On the Illusions of Green Capitalism". While the book covers many issues with "green capitalist solutions", we focus on our conversation on ESG investing and sustainable finance in general. Plus, co-hosts Ty and Brock Benefiel briefly discuss the Supreme Court's ruling on West Virginia v. EPA and the need for more regulations to end the burning of fossil fuels. Read "The Value of a Whale": https://manchesteruniversitypress.co.uk/9781526162632/ Learn more about Common Wealth: https://www.common-wealth.co.uk/ Subscribe to our Substack newsletter "The Climate Weekly": https://theclimateweekly.substack.com/ As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our new YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. Check out our updated website!