Political Climate

It will take a massive war-time mobilization effort to effectively address the climate emergency, argues Saul Griffith — inventor, MacArthur genius fellow, CEO of Otherlab, and co-founder of Rewiring America, an organization dedicated to creating millions of American jobs while combating climate change. So, what does a war-time mobilization effort look like? How much will it cost? Will we have to make sacrifices in the process? What does this shift mean for the future of utilities? And will politicians ever get on board? Griffith explains in this episode of Political Climate. Plus, he weighs in on the massive year-end spending bill that passed in Congress this week and includes significant climate and clean energy measures. If signed into law, will this legislation put the U.S. on the right track to achieve deep decarbonization?Recommended reading: Rewiring America Handbook No Place Like Home: Fighting Climate Change (and Saving Money) by Electrifying America’s Households Mobilizing for a zero carbon America: Jobs, jobs, jobs, and more jobs NYT: To Cut Emissions to Zero, U.S. Needs to Make Big Changes in Next 10 Years NYT: Climate Change Legislation Included in Coronavirus Relief Deal 'Need for Speed': Why Solving Climate Change Is About More Than CO2 Political Climate is hosted by Julia Pyper, Brandon Hurlbut and Shane Skelton and supported by the USC Schwarzenegger Institute. Listen and subscribe to on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts! We're also on Twitter @Poli_Climate.

Crowdfunding, blockchain, artificial intelligence and neobanks. What do all of these buzzwords have to do with fighting climate change? On this episode of Political Climate’s DITCHED series, host Julia Pyper speaks to the authors of a new report on “climate fintech,” an emerging ecosystem that leverages digital technology to help move more capital into climate change solutions. The report, published by the startup accelerator New Energy Nexus, offers a valuable overview of what this rapidly evolving ecosystem looks like today. Andrew Chang, New Energy Nexus climate fintech program director based in Shanghai, and Aaron McCreary, New Energy Nexus fintech lead for Europe and the United States, describe how and why traditional finance is being disrupted by new technology — and what this means for decarbonization. Recommended resources: Climate Fintech Report: An Emerging Ecosystem of Climate Capital Catalysts DITCHED: Greening the Banks If you’re just joining us, the DITCHED series is all about fossil fuel divestment and the rapidly evolving world of green finance. We’re airing these episodes in addition to our regular Thursday shows on climate and energy politics and policies.You can find all segments in the DITCHED series on the Political Climate podcast feed, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get podcasts! You can also find the series on the Political Climate website or via the leading independent environmental news platform Our Daily Planet.

2020 has been a remarkable year. It witnessed the coronavirus pandemic, an economic crash, a historic and divisive U.S. election, widespread protests for racial justice and more. And yet, amid all of the turbulence, the world took several major steps toward realizing a low carbon future.The numbers are still coming in and the trends are still formalizing, but we have a pretty good sense of how the climate and energy landscape evolved over the past several months.On this episode of Political Climate, hosts Brandon Hurlbut, Shane Skelton and Julia Pyper discuss how climate action and the clean energy transition fared in 2020.Recommended reading: Reuters: Solar the new 'king of electricity' as renewables make up bigger slice of supply: IEA S&P: Global emissions peaked in 2019 as pandemic hastens energy transition – report DITCHED: Why 2020 Could Be a Tipping Point for Fossil Fuels Inside EVs: Global Plug-In Electric Car Sales October 2020: Near Record Level E&E: Biden's energy agenda hinges on FERC, red states Atlantic: Why the 2020s Could Be as Dangerous as the 1850s PC: David Roberts on 'Radical' Climate Action and Political Tribalism Listen and subscribe to Political Climate on on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!

Cities and states have powerful roles to play in divesting from fossil fuels and directing investments toward sustainable industries. There are a number of ways for these sub-national actors to participate in the divest/invest movement and help pave the way for more widespread action. In this episode of Political Climate’s DITCHED series, we go to the home of Wall Street and look at steps being taken by New York City and New York State to accelerate the movement of funds from brown to green resources. We speak to NYC’s chief climate policy advisor Dan Zarrilli about the city’s pledge to fully divest its pension funds from fossil fuels. Then, in the second half of the episode, we speak to NY Green Bank President Alfred Griffin about how green banks operate and the role they fill in transforming financial markets.*Since this podcast aired, New York State announced it will divest its $226 billion pension fund from fossil fuels, becoming the largest pension fund to make such a commitment to date. Both New York City and New York State have now pledged to fully divest from fossil fuels. New York State went even further by setting a 2040 carbon-free target for all parts of its portfolio.Recommended reading: NYC: Mayor, Comptroller, Trustees Announce First-In-The-Nation Goal to Divest From Fossil Fuels Smart Cities Dive: 12 major cities pledge fossil fuel divestment Inside Climate: Could New York’s Youth Finally Convince the State to Divest Its Pension of Fossil Fuels? NRDC: First Global Survey of Green Banks Finds Rapid Growth in their Numbers and Importance in Low-Carbon Finance Vox: New York just passed the most ambitious climate target in the country Catch all DITCHED episodes in addition to our regular Thursday shows! Listen and subscribe to Political Climate on on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!

When Neil Chatterjee was appointed to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by President Trump in 2017, stakeholders in the climate and clean energy space were concerned about what his agenda would be. Headlines dubbed him “McConnell’s coal guy” and “fossil fuel champion Chatterjee,” referring to his role as a former aide to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). But Chatterjee has proven to be much more than a “coal guy,” despite his sympathies for struggling Kentucky coal communities. The Republican leader recently voted in favor of rules supporting distributed energy resources and carbon pricing, and views these decisions as powerful steps in advancing the energy transition. His openness to supporting policies that benefit clean energy may have cost him his leadership position at FERC. President Trump demoted Chatterjee from the chairman role last month, although he remains on the commission and will serve alongside two new appointees confirmed by the Senate this week.In this episode, we speak to FERC Commissioner Neil Chatterjee about several of the agency’s recent rulemakings, past controversies and his outlook for the future of U.S. energy policy in today’s shifting political landscape.Recommended reading: GTM: Why Rick Perry’s Coal-Friendly Market Intervention Was Legally Doomed GTM: FERC Orders PJM to Restrict State-Backed Renewables in Its Capacity Market Utility Dive: FERC confirms carbon pricing jurisdiction in wholesale markets, Chatterjee 'encourages' proposals Utility Dive: Competitive generators move away from FERC's PJM order, toward carbon pricing GTM: ‘Game-Changer’ FERC Order Opens Up Wholesale Grid Markets to Distributed Energy Resources Quartz: How one obscure federal agency is clearing the path for a US carbon price The Hill: Senate approves two energy regulators, completing panel Listen and subscribe to Political Climate on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts! Follow us on Twitter at @Poli_Climate!

2020 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for fossil fuel divestment. Despite economic disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic, a growing number of countries, companies and financial institutions are committing to quit coal and are beginning to ditch oil and gas projects, too. In this episode of Political Climate’s special DITCHED series, host Julia Pyper speaks to Tim Buckley at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) about what’s driving the increase in fossil fuel exits around the globe, including in historically coal-dependent economies such as China and India. Will 2020 prove to be a tipping point in the energy-finance transition?Recommended resources: IEEFA: Why 2020 is turning out be a pivotal year for fossil fuel exits IEA: Renewable power is defying the Covid crisis with record growth this year and next Argus: Coal India to diversify into solar power PV Tech: Indian solar tariffs fall to record low following SECI auction Reuters: Satellites reveal major new gas industry methane leaks IEEFA: Is the Gas Industry Facing Its Volkswagen Moment? Episodes of DITCHED will air Mondays over the next several weeks. Listen and subscribe to Political Climate on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts! You can also find DITCHED episodes via Our Daily Planet.

The coronavirus pandemic has created an opportunity to reboot the American economy in a way that is cleaner and helps to mitigate climate change for future generations. But it’s not only that, this is also a moment to build back the U.S. economy with more resilience. The word “resilience” is thrown around frequently. But what does it really mean? And how should leaders be factoring resilience into their recovery efforts?In this episode, we speak to Norfolk, Virginia City Councilwoman Andria McClellan about how her coastal city, home to the world's largest naval station, is coping with rising seas and worsening flooding. And we hear what she hopes lawmakers in Washington D.C. will do to help address the growing crisis. But first, we check in with Josh Freed, founder and leader of Third Way's Climate and Energy Program. We discuss how President-Elect Joe Biden’s administration is shaping up and what to watch for on the policy front post-election. This is the fourth episode in our "Relief, Rescue, Rebuild" series supported by Third Way. The series theme song was created by @AYMusik.Recommended reading: E&E: Here are Biden's next moves on climate WaPo: Climate Change Turns the Tide on Waterfront Living SciAm: A Running List of Record-Breaking Natural Disasters in 2020 New Deal Forum: Policy Proposals for Growing a Clean Economy and Protecting Communities Third Way: Clean Energy Targets are Trending Listen and subscribe to Political Climate on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts! Follow us on Twitter at @Poli_Climate!

A growing number of financial institutions are moving their investments from fossil fuels into less polluting projects and resources. So what do oil and gas companies make of this shift? Some of them are waking up to the clean energy transition in response to investor pressure. But there are leaders and laggards when it comes to oil and gas companies and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. There are also valid concerns about greenwashing. And yet, some of these firms are fundamentally reshaping the way that they do business.In this episode, the latest in Political Climate’s special DITCHED series, we look at the pressures oil and gas companies are under to go low-carbon with Valentina Kretzschmar, vice president of corporate research at the research firm Wood Mackenzie.Recommended resources: FT: Why ExxonMobil is sticking with oil as rivals look to a greener future WoodMac: Could clean energy be the winner in the oil price war? NYT: Shell and Total report big drop in profits, but made clean-energy investments. Earther: Maybe It's Time to Retire the Phrase 'Big Oil' E&E: How one fossil fuel company became a green giant Political Climate: Is There a Role for Oil and Gas in a Green Recovery? Episodes of DITCHED will air Mondays over the next several weeks. Listen and subscribe to Political Climate on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts! You can also find DITCHED episodes via Our Daily Planet.

In the past two years, climate change has gone from the back burner to the center stage. Why? It all started with a protest in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office in 2018. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez teamed up with a then-obscure youth activist group called Sunrise Movement to launch the fight for a Green New Deal. It took a lot of planning, courage, and luck to make the protest happen. We bring you the inside story of the Pelosi sit-in on this special episode from Generation Green New Deal, a new podcast from Critical Frequency.Host Sam Eilertsen takes a look at how scrappy organizations led by teenagers and twenty-somethings have brought the U.S. closer than ever to addressing the issue that will define the future of humanity: climate change. This episode features Varshini Prakash and Sarah Duckett of Sunrise Movement and Waleed Shahid of Justice Democrats.Listen and subscribe to Generation Green New Deal on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!

Banks don’t just hold on to your dollars and cents, they also play a role in addressing the climate crisis. In the latest episode of Political Climate's DITCHED series, we take a closer look at the banking sector and what institutions like JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo and others can do to fight global warming.Patrick McCully, climate and energy director at the Rainforest Action Network, explains how activists are pressuring banks to clean up their act through initiatives like Stop the Money Pipeline. Plus, Joe Sanberg, founder of the financial firm Aspiration, explains how this traditional bank alternative is putting climate at the center of its business strategy. But first, we kick off the episode with Monica Medina and Miro Korenha, founders of leading independent environmental news platform Our Daily Planet, which Political Climate is thrilled to be partnering with to bring you the DITCHED podcast series!Recommended reading: Reuters: Fed moves closer to joining global peers in climate-change fight Ceres: Measuring and Addressing Climate Risk for Banks Fortune: How one of the world’s biggest banks plans to tackle climate change RAN: Banking on Climate Change 2020 Banking Dive: Aspiration CEO banks on customers' social conscience Episodes of DITCHED will air Mondays over the next several weeks. Listen and subscribe to Political Climate on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!