Zero: The Climate Race

15 episodes scanned. 14% of ad slots promote the show's own products.

Recent Episodes

1. The big questions over European electrification

   Oct 29, 2026

   Kristian Ruby, Secretary General of Eurelectric, the trade association of the European electricity industry, discusses why he sees electrification as Europe's answer to its energy crisis, high power prices, and security concerns. The conversation covers near-term state aid versus medium-term reforms, price divergence between Europe and other regions, the challenges batteries and solar face, grid and infrastructure resilience against sabotage, permitting speed, and heat pump adoption. Ruby also addresses how upcoming political shifts could affect energy and climate policy.

2. First cars, now trains: Batteries are coming for everything

   Oct 22, 2026

   James O'Sullivan, product director at Alstom, discusses the company's battery-electric trains, including a roughly £1 billion contract with TransPennine Express for trains that will run on battery power where overhead wires are absent. The conversation covers why the UK's rail network is only about 40% electrified, how battery trains can decarbonize routes without full electrification, and the trade-offs in cost, charging, and infrastructure. It also touches on hydrogen, automation, and digitalization in rail.

3. A historic El Niño is coming that could cost the world trillions: Odd Lots

   Oct 15, 2026

   Bloomberg's Odd Lots podcast hosts Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal speak with Justin Mankin, professor of geography at Dartmouth College, about the physical mechanics of El Niño and how forecasters measure it. The conversation covers why the forecast 2026-27 event could be record-breaking, how such events affect agriculture, monsoons and global temperatures, and his research estimating the economic losses of El Niño. Mankin argues that societies are poorly adapted to climate variability and outlines the resilience and early-warning measures that could reduce those losses.

4. Tasmania’s electric shipping bet: Bloomberg Australia

   Oct 8, 2026

   Bloomberg Asia Managing Editor David Stringer joins host Rebecca Jones to discuss his visit to Hobart, Tasmania, where he toured Incat's 130-metre battery-electric ferry and met founder Robert Clifford. The conversation covers how the ship came about, how battery propulsion works, and why predictable ferry routes suit electrification. They also examine shipping's emissions share, the regulatory pressure on the industry, the cost trade-offs, and the limits of batteries for large ocean-going vessels.

5. Inside the little-known world of China's clean tech startups

   Oct 1, 2026

   Tonny Xie, chairman of Bluetech Clean Air Alliance, discusses China's clean tech startup ecosystem and the country's transition from addressing air pollution to tackling climate change. Drawing on over 20 years of environmental work, Xie explains how policy frameworks, government support, and homegrown innovation have positioned China as a global leader in green technology patents and deep tech startups, with examples including hydrogen electrolyzers, carbon-dioxide-based polymers, and compressed air energy storage.

6. UK energy secretary on net zero and cheaper power: live from New York

   Sep 28, 2026

   Miatta Fahnbulleh, UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, discusses Britain's energy transition strategy, the political durability of net zero policy, and the path to affordable clean power. She explains how the government is balancing climate commitments with cost-of-living concerns through renewable energy investment, grid modernization, and community-owned energy projects like Great British Energy.

7. How to build an electrostate

   Sep 24, 2026

   Arthur Downing, author of Power and the People, discusses how to build an "electrostate"—a country with reliable, affordable electricity. The conversation examines the history of the UK's electricity system across four phases (localized, rationalized, nationalized, and privatized) and argues that institutional and regulatory reform, not just technology, is essential to solving current affordability and demand challenges. Downing presents two future scenarios for the UK: a state-backed investor-returns model versus a mutualized system balancing citizens, capital, and public ownership.

8. Inside China’s $7 trillion green finance market

   Sep 17, 2026

   Ma Jun, chairman of the Hong Kong Green Finance Association and former chief economist of China's central bank, discusses how China became a green-finance superpower with $7 trillion in outstanding green finance. The conversation covers China's central bank policies that mandate green lending reporting, the growth of green bonds and panda bonds, transition finance for hard-to-abate sectors like steel and cement, and how other nations can accelerate their own climate transitions through finance innovation and technology deployment.

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

   Sep 10, 2026

   Alex Honnold, the acclaimed free solo climber from the Oscar-winning documentary, discusses his observations of climate change's impact on mountains worldwide and his parallel mission through the Honnold Foundation to bring solar energy to underserved communities globally. Since founding the foundation in 2012, Honnold has committed $23 million across 200 projects, ranging from solar lanterns in East Africa to electric boats in the Amazon, and explains his philosophy of combining action-oriented philanthropy with his climbing career.

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

    Sep 7, 2026

    Bloomberg's Senior Climate Reporter Akshat Rathi discusses a growing phenomenon of residential energy traders—homeowners with solar panels and batteries who are using dynamic electricity pricing and automation tools to buy low and sell high, generating side income while supporting grid stability. The episode explores how three key shifts (falling solar/battery costs, dynamic pricing access, and AI-enabled automation) have enabled ordinary consumers to become prosumers, and how startups, utilities, and even major tech companies are reshaping the energy market.