Zero: The Climate Race

Hosted by Bloomberg

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249

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Aug 2026

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About the show

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.

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60 recent

September 10, 202633 min

Free Solo climber Alex Honnold's next mission: solar for everyone

Climber Alex Honnold is best known as the star of Free Solo , an Oscar-winning documentary that followed his rope-free ascent of the 3,000-foot (1,000-meter) face of Yosemite’s El Capitan. But he has also established the Honnold Foundation to bring solar power to those who most need it. This week on Zero , Bloomberg’s Akshat Rathi asks Honnold how he gets big things done and why helping communities get clean energy has become his other passion in life. Explore further: Honnold Foundation website Alex Honnold's website Free Solo trailer Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green . Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi and Alyssa McDonald. 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.

September 7, 202617 min

Do-it-yourself energy traders are gaming the grid: Big Take

Energy consumers are used to a pretty simple transaction with utility companies: get electricity to power your home, pay up every month. Now, more consumers are stockpiling their own energy using solar panels and batteries. And some are even making money by selling that energy back to the grid. On last week's Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder talked with Zero host Akshat Rathi about a new class of at-home energy trader that’s vibe coding its way to daily energy savings and big profits. Read the full feature story here. Find all episodes of The Big Take podcast here . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

August 31, 202628 min

Nepal disaster shows how mountains are becoming less stable

On the morning of August 26, a glacial collapse in the Himalayas triggered a flash flood that sent ice, mud, rocks and fast-moving water through a valley in Nepal, wiping out entire communities. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi is joined by Lou Del Bello, who has been reporting on the disaster for Bloomberg News from New Delhi. They discuss what can be done to keep mountain communities safe, and why events like this are likely to become more frequent in a warming world. Explore further: Nepal Races to Find Missing Amid Threats of Further Flooding What Caused Nepal’s Deadly Flash Flood? Here’s What We Know Nepal: The World's Mountains Are Ticking Time Bombs - Bloomberg A Building Boom in the Himalayas Threatens Climate Disasters The Swiss Alps Reckon With the Threat of Collapsing Glaciers Sound of the week: CRYING GLACIER - The inner sounds of a glacier Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green . Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi, Laura Millan and Alyssa McDonald. 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.

August 27, 202640 min

How to fix our vulnerable food system

Extreme weather events this year are starting to hurt food production in serious ways, which is likely to push up everyone’s food prices. That’s before the weather-wrecking super El Niño has really kicked in. So how do we build a food system that is more resilient, more secure and has lower emissions? Paul Behrens, British Academy Global Professor at the Oxford Martin School, joins Akshat Rathi on Zero to discuss. Explore further: The Best of Times, The Worst of Times: https://drpaulbehrens.com/books/ Mingfang Ting on Zero: Is the World Prepared for Super El Niño? George Monbiot on Zero: The Food System Needs a Radical Rethink Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green . Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi and Alyssa McDonald. 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.

August 20, 202642 min

More than AI, this century’s growth story is climate action

It’s 20 years since the Stern Review declared that the costs of inaction on climate change are much higher than the costs of action. So why are emissions continuing to rise? Lord Nicholas Stern tells Bloomberg’s Akshat Rathi why he is optimistic about our ability to tackle climate change and what makes those actions the growth story of the 21st century. Explore further: Read for free: The Growth Story of The 21st Century Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green . Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi and Alyssa McDonald. 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.

August 13, 202636 min

When climate change threatens national security

The impacts of climate change are becoming not just unignorable, but unbearable. Yet the political consensus around climate action is fracturing, as leaders debate the speed and scale of the changes needed. This week on Zero , Akshat Rathi speaks with Caroline Lucas, the former head of the UK’s Green party and a member of parliament for 14 years, about the increasing threat climate change poses to national security, and what she’s learned from four decades at the frontline of climate politics. Explore further: Caroline’s series for The Rest Is Politics Zack Polanski on Zero Dale Vince on Zero Lieutenant General Richard Nugee on Zero Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green . Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Summer Maxwell, Sommer Saadi, Alyssa McDonald and Laura Millan. 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.

August 6, 202643 min

The Iran war revealed that China has a new energy weapon

The Middle East conflict is now in its fifth month, deepening the oil and gas supply shock. Early in the war, analysts worried that the oil price would rise to $200 a barrel, causing a global recession and widespread panic, but that didn’t happen. This week on Zero , Akshat Rathi is joined by Bloomberg Opinion columnist Javier Blas to discuss why oil prices stayed around $100 per barrel and why the war is the start of a new paradigm in energy politics. Explore further: Javier Blas’ columns The Global Oil Cushion Isn’t Really Hitting ‘Tank Bottoms’ Another Critical Oil Waterway Is About to Close Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green . Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Summer Maxwell, Sommer Saadi, Alyssa McDonald and Laura Millan. 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.

July 30, 202635 min

When AI and climate anxieties collide to make beautiful stories: Imagine Series

How should we navigate a world in which anxieties about AI, climate change and capitalism collide? This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi speaks with Helen Phillips, author of Hum and the second-ever winner of the Climate Fiction Prize. Rathi asks Phillips how she’s transformed her anxieties into captivating prose, how her relationship to technology has changed through writing and what humanity loses out on if we rely on AI too much. Past episodes of Zero’s Imagine series: Abi Dare on finding the best climate stories Julia Wolfe on How Music can Inspire Climate Action George Saunders on Climate Guilt, AI and Critical Thinking Kim Stanley Robison on Abundance, Adequacy and Better Climate Futures Artist Monira Al Qadiri on the End of Oil Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green . Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Summer Maxwell, Sommer Saadi, Alyssa McDonald and Laura Millan. 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.

July 23, 202615 min

Bloomberg Australia: Lessons from the world's cleanest air

On a windswept cliff at the edge of Tasmania, scientists are quietly tracking the future of our planet. This week, host Rebecca Jones speaks with David Stringer, managing editor of climate and ESG news in Asia, about Kennaook/Cape Grim — home to some of the cleanest air on Earth and one of the world’s most important climate monitoring stations. Learn how decades of data are reshaping our understanding of climate change, why the site matters to governments and investors, and what Australia’s role could be in the global climate fight. Read more: Listen to our episode with Dale Vince about how the UK can lower energy bills Sign up to the Bloomberg Australia podcast See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

July 20, 202639 min

Ditching net zero to win the climate argument

Andy Burnham has become the UK’s sixth prime minister in just 10 years. When it comes to energy and climate, Labour Party’s Burnham will inherit many of the same challenges of his predecessors: high energy prices, security of supply and an increasingly polarized debate over the UK’s ambitions to reach net zero. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi sits down with Dale Vince, founder of Ecotricity and major donor to Labour, to ask can a new UK government make energy cheap? Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green . Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Summer Maxwell, Sommer Saadi, Alyssa McDonald and Laura Millan. 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.