Zero: The Climate Race

In the time since she became Prime Minister of Barbados in 2018, Mia Mottley has become known as a moral force for action on climate change. The Bridgetown Initiative, which she launched at COP26 in 2021, transformed the conversation around climate finance – pushing rich nations to do more to support developing countries struggling with the impact of climate change. But as the US retreats from climate action, her bold vision faces new challenges. At the Sustainable Energy for All Global Forum in Barbados, she tells Akshat Rathi why she remains optimistic, and she spoke about the role of pragmatism in tackling the climate challenge.

Explore further:

• Past episode with Achim Steiner, head of the United Nations Development Program
• Past episode with Avinash Persaud about the Bridgetown Initiative
• Past episode about the Royal Shakespeare Company’s play about the 1997 Kyoto Summit 

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Siobhan Wagner, Kanika Chawla and Jessica Beck. 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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Since taking office in January, President Trump has set in motion a series of sweeping rollbacks on US climate policy. This comes at a time when governments around the world have lagged behind their stated environmental goals.

In this episode of the Big Take, host Sarah Holder is joined by Akshat Rathi, host of the Zero podcast, to talk through the Trump administration’s key climate actions, how they could impact investment in green energy, and what it all means for the global fight to stop the warming of the planet.

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As President Donald Trump heats up a North American trade war, Canada is already facing big challenges within its own government. Next week, the governing Liberal party will announce Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's successor. And later this year, the country will hold a general election. Rick Smith, president of the Canadian Climate Institute, joins Zero to discuss what shape the country's climate ambitions might take under new leadership, how Canada can deal with the Trump challenge, and why he expects meaningful climate policy in Canada to be driven by provinces and municipalities. 

Explore further:

• Past episode about the UK’s climate goals with Chris Stark, Head of UK's Mission for Clean Power 
• Past episode about Canada's carbon pricing
• Past episode with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Siobhan Wagner and Jessica Beck. 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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The world of ESG regulation and investing was already suffering a period of shaky confidence even before President Donald Trump returned to the White House. Now, companies are facing a new period of uncertainty when it comes to Environmental, Social, and Governance policies. Reporter Frances Schwartzkopff tells Akshat Rathi why the EU is rolling back some ESG legislation. And reporter Saijel Kishan explains that many companies today are still keeping their ESG plans in place — but just not talking about it.

Explore further:

• Past episode with activist Lucie Pinson about changing banks’ investing strategies from the inside
• Past episode with California Democratic Representative Ro Khanna about what to expect in Trump’s second term in the White House
• Past episode with Eric Toone of Breakthrough Energy Ventures on the kinds of green startups he believes can be the most profitable

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Aaron Rutkoff, Siobhan Wagner and Jessica Beck. 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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Last October, delegates from around the world met in Cali, Colombia to discuss ways to protect the planet’s biodiversity. After a promising breakthrough in Montreal, Canada three years ago, there were high hopes for that summit. But COP16 closed in shambles, with negotiators leaving before a final agreement could be achieved on key issues. Now, the summit is resuming next week in Rome. Will developed and developing countries be able to reach consensus? Reporter Natasha White, who attended part one in Cali, tells Akshat Rathi what she expects to see when COP16 reconvenes next week in Italy. 

Explore further:

• Past episode about COP30’s final deal
• Past episode with sci fi writer Kim Stanley Robinson about the merits of the COP process 
• Past episode with Stripe’s Nan Ransohoff about the carbon removal credit market
• Bloomberg Green reporting from Natasha White

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Sharon Chen and Jessica Beck. 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.

How do we keep climate action alive in a fracturing world? “Today we live in an age where we actually have the solutions– technologically, economically, financially speaking– but what we are not doing is acting on them,” Achim Steiner, head of the United Nations Development Program tells Akshat Rathi. In a conversation recorded at COP29, Steiner talked about how some countries– including Uruguay, India, Kenya, China, and Bhutan– are moving forward with innovative climate solutions even when international financing isn’t readily available. He also called on the developed world to find better ways to fund sustainable development.

Explore further:

• Past episode with climate finance expert Avinash Persaud about getting money to the places that need it
• Past episode with Achim Steiner about the role of the UN Development Program
• Past episode with science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson about the role of the United Nations 

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Sharon Chen and Jessica Beck. 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.

The UK government has pledged to achieve 95% clean power by 2030. It's an ambitious, tough goal – and even tougher to accomplish while reducing energy prices. Chris Stark, head of the nation’s Mission Control for Clean Power, says he’s “confident” the UK can deliver. But at the same time, the Labour government’s leaders are sending mixed signals on climate: They want to expand airports and may sign off on new oil fields in the North Sea. Stark tells Akshat Rathi why he’s still certain the country can balance its carbon budget, and why it’s important for politicians to show that green investments have economic benefits too. This episode was recorded at the Energy Transition Acceleration Forum curated by The Carbon Trust.

Explore further:

• Past episode with Chris Stark on his role at the Climate Change Committee
• Past episode about what happens to the energy transition as the US leaves the Paris Agreement
• Past episode with Scottish Power CEO Keith Anderson about grid readiness 

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Will Mathis, Sharon Chen, Eamon Farhat, and Jessica Beck. 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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With President Donald Trump back in office, the US is leaving the Paris Agreement for the second time. Unlike in 2017, this withdrawal is set to have more lasting consequences, Akshat Rathi tells producer Mythili Rao. Meanwhile, even as the US gives up its climate leadership, China’s focus on clean energy is growing. A new report from BloombergNEF finds that global investment in the energy transition surpassed $2 trillion for the first time in 2024, with China driving two thirds of year-on-year growth. BNEF Deputy CEO Albert Cheung shares the report’s highlights, and reflects on the role international competition will play in this next phase of reaching net zero.

Explore further:

• Bloomberg Green's story The Global Climate Order Teeters Under Second Assault by Trump
• Bloomberg NEF’s energy transition investment trends 2025 report
• Reporter Zahra Hirji's roundup of the first slew of President Trump's climate moves
• Past episode with Yale historian Paul Sabin about what to expect in President Trump’s second term

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Sharon Chen, Alfred Cang, Ewa Krukowska, John Ainger, Jen Dlouhy, Zahra Hirji, Lou Del Bello, Simone Iglesias, Amanda Hurley and Jessica Beck. 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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Plans are already underway for COP30 to pick up the baton and tackle COP29's unfinished business. The 2025 climate conference is set to take place in Belem, Brazil, a gateway to the Amazon rainforest. And last week, André Corrêa do Lago was named COP30 president. Corrêa do Lago currently serves as Brazil’s Secretary for Climate, Energy and the Environment, and he spoke with Akshat Rathi at COP29 in Baku, in November. He says that although holding a global summit in Belem poses logistical challenges, the symbolism of the location holds “fantastic political power.” 

Explore further:

• Bloomberg Green reporter Simone Iglesias's story on Corrêa do Lago's plans as COP30 President
• Past episode about Azerbaijan’s challenges with hosting COP29 in Baku
• Past episode with Brazil's chief climate negotiator, Liliam Chagas, about the viability of a fossil fuel nonproliferation treaty

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao.  Special thanks to Simone Iglesias, Siobhan Wagner, Ethan Steinberg, Blake Maples, and Jessica Beck. 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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As Donald Trump returns to the White House, Akshat Rathi speaks to Yale historian Paul Sabin about whether recent presidential history might hold some lessons on what to expect from the Trump administration’s approach to energy and environmental policy this term. Looking back at the Carter and Reagan years, Sabin explores how present-day Trump priorities– from dismantling government agencies to ramping up oil and gas production–have historical precedent. And Jonathan Lash, who was an environmental lawyer in the Reagan years, explains why he’s feeling déjà vu in these early days of Trump’s second term.  

Explore further:

• Past episode with sci-fi writer Kim Stanley Robinson about his visions for climate politics in 2025
• Past episode with President Biden’s climate czar Ali Zaidi on the IRA’s legacy
• Past episode with Congressman Ro Khanna on what Trump’s second term may hold

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Sharon Chen, Siobhan Wagner, Jessica Beck, and David Fox. 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.