Podcast · Business

Zero: The Climate Race

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 ha

New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 35 min
Latest: 15 Oct 2026
Language: English

Latest episode

15 Oct 2026 · 56 minNew

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

Zero is on a break this week, so we’re bringing you an episode from Bloomberg's Odd Lots podcast. Hosts Tracy Alloway and Joe Weisenthal speak with Justin Mankin, professor of geography at Dartmouth College and director of the Climate Modelling and Impacts Group, about the enormous impacts El Niño could have on the global economy. This episode was originally recorded in August, but with El Niño already roiling industries and continuing to strengthen, it feels as relevant as ever. If you'd like to read the latest news on El Niño, check out this article from…

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Earlier episodes 29 most recent

8 Oct 2026 · 18 min
Tasmania’s electric shipping bet: Bloomberg Australia
Zero is on a break this week, so we’re bringing you an episode from the Bloomberg Australia podcast. A shipyard in Tasmania has delivered the world’s largest electric ship, a 130-metre ferry powered by more than 250 tons of batteries. Host Rebecca Jones talks to David Stringer, Asia Managing Editor for Bloomberg Green and ESG, who toured the vessel and met veteran shipbuilder Robert Clifford. They explore what Tasmania’s maritime innovation could mean for an industry under pressure to cut emissions. Vote for Zero in the Signal Podcast Awards: We’re excited to announce…
E203 · 1 Oct 2026 · 35 min
Inside the little-known world of China's clean tech startups
China is a hotbed of innovation, filling nearly half of the world’s new patents every year. Much of that work is in the world of clean tech and a whole ecosystem is growing to help make these breakthroughs commercial. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi is joined by Tonny Xie, chairman of Bluetech Clean Air Alliance, a China-based nonprofit organization that’s helping to grow the next era of climate startups. Read more: Bluetech Clean Air Alliance website Zero: Inside China’s $7 Trillion Green Finance Market Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green . Our producer is Oscar Boyd.…
28 Sep 2026 · 21 min
UK energy secretary on net zero and cheaper power: live from New York
Miatta Fahnbulleh, the UK Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, discusses the country's energy transition, the push for affordable and secure power and the UK’s role in the global climate action with Bloomberg's Aaron Rutkoff at Bloomberg Green New York 2026. Watch the video of this conversation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GdgTzMIgS9g See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
E202 · 24 Sep 2026 · 40 min
How to build an electrostate
How to make electricity cheap is a question that’s bedeviling policy makers around the world, particularly in the US and Europe. Some countries, however, have figured it out, including Iceland, Norway and China. So how do we get to that point? And what is the role of government versus the role of technology? This week on Zero , Akshat Rathi is joined by Arthur Downing, author of Power and the People, to discuss how to build an electrostate. Explore further: Read Arthur’s Substack: https://energynetworks.substack.com/ Find a copy of Arthur’s book: https://amzn.eu/d/0dSrRHty…
E201 · 17 Sep 2026 · 37 min
Inside China’s $7 trillion green finance market
When it comes to green tech, China is a list of superlatives. It produces more solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles and batteries than anywhere else in the world. But is finance the real climate hero? This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi is joined by Ma Jun, chairman of the Hong Kong Green Finance Association and former chief economist of China’s central bank. They discuss how the country became a green-finance superpower and how other nations can speed up their own transitions. Explore further: The Hong Kong Green Finance Association website China’s $6.8 Trillion Green…
E200 · 10 Sep 2026 · 34 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 .…
7 Sep 2026 · 17 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…
E199 · 31 Aug 2026 · 29 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?…
E198 · 27 Aug 2026 · 41 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?…
E197 · 20 Aug 2026 · 43 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…
E196 · 13 Aug 2026 · 37 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…
E195 · 6 Aug 2026 · 43 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…
E194 · 30 Jul 2026 · 36 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…
23 Jul 2026 · 15 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…
E193 · 20 Jul 2026 · 40 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,…
E192 · 16 Jul 2026 · 32 min
The selfish case for supporting foreign aid
Hundreds of millions of people around the world have no access to reliable electricity, a problem that doesn’t seem to be going away. Since US President Donald Trump started his second term, Western countries have cut development funding, including for climate projects. This week on Zero, Bloomberg’s Akshat Rathi asks Philippe Valahu, chief executive officer of Private Infrastructure Development Group, why it is still so hard to secure climate finance for developing countries. Explore further: Zero: How the Financial System Can Work for Climate - Bloomberg Zero: Ethiopia's…
E191 · 9 Jul 2026 · 34 min
Is the world prepared for the 'super' El Niño?
The great famine of the 1870s killed 50 million people – and El Niño was a key driver. Another El Niño phase has just begun and it’s expected to be among the strongest. There are five times as many people in 2026 as there were in the 1870s and the planet is 1.4C hotter. So are we better prepared? Bloomberg’s Akshat Rathi speaks with Mingfang Ting, professor of climate at Columbia University, about the natural phenomenon and its interaction with human-caused climate change. Read more: Bloomberg Green's deep dive on extreme heat Zero is a production of Bloomberg…
E190 · 2 Jul 2026 · 32 min
Is the world becoming too hot for summer sports?
From hydration breaks at this year’s FIFA World Cup to the Tokyo Olympics moving its marathon 1,000km northward, climate change is affecting sport. And sport is affecting climate, as events grow in size and carbon emissions. To talk about the future of sport on an overheating planet, this week on Zero, Akshat Rathi is joined by Jessica Murfree, professor at the University of North Carolina, who studies the intersection of sport and climate change. Read more: David Pocock on Zero: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/zero-the-climate-race/id1621556928?i=1000582465514 Climate Activists…
E189 · 25 Jun 2026 · 33 min
Solar and batteries are thriving — even in Trump’s America
The common narrative is that the US renewables industry is struggling. But that’s not the case for the whole sector. This week on Zero , Akshat Rathi talks with Kevin Smith, chief executive officer of Cypress Creek Energy, which recently secured $3.5 billion in financing to build one of the biggest solar and battery projects in the US. Even as the current American administration dismantles clean-energy policies, Smith sees a bright future for solar and batteries. Explore further: Big US Solar and Battery Project Lines Up $3.5 Billion Financing - Bloomberg Biggest US Wind Project Nears…
E188 · 18 Jun 2026 · 45 min
The energy transition debate we need to have
The key to tackling climate change is moving away from burning fossil fuels to using renewable energy. But in his book More and More and More , French historian Jean-Baptiste Fressoz argues that the world has never actually managed a successful energy transition before and current plans are unrealistic. Many have taken his writing to mean that stopping global warming is impossible, however, he tells Akshat Rathi this week on Zero, his view is actually quite different. Explore further: Jean-Baptiste’s book, More and More and More:…
E187 · 11 Jun 2026 · 33 min
Ice cream fight: Can companies have a social conscience in 2026?
Ben & Jerry’s isn’t just known for ice cream, but also its support for social causes. With over $1 billion in sales last year, it’s an asset for its owner Magnum. So why has one of its founders quit, and the other launched a campaign to make Ben & Jerry's independent? Bloomberg’s Akshat Rathi sits down with co-founder Ben Cohen to ask about the Free Ben & Jerry’s campaign, why businesses should pursue social causes, and the future of ice cream on a warming planet. Explore further: The Free Ben & Jerry’s campaign website: https://freebenandjerrys.com/ Watch…
E186 · 4 Jun 2026 · 33 min
How Asia’s ‘Ukraine moment’ is supercharging the energy transition
It's been more than three months since the US attacked Iran, leading to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz that carries 20% of the world's oil and gas. The shock to energy markets has been so intense that some countries are taking longer-term measures to cope. This week on Zero , Akshat Rathi and Peter Guest explore the history of policy responses to energy shocks and what’s different in the 2020s. Read Akshat's feature article here: https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2026-energy-transition-iran-war Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green . Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks…
E185 · 28 May 2026 · 33 min
The countries plotting the end of the fossil-fuel era
At COP28 in December 2023, the world committed to transitioning away from fossil fuels. Yet in the years since, there’s been little progress. A meeting in Colombia last month hoped to change that, gathering ministers and climate envoys from 57 countries to try and chart a path to end the use of fossil fuels. This week on Zero, Tzeporah Berman, chair of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative, tells Akshat Rathi what the conference achieved and where it goes next. Explore further: Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative website First Conference on the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels…
E184 · 20 May 2026 · 50 min
Reform’s Richard Tice wants to end decades of UK climate action
Reform UK is currently the most popular party in Britain. If voted into government, it wants to end all subsidies for renewable energy, ban battery energy storage, end net-zero targets, drill for more oil and gas in the North Sea and encourage fracking on British soil. This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi asks Reform’s deputy leader Richard Tice about the party’s climate and energy plans, and why he calls it “net stupid zero.” Explore further: Read the full annotated transcript of this conversation Worst Start to Wildfire Season Raises Alarm as El Niño Threatens…
E183 · 14 May 2026 · 36 min
Electrons will be central to the next era of geopolitical stability
With wars raging and supply chains blocked, we’re in an era of geopolitical chaos. This week on Zero , Akshat Rathi talks with Gerald Butts, chairman of the political risk consultancy Eurasia Group and former chief of staff to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. They discuss how investors and companies are responding to the energy shock, where the green transition might falter and who will emerge winners a decade from now. Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green . Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi, Mohsis Andam, Sharon Chen and Laura Millan. Thoughts or suggestions?…
E182 · 7 May 2026 · 34 min
The Iran war shows why clean energy is the more secure choice
Everywhere you look, you see two types of technology existing side-by-side. One that runs on fossil fuels and one that runs on clean electricity. There’s an ongoing struggle between the two, a tug of war between two very different futures. Some call it the mid-transition, and it comes with costs that make it politically fraught. This week on Zero, Emily Grubert, professor of sustainable energy policy at the University of Notre Dame, tells Akshat Rathi how to navigate the mid-transition, and the better energy system that exists on the other side. Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green.…
E181 · 30 Apr 2026 · 42 min
A new world order is emerging. Can it tackle climate change?
We are living in an increasingly divided world. It took two decades to get to the Paris Agreement, and then global cooperation really lasted only for a decade. One key reason for this fragmentation is US President Donald Trump, who has taken an axe to the rules-based international order that America helped build. This week on Zero , Gordon LaForge, senior policy analyst at think tank New America, tells Akshat Rathi what comes next , and how progress can still be made on climate. Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green . Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi, Mohsis…
E180 · 23 Apr 2026 · 56 min
London’s mayor on lessons from one of the world’s greenest cities
Sadiq Khan is about to complete 10 years as London’s mayor. He’s seen the city affected by Brexit, the pandemic and two energy crises. That hasn’t deterred him from deploying some of the strongest air-quality regulations in any city. But he hasn’t yet succeeded in getting enough homes built and struggled to keep improving the train network. As cities keep growing, Khan talks to Akshat Rathi about lessons from London’s successes and failures. As a prominent member of the UK’s Labour Party, Khan also shares his thoughts about the future of the party. The…
E179 · 16 Apr 2026 · 33 min
Caution, not ambition, will shape the next decade of climate action
In the past month, we've seen two major plans from two of the world's biggest polluters. In March, China approved its 15th five-year plan, which gave us a clearer sense of how the government makes progress on its climate goals. A few weeks after that, India published its climate plan for 2035. This week on Zero, Bloomberg Green’s Lili Pike and Akshat Rathi discuss those climate plans, and whether they’re ambitious enough for the current moment. Explore further: What’s Inside China’s New Major Environmental Law - Bloomberg China’s New Five-Year Plan Is Crucial…

About Zero: The Climate Race

Zero: The Climate Race is a English business podcast from Bloomberg. Melo plays each episode straight from the publisher's own feed — no ads added, no account needed — and remembers where you stopped, in this browser only.

Publisher: Bloomberg
Language: English
Category: Business
New episodes: Weekly
Typical length: 35 min
Latest episode: 15 Oct 2026
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Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/podcast/id1621556928

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