Akshat Rathi, author of Climate Capitalism, discusses how capitalism can solve the climate crisis. Key topics include successful individuals implementing climate capitalism, addressing inequality within a capitalist framework, brute force strategies to combat climate change, the time scale of clean tech development, and the satisfaction of completing a long-awaited project.
Capitalism can prioritize the planet by integrating sustainability into strategies, providing solutions to the climate crisis through innovation and regulation.
Climate capitalism is already happening, with individuals like Juan Gang and Fatih Birol making significant impacts on driving the energy transition and shaping climate policies.
Deep dives
Capitalism and Climate Progress Can Coexist
The podcast episode explores the compatibility of capitalism and climate progress, focusing on the book 'Climate Capitalism' by Akshat Rafi. The book discusses the idea that capitalist systems can prioritize the planet by highlighting a dozen people who are already making climate capitalism work. It emphasizes the notion that capitalism and climate progress are not mutually exclusive, and that there are success stories of individuals and companies integrating sustainability into their strategies. The book argues that capitalism can provide solutions to the climate crisis through innovations, regulations, and global cooperation.
The Challenge of Overcoming Opposition and Misconceptions
The podcast highlights the fact that, while some people believe capitalism can be a solution to climate change, others do not see it as compatible. It acknowledges that there are loud voices on both sides, but most people have not deeply considered the compatibility of capitalism and climate progress. The book recognizes that environmentalism has historically focused on overcoming the negative impacts of profit maximization, making the connection between capitalism and climate solutions a provocative idea. However, the book also presents numerous real-world success stories to show that climate capitalism is already happening and can be an effective approach.
The Power of Individuals and Chance Encounters
The podcast discusses how Akshat Rafi's book highlights the stories of individuals working towards climate capitalism. It explores how these individuals, such as Juan Gang in China and Fatih Birol from the International Energy Agency, can have a significant impact on driving the energy transition and shaping climate policies. The podcast emphasizes the human aspect of these stories, highlighting that these individuals are not superhumans but ordinary people actively working to solve climate problems. It also suggests that their actions are shaped not only by their expertise and dedication but also by chance events that influence their journeys.
Adapting Capitalism for Climate Solutions
The podcast delves into the need to adapt capitalist systems for climate solutions. It recognizes that different forms of capitalism exist around the world, with varying levels of regulation and approaches. It argues that capitalism needs to be shaped to the specific society and system it operates in, taking into consideration the necessary regulations, subsidies, and tools like shareholder activism. The book also highlights the importance of learning from successful models and experiments happening globally and adapting them to different contexts. While acknowledging that there may not be a perfect solution, the podcast emphasizes the ongoing progress and the importance of implementing a variety of solutions tailored to specific regions and sectors.
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?
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 zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit bloomberg.com/green.