Brian Kahn is a climate and business reporter at Bloomberg News, where he investigates the financial and regulatory dimensions of environmental policy. With over a decade of experience spanning The Wall Street Journal, Climate Central, and public radio, his work demystifies complex systems—from corporate bankruptcy law to carbon markets.
Do: Frame climate angles through financial mechanisms (e.g., insurance risk models). Reference his analysis of FRG’s bankruptcy [Home News Now, 2025].
Avoid: Localized stories without national regulatory implications or technical deep dives on renewable engineering.
Brian Kahn’s career reflects a dynamic interplay between environmental stewardship and investigative rigor. Beginning as a park ranger at the National Elk Refuge in Wyoming, he transitioned to journalism through Columbia University’s Climate and Society program. His early work at Climate Central and Earther established his voice in climate reporting, blending scientific accuracy with narrative urgency. At Bloomberg News, Kahn has carved a niche at the intersection of climate policy, corporate accountability, and financial systems, exemplified by his coverage of FEMA reforms and high-profile bankruptcy cases like Franchise Group’s collapse.
This investigative piece delves into the SEC and Justice Department’s scrutiny of B. Riley Financial’s dealings with former Franchise Group CEO Brian Kahn. Kahn’s reporting traces the $2.6 billion take-private deal’s fallout, highlighting risks in leveraged buyouts and regulatory gray areas. The article’s significance lies in its granular analysis of bankruptcy law’s intersection with corporate governance, supported by court documents and insider accounts. By contextualizing the subpoenas within broader trends of post-2023 financial oversight, Kahn underscores the systemic vulnerabilities exposed by FRG’s collapse.
In this interview, Kahn reframes climate change as a “physics debate” rather than a political issue, advocating for journalism that prioritizes scientific consensus. He critiques media narratives that equivocate on fossil fuel accountability and emphasizes the need for “actionable truth-telling.” The discussion’s impact stems from Kahn’s candid assessment of industry obstructionism, particularly his reflection on ExxonMobil’s removal from the Dow Jones Industrial Average. This piece remains a touchstone for understanding his editorial philosophy: bridging academic research with public discourse.
Co-authored with Ethan Steinberg, this analysis attributes emissions reductions to regulatory shifts in freight logistics and aviation biofuels. Kahn’s contribution focuses on the Department of Energy’s grant programs, contrasting them with stalled legislative efforts. The article’s methodology combines EPA datasets with interviews from port authorities, creating a nuanced portrait of decarbonization’s economic trade-offs. Its lasting value lies in debunking “green growth” myths while spotlighting underreported sectors like maritime transport.
Kahn prioritizes stories exploring how carbon markets, green bonds, and ESG regulations reshape corporate behavior. His FRG investigation [Home News Now, 2025] demonstrates interest in financial instruments’ unintended consequences. Pitches should quantify climate risks in balance sheets or analyze fiduciary duty precedents, akin to his coverage of Exxon’s Dow Jones delisting [Columbia Climate School, 2022].
He seeks investigations into companies balancing decarbonization pledges with legacy assets. The Transport Topics piece [2025] illustrates this through biofuels’ adoption in trucking. Successful pitches might examine utilities’ natural gas phase-out timelines or conflicts in critical mineral supply chains.
Kahn’s FRG coverage reveals a focus on how climate liabilities influence restructuring. Proposals could explore insurance sectors’ climate risk models or municipalities using bankruptcy to address environmental debts, mirroring his analysis of Willkie Farr & Gallagher’s conflicted role [Home News Now, 2025].
While Kahn avoids hyperlocal stories, he values regional case studies with national implications, such as FEMA’s flood insurance reforms [Bloomberg, 2023]. Pitches might highlight innovative state-level carbon pricing or port authorities’ resilience investments, as seen in his Transport Topics work.
Stories leveraging NOAA or IPCC datasets to link corporate emissions to specific disasters align with his scientific rigor. His critique of media “both-sides-ism” [Columbia Climate School, 2022] suggests appetite for clear causal analyses, particularly in litigation contexts.
Recognized for making environmental policy accessible through public radio’s Home Ground, this award underscores Kahn’s ability to translate academic research into civic discourse. The honor places him among thought leaders who bridge rural-urban divides in climate communication.
Kahn’s documentary A Thousand Cranes, exploring US-Soviet conservation efforts, pioneered transnational environmental storytelling. Its preservation in the Library of Congress’s National Film Registry highlights its enduring relevance in diplomacy narratives.
Awarded for his Nature Conservancy leadership, this accolade reflects his dual expertise in ecology and policy. It signals to sources his credibility in assessing corporate sustainability claims against ground-truth conservation metrics.
“We have a lot of issues to deal with right now, but [climate change] stands out as the biggest. If we don’t address it, it’s game over for society as we know it.” — Brian Kahn, Columbia Climate School Interview (2022)
At PressContact, we aim to help you discover the most relevant journalists for your PR efforts. If you're looking to pitch to more journalists who write on Climate, here are some other real estate journalist profiles you may find relevant:
