Political Climate

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!

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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?

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“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!

A decade ago, hopes that world leaders would rally around meaningful policies to combat climate change were at a low. The 2009 United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen had ended with little to show for it and the U.S. failed to pass a major climate bill the following year.

Then in 2011, the first divestment campaigns struck up on college campuses.

In the climate space, divestment is all about shifting capital out of fossil fuels — the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from human activity worldwide. The concept of divestment isn’t new, but it is gaining momentum. It’s also evolving and expanding into other areas of the financial system.

Meanwhile, there is a separate but related flurry of activity on the invest side of the equation and moving money into socially responsible and environmentally friendly solutions. Divest/Invest.

On this episode of Political Climate — the first in a new miniseries we’re calling DITCHED: fossil fuels, money flows and the greening of finance — host Julia Pyper speaks to Ellen Dorsey, executive director of the Wallace Global Fund, about the origins of the Divest/Invest movement.

The Wallace Global Fund, a private foundation focused on progressive social change, is a founding member of the Divest Invest: Philanthropy, a coalition of more than 170 foundations committed to deploying their investments to address the climate crisis and accelerate the clean energy transition.

Episodes of DITCHED will air Mondays over the next several weeks. Listen and subscribe to Political Climate wherever you get podcasts!

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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!

You may have seen the headlines about universities ditching their fossil fuel investments. Or perhaps you saw the news that BlackRock, one of the world’s largest financial firms, is getting out of coal and putting climate change at the center of its investment strategy.

Pension funds, insurers, family offices and others are also moving their assets out of the fossil fuel industry and re-assessing the risk these resources present to the planet and their bottom line.

These are all pieces of a growing, global divestment movement, which is the focus of a new Political Climate miniseries we’re calling "Ditched: Fossil fuels, money flows and the greening of finance."

Catch "Ditched" episodes every Monday over the next few weeks, wherever you listen to Political Climate.

Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!

Texas, home of the U.S. oil and gas industry, has become a clean energy superpower. The state already leads the nation in wind-power generation and solar is booming. Last year, Texas generated more electricity from renewable energy sources than from coal.

Now, as the coronavirus pandemic delivers a blow to the state’s struggling oil and gas industry, wind and solar production remain on a trajectory for continued record growth.

The rise of renewable energy isn’t the only notable change taking place in Texas, the state’s politics appear to be shifting too. Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden is polling very close to President Trump, who swept the state in 2016. 

How did Texas become a clean energy leader? What are the politics behind this rise? And what are the politics in Texas likely to be more broadly going forward? Could a growing green economy turn this red state blue?

Political Climate speaks to Pat Wood, former head of the Texas Public Utility Commission named by Governor George W. Bush and former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, where he led FERC’s responses to the 2000-2001 California energy crisis and the 2003 Northeastern power blackout. Wood compares the Texas and California energy systems and weighs in on the Golden State's recent blackouts.

Finally, co-hosts Brandon Hurlbut and Shane Skelton make a new election bet.

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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.

Tony Seba gets a lot of things right. The world-renowned thought leader, entrepreneur, educator and author accurately predicted the rapid decline in solar photovoltaic costs and lithium ion batteries. He also predicted the collapse of the coal industry and oil prices.

Now, he’s out with a new book, “Rethinking Humanity,” that predicts the 2020s will be “the most disruptive decade in history” — not just in terms of energy technology, but across every major industry in the world today. This disruption will have major implications for policymaking and geopolitics, and civilization as a whole. 

In this episode, we speak to Tony Seba about the emergence of a new world order he calls "The Age of Freedom" that's based on decentralization and resource creation, rather than extraction. We also discuss the collapse of incumbents and the impact this will have on societies around the world, and what policy leaders can do to get out ahead of these changes.

Seba breaks down why technological innovation in the next 10 years will either see the American Dream realized for virtually everyone on the planet in a cheap and sustainable manner, or trigger societal collapse akin to the fall of empires in the past. He argues that the future of humanity depends on what humans decide to do.

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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.

There’s been a lot of talk recently about a “green recovery” and “building back better.” But what do these concepts really mean? What are the most compelling ideas being put forward by economists, policymakers, grassroots leaders and other experts? What kinds of actions will produce the best results in terms of economic growth, improved health, lower emissions and greater resilience?

These are questions Political Climate will explore in the coming months in the new podcast series “Relief, Rescue, Rebuild,” sponsored by Third Way. Earlier this year, we launched a series called “Path to Zero,” which explored the technologies and policies needed to rapidly drive down carbon emissions. Now, we’re shifting our focus to the path to economic recovery and what that would look like if equitable, low-carbon solutions were baked in.

In this first episode, we speak to Leah Stokes, assistant professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara and author of the new book Short Circuiting Policy. Leah makes the case for a green economic recovery, barriers to implementation, and what she would put in her ideal green stimulus bill. 

In the second half of the show, we turn to a joint interview with Oni Blair, executive director at LinkHouston, and Alex Laska, transportation policy advisor at Third Way. In this discussion, we focus on clean transportation policy and the need to “fix it first” — both with respect to infrastructure and equity issues — before tackling entirely new projects.

“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!

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The “Relief, Rescue, Rebuild” theme song was created by AY Musik. AY is the founder of Battery Tour, a sustainable music festival and global movement actively bringing renewable energy solutions to people in need around the world. You can hear the original version of this song, “Save the Planet,” on AY’s website or via his instagram @AYMusik.

Few people have more experience working in modern Democratic politics than John Podesta. From Senate staffer to White House chief of staff, progressive think tank founder to presidential environmental policy counselor, campaign manager to climate action advocate — Podesta has seen a lot.

In this exclusive, in-depth interview, we get the veteran Democrat’s perspective on the state of climate politics amid the pandemic and intensifying 2020 election. We hear how he would advise Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden to address climate change if elected, including actions a new Biden administration could take within its first 100 days. 

We also discuss why Podesta has beef with Facebook, what he thinks about ending the Senate filibuster, and we get his thoughts on President Trump’s campaign strategy. Plus, Podesta shares his preferred pick for Joe Biden’s running mate.

John Podesta previously served as White House chief of staff to President Bill Clinton. He is the founder of the progressive think tank Center for American Progress and served as counselor to President Barack Obama, where he focused on climate and energy policy. Podesta chaired Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president in 2016. He is currently a member of Climate Power 2020, a campaign created to change the politics of climate.

Recommended reading:

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.

There’s a lot of discussion these days about “building back better” and passing “green economic stimulus.” But what exactly does this entail?

On this bonus episode, we share insights and resources from a group of energy leaders in California. They discuss new ways to think about environmental investments in COVID-19 recovery packages, how the public sector can advance sustainability goals at the local, state, and federal level, and lessons from the 2008 recession that could be adapted to today. 

This discussion was co-hosted by the USC Schwarzenegger Institute and the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation.

Speakers include:

Recommended reading:

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.

Joe Biden has just released the details of his $2 trillion plan to combat climate change, firming up a key pillar of his platform heading into the 2020 election. The proposal is being pitched as a way to boost the American economy, create millions of jobs and “build back better” coming out of today’s profound public health and economic emergencies.

The Biden climate plan comes on the heels of the Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force recommendations on addressing climate change and environmental injustice, as well as House Democrats’ 500-page report on solving the climate crisis.

We break down key elements of these proposals on this episode of Political Climate. Resident Democratic co-host Brandon Hurlbut, co-founder of Boundary Stone Partners and former chief of staff at the US Department of Energy, and Republican co-host Shane Skelton, co-founder of S2C Pacific and former policy advisor to House Speaker Paul Ryan, discuss the details and political implications of Biden’s climate plan.

A key feature of the proposal is to achieve net-zero carbon emissions in the electricity sector by 2035. We also take a look at recent industry-led progress toward that goal. Plus, we discuss the House-passed “Moving Forward Act,” a comprehensive surface transportation bill that aligns closely with the Biden platform.

In theory, there’s a lot in all of these proposals for leaders across the political aisle to love.

Recommended Reading

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.