Zero: The Climate Race

‌

Episodes

‌

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.

Episodes

Oil boss Vicki Hollub is selling 'net-zero oil'. Do you buy it?

Finally made to reckon with the climate crisis, most oil companies are turning to clean-energy technologies. Not Occidental Petroleum. Akshat Rathi talks to Oxy CEO Vicki Hollub to find out why. Under Hollub’s leadership, Oxy became the first US oil company to set a science-based target to reach net zero. The road it has chosen to get there is an atypical one. Rather than reducing oil and gas production, Oxy wants to make net-zero oil by investing heavily in carbon-capture technology. Rathi asks...

Oct 27, 2022•43 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast

Justin Trudeau on his struggle to reduce Canada's emissions

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau pitches the country as a leader on climate and says it is on track to reduce emissions 45% by 2030. The reality is different. Canada has the second highest per-capita CO2 emissions in the G-20, its oil industry is booming, and its emissions remain persistently high. On this week’s episode of Zero, Trudeau joins Zero host Akshat Rathi to discuss when Canada’s emissions will start to fall for real, and how it can achieve its climate pledges when its economy a...

Oct 20, 2022•40 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast

Australia’s new climate politics will reshape its entire economy with Adam Bandt & David Pocock

Climate was the defining issue of this year’s elections in Australia, with independent and green candidates promising climate action sweeping into power. Now the country has a new climate law, enshrining a 43% cut in emissions by 2030. But does it live up to what the science demands? Joining Zero this week are two politicians that were instrumental to passing the bill: Adam Bandt, leader of the Australian Greens, and David Pocock, whose journey from Australia’s rugby captain to politics has made...

Oct 12, 2022•37 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast

Inside the stealth startup making zero-emission steel

Steel is the backbone of modern society, and it’s also responsible for 7% of global greenhouse-gas emissions every year. This summer, Bloomberg Green reporter Akshat Rathi visited a US startup that says they can clean it all up. Operating in a suburban office park in Colorado, Electra is coming out of stealth mode. It claims to have developed a way to get through the most energy-intensive part of steelmaking at temperatures lower than fresh coffee. Akshat dives into the science and story of Elec...

Oct 06, 2022•31 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast

A big climate bill for a new era of climate tech with Bill Gates

What role will the landmark climate bill in the US play in spurring innovation? Is cutting emissions in rich countries enough to solve the climate crisis? Bloomberg Green’s Akshat Rathi talks to Bill Gates about what’s needed to create zero-emission economies, how Europe should face up to its energy crisis, and how he helped persuade Democratic Senator Joe Manchin to sign the Inflation Reduction Act. Read an in-depth story about all the people who influenced the passage of the climate bill. Read...

Sep 29, 2022•36 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast

Why venture capital is crucial to the climate fight with Gabriel Kra

What role does venture capital have in bringing carbon-cutting technologies to reality? Does it prop up bad ideas or free outrageous ones? In this episode, Bloomberg Green’s Akshat Rathi talks to Gabriel Kra of Prelude Ventures about the role venture capital plays in boosting the US cleantech industry and how the new US climate bill is changing the startup landscape. Read more about the battery startup QuantumScape that Kra mentions as a key success story for VC funding. Read a full transcript o...

Sep 22, 2022•34 min•Ep 2•Transcript available on Metacast

How to crisis-proof climate action with Bryony Worthington

The UK’s Climate Change Act was one of the first in the world to be passed in 2008 and is part of the reason the nation became a leader in cutting emissions. But now, as the UK faces an energy shortage, has a new government in power, and a climate-champion King, the Act’s strength and flexibility will be tested. Bloomberg Green reporter Akshat Rathi talks to Baroness Bryony Worthington, one of the authors of the Act, about the unique political moment that led to its passage, how she envisions it...

Sep 15, 2022•36 min•Ep 1•Transcript available on Metacast

Welcome to Zero

Zero explores the tactics and technologies taking us to a world of zero emissions. Each week, Bloomberg Green’s award-winning climate reporter Akshat Rathi talks to the people who are making it happen. Episodes launch September 15. Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. It is produced by Christine Driscoll and Oscar Boyd. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green See omnystudio.com/listen...

Aug 12, 2022•2 min•Transcript available on Metacast