The BREAK—DOWN

Followers of The Break Down may remember our very first episode, in which Adrienne spoke to the brilliant Brett Christophers about the many and varied reasons why — despite all the hype about how cheap renewables have become — the transition to renewable energy cannot be left to the market and the profit motive. What that interview didn't leave us with, however, was an answer to the obvious question: if not the market, then what? Here to make the case for a simple but radical solution are Chris Hayes and Melanie Brusseler, the Chief Economist and US Programme Director, respectively, at Common Wealth, a progressive UK based think tank and our partners in this series. In today’s episode, Chris and Melanie break down how public ownership can transform our energy system, providing not only a faster and cheaper path to 100 per cent clean energy, but also the foundations of a more just and democratic economy overall.

As a listener of The Break Down, chances are you’re living in a political system that could be defined as “liberal”. But what does “liberalism” really describe? Is it about democracy? Free markets? The protection of individual freedom? Ask ten different people, and you’re likely to get ten different answers.  According to Chris Shaw, liberalism can boiled down to a system oriented around the “bourgeoisie” or, to put it more simply, the “middle classes”, in which technocratic governance is preferred to the messiness of politics, in which the individual takes precedence over the collective, and in which the protection of markets and private enterprise takes priority.  In this episode, Chris breaks down the ways in which liberalism has placed a stranglehold over our political imaginations; why this is so crucial when it comes to the climate crisis; and what a climate politics that takes class seriously would look like. Chris Shaw is an Associate at the University of Sussex and former Director of Research at Climate Outreach, where he spent nearly a decade developing strategies for communicating climate change. His most recent book is called “Liberalism and the Challenge of Climate Change”. 

"To the question how shall we ever be able to extricate ourselves from the obvious insanity of this position, there is no answer.” These words were written fifty years ago by philosopher Hannah Arendt, but are just as relevant to the present moment, in which our political leaders and systems continue to fail to grapple with climate and ecological crisis at the scale or urgency they demand. The degree to which these systems are failing has led many to question whether capitalism, democracy or even the nation-state are incompatible with a sustainable future, or whether they can survive accelerating climate change.  In today’s episode, Geoff Mann breaks down these political questions with Adrienne, focusing on the political ‘futures’ sketched in his acclaimed 2018 book “Climate Leviathan”, and asks what kind of politics we need to build a more just and sustainable world. Geoff Mann is a Distinguished Professor in geography at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. He is the author, with Joel Wainwright, of the acclaimed Climate Leviathan: A Political Theory of Our Planetary Future (Verso, 2018). His work is currently focused on the role of uncertainty in policy and politics.

If you listen to this podcast, chances are you’ve heard of the global target of “net zero emissions” by 2050. You’ve probably also heard about how off track we are from meeting it. But what if I told you we’re even more off track than you might think, because thanks to some effective lobbying, governments don’t have to count the emissions from their militaries, despite their being some of the world’s foremost consumers of fossil fuels. Like me, you might be wondering how that happened, and what special treatment for the military might mean for our ability to tackle climate and ecological crisis. Here to answer these questions and many more is Khem Rogaly, Senior Researcher at Common Wealth, our partners in The Break Down. In today’s episode, we break down the complex, often hidden, but vitally important relationship between militaries and the climate crisis, from their long-standing role in upholding the fossil fuel economy to the enormous extent to which governments prioritise military spending over other urgent tasks — not least addressing a climate crisis that makes us all more insecure. Khem Rogaly is a Senior Researcher at Common Wealth whose work focuses on the military industry, green industrial planning and housing. He has previously worked on decarbonisation and energy efficiency at E3G and on housing policy at Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Further Reading ‍Khem Rogaly et al., "Less War, Less Warming: A Reparative Approach to US and UK Military Ecological Damages", Common Wealth & Climate + Community Project. Khem Rogaly, "Welfare to Arms: Shareholder Payouts in the Arms Industry Since 2010", Common Wealth. Neta Crawford, "Pentagon Fuel Use, Climate Change and the Costs of War", Watson Institute, Brown University. Rachel Havrelock, "Pipelines in the Sand: The Middle East After Sykes-Picot", Foreign Affairs.

Law professor Katharina Pistor discusses how the invisible code of capitalism is shaped by the law, enabling corporations to act as persons and restricting government action on climate. She delves into challenges within the legal system, the evolution of corporations, and the need for alternative business models and patent reforms to address global issues.

Ha-Joon Chang, a noted economist and author from SOAS University, dives deep into the flaws of traditional economic models regarding climate change. He critiques neoclassical economics for its conservative approach and ethical gaps in its life valuation frameworks, revealing disparities between developed and developing nations. Chang argues for rethinking economic growth, emphasizing sustainability and innovative solutions over mere market fixes. He stresses the need for government intervention to tackle the complexities of environmental issues and promote equitable global trade.

“The stakes could not be higher.” These are the recent words not of climate activists, but of a coalition representing major oil and gas companies in a letter to the US Supreme Court. The context? They’re asking the Court to block dozens of lawsuits that seek to hold these firms to account for their role in driving the climate crisis, including by awarding damages for the costs of extreme weather events. But how would this actually work? While it’s becoming more frequent, extreme weather has always been a part of our planet’s natural variation - so how can we know which events are part of a new normal as a result of climate change - and which are just ‘normal’? For a long time, it was hard to give a clear answer. But thanks to the work of today’s guest, Dr. Fredi Otto, that’s all beginning to change. In this episode, Adrienne and Fredi Otto break down "attribution science" - a relatively new field that seeks to examine the role of climate change in extreme weather events. Through their work, we’re gaining a much clearer picture not only of our changing planet, but also of how climate change is inescapably tied up with inequality and injustice. Dr. Otto is Senior Lecturer in Climate Science at the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London and co-founder of World Weather Attribution.  NOTE: Since this episode was recorded, the case of Klima Senniorinen vs. Switzerland was ruled in favour of the plaintiffs, affirming that the government had violated their rights by failing to act on climate, in a landmark judgement.

In this special episode, Adam Hanieh explains the threads linking the global oil economy; more than a century of Western imperialism; contemporary American interests in the Middle East; and the response of governments in the US, UK and much of Europe to the ongoing genocide and ecocide in Gaza. Ultimately, he explains why these overlapping histories demand shared solidarity between the climate movement and the movement for a free Palestine.

Oil is fundamental to our understanding of the climate crisis. But despite its starring role, the dominance of oil in the global energy system is a relatively recent phenomenon, with the industry only really taking off after the Second World War. So how, in just a few decades, did oil become so integral to American power and to our understanding of global capitalism?In this episode of the Break Down, Adrienne and Adam Hanieh break down the history and geopolitics of oil and imperialism, and explore how the petrochemicals and plastics that now permeate our lives, from the foods we eat to the clothes we wear and everything in between, are making it increasingly difficult to challenge the power of the fossil fuel industry.

Brett Christophers, an economic geographer from Uppsala University and author of "The Price is Wrong," joins the discussion to challenge the belief that the drop in renewable energy costs guarantees a smooth transition to clean energy. He emphasizes the critical role of electricity in decarbonization and critiques the dependence on private ownership for sustainable energy solutions. Brett also highlights China's dual role in renewable growth amid coal investments, questioning the effectiveness of market-driven approaches and advocating for stronger government intervention.