Political Climate

How do you elect political candidates who will make tackling climate change a priority? In this episode, we speak to two groups attempting to figure that out and put climate change at the center of races up and down the ballot. In 2018, Caroline Spears launched the Climate Cabinet Action Fund to offer bespoke climate data, policy ideas and messaging suggestions to candidates and lawmakers. The organization currently focuses on the state level, where races are low-budget but highly consequential. We speak to Caroline about the policy “menus” that Climate Cabinet creates for individual candidates, and dig into the role that special interests play in the election infrastructure of both the Republican and Democratic parties. Later in the show, we turn to Karyn Strickler, founder and president of Vote Climate U.S. PAC, a political action committee tracking key races in the U.S. House and Senate and ranking candidates based on their climate record. There are 26 days until the contentious 2020 election and climate issues could sway the outcome.**From now until November 3rd the Political Climate podcast will donate $2 for every new subscriber to the American Red Cross for every new subscription to the show! If you’re already a subscriber, share the podcast with a friend. To participate, simply have a new subscriber send a screenshot of their subscription on whichever podcasting platform they like best to politicalclimatepodcast@gmail.com. Or send us a message via Twitter or Instagram @poli_climate. That’s it!**Recommended reading: CNN: New climate group will offer district-specific policy 'menus' to every congressional candidate GTM: Virginia Mandates 100% Clean Power by 2045 Pew Research: How important is climate change to voters in the 2020 election? Climate Cabinet: The Divided States Of Climate Action Vote Climate U.S. PAC: 2020 Climate Change Voter’s Guide 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.This episode is brought to you with support from Lyft. Lyft is leading the transition to zero emissions vehicles with a commitment to achieve 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030. Learn more at lyftimpact.com/electric.

President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden faced off in their first debate this week. To the surprise of many, Fox News moderator Chris Wallace asked the presidential candidates a series of questions on climate change.Energy and environmental issues got more air time on Tuesday night than at all 2016 presidential debates combined. On this week's episode of Political Climate, our hosts discuss takeaways from the debate (from snippets in between interruptions). Did Trump shift his tone on climate? Did Biden successfully sell his vision for a clean energy economy?Later in the show, we address what changes at the Supreme Court could mean for the future of climate policy and discuss prospects for clean energy legislation currently moving through the House and Senate. Plus, we ask: is there an electric vehicle that can accommodate three car seats? And more!Recommended reading: NYT: The Trump Administration Is Reversing 100 Environmental Rules. Here’s the Full List. PolitiFact: Fact-Check: Have Carbon Emissions Increased Under Trump? The Hill: House passes sweeping clean energy bill NRDC: House Bill Would Deliver Needed Steps Toward a Clean Economy GTM: Clean Energy Gets a Surprisingly Big Role in First Presidential Debate 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.This episode is brought to you with support from Lyft. Lyft is leading the transition to zero emissions vehicles with a commitment to achieve 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030. Learn more at lyftimpact.com/electric.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, more Americans worked in clean energy than there were school teachers in the country. The once booming sector is now experiencing hundreds of thousands of job losses as a result of the coronavirus recession. What will it take to not only get these jobs back but to grow the clean energy sector beyond where it was at the start of the year, putting the industry at the center of a U.S. economic recovery?In this episode of Political Climate, we speak to Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, former chief economist for the Obama Administration's Department of Commerce, as well as clean energy business leaders from Florida, Georgia and Pennsylvania to learn how the clean energy sector has been affected by COVID-19 and what it will take to reboot the industry.This conversation comes as bipartisan clean energy legislation is advancing in both the House and Senate. But prospects for a final bill remain uncertain as Republicans focus on nominating a new Supreme Court Justice following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.This is the third episode in our "Relief, Rescue, Rebuild" series supported by the think tank Third Way. The series theme song was created by @AYMusik.Recommended reading:  Third Way: How Clean Energy Businesses Can Survive and Thrive After COVID-19 PV Tech: Lacklustre job growth leaves 14% of US’ clean energy workforce unemployed E&E News: Clean energy push caught in congressional chaos The Hill: House passes sweeping clean energy bill Verge: Democrats unveil new agenda for economic recovery and climate action A Green Economic Recovery: Global Trends and Lessons for the United States “Relief, Rescue, Rebuild” episodes will monthly on the Political Climate podcast feed. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!Have a moment? Please leave us a review! You can also chat with us on Twitter @Poli_Climate.

“Climate change poses a major risk to the stability of the U.S. financial system and to its ability to sustain the American economy.” That’s the top line takeaway from a landmark new report from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.While the core finding isn’t entirely new, the CFTC report carries weight. “Managing Climate Risk in the U.S. Financial System,” commissioned by a panel of President Trump appointed federal regulators, is the first comprehensive federal government study to focus on the risks climate change presents to Wall Street.Divya Mankikar is an investment manager at the California Public Employees' Retirement System, or CalPERS, where she works to shed light on integrating environmental, social and governance factors across the roughly 400 billion fund — the largest public pension fund in the U.S. She’s also a member of the subcommittee that authored the recently released CFTC climate risk report.In this episode, Divya outlines the report’s main findings and details how CalPERS and other large investors are acting on a growing body of climate risk information.This is the fifth episode in the Political Climate miniseries called DITCHED: fossil fuels, money flows and the greening of finance. Listen and subscribe to Political Climate wherever you get podcasts!Recommended reading: CFTC: Managing Climate Risk in the U.S. Financial System Responsible Investor: CalPERS says it plans to align with TCFD amid new California climate legislation Guardian: Investors that manage US $47tn demand world’s biggest polluters back plan for net-zero emissions Guardian: New Zealand minister calls for finance sector to disclose climate crisis risks in world first Catch all DITCHED episodes in addition to our regular Thursday shows! Listen and subscribe to Political Climate on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!This episode is brought to you with support from Lyft. Lyft is leading the transition to zero emissions vehicles with a commitment to achieve 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030. Learn more at lyftimpact.com/electric.

The youth climate movement has gained enormous momentum over the past few years. While progressive groups tend to be the most well known, conservative youth activists are also expanding their presence in American politics. The Republican Party stands to lose an entire generation of voters if it doesn’t embrace a more environmentally friendly agenda. We speak to Benji Backer, founder and president of the American Conservation Coalition, about what he thinks Republicans are getting right and wrong on climate heading into the 2020 election. Benji and a group of college-aged friends created The American Conservation Coalition in 2017 with a dream of making environmental issues nonpartisan again. The Republican-leaning group says it’s dedicated to mobilizing young people around climate action and environmental protection through common-sense, market-based and limited-government ideals — even if that means criticizing members of their own party. We talk to Benji about what young conservative climate activists want and debate Republicans’ existing track record on climate action.Recommended reading: Electric Election 2020 Road Trip Conservative climate group runs pro-environment ads on Fox News WaPo: In rare bipartisan climate agreement, senators forge plan to slash use of potent greenhouse gas The Atlantic: How a Plan to Save the Power System Disappeared 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 Lyft. Lyft is leading the transition to zero emissions vehicles with a commitment to achieve 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030. Learn more at lyftimpact.com/electric.

In the face of a mounting climate crisis, financial institutions are reevaluating their relationships with coal, gas and oil. But while the divestment movement is picking up speed, it isn’t on a one way street. There is still lots of money flowing into fossil fuels through various public and private channels. At the same time, fossil fuel interests are spending heavily to influence policy that protects their assets and future growth opportunities. In this episode, we speak to Leah Stokes, assistant professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara about her research on how fossil fuel companies and electric utilities are slowing the shift away from polluting resources.This is the fourth episode in the Political Climate miniseries called DITCHED: fossil fuels, money flows and the greening of finance. Listen and subscribe to Political Climate wherever you get podcasts!Recommended reading: Guardian: How the oil industry has spent billions to control the climate change conversation Sierra: Bailout: Billions of Dollars of Federal COVID-19 Relief Money Flow to the Oil Industry E&E: Big Oil, meet Big Green   Bloomberg: Utilities Are Slowing Down the Clean Energy Transition S&P: Ohio bribery scandal increases scrutiny of how utilities use 'dark money' groups Energy and Policy Institute: Paying for Utility Politics Short Circuiting Policy Catch all DITCHED episodes in addition to our regular Thursday shows! Listen and subscribe to Political Climate on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!This episode is brought to you with support from Lyft. Lyft is leading the transition to zero emissions vehicles with a commitment to achieve 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030. Learn more at lyftimpact.com/electric.

Financial regulators have a key role to play in addressing the systemic risks presented by climate change. Arguably, it’s part of their mandate to safeguard financial markets and the real economy from disruptive shocks.Like the COVID-19 pandemic, change change has the potential to wreak havoc on asset valuations and economic stability, as well as the lives and livelihoods of millions of people — particularly if these events are poorly managed. We discuss the steps regulators can take to protect against potentially devastating climate-related impacts in this episode of DITCHED, a Political Climate miniseries on fossil fuels, money flows and the greening of finance. What exactly do those regulatory actions look like? Who is responsible for taking them? What is the upshot for fossil fuels use? And how does this play politically?Steven Rothstein, managing director of the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets, explains.Episodes of DITCHED air on Mondays. To catch all of these shows, subscribe to Political Climate wherever you get podcasts!Recommended reading: NYT: Climate Change Poses ‘Systemic Threat’ to the Economy, Big Investors Warn Politico: Ottawa seizes Covid-19 opportunity to require climate risk reporting Bloomberg: Fed opens door for oil company loans after lobbying campaign Ceres: Addressing Climate as a Systemic Risk 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 Lyft. Lyft is leading the transition to zero emissions vehicles with a commitment to achieve 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030. Learn more at lyftimpact.com/electric.

Is a green recovery within the oil and gas industry a contradiction in terms? Can these fossil fuel firms meaningfully decarbonize their businesses, while creating new jobs in a struggling economy and volatile energy market? We discuss with a panel of experts, including oil and gas giant BP, in this episode of Political Climate.The oil and gas industry was hit hard by COVID-19, but business was already rocky ahead of the pandemic. Oil and gas companies were under mounting societal pressure to transition away from fossil fuel production and toward clean energy technologies.Now, as countries seek to stabilize their economies and investors look for environmentally friendly growth opportunities, it’s an open question as to what role oil and gas companies will play in building new, low-carbon lines of business. This discussion was originally recorded in late July for a live event hosted by the Atlantic Council and the Center for Houston’s Future, featuring the following speakers: Cindy Yeilding, senior vice president at BP America Gavin Dillingham, clean energy policy program director at Houston Advanced Research Center Alex Dewar, senior director at the Boston Consulting Group’s Center for Energy Impact RJ Johnston, managing director for energy, climate, and resources at the Eurasia group Recommended reading: Atlantic Council: Public sector investment opportunities for a green stimulus in oil and gas GTM: BP Aims to Build 50GW of Renewables by 2030, Cut Fossil Fuel Output by 40% CNBC: BP reports second-quarter loss after major write downs, halves dividend Political Climate: What the Oil Price War Means for Cleantech 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 Lyft. Lyft is leading the transition to zero emissions vehicles with a commitment to achieve 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030. Learn more at lyftimpact.com/electric.

Fossil fuel divestment ain’t what it used to be. In a good way, if you ask advocates.In this episode — the second episode of Political Climate's special DITCHED miniseries — we get further into the weeds on what’s driving the Divest/Invest movement and where it’s going. We cover a lot and connect the dots in an interview with Justin Guay, director of global climate strategy at the Sunrise Project.Prior to joining Sunrise, Justin managed grant-making and strategy development for global coal campaigns at the ClimateWorks Foundation and Packard Foundation. He also ran the Sierra Club’s International Coal Campaign, with a special focus on international finance.In this conversation, we discuss how cutting off the flow of capital into fossil fuels has taken on a variety of different forms, as well as lessons learned from coal divestment that could influence a shift away from oil and gas. Justin addresses the tricky question of whether making fossil fuels harder to finance will actually curb demand for these products. We also talk about what a future without fossil fuels would look like, and how it could affect individual workers and even geopolitical relations. And that’s not all. We launched the DITCHED miniseries to shed light on the divestment movement, and the growing trend of moving money out of fossil fuels and into more sustainable investments. Episodes air Mondays on Political Climate. Subscribe here!Recommended reading: Foreign Affairs: Coronavirus Bailouts Stoke Climate Change IEEFA: Over 100 Global Financial Institutions Are Exiting Coal, With More to Come GTM: Devil in the Details for World’s Largest Coal Investor Reinsurance News: California to conduct first climate-related stress test for re/insurers FT: JPMorgan Chase removes former oil boss from lead director role World Oil: Chesapeake joins more than 200 other bankrupt U.S. shale producers 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 Lyft. Lyft is leading the transition to zero emissions vehicles with a commitment to achieve 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030. Learn more at lyftimpact.com/electric.

The Golden State is in a dark place. Power outages in the midst of a historic heatwave were followed by devastating wildfires. All of which comes on top of persistently high COVID-19 case numbers and a once roaring economy now faced with a $54 billion budget shortfall. But despite these challenges, there’s reason to believe that California can build back in an economically and environmentally sustainable way, says Tom Steyer, former Democratic presidential candidate, billionaire climate activist and co-chair of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s economic recovery task force. We speak to Tom on this episode of Political Climate, the second episode in our "Relief, Rescue, Rebuild" series, supported by Third Way. We take a look at California and how the most populous state in the nation with ambitious climate goals is crafting its economic recovery plan in the midst of the pandemic, extreme heat and brutal wildfires.The "Relief, Rescue, Rebuild" series explores what a green recovery from the COVID-19 economic downturn would look like. What kinds of actions will produce the best results in terms of economic growth, improved health, lower emissions and greater resilience?Recommended reading:  Politico: Steyer emerges as Newsom economic point person — and business groups are concerned CalMatters: California’s clean-air programs take a hit in new funding squeeze E&E News: Biden launches 'climate engagement' council to target voters  Third Way: How Clean Energy Businesses Can Survive and Thrive After COVID-19 “Relief, Rescue, Rebuild” episodes will air monthly on the Political Climate podcast feed. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!