Political Climate

The holidays can be difficult. It can be tough to get along in these polarized times. Family conversations on climate change can get heated. We get it.

Sometimes we have those heated conversations on this show. But it’s all in the interest of breaking out of our self-contained opinion bubbles.

So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, on this episode of Political Climate we say thank you to our listeners for engaging with this podcast — even when the feedback comes in the form of a mean Tweet.

Then we cheers to the climate action happening on both sides of the aisle in an extended edition of our “Say Something Nice” segment of the show, where our Democrat and Republican co-hosts have to say something redeeming about the opposing political party.

Gobble. Gobble.

Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, and thanks to invaluable support from producer Victoria Simon.

Subscribe to the Political Climate podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Overcast or any of these other services.

In the shadow of public impeachment hearings, a group of House Democrats is attempting to advance a bold climate action plan that the entire party can rally around. 

On Thursday, House members introduced legislation that would set a nationwide goal of achieving a 100 percent clean energy economy by 2050. The bill was announced with more than 150 co-sponsors.

In this episode of Political Climate, we conduct an exclusive in-depth interview with one of the bill’s authors, Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY). Tonko serves as chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's environment and climate change subcommittee, where he’s been holding hearings for several weeks to flesh out what a 100 percent clean economy would look like. 

"There is a lot going on beyond the impeachment inquiries that have begun, and the people need to know that," Tonko said.

We ask Rep. Tonko about the newly introduced 100% Clean Economy Act of 2019 and get his outlook on how to get the bill to the president's desk. Plus, we get his thoughts on extending clean energy tax credits and what he makes of the Republican stance on climate policy. (Interview segment begins 13:50)

This week’s show opens with a first-hand account of what happened at the California Democratic State Convention, and with takeaways from a lunch with Southern Republican lawmakers touring California for tips on how to grow their local clean energy sectors. 

Recommended reading:

Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, and thanks to invaluable support from producer Victoria Simon.

Subscribe to the Political Climate podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Overcast or any of these other services.

We’re officially less than one year away from the 2020 election.

What do the latest polls tell us about how the presidential candidates are stacking up? What do the 2019 elections tell us about how this could play out? And what does all of this mean for climate and energy policy?

In this episode of Political Climate, we look at Democrat wins in Virginia and Kentucky. We also discuss the results of a New York Times/Siena College poll that offers a mixed bag for Democratic candidates.

Plus, billionaire climate-action champion Michael Bloomberg flirts (once again) with entering the 2020 race. Does his campaign stand a chance?

Finally, we discuss a rift between Democrats and Republicans over climate language included in a defense bill. Are Democrats stalling on this climate measure in hopes for a bigger legislative win?

Recommended reading:

Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, and thanks to invaluable support from producer Victoria Simon.

Subscribe to the Political Climate podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Overcast or any of these other services.

If you’re following political news then you’ve probably heard of The Squad, a group of four newly elected congresswomen advocating for progressive policies like the Green New Deal.

But have you heard of the New Democrat Coalition and its plans for dealing with climate change? In this episode of Political Climate, we hear from a lawmaker who is leading that charge.

Last year, Sean Casten ran one of the most overtly pro-climate action campaigns of the 2018 midterms, in a historically Republican district. In the end, Casten, a biochemical engineer and a clean energy entrepreneur, beat out six-term Republican Rep. Peter Roskam.

Rep. Casten’s race in the Illinois 6th District was identified as a 2018 battleground that could have determined whether or not Democrats took control of the House. And it’s a moderate, suburban district that Democrats will want to keep in 2020.

As you’ll hear in this interview, Rep. Casten is intent on finding solutions to climate change and doesn’t shy away from getting wonky on topics like energy storage and attracting capital to the solar sector. But he also has a critical view of some of the policies his fellow Democrats have put forward.

Recommended reading:

Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, and thanks to invaluable support from producer Victoria Simon.

Subscribe to the Political Climate podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Overcast or any of these other services.

There has been no shortage of climate related news in recent days ⁠— from President Trump’s attack on California’s emissions-trading system to Senator Schumer’s $450 billion electric vehicle proposal, and disastrous wildfires raging in the West to the anniversary of Superstorm Sandy in the East.

It’s a grab bag of climate headlines on this week’s episode of Political Climate.

We begin by revisiting the wildfire crisis in California, as co-host Shane Skelton copes with a power outage and warnings that his community may soon have to evacuate. Governor Gavin Newsom's administration inherited this challenge, but now that he's in power what's his plan for coping with it?

Next we look at the Trump administration's attack on a foundational California climate policy: its cap-and-trade system. Did California overstep by partnering with the province of Quebec? We also look at the latest developments in the clash over California's clean vehicle standards.

Finally, we check in on the new bipartisan climate caucus in the Senate and debate the Republican backlash over the Democrats' climate agenda in the House.

Recommended reading:

Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, and thanks to invaluable support from producer Victoria Simon.

Subscribe to the Political Climate podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Overcast or any of these other services.

Are cites the world’s best hope for combating climate change? Many cities have committed to meeting the Paris Agreement goals. But are those targets translating to action on the ground?

In this episode of Political Climate, we look at San Diego’s quest to achieve 100 percent carbon free electricity by 2035 and what other cities can learn from this experience. 

We recorded this episode at the UCSD School of Global Policy and Strategy, where we were joined by Cody Hooven, the first chief sustainability officer for the City of San Diego.

We covered everything from how the city’s Republican mayor pushed through a bold climate action plan, to the community choice aggregation program San Diego is pursuing, to how cities are coping with the intersection of climate and equity issues. 

Before delving into the role that cities play in the fight against climate change, we touched on a few federal climate related news items. Here’s that conversation, we hope you enjoy.

Recommended reading:

Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, and thanks to invaluable support from producer Victoria Simon.

Subscribe to the Political Climate podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Overcast or any of these other services.

Last week, Pacific Gas & Electric, intentionally cut the power off to 800,000 electricity customers in Northern California — affecting roughly 2 million people — in an attempt to avoid sparking another potentially deadly wildfire.  

Classes were cancelled, businesses closed, food spoiled and people who rely on medical devices panicked. There was no fire, but the blackout has caused tempers to flare and political tensions to rise.  

How did we get to a point where California’s largest utility is resorting to planned power outages to prevent destructive wildfires? And how will politicians manage the increasing risk that wildfires present going forward?

We discuss on this week’s episode of Political Climate with Michael Wara, director of the Climate and Energy Policy Program at Stanford University and a member of California's Commission on Catastrophic Wildfire Cost and Recovery (begins 17:00).

We kick off the show with a look at the fourth Democratic presidential debate, plus Brandon announces his 2020 candidate! As always, we end with our segment: “Say Something Nice.” 

Political Climate is recording a live show at UC San Diego on Monday, October 21st. The event begins at 5pm and it’s free. You just need to sign up here. So if you’re in the San Diego area — come join us!

Recommended reading:

Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, and thanks to invaluable support from producer Victoria Simon.

Subscribe to the Political Climate podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Overcast or any of these other services.

This week, we bring you a special episode from our friends at The Years Project. 

David Gelber, creator of the Emmy Award-winning series “Years of Living Dangerously,” has teamed up with Jeff Nesbit, executive director of Climate Nexus and author of the book This is the Way the Earth Ends, on a new podcast called Climate 2020. 

Each week David and Jeff will discuss the latest developments in the political fight to mitigate the climate crisis in the lead up to the 2020 election. In this episode, they speak with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes about where the Democratic candidates stand on climate and which policy proposals make the most sense. 

They also discuss the recent climate strikes and UN Climate Action Summit, as well as new climate news project from veteran journalist Kyle Pope. Then they hear from voters in a Pennsylvania swing district.  

Political Climate has a shared mission to create a robust climate action dialogue in the lead-up to the 2020 election, so we’re publishing the first episode of Climate 2020 this week on the feed. Next week, we will return to our regularly scheduled programming. 

Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, and thanks to invaluable support from producer Victoria Simon.

Subscribe to the Political Climate podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Overcast or any of these other services.

Millions of young people took to the streets last month to demand governments take bolder action on climate. 

Days later, world leaders assembled at the United Nations for the Secretary General's high-profile Climate Action Summit, where dozens of countries pledged to strengthen their climate goals.

But did any of this resonate with American policymakers? 

In this week’s episode of Political Climate we discuss takeaways from the Climate Strikes and UN climate summit, and how these events have (or haven't) influenced U.S. politics. 

We share excerpts from an exclusive interview with Chilean President Sebastián Piñera, host of the upcoming COP25 climate talks set to take place in Santiago this December. And we analyze how calls to action are being received by U.S. politicians.

Recommended reading:

Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, and thanks to invaluable support from producer Victoria Simon.

Subscribe to the Political Climate podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Overcast or any of these other services.

Federal news tends to steal the limelight, but when it comes to spearheading innovative climate and energy policy states are really where the action is at.

World leaders gathered at the United Nations Climate Action Summit earlier this week, where Secretary General Antonio Guterres called on countries to boost their commitments to fighting the climate crisis with concrete plans rather than platitudes. But while President Trump stopped by the summit on Monday, the U.S. was effectively absent from the high profile event.

In fact, the federal government has been pulling back on its climate commitments. But there is still climate leadership to be found in the United States ⁠— it’s just coming largely from the subnational level.

In this week's episode of Political Climate, we discuss how states are leading the way on climate and clean energy policy in the absence of federal action.

We'll share an interview with New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham on how she’s transitioning her fossil fuel heavy state to 100 percent clean electricity while also cleaning up the extraction industry.

Then we'll bring you a conversation recorded live at the National Association of State Energy Officials annual meeting earlier this month , where we sat down with NASEO’s seasoned legal expert Jeff Genzer to discuss how both red and blue states (including some you might not expect) are implementing innovative carbon reducing policies. 

Recommended reading:

Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute, and thanks to invaluable support from producer Victoria Simon.

Subscribe to the Political Climate podcast via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Overcast or any of these other services.