Originally aired on September 20, 2019

In it, Fred Dews talks with Amar Bhattacharya, senior fellow in Global Economy and Development; Samantha Gross, fellow in Foreign Policy and the Energy Security and Climate Initiative, and Lindsey Ford, the David M. Rubenstein Fellow in Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution.

They talk a little bit about the Paris Accord's goals for limiting global warming to 2 degrees Centigrade relative to pre-industrial levels and how these goals aren't ambitious enough to avoid the worst impacts on vulnerable populations.

Gross talks about US President Donald Trump's absence from several high-profile climate summits, and notes that his playing hooky might not be the worst possible thing. She also notes that, while the withdrawal from the Paris Accord means that climate initiatives are missing what was a world leader, the US accounts for 15-16% of global emissions, so it's not the only game in town.

[It's also worth noting that US withdrawal doesn't mean the end of climate consciousness for the entire United States: several states with powerhouse economies, including California, have signed up to the Paris Accord independently, and many corporations are also on board.

Unfortunately, from a perspective of coordination and leadership, the withdrawal still hurts. California doesn't pack the punch that the federal government does on a global scale.]

The guests discuss the role of coal, especially in the United States relative to India, and the role that economic and political arguments make in weaning off or staying dependent on the emissions-heavy power source. They also consider deforestation and land use, especially in Brazil: is the Brazilian Amazon "the world's resource," or is it "Brazil's resource?"

Ford steps in at the end to announce a new podcast series on China, and to make a pitch for the book By More Than Providence by Michael Green. Green writes about US involvement in Asia, putting the US-China relationship into a broader historical perspective. You can check out the book here.