Zero: The Climate Race

Just three companies control the lion’s share of the $120 billion global market for industrial gases: Linde, Air Liquide & Air Products. And because the production of these gases is so energy intensive, each company consumes as much electricity as some small to medium-sized European countries. This week on Zero, Sanjiv Lamba, CEO of Linde, tells Akshat Rathi how he sees electricity demand changing, what Linde is doing to transition to clean sources, and whether low-carbon hydrogen can ever become big business.

Explore further:

• Read Akshat’s article on Linde and other hidden electricity giants.
• Expect to Keep Paying Record Prices for Coffee. This Is Why

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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From trade wars to skyrocketing tech valuations, governments and investors seem to be making economically irrational moves. As the world heads into another global climate summit, there is a need for fresh thinking to bring countries back to work on the urgent challenge of climate change. This week on Zero, political economist Abby Innes tells Akshat Rathi what governments are getting wrong about addressing the problems we face and how to reimagine economics for the climate era.

Explore further:

• Abby’s book, Late Soviet Britain 

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Eleanor Harrison Dengate, Sommer Saadi, Mohsis Andam, Laura Millan and Sharn Chen. 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.

There's always big ideas in the climate technology space, but it can be hard to get your head around all the different types of technologies making waves. What’s real and what’s low-carbon smoke and mirrors? This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi teams up with venture capitalist and Catalyst podcast host Shayle Kann to talk about which climate technologies are working, and which are going nowhere.

Explore further:

• Listen to more episodes of the Catalyst podcast, hosted by Shayle Kann: https://www.latitudemedia.com/podcasts/catalyst/

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.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

There’s a battle underway to win the energy export market between the world’s two largest economies: The US wants the world to buy its fossil fuels, while China wants to sell the world its clean energy technologies. For now, there is a clear winner: China. How did that happen? Akshat Rathi and Oscar Boyd discuss.

More:

• Read Akshat’s newsletter
• Read Ember’s report on electricity
• Subscribe to the Bloomberg Green newsletter

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to 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.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The UK used to be a shining example of how to act on climate change. It created one of the world’s first climate laws in 2008, which bound the government to reduce emissions on tight deadlines. That law used to have cross-party support, but that’s no longer the case with politicians trying to make climate a wedge issue.

This week on Zero, Greg Jackson, chief executive officer of the UK’s largest energy retailer, Octopus Energy, joins Akshat Rathi to discuss his plan to bring down bills and keep the public on the green side.

Explore further:

• Octopus Energy Plans to Spin Off Technology Arm Kraken - Bloomberg 
• Octopus Energy Opens Door for Chinese Wind Turbines in UK- Bloomberg

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Eleanor Harrison Dengate, Sommer Saadi and 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.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AI needs a lot of energy — and a new Bloomberg investigation has found that those soaring costs are being passed on to consumers who live near data centers.

On today’s Big Take podcast, host David Gura talks to Bloomberg reporters Josh Saul and Leonardo Nicoletti about the AI boom’s impact on power bills, how utility companies are handling surging demand and the implications for communities with centers in their backyards.

Read more: AI Data Centers Are Sending Power Bills Soaring

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Rising power demand from data centers for artificial intelligence has led to a shortage of the gas turbines needed to generate electricity. This shortage might not seem the most obvious climate story, but it's having impacts across the entire energy sector. This week on Zero, Bloomberg’s Stephen Stapczynski joins Akshat Rathi to look at what’s causing the bottleneck in gas turbines, if the shortage will make companies look to renewables or coal, and whether natural gas is really a “bridge” fuel.

Explore more:

• Past episodes of the Bottlenecks Series:
  • The 100-Ton Rotating Mass That Can Stop Blackouts
  • The Green Transition Needs More Workers
  • There Aren’t Enough Cables to Meet Growing Electricity Demand
  • The One Device Throttling the World’s Electrified Future

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.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Something remarkable is unfolding in developing countries. From Nepal to Costa Rica, more people are buying electric cars than fossil-fuel vehicles, as battery prices plummet and cheap home-grown EVs come to market. And in China, more electric cars will be sold in the last quarter of this year than the total number of all cars sold in the US. Colin McKerracher, head of transport at BNEF, joins Akshat Rathi on Zero to unpack these trends, and what they mean for global oil demand.

Explore more:

• BNEF’s EV Outlook 
• Articles by Colin McKerracher 
• The Whole World Is Switching to EVs Faster Than You
• Nigeria's Solar Gamble Forces Millions in Lagos to Unplug From Dirty Generators - Bloomberg

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.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Monira Al Qadiri says she is pre-empting the end of oil and building monuments to it. As one of the most important contemporary artists of the Middle East, her work — spanning sculptures, films and performances — throws new light on humanity’s deep interdependent relationship with fossil fuels. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi asks Al Qadiri how art can help make sense of the current moment.

Explore further:

• Monira’s website: https://www.moniraalqadiri.com/
• Her exhibit in Berlin: https://berlinischegalerie.de/en/exhibitions/current/monira-al-qadiri/

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.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You’ve heard about Formula 1, right? But do you know about Formula E, its plucky all-electric sibling? This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi talks with Sylvain Filippi, co-founder and chief technology officer of Envision Racing, about why the world needs an electric racing series, how Formula E is improving the experience for consumer electric cars, and why he’s not too concerned about the US backlash against EVs.

Explore further:

• Envision Racing 
• Lewis Hamilton’s Next Race Car Should Be Electric
• EV Racing Struggles as Climate Action Falls on Priority List

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.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.