Can climate capitalism work?

Zero: The Climate Race

Bloomberg

Technology, Business, Science

4.7 • 219 Ratings

🗓️ 12 October 2023

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It is now cheaper to save the world than destroy it. But is capitalism up to the challenge of preventing the climate crisis?

In his new book Climate Capitalism, Zero host Akshat Rathi introduces a dozen people who are already steering capitalism to solve the climate crisis: from the engineer who shaped China's electric car policies and the politician who helped make net-zero a UK law to the CEO who fought off a takeover attempt so he could stick with a sustainability strategy. Akshat argues that not only is capitalism capable of taking on the climate crisis, but harnessing it is the only way to solve the climate crisis in the time we have available.

And yet while some improvements have been made over the past few years, the world is off track to meet its 2050 climate targets. So today on Zero, Bloomberg’s Greener Living editor Kira Bindrim sits down with Akshat to discuss his new book, and asks him: If climate capitalism is so doable, why does it seem so difficult?

Read more:

Order Akshat’s new book, Climate Capitalism
Listen to the interview with Fatih Birol that Akshat mentions
Hear Akshat and Kira talk about the reality of carbon footprints
Read a transcript of this episode

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Anna Mazarakis, Gilda di Carli and Kira Bindrim. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit bloomberg.com/green.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Zero. I'm Kira Bindrim, editor of Bloomberg's Greener Living Section, and a good friend of the pod.
0:09.5	Today is a special day on Zero, because today is a day your usual host has been waiting on for months.
0:16.2	Climate capitalism, a new book by Akshat Rathi, is now on sale.
0:21.3	Climate capitalism sets out to answer an important question.
0:24.6	If capitalist systems are set up to maximize profits, how can they also prioritize the planet?
0:30.8	Over 12 chapters, Akshad introduces a dozen people who are already making climate capitalism work.
0:37.0	From the engineer who shaped China's electric capitalism work. From the engineer who shaped
0:38.2	China's electric car policies, to the politician who helped make net zero a UK law, to the CEO
0:44.0	who fought off a takeover attempt so you could stick with a sustainability strategy.
0:49.1	Akshad and I have known each other for almost seven years now, and what comes across in his book
0:53.9	is what comes across every his book is what comes
0:54.6	across every time I talk to him. A lot of very smart and very interesting people are working on
1:00.4	climate problems. Many of them are proof positive that the capitalist framework can be effective.
1:06.5	As Akshad writes in the book's very first line, it's now cheaper to save the world than destroy it.
1:12.7	I also know how much work Akshad has put into this book,
1:16.4	so after reading it, I thought it might be fun to put him on the hot seat for once.
1:20.7	Because I wanted to ask Akshad,
1:22.9	if climate capitalism is so doable, why does it seem so difficult?
1:32.7	Music Climate capitalism is so doable. Why does it seem so difficult? Aksha, welcome to your podcast. How are you feeling?
1:35.5	Nervous, because I don't usually get interviewed.
1:38.1	I'm not on this side of the screen.
1:41.3	I'll try to be gentle.
	...

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