181. A U.S. Special: Making The Irresistible Irreversible!

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Welcome to another episode of Outrage + Optimism, where we examine issues at the forefront of the climate crisis, interview change-makers, and transform our anger into productive dialogue on building a sustainable future.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this episode, co-hosts Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac go deep into U.S. domestic energy policy with guests U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm and White House Deputy National Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">First up, the critical topic of energy justice: Granholm updates the team on the</span> <a href= "https://www.whitehouse.gov/environmentaljustice/justice40/"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Justice40 Initiative</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">, in which an unprecedented 40 percent of federal energy investments are earmarked for disadvantaged and historically underserved communities that are overburdened by pollution. The plans, which seek to reckon with deep-seated inequities, are ambitious, exciting, and groundbreaking.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Speaking of action, Tom and Christiana’s next guest is optimist and White House Climate Advisor Ali Zaidi. He contends the U.S. is on a positive linear trajectory and accelerating exponentiallyーnot just in clean energy or emissions reduction but in terms of the political economy backing these actions. Get the scoop on how federal agencies and departments are pushing forward together. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">We finish the episode with the beautiful track “Until the Day” by Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter BEL. Additional details are included in the show notes below. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">You won’t want to miss a second of this electrifying episode!</span></p> <p> </p> <p><a href= "https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/FBZTLG3"><strong>Listeners, please take a minute to complete our listener survey.</strong></a> <span style=