Peak oil is here, or is it? Depends on how you measure, but at least one person is sure crude isn’t coming back. This week Akshat speaks with Bloomberg Opinion columnist David Fickling about why he thinks the world has reached peak crude oil demand, what comes next, and what it all has to do with the American soap opera Dallas. 

Read more 
David’s original article:Peak Oil Has Finally Arrived. No, Really
Not everyone agrees: The Harsh Truth: We're Using More Oil Than Ever
Latest IEA forecasts: Global Oil Demand to Reach Its Peak This Decade, IEA Says
Read or pre-order Akshat’s book Climate Capitalism

Listen
Listen to the interview with IEA head Fatih Birol 
Listen to the interview about EVs and oil demand with Colin McKraccher

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit bloomberg.com/green. 

Peak oil is here, or is it? Depends on how you measure, but at least one person is sure crude isn’t coming back. This week Akshat speaks with Bloomberg Opinion columnist David Fickling about why he thinks the world has reached peak crude oil demand, what comes next, and what it all has to do with the American soap opera Dallas. 
Read more 
<ul>
<li>David’s original article: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2022-09-28/the-oil-peak-is-here-as-steep-rate-hikes-curb-consumption?sref=jjXJRDFv">Peak Oil Has Finally Arrived. No, Really</a></li>
<li>Not everyone agrees: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2023-07-27/the-harsh-truth-is-we-ve-never-consumed-this-much-oil">The Harsh Truth: We're Using More Oil Than Ever</a></li>
<li>Latest IEA forecasts: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-10-24/global-oil-demand-to-reach-its-peak-this-decade-iea-says">Global Oil Demand to Reach Its Peak This Decade, IEA Says</a></li>
<li>Read or pre-order Akshat’s book <a href="https://akshatrathi.com/book">Climate Capitalism</a></li>
</ul>
Listen
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/zero-the-climate-race/id1621556928?i=1000605498279">Listen to the interview with IEA head Fatih Birol </a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/zero-the-climate-race/id1621556928?i=1000630258734">Listen to the interview about EVs and oil demand with Colin McKraccher</a></li>
</ul>
Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim. 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">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

Peak oil is here. Well, maybe.

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/b761c4f2-d763-4908-8f4c-b09f00d6731f/transcript

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
Dale Vince on Zero
Lieutenant General Richard Nugee on Zero

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Summer Maxwell, Sommer Saadi, Alyssa McDonald 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.

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&rsquo;s Green party and a member of parliament for 14 years, about the increasing threat climate change poses to national security, and what she&rsquo;s learned from four decades at the frontline of climate politics.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Explore further:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-rest-is-politics/id1611374685?i=1000777135637">Caroline&rsquo;s series for The Rest Is Politics</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/audio/2026-03-25/zero-polanski-s-plan-to-tax-wealth-make-energy-cheap-podcast">Zack Polanski on Zero</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/audio/2026-07-20/zero-ditching-net-zero-to-win-the-climate-argument-podcast">Dale Vince on Zero</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">Lieutenant General <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/audio/2025-07-09/zero-why-militaries-cannot-ignore-climate-change-podcast">Richard Nugee on Zero</a></li>
</ul>
Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Summer Maxwell, Sommer Saadi, Alyssa McDonald 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>.

When climate change threatens national security 

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/e818fff1-f548-4d6a-88b6-b4a3010e1279/transcript

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 Critical Oil Waterway Is About to Close

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Summer Maxwell, Sommer Saadi, Alyssa McDonald 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.

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&rsquo;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:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Javier Blas&rsquo; <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/authors/ASIsQsgx0V8/javier-blas">columns</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2026-08-03/global-oil-reserves-aren-t-really-hitting-tank-bottoms?srnd=undefined">The Global Oil Cushion Isn&rsquo;t Really Hitting &lsquo;Tank Bottoms&rsquo;</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2026-07-29/the-rhine-is-the-latest-critical-oil-waterway-in-danger-of-closing?srnd=undefined">Another Critical Oil Waterway Is About to Close</a></li>
</ul>
Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Summer Maxwell, Sommer Saadi, Alyssa McDonald 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>.

The Iran war revealed that China has a new energy weapon

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/1debc27c-7c1d-4c20-a0d4-b49d009ffde2/transcript

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 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 Summer Maxwell, Sommer Saadi, Alyssa McDonald 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 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&rsquo;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&rsquo;s Imagine series:
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/audio/2026-03-11/zero-the-best-climate-stories-are-not-where-you-think-podcast">Abi Dare on finding the best climate stories&nbsp;</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2026-02-14/julia-wolfe-on-how-music-can-inspire-climate-action">Julia Wolfe on How Music can Inspire Climate Action</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><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="1"><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="1"><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>
Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Summer Maxwell, Sommer Saadi, Alyssa McDonald 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>.

When AI and climate anxieties collide to make beautiful stories: Imagine Series

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/f5875b10-7aa1-4c52-865a-b49600d25825/transcript

Peak oil is here. Well, maybe.

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