The Takeover Podcast - comes to you courtesy of Canada’s National Observer.
Canada's National Observer teamed up with DeSmog, an online investigative outlet that describes itself as an antidote to science denial and misinformation, on The Takeover project.
We went to the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference in London, UK, a right-wing networking event organized by former University of Toronto professor Jordan Peterson. We observed how speakers spread anti-net-zero strategies across a growing conservative network that includes the US, the UK Europe, Australia and Canada.
ARC's goal is to reveal "the environmental climate scam" and end the "appalling policy" of net-zero worldwide. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told the conference in a video appearance that "net zero is a sinister goal".
The move against net-zero and climate commitments is being accelerated by the Trump administration with help from rich power brokers, many of whom work in the fossil fuel industry. And ARC was a place to develop political party platforms, deepen transatlantic alliances and shift to the right, the boundaries of acceptable public debate on net zero.
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Episode 1 - Shock and Awe
Canada’s National Observer teamed up with DeSmog, an online investigative that describes itself as an antidote to science denial and misinformation, on The Takeover project. This project was produced in collaboration with I-SEA and the Trace Foundation.
We went to the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship conference in London, a right-wing networking event organized by former U of T professor Jordan Peterson. We observed how speakers spread anti-net-zero strategies across a growing conservative network that includes the U.S., the U.K. Europe, Australia and Canada.
Episode 2 - Jordan Peterson Power Broker
Jordan Peterson is a co-founder of The Alliance for Responsible Citizenship – ARC. Episode two of The Takeover examines his career from a psychology professor at the University of Toronto to wildly successful author and guru for dissatisfied young men and now leader of a global movement to create a right-wing world. This movement is called ARC - the Alliance of Responsible Citizenship and its conference in London, U.K. in February 2025 attracted right-wing power brokers from around the world.
Many people first heard of Peterson when he got into a fight with the University of Toronto and Canada’s Human Rights Commission over a change to the Human Rights Act. It was amended to include sexual orientation as a prohibited grounds of discrimination extending LGBTQ+ individuals.
A couple of years later he published a book that vaulted him to fame, particularly among young men who “hadn’t grown up”, according to Peterson. The book, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos, is essentially a self-help book for living a life.
How did he get from there to London, hosting a conference of people who want to upend western democracies?
Episode 3 - Get Rid of it All
Episode three of The Takeover podcast hears from a journalist who has been writing about the major actions of the President Trump administration.
“The key factor of the educated elite is that they're not pro conservative. They're anti left. They don't have a positive vision, a conservative vision for society. They just want to destroy the institutions that the left now dominates.”
Columnist David Brooks of the New York Times went against the grain in his speech opening day two of the ARC conference in London, U.K.
ARC, the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship was co-founded by Canadian Jordan Peterson. The goal of the Alliance is to “unite conservative voices and propose policies based on traditional Western values.” It positions itself as an intellectual hub for the growing right-wing movement.
The list of conference speakers is a who’s who of rich power brokers from around the world, including Canada, many working quietly in the background to influence governments on issues like immigration, business regulation, and climate change.
Episode 4 - Drill Baby Drill
Donald Trump made it clear during the presidential campaign that his administration planned a Drill, Baby Drill approach to energy. He said he would reduce regulations and cancel policies to fight climate change put in place by the Biden administration.
It was only a week after he was elected that President Trump announced he wanted fracking executive Chris Wright as his Energy Secretary. The long-time climate denier who dismisses renewable energy as expensive and unreliable seemed to be everyone’s favorite, especially the fossil fuel industry. And it was smooth sailing for Wright through his confirmation hearing.
Episode four of The Takeover looks at the man who could make or break the world’s climate change goals.
Episode 5 - Back in Canada
In Episode five, we take the examination of right wing politics to the Canada Strong and Free Network conference in Ottawa. The idea is to compare the ARC conference in London, U.K. and the Conservative networking event. I wasn't sure if, in the middle of a federal election, some of the big Conservative power brokers would attend. It turns out that what was happening in the election campaign was overlapping with what people were talking about at the conference.
Episode 6 - The Treaty
The Takeover has taken you inside two right-wing conferences where politicians, influencers and billionaires are opening plotting to dismantle climate policy and cut environmental regulations, while expanding the production of oil, gas and coal.
The US is leading the charge with President Trump’s drill baby drill policies that ignore the Paris Agreement’s net zero goals and embolden the fossil fuel industry’s disinformation.
In this episode we look at an international non-profit group that is working from the ground up to fight against drill baby drill and put in place a treaty that will force the fossil fuel industry to stop producing oil and gas.
The leader of this movement is a Canadian woman, Tzeporah Berman, who felt compelled to act when she realized that the Paris Agreement did not even mention oil, gas and coal. The landmark agreement was signed in 2015 by nearly every country in the world. The goal is to limit global warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius. Tzeporah couldn’t figure out why oil, gas and coal wouldn’t be mentioned when they are responsible for more than 86 per cent of carbon emissions.
From there she came to believe that the Paris Agreement wasn’t enough to force the end to the production of oil, gas and coal.
Episode 7 - Has Trump Killed Net-Zero?
What do you do when you’re working on a big climate change project that could help the world reach the goals of the Paris Agreement and the U.S. elects a president who wants to expand the fossil fuel industry? When the world’s second-biggest carbon emitter guts environmental and climate programs?
That’s the story in the latest episode of The Takeover – Has Trump Killed Net Zero?