Political Climate by Political Climate

04.12.2024

Political Climate is back!

After a hiatus, Political Climate is back with more news, analysis, and bipartisan hot takes on the policy and politics shaping climate solutions — in what is sure to be a defining year. Julia Pyper is joined by Emily Domenech and...

12.19.2022

The Most Pivotal Years for Climate Policy

After 160 episodes and five years of interviews, debates and friendly bipartisan banter, Political Climate will be taking a break starting in 2023. This will be the final episode (for now). This podcast was launched to create a forum for respectful,...

12.01.2022

Retooling Old, Polluting Infrastructure for the Clean Economy

The Inflation Reduction Act is the largest investment in clean energy ever made by the federal government. Among the bill’s more than 700 pages is a lesser-known provision that could play a pivotal role in transforming existing dirty energy infrastructure...

11.18.2022

What a Divided Government Means for Climate Policy

The 2022 midterm elections are officially behind us. Democrats overcame historical trends to keep control of the Senate, while Republicans won a majority in the House by a surprisingly narrow margin. Ultimately, there was no red wave. There wasn’t really...

11.03.2022

How Voting Rights and Redistricting Shape Climate Policy

Many Americans are pessimistic about the U.S. election system. From skepticism around mail-in ballots and voting machines to coping with long lines and shuttered polling places, voter confidence has slumped. When it comes to climate, research shows 66% to 80%...

10.27.2022

Clean Energy Gatekeepers You’ve Never Heard Of

Some of the most influential people in energy policy are almost completely unknown to the public. The transition to wind, solar, and other efficient technologies has the potential to make electricity more reliable and affordable for millions of Americans. But...

10.13.2022

What's Shaping the 2022 Midterms?

The midterm elections are less than a month away. Inflation, the economy, abortion access and election integrity are among voters’ top priorities this cycle, but how will they influence decisions on the ballot and, ultimately, the balance of power? And...

09.29.2022

How Clean Energy Can Strengthen Democracies

Clean energy is known to help grow economies and reduce carbon emissions. Can it also help strengthen democracies? That may seem like a tall order for a set of technologies. But when you consider how petro-dictatorships have roiled global markets in...

09.22.2022

Newsflash: Private Sector Reactions to the Inflation Reduction Act

The Inflation Reduction Act has not only been signed into law, President Biden and Democratic leaders hosted a nearly full-day celebratory event at the White House last week to underscore passage of the historic bill. But the hard work of...

09.16.2022

Feeling the Heat, California Amps Up Climate Action

California experienced a record-setting heat wave in early September that brought the state’s electricity grid very close to failure and forced tough choices on customers trying to stay cool while complying with alerts to save energy. Against that backdrop, the state...

08.24.2022

Newsflash: Going Electric? The New Climate Law Can Help

Many of our homes use fossil fuels to keep us warm, heat our water, and cook our food. But as the U.S. moves to decarbonize, there’s a push for homeowners to switch to electric appliances and systems. Now, with the...

08.18.2022

A New Era for US Energy Innovation

The Inflation Reduction Act has been aptly labeled a “climate bill,” but in many ways it’s an “American competitiveness bill.” Building and deploying clean energy technology within the U.S. is a major focus of the $450 billion spending package, with the...

08.11.2022

The Inflation Reduction Act Roller Coaster

Whiplash, anyone? After many months of intense negotiations and more than one derailment, the U.S. Senate recently passed the largest legislative investment in climate action in U.S. history. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 contains an enormous amount of spending for...

07.28.2022

Rebooting America's Nuclear Supply Chain

Have we entered a new era for nuclear power? Energy security needs, financial pressures, and climate concerns are driving renewed interest in nuclear power plants — particularly small modular reactors that are easier and cheaper to build. Amid growing global...

07.20.2022

Newsflash: A Powerful Way to Expand Solar Access

How can you go solar when you can’t put panels on your roof? Don't worry, there is a way! Through shared solar arrays — a model known as community solar. In this Political Climate Newsflash episode, host Julia Pyper and producer...

07.07.2022

What Comes After the Supreme Court's EPA Ruling?

The U.S. Supreme Court wrapped up its term last month with a series of high-profile and controversial decisions — including on the case West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency. In that opinion, a 6-3 majority determined the EPA does not...

06.23.2022

Building the Arsenal of Clean Energy

As nations scramble to wean off of Russian energy, the U.S. has committed to supporting its European allies in their quest for energy security. At the same time, American consumers are confronting the highest rate of inflation in 40 years,...

06.16.2022

Newsflash: What to Do With Clean Energy Waste?

Despite remarkable breakthroughs in clean energy deployment, there has been little progress made on the thorny issue of what to do with solar panels, wind turbines, batteries and other equipment when they reach the end of their useful life. Without proper...

06.09.2022

America's Clean Hydrogen Economy Gets a Jumpstart

The hydrogen debate has evolved over the past two decades, shifting from how hydrogen could be used in the auto industry toward its potential use in hard-to-decarbonize sectors such as trucking, aviation, shipping and energy-intensive heavy industry. Hydrogen projects are being...

05.26.2022

Newsflash: EPA’s ‘Once-in-a-Lifetime’ Opportunity

Some of the most important news doesn’t make big, splashy headlines. That can be because developments unfold slowly or are super-wonky, or simply get overlooked in a busy news cycle. That’s why the Political Climate team is creating a new...

05.19.2022

Is EV Adoption Turning a Corner?

Faced with record-high gas prices, more and more American consumers are looking to dump the pump. In the first three months of 2022, electric vehicle registrations shot up 60 percent, even as the overall car market shrunk. EVs have experienced steady...

05.05.2022

How to Boost American-Made Clean Energy

A major push is underway to onshore energy production and manufacturing in America now that Russia’s attack on Ukraine has highlighted the vulnerabilities of global energy supply chains. But the undertaking is complicated by competing political priorities, as U.S. leaders...

04.21.2022

Rolling Out Historic Infrastructure Funding

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act — a historic $1.2 trillion investment package, passed by Congress on a bipartisan basis — has received little fanfare since President Biden signed it into law last November. The bill contains more than $80...

04.07.2022

Are Paris Climate Goals Still Within Reach?

The Paris Agreement of 2015 set the target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. This week’s release of the latest climate assessment report from the U.N. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change underlines, once again, the need...

03.24.2022

Mineral Security and Implications for the Energy Transition

Minerals and metals have a critical role to play in a low-carbon future — and a potentially controversial one, too. Conversations around extractive industries are complicated by supply chain issues, social impacts and national security concerns. This is a particularly...

03.10.2022

Russia's War Reshapes the Energy Transition

Russia’s brutal war on Ukraine has shone a spotlight on the complex web of energy, climate and geopolitical issues — and has arguably already changed the global energy landscape in profound and lasting ways. The crisis has resurfaced debates on energy...

02.24.2022

How to Elect State Leaders on Climate

State legislatures around the country have a major impact on climate policy, and yet state political races often go unnoticed. Caroline Spears says that needs to change. Caroline created Climate Cabinet Action to help state leaders develop strong platforms and communication...

02.10.2022

Senator Padilla on Climate, Equity & Partisanship

Senator Alex Padilla recently wrapped up his first year in the U.S. Senate as the first Latino to represent the state of California. It's been an eventful year, to put it mildly. On this episode of Political Climate, Sen. Padilla...

01.27.2022

Biden's Climate Record, One Year In

President Joe Biden campaigned for the White House on a number key climate promises. When he officially took office, hopes were high that bold climate action would be at the center of the Biden policy platform. One year later, where...

01.13.2022

Unpacking Newsom’s Bold $22B Climate Plan in the California Budget

California Governor Gavin Newsom proposed spending $22.5 billion on tackling the climate crisis this week, as part of his $286.4 billion budget proposal. The so-called California Blueprint includes funding for everything from electric buses and building retrofits to support services for...

01.06.2022

How States Powered Climate Policy in 2021

2021 was a productive year for climate policy – particularly for U.S. states. Both red and blue states passed ambitious climate bills last year. Several of the new laws address emissions from multiple sectors of the economy, include strong labor...

12.23.2021

Build Back Never? And Tackling Methane Emissions

Is Build Back Better really dead? Could the climate and clean energy provisions live on? Political Climate weighs in on the timely issue of Senator Manchin’s “no” on President Biden’s marquee legislation. Plus, Brandon, Shane and Julia share some 2022...

12.09.2021

Amy Harder on Trends and Challenges in Getting to Net Zero

The clean energy transition is accelerating — but progress isn’t always smooth. The global energy crisis and related price spikes have raised some difficult political questions around the push for decarbonization. At the same time, local opposition to clean energy projects...

11.24.2021

10 Climate Stats You Need for Holiday Season

As we enter the holiday season, our hosts run through 10 powerful stats that will help you navigate the inevitable question from a curious family member: “So, what’s going on with the climate?” As a listener of this podcast, you are...

11.12.2021

COP26: Mobilizing Trillions in Climate Finance

Climate finance has been center stage at COP26. Meeting the globe’s climate goals will require mobilizing trillions of public and private dollars. So what exactly does that look like? During the first week of the UN climate summit, 450 financial institutions...

10.28.2021

Is American Offshore Wind Becoming a Reality?

Where are the offshore wind projects in America? While turbines have become a familiar sight in states across the country, offshore wind is virtually non-existent. Even with thousands of miles of coastline, the U.S. only has around 40 MW of offshore...

10.21.2021

David Roberts, Part 2: Winning Political Messages

Policy debates on Capitol Hill today fit into a bigger political picture. In Part 2 of this conversation with David Roberts, hosts Julia Pyper, Brandon Hurlbut, and Shane Skelton talk about political sentiments, campaign messaging, and things Democrats don’t want...

10.14.2021

David Roberts, Part 1: Glimmers of Climate Optimism

David Roberts is worried. Democrats have control of the House, Senate and the White House and an opportunity to pass bold climate policy and political reform — perhaps their last opportunity for a long time — but are stuck in...

09.30.2021

Big Climate Policies Hang in Limbo

With several major deadlines looming, U.S. lawmakers remain divided on how to move forward with the bipartisan infrastructure bill and Democrats’ larger $3.5 billion spending package — both of which contain critical funding and programs to fight climate change and...

09.16.2021

Senator Heinrich Is Not Compromising on Climate

Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico is no stranger to climate and energy issues. In recent months, he’s sponsored legislation on zero-emission homes, electric transmission, energy storage, a civilian climate corps, and more. Now, these proposals are being considered as...

09.02.2021

Crunch Time for Congress on Climate and Energy

The U.S. political climate has changed a lot in 2021, especially when it comes to climate and energy issues on Capitol Hill. The Political Climate podcast has changed too. Rather than debate macro politics, we’re focused on analyzing concrete proposals,...

08.27.2021

Political Climate Will Be Back!

Political Climate is coming back to the airwaves! Catch new episodes every two weeks — wherever you get podcasts — starting Thursday, September 2nd. Brandon Hurlbut, Shane Skelton and Julia Pyper will be discussing all of the climate and energy issues...

01.15.2021

The Current Political Climate

We always new that 2021 would start with a bang — between the Georgia Senate runoff election, the inauguration of President-Elect Joe Biden, cabinet announcements, coronavirus relief and, of course, earnest discussions on the future of American climate policy. A deadly...

12.31.2020

A Blueprint for American Climate Action and a Modern Clean Energy Economy

The past few years have been a mixed bag for climate. U.S. emissions declined to their lowest level in three decade this year, but these reductions came at an incredible cost as the economy shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic. The...

12.23.2020

Saul Griffith on Mobilizing America to Fight Climate Change and Win the Future

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...

12.14.2020

DITCHED: How Climate Fintech Is Disrupting Traditional Finance

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,”...

12.10.2020

How the Energy Transition Accelerated in a Turbulent Year

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...

12.08.2020

DITCHED: New York's Divest/Invest Commitments

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...

12.03.2020

Neil Chatterjee on FERC’s Role in Enabling the Energy Transition

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...

12.01.2020

DITCHED: Why 2020 Could Be a Tipping Point for Fossil Fuels

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...

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