Climate Rising

Permitting reform has become one of the most consequential—and controversial—topics in U.S. climate and energy policy. As electricity demand rises due to AI, data centers, electrification, and economic growth, many argue that the country’s permitting, transmission, and
interconnection processes are too slow to support the clean energy transition.

In this special crossover episode jointly produced by the Climate
Rising and CleanLaw podcasts, Mike Toffel and Harvard Law School Professor Jody Freeman speak with Nat Keohane, President of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES). They discuss why permitting reform has emerged as a rare area of bipartisan interest, the challenges of modernizing America’s electric grid, and the tradeoffs between accelerating infrastructure development and maintaining environmental safeguards.

The conversation examines how permitting, transmission planning, utility incentives, AI-driven electricity demand, and federal-state governance intersect—and why solving these challenges may be essential to both climate progress and American competitiveness.

How can companies make sustainability information useful to
consumers at the moment they make a purchase?

Justine Mahler and Cameron Westfall of Amazon join Climate Rising to discuss Climate Pledge Friendly, Amazon’s sustainable shopping program. They explain how Amazon uses third-party certifications to identify products with sustainability attributes, how the company evaluates which
certifications qualify, and how it translates complex standards into
information consumers can quickly understand.

The conversation also explores what Amazon has learned about consumer behavior since launching the program in 2020. Cameron shares research
showing a sales lift for products after joining Climate Pledge Friendly, while Justine explains why the environmental impacts that matter most differ across product categories. They also discuss how customer feedback, experimentation, and evolving sustainability science continue to shape the program.

Climate action requires more than technology, policy, and capital. It also requires communication.

In this special curated episode of Climate Rising, we revisit three past conversations to explore how companies communicate about climate change to different audiences.

The episode features excerpts from Mike Toffel’s conversations with leaders of New Belgium Brewing, Allbirds, and Microsoft that illustrate
distinct approaches to climate storytelling. New Belgium used products and campaigns to engage consumers directly. Allbirds embedded sustainability into product design and customer experience. Microsoft focused internally, translating climate ambition into governance structures and decision-making processes.

Taken together, these leaders highlight how climate communication can influence customers, employees, policymakers, and business leaders—and why storytelling remains an essential part of accelerating climate
action.

Carbon labeling has become one of the most visible ways climate actions enter everyday consumer decisions.

In this episode of Climate Rising, Julia Nicoara, Marketing and Communications Director at the Carbon Trust, explains how carbon labeling systems, certification standards, and corporate partnerships are helping organizations measure, reduce, and communicate their climate impact.

The conversation explores how carbon labels evolved from early experimental initiatives into widely adopted transparency tools, how companies balance credibility and communication in sustainability claims, and how regulation is shaping the future of green marketing

Addressing climate change isn’t just a technology or policy challenge - it’s a communication challenge.

John Marshall, founder of Potential Energy Coalition, joins Climate Rising to discuss how marketing techniques can accelerate climate action. Drawing on decades of experience advising major corporations, John
explains how his team uses behavioral science, focus groups, large-scale
experimentation, and data-driven messaging to shift public perception on climate and energy.

The conversation explores why traditional climate messaging often fails, how concepts like “net zero” and “climate crisis” can backfire, and why trust, identity, and local relevance matter more than abstract global narratives. John also discusses the role of AI in reshaping marketing and the risks and opportunities it presents for climate communication