Here Comes the Sun: Will Solar and Batteries Save the Day? | Special Episode With Bill McKibben

Bill McKibben has been sounding the climate alarm since before most were paying attention, but lately he's finally feeling some optimism about solar power in particular.

On September 17, renowned author, journalist, and environmentalist Bill McKibben joined us remotely at Protect Our Winters (POW) Canada's 2026 Leadership Summit. He was there to talk about his latest book, Here Comes the Sun: A Last Chance for the Climate and a Fresh Chance for Civilization.

Bill is the founder of 350.org and more recently Third Act, which organizes people over 60 for climate action. His 1989 book The End of Nature was pretty much the first written for a general audience on climate change, and his new book argues solar has already won the economic argument.

Note, this episode runs differently than our usual format. Bill opens solo for about twenty minutes, then David and I join him for another twenty minutes of conversation. Sara sat this one out.

00:00:00 - Episode Intro: Bill McKibben at the POW 2026 Leadership Summit 

00:01:27 - Climate Realities & The Clean Energy Transition 

00:23:02 - David Keith on Battery Costs & Solar Geoengineering 

00:28:56 - The Geopolitics of Chinese Solar Dominance 

00:33:44 - Decarbonization Pathways & Energy Solutions for Canada 

00:37:15 - Building Citizen Movements & Global "Sun Day" 

Send us a text (if you'd like a response, please include your email)

Follow us on:
LinkedIn
Bluesky
X/Twitter
Instagram

Energy vs Climate relies on the support of our generous listeners
Donate to keep Energy vs Climate going

Produced by Bespoke Podcasts