
Caution, not ambition, will shape the next decade of climate action
From Zero: The Climate Race by Bloomberg
April 16, 2026 · 33 min · Episode 179
About this episode
The episode discusses recent climate plans from China and India and evaluates their ambition in the context of current climate challenges.
In the past month, we've seen two major plans from two of the world's biggest polluters. In March, China approved its 15th five-year plan, which gave us a clearer sense of how the government makes progress on its climate goals. A few weeks after that, India published its climate plan for 2035. This week on Zero, Bloomberg Green’s Lili Pike and Akshat Rathi discuss those climate plans, and whether they’re ambitious enough for the current moment. Explore further: What’s Inside China’s New Major Environmental Law - Bloomberg China’s New Five-Year Plan Is Crucial for World’s Climate Fight A Decade of Global Climate Caution Is Sealed by India’s Wary Goals Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green . Our producer is Oscar Boyd. Special thanks to Sommer Saadi, Mohsis Andam, Sharon Chen and Laura Millan. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at zeropod@bloomberg.net. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green . See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
People in this episode
Host: Lili Pike
Guest: Akshat Rathi
Topics covered
- climate action
- pollution
- China's five-year plan
- India's climate plan
- environmental policy
- global climate goals
Keywords
- climate plans
- China
- India
- polluters
- environmental law
- climate goals
- Bloomberg Green
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: China, India, Bloomberg Green
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