In 2019, a group of law students from Pacific island nations set in motion a case that made it to the world’s highest court: The International Court of Justice. The students wanted answers to two important questions: what responsibility do countries have to stop climate change? And if countries don’t stop polluting, will they have to pay for the damages? Now the ICJ has delivered its verdict, and it seems like a huge win for the climate. But is it? Laura Clarke, chief executive officer of legal non-profit ClientEarth, joins Akshat Rathi on Zero to discuss.

Explore further:
One Pacific Nation’s Court Case Opens New Era for Climate Lawsuits - Bloomberg
UN Top Court Says Countries Are Obliged to Fight Climate Change - Bloomberg
Heat Pump Sales Top Gas Boilers in Germany for the First Time - Bloomberg

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Eleanor Harrison Dengate, Siobhan Wagner, Sommer Saadi and Mohsis Andam. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.

In 2019, a group of law students from Pacific island nations set in motion a case that made it to the world&rsquo;s highest court: The International Court of Justice. The students wanted answers to two important questions: what responsibility do countries have to stop climate change? And if countries don&rsquo;t stop polluting, will they have to pay for the damages? Now the ICJ has delivered its verdict, and it seems like a huge win for the climate. But is it? Laura Clarke, chief executive officer of legal non-profit ClientEarth, joins Akshat Rathi on Zero to discuss.
Explore further:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2025-07-24/one-pacific-nation-s-court-case-opens-new-era-for-climate-lawsuits">One Pacific Nation&rsquo;s Court Case Opens New Era for Climate Lawsuits - Bloomberg</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-23/vanuatu-wins-landmark-legal-battle-over-climate-change-impact?srnd=homepage-europe">UN Top Court Says Countries Are Obliged to Fight Climate Change - Bloomberg</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-07-25/heat-pump-sales-top-gas-boilers-in-germany-for-the-first-time?srnd=phx-green">Heat Pump Sales Top Gas Boilers in Germany for the First Time - Bloomberg</a></li>
</ul>
Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Eleanor Harrison Dengate, Siobhan Wagner, Sommer Saadi and Mohsis Andam. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/green">https://www.bloomberg.com/green</a>.

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.

Zero: The Climate Race

Zero

How a bunch of students beat big polluters in the world's highest court

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/a1589176-9f20-49d7-b337-b32a00e66b56/transcript

How can music be used to communicate the climate crisis and its solutions? This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi talks with Pulitzer Prize winning composer Julia Wolfe about her recent work, unEarth, which explores climate change and habitat loss through orchestra, voice and poetry. Wolfe discusses how she did her research, captured the clash between humanity and nature, and what the piece means at a time when her home country of the US seems to be moving ever further from climate action. 

Listen to unEarth:

If you'd like to listen to the full performance of Julia Wolfe’s unEarth, it will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Thursday, 12 February at 7.30pm UK time, and will be available on BBC Sounds, at least for those here in the UK, for the next month. 

Explore further:
Julia Wolfe’s website: https://juliawolfemusic.com/
Past episodes in the Imagine series: 
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 Sommer Saadi, Mohsis Andam, Sharon Chen 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.

How can music be used to communicate the climate crisis and its solutions? This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi talks with Pulitzer Prize winning composer Julia Wolfe about her recent work, unEarth, which explores climate change and habitat loss through orchestra, voice and poetry. Wolfe discusses how she did her research, captured the clash between humanity and nature, and what the piece means at a time when her home country of the US seems to be moving ever further from climate action.&nbsp;
Listen to unEarth:
If you'd like to listen to the full performance of Julia Wolfe&rsquo;s unEarth, it will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 on Thursday, 12 February at 7.30pm UK time, and will be available on <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds">BBC Sounds</a>, at least for those here in the UK, for the next month.&nbsp;
Explore further:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Julia Wolfe&rsquo;s website: <a href="https://juliawolfemusic.com/">https://juliawolfemusic.com/</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Past episodes in the Imagine series:&nbsp;</li>
<ul>
<li aria-level="2"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-29/george-saunders-on-climate-guilt-ai-and-critical-thinking">George Saunders on Climate Guilt, AI and Critical Thinking</a></li>
<li aria-level="2"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-02/abundance-or-adequacy-the-search-for-better-climate-futures">Kim Stanley Robison on Abundance, Adequacy and Better Climate Futures</a></li>
<li aria-level="2"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-18/bloomberg-zero-podcast-artist-monira-al-qadiri-on-the-end-of-oil">Artist Monira Al Qadiri on the End of Oil </a></li>
</ul>
</ul>
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? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/green">https://www.bloomberg.com/green</a>.

Do artists have a duty to be political? Imagine series

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/6e7219c8-c6ca-4757-9f62-b3ee0096aee1/transcript

Major economies around the world are grappling with electricity grids under stress from equipment bottlenecks and workforce shortages. What can be done to solve it? This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi talks with Manoj Sinha, CEO of Husk Power Systems, about distributed energy resources and their potential to bring electricity to where it is needed most — from energy-poor regions in the Global South, to energy-hungry data centres in rich countries.

Bottlenecks series:


Electricity Is Now Holding Back Growth Across the Global Economy
AI-Driven Demand for Gas Turbines Risks a New Energy Crunch
The Fix for Solar Power Blackouts Is Already Here
There Aren’t Enough Engineers to Meet World’s Growing Hunger for Power
The One Device Throttling the World’s Electrified Future

Other related stories
Renewables Are Cheap. Why Aren’t People Seeing Their Bills Fall?
Biggest Mini-Grid Firm Seeks $400 Million, Plans Revenue Surge

Q&A: Got a question for Akshat and the Bloomberg Green team that you'd like to hear answered on Zero? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net 

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Marilen Martin Somer Saadi, Mohsis Andam, Laura Millan and Sharon Chen. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.

Major economies around the world are grappling with electricity grids under stress from equipment bottlenecks and workforce shortages. What can be done to solve it? This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi talks with Manoj Sinha, CEO of Husk Power Systems, about distributed energy resources and their potential to bring electricity to where it is needed most &mdash; from energy-poor regions in the Global South, to energy-hungry data centres in rich countries.
Bottlenecks series:
<ul>
<li>
<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-12-15/electricity-is-holding-back-growth-across-the-global-economy">Electricity Is Now Holding Back Growth Across the Global Economy</a>
</li>
<li><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2025-bottlenecks-gas-turbines/">AI-Driven Demand for Gas Turbines Risks a New Energy Crunch</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2025-bottlenecks-blackouts-grid-stability-solar-wind/">The Fix for Solar Power Blackouts Is Already Here</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2025-bottlenecks-engineering-jobs/">There Aren&rsquo;t Enough Engineers to Meet World&rsquo;s Growing Hunger for Power</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/features/2025-bottlenecks-transformers/">The One Device Throttling the World&rsquo;s Electrified Future</a></li>
</ul>
Other related stories
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-09/bloomberg-green-zero-podcast-octopus-ceo-greg-jackson">Renewables Are Cheap. Why Aren&rsquo;t People Seeing Their Bills Fall?</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-11-25/mini-grid-husk-power-systems-seeks-400-million-plans-revenue-surge?sref=jjXJRDFv">Biggest Mini-Grid Firm Seeks $400 Million, Plans Revenue Surge</a></li>
</ul>
Q&amp;A: Got a question for Akshat and the Bloomberg Green team that you'd like to hear answered on Zero? Email us at <a href="mailto:zeropod@bloomberg.net">zeropod@bloomberg.net</a>&nbsp;
Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Marilen Martin Somer Saadi, Mohsis Andam, Laura Millan and Sharon Chen. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/green">https://www.bloomberg.com/green</a>.

Electricity is now holding back growth across the global economy

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/2e882e0c-3cad-4990-875a-b3e700a066fa/transcript

What is the best way to tell a climate story? This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi speaks with Booker Prize-winning novelist George Saunders. His new novel Vigil is an exploration of guilt, told on the deathbed of an oil executive haunted by ghosts.

Rathi asks Saunders what he learned about climate change, his thoughts on whether AI complements or compromises human creativity, and why literature still matters in the era of TikTok.

Explore further:
In ‘Vigil,’ George Saunders Asks: Can An Oil CEO Repent? — Bloomberg
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable — Amitav Ghosh

Other episodes in the Imagine series:
Building Monuments to the End of Oil — Kuwaiti artist Monira Al Qadiri
Abundance or Adequacy? Search for Better Climate Solutions — Sci-fi bestseller Kim Stanley Robinson

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Gautam Naik, Sommer Saadi, Mohsis Andam, Sharon Chen 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.

What is the best way to tell a climate story? This week on Zero, Akshat Rathi speaks with Booker Prize-winning novelist George Saunders. His new novel Vigil is an exploration of guilt, told on the deathbed of an oil executive haunted by ghosts.
Rathi asks Saunders what he learned about climate change, his thoughts on whether AI complements or compromises human creativity, and why literature still matters in the era of TikTok.
Explore further:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-23/an-oil-ceo-s-reckoning-is-at-the-heart-of-george-saunders-vigil">In &lsquo;Vigil,&rsquo; George Saunders Asks: Can An Oil CEO Repent?</a> &mdash; Bloomberg</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eFT_eb_jRk">The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable</a> &mdash; Amitav Ghosh</li>
</ul>
Other episodes in the Imagine series:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://omny.fm/shows/zero/building-monuments-to-the-end-of-oil">Building Monuments to the End of Oil</a> &mdash; Kuwaiti artist Monira Al Qadiri</li>
<li><a href="https://omny.fm/shows/zero/abundance-adequacy-and-the-hunt-for-better-climate-solutions">Abundance or Adequacy? Search for Better Climate Solutions</a> &mdash; Sci-fi bestseller Kim Stanley Robinson</li>
</ul>
Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Gautam Naik, Sommer Saadi, Mohsis Andam, Sharon Chen and Laura Millan. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/green">https://www.bloomberg.com/green</a>.

George Saunders goes inside the mind of a climate denier: Imagine series

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/1cff1043-b0d8-49ab-b5ca-b3e000fe5219/transcript

How a bunch of students beat big polluters in the world's highest court

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