The world has seen two historic elections in the past few weeks. First in Brazil, where President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva came from behind to win a fourth term. Then in the US, where a “blue tsunami” led to the Democratic party winning both the House and Senate. So what does this all mean for climate and energy policy and for negotiations at COP31? Bloomberg’s Jennifer A Dlouhy and Fabiano Maissonave join Akshat Rathi on a special episode of Zero recorded on the sidelines of this year's climate talks in Antalya, Turkey.

Explore further:

• Find all of Bloomberg’s COP coverage: https://www.bloomberg.com/green
• 550-Mile Amazon Highway Shows Climate Stakes of Brazil’s Election
• Global Climate Talks Open With Big Questions and Shrinking Goals

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi and Alyssa McDonald. 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 COP31 climate conference begins in Turkey next week. Can countries make headway in the current geopolitical landscape? This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi is joined by Chris Bowen, Australia's minister for climate change and energy and the president of negotiations at COP31, to ask what breakthroughs he hopes to see at the climate conference, why electrification is so high on the agenda and whether progress can be made in the face of a climate-hostile US. 

Explore further:

• Find all of Bloomberg’s COP coverage: https://www.bloomberg.com/green
• Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/fBdbMY3rBZU

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to David Stringer, Lili Pike, Azman Usmani, Laura Millan, John Ainger, Jen Dlouhy, James Mayger, Sommer Saadi, Meaghan Olsen, and Alyssa McDonald. 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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Europe has been in a state of energy crisis ever since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Prices are high, industry is struggling and the world feels increasingly hostile. So what's the way out? Kristian Ruby is the secretary general of Eurelectric, the trade association of the European electricity industry, and he joins Akshat Rathi on Zero to explain why he sees electrification as the solution Europe needs. 

Explore further:

• The Eurelectric website
• Hackers Hit French Supermarkets in Attack Disabling Fridges — Bloomberg News

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi and Alyssa McDonald. 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 was once a pioneer of rail technology. Now, it has one of the worst electrification rates in the world and relies heavily on diesel for long-distance trains. Battery-electric trains are a solution to change the game. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi speaks with James O’Sullivan, product director at Alstom, one of the world's biggest train companies, about a £1 billion ($1.3 billion) contract for battery-electric trains and how they can decarbonize rail travel. 

Explore further:

• Alstom and TransPennine Express sign €1.2 billion contracts for Britain’s first mainline battery-electric trains -- press release

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi and Alyssa McDonald. 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.

Zero is on a break this week, so we’re bringing you an episode from Bloomberg's Odd Lots podcast.

Hosts Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal speak with Justin Mankin, professor of geography at Dartmouth College and director of the Climate Modelling and Impacts Group, about the enormous impacts El Niño could have on the global economy. This episode was originally recorded in August, but with El Niño already roiling industries and continuing to strengthen, it feels as relevant as ever. If you'd like to read the latest news on El Niño, check out this article from Bloomberg Green’s Eric Roston.

Subscribe to the Odd Lots Newsletter: bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots
Join the conversation: discord.gg/oddlots

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Zero is on a break this week, so we’re bringing you an episode from the Bloomberg Australia podcast. A shipyard in Tasmania has delivered the world’s largest electric ship, a 130-metre ferry powered by more than 250 tons of batteries. Host Rebecca Jones talks to David Stringer, Asia Managing Editor for Bloomberg Green and ESG, who toured the vessel and met veteran shipbuilder Robert Clifford. They explore what Tasmania’s maritime innovation could mean for an industry under pressure to cut emissions.

Vote for Zero in the Signal Podcast Awards:

We’re excited to announce that Zero has been selected as a finalist for the Signal Podcast Awards in the Sustainability & Environment category. Now we need your vote to help us win. Vote for Zero at https://vote.signalaward.com/PublicVoting#/2026/shows/genre/sustainability-environment. Thank you.

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China is a hotbed of innovation, filling nearly half of the world’s new patents every year. Much of that work is in the world of clean tech and a whole ecosystem is growing to help make these breakthroughs commercial. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi is joined by Tonny Xie, chairman of Bluetech Clean Air Alliance, a China-based nonprofit organization that’s helping to grow the next era of climate startups. 

Read more: 

• Bluetech Clean Air Alliance website
• Zero: Inside China’s $7 Trillion Green Finance Market 

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Lili Pike, Sommer Saadi and Alyssa McDonald. 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.

Miatta Fahnbulleh, the UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, discusses the country's energy transition, the push for affordable and secure power and the UK’s role in the global climate action with Bloomberg's Aaron Rutkoff at Bloomberg Green New York 2026.

Watch the video of this conversation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdgTzMIgS9g

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How to make electricity cheap is a question that’s bedeviling policy makers around the world, particularly in the US and Europe. Some countries, however, have figured it out, including Iceland, Norway and China. So how do we get to that point? And what is the role of government versus the role of technology? This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi is joined by Arthur Downing, author of Power and the People, to discuss how to build an electrostate.

Explore further:

• Read Arthur’s Substack: https://energynetworks.substack.com/
• Find a copy of Arthur’s book: https://amzn.eu/d/0dSrRHty 

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi and Alyssa McDonald. 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.

When it comes to green tech, China is a list of superlatives. It produces more solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles and batteries than anywhere else in the world. But is finance the real climate hero? This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi is joined by Ma Jun, chairman of the Hong Kong Green Finance Association and former chief economist of China’s central bank. They discuss how the country became a green-finance superpower and how other nations can speed up their own transitions. 

Explore further:

• The Hong Kong Green Finance Association website 
• China’s $6.8 Trillion Green Finance Boom Seen Advancing Further - Bloomberg

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi and Alyssa McDonald. 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.

Climber Alex Honnold is best known as the star of Free Solo, an Oscar-winning documentary that followed his rope-free ascent of the 3,000-foot (1,000-meter) face of Yosemite’s El Capitan. But he has also established the Honnold Foundation to bring solar power to those who most need it. This week on Zero, Bloomberg’s Akshat Rathi asks Honnold how he gets big things done and why helping communities get clean energy has become his other passion in life.

Explore further:

• Honnold Foundation website
• Alex Honnold's website
• Free Solo trailer

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi and Alyssa McDonald. 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.