How Climate Policies Boost Economic Opportunities – Gina McCarthy, Fmr. White House National Climate Advisor & Head of the Climate Policy Office (Biden Admin.), Fmr. EPA Administrator (Obama Admin.)
Release Date: 10/29/2024
New Venture Capital Models For Women & CleanTech – Cecile Blilious, Veteran Venture Investor, Venture ESG, European Women in VC
Electric Ladies Podcast - Women Leaders Discuss Careers, Trends, Technologies and Innovation in Energy, Climate, and Corporate Responsibility
“I like to think about ESG not only as a risk management tool, but also as an opportunity. I think the, the flip side of risk is opportunity. So if we think that a diverse team is what will bring more innovation, more ideas, more, let's say different ways of looking at needs and products, then this is an opportunity….What about if we think about the way that people consume, what is the carbon footprint that we have?.... And how do you reduce it? Or maybe build technology that helps reduce your impact on the planet, or helps you reduce the amount of AI or cloud usage that you use? So I, I...
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Japan Embraces Climate & Sustainability – Yvonne Burton, Expert On Doing Business In Japan, at Osaka Expo 2025
Electric Ladies Podcast - Women Leaders Discuss Careers, Trends, Technologies and Innovation in Energy, Climate, and Corporate Responsibility
“The theme of the expo is ‘designing society for future lives.’ And it is just that from the foundations, from the buildings to the exhibits, each country showcasing what they're doing for our future, in technology, healthcare, sustainable, living energy…The Japan pavilion's exhibit…is about the circular economy and…the theme is between life and life. So the pavilion, and its circular structure, is about life and how everything is connected and flows, again, the circular economy.” Yvonne Burton on Electric Ladies Podcast Japan is one of the countries most vulnerable to the...
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Artificial Intelligence (A.I) And The Climate - Stephanie Hare, Ph.D., Researcher, Broadcaster and Author of “Technology Is Not Neutral”
Electric Ladies Podcast - Women Leaders Discuss Careers, Trends, Technologies and Innovation in Energy, Climate, and Corporate Responsibility
“(A.I.) is so energy intensive as a technology, and that's the thing that we have to get, the infrastructure of AI… Right now we do not have an electricity grid that is, that is built for this purpose. There's the water requirements of it as well. And we also need to just think about the energy, the actual fuel that's being used to fire up and power the electricity grid.” Dr. Stephanie Hare on Electric Ladies Podcast Artificial intelligence (AI) is ubiquitous today and advancing faster than we can imagine. It’s being used in many ways to mitigate and adapt to climate change, too, and...
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Energy Efficiency Saves Money & CO2 – Paula Glover, CEO of the Alliance To Save Energy
Electric Ladies Podcast - Women Leaders Discuss Careers, Trends, Technologies and Innovation in Energy, Climate, and Corporate Responsibility
“Energy efficiency…is doing more, using less. The megawatt not used is the cheapest megawatt and there's so many things, either by using technology, old technology like insulation or digitalization, that allows us to really stretch what we can get out every single megawat, a kilowatt electron that we use. And so that's what we're talking about. If we had the kind of massive adoption that we need, we could get to a big 40% reduction.” Paula Glover on Electric Ladies Podcast With the Energy Star program and other energy efficiency programs under attack and misunderstood, we decided to...
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Career Advice From 5 Women Trailblazers – Hilary Doe, Cong. Chrissy Houlahan, Zara Summers, Tensie Whelan, & Claire Seaborn
Electric Ladies Podcast - Women Leaders Discuss Careers, Trends, Technologies and Innovation in Energy, Climate, and Corporate Responsibility
“For anyone, women especially who are interested in the energy and climate space, I would say that you shouldn't feel that you need to choose between the public sector, the private sector, and the nonprofit sector. I've been able to continue to build my expertise in the energy and climate space, but from multiple different perspectives. My advice would be to just not feel that you need to pick one of those lanes and, and to take the risk to bounce between those different segments of our economy.” Claire Seaborn on Electric Ladies Podcast Summer is a good time to think about your next...
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Using Captured Carbon To Make Energy – Bjork Kristjansdottir, Carbon Recycling International
Electric Ladies Podcast - Women Leaders Discuss Careers, Trends, Technologies and Innovation in Energy, Climate, and Corporate Responsibility
“Carbon Recycling International…is converting CO2 into sustainable methanol…(W)e have technology, which takes CO2 as a waste, and it takes hydrogen and turns it into methanol…and it is used today both like into chemicals. So, the chemical sector is a big consumer of methanol, which is a very large known product in the world today. …(and into) a sustainable fuel...playing a pretty big role in the energy transition.” Bjork Kristjansdottir on Electric Ladies Podcast As the Trump administration sends mixed signals on carbon capture technologies – keeping the tax credits for them...
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You Can Make A Difference Where You Are – Laur Hesse Fisher, MIT’s Environmental Solutions Initiative
Electric Ladies Podcast - Women Leaders Discuss Careers, Trends, Technologies and Innovation in Energy, Climate, and Corporate Responsibility
“There are those individual actions that we can take. But if I can work with my community or work inside of my company, or if I can work inside of my house of worship and we can build some community and some action that way, it will have a much bigger impact than anything that I can do as an individual… The communities that they're already a part of, whether they're residential, like in their neighborhoods, or it's the nonprofits that they're a part of, or the places where they have other kinds of communities like religious communities, and start conversations there. What could we do as a...
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Recycled Steel Goes Mainstream - Tabitha Stine, General Manager, Energy Solutions, Nucor Corporation
Electric Ladies Podcast - Women Leaders Discuss Careers, Trends, Technologies and Innovation in Energy, Climate, and Corporate Responsibility
“Our job is to recycle so that we can recover all of that scrap and goods that you and I are recycling in our garbage bins every week or recycling as we get new cars. And our job is to recover that because we make steel in a very clean and efficient process through what's called an electric arc furnace. So, we take all of that scrap, we melt it down, and we make new steel. It does not degrade. It has a continuous reusable life.…Depending on the different products of steel, that actually determines the recycled content that goes into them for the finishes and the quality of the steel that's...
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Unlocking Capital For Women And Climate Solutions – Women Leaders In Finance And Investment, The Earth Day Women’s Summit
Electric Ladies Podcast - Women Leaders Discuss Careers, Trends, Technologies and Innovation in Energy, Climate, and Corporate Responsibility
“If you cannot change the system, change the frigging system… Women, when we have our money, are more likely to start an impact fund business or something. So, we have really got to get out of our way and just take the risk. " Tracy Gray at The Earth Day Women’s Summit 2025 Innovative financing models are urgently needed to tackle the climate crisis, but significant gaps persist. Research shows that women and people of color deliver stronger returns yet continue to be underrepresented. Meanwhile, the insurance industry must confront the mounting risks of climate...
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Climate Is A Security Emergency – From A Top Climate Scientist & A Geopolitical Expert
Electric Ladies Podcast - Women Leaders Discuss Careers, Trends, Technologies and Innovation in Energy, Climate, and Corporate Responsibility
"The climate crisis has roots in fossil fuels, but at the same time, fossil fuels fund this Russian invasion to Ukraine. So it means this is a fossil fuel war. If we will actually fight against our overall actually dependency on fossil fuels in the same way we will fight against climate change." Svitlana Krakovska on Electric Ladies Podcast The climate emergency is a security threat, and a “threat multiplier,” as former Defense Undersecretary Sherri Goodman has written. Looking at security in the same way as it has been is no longer working. The old view leaves us very vulnerable....
info_outlineHow Climate Policies Boost Economic Opportunities – Gina McCarthy, Fmr. White House National Climate Advisor & Head of the Climate Policy Office (Biden Admin.), Fmr. EPA Administrator (Obama Admin.)
“(People) just have to work with their own local communities….We are talking about $400 billion of investment in the Inflation Reduction Act already captured. That's just two years. This is a 10-year bill…To me, what's most exciting is that the opportunities are real, and you can grab them.…Already 3.4 million families have grabbed Inflation Reduction Act tax breaks, and put solar on their roofs, made their homes more energy efficient, which considerably lowers energy bills for those families. And, when you get into families and communities and people can see and feel the benefits, that's when it's going to take off. And so I'm seeing that happening already, but we're also recognizing that we just have a, a wealth of broader opportunities available.” Gina McCarthy on Electric Ladies Podcast
In this year’s historic election, many people may be confused about how climate policy relates to the economy – or they may think it’s only an economic drain. But it turns out that climate and energy policy are huge economic drivers. How?
Listen to Gina McCarthy, fmr. White House National Climate Advisor & Head of the Climate Policy Office and fmr. EPA Administrator in this enlightening conversation with Electric Ladies Podcast host Joan Michelson live from the Democratic National Convention. They also share insightful career advice.
You’ll hear about:
- How do the Inflation Reduction Act & Infrastructure Investment Act create economic growth?
- How can regular people, homeowners and small businesses seize opportunities in the IRA, no matter what state they’re in? (McCarthy offers tips & explains where the money is going so far.)
- How will Vice President Kamala Harris address climate change and clean energy? Why doesn’t she talk about it more?
- Where the funding and incentives are for training in these new climate- and clean energy-related industries and fields.
- Plus, insightful career advice, such as…
“My advice would be to look for a career path that makes you happy. One that makes you feel like when you got home, you did something….and I would be open to many different things…I don't think women should pigeonhole themselves. I think they should look for stretch goals. Go into something you didn't do before, and it will excite you to learn….I just want women to consider something new and different. I want them to have the courage to say, ‘I can do this.’” Gina McCarthy on Electric Ladies Podcast
Read Joan’s Forbes articles here.
You'll also like these episodes: (some may be recorded under our previous name, Green Connections Radio)
- Rachel McCleery, Senior Advisor, Treasury Dept. Inflation Reduction Act Program, on how to leverage the IRA to save money reducing a building or business’s energy use and carbon footprint.
- Vanessa Chan, Ph.D., Chief Commercialization Officer of the Department of Energy and Director of the Office of Technology Transitions, on the Inflation Reduction Act and the transition to clean energy.
- Polly Trottenberg, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation, on the transportation revolution taking place.
- Heather Boushey, Member National Council of Economic Advisors and Chief Economic of the Invest in America Cabinet, in the Biden Administration, on climate and energy policy and the economy, and the Inflation Reduction Act & Infrastructure Investment Act.
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