How $147m supported citizens across America doing what most pundits said was impossible: ending the reign of King Coal, with Bruce Nilles
About this episode
Bruce Nilles discusses the grassroots movement that successfully shut down coal plants across the US.
“We walked out of his office, to the first bar, had a couple shots of tequila, and then got to work”, says environmental lawyer Bruce Nilles on stage as our guest at ‘Climate Curious Live: Climate Impossible?’ in London, June 2026. In conversation with co-hosts Ben Hurst and Maryam Pasha, Bruce shares the surreal situation he found himself in when shutting down coal plants with the ex-mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg. Tune in to learn how a bake-sale funded, grassroots movement was given the guidance and capital to scale up; eventually shuttering 92% of coal plants across the US, in one of the most effective and durable climate actions of our time. Enjoyed this short? Listen to the full conversation with Bruce Nilles on Climate Curious: https://tedxlondon.com/podcasts/what-the-end-of-king-coal-means-for-big-oil-gas-with-bruce-nilles/ Join the Climate Curious conversation on socials: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/climatecuriouspod/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@climatecuriouspod YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtF6xzNkVIczlDmVcH8FCMA LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/10996041/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TEDxLondon Website…
More episodes of Climate Curious
- How Nigeria is leading a repair transition, not just an energy one, with Vincent Egoro
- How to unlock billions for climate and stay chill, with Jennifer Kitt
- Why climate doesn't need better solutions, it needs bigger bets, with Jennifer Kitt
- What the end of 'King Coal' means for Big Oil & Gas, with Bruce Nilles
- Are you ready to lead your town through an extreme weather event? With the game designers behind ‘The Future For Beginners’
- Who are the incrementalists? with Dana R. Fisher
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Climate Curious podcast page.