This episode was originally recorded in July 2025, and updated in December 2025. Happy Holidays from the Zero team. 

When exactly China’s emissions peak will make a big difference to the fate of the planet. That moment has come, according to Lauri Myllyvirta, co-founder of the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. A combination of factors – including a huge deployment of renewables and electrification of transport – has put China’s emissions into a structural decline. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi asks Myllyvirta how confident he is that this really is a peak? What’s behind the decline in emissions? And how will the trade war with the US affect China’s climate and energy policies in the years to come?

Explore further:

• Lauri's latest analysis for Carbon Brief.
• Global Carbon Budget analysis.  
• Analysis: Clean energy just put China’s CO2 emissions into reverse for first time - Carbon Brief
• China Set to Reach Peak Emissions Before 2030, Ex-Official Says - Bloomberg
• China’s Solar Industry Gathers as Gloom Deepens Over Demand — Bloomberg

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to: Jess Beck, Eleanor Harrison-Dengate, Sommer Saadi, Mohsis Andam and Siobhan Wagner. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.

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Despite endless financial difficulties, Argentina has seen a remarkable increase in clean energy over the past decade. It has gone from practically zero to almost 18% of its electricity sourced from renewables. In doing so, Argentina has overcome a challenge faced by many countries that are considered uninvestable by major financial institutions.

Sebastian Kind, former undersecretary at the ministry of energy in Argentina, joins Akshat Rathi on Zero to tell the story of Argentina’s renewables blitz.

Explore further:

• Sebastian’s organisation, RELP: https://www.relp.ngo/
• Sebastian’s TED Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACC5KCPRt_U

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi, Mohsis Andam, Sharon Chen and Laura Millan. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.

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When Canada elected Mark Carney as prime minister, there was hope that the country would pursue climate policies. That hope was crushed after Carney signed a deal with the oil-producing province of Alberta that will roll back or dilute green regulations. 

As a result, Steven Guilbeault, Carney’s culture minister has resigned from cabinet. He was the environment minister under Justin Trudeau and responsible for many of the policies at risk. This week on Zero, Guilbeault tells Akshat Rathi why the Alberta deal was the last straw.

Explore further:

• Carney Defector Says ‘No Way’ Canada Can Meet Climate Goals Now - Bloomberg
• Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney Stands by His Climate Agenda - Bloomberg

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Danielle Bochove, Sommer Saadi, Mohsis Andam, Sharon Chen and Laura Millan. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.

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In his new book Breakneck, tech analyst Dan Wang argues China’s engineering mindset has given it an edge in all sorts of domains, including climate technologies, while America’s lawyerly mindset is holding it back. This week on Zero, Wang tells Akshat Rathi what the world can learn from China and how the US could start to compete on green tech in the future. 

This episode was recorded as part of the SOSV Climate Tech Summit.

Explore further:

• Dan Wang’s book, Breakneck - Penguin
• China's Winning the Energy Exports Race - Bloomberg
• China’s Green Tech Firms Pour Billions Into Overseas Factories - Bloomberg

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi, Mohsis Andam, Sharon Chen and Laura Millan. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Australia has suffered a major climate setback, losing its bid to host next year’s COP summit in Adelaide. At the same time, the Coalition has reignited Australia’s climate wars by abandoning its commitment to net zero emissions by 2050 – a reversal that resets the political debate just as the world pushes for faster decarbonisation.

In this episode, Rebecca Jones asks Bloomberg’s David Stringer to unpack what the failed COP bid means for Australia’s international standing, how the Coalition’s shift could shape the next election and what renewed climate volatility means for investment, energy transition plans and ultimately your power bill.

Find more from the Bloomberg Australia Podcast here: https://www.bloomberg.com/podcasts/series/bloomberg-australia

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Over the last two weeks, tens of thousands of people took to the city of Belem, at the mouth of the Amazon river, for the annual United Nations climate summit: COP30.

Alongside tense negotiations, there were indigenous protests, daily rainstorms and even a fire at the COP venue. But at the end of it all, what did COP30 achieve? Bloomberg Green’s Jennifer Dlouhy joins Akshat Rathi on Zero, to share her takeaways. 

Explore further:

• COP30 in Brazil: A Decade After Paris, Climate Diplomacy Is About Saving Itself - Bloomberg
• COP30 Climate Deal: What to Know About the Agreement in Brazil - Bloomberg

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Our theme music is composed by Wonderly. Special thanks to the COP30 team Amanda Hurley, Simon Casey, John Ainger, Jen Dlouhy, Fabiano Maisonnave, Daniel Carvalho, Vanessa Dezem and Dayanne Sousa. Thanks also to Anna Mazarakis, Sommer Saadi, Mohsis Andam, Laura Millan and Sharon Chen. 

Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.

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Climate solutions are here, they’re just not evenly distributed. So says former US Vice President Al Gore, who remains staunchly optimistic that we can move faster to tackle climate change, even at a time of increasing political resistance in some parts of the world. 

This week on Zero, Gore joins Akshat Rathi to discuss what it means to be a climate realist, the ways to move more finance to the countries that need it and how to tackle the tragedy of the horizon. This is Part 2 of a two-part conversation between Gore and Rathi. Find Part 1 linked below.

Explore further:

• Listen to Part 1 of the conversation
• Al Gore Tells COP30 That the US May Have Reached ‘Peak Trump’

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to TED Countdown House, Sommer Saadi, Mohsis Andam, Sharon Chen and Laura Millan. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.

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Former US Vice President Al Gore is one of the grandees of the climate world and knows just how much power America can wield on the international stage. So with President Trump on the warpath against climate action, how should other nations deal with an increasingly rogue US? 

Gore joins Akshat Rathi on Zero to talk geopolitics, polarization, and energy-hungry artificial intelligence. 

Explore further:

• Listen to part 2 of the conversation.
• Al Gore Says Trump’s Energy Policies Are a ‘Tragedy’ for the US

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to TED Countdown House, Sommer Saadi, Mohsis Andam, Sharon Chen and Laura Millan. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.

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Most oil company CEOs have turned their back on COP30, but not ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods, who this year attended his third COP conference in a row.

This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi asks Woods why Exxon is backing a new carbon accounting idea, what his plan is now that the Inflation Reduction Act has been gutted, and why Exxon wanted the US to stay in the Paris Agreement. 

Explore further:

• Zero’s 2024 interview with Darren Woods
• Sign up to the Bloomberg Green newsletter for daily coverage of COP30.

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Eleanor Harrison Dengate, Siobhan Wagner, Sommer Saadi and Mohsis Andam. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.

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COP30 negotiations have officially started, and began with a fight about what to put on the agenda. While not completely unexpected for these enormous multilateral gatherings, it’s a rockier start than the Brazilian hosts in Belem would have wanted. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi is joined by Rachel Kyte, the UK’s Special Representative for Climate, to talk about how to forge climate consensus in an increasingly polarized world, and who is ready to fill the void left behind by the US. 

Explore further:

• Norway Pledges $3 Billion for Forest Fund, With Conditions
• Find all the latest news from COP30 here: https://www.bloomberg.com/latest/cop-climate-summit

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Anna Mazarakis, Siobhan Wagner, Sommer Saadi and Mohsis Andam. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.