Many environmentalists believe that the world needs to use less energy, end the focus on economic growth, and return to a simpler lifestyle. The Breakthrough Institute argues the opposite.

In this episode, we look at the ecomodernist movement that promotes technological solutions to environmental and human development challenges.

Ted Nordhaus is a leading global thinker on energy, environment, climate, human development, and politics. He is the founder and executive director of the Breakthrough Institute and a co-author of An Ecomodernist Manifesto.

Reducing carbon emissions "matters and is important not necessarily for human survival, but for a world that I would like to leave for future generations," Ted tells us. "Bio-diversity... tropical rainforests and savannahs: I care about all of those things, and the debate with environmentalists is how you get them."

The Breakthrough Institute offers a different kind of framework for thinking about climate change. We discuss solutions in this episode.