Political Climate

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, more Americans worked in clean energy than there were school teachers in the country. The once booming sector is now experiencing hundreds of thousands of job losses as a result of the coronavirus recession.  What will it take to not only get these jobs back but to grow the clean energy sector beyond where it was at the start of the year, putting the industry at the center of a U.S. economic recovery? In this episode of Political Climate, we speak to Ellen Hughes-Cromwick, former chief economist for the Obama Administration's Department of Commerce, as well as clean energy business leaders from Florida, Georgia and Pennsylvania to learn how the clean energy sector has been affected by COVID-19 and what it will take to reboot the industry. This conversation comes as bipartisan clean energy legislation is advancing in both the House and Senate. But prospects for a final bill remain uncertain as Republicans focus on nominating a new Supreme Court Justice following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. This is the third episode in our "Relief, Rescue, Rebuild" series supported by the think tank Third Way. The series theme song was created by @AYMusik. Recommended reading: Third Way: How Clean Energy Businesses Can Survive and Thrive After COVID-19PV Tech: Lacklustre job growth leaves 14% of US’ clean energy workforce unemployedE&E News: Clean energy push caught in congressional chaosThe Hill: House passes sweeping clean energy billVerge: Democrats unveil new agenda for economic recovery and climate actionA Green Economic Recovery: Global Trends and Lessons for the United States “Relief, Rescue, Rebuild” episodes will monthly on the Political Climate podcast feed. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts! Have a moment? Please leave us a review! You can also chat with us on Twitter @Poli_Climate.

“Climate change poses a major risk to the stability of the U.S. financial system and to its ability to sustain the American economy.” That’s the top line takeaway from a landmark new report from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. While the core finding isn’t entirely new, the CFTC report carries weight. “Managing Climate Risk in the U.S. Financial System,” commissioned by a panel of President Trump appointed federal regulators, is the first comprehensive federal government study to focus on the risks climate change presents to Wall Street. Divya Mankikar is an investment manager at the California Public Employees' Retirement System, or CalPERS, where she works to shed light on integrating environmental, social and governance factors across the roughly 400 billion fund — the largest public pension fund in the U.S. She’s also a member of the subcommittee that authored the recently released CFTC climate risk report. In this episode, Divya outlines the report’s main findings and details how CalPERS and other large investors are acting on a growing body of climate risk information. This is the fifth episode in the Political Climate miniseries called DITCHED: fossil fuels, money flows and the greening of finance. Listen and subscribe to Political Climate wherever you get podcasts! Recommended reading:CFTC: Managing Climate Risk in the U.S. Financial SystemResponsible Investor: CalPERS says it plans to align with TCFD amid new California climate legislationGuardian: Investors that manage US $47tn demand world’s biggest polluters back plan for net-zero emissionsGuardian: New Zealand minister calls for finance sector to disclose climate crisis risks in world first Catch all DITCHED episodes in addition to our regular Thursday shows! Listen and subscribe to Political Climate on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts! This episode is brought to you with support from Lyft. Lyft is leading the transition to zero emissions vehicles with a commitment to achieve 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030. Learn more at lyftimpact.com/electric.

The youth climate movement has gained enormous momentum over the past few years. While progressive groups tend to be the most well known, conservative youth activists are also expanding their presence in American politics.  The Republican Party stands to lose an entire generation of voters if it doesn’t embrace a more environmentally friendly agenda. We speak to Benji Backer, founder and president of the American Conservation Coalition, about what he thinks Republicans are getting right and wrong on climate heading into the 2020 election.  Benji and a group of college-aged friends created The American Conservation Coalition in 2017 with a dream of making environmental issues nonpartisan again. The Republican-leaning group says it’s dedicated to mobilizing young people around climate action and environmental protection through common-sense, market-based and limited-government ideals — even if that means criticizing members of their own party.  We talk to Benji about what young conservative climate activists want and debate Republicans’ existing track record on climate action. Recommended reading:Electric Election 2020 Road TripConservative climate group runs pro-environment ads on Fox NewsWaPo: In rare bipartisan climate agreement, senators forge plan to slash use of potent greenhouse gasThe Atlantic: How a Plan to Save the Power System Disappeared Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts! This episode is brought to you with support from Lyft. Lyft is leading the transition to zero emissions vehicles with a commitment to achieve 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030. Learn more at lyftimpact.com/electric.

In the face of a mounting climate crisis, financial institutions are reevaluating their relationships with coal, gas and oil. But while the divestment movement is picking up speed, it isn’t on a one way street.  There is still lots of money flowing into fossil fuels through various public and private channels. At the same time, fossil fuel interests are spending heavily to influence policy that protects their assets and future growth opportunities.  In this episode, we speak to Leah Stokes, assistant professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara about her research on how fossil fuel companies and electric utilities are slowing the shift away from polluting resources. This is the fourth episode in the Political Climate miniseries called DITCHED: fossil fuels, money flows and the greening of finance. Listen and subscribe to Political Climate wherever you get podcasts! Recommended reading:Guardian: How the oil industry has spent billions to control the climate change conversationSierra: Bailout: Billions of Dollars of Federal COVID-19 Relief Money Flow to the Oil IndustryE&E: Big Oil, meet Big Green  Bloomberg: Utilities Are Slowing Down the Clean Energy TransitionS&P: Ohio bribery scandal increases scrutiny of how utilities use 'dark money' groupsEnergy and Policy Institute: Paying for Utility PoliticsShort Circuiting Policy Catch all DITCHED episodes in addition to our regular Thursday shows! Listen and subscribe to Political Climate on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts! This episode is brought to you with support from Lyft. Lyft is leading the transition to zero emissions vehicles with a commitment to achieve 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030. Learn more at lyftimpact.com/electric.

Financial regulators have a key role to play in addressing the systemic risks presented by climate change. Arguably, it’s part of their mandate to safeguard financial markets and the real economy from disruptive shocks. Like the COVID-19 pandemic, change change has the potential to wreak havoc on asset valuations and economic stability, as well as the lives and livelihoods of millions of people — particularly if these events are poorly managed.  We discuss the steps regulators can take to protect against potentially devastating climate-related impacts in this episode of DITCHED, a Political Climate miniseries on fossil fuels, money flows and the greening of finance. What exactly do those regulatory actions look like? Who is responsible for taking them? What is the upshot for fossil fuels use? And how does this play politically? Steven Rothstein, managing director of the Ceres Accelerator for Sustainable Capital Markets, explains. Episodes of DITCHED air on Mondays. To catch all of these shows, subscribe to Political Climate wherever you get podcasts! Recommended reading:NYT: Climate Change Poses ‘Systemic Threat’ to the Economy, Big Investors WarnPolitico: Ottawa seizes Covid-19 opportunity to require climate risk reportingBloomberg: Fed opens door for oil company loans after lobbying campaignCeres: Addressing Climate as a Systemic Risk Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts! This episode is brought to you with support from Lyft. Lyft is leading the transition to zero emissions vehicles with a commitment to achieve 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030. Learn more at lyftimpact.com/electric.

Is a green recovery within the oil and gas industry a contradiction in terms? Can these fossil fuel firms meaningfully decarbonize their businesses, while creating new jobs in a struggling economy and volatile energy market? We discuss with a panel of experts, including oil and gas giant BP, in this episode of Political Climate. The oil and gas industry was hit hard by COVID-19, but business was already rocky ahead of the pandemic. Oil and gas companies were under mounting societal pressure to transition away from fossil fuel production and toward clean energy technologies. Now, as countries seek to stabilize their economies and investors look for environmentally friendly growth opportunities, it’s an open question as to what role oil and gas companies will play in building new, low-carbon lines of business.  This discussion was originally recorded in late July for a live event hosted by the Atlantic Council and the Center for Houston’s Future, featuring the following speakers:Cindy Yeilding, senior vice president at BP AmericaGavin Dillingham, clean energy policy program director at Houston Advanced Research CenterAlex Dewar, senior director at the Boston Consulting Group’s Center for Energy ImpactRJ Johnston, managing director for energy, climate, and resources at the Eurasia group Recommended reading:Atlantic Council: Public sector investment opportunities for a green stimulus in oil and gasGTM: BP Aims to Build 50GW of Renewables by 2030, Cut Fossil Fuel Output by 40%CNBC: BP reports second-quarter loss after major write downs, halves dividendPolitical Climate: What the Oil Price War Means for Cleantech Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts! This episode is brought to you with support from Lyft. Lyft is leading the transition to zero emissions vehicles with a commitment to achieve 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030. Learn more at lyftimpact.com/electric.

Fossil fuel divestment ain’t what it used to be. In a good way, if you ask advocates. In this episode — the second episode of Political Climate's special DITCHED miniseries — we get further into the weeds on what’s driving the Divest/Invest movement and where it’s going. We cover a lot and connect the dots in an interview with Justin Guay, director of global climate strategy at the Sunrise Project. Prior to joining Sunrise, Justin managed grant-making and strategy development for global coal campaigns at the ClimateWorks Foundation and Packard Foundation. He also ran the Sierra Club’s International Coal Campaign, with a special focus on international finance. In this conversation, we discuss how cutting off the flow of capital into fossil fuels has taken on a variety of different forms, as well as lessons learned from coal divestment that could influence a shift away from oil and gas. Justin addresses the tricky question of whether making fossil fuels harder to finance will actually curb demand for these products. We also talk about what a future without fossil fuels would look like, and how it could affect individual workers and even geopolitical relations. And that’s not all.  We launched the DITCHED miniseries to shed light on the divestment movement, and the growing trend of moving money out of fossil fuels and into more sustainable investments. Episodes air Mondays on Political Climate. Subscribe here! Recommended reading:Foreign Affairs: Coronavirus Bailouts Stoke Climate ChangeIEEFA: Over 100 Global Financial Institutions Are Exiting Coal, With More to ComeGTM: Devil in the Details for World’s Largest Coal InvestorReinsurance News: California to conduct first climate-related stress test for re/insurersFT: JPMorgan Chase removes former oil boss from lead director roleWorld Oil: Chesapeake joins more than 200 other bankrupt U.S. shale producers Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts! This episode is brought to you with support from Lyft. Lyft is leading the transition to zero emissions vehicles with a commitment to achieve 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030. Learn more at lyftimpact.com/electric.

The Golden State is in a dark place. Power outages in the midst of a historic heatwave were followed by devastating wildfires. All of which comes on top of persistently high COVID-19 case numbers and a once roaring economy now faced with a $54 billion budget shortfall.  But despite these challenges, there’s reason to believe that California can build back in an economically and environmentally sustainable way, says Tom Steyer, former Democratic presidential candidate, billionaire climate activist and co-chair of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s economic recovery task force.  We speak to Tom on this episode of Political Climate, the second episode in our "Relief, Rescue, Rebuild" series, supported by Third Way. We take a look at California and how the most populous state in the nation with ambitious climate goals is crafting its economic recovery plan in the midst of the pandemic, extreme heat and brutal wildfires. The "Relief, Rescue, Rebuild" series explores what a green recovery from the COVID-19 economic downturn would look like. What kinds of actions will produce the best results in terms of economic growth, improved health, lower emissions and greater resilience? Recommended reading: Politico: Steyer emerges as Newsom economic point person — and business groups are concernedCalMatters: California’s clean-air programs take a hit in new funding squeezeE&E News: Biden launches 'climate engagement' council to target voters Third Way: How Clean Energy Businesses Can Survive and Thrive After COVID-19 “Relief, Rescue, Rebuild” episodes will air monthly on the Political Climate podcast feed. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!

A decade ago, hopes that world leaders would rally around meaningful policies to combat climate change were at a low. The 2009 United Nations climate conference in Copenhagen had ended with little to show for it and the U.S. failed to pass a major climate bill the following year. Then in 2011, the first divestment campaigns struck up on college campuses. In the climate space, divestment is all about shifting capital out of fossil fuels — the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from human activity worldwide. The concept of divestment isn’t new, but it is gaining momentum. It’s also evolving and expanding into other areas of the financial system. Meanwhile, there is a separate but related flurry of activity on the invest side of the equation and moving money into socially responsible and environmentally friendly solutions. Divest/Invest. On this episode of Political Climate — the first in a new miniseries we’re calling DITCHED: fossil fuels, money flows and the greening of finance — host Julia Pyper speaks to Ellen Dorsey, executive director of the Wallace Global Fund, about the origins of the Divest/Invest movement. The Wallace Global Fund, a private foundation focused on progressive social change, is a founding member of the Divest Invest: Philanthropy, a coalition of more than 170 foundations committed to deploying their investments to address the climate crisis and accelerate the clean energy transition. Episodes of DITCHED will air Mondays over the next several weeks. Listen and subscribe to Political Climate wherever you get podcasts! Recommended reading:Divest Invest Philanthropy: Five Years After LaunchNYT: Rockefellers, Heirs to an Oil Fortune, Will Divest Charity of Fossil FuelsGuardian: Insurance giant Suncorp to end coverage and finance for oil and gas industryNYT: BlackRock CEO Larry Fink: Climate Crisis Will Reshape FinanceWSJ: Harvard University Board Gains Backers of Fossil Fuel Divestment Tom Steyer and Bill McKibben in GTM: 2030 Is the New 2050: The Oil Industry Begins to UnwindBIV: Divestment can’t hold back ocean of demand for oil: analysts Catch all DITCHED episodes in addition to our regular Thursday shows! Listen and subscribe to Political Climate on on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!

You may have seen the headlines about universities ditching their fossil fuel investments. Or perhaps you saw the news that BlackRock, one of the world’s largest financial firms, is getting out of coal and putting climate change at the center of its investment strategy. Pension funds, insurers, family offices and others are also moving their assets out of the fossil fuel industry and re-assessing the risk these resources present to the planet and their bottom line. These are all pieces of a growing, global divestment movement, which is the focus of a new Political Climate miniseries we’re calling "Ditched: Fossil fuels, money flows and the greening of finance." Catch "Ditched" episodes every Monday over the next few weeks, wherever you listen to Political Climate. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts!

Texas, home of the U.S. oil and gas industry, has become a clean energy superpower. The state already leads the nation in wind-power generation and solar is booming. Last year, Texas generated more electricity from renewable energy sources than from coal. Now, as the coronavirus pandemic delivers a blow to the state’s struggling oil and gas industry, wind and solar production remain on a trajectory for continued record growth. The rise of renewable energy isn’t the only notable change taking place in Texas, the state’s politics appear to be shifting too. Democratic Presidential Candidate Joe Biden is polling very close to President Trump, who swept the state in 2016.  How did Texas become a clean energy leader? What are the politics behind this rise? And what are the politics in Texas likely to be more broadly going forward? Could a growing green economy turn this red state blue? Political Climate speaks to Pat Wood, former head of the Texas Public Utility Commission named by Governor George W. Bush and former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, where he led FERC’s responses to the 2000-2001 California energy crisis and the 2003 Northeastern power blackout. Wood compares the Texas and California energy systems and weighs in on the Golden State's recent blackouts. Finally, co-hosts Brandon Hurlbut and Shane Skelton make a new election bet. Recommended reading: Dallas Observer: Texas Produced More Energy from Renewable Sources Than Coal Last YearGTM: Texas Is the Center of the Global Corporate Renewable Energy MarketPost and Courier: All electricity customers can benefit from competitionReuters: As Trump falters, Democrats and Biden eye an elusive prize: TexasGTM: California’s Shift From Natural Gas to Solar Is Playing a Role in Rolling Blackouts Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts! This episode is brought to you with support from Lyft. Lyft is leading the transition to zero emissions vehicles with a commitment to achieve 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030. Learn more at lyftimpact.com/electric.

Tony Seba gets a lot of things right. The world-renowned thought leader, entrepreneur, educator and author accurately predicted the rapid decline in solar photovoltaic costs and lithium ion batteries. He also predicted the collapse of the coal industry and oil prices. Now, he’s out with a new book, “Rethinking Humanity,” that predicts the 2020s will be “the most disruptive decade in history” — not just in terms of energy technology, but across every major industry in the world today. This disruption will have major implications for policymaking and geopolitics, and civilization as a whole.  In this episode, we speak to Tony Seba about the emergence of a new world order he calls "The Age of Freedom" that's based on decentralization and resource creation, rather than extraction. We also discuss the collapse of incumbents and the impact this will have on societies around the world, and what policy leaders can do to get out ahead of these changes. Seba breaks down why technological innovation in the next 10 years will either see the American Dream realized for virtually everyone on the planet in a cheap and sustainable manner, or trigger societal collapse akin to the fall of empires in the past. He argues that the future of humanity depends on what humans decide to do. Recommended reading:Rethinking HumanityVice: How Solar Power Could Slay the Fossil Fuel Empire by 2030  Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts! This episode is brought to you with support from Lyft. Lyft is leading the transition to zero emissions vehicles with a commitment to achieve 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030. Learn more at lyftimpact.com/electric.

There’s been a lot of talk recently about a “green recovery” and “building back better.” But what do these concepts really mean? What are the most compelling ideas being put forward by economists, policymakers, grassroots leaders and other experts? What kinds of actions will produce the best results in terms of economic growth, improved health, lower emissions and greater resilience? These are questions Political Climate will explore in the coming months in the new podcast series “Relief, Rescue, Rebuild,” sponsored by Third Way. Earlier this year, we launched a series called “Path to Zero,” which explored the technologies and policies needed to rapidly drive down carbon emissions. Now, we’re shifting our focus to the path to economic recovery and what that would look like if equitable, low-carbon solutions were baked in. In this first episode, we speak to Leah Stokes, assistant professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara and author of the new book Short Circuiting Policy. Leah makes the case for a green economic recovery, barriers to implementation, and what she would put in her ideal green stimulus bill.  In the second half of the show, we turn to a joint interview with Oni Blair, executive director at LinkHouston, and Alex Laska, transportation policy advisor at Third Way. In this discussion, we focus on clean transportation policy and the need to “fix it first” — both with respect to infrastructure and equity issues — before tackling entirely new projects. “Relief, Rescue, Rebuild” episodes will air monthly on the Political Climate podcast feed. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts! Recommended reading:Third Way: Building Back Better: Investing in Clean Infrastructure to Drive Economic RecoveryEquitable Growth: Green stimulus, not dirty bailouts, is the smart investment strategy during the coronavirus recessionEquitable Growth: Americans want green spending in federal coronavirus recession relief packagesUtility Dive: Senate Republicans urge McConnell to include efficiency, clean energy in COVID-19 recovery package The “Relief, Rescue, Rebuild” theme song was created by AY Musik. AY is the founder of Battery Tour, a sustainable music festival and global movement actively bringing renewable energy solutions to people in need around the world. You can hear the original version of this song, “Save the Planet,” on AY’s website or via his instagram @AYMusik.

Few people have more experience working in modern Democratic politics than John Podesta. From Senate staffer to White House chief of staff, progressive think tank founder to presidential environmental policy counselor, campaign manager to climate action advocate — Podesta has seen a lot. In this exclusive, in-depth interview, we get the veteran Democrat’s perspective on the state of climate politics amid the pandemic and intensifying 2020 election. We hear how he would advise Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden to address climate change if elected, including actions a new Biden administration could take within its first 100 days.  We also discuss why Podesta has beef with Facebook, what he thinks about ending the Senate filibuster, and we get his thoughts on President Trump’s campaign strategy. Plus, Podesta shares his preferred pick for Joe Biden’s running mate. John Podesta previously served as White House chief of staff to President Bill Clinton. He is the founder of the progressive think tank Center for American Progress and served as counselor to President Barack Obama, where he focused on climate and energy policy. Podesta chaired Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president in 2016. He is currently a member of Climate Power 2020, a campaign created to change the politics of climate. Recommended reading:The Atlantic: The Audacity of John PodestaGrist: Climate leftists and moderates have a radical new plan to defeat Trump: Work togetherMother Jones: Democratic Leaders Want to Know Why Facebook’s New Oversight Board Won’t Deal With Climate LiesThe Hill: COVID-19 relief and economic recovery must dismantle environmental racism Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts! This episode is brought to you with support from Lyft. Lyft is leading the transition to zero emissions vehicles with a commitment to achieve 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030. Learn more at lyftimpact.com/electric.

There’s a lot of discussion these days about “building back better” and passing “green economic stimulus.” But what exactly does this entail? On this bonus episode, we share insights and resources from a group of energy leaders in California. They discuss new ways to think about environmental investments in COVID-19 recovery packages, how the public sector can advance sustainability goals at the local, state, and federal level, and lessons from the 2008 recession that could be adapted to today.  This discussion was co-hosted by the USC Schwarzenegger Institute and the UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation. Speakers include:Fran Pavley, former California State Senator and USC Schwarzenegger Institute Environmental Policy DirectorJ. R. DeShazo, Director of the UCLA Luskin Center for InnovationBob Keefe, Executive Director of Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2)Matt Petersen, President and CEO of the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI)Recommended reading:E2: Build Back Better, Faster: How a federal stimulus focusing on clean energy can create millions of jobs and restart America’s economySF Chronicle: Newsom’s environmental budget cuts escalate tensions with state activistsUCLA: Employment Benefits from California Climate Investments and Co-investmentsCarbon Brief: Leading economists: Green coronavirus recovery also better for economyLACI: Keeping America Working, Protecting Public Health, and Strengthening our Communities Political Climate is produced in partnership with the USC Schwarzenegger Institute. Listen and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Play or wherever you get podcasts! This episode is brought to you with support from Lyft. Lyft is leading the transition to zero emissions vehicles with a commitment to achieve 100% electric vehicles on the Lyft platform by 2030. Learn more at lyftimpact.com/electric.