50 Shades of Green: A Climate Group Podcast

Climate Group has always been green, but in this podcast we explore every shade with special guests and interviews from across business, government, and social sectors to explore strategies and solutions on galvanizing climate action.

COP30 Recap - Toby Walker

In this episode, we speak to Toby Walker, Climate Group's Senior Manager for International Policy & Advocacy. Toby gives us a deep dive on impacts from negotiations at the conference and how the agreement will shape the climate conversation going forward into 2026.

11-25
16:33

COP30 Preview - Climate Group CEO Helen Clarkson

In this episode, we speak with Climate Group CEO Helen Clarkson for a preview of COP30, the UN's annual climate conference taking place this year in Belem, Brazil. We talk about the importance of subnational and business action to tackle the climate crisis, as well as challenges facing finance and nature-based solutions. What do you think we can expect from this year's conference? Let us know in the comments!

11-10
15:11

LIVE from Climate Week NYC - Climate hushing and the cost of silence in a polarized world

The effects of a changing climate are increasingly visible in our daily lives. Yet, in many public discussions, whether in government halls or business boardrooms, people are shying away from saying the word “climate.” This makes it more difficult to build support for solutions since people won’t see how climate is an everyday issue if we aren’t talking about it every day. Some worry that people aren’t interested, that the issue is too political, or that raising the issue may not resonate. But often the challenge isn’t the topic itself, it’s how we talk about it. To connect more effectively, we need to shift the narrative: making it concrete rather than abstract, personal rather than distant, local as well as global, and rooted in real impacts on our families, communities, and economies. In this session live from Climate Week NYC, we will explore the dangers of climate hushing, empower leaders and organizations to speak up, and equip audiences to communicate about climate in ways that truly engage and inspire action. The session aims to answer: What is driving the increase in climate hushing  What does the data say about whether you should say the word “climate?" How to make climate a winning issue and boost public demand for climate solutions  This session is hosted by the Potential Energy Coalition. Speakers:  John Marshall, CEO and Founder, Potential Energy CoalitionMaría Mendiluce, CEO, We Mean Business Coalition Mindy Lubber, CEO and President, Ceres Catherine McKenna, CEO, Climate and Nature Solutions Moderated by Chase Cain, Meteorologist and Climate Reporter, NBC News 

10-07
45:50

Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild with Peter Gros

In this episode, we preview the new season of Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild with wildlife expert and co-host Peter Gros. We discuss how the show has evolved over the years and how conservationists have adapted to climate change in the filmmaking process. Wild Kingdom Protecting the Wild premieres Saturday, October 4th, on NBC.

10-03
12:07

LIVE from Climate Week NYC - Jane Fonda & Rob Bonta at the American Innovation and Abundance Program

Last week, we hosted the first ever American Innovation and Abundance Program at Climate Week NYC. Leaders from across US policy, business, and civil society took the stage to share how we can best drive forward climate action across America.Hear from actor and activist Jane Fonda and California Attorney General Rob Bonta on their strategies to build a movement and make substantive progress on meeting our climate goals.

09-30
12:09

LIVE from Climate Week NYC: Communicating climate change – how can culture drive action?

When environmental stewardship becomes a core cultural value, climate-positive behaviors naturally follow. Today, cultural institutions are playing a crucial role in transforming abstract climate science into tangible experiences, emotional resonance, and collective action. It’s no longer just about what people know, but what they feel, value, and do together. Join voices from the worlds of sport, music, media, television, and food as they share the meaningful steps they've taken toward building a more sustainable future.Speakers: Zay Harding, TV Host and Producer, The VISIONEERSHenry Rich, Managing Partner, The Oberon Group  John McCalla-Leacy, Head of Global ESG, KPMG Adam Gardner, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director, REVERBMike Richter, President, Brightcore Energy Robbie Fowler, LFC legend, Liverpool Football Club  Rishi Jain, Director of Impact for Liverpool Football Club J. English Cook, Co-Founder and Artistic Director, Climate Film Festival

09-26
59:23

Breaking: What does the “One Big Beautiful Bill” mean for US renewable energy investment?

Join Climate Group North America's Board Chair Governor Bill Ritter and Executive Director Angela Barranco for a special live bonus episode on what’s at stake in HR1, the OBBB reconciliation package, recently passed by the US Senate. Featuring insights from Rich Powell (CEO of Clean Energy Buyers Association (CEBA)), Kristina Costa (former White House official), Ted Lee (former Treasury tax policy official), and Climate Group's Director of Energy Sam Kimmins, this session unpacks the bill’s potential impacts on US clean energy investment, renewable energy deployment, and the future of US decarbonization efforts.

07-01
40:44

Climate and Culture: Stories of Survival, Resilience, and Renewal

To celebrate the official launch of Climate Week NYC event host registration, we broadcasted a LinkedIn Live on how climate change reshapes cultures, identities, and communities around the world. Discover how artists, activists, and leaders drive cultural resilience and inspire global action in the face of climate disruption.Featured speakers include:⭕ Adam Lake, Head of North America Communications, Climate Group⭕ AY Young 🔌, Chief Executive Officer, Battery Tour ⭕ David Campany, Creative Director, International Center of Photography⭕Audrey Decker, Co-Founder, Street Art for Mankind

06-02
48:37

Smart and Sustainable Mobility: A Conversation with Québec and Philadelphia

In the latest bonus episode of 50 Shades of Green, we cover the role of cities and states in building smart and sustainable transportation infrastructure.Speakers include: Featured speakers include:⭕ Richard Parker, Senior Manager, Transportation Programs, Climate Group North America⭕ Frederic Langlois, Sustainable Mobility & Renewable Energy, Québec Government Office in New York⭕ Michael Carroll, Deputy Managing Director, Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems, City of Philadelphia⭕ Emily Duncan, Manager of Business Innovation, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA)

05-12
31:12

Communicating Climate Change LIVE - Part 3

Welcome to the third and final of our three-part series on Communicating Climate Change. Three live sessions aimed at getting to the heart of how the way we talk about climate has shifted and how stakeholders across the media, business, and nonprofit world are adapting to meet communities where they are. In this special third episode, we hear from Climate Group’s Adam Lake, speaking to Wawa Gatheru, Founder and Executive Director of Black Girl Environmentalist, live from the Green Media Summit in March 2025.

05-05
29:41

Communicating Climate Change LIVE - Part 2

Welcome to the second of our three-part series on Communicating Climate Change. Three live sessions aimed at getting to the heart of how the way we talk about climate has shifted and how stakeholders across the media, business, and nonprofit world are adapting to meet communities where they are.Hosted in partnership with the Impact Communications Institute as part of the US Climate Action Summit. In this episode, Adam speaks to Climate and Health consultant Rebecca Jacobs, as well as Sergio Velasquez-Rose, Global Head of Strategy, Insight, and Analytics at Potential Energy Coalition.

05-01
59:49

Communicating Climate Change LIVE - Part 1

The first of three live sessions aimed at getting to the heart of how the way we talk about climate has shifted and how stakeholders across the media, business, and nonprofit world are adapting to meet communities where they are.

04-30
59:59

Extreme weather survivors

How can we quantify the real human impact of extreme weather? According to NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, 2024 alone saw 27 individual weather and climate disasters with at least $1 billion in damages, trailing only the record-setting 28 events analyzed in 2023. Across hurricanes, wildfires, floods, tornados, and more the impacts of the climate crisis are apparent, but where do we begin to measure the real toll, these disasters take on the people affected and how do those folks carry on?In this episode, we speak to three members of Extreme Weather Survivors, an organization dedicated to building community, providing support and training, and advocating for change for all those impacted by extreme weather. I join Executive Director and Co-Founder Chris Kocher, Melissa Whittaker, a small business owner from Montpelier, Vermont, and Erica Solove, a psychologist from Boulder, Colorado in a discussion about what it means to make connections, stay resilient, and create positive change in the wake of the climate crisis.

03-04
34:40

Rising to the occasion: ensuring rapid EV charging buildout

Join us for a special bonus episode of 50 Shades of Green. In this episode, we dive into the state of EV charging from California Public Utility Commission's perspective and the role utility commissions can play in expediting the buildout of critical infrastructure and innovations.Speakers include:⭕ Angela Barranco, Executive Director, Climate Group North America⭕ Matthew Baker, Commissioner,California Public Utilities Commission⭕ Richard Parker, Senior Manager, Transportation Programs, Climate Group North America

02-11
30:35

50 Shades of Green Trailer

From the creators of Climate Week NYC, the largest climate event of its kind in the world, Climate Group brings you the Fifty Shades of Green podcast.   Each episode introduces you to leading experts, influencers and campaigners who are changing the way we fight climate change.   We take you behind the scenes with some of the most critical, and often unexpected, stories and people from the US and around the world.   Fifty Shades of Green is a podcast that brings the changemakers to you, hosted by our team of guest correspondents and experts.     Join us at Fifty Shades of Green, a Climate Group podcast. Available on all major platforms. 

01-28
00:51

Climate Journalism - Sammy Roth, Stephanie Abrams, Kira Akerman

In this episode, we’re exploring the world of climate journalism – specifically how climate change is covered across a variety of media from short form rapid response news to long form narrative documentaries – and how it's evolved over the years. First, Executive Director of Climate Group North America Angela Barranco joins with Sammy Roth, Climate Columnist at the L.A. Times and host of the new podcast Boiling Point, on how major print publications are covering climate and communicating climate risk, how this has changed, and what we can do to combat misinformation. Then, Climate Group’s Adam Lake speaks with Stephanie Abrams, Meteorologist at The Weather Channel, to explore how broadcast coverage of climate change has evolved and how audiences are responding to more frequent instances of extreme weather.  Finally, Climate Group’s Liisa Kaufman joins with Kira Akerman, Director of the climate change documentary Hollow Tree, to walk us through her filmmaking process and how longform media and storytelling can shape the narrative around climate action.

01-27
01:13:41

Climate Finance - NY Green Bank; COP29 Recap

In this episode, we're diving deep into climate finance - how governments are paying for and facilitating climate action. In our first segment, Climate Group's Gillian Ertel speaks with Kaitlin Butler, Vice President of NY Green Bank, on how green bank investments accelerate clean energy and renewable infrastructure deployment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In our next segment, Gillian continues the conversation with Champa Patel and Toby Walker from Climate Group's Governments & Policy team on all things COP29, specifically the impact of the UN's annual climate conference and what to expect ahead of COP30 in Brazil. Then, Gillian closes out the episode with Nehmat Kaur, Climate Group's Director of the Under2 Coalition and Subnational Governments on the impact cities, states and regions can have in the fight against climate change.

12-16
37:02

What's behind your plate of sustainable beef? AGRAP; UK PACT Peru

Juliana Villabona de Climate Group habla con Fabiola Muñoz, ex Ministra de Ambiente de Perú, y Verónica Cardozo, miembro de la Alianza por una Ganadería regenerativa en la Amazonía Peruana - AGRAP, sobre cómo los agricultores de América Latina están trabajando para hacer que la ganadería sea más sostenible en asociación con WWF. ___ Climate Group's Juliana Villabona speaks with Fabiola Munoz, Former Minister of the Environment of Peru, and Veronica Cardozo, member of Alianza por una Ganadería regenerativa en la Amazonía Peruana - AGRAP, about how farmers in Latin America are working to make cattle ranching more sustainable in partnership with WWF.

10-30
39:59

50 Shades of Green LIVE: The Innovation Episode

For the first time, we broadcasted 50 Shades of Green from The Hub Live at Climate Week NYC in front of a live audience. 50 Shades of Green LIVE: The Innovation Episode brought together some of the most exciting leaders in the innovation space, showcasing the latest technologies, inventions, initiatives and ideas on earth – and far beyond. Whether they're creating solar panels from moon rock or turning sea water into rocket fuel, this session heard from those at the forefront of the next generation of climate action.

09-27
55:33

Episode 14 - Strengthening global climate resilience - Mercy Corps; VELUX

In this episode of 50 Shades of Green, we're talking resilience. We sat down with Mercy Corps' Chief Climate Officer, David Nicholson, and Julie Kjestrup, Head of Policy and Thought Leadership at VELUX, to chat about different avenues of climate resilience. From adaptation projects in the humanitarian development sector to creating a Renovation Revolution in buildings across Europe, we explore the strategies and capacity needed to prepare communities for current and future impacts of the climate crisis. 

09-05
51:03

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