Climate Rising

Climate adaptation is emerging as one of the most critical—and least understood—challenges in the climate transition. Mekala Krishnan, Partner at the McKinsey Global Institute, joins Climate Rising to discuss McKinsey’s new research assessing adaptation needs, costs, and gaps around the world.

The conversation explores why the world is already
underinvesting in resilience, and how climate risks are distributed unevenly across geographies and income levels. Mekala explains the concept of the “resiliency gap,” highlighting that billions of people remain under-protected despite the existence of cost-effective solutions.

The episode also examines how climate risks will evolve in the coming decades, why adaptation spending needs could rise to over $1 trillion annually, and what barriers—beyond finance—are preventing action. The
discussion concludes with insights into how businesses, governments, and
financial institutions are beginning to respond, and what it will take to scale adaptation globally.

Wildfires are becoming larger, more destructive, and more expensive every year. But what if the most effective intervention happens not after a fire grows, but within the first few minutes after ignition?

Max Brodie, co-founder and CEO of Rain, joins Climate Rising to discuss how autonomous aircraft could transform wildfire response. Rain is developing AI-powered wildfire suppression systems that upgrade helicopters with autonomous capabilities, enabling faster response times and more effective intervention during the critical first minutes of a fire.

The conversation explores the economics of wildfire prevention, the role of autonomy in aerial firefighting, the challenges of balancing suppression with ecological fire management, and the growing relationship between wildfire risk and climate change. Max also discusses the broader implications of autonomy, public-private partnerships, and how emerging technologies can accelerate climate adaptation and mitigation.

Artificial intelligence is reshaping how businesses operate — but it is also reshaping how companies think about sustainability. Christina Shim, Chief Sustainability Officer at IBM, joins Climate Rising to discuss how AI, cloud infrastructure, and emerging technologies like quantum computing are transforming corporate sustainability strategies. Drawing on her background across consulting, government, investing, startups, and technology, Christina explains how IBM is redefining sustainability from a compliance function into a core business capability.

The conversation explores the “efficiency stack” of AI — from chips and data centers to software models and enterprise applications — and how improvements in efficiency can reduce costs, emissions, and operational
waste. Christina also shares examples of how IBM and its partners are applying AI to urban heat islands, sustainable materials discovery, infrastructure maintenance, and enterprise sustainability management.

The episode also examines the tension between AI’s growing energy demand and its efficiency gains, the role of “fit-for-purpose” models,
and why Christina believes the social and governance implications of AI deserve even more attention than the environmental ones.

Geothermal energy has long been seen as a promising, but challenging,
clean energy resource. Unlike wind or solar, geothermal requires finding heat hidden deep underground, often with little surface indication of where to look.

Joel Edwards, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Zanskar, joins Climate Rising to explain how advances in geoscience, data science, and machine learning are transforming geothermal exploration. By combining publicly available geologic data with modern modeling techniques, Zanskar is working to reduce the risk and cost of finding new geothermal
resources.

The conversation explores how geothermal systems work, why exploration has historically been challenging, and how Zanskar’s approach is enabling “blind discoveries”—finding viable geothermal resources that lack surface expressions such as hot springs or geysers. Joel also discusses the economics of geothermal, the role of data centers as a potential catalyst for growth, and what it will take to scale the industry.

AI and geospatial technologies are transforming how
industries understand and respond to climate challenges. David Potere, Managing Director and Partner at BCG X, joins Climate Rising to describe how sensing, decision-making, and automation are reshaping and decarbonizing sectors like agriculture and energy.

The conversation examines how satellite data, AI models, and real-time sensing systems are enabling new levels of transparency—from methane emissions in energy systems to crop yields and wildfire risks. David discusses the concept of “Industry 4.0” in outdoor environments, where deploying technology is significantly more complex than in controlled factory settings.

The episode also highlights emerging applications in agriculture, energy infrastructure, and climate resilience, and explores how advances in AI and data systems are lowering barriers to innovation. David reflects on the future of consulting, the democratization of technology, and the growing role of builders in solving climate challenges.