Climate One

Benji Backer: Nature is Nonpartisan

In a moment when nearly everything feels polarized, Benji Backer is trying to carve out a different path, one where caring about the natural world isn’t a partisan issue. As the founder of Nature Is Nonpartisan, he’s bringing together voices from across the political spectrum who might disagree on climate policy, but still share a desire to preserve public lands, wildlife, and the outdoors.  Can conservation still serve as common ground in a divided country? What does it take to make environmentalism resonate beyond traditional audiences? Is a bipartisan movement possible in today’s political climate? Guests:  Benji Backer, Founder and CEO, Nature is Nonpartisan Skyler Zunk, Founder and CEO, Energy Right  For show notes, transcript, and related links, visit ClimateOne.org/podcasts [https://www.climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts]. Highlights: 00:00 – Intro 03:30 – Benji Backer on his relationship with nature 05:54 – Benji Backer on how Nature is Nonpartisan came to be 09:29 – Benji Backer on making conservation culturally relevant  16:44 – Benji Backer on the hard work of moving policy forward  21:19 – Benji Backer on why political leanings are labeled on staff page 24:16 – Benji Backer on bringing more people into the tent 31:45 – Benji Backer on where there is bipartisan support 34:30 – Benji Backer on where his work has had the most impact  39:23 – Skyler Zunk on his time working for the first Trump administration 44:31 – Skyler Zunk on a farmer who has solar panels on the sheep farm 49:26 – Skyler Zunk on the importance of being able to relate to locals ********** Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/ClimateOne], you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today at patreon.com/ClimateOne [http://patreon.com/ClimateOne].  Ad sales by Multitude [https://multitude.productions/]. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads [http://multitude.productions/ads] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

What the Rise of the Electrostate Means for Petrostates… And Everyone Else

For decades we’ve seen nations exercise geopolitical dominance tied to their production and control of fossil fuels – especially oil. But that leverage may be changing. Last year, China installed nearly twenty times the amount of wind and solar as the United States. In this essay [https://nationalinterest.org/blog/energy-world/petrostates-and-electrostates-in-a-world-divided-by-fossil-fuels-and-clean-energy?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter_axiosgenerate&stream=top] in The National Interest, the authors lay out a global political and economic realignment already underway. Petrostates, like those in OPEC, are increasingly at odds with electrostates like China and many in the EU. This isn’t to say that electrostates are not without resource challenges – they’re seriously dependent on mineral supply chains – but the challenges are different, as are the opportunities. When 70% of the world’s population lives in fossil-fuel-importing countries, how are these diverging resource paths shaping the global balances of power?  Guests: Tatiana Mitrova, Global Fellow, Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University Vijay Vaitheeswaran, Global Energy & Climate Innovation Editor, The Economist Li Shuo, Director, China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute For show notes, related links, and episode transcript, visit https://climateone.org/podcasts Highlights: 00:00 – Intro 04:30 – Tatiana Mitrova on petrostates and the idea of electrostates 10:00 – Electrostates are already taking market share from petrostates 13:30 – How Mitrova sees balance of power shifting as world electrifies 17:15 – Vijay Vaitheeswaran on the concept of an electrostate 26:00 – How cheap electricity could allow developing nations to skip over fossil fuels 34:00 – Vaitheeswaran on how U.S. should take on industrial policy in this moment 38:00 – Li Shuo: China’s latest 5-year plan suggests it will double down on clean tech sector 41:00 – China installed nearly twenty times wind and solar as U.S. last year 49:30 – China is on track to become firs ********** Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/ClimateOne], you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today at patreon.com/ClimateOne [http://patreon.com/ClimateOne].  Ad sales by Multitude [https://multitude.productions/]. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads [http://multitude.productions/ads] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Hawaii Gov. Josh Green Says Aloha to Decarbonization

More than perhaps any other state, Hawaii has major incentives to decarbonize. Imported oil accounts for about 90% of Hawaii's total energy consumption, and electricity prices are more than three times the national average. So it may not be surprising that Hawaii was the first state in the nation to set a 100% renewable energy goal by 2045. But that’s a hard goal to achieve, especially given the realities of geographic isolation and the costs of importing fuel and materials.  Hawaii Governor Josh Green is bullish about the island state’s decarbonization and wants all options on the table. That includes making liquified natural gas part of the mix, along with solar, wind, and geothermal. His administration passed the first “green fee” which imposes a tax on Hawaii visitors and is expected to generate $100 million for climate resilience projects. What can we learn from Hawaii’s decarbonization process?  Guests:  Josh Green, Governor of Hawaii Rylee Brooke Kamahele, Youth Plaintiff, Navahine v. Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation Tessa M. Hill, Oceanographer and Professor, Earth and Planetary Sciences, UC Davis For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org [https://www.climateone.org/watch-and-listen/podcasts]. Highlights: 00:00 Intro 03:08 Josh Green on achieving Hawaii’s climate goals 07:11 Josh Green on offshore wind 13:17 Josh Green on the effect of the wildfires and the recovery 18:09 Josh Green on decarbonizing 20:22 Josh Green on the health effects of the climate crisis 23:30 Rylee Brooke Kamahele on growing up 24:26 Rylee Brooke Kamahele on community action 29:06 Rylee Brooke Kamahele on the outcome of the lawsuit 34:27 Rylee Brooke Kamahele on the responsibility of older generations 37:55 Tessa M. Hill on rapidly changing oceans 41:43 Tessa M. Hill on the impact to common fish 44:44 Tessa M. Hill on the winners and losers of the changing oceans ********** Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon [https://www.patreon.com/ClimateOne], you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today at patreon.com/ClimateOne [http://patreon.com/ClimateOne].  Ad sales by Multitude [https://multitude.productions/]. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads [http://multitude.productions/ads] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Trash Talk: Fresh Takes on Food Waste

Food loss and waste account for up to 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions and cost $1 trillion annually, according to the United Nations [https://unfccc.int/news/food-loss-and-waste-account-for-8-10-of-annual-global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-cost-usd-1-trillion]. About a third of all food grown on the planet gets wasted, rather than eaten. In developing countries, waste usually occurs between the field and the store, due to poor infrastructure, lack of refrigeration, and broken supply chains. In rich countries, most waste happens after food reaches the store, where consumers don’t buy imperfect food – or buy too much and toss what they don’t get around to consuming. How much pollution, deforestation and starvation could be reduced if we got this problem under control? And how can new tech, including AI, be brought to bear on the problem? Guests: Matt Rogers, Co-Founder and CEO, Mill Industries; Co-Founder, Nest Page Schult, CEO, Topanga  Kayla Abe, Co-Owner, Shuggie’s David Murphy, Co-Owner and Chef, Shuggie’s For show notes, related links, and episode transcript, visit climateone.org/podcasts. Highlights: 00:00 – Intro 04:30 – Matt Rogers on surviving Hurricane Andrews and his climate journey 06:30 – On the climate impact of HVAC and the creation of Nest thermostat 08:30 – On creating Mill food recycler and addressing food waste 13:45 – Partnership with Whole Food to recycle food waste and feed it back to chickens 17:00 – On AI as a tool for climate solutions 19:30 – Clean tech in Silicon Valley  23:00 – Matt Rogers shares his views on advocacy, philanthropy and impact investing 30:00 – Shuggie’s restaurant sources ingredients that would otherwise be wasted 37:00 – David Murphy makes the case for sustainable food and upcycled ingredients 40:00 – Page Schult on global impact of food waste 44:00 – Topanga’s work providing reusable food containers for college campuses 52:30 – Thinking about it circularity as systems change 54:00 – Role of AI in reducing food waste in commercial kitchens 58:00 – Climate One More Thing ********** Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on ⁠⁠Patreon⁠⁠ [https://www.patreon.com/ClimateOne], you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today at ⁠⁠patreon.com/ClimateOne⁠⁠ [http://patreon.com/ClimateOne].  Ad sales by ⁠⁠Multitude⁠⁠ [https://multitude.productions/]. Contact them for ad inquiries at ⁠⁠multitude.productions/ads⁠⁠ [http://multitude.productions/ads] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

Cities Leading the Way

While the federal government has all but abandoned trying to address the climate crisis, cities around the world are stepping up. C40 is an international network of 97 cities representing 920 million people and 23% of the world’s economy. Almost three out of four of these cities have already peaked their emissions. Here in the U.S., Climate Mayors is a bipartisan network of nearly 350 municipal leaders, representing 48 states and more than 70 million Americans. How are cities innovating on reducing emissions, adapting to increasing climate risks, and — perhaps most importantly — sharing their knowledge? Episode Guests:  Eric Garcetti, C40 Ambassador for Global Climate Diplomacy; Former Mayor, Los Angeles  Kate Gallego, Mayor of Phoenix; Former Chair, Climate Mayors  For show notes, related links, and episode transcript, visit https://climateone.org/podcasts Highlights: 00:00 Intro 2:46 Eric Garcetti on his time as mayor of LA 9:45 Eric Garcetti on where cities are moving the needle 17:47 Eric Garcetti on cities on the world stage 22:11 Eric Garcetti on the work of C40 26:20 Eric Garcetti on knowledge sharing 32:17 Eric Garcetti on co-leading 40:11 Kate Gallego on dealing with the heat in Phoenix 43:46 Kate Gallego on affordability 48:10 Kate Gallego on regulating data centers 52:35 Kate Gallego on working with other mayors ********** Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on ⁠Patreon⁠ [https://www.patreon.com/ClimateOne], you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today at ⁠patreon.com/ClimateOne⁠ [http://patreon.com/ClimateOne].  Ad sales by ⁠Multitude⁠ [https://multitude.productions/]. Contact them for ad inquiries at ⁠multitude.productions/ads⁠ [http://multitude.productions/ads] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]