Climate One

In August, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. The IRA allocates around $370 billion over ten years to invest in renewable energy, make EVs more affordable, address climate inequities, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help mitigate the climate crisis. 

But like any law, the way the money is doled out matters, and the law’s implementation will ultimately determine its success. Some of the IRA money moves through state governments, including some that are outright hostile to the law. Consumers will have access to a suite of rebates and credits designed to electrify their lives, if they can get the necessary support to take advantage of them. How can government agencies, companies, investors and individuals take the law from words on a page to real functioning programs? 

Guests: 

Carla Frisch, Principal Deputy Director, Office of Policy for the U.S. Department of Energy 

Ryan Panchadsaram, Advisor to the Chairman at Kleiner Perkins 

Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean, Berkeley Law

Dan Bowerson, Senior Director, Energy & Environment, Alliance for Automotive Innovation

For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org

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After a 20-year career as a tech reporter for CNET, the New York Times, and the public radio program Marketplace, Molly Wood has come to see the climate crisis as an engineering problem requiring an acceleration of investment. And so, after producing the acclaimed climate podcast “How We Survive” for Marketplace, she recently left that program to begin a new career in venture capital. Now, in conversation with Climate One Host Greg Dalton, Molly Wood explores the limits of media in changing human behavior and the role of capital in addressing the climate crisis, even while considering that capitalism itself may be incompatible with survival. 

Guests:

Molly Wood, Investor, Podcaster

For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org

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In the tech world, there’s a common belief that once a new device hits 5% market penetration, it rapidly goes from a niche to mass adoption. According to Bloomberg, the US has just passed that critical 5% tipping point for new EV purchases. Norway, an oil-rich country, was first to hit that 5% mark in 2013 and today boasts a stunning 86% of new cars being fully electric. Now California is driving the US along a similar road away from gasoline and diesel by passing a new law that will only allow emission free vehicles to be sold by 2035. Even with that California law, how confident can we be that all new American cars will be running clean? What does the 5% tipping point mean for other clean tech adoption? 

Guests:

Albert Cheung, Head of Global Analysis, BloombergNEF

For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org

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Most Americans support climate action, but you wouldn’t know it from Congress or the courts – or from most of the media. People on both the left and the right experience the same devastating floods, the same life-threatening heatwaves and the same catastrophic wildfires. Yet individuals tend to socialize within insulated political tribes, operate in completely different information bubbles and see the problems and solutions through different lenses. How can we learn to bridge ideological divides, develop trust, and find the common ground needed to rebuild respectful civil discourse?

Guests:

Chloe Maxmin, Maine State Senator

Joan Blades, Co-founder, LivingRoomConversations.org

John Gable, Co-founder, AllSides.com

For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org

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Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused horrific damage and casualties, in spite of Ukraine’s remarkable efforts to defend itself. The conflict has disrupted energy markets, grain shipments and is still destabilizing the global economy. All of this has shoved climate further down the list of international priorities, as has happened so many times before. 

Yet within conflict zones, many brave individuals and organizations work every day to stave off the even greater threat of climate catastrophe. We talk with climate activists in Ukraine and the Middle East about the realities of operating environmental organizations in conflict zones, and how to balance immediate needs with working toward a better future.

Guests:

Roman Zinchenko, Co-Founder, Greencubator

Nada Majdalani, Palestine Director, EcoPeace Middle East

For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org

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For those of us who love to travel, climate guilt weighs heavily. Civil aviation accounts for about 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and that number is going up. But while electrifying cars and trucks is already well underway, flying planes on anything other than liquid fuels remains devilishly difficult. Despite that difficulty, there are options. Sustainable aviation fuels, or SAFs, hold the most promise, as they can theoretically drop right into existing engines and infrastructure. Beyond that, a number of startups are tinkering with electric battery-powered aircraft, as well as hydrogen-powered electric planes. But how sustainable are these options, and are they really ready for prime time? 

Guests:

Fred Ghatala, Director of Carbon & Sustainability, Advanced Biofuels Canada 

Stephanie Searle, Fuels Program Director, ICCT

Scott Cary, Project Manager, NREL 

Christina Beckman, Co-creator, Tomorrow’s Air; Vice President, Adventure Travel Trade Association

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For nearly six decades, the US government passed no comprehensive climate legislation. Now that’s changed. The Inflation Reduction Act contains approximately $370 billion of investments in clean energy and climate solutions. But not everyone is happy. To get through the Senate, the bill offered carrots to entrenched fossil fuel interests, along with investments in renewable power. Many in disadvantaged communities, who so often bear the brunt of climate-induced disasters, feel they’ve been left out yet again.

Guests: 

Chelsea Henderson, Director of Editorial Content, RepublicEn

Sam Ricketts, Co-Founder, Evergreen Action 

Ozawa Bineshi Albert, Co-Executive Director, Climate Justice Alliance

Somini Sengupta, International Climate Reporter & Anchor, Climate Forward Newsletter, New York Times

For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org

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Rick Ridgeway estimates he’s spent about five years of his life sleeping in tents, often in the world’s most remote places alongside fellow outdoor adventure luminaries. Ridgeway worked for Patagonia for 15 years and was behind the company’s infamous “Don’t Buy This Jacket” ad campaign, which paradoxically advocated sustainability and increased sales. 

Outdoor companies like Patagonia may push for sustainability, but they largely still present a mostly white, wealthy experience with nature, which can be off-putting for people of color. “You know if you can't see yourself in those spaces then it’s hard to feel invited or welcome in that movement,” says writer and social justice facilitator Amanda Machado.  

What is the role of corporations in conservation? And how can the outdoor industry help make nature more safe, accessible and welcoming for all?

Guests:

Rick Ridgeway, former Vice President of Public Engagement, Patagonia

Amanda Machado, writer and social justice facilitator

For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org

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As the CEO of the California utility giant PG&E, Patti Poppe is charged with navigating the company through massive wildfires, disrupted energy markets, and lingering public distrust of the utility. The company is undergrounding 10,000 miles of electric lines, working with GM and Ford on incorporating power from electric vehicles into homes and the grid, deploying batteries at large power plants, and pushing to change net metering rates that pay homeowners for electricity generated on their roofs. How can utilities like PG&E reinvent themselves and modernize the electric grid to deliver renewable power when their own systems are threatened by catastrophic climate change?

Guests:

Patricia Poppe, CEO, PG&E

Katherine Blunt, Reporter, Wall Street Journal

For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org

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Along with aviation, the construction industry is one of the hardest to decarbonize sectors in the global economy. Cement and steel production together are responsible for about 15% of global CO2 emissions. But look around our modern world and it’s hard to imagine doing without these materials.

Carbon-negative cement has been talked about for years, and innovations in steel production show promise as well, but is either technology ready for primetime? And what about replacing these materials with engineered wood, which could also store carbon for decades?

Guests: 

John Fernández, Professor of Architecture, MIT

Chathurika Gamage, Manager, Climate Aligned Industries, RMI

Radhika Lalit, Chief Strategy Officer, RMI

For complete show notes, visit our website.

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