Policy can make or break climate action. Usually, national policy gets the most attention, but what local and regional governments do can make a bigger difference, especially in large countries like the US, India and China. This week, Akshat Rathi speaks with three US governors – Jay Inslee of Washington, Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico, and Eric Holcomb of Indiana – about how they navigate partisan politics and the need for climate action. As governors who control state budgets and priorities, their decisions now could supercharge national climate action, or hinder it.

More on the topic: 

• How solar is becoming the midwest’s new cash crop
• Podcast: How wildfire smoke and air pollution impacts your health
• Zero’s episode with Leah Stokes about working on the IRA with Gov. Jay Inslee
• Crash Course: Conservatives vs. EGS with Saijel Kishan
• 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 Brian Eckhouse, Aaron Clark, Jen Dlouhy, Gilda Di Carli and Kira Bindrim. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit bloomberg.com/green