The Best Sustainability, Climate and Environmental Podcasts in 2026
Why Listen to Sustainability and Climate Podcasts?
Sustainability is no longer a narrow lifestyle topic. It now spans climate science, clean energy, biodiversity, conservation, sustainable finance, environmental justice, food systems, adaptation, corporate strategy, and the politics of decarbonization.
A good podcast can make that complexity easier to follow. The best shows give listeners access to scientists, journalists, campaigners, policymakers, entrepreneurs, investors, and community leaders who are working through the practical questions behind the headlines: how fast clean energy can scale, how communities can adapt to climate impacts, how companies should change, and how nature can be protected while human needs are met.
This curated selection prioritizes shows that are active, useful, and still worth recommending in 2026. The table below includes 21 live, current picks and is sorted alphabetically.
To make the list, podcasts needed to have recent or ongoing publishing activity, a durable listener-facing page, a clear editorial focus, and relevance across sustainability, climate science, clean energy, conservation, adaptation, climate justice, sustainable business, or environmental policy. Preference was given to shows with reputable hosts or publishers, useful archives, and enough editorial depth to remain valuable beyond a single news cycle.
List of the Best Sustainability, Climate and Environmental Podcasts
Here is an overview, sorted alphabetically. Detailed descriptions are below the table.
| Name | Focus | Host(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|
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A Matter of Degrees | Climate solutions, power, politics, campaigns, and public narratives | Dr. Leah Stokes and Dr. Katharine Wilkinson |
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America Adapts | Climate adaptation, resilience, planning, and policy | Doug Parsons |
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Climate Cast | Climate science, weather, policy, and regional impacts | MPR News |
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Climate Court Voices | Climate litigation, climate justice, rights, and accountability | Climate Court Voices |
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Climate One | Climate conversations across politics, energy, business, and culture | Greg Dalton and Ariana Brocious |
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Climate Rising | Business strategy, investment, policy, and the climate transition | Harvard Business School Business & Environment Initiative |
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Drilled | Investigative climate journalism and fossil-fuel accountability | Amy Westervelt |
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Green Dreamer | Ecology, biocultural diversity, regeneration, and environmental imagination | Kamea Chayne |
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Living Planet | Global environmental reporting, biodiversity, climate, and conservation | Deutsche Welle team |
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Mongabay Newscast | Biodiversity, forests, conservation, Indigenous rights, and environmental journalism | Mongabay journalists and editors |
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Outrage + Optimism | Global climate diplomacy, policy, politics, and solutions | Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, and Paul Dickinson |
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Reversing Climate Change | Carbon removal, climate tech, policy, humanities, and systems change | Ross Kenyon |
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Sustainability Defined | Plain-English explainers on sustainability topics | Scott Breen and Jay Siegel |
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Sustainable(ish) | Practical sustainable living, low-waste choices, and household change | Jen Gale |
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The Climate Pod | Climate politics, policy, science, culture, and media | Ty Benefiel and Brock Benefiel |
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The Climate Question | Accessible global climate explainers and reporting | BBC World Service |
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The Energy Transition Show | Energy systems, grids, fuels, clean technology, and transition economics | Chris Nelder |
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The Sustainability Agenda | Sustainable finance, markets, business, and climate transition | CIBC Capital Markets |
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Volts | Clean energy, electrification, climate policy, and decarbonization | David Roberts |
 |
Zero: The Climate Race | Climate solutions, policy, business, technology, and the race to net zero | Akshat Rathi and Bloomberg Green |
About These Sustainability Podcasts
A Matter of Degrees
A Matter of Degrees is a climate-solutions podcast hosted by Dr. Leah Stokes and Dr. Katharine Wilkinson. It is built for listeners who want clear stories about the forces behind climate change and the policy, organizing, technology, and leadership tools that can help fix it.
America Adapts
America Adapts focuses on the practical work of living with climate impacts: resilience planning, adaptation policy, infrastructure, public health, insurance, managed retreat, and community preparedness. It is one of the strongest specialist shows for listeners who want to understand adaptation rather than only emissions reduction.
Climate Cast
Climate Cast from MPR News connects climate science with weather, policy, and lived impacts. It has a regional Minnesota and Upper Midwest lens, but the conversations often speak to broader questions about extreme weather, public health, energy, land use, and resilience.
Climate Court Voices
Climate Court Voices is a newer show focused on climate litigation and the people behind major legal battles. It adds a useful climate-justice and accountability angle to the list, especially for readers interested in courts, human rights, youth activism, and government responsibility.
Climate One
Climate One is a long-running interview and discussion show covering climate change through politics, business, technology, justice, culture, and personal choices. It remains a reliable all-rounder for listeners who want thoughtful conversations with policy experts, authors, scientists, entrepreneurs, and public figures.
Climate Rising
Climate Rising brings a business-school lens to climate change. Produced by Harvard Business School's Business & Environment Initiative, it is especially useful for readers interested in corporate strategy, climate tech, investment, supply chains, policy, and the business risks and opportunities created by the climate transition.
Drilled
Drilled is investigative climate journalism with a focus on fossil-fuel accountability, disinformation, lobbying, litigation, and the political economy of delay. It is one of the most distinctive shows on this list because it treats climate change as a true-crime and accountability story, not only a science or technology story.
Green Dreamer
Green Dreamer explores ecology, biocultural diversity, Indigenous knowledge, regeneration, environmental justice, and the deeper cultural assumptions behind ecological crisis. It is a good fit for readers who want a more reflective and systems-oriented sustainability podcast.
Living Planet
Living Planet is Deutsche Welle's long-running environmental podcast. It offers international reporting on climate change, biodiversity, pollution, conservation, food systems, and environmental justice, making it a strong choice for listeners who want stories from many regions rather than only U.S. or U.K. coverage.
Mongabay Newscast
Mongabay Newscast is the audio extension of Mongabay's environmental journalism. It is especially strong on forests, biodiversity, conservation, Indigenous rights, tropical ecology, wildlife, and the communities most affected by environmental change.
Outrage + Optimism
Outrage + Optimism combines insider climate diplomacy with a solutions-focused outlook. Hosted by key figures connected to the Paris Agreement and global climate action, it remains one of the best-known climate podcasts for policy, politics, finance, food systems, nature, and the international climate process.
Reversing Climate Change
Reversing Climate Change covers carbon removal and climate technology, but it also reaches into policy, literature, philosophy, history, and the emotional and cultural dimensions of living through the climate crisis. It is a useful pick for readers who want climate tech without losing the human context.
Sustainability Defined
Sustainability Defined explains one sustainability topic at a time in accessible language. The show is especially useful for students, professionals, and general listeners who want structured introductions to concepts across energy, cities, transportation, policy, business, social issues, and the natural environment.
Sustainable(ish)
Sustainable(ish) is the practical-living entry on this list. Host Jen Gale focuses on realistic, non-perfect sustainability choices for households, communities, and everyday routines, which makes the show useful for readers who want action ideas rather than only policy analysis.
The Climate Pod
The Climate Pod features conversations about climate politics, economics, culture, activism, science, and justice. The show's original domain is no longer suitable to link, so this updated page points readers to the live Apple Podcasts listing instead.
The Climate Question
The Climate Question from the BBC World Service is a strong accessible explainer for listeners who want clear answers to big climate questions. It works well as an entry point for readers who want international reporting without highly technical framing.
The Energy Transition Show
The Energy Transition Show is a deeper, more technical podcast about the energy transition. Host Chris Nelder covers grids, fuels, energy markets, infrastructure, electrification, clean technology, and the economics of replacing fossil-fuel systems with cleaner alternatives.
The Sustainability Agenda
The Sustainability Agenda has been kept, but rewritten to reflect the currently active CIBC Capital Markets podcast rather than the older Fergal Byrne show described in the outdated file. It now fits the list as a sustainable-finance and business-transition podcast.
Volts
Volts is one of the strongest current podcasts on clean energy and decarbonization. David Roberts talks with policy experts, engineers, analysts, founders, advocates, and public officials about electrification, power markets, permitting, transmission, heat pumps, batteries, industrial decarbonization, and climate politics.
Zero: The Climate Race
Zero: The Climate Race is Bloomberg Green's podcast on the policies, technologies, investments, and political choices behind the transition to a zero-emissions future. It brings a strong business and global-policy lens to climate solutions.