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Will the clean energy revolution leave the US behind?
Over the past decade, renewable energy has exploded. Technology is improving. Costs are plummeting. This is now the fastest energy transition in human history. But just as the world goes all in on renewables, the US is doubling down on fossil fuels. Does it risk being left behind in the race to power the future? Environmentalist and author Bill McKibben joins Ian Bremmer on GZERO World to discuss the sudden and overwhelming surge of clean energy installation and generation over the past two years, China’s push to dominate the renewable market, and whether the Trump administration’s policies will put the US at a disadvantage.
The White House has cancelled funding solar and wind projects and is pushing other countries to buy more oil and gas, but McKibben says the scale and pace of the global energy transformation is just too powerful to ignore. McKibben’s new book, "Here Comes the Sun," argues that renewables aren’t just a climate fix—they’re a political and economic opportunity to reshape our future. He has no doubt that 30 years from now, we’ll run the planet on sun and wind simply because of economics, but also warns the world will face serious problems if it takes that long to get there
“Fossil fuels become harder to get over time. Renewable energy is the opposite,” McKibben says, “We now live on a planet where the cheapest way to make energy is to point a sheet of glass at the sun.”
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube.Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.
Renewable energy and the case for climate optimism with Bill McKibben
Is the clean energy revolution finally here? Over the past few years, the world has experienced a sudden and overwhelming surge in renewable energy installation and generation, outpacing even the most optimistic predictions from experts. This week on the GZERO World Podcast, Ian Bremmer talks to with Bill McKibben, an environmentalist and author, about the stakes and scale of the global energy transformation. His new book, "Here Comes the Sun," argues renewables aren’t just a climate fix—they’re a political and economic opportunity.
Costs from solar and wind have dropped so dramatically in the last 36 months that they’re now the cheapest way to produce electricity worldwide. And energy independence has become a national security issue amid so much global instability. But while China and Europe are pushing ahead in the race to power the future, the Trump administration is doubling down on fossil fuels. What happens if the US puts the brakes on clean energy, just as the rest of the world hits the gas? Or rather... plugs in the solar battery? Do we risk being left in the dark?
Subscribe to the GZERO World Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published
Will Trump's energy policies set back climate progress?
President Trump has made no secret of his distaste for wind and solar and preference for fossil fuels. His administration has canceled subsidies for renewable projects, lifted drilling restrictions on federal land, and is pressuring allies to buy more American oil and gas. On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down the reality of the energy transition and whether US policies will slow down global progress in moving toward a renewable future.
No matter what the White House says, the incentives for renewables are hard to ignore. From Texas to Saudi Arabia, India to China, governments all over the world are embracing solar and wind not just for the planet, but for economic and security reasons. Clean energy is now the cheapest power source almost everywhere. And, amid rising instability, energy independence has become a safety and security issue. You can’t embargo the sun. No one controls the wind. Fossil fuels still matter, but the question is no longer if the world will transition. It's how fast.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.
A member of Nepal army stands guard as people gather to observe rituals during the final day of Indra Jatra festival to worship Indra, Kumari and other deities and to mark the end of monsoon season.
What We’re Watching: Nepal’s protesters pick a leader, Trump courts Belarus
Nepal’s Gen Z’s protestors pick their woman
Nepal’s “Gen-Z” protest movement has looked to a different generation entirely with their pick for an interim leader. Protest leaders say they want the country’s retired chief justice, Sushila Karki, 73, to head a transitional government. The demand comes just two days after the prime minister resigned amid swelling anti-corruption protests triggered last week by a social media ban. Karki has reportedly accepted, but is currently negotiating with the president and other powerbrokers to find a constitutional path to power. For an explanation of these protests which are not “mid", see GZERO’s feature from yesterday.
Trump’s Belarus courtship continues
The ultra-authoritarian Belarusian regime of Alexander Lukashenko has released 52 prisoners, reportedly at the urging of the White House. Meanwhile, the US says plans are afoot to normalize ties with the deeply isolated country, Russia’s closest ally. The Trump Administration has poured a lot of effort into relations with Lukashenko, whose 31-year reign, crackdowns on dissent, and election-rigging have earned him the moniker “Europe’s last Dictator.” Lukashenko has styled himself as a kind of “Putin Whisperer.” Is Trump seeking a bridge to the Russian president, or a potential wedge against him?
A destroyed streetcar on Lisbon's iconic Gloria funicular railway line after it derailed and crashed, killing 16 passengers and injuring about 20 in one of the deadliest public transport accidents in Portugal, on Sept. 4, 2025.
Hard Numbers: Train tragedy in Lisbon, Painting stolen by Nazis discovered on a listing, US judge rules in favor of Harvard, Armani passes at 91
16: A funicular railway crashed Wednesday evening in Lisbon, Portugal, killing at least 16 people. The renowned yellow cable cars help transport people up the capital city’s steep, cobblestoned streets, and are a favorite for tourists. Foreign nationals account for most of the dead. Officials haven’t confirmed the cause of the crash, though eyewitnesses say a brake failure sent the car hurtling down the street and into a building.
80: A painting looted by the Nazis 80 years ago has been found in Argentina after it was spotted in a listing on an estate agent’s website. Italian painter Giuseppe Ghislandi painted the piece, called Portrait of a Lady, some 300 years ago. The Nazis stole many paintings, often from Jewish people who they imprisoned or killed. The most famous example is Gustav Klimt’s Woman in Gold, which now lies in New York City’s Neue Galerie.
$2.6 billion: A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that the Trump administration’s freeze on $2.6 billion in research funds was illegal. The judge found that the freezes, officially linked to Harvard’s handling of antisemitism, had little to do with its federally funded research and were instead a retaliation for the university refusing to comply with the administration’s demands to end its DEI efforts and screen international students for bias.
91: Legendary Italian designer Giorgio Armani has died at 91. Famous for redefining modern suits and global elegance, his empire spanned fashion, beauty, sport, and luxury hotels. Tributes poured in from leaders and celebrities, hailing him as a tireless pioneer who revolutionized style, elevated red carpets, and championed healthier runway standards.Rethinking the refugee crisis and global aid system, with David Miliband
Listen: The number of people forced to flee their homes because of war, persecution, humanitarian disaster or political collapse topped 123 million people in 2024. That’s double what it was just 10 years ago. Yet just as the need has exploded, the global aid system is unraveling. On the GZERO World Podcast, David Miliband, president & CEO of the International Rescue Committee sits down with Ian Bremmer to discuss the growing crisis as the number of refugees continues to rise and the US, once the anchor of the global aid system, shuts down USAID and drastically pulls back foreign funding.
Miliband says we’re facing “a new abnormal,” with 275 million people facing humanitarian emergencies in 20 countries in crisis. The vast majority of displaced people are hosted in low and middle income countries, meaning the world’s poorest and most under-resourced places are shouldering a disproportionately high share of the burden. Miliband and Bremmer discuss the worsening humanitarian situation in places like Sudan and Gaza, the impact of US aid cuts, whether any nation or group of nations can fill the void, and where Miliband sees glimmers of hope amid so many intractable problems.
Subscribe to the GZERO World Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your preferred podcast platform, to receive new episodes as soon as they're published
Feldman: Trump is using antisemitism to go after Harvard
Harvard Law professor Noah Feldman doesn’t downplay the reality of antisemitic violence in the US: “These things are real and they have to be taken very seriously.” But he draws a sharp line between legitimate concern and political opportunism.
“There is a flavor of using antisemitism as an excuse to go after Harvard,” he says. Feldman recounts a colleague whose science funding was cut due to alleged antisemitism on campus—despite being part of an all-Jewish research team. “It just makes no sense at all.”
As part of a wide-ranging conversation in the latest episode of GZERO World, Feldman argues that this kind of approach isn’t about fighting hate—it’s about making universities the enemy.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube.Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.
As Trump pressures universities, what's really at stake?
American universities have long been engines of innovation, global leadership, and critical thought. But now they’re in the political crosshairs. Under the Trump administration, elite schools like Harvard and Columbia are facing lawsuits, funding threats, and mounting pressure to crack down on perceived antisemitism and “woke” culture. White House allies say it’s about protecting students. Constitutional scholar Noah Feldman says it’s about power.
On GZERO World, Feldman joins Ian Bremmer to argue that President Trump’s campaign against higher education is a broader attack on independent institutions—and the role they play in shaping public truth. Feldman warns that cutting federal science funding, punishing international students, and politicizing speech on campus are part of a strategy to delegitimize universities and assert control over what they teach and who they admit.
“No one at Harvard...wants to knuckle under to Trump,” Feldman says. “The university doesn’t have any value if it can’t be independent.”
Feldman also discusses rising antisemitism, Harvard’s legal battle with the Trump administration, and why standing up now could set the precedent for how all US universities respond in the future.
GZERO World with Ian Bremmer, the award-winning weekly global affairs series, airs nationwide on US public television stations (check local listings).
New digital episodes of GZERO World are released every Monday on YouTube. Don't miss an episode: subscribe to GZERO's YouTube channel and turn on notifications (🔔). GZERO World with Ian Bremmer airs on US public television weekly - check local listings.