Zero: The Climate Race

Bloomberg

Zero is about the tactics and technologies taking us to a world of zero emissions. Each week Bloomberg’s award-winning reporter Akshat Rathi talks to the people tackling climate change – a venture capitalist hunting for the best cleantech investment, scientists starting companies, politicians who have successfully created climate laws, and CEOs who have completely transformed their businesses. The road to zero emissions has many paths and everyone’s got an opinion about the best route. Listen in.

  • 17 minutes 6 seconds
    Big Take: A Warming Planet vs. Trump

    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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    10 March 2025, 5:00 am
  • 32 minutes 13 seconds
    It’s not just Trump. Canada’s climate policies face a bumpy road post-Trudeau

    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. 

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    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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    6 March 2025, 5:00 am
  • 26 minutes 40 seconds
    Why (almost) everyone hates ESG right now

    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.

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    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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    27 February 2025, 5:00 am
  • 30 minutes 4 seconds
    As COP16 resumes in Rome, biodiversity funding is on the line

    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. 

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    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.

    20 February 2025, 5:00 am
  • 31 minutes 5 seconds
    Green growth is expensive. The global economy can afford it.

    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.

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    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.

    13 February 2025, 5:00 am
  • 28 minutes 9 seconds
    The UK’s £200 billion plan for carbon-free power by 2030

    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.

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    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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    6 February 2025, 5:00 am
  • 22 minutes 39 seconds
    What happens to the energy transition with the US exiting the Paris Agreement?

    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.

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    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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    30 January 2025, 9:00 am
  • 28 minutes
    Best of: COP30 president on how Brazil is looking to supercharge climate action

    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.” 

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    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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    27 January 2025, 6:40 pm
  • 31 minutes 6 seconds
    To understand Trump's climate moves in his second term, look to the Reagan years

    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.  

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    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.

    23 January 2025, 5:00 am
  • 35 minutes 9 seconds
    Will the LA fires unleash a wave of climate migrants?

    As the blazes in Los Angeles continue to burn, those who have lost their homes are contending with the immediate need for shelter– and difficult questions about whether or not to rebuild in the fire zone. Grist reporter Jake Bittle tells Akshat Rathi how California’s housing market and insurance regulations will shape the recovery. And Nomad Century author Gaia Vince says that in this era of climate instability, everyone should think about how prepared they are to become a climate migrant.

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    Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Michelle Ma, Brian Kahn, Sharon Chen, and Sommer Saadi. 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.

    16 January 2025, 5:00 am
  • 47 minutes 6 seconds
    Odd Lots: This is how China builds so much nuclear power

    In the US right now, there is a lot of talk about a so-called "nuclear revival," though it remains to be seen whether that translates into action. Meanwhile, China has built 37 nuclear reactors in the last decade, with even more in the works. So what does it take to build nuclear at scale? On this episode of the Odd Lots podcast, Bloomberg's Joe Weisenthal and Tracy Alloway speak to David Fishman, a China-based energy analyst at The Lantau Group. He explains all the elements of the country's nuclear success, from financing to manufacturing to its domestic power markets. 

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    13 January 2025, 5:01 am
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