In this week’s episode, host Daniel Raimi talks with Varun Sivaram, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and founder and CEO of Emerald AI, about how “climate realism” could shape the future of US climate policy. In a recent article for the Council on Foreign Relations, Sivaram lays out the case for climate realism—an approach to US climate policy that both realistically prepares for the consequences of climate change and advances American foreign policy objectives. Sivaram explains and defends his arguments for climate realism, which include contentious claims about the feasibility of reaching global climate targets, US contributions to global emissions, and the economic benefits of the clean energy transition. Sivaram then outlines an alternative vision for US climate policy that promotes investments in clean technology and action in the international arena to mitigate the worst consequences of climate change.

References and recommendations:

“We Need a Fresh Approach to Climate Policy. It’s Time for Climate Realism” by Varun Sivaram; https://www.cfr.org/article/we-need-fresh-approach-climate-policy-its-time-climate-realism

“The Most Powerful People You’ve Never Heard Of” episode of the Freakonomics podcast; https://freakonomics.com/podcast/the-most-powerful-people-youve-never-heard-of/

“The World for Sale: Money, Power, and the Traders Who Barter the Earth’s Resources” by Javier Blas and Jack Farchy; https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-world-for-sale-9780197651537

“Reflecting on Solar Geoengineering, with David Keith” from the Resources Radio podcast; https://www.resources.org/resources-radio/reflecting-solar-geoengineering-david-keith/

A New (and Controversial) Approach to Climate Policy, with Varun Sivaram

In this week’s episode, host Kristin Hayes talks with Danny Richter, director of the Pricing Carbon Initiative, about the existing suite of carbon pricing policies, a set of climate policy tools designed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by requiring companies and other entities to pay for each ton of carbon dioxide they release into the atmosphere. Richter evaluates the international and domestic approaches to carbon pricing policies, explaining their history, uptake, and longevity. Richter highlights the flexibility of carbon pricing programs—which allows policymakers to tailor the sources and investment of revenues from carbon pricing to their unique policy priorities—as key to the long-term success of these programs. Richter then outlines shifting attitudes toward carbon pricing in the United States, highlighting how successful cap-and-invest initiatives emphasize the economic advantages of these policies while delivering climate benefits.

References and recommendations:

Pricing Carbon Initiative; https://pricingcarbon.org/

“Fourth Generation Carbon Prices” by Danny Richter; https://pricingcarbon.org/2024/11/fourth-generation-carbon-prices/

“Reserved: Carbon Pricing and the Dollar’s Special Status” by Danny Richter; https://pricingcarbon.org/2025/04/reserved-carbon-pricing-and-the-dollars-special-status/

Carbon Pricing Dashboard from the World Bank; https://carbonpricingdashboard.worldbank.org/

“How Carbon Border Adjustments Might Drive Global Climate Policy Momentum” by Kimberly Clausing, Milan Elkerbout, Katarina Nehrkorn, and Catherine Wolfram; https://www.rff.org/publications/reports/how-carbon-border-adjustments-might-drive-global-climate-policy-momentum/

“Our Dollar, Your Problem” by Kenneth Rogoff; https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300275315/our-dollar-your-problem/

Carbon Pricing Is Dead. Long Live Carbon Pricing!, with Danny Richter

Resources Radio is a weekly podcast by Resources for the Future. Each week we talk to leading experts about climate change, electricity, ecosystems, and more, making the latest research accessible to everyone.

New tracks tagged #global emissions