Political Climate

Deep-seated racial justice issues have been brought to the fore in recent weeks by a series of nationwide protests over police violence. These protests are taking place in the midst of a global pandemic, which has exposed, and in many cases worsened, long-standing issues of racial inequality. The energy and climate space is not immune to racial discrimination. But some politicians have questioned whether this is the right moment to talk about issues such as pollution, calling it a misplaced political move.Mustafa Santiago Ali has been on the frontlines of the fight for environmental justice since he was a teenager and throughout his 24 years at the EPA. Now, as vice president of environmental justice, climate and community revitalization for the the National Wildlife Federation, Ali says he’s hopeful this historic moment will accelerate equitable energy solutions.On this episode, Ali connects the dots between the clean air, affordable energy and the racial justice movement. We also discuss the implications of recent environmental rollbacks by the Trump Administration and take a hard look at how the clean energy industry can promote greater diversity. Plus, we discuss Republican approaches to combatting inequality, teeing off of comments made by Representatives John Shimkus (R-Illinois) and David McKinley (R-West Virginia) at this week’s House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on frontline communities — where Ali testified.Recommended reading: The Hill: Trump's latest environmental rollback threatens minority communities, experts warn Politico: California lawmakers rebuke top regulator who invoked 'I can't breathe' in air quality fight HuffPost: Solar Power Has A Diversity Problem GTM: ‘We Too Must Improve’: Clean Energy Industry Looks Into Mirror on Racial Inequity Political Climate: Fighting Energy Injustice and Coronavirus in African American Communities Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!

Democrats are beginning to rally around a progressive, three-part climate platform that prioritizes environmental justice. But will Joe Biden fully embrace it? If so, could it sway the 2020 election? Or will few voters care in this turbulent year?On this episode of Political Climate, we speak to Maggie Thomas, political director at Evergreen Action, a new group created by former Jay Inslee campaign staffers to promote a comprehensive climate plan for Democrats.We discuss how the left came to unite around the concept of pursuing rapid decarbonization through sector-specific standards, large-scale public investments, and a commitment to justice and equity (as Vox's David Roberts first reported). We also learn how Thomas and her colleagues crafted Inslee’s environmental justice plan — a plan that’s all the more relevant in light of recent protests. Plus, we get a read on the most politically attractive elements of the crystalizing climate platform. Are there policies that progressive Bernie Sanders supporters, moderate Biden fans and perhaps even some Republicans could support?Recommended reading: Evergreen Action Plan Vox: At last, a climate policy platform that can unite the left Vox: Joe Biden has a chance to make history on climate change Medium: A Week of Podcasts for the Advocate New to Climate Justice WaPo: I’m a black climate expert. Racism derails our efforts to save the planet. Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!This episode is also supported by the nonprofit environmental forum EarthX. The EarthxOcean virtual event takes place June 9-June 11. Tune in to learn about protecting ocean life support systems. Register at www.earthx.org/earthxocean.

Buckle up. Electric vehicle sales are expected to take a big hit this year amid the current health and economic crisis. Industry analysts say the long-term prospects for EVs remain strong, but the jury’s still out on how quickly the market will rebound.  The EV market outlook could have a major impact on the U.S. economy overall. Boosting government investment in clean transportation is being championed by advocates and several lawmakers as a way to put Americans back to work and build out of the coronavirus downturn. The EV growth trajectory will also have a direct impact on whether or not the U.S. will be able to achieve the goal of net zero emissions by 2050.In the sixth episode of Political Climate's monthly “Path to Zero” series, supported by the public policy think tank Third Way, we discuss what it will take to decarbonize the transportation sector, with a focus on accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles. We speak to Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Dingell, representative for Michigan's 12th congressional district, about what it will take to reboot the American automotive industry and get the U.S. EV market back on track coming out of the economic recession.We also speak to James “Jim” Chen, vice president of public policy at the high-profile electric vehicle startup Rivian. The Detroit-based company set out on a mission to “keep the world adventurous” by building rugged, long-range, high-performance electric trucks and SUVs. Rivian’s R1T and R1S have generated a lot of fanfare (and raised a lot of money). But are electric adventure vehicles really going to make a dent in reducing transportation emissions?Plus, Political Climate co-host Brandon Hurlbut describes what he likes about driving electric and the killer deal he got on his EV purchases. Recommended reading: Detroit News: Rep. Dingell aims to jump-start Washington electric-vehicle debate Politico: The One-Woman Campaign to Get Michigan Back for the Dems Verge: Rivian races ahead of other EV startups with $1.3 billion in new funding Axios: These electric vehicle companies have the best shot at surviving GTM: 4 Takeaways From Amazon’s Huge Electric Delivery Van Order Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute.“Path to Zero” is created in partnership with the public policy think tank Third Way. Episodes air monthly on the Political Climate podcast feed. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!

The skies may look clearer these days. But don’t get too excited. Levels of smog and other short-lived climate pollutants (remember HFCs?) are still high and climbing.The good news: there’s a long track record of international cooperation to get these harmful pollutants in check. The challenge: finding the political will to eliminate them entirely.Short-lived climate pollutants include black carbon or soot, methane, hydrofluorocarbons and tropospheric ozone, or what we think of as city smog. In addition to heating up the atmosphere, they dirty our air, make people sick and affect the ozone layer.In this episode, we speak to legendary environmental litigator, professor, author and advocate Durwood Zaelke about why the world needs to prioritize non-carbon dioxide greenhouse gases and what’s being done to curb them (with support from both sides of the political aisle).Zaelke is the founder and President of the Institute for Governance & Sustainable Development in Washington, DC and Paris, where he focuses on fast mitigation strategies to protect the climate. He’s received numerous awards for his work on the Montreal Protocol and his efforts to enact the Kigali Amendment to phasedown HFCs for climate protection.Recommended reading: NPR: Traffic Is Way Down Because Of Lockdown, But Air Pollution? Not So Much The Hill: Trump drags feet on climate treaty, and Republicans aren’t happy The Guardian: Study finds shock rise in levels of potent greenhouse gas Short-Lived Climate Pollutants Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!This episode is brought to you with support from Eavor, the first truly scalable form of clean baseload power. Learn more at eavor.com.This episode is also supported by the nonprofit environmental forum EarthX. The EarthxOcean virtual event takes place June 9-June 11. Tune in to learn about protecting ocean life support systems. Register at www.earthx.org/earthxocean.

Late last year, the European Union introduced a $1 trillion plan to reach carbon neutrality by 2050 and achieve a just transition away from polluting technologies.Europe’s Green Deal enjoys strong backing from many of the EU’s top political figures. But it faces pushback from coal-heavy member states. Implementation of the Green Deal has now been further complicated by the urgent need for governments to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.On this episode, we bring you a conversation with EU Ambassador to the U.S. Stavros Lambrinidis about the implications of COVID-19 for Europe’s energy and climate agenda.Not only that — we also discuss the fallout from plummeting oil prices, what to do with stranded fossil fuel assets, the outlook for a U.S. green recovery plan, and corporate clean energy commitments amid coronavirus with a stellar panel of experts from Google, The Aspen Institute and elsewhere. This episode you'll also hear from: Nikos Tsafos, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies Kevin Book, managing director of research at Clearview Energy Partners Marsden Hanna, head of sustainability and climate policy for the government affairs team at Google Greg Gershuny, executive director of the Aspen Institute's energy and environment program Political Climate host Julia Pyper moderates this conversation, which originally took place as a virtual event hosted by the EU Delegation to the U.S.Recommended reading: GTM: Moonshot Moment: Europe Announces Green Deal GTM: EU Green Deal Should Be Canceled Because of Coronavirus, Czech PM Says Euractiv: EU leaders back ‘green transition’ in pandemic recovery plan Virtual event: How COVID-19 affects the climate and energy agenda Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!This episode is brought to you with support from Eavor, the first truly scalable form of clean baseload power. Learn more at eavor.com.

Are progressive ideas on how to tackle climate change a political poison pill? New opinion polling challenges this commonly held assumption.On this week's episode of Political Climate, we discuss how data is helping decode where the American public stands on progressive issues with Julian Brave NoiseCat, vice president of policy and strategy at the left-wing think tank Data for Progress.We dig into new polling on the Green New Deal and passing a green stimulus bill in response to COVID-19. We also look at public views on nationalizing the U.S. oil and gas industry and potential Democratic picks for vice president.Plus, Julian puts a question to co-host Shane Skelton about the Republican response to climate change. As always, we end with our segment “Say Something Nice.”Recommended reading: Politico: What AOC Gets that Bernie Didn’t Data for Progress: Voters Want a Green Stimulus Data for Progress: The Coronavirus Pandemic Has Made Voters More Supportive of the Green New Deal Data for Progress: Nationalize the Fossil Fuel Industry No Place Like Home Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute. Find us on Twitter @Poli_Climate! Tweet at our hosts at @JMPyper @BrandonHurlbut @ShaneSkelton.Listen and subscribe to Political Climate on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!

African Americans are struggling with a disproportionate death toll from COVID-19 and severe financial strain from the economic downturn. This crisis has exposed preexisting racial disparities created by deep-seated social, economic and political factors. These same underlying issues make African Americans more vulnerable to health damage from pollution, as well as from heat waves, storms and other effects of climate change. Meanwhile, African Americans are missing out on wealth creation opportunities in the clean energy economy, which could be an effective solution to some of these underlying issues — bringing jobs and environmental benefits to communities that need it the most.In this episode of Political Climate, the fifth in our "Path to Zero" series with Third Way, we look at how COVID-19 and climate change are affecting Black communities, and how these issues can be tackled in tandem. We speak to Jared DeWese and Akunna Cook at Third Way about the multiple crises facing Black Americans today. We also hear from Naomi Davis, a grassroots leader and green village builder in Chicago’s Southside, who succeeded in shaping a landmark clean energy bill in Illinois. Finally, we speak to Tony Reames, assistant professor at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability, about the issue of “energy injustice.” We also discuss takeaways from preliminary research on how African Americans are thinking about climate and energy issues in 2020.Recommended reading: National Geographic: African Americans struggle with disproportionate COVID death toll NYT: New Research Links Air Pollution to Higher Coronavirus Death Rates Quartz: The overwhelming whiteness of US environmentalism is hobbling the fight against climate change ISEA: Future Energy Jobs Act Workforce Development Programs HuffPost: Solar Power Has A Diversity Problem Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute.“Path to Zero” is created in partnership with the public policy think tank Third Way. Episodes air monthly on the Political Climate podcast feed. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!

John Kerry isn’t pleased. As the world celebrates the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, the former senator and secretary of state says a profound lack of leadership is causing the United States to fall behind on climate action and clean energy innovation.In this episode of Political Climate, we speak to Secretary Kerry about his outlook on combatting climate change. We get his views on abolishing the Senate filibuster, decarbonizing the power grid, the future role of fossil fuels, American leadership (or lack thereof) on the international stage, and more.We also get an update on Kerry’s World War Zero coalition. The initiative was launched last year with a high-profile cast of founding members to mobilize mass action to combat the climate crisis. The coalition's main goal is to host more than ten million “climate conversations” in 2020 with citizens from across the political spectrum. Has the star-studded effort been successful so far?Finally, we turn to a brief interview with Tia Nelson, environmental leader, climate program director at the Outrider Foundation and daughter of former Senator and Governor Gaylord Nelson, the founder of Earth Day.Nelson was 13 years old on April 22, 1970 — the first Earth Day ever. We get her thoughts on how the environmental movement has evolved over time. Recommended reading: WaPo: John Kerry: Why I’m an optimist this Earth Day WBNS: Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Kerry, John Kasich hold town hall on climate change at Otterbein Heated: A conversation with John Kerry Isthmus: Earth Day turns 50 When the Earth Moves Film Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!This episode is brought to you by the nonprofit environmental forum EarthX. The Earthx2020 Conference and Film Festival is being held virtually from April 22-27 to mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Find more information at www.earthx.org!

The 2020 election is crawling forward amid the coronavirus pandemic. Former Vice President Joe Biden has become the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party, with Senator Bernie Sanders announcing his withdrawal from the race.With the primary settled, the next question is: can Biden win over Bernie’s climate supporters? And how much do these supporters matter?Speaking of support, clean energy stakeholders say they're in dire need of government help. Industry researchers project that the clean energy sector could lose more than a half million jobs — or 15 percent of its total workforce — in the coming months if no additional policy actions are taken by Congress.More than 106,000 workers already lost their jobs in the month of March alone, according to a new analysis by Environmental Entrepreneurs, the American Council on Renewable Energy, E4TheFuture and BW Research. In light of these numbers, will a Republican-led Senate step in to save the clean energy workforce?We discuss on this week’s episode of Political Climate.Recommended reading: Axios: Biden and Sanders vow joint climate work as part of endorsement NYT: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Has Never Spoken to Joe Biden. Here’s What She Would Say GTM: Virginia Mandates 100% Clean Power by 2045 The Atlantic: Coronavirus Killed the Policy Primary E2: 106,000 Jobs in Clean Energy Lost in March Due to COVID-19 Economic Crisis Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!This episode is brought to you by the nonprofit environmental forum EarthX. The Earthx2020 Conference and Film Festival will be held virtually from April 22-27 to mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Find more information at www.earthx.org!

The coronavirus outbreak continues to loom large over the world. Across the globe, countries face major challenges as consumer demand contracts, employee payroll is cut, and capital shrinks as billions of people remain in quarantine. The combination of an economic downturn, cheap oil and gas, and global supply chain disruptions will have big consequences for clean energy markets and climate action in the U.S and abroad. But is it all bad news?In this episode, we bring you a conversation on the implications of COVID-19 for climate and clean energy with four expert voices. Drawing on data and experience, speakers weigh in on the future of sustainable finance, low-carbon technology deployment, and government stimulus efforts.This discussion was recorded earlier in the week at virtual event presented by the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center and moderated by podcast host Julia Pyper.Joining her this episode are: Ethan Zindler, Head of Americas at Bloomberg New Energy Finance Rachel Kyte, former CEO and Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All and Dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University Rich Powell, executive director of the ClearPath Foundation Adnan Amin, former Director-General of the International Renewable Energy Agency and Distinguished Fellow and the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center Recommended reading: GTM: Coronavirus Derailed COP26 Talks, But Not Europe’s Appetite for Climate Action Vox: How the Covid-19 recession could become a depression CNN: Here's what America's oil CEOs discussed with Trump Atlantic Council: COVID-19: Clean energy and climate impacts Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!This episode is brought to you by the nonprofit environmental forum EarthX. The Earthx2020 Conference and Film Festival will be held virtually from April 22-27 to mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Find more information at www.earthx.org!