We know what needs to be done to ward off the worst impacts of global climate disruption: rein in heat-trapping pollution, reverse deforestation, build resilient systems. But how we do those things is the trick. Every second counts. The sooner we act, the more lives saved, the more jobs protected and the more futures secured.
So how do we orchestrate the vast change we need in a short amount of time? World Resources Institute President Ani Dasgupta gives his honest take on the lack of progress since the Paris Agreement was signed 10 years ago — and maps a path forward.
Guests:
Ani Dasgupta, President and CEO, World Resources Institute (WRI); Author, “The New Global Possible”
Jonathan Foley, Executive Director, Project Drawdown
Nikhil Swaminathan, CEO, Grist
Highlights:
00:00 – Intro
01:46 – Importance of the Paris Accords in terms of multilateralism
04:00 – Backlash to climate action
07:00 – The market is producing the technology we need, but we also need to deploy them at scale
12:00 – How do we get companies producing the bulk of emissions to change course?
16:00 – Addressing climate disruption is a societal choice about what we value
20:40 – Why COP is essential and also disappointing and maddening
23:30 – Unpacking climate finance and why it’s so important
27:30 – Addressing justice isn’t a choice but an imperative when it comes to climate
31:00 – How to keep focused and remain optimistic in this current moment
37:00 – We have everything we need right now to solve climate change
41:00 – Project Drawdown’s analysis of what climate tools do and don’t work
45:00 – So many missed climate opportunities
52:00 – Tradeoffs of tools like batteries
58:00 – Climate One More Thing
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1:02:37
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1:02:37
De-Hyping Hydrogen
For decades, hydrogen has held promise as a revolutionary tool in the clean energy transition. It can be a fuel and energy carrier, and when made with renewable energy and burned in a fuel cell, its only byproduct is water. President Biden’s administration invested billions into proposed clean hydrogen hubs. But as we’ve seen dramatic technological innovations and drastic price drops for solar and wind, lithium-ion batteries, and heat pumps — hydrogen may have gone from tomorrow’s technology to yesterday’s solution.
Experts say the best uses of green hydrogen come down to decarbonizing certain industries, like steel manufacturing and fertilizer. So where does hydrogen fit in the modern energy mix?
For show notes and related links, visit our website.
Episode Guests:
Eleanor Smith, Community Organizer, Tó Nizhóní Ání
Joe Romm, Senior Research Fellow, University of Pennsylvania, Penn Center for Science, Sustainability, and the Media; Author, “The Hype About Hydrogen”
Hilary Lewis, Steel Director, Industrious Labs
Highlights:
00:00 - Intro
04:04 - Eleanor Smith on learning about the Tallgrass Energy project
12:21 - Eleanor Smith on how the new projects fits in historically
16:45 - Eleanor Smith on opposition to the project
22:06 - Joe Romm on the uses of hydrogen
28:50 - Joe Romm on why there is still investments made in hydrogen technology
35:15 - Joe Romm on using renewables directly vs for hydrogen production
41:00 - Joe Romm on what people need to understand about hydrogen
46:32 - Hilary Lewis on how steel is made
47:42 - Hilary Lewis on the health impacts of the steel industry
51:59 - Hilary Lewis on current green steel projects in the US
56:40 - Hilary Lewis on projects that received federal funding
***
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1:05:29
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1:05:29
Remembering Dr. Jane Goodall
Legendary primatologist Jane Goodall died on October 1. In a 2024 conversation on the Climate One stage with Co-Host Greg Dalton, the indefatigable Goodall was focused on three intertwined crises: biodiversity loss, climate change and environmental inequity. Her message from that night still resonates: Vote like your children’s lives depend on it — because they do.
Guests:
Jane Goodall, Ethologist, conservationist
For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org.
Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, 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.
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23:07
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23:07
Taylor Brorby and Suzie Hicks Tell The Stories We Don’t Always Hear
Finding one's voice in climate action can come in many forms. Author and activist Taylor Brorby grew up in Center, North Dakota as a fourth-generation member of a fossil-fuel family. He struggled to find his place as a young gay kid who loved art, music, nature and poetry. Over time, he turned that tension into writing that challenges the fossil fuel industry, makes space for others stuck in a broken system, and inspires a more just future.
Suzie Hicks felt the weight of climate concerns but after college, didn’t know what to do with those feelings. After doing an internship at the New England Aquarium, they realized they could merge their love of performing with a career focused on climate. With the help of a sunflower puppet named Sprout, Suzie created a children’s show that teaches kids about climate change through a frame of possibility and hope, not doom and gloom.
Guests:
Taylor Brorby, Activist, Author, “Boys and Oil: Growing Up Gay in a Fractured Land”
Suzie Hicks, Climate Media Maker and Educator
– Intro
For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org.
***
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57:46
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57:46
Scientists Who Won’t Be Silenced
Within the federal government, science — especially climate science — has taken a beating. The Trump administration has moved from climate denial to climate erasure, firing thousands of career scientists across departments, rolling back established landmark protections, and undermining its own authority to regulate pollutants like carbon emissions. Even at the UN General Assembly, Trump referred to green energy as a “scam” and said climate science came from “stupid people.”
But climate scientists aren’t all taking it lying down. From former EPA researchers to independent academics, many are heroically maintaining open-access databases and continuing fundamental research like the National Climate Assessment without the administration’s blessing.
Guests:
Brandon Jones, President, American Geophysical Union
Wes Ingwersen, Lead, Cornerstone Sustainability Data Initiative
Rachel Cleetus, Senior Policy Director, Climate and Energy, Union of Concerned Scientists
For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org.
Episode Highlights:
00:00 - Introduction
3:23 - Brandon Jones on how the Trump administration has treated science
6:35 - Brandon Jones on what’s next for scientists who were laid off
10:58 - Brandon Jones on continuing to collect climate data
13:18 - Wes Ingwersen on the creation of USEEIO
22:24 - Wes Ingwersen on how EPA changed when Lee Zeldin took over
31:24 - Wes Ingwersen on when EPA employees decided to speak out
37:31 - Wes Ingwersen on taking his work to Stanford
42:28 - Rachel Cleetus on DOE climate report
51:27 - Rachel Cleetus on agency staff cuts
60:40 - Rachel Cleetus on how the scientific community is responding
***
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We’re living through a climate emergency; addressing this crisis begins by talking about it. Co-Hosts Greg Dalton, Ariana Brocious and Kousha Navidar bring you empowering conversations that connect all aspects of the challenge — the scary and the exciting, the individual and the systemic. Join us.
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