Nature Nate is back for his take on COP30 in Belém, Brazil!. COP30 (November 10-21, 2025) has just wrapped up. Nate shares thoughts on COP30, with a recap on his attending Climate Week NYC 2025.
The geopolitical context of COP30 was front and center. The billion-dollar shortfall in the UN budget and the near-empty Loss and Damages Fund presented a major challenge.
The U.S. had pulled out of COP, but it’s not all bad news. Instead of participating on a federal level, 24 individual states representing 54% of the nation’s GDP have remained committed. This year, China has stepped forward with the largest delegation. It’s driving the EV revolution and creating financial realities that have led to the lowest-ever prices for wind, solar, and batteries.
There’s still a lot of work ahead. While the world currently possesses all the necessary tools and technologies to stop climate change at an effective price point (heat pumps, EVs, cheap renewables, energy storage), new challenges are arising. A major new complication is the drastically growing energy use of AI. This pressure is complicating carbon targets, with companies like Microsoft potentially missing net-zero goals, and is incentivizing the prolonged use of gas and coal plants to meet the new compute demand.
Plus, cool stories from Climate Week NYC, including Mark Ruffalo, Jane Fonda, and an Australian mining company committed to "real zero" (and no carbon offsets).
(The episode was recorded on November 20, when countries still yet to reach a consensus on mapping out the “roadmap” to phase out fossil fuel.)
This is Waste Not Why Not, a climate podcast from Ghost Island Media. It's hosted by Nature N8 (Nate Maynard), a sustainability consultant working on energy, ocean, and waste.
Support us on Patreon: http://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot
Follow us on Twitter @wastenotpod
EPISODE CREDIT
Nate Maynard (@N8May), Host
Emily Y. Wu (@emilyywu), Producer
Wayne Tsai, Audio Editing
Zack Chiang, Production Assistant
Show logo by Southwicks Graphics
Theme tune by Dac Chang
A Ghost Island Media production (@ghostislandme)
Support the show: https://patreon.com/wastenotwhynot
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.