The Climate Pod

Who can the climate movement turn to for real change? Politicians? Business leaders? International negotiators? The reality, as Professor Dana Fisher argues, is that despite major gains for climate action in recent years, none of our leaders are adequately advancing solutions at the speed and scale neccessary to meet the actual crisis we face. And because we need change to happen much faster, the climate movement needs to build its own power in order to help solve the biggest problems in ever sector of society. So how do we actually do that? We explore that on today's show and discuss Professor Fisher's new book Saving Ourselves - From Climate Shocks to Climate Action. We discuss what the climate movement can learn from international efforts like the Paris Agreement and the Kyoto Protocal, how the successes of the Civil Rights Movement and other social movements can guide climate activists, and how climate activism is changing as we approach major elections in 2024.  Dana R. Fisher is the director of the Center for Environment, Community, and Equity and a professor at the School of International Service at American University. Read Saving Ourselves - From Climate Shocks to Climate Action As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group.

Dr. Matt Bowen discusses the challenges and potential of nuclear energy in decarbonizing the global economy. The podcast explores the financial investment needed for nuclear capacity to double by 2050, as well as international trends in nuclear energy export and advancements in nuclear technology. Additionally, it delves into the comparison between renewable energy cost declines and nuclear technology innovations, and the obstacles in managing spent fuel in the US.

In 2015, representatives from all countries attending COP21 agreed to limit global average temperature rise to well below 2.0 degrees Celsius above pre-Industrial levels and to aim for a 1.5 degree rise. Flash forward less than a decade, and the United Kingdom Meteorological Office is forecasting the average annual temperature for 2024 to likely be more than 1.5 degrees warmer than pre-Industrial levels. As the world continues to break annual, monthly, and daily temperature records, what does it mean that we're now exceeding the 1.5 degree threshold so soon after the Paris Agreement? To help us understand the importance of this forecast, Dr. Nick Dunstone, leader of the Climate Dynamics Group at the Met Office and one of the scientists that conducted the forecast, joins the show to discuss what it means that 2024 may exceed the 1.5 degree threshold, the factors causing the record-breaking temperature, and what people and policymakers should take away from this historic milestone. Dr. Richard Betts, Head of the Climate Impacts Strategic Area at the Met Office, is also on today's episode to discuss his team's recent forecast of CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. As CO2 emissions continue to rise, it's no surprise that temperatures continue to rise as well. Dr. Betts helps explain the factors that contribute to 2024's record increase in CO2 concentration and provide context to this year's forecast. Read The Met's 2024 Temperature Forecast Read The Met's 2024 CO2 Concentration Forecast As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. 

We witness the climate crisis every day. Unfolding on our news feeds, impacting our communities, and undeniably causing unfathomable, inequitable harm across the planet. We lament the lack of urgency in our political leaders and even find ourselves frustrated by complacency in the public's push for climate action. But we truly are in a transformative moment - though how we meet this moment remains uncertain.  The changing politics of our time is the focus of Ajay Singh Chaudhary's new book, The Exhausted of the Earth: Politics In A Burning World. He joins the show to discuss some of the big philosophical and social considerations as the climate crisis continues to change everything.  Ajay Singh Chaudhary is the executive director of the Brooklyn Institute for Social Research and a core faculty member specializing in social and political theory.   Read The Exhausted of the Earth As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. 

Discussing the immediate health benefits of decarbonization, Dr. Drew Shindell highlights the reduction in premature deaths from air pollution in various regions. The podcast explores the economic implications of reducing emissions and the urgency of cutting methane emissions for climate and health benefits. Ongoing research on methane reduction and climate damages is also discussed, emphasizing the positive impacts of transitioning away from fossil fuels.

As global temperatures continue to rise, fossil fuel production continues to increase, forests continue to be cut down, and species are becoming extinct at rates faster than previous mass extinctions, it's hard to find any hope for a sustainable, or even habitable, future. But giving up is not an option. There are billions of people now and in the near future whose lives depend on solving the multitude of human-caused environmental and health crises plaguing the planet today.  The good news is, even though things are not good right now, they've been much worse. And they're better today because we finally know how to power our lives, feed our families, and grow our economies without destroying our environment. Dr. Hannah Ritchie, the Deputy Editor and Lead Researcher at Our World in Data, joins the show today to talk about her new book "Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet". Dr. Ritchie has studied the data and believes that for the first time in human history, there is no longer a tradeoff between human and environmental wellbeing. After researching the climate crisis, air pollution, deforestation, biodiversity loss, world hunger, and plastic pollution, Dr. Ritchie has come away with the understanding that things are bad now, but they're better than they were, and we have the real possibility of making them much better in the future. Read "Not the End of the World" As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group. 

It's been a long year and so much has happened in the fight for climate justice. How has it been covered in major US media outlets? What is needed as the global fight for climate action continues? Two expert guests join the show this week to weigh in on these critical topics as we close out the year. First, Evlondo Cooper, senior writer with the climate and energy program at Media Matters, discusses what he saw in media coverage in 2023, what we can learn about how climate and environmental justice issues are covered, and how media can improve in 2024. Then, Mitzi Jonelle Tan, a full-time climate justice activist based in Metro Manila, Philippines who is also the convenor and international spokesperson of Youth Advocates for Climate Action Philippines (YACAP), the Fridays For Future (FFF) of the Philippines, joins the show. We discuss some of the biggest issues we faced in 2023, where world leaders failed to act, and how to bring about more just outcomes next year.  Read Evlondo Cooper's work at Media Matters Learn more about Mitzi Jonelle Tan's work  As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group.   

As the planet warms, ecosystems are on the move. Biologists and climate scientists have observed the migration of forests toward the poles and even toward higher elevations as human-caused climate change forces species into more hospitable areas. And economists have known for centuries that countries rely on their natural resources for the raw materials needed for producing the goods that help make up their gross domestic product. So what happens to an economy when those natural resources leave? That's exactly what Dr. Bernie Bastien-Olvera and his colleagues set out to understand with their recent paper "Unequal Climate Impacts on Global Values of Natural Capital". While many may take issue with the concept of valuing nature for its economic benefits to humans, such an analysis is important as international leaders work to find ways to compensate countries most impacted by the climate crisis via a Loss and Damage fund and regulations are created that attempt to assign the real cost of carbon dioxide emissions to those that continue to pollute the planet.  Dr. Bastien-Olvera joins the show this week to discuss the findings in this paper and its implications for such regulations. Co-hosts Ty and Brock also discuss the new Netflix film "Leave the World Behind". Read "Unequal Climate Impacts on Global Values of Natural Capital" Follow Dr. Bastien-Olvera on Twitter As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group.   

COP28 has come to a close. Since the final day of the conference, we've seen both a number of headlines noting a historic decision and news of climate injustices at this year's event. So what are the most critical takeaways from COP28? To answer, we brought on three guests that attended the conference to take a deep dive into the biggest issues, the decisions that were made, and what comes next. Nina Lakhani is a Senior Reporter for Guardian US, who spent the last two weeks covering COP28. Nina discusses what the final text of the decision means, what was and wasn't accomplished on addressing mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage, and what this could mean for the COP process going forward. Then, Aderonke Ige and Rachel Rose Jackson join the show to discuss how the influence of the fossil fuel industry shaped COP28, what countries were most responsible for blocking progress, and why COP is still an essential event for activists, campaigners, organizers, and climate justice advocates to show up to and fight. Aderonke Ige is the Associate Director for Corporate Accountability & Public Participation Africa. Rachel Rose Jackson is the Director of Climate Research and Policy at Corporate Accountability. As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group.  Further Reading: Indigenous people and climate justice groups say Cop28 was ‘business as usual’ Cop28 landmark deal agreed to ‘transition away’ from fossil fuels

For the last four years, John Marshall and the team at Potential Energy Coalition have been testing more than 3 billion ads in 20 countries to determine what messages are the most effective at inspiring climate action. In this conversation, we discuss what it really takes to motivate someone to support climate policies, which policies are more popular than others, what principles of climate communication everyone can learn, and why clean energy jobs aren't always appealing.  John Marshall is the founder and CEO of Potential Energy Coalition, a global, nonprofit marketing firm that’s creating demand for climate solutions. The latest report is Later is Too Late - A comprehensive analysis of the messaging that accelerates climate action in the G20 and beyond. As always, follow us @climatepod on Twitter and email us at theclimatepod@gmail.com. Our music is "Gotta Get Up" by The Passion Hifi, check out his music at thepassionhifi.com. Rate, review and subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and more! Subscribe to our YouTube channel! Join our Facebook group.