Policy for the Planet
Episodes
The cost to jobs and public health from the EPA rollbacks (Episode 30)
31 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The US Environmental Protection Agency has announced a major deregulation of greenhouse gas emissions, effectively repealing 25-year-old emission stan...
How the war on Iran exposes global economic interconnectedness (Episode 29)
24 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The war against Iran by the United States and Israel has spread turmoil through oil and natural gas markets, spiking prices and threatening the world ...
How New England fights climate change with help from local organizations (Episode 28)
17 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
As the cause of climate change mitigation loses favor in the White House, reducing risks from global warming has fallen to local communities. In New E...
Are data centers driving up utility costs? (Episode 27)
03 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
As Americans face rising utility costs, much of the blame is being directed at the construction of new energy-intensive data centers. But are data cen...
Can local policies relieve climate activism fatigue? Germany's case (Episode 26)
10 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Climate advocates face many barriers to progress: activism fatigue, misinformation, and a growing skepticism about global cooperation. Can countries g...
The geopolitics behind critical minerals (Episode 25)
20 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The US drive for critical minerals is now fueled by national security concerns instead of climate mitigation. Policymakers speak of shoring up global ...
Europe's fight against mosquito-borne viruses (Episode 24)
06 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Europe faces a new challenge: Mosquito-borne viruses, such as chikungunya, zika, and dengue, are now prevalent throughout the region, driven by warmer...
Can Brazil's fiscal policy address environmental concerns? (Episode 23)
16 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Brazil has made many attempts to reform its fiscal problems, while never adequately addressing its increasingly burdensome government debt. At the sam...
How China expanded its electrical grid with low carbon energy (Episode 22)
02 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
China's population, a little over four times as large as the United States, and its economic ambitions are driving a gargantuan need for electricity. ...
The imperiled future of the Panama Canal (Episode 21)
18 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Panama Canal suffered severe droughts in 2023 and 2024. Lower water levels disrupted vital US commercial trade routes for liquefied natural gas an...
Can climate efforts create jobs? (Episode 20)
07 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Is it possible to pursue climate efforts, create jobs, and achieve social justice at the same time? That was the challenge that the Inflation Reductio...
How Ukraine's critical minerals could help rebuild its economy (Episode 19)
23 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ukraine has been defending itself from Russia's attack for more than three years, forcing it to struggle with a wartime economy. Negotiations to end t...
How to combat disinformation on climate science (Episode 18)
09 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the age of the Internet, artificial intelligence, social media, and instant access to knowledge, disinformation has become a challenge in public di...
The looming water security crisis (Episode 17)
26 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Access to water, a vital necessity for every walk of life, is increasingly jeopardized by the malign effects of climate change, from pollution to melt...
India must pursue its own climate change course (Episode 16)
12 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
India's poverty and tropical heat pose extraordinary challenges as its population faces rising temperatures, less rainfall, and torrid weather. But In...
Climate storytelling faces a crisis (Episode 15)
29 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Telling stories about the challenges of climate change has never been harder. The world is beset by other problems as the newscycle churns from crisis...
Higher temperatures are fueling the rise in bird flu (Episode 14)
15 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
An outbreak of bird flu in the United States and Canada is ravaging chicken flocks and driving up egg prices. What's causing the spread? Dr. Shayan Sh...
How frozen seeds in an Arctic mountain could avert a food crisis (Episode 13)
01 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Climate change is jeopardizing the future survival of millions of different kinds of seeds needed by growers to meet global food demands. Cary Fowler ...
Is the US renewable energy push dead? (Episode 12)
17 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The current political establishment's opposition to climate change incentives makes it easy to assume businesses are going along. But that's far from ...
Tariffs won't stop the EU's climate agenda (Episode 11)
03 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We spoke last year on this podcast about the European Union's ambitious climate agenda. The world has changed since then! A new US president determine...
Can liquefied natural gas actually help climate efforts? (Episode 10)
18 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The United States has become the world's biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, a trend certain to continue under President Donald T...
Where climate change meets war (Episode 9)
04 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How does climate change exacerbate armed conflicts—and how do conflicts get in the way of climate efforts? Cullen S. Hendrix (Peterson Institute for...
Climate efforts hinge on carbon taxes (Episode 8)
21 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As the world grapples with climate change, carbon pricing has emerged as a proven policy tool for discouraging the use of fossil fuels. But raising th...
What sparked Europe's green transition? (Episode 7)
07 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Europe has emerged as a global leader in climate action, but what makes Europe's approach so effective? And how did the Russia-Ukraine war unexpectedl...
Measuring AI's damage to climate and health (Episode 6)
17 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
There has been much hype over AI and its potential benefits to work and society, but what about the vast computing power necessary to develop and trai...
How the changing climate is eroding public health (Episode 5)
10 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The warming of Planet Earth poses an array of public health challenges beyond excessive heat. The rising threat of prevalent vector-borne diseases is ...
What is China's role in climate action? (Episode 4)
26 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
China is the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases and the country faced new records for extreme temperatures in 2023. Its domestic response has...
The global race for electric vehicles (Episode 3)
12 Nov 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Electric vehicles have surged in popularity in recent years. But not all consumers are ready to hit the EV pedal. In this episode, host Monica de Boll...
How worried should we be about climate refugees? (Episode 2)
29 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The rise in extreme weather events is forcing more people to leave their homes, but what about those left behind? Renowned immigration expert Michael ...
The overlooked costs of climate action (Episode 1)
29 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
As countries attempt to reduce carbon emissions, they must consider the price tag of rebuilding energy systems, housing, infrastructure, and more. Jea...
Introducing Policy for the Planet
13 Oct 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Solving the climate crisis requires a historic global collective effort. The Policy for the Planet podcast explores how countries are responding. Join...