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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.

Zero: The Climate Race

There’s a battle underway to win the energy export market between the world’s two largest economies: The US wants the world to buy its fossil fuels, while China wants to sell the world its clean energy technologies. For now, there is a clear winner: China. How did that happen? Akshat Rathi and Oscar Boyd discuss. 
 
More:
 
 • Read Akshat’s 
newsletter • Read Ember’s 
report on electricity • Subscribe to the Bloomberg Green 
newsletter 
Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi, Mohsis Andam, Laura Millan and Sharon Chen. 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/listener for privacy information.

US fossil fuels vs. Chinese clean tech, who’s winning on exports?

The UK used to be a shining example of how to act on climate change. It created one of the world’s first climate laws in 2008, which bound the government to reduce emissions on tight deadlines. That law used to have cross-party support, but that’s no longer the case with politicians trying to make climate a wedge issue.
 
This week on Zero, Greg Jackson, chief executive officer of the UK’s largest energy retailer, Octopus Energy, joins Akshat Rathi to discuss his plan to bring down bills and keep the public on the green side.
 
Explore further:
 
 Octopus Energy Plans to Spin Off Technology Arm Kraken - Bloomberg • 
 Octopus Energy Opens Door for Chinese Wind Turbines in UK- Bloomberg 
Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Eleanor Harrison Dengate, Sommer Saadi and Mohsis Andam, Laura Millan and Sharon Chen. 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/listener for privacy information.

Renewables promised to be cheap. Why aren’t people feeling it?

AI needs a lot of energy — and a new Bloomberg investigation has found that those soaring costs are being passed on to consumers who live near data centers.
 
On today’s Big Take podcast, host David Gura talks to Bloomberg reporters Josh Saul and Leonardo Nicoletti about the AI boom’s impact on power bills, how utility companies are handling surging demand and the implications for communities with centers in their backyards.
 
Read more: AI Data Centers Are Sending Power Bills Soaring

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Big Take: AI data centers use a lot of energy. You may be paying for it

Rising power demand from data centers for artificial intelligence has led to a shortage of the gas turbines needed to generate electricity. This shortage might not seem the most obvious climate story, but it's having impacts across the entire energy sector. This week on Zero, Bloomberg’s Stephen Stapczynski joins Akshat Rathi to look at what’s causing the bottleneck in gas turbines, if the shortage will make companies look to renewables or coal, and whether natural gas is really a “bridge” fuel.
 
Explore more:
 
 • Past episodes of the Bottlenecks Series: 
 The 100-Ton Rotating Mass That Can Stop Blackouts The Green Transition Needs More Workers There Aren’t Enough Cables to Meet Growing Electricity Demand The One Device Throttling the World’s Electrified Future • 
 
Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Eleanor Harrison Dengate, Siobhan Wagner, Sommer Saadi and Mohsis Andam. 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/listener for privacy information.

A return to coal? AI’s demand for gas turbines risks a new crisis: Bottlenecks Series

Something remarkable is unfolding in developing countries. From Nepal to Costa Rica, more people are buying electric cars than fossil-fuel vehicles, as battery prices plummet and cheap home-grown EVs come to market. And in China, more electric cars will be sold in the last quarter of this year than the total number of all cars sold in the US. Colin McKerracher, head of transport at BNEF, joins Akshat Rathi on Zero to unpack these trends, and what they mean for global oil demand.
 
Explore more:
 
 • BNEF’s 
EV Outlook • 
 • Articles by 
Colin McKerracher • 
 The Whole World Is Switching to EVs Faster Than You Nigeria's Solar Gamble Forces Millions in Lagos to Unplug From Dirty Generators - Bloomberg 
Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Eleanor Harrison Dengate, Siobhan Wagner, Sommer Saadi and Mohsis Andam. 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/listener for privacy information.

The extraordinary rise of electric cars in developing countries

Monira Al Qadiri says she is pre-empting the end of oil and building monuments to it. As one of the most important contemporary artists of the Middle East, her work — spanning sculptures, films and performances — throws new light on humanity’s deep interdependent relationship with fossil fuels. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi asks Al Qadiri how art can help make sense of the current moment.
 
Explore further:
 
 • Monira’s website: 
https://www.moniraalqadiri.com/ • Her exhibit in Berlin: 
https://berlinischegalerie.de/en/exhibitions/current/monira-al-qadiri/ 
Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Eleanor Harrison Dengate, Siobhan Wagner, Sommer Saadi and Mohsis Andam. 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/listener for privacy information.

Building monuments to the end of oil

You’ve heard about Formula 1, right? But do you know about Formula E, its plucky all-electric sibling? This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi talks with Sylvain Filippi, co-founder and chief technology officer of Envision Racing, about why the world needs an electric racing series, how Formula E is improving the experience for consumer electric cars, and why he’s not too concerned about the US backlash against EVs.
 
Explore further:
 
 Envision Racing • 
 Lewis Hamilton’s Next Race Car Should Be Electric EV Racing Struggles as Climate Action Falls on Priority List 
Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Eleanor Harrison Dengate, Siobhan Wagner, Sommer Saadi and Mohsis Andam. 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/listener for privacy information.

Formula E shows the mind-boggling speed at which electric cars evolve

This week, we hear from you. Bloomberg Green’s Akshat Rathi answers questions from Zero listeners: Can a decline in trade help fight climate change? How do we tell if corporations are greenwashing or not? And are we about to enter a new era of global collaboration when it comes to green tech? If you have a question for the show, send us a voice note or message to zeropod@bloomberg.net.
 
Explore further:
 
 Brazil's Amazonian Leaders Deliver Dark Message on Gold Mining to London Nigeria's Solar Gamble Forces Millions in Lagos to Unplug From Dirty Generators Green Growth Is Expensive. The Global Economy Can Afford It 
Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Eleanor Harrison Dengate, Siobhan Wagner, Sommer Saadi and Mohsis Andam. 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/listener for privacy information.

Your questions answered: Is Donald Trump a climate warrior in disguise?

Nearly half a million people die every year as a result of extreme heat. That’s more than the total from hurricanes, earthquakes and floods combined. And as the planet warms, the risk of deadly heat is increasing.
 
On Bloomberg's Big Take podcast, climate reporter Zahra Hirji brings Sarah Holder a dispatch from a lab at the forefront of understanding how heat affects the human body. They break down the latest science on deadly heat, why everyone is at more risk than they realize — and what actually works to mitigate those risks.
 
Read more:
 
 Scientist Shuts Himself in 104F Chamber in Quest to Study Heat Stress • Listen to more from the Big Take podcast: 
https://www.bloomberg.com/audio 
 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Big Take: How hot is too hot? The latest science on extreme heat

Science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson imagines the future for a living. And the future is very much upon us. Robinson’s seminal 2020 novel Ministry for the Future opens in the year 2025. Robinson tells Akshat Rathi about how our real-life climate politics stack up against what he imagined for this era. They also discuss the dangers of science-fiction thinking in politics and why, for all his admiration of science and technology, Robinson remains so enamored with the unglamorous workings of a body like the United Nations.
 
This episode was originally broadcast in January 2025.
 
Explore further:
 
 • 

Past episode with Kim Stanley Robinson about climate utopias and optopias
 • 
 • 

Past episode with outgoing White House Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi about what the next four years will hold
 • 
 • 

Past episode with Colombia’s environment minister Susana Muhamad about the country’s commitment to fossil fuel nonproliferation 
 • 
 
Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Sharon Chen, Siobhan Wagner, Ethan Steinberg, and Jessica Beck. 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/listener for privacy information.

Best of: Kim Stanley Robinson imagines utopia in 2025

In December, Europe’s Copernicus weather service announced that it was “virtually certain” that 2024 would be the hottest year ever. What’s more, the global average temperature last year appears to have surpassed 1.5C for the first time, blowing past a threshold that’s taken on enormous significance in the fight against climate change. Does that mean governments, corporations, and activists recalibrate their climate goals? Akshat Rathi speaks with reporters Eric Roston and Zahra Hirji about what this new reality means.
 
Explore further:
 
 • Past episode about 
sci-fi writer Kim Stanley Robinson’s visions for 2025 • Past episode with 
Eric Roston and Katharine Hayhoe about the extreme weather events brought on by rising temperatures • Past episode with the Berghof Foundation’s Andrew Gilmour 
about conflict and peace-building on a warming planet 
Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Sharon Chen, Siobhan Wagner, Ethan Steinberg, and Jessica Beck. 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/listener for privacy information.

If 1.5C is dead, what happens next?

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