Episode 039 | Chris Turner: The Case for Climate Optimism

About this episode

Craig Applegath speaks with Chris Turner about shifting the narrative around climate change towards optimism and innovation.

Chris Turner: The Case for Climate Optimism “We’re not just trying to eliminate something bad—we’re building something better.” In this episode, Craig speaks with journalist and author Chris Turner about his book How to Be a Climate Optimist and the shifting narrative around climate change from one rooted in fear and sacrifice to one driven by possibility, innovation, and better ways of living. Chris traces his journey from early reporting on climate catastrophe to a pivotal realization: instead of documenting the worst impacts, he could seek out places already solving the problem. That shift led him across the world to communities, technologies, and systems that are quietly building a low-carbon future. “What would it look like to go to the places already beating climate change?” A defining moment came when Chris visited the Danish island of Samsø, where a community had effectively achieved net-zero emissions. It wasn’t theoretical, it was real, functional, and deeply ordinary. People were living their lives comfortably, powered by clean energy. That experience reframed the problem: the solutions weren’t distant or speculative - they already existed. From “Less Bad” to “Much…

People in this episode

Host: Craig Applegath

Guest: Chris Turner

Topics covered

• climate change
• optimism
• innovation
• sustainability
• community solutions

Keywords

• climate optimism
• low-carbon future
• net-zero emissions
• clean energy
• sustainable solutions

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: How to Be a Climate Optimist

Places: Danish island of Samsø, Spain

More episodes of The IMPERATIVE Podcast

• Episode 040 | Nadia Amoroso: Visualizing Climate Action · May 21, 2026 · 33 min
• Episode 038 | Ethan Tapper: How to Love a Forest in a Time of Global Change · March 22, 2026 · 1h 1m
• Episode 037 | Ken Greenberg: Designing Cities in the Face of Climate Change · February 21, 2026 · 59 min
• Episode # 036 | Lynda Ulrich: Find What You Are Uniquely Built To Contribute · January 21, 2026 · 49 min
• Episode 035 | Patrick Crabbe: Carbon is the Universal Language · June 21, 2022 · 48 min
• Episode 034 | Ben Gibbons: Investing In The Future of Sustainable Agriculture · March 21, 2022 · 57 min