Political Climate

There has been no shortage of climate related news in recent days ⁠— from President Trump’s attack on California’s emissions-trading system to Senator Schumer’s $450 billion electric vehicle proposal, and disastrous wildfires raging in the West to the anniversary of Superstorm Sandy in the East.It’s a grab bag of climate headlines on this week’s episode of Political Climate.We begin by revisiting the wildfire crisis in California, as co-host Shane Skelton copes with a power outage and warnings that his community may soon have to evacuate. Governor Gavin Newsom's administration inherited this challenge, but now that he's in power what's his plan for coping with it?Next we look at the Trump administration's attack on a foundational California climate policy: its cap-and-trade system. Did California overstep by partnering with the province of Quebec? We also look at the latest developments in the clash over California's clean vehicle standards.Finally, we check in on the new bipartisan climate caucus in the Senate and debate the Republican backlash over the Democrats' climate agenda in the House.Recommended reading: Vox: Wildfires and blackouts mean Californians need solar panels and microgrids SacBee: Gov. Newsom calls for Warren Buffett to buy PG&E as widespread power shutoffs continue WSJ: Trump Administration Sues California Over Cap-and-Trade Market Reuters: Senate Democrat Schumer proposes plan to swap gas cars for electric vehicles Reuters: GM, Toyota, Fiat Chrysler back Trump on California Emissions Challenge Washington Examiner: Republicans mount counter to Democrats’ ‘100 by 50’ climate plan Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, and thanks to invaluable support from producer Victoria Simon.Subscribe to the Political Climate podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Overcast or any of these other services.

Are cites the world’s best hope for combating climate change? Many cities have committed to meeting the Paris Agreement goals. But are those targets translating to action on the ground?In this episode of Political Climate, we look at San Diego’s quest to achieve 100 percent carbon free electricity by 2035 and what other cities can learn from this experience. We recorded this episode at the UCSD School of Global Policy and Strategy, where we were joined by Cody Hooven, the first chief sustainability officer for the City of San Diego.We covered everything from how the city’s Republican mayor pushed through a bold climate action plan, to the community choice aggregation program San Diego is pursuing, to how cities are coping with the intersection of climate and equity issues. Before delving into the role that cities play in the fight against climate change, we touched on a few federal climate related news items. Here’s that conversation, we hope you enjoy.Recommended reading: Politico: Trump to nominate Dan Brouillette as Energy secretary The Hill: Senate Dems lose forced vote against EPA power plant rule WSJ: City Pledges for ‘100% Renewable Energy’ Are 99% Misleading San Diego Tribune: San Diego City Council takes the leap into community choice energy GTM: San Diego Moves Ahead With 100% Clean Energy Community Choice Program Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, and thanks to invaluable support from producer Victoria Simon.Subscribe to the Political Climate podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Overcast or any of these other services.

Last week, Pacific Gas & Electric, intentionally cut the power off to 800,000 electricity customers in Northern California — affecting roughly 2 million people — in an attempt to avoid sparking another potentially deadly wildfire.  Classes were cancelled, businesses closed, food spoiled and people who rely on medical devices panicked. There was no fire, but the blackout has caused tempers to flare and political tensions to rise.  How did we get to a point where California’s largest utility is resorting to planned power outages to prevent destructive wildfires? And how will politicians manage the increasing risk that wildfires present going forward?We discuss on this week’s episode of Political Climate with Michael Wara, director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program at Stanford University and a member of California's Commission on Catastrophic Wildfire Cost and Recovery (begins 17:00).We kick off the show with a look at the fourth Democratic presidential debate, plus Brandon announces his 2020 candidate! As always, we end with our segment: “Say Something Nice.” Political Climate is recording a live show at UC San Diego on Monday, October 21st. The event begins at 5pm and it’s free. You just need to sign up here. So if you’re in the San Diego area — come join us! Recommended reading: GTM: California on Edge as PG&E’s Power Outage Plan Goes Into Effect LA Times: There’s a quick way to help prevent wildfires: Shut off the power grid Guardian: California power shutoffs: when your public utility is owned by private investors NPR: PG&E's Blackouts Panic California's Vulnerable Population LA Times: Newsom and legislative leaders decline to embrace changes to California’s wildfire liability law WaPo: Green groups grapple with how to respond to Hunter Biden's gas company role Eventbrite: Political Climate podcast live show Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, and thanks to invaluable support from producer Victoria Simon.Subscribe to the Political Climate podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Overcast or any of these other services.

This week, we bring you a special episode from our friends at The Years Project. David Gelber, creator of the Emmy Award-winning series “Years of Living Dangerously,” has teamed up with Jeff Nesbit, executive director of Climate Nexus and author of the book This is the Way the Earth Ends, on a new podcast called Climate 2020. Each week David and Jeff will discuss the latest developments in the political fight to mitigate the climate crisis in the lead up to the 2020 election. In this episode, they speak with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes about where the Democratic candidates stand on climate and which policy proposals make the most sense. They also discuss the recent climate strikes and UN Climate Action Summit, as well as new climate news project from veteran journalist Kyle Pope. Then they hear from voters in a Pennsylvania swing district.  Political Climate has a shared mission to create a robust climate action dialogue in the lead-up to the 2020 election, so we’re publishing the first episode of Climate 2020 this week on the feed. Next week, we will return to our regularly scheduled programming. Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, and thanks to invaluable support from producer Victoria Simon.Subscribe to the Political Climate podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Overcast or any of these other services.

Millions of young people took to the streets last month to demand governments take bolder action on climate. Days later, world leaders assembled at the United Nations for the Secretary General's high-profile Climate Action Summit, where dozens of countries pledged to strengthen their climate goals.But did any of this resonate with American policymakers? In this week’s episode of Political Climate we discuss takeaways from the Climate Strikes and UN climate summit, and how these events have (or haven't) influenced U.S. politics. We share excerpts from an exclusive interview with Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, host of the upcoming COP25 climate talks set to take place in Santiago this December. And we analyze how calls to action are being received by U.S. politicians.Recommended reading: Vox: The UN Climate Action Summit was a disappointment KCRW: The UN: Climate change and future generations NPR: 'Game Recognizes Game': A Bipartisan Bond In The Age Of Impeachment Atlantic Council: Exclusive interview on climate leadership with H.E. Sebastián Piñera, president of Chile Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, and thanks to invaluable support from producer Victoria Simon.Subscribe to the Political Climate podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Overcast or any of these other services.

Federal news tends to steal the limelight, but when it comes to spearheading innovative climate and energy policy states are really where the action is at.World leaders gathered at the United Nations Climate Action Summit earlier this week, where Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on countries to boost their commitments to fighting the climate crisis with concrete plans rather than platitudes. But while President Trump stopped by the summit on Monday, the U.S. was effectively absent from the high profile event.In fact, the federal government has been pulling back on its climate commitments. But there is still climate leadership to be found in the United States ⁠— it’s just coming largely from the subnational level.In this week's episode of Political Climate, we discuss how states are leading the way on climate and clean energy policy in the absence of federal action.We'll share an interview with New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on how she’s transitioning her fossil fuel heavy state to 100 percent clean electricity while also cleaning up the extraction industry.Then we'll bring you a conversation recorded live at the National Association of State Energy Officials annual meeting earlier this month , where we sat down with NASEO’s seasoned legal expert Jeff Genzer to discuss how both red and blue states (including some you might not expect) are implementing innovative carbon reducing policies. Recommended reading: NYT: At U.N. Climate Summit, Few Commitments and U.S. Silence GTM: New Mexico Governor to Sign 100% Clean Electricity Bill ‘As Quickly As Possible’ Reuters: Minnesota, New Mexico to adopt California vehicle emissions rules EcoWatch: States March toward 100% Clean Energy – Who’s Next? CCL: Bipartisan climate working group forms in Senate, led by Sens. Coons, Braun Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, and thanks to invaluable support from producer Victoria Simon.Subscribe to the Political Climate podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Overcast or any of these other services.

Youth activists are spearheading a powerful political movement around addressing the climate crisis.For many people, this is a moment of both fear and hope — global carbon emissions continue to increase, at the same time as demands for global climate action grow louder. Will 2019 be remembered as the year humanity turned a corner in the fight against climate change?In this episode of Political Climate, we bring you a special interview with a group of leading youth activists ahead of the Global Climate Strike and United Nations Climate Change Summit.We speak with Kelsey Juliana and Vic Barrett, two of the 21 plaintiffs in the Juliana v. United States lawsuit over the right to a safe climate and livable future, as well as and Jamie Margolin, co-founder of the organization Zero Hour and a plaintiff in a lawsuit alleging Washington State has failed to adequately regulate greenhouse gases.But first we hear from Jonah Gottlieb, director of Schools for Climate Action and the executive director of the National Children’s Campaign, who is currently in Washington D.C. with famed teen activist Greta Thunberg and other youth leaders. What does it feel like for these young people to finally have so much attention on the climate threat?Recommended reading: Grist: How 21 meddling kids could force a major turnaround on climate New Yorker: The Right to a Stable Climate Is the Constitutional Question of the Twenty-First Century CNN: NYC says its 1.1 million students can skip class for the climate strike (as long as their parents say OK) Rolling Stone: The Climate Crisis and the Case for Hope Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, and thanks to invaluable support from producer Victoria Simon.Subscribe to the Political Climate podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Overcast or any of these other services.

Who stood out at the CNN Climate Crisis Town Hall? How did conservatives react? Did general voters even care?Democratic presidential candidates covered a lot of ground over the course of the seven-hour climate policy telethon — from fracking bans to a new CarbonStar program, coal worker retraining programs to a major environmental justice fund. While there was widespread consensus on the need for climate action, some key differences also emerged between the contenders.We discuss the top takeaways from town hall, as well as the latest candidate climate plans, in this week’s episode of Political Climate.To understand how the Democratic platforms resonated on the right, we’re joined by Charles Hernick, director of policy and advocacy at Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions, a non-profit organization founded to engage Republican policymakers and the public on conservative solutions to meeting the nation’s energy needs while preserving the environment.Emma Foehringer Merchant, staff writer for Greentech Media, also joins the show to explain what’s new and novel in the latest release of candidate climate proposals. Recommended reading: GTM: Climate Town Hall Exposes Key Differences Among Democratic Front-Runners NYT: 5 Takeaways From the Democrats’ Climate Town Hall AP/US News: Democrats Step on Shaky Political Ground With Fracking Bans GTM: Coal Miners Doubt Promises of an Inclusive Energy Transition National Clean Energy Week Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, and thanks to invaluable support from producer Victoria Simon.Subscribe to the Political Climate podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Overcast or any of these other services.

The Democratic presidential primary is heating up, so we break down where the candidates stand on climate.Labor Day Weekend typically marks a shift in a presidential campaign. Things get more serious and the field starts to winnow down.And sure enough, the number of Democratic contenders is starting to decline with Jay Inslee, John Hickenlooper and Kirsten Gillibrand stepping out of the race in recent days.In this episode of Political Climate, we examine how the remaining candidates stack up on climate policy, and take a close look at new proposals from Bernie Sanders and Andrew Yang.Emma Foehringer Merchant, staff writer for Greentech Media, has reported extensively on the Democratic primary candidates’ climate and energy plans and helps us walk through the numerous proposals.Recommended reading: GTM: Bernie Sanders Proposes Huge Renewables Build-Out and Publicly Owned Power Vox: Andrew Yang’s plan to tackle climate change, explained CNN: Jay Inslee drops out of 2020 presidential election GTM: The 2020 Democratic Primary: GTM’s Definitive Climate and Energy Guide Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute.Subscribe to the Political Climate podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, GooglePlay, Overcast or any of these other services! 

Is abolishing the filibuster necessary in order for Congress to pass meaningful climate legislation?A handful of Democratic presidential candidates have called for throwing out the Senate rule, claiming that it exacerbates gridlock in Washington DC.Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid also believes that abolishing the filibuster is critical to passing legislation and tackling the most important issues facing the United States, including climate change. But could killing the filibuster end up making U.S. politics even more volatile?We discuss with Senator Reid himself on this week’s episode of Political Climate. Plus we get his views on the Green New Deal and whether or not he sees hyper-partisanship subsiding in the U.S. anytime soon.Recommended reading: NYT: The Filibuster Is Suffocating the Will of the American People Vox: The Democratic debate over filibuster reform, explained WaPo: Where 2020 Democratic candidates stand on the electoral college, court packing and changes to democracy Vice: Harry Reid: 'Of Course' Medicare for All and Decriminalizing Border Crossings Are Bad Ideas Hood to Coast Relay Fundraiser Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute.Subscribe to the Political Climate podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, GooglePlay, Overcast or any of these other services!