This Year in Climate: 2025

This Year in Climate: 2025

Author: Climate One from The Commonwealth Club December 19, 2025 Duration: 59:22
2025 has been a doozy in so many ways. And climate news has been no exception. Climate One hosts Ariana Brocious and Kousha Navidar look back at what the year has meant for climate progress: the good, the bad, the ugly — and the joyful. According to the World Meteorological Organization, 2025 will go down as one of the top three warmest years in the 176-year observational record. Climate-change-fueled extreme weather continues to wreak havoc on communities across the world. And yet, it’s not all bad news.  As Bill McKibben points out, we now live on a planet where the cheapest form of energy basically comes from pointing a piece of glass at the sun. And globally, renewable energy surpassed coal for the first time ever. Despite the federal government’s attacks on climate science and policy, local climate action is still happening across the country and globe, and each of us holds power to make change. Guests: Adrienne Heinz, Clinical Research Psychologist, Stanford University School of Medicine Roxanne Brown, Vice President at Large, United Steelworkers Pattie Gonia, Drag Queen and environmentalistFor show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org Highlights: 00:00 - Intro 02:00 – 2025 has been the year of AI 04:30 – Trump admin attack on science, climate and environmental regs and rules 06:45 – Good news on renewables and the rise of China as an electrostate 08:30 – New York implements congestion pricing 10:00 – US has removed itself from global climate negotiations 12:45 – Remembering Jane Goodall 15:30 – Adrienne Heinz on how to support yourself and others after a weather disaster 25:30 – Roxanne Brown on how Trump’s pullback of IRA, BIL and CHIPS acts have hurt American workers and industry 34:00 – Growing threat of disinformation in climate conversations 36:30 – Pattie Gonia on how drag performance fits in with their climate and environmental activism 51:00 – How joy is strategic 53:30 – A look ahead at 2026 ***** Support Climate One by going ad-free! By subscribing to Climate One on Patreon, you’ll receive exclusive access to all future episodes free of ads, opportunities to connect with fellow Climate One listeners, and access to the Climate One Discord. Sign up today at patreon.com/ClimateOne.  Ad sales by Multitude. Contact them for ad inquiries at multitude.productions/ads Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The conversation about our changing planet is often reduced to headlines and political noise, but Climate One moves beyond that. Hosted by Greg Dalton, Ariana Brocious and Kousha Navidar, this podcast from The Commonwealth Club creates a space for the full, complex dialogue we need. Each episode features candid discussions with scientists, policymakers, activists, and thinkers who are on the front lines. The focus is on drawing connections-between personal action and economic systems, between daunting scientific reports and tangible community solutions. You’ll hear analysis that doesn’t shy away from the severity of our situation while actively exploring pathways for genuine progress, from technology and finance to culture and justice. This isn't about alarmism or easy answers; it's about equipping listeners with a deeper understanding of the intertwined challenges and opportunities. Tuning into this podcast means joining a crucial exploration of how we adapt, mitigate, and fundamentally rethink our relationship with the natural world. The dialogue here is built on the idea that confronting the climate emergency honestly, in all its facets, is the first necessary step toward shaping a livable future.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Climate One
Podcast Episodes
How Students and Teachers Are Talking About Climate [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:59
Students are heading back to school, and in addition to all of the usual challenges of the school year, some children are carrying an extra weight: climate anxiety. Teachers are also swimming in tricky waters as conversa…
Small Dollar, Big Impact [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:53
The climate doesn’t care where emissions cuts come from; what matters is that the world transitions to renewable energy quickly and cheaply. If it’s significantly cheaper to install solar panels in India than on a roofto…
Batteries Now Included [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:05
The Trump administration has taken aim at green energy, but one technology has largely been left untouched: batteries to store wind and solar electricity. California alone surpassed 13GW of battery storage last year, and…
Cause of Death: Air Pollution [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:08
In 2013, 9-year-old Ella Roberta died from a severe asthma attack. She became the first person in the United Kingdom (and possibly the world) to have “air pollution” listed as the cause of death on her death certificate.…
Young People Are Bringing Climate To Court. And Winning. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:43
We’re all feeling the effects of the fossil-fueled climate crisis, but young people will not let this threat to their future go unchallenged. They’re taking it to the courts. In the last year, youth plaintiffs have had n…
Scorching Premiums: Climate Costs Hit Insurance Market [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:58
Climate disruptions and growing risk are upending insurance markets, leading many insurers to abandon parts of the country all together. Due to fires, floods and other extreme events, more and more homeowners are facing…
ENCORE: AI’s Power Demands: Do We Really Have the Energy for This? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:52
In a previous Climate One episode, we discussed the good, the bad, and the ugly impacts of artificial intelligence. But AI isn’t going away. Humans rarely give up a nifty new tool unless something better comes along. AI’…
Trump’s Megabill Comes for the Clean Energy Transition [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:06:33
Three years ago, Congress passed President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, the largest investment in climate action in U.S. history. The IRA set in motion a sweeping set of investments in nearly every aspect of energy a…