The business of climate

✨ Watch on YouTube or listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

Australia is one of the countries most exposed to climate extremes. Bushfires that turn skies black. Flash floods that swallow towns. Summers now defined by volatility. And yet, for almost two decades, climate policy has been less a unifying national project than a political fault line.

Veteran political journalist Karen Middleton joins Georgina Godwin to trace how we arrived here. From an aborted emissions trading scheme to a politically toxic carbon tax and now the rise of the so-called Teal independents, climate has toppled leaders, split parties and reshaped Australia’s electoral map in a way that’s now being replicated elsewhere.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• How climate policy ended prime ministerships — and why it remains the most politically volatile issue in Australia.

• Who the “Teals” are — and how climate, gender politics and accountability reshaped conservative heartlands.

• Why economic reality hasn’t yet forced bipartisan consensus — despite corporate pressure and mounting climate impacts.

Watch the episode on YouTube below, or listen via your preferred podcast app.