Climate and Finance, Lessons from a Time Machine - Cleaning Up Audioblog - Episode 1

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Climate and Finance, Lessons from a Time Machine - Cleaning Up Audioblog - Episode 1

FromCleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change

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Length:

40 minutes

Released:

May 5, 2021

Format:

Podcast episode

Released:

May 5, 2021

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (100)

Once a week Michael Liebreich has a conversation with a leader in clean energy, mobility, climate finance or sustainable development. Informational, inspiring and fun! Cleaning Up is supported by Capricorn Investment Group.

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Ep1: Prof. Cameron Hepburn "Building back better": What makes a green stimulus? What might a better metric for economic performance than GDP look like? Who is the faster cyclist, Michael Liebreich or Cameron Hepburn, Dean of the Smith School at Oxford? Don’t miss the very first episode of Cleaning Up! by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
61 min listen
Ep19: Mike Bennetts 'Leadership from the Heart of the Problem': From CEO of Z Energy to founding the Climate Leaders Coalition, Mike Bennetts has had an immense impact on New Zealand’s position in reducing emissions in the country. Mike and Michael sit down from other sides of the world for the 19th episode of Cleaning Up. Mike Bennetts is presently the founding Chief Executive of Z Energy Ltd, the company that purchased the downstream (refining and marketing) business of Shell in New Zealand in April 2010 and Chevron in June 2016. As a result of an IPO in August 2013, Z is now dual listed on the ASX and NZX and ranks in the NZX10. He has accumulated 35 years of experience in the global energy industry with his expertise in supply, trading and marketing businesses covering both consumer and business to business segments. In 1983 he joined BP in New Zealand with his early roles being based in sales, marketing, information technology and finance. From 1992 to 2008 he served in various by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
64 min listen
Ep13: Morgan Bazilian 'Poet of the Low-Carbon Transition': How to estimate amount of oil produced in Syria by Daesh using satellite photos of night time lights? How, using the same technique, can we measure reliability of access to energy? How to provide reliable and affordable energy for all? And when will we be digging cobalt on Mars? Our Episode 13 guest, Morgan Bazilian, covers it all! Bio: Morgan Bazilian is the Director of the Payne Institute at the Colorado School of Mines, where he is also a Professor of public policy. Previously, he was lead energy specialist at the World Bank. He has over two decades of experience in the energy sector and is regarded as a leading expert in international affairs, policy and investment. He is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. Morgan has written over 140 papers – in publications ranging from Nature to Foreign Affairs. Not to mention his book “Analytical Methods for Energy Diversity and Security” is a part of quite a few syllabi. by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
69 min listen
Ep4: Barbara Buchner 'Counting the Climate Cash': How much is being invested in climate action around the world? Where and in which sectors are the investments concentrated? How much is needed to get us on track for net zero? If it wasn’t for our Episode 4 guest, Barbara Buchner, it would be impossible to answer these questions. Barbara Buchner is Global Managing Director of Climate Policy Initiative which publishes the hugely influential annual Global Landscape for Climate Finance and runs the Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance which has helped mobilize over 2 billion US dollars for sustainable development in developing countries over the past seven years. In 2014 the International Council for Science named Barbara one of the 20 most influential women in climate change and one of the 100 most influential people in climate policy. She is also the lead author on CPI’s Global Landscape of Climate Finance. Barbara built and directs the San Giorgio Group, which brings together key by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
62 min listen
Ep2: Rachel Kyte "Investing in climate leadership ": What is stopping us from providing affordable and reliable energy for all? What is the role of graduate education in addressing the racial inequalities still so manifest in the US? What does leadershi... Rachel Kyte CMG is the 14th Dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University, and the first woman to lead the oldest graduate school of international affairs in the United States, where she took her Global Master of Arts in 2002. Prior to joining Fletcher, Rachel was Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and CEO of Sustainable Energy for All. Before that, Rachel was World Bank Group vice president and special envoy for climate change, leading the Bank Group’s efforts to refocus its operations towards supporting a sustainable global economy and campaigning for the passage of the Paris Agreement. Earlier still, she was a Vice President at the International Finance Corporation. Rachel was born in the East of Eng by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
75 min listen
Ep7: Bertrand Piccard 'A Good and Exciting Life': According to Wikipedia, Bertrand Piccard is a Swiss psychiatrist and balloonist. This is something of an understatement. Bertrand did indeed qualify as a psychiatrist from the University of Lausanne. But he is best-known as an explorer, aviator and communicator. Bertrand comes from a family of explorers – grandfather Auguste invented the pressurised balloon capsule was the first man to witness the curvature of the earth with his own eyes, setting the world altitude record 16,201 meters in 1932. His father, Jacques Piccard, designed became the first man to dive 10,916 metres in a submarine to the bottom of the Marianas Trench, and also did a month-long, 3,000 km drift dive in the Gulf Stream. Bertrand made the first non-stop round-the-world balloon flight in 1999, together with co-pilot Brian Jones. He then made the first round-the-world flight in an electric plane in 2015 and 2016, sharing flight segments with André Borschberg. He no by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
68 min listen
Ep15: Auke Hoekstra 'The Debunker-in-Chief': How can we use data modelling to predict the future of zero-emission energy? This week, Auke Hoekstra discusses the SparkCity model, dealing with, adoption of electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, and the effects the switch to EVs is going to have on the grid. Auke joins Michael for this week's episode from his self-designed energy positive house in the Netherlands. Not only is he a researcher at the Eindhoven University of Technology but also the founder of Zenmo simulations and initiated NEON a research programme focusing on transport and sustainability. Auke debunks a few myths as well: electric cars do not emit more CO2 than ICE vehicles and trucks are actually electrifiable. They also discuss how the EIA’s and the IEA’s forecasts on solar cost and penetration have aged (spoiler: not well). by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
66 min listen
Ep24: Holiday Special - A Look Back at Season One: 2020 has been a strange and difficult year. In the midst of the global pandemic, Michael decided to reach out to some familiar faces in global climate leadership not only to catch up but also to discuss how the world can move towards a more sustainable and equitable future. In this Holiday Special, we look back at some of the most insightful, revealing, and humorous moments from Series 1 of Cleaning Up. Michael talks to guests including Professor Ernest Moniz, former US Secretary of Energy; Robin Chase, founder of Zip Car and expert on sustainable transportation; and Kandeh Yumkella, former Director-General of UNIDO. From the future of the energy system and inclusion to behind-the-scenes moments and personal philosophies. Enjoy our favourite moments, have a restful winter holiday, and a prosperous new year! by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
28 min listen
Ep3: Antony Slumbers 'Real Estate in the Crosshairs': Why human skills matter in an intensely more technological world? Are we going to return to our offices when the pandemic is over, or is remote work the new normal? Will office space become a service? In Episode 3 of Cleaning Up Antony Slumbers, software technology strategist, commercial real estate expert and an art historian answers all of these questions. Why human skills matter in an intensely more technological world? Are we going to return to our offices when the pandemic is over, or is remote work the new normal? Will office space become a service? In Episode 3 of Cleaning Up Antony Slumbers, software technology strategist, commercial real estate expert and an art historian answers all of these questions. Antony has 25 years of experience as a software technology strategist and commercial real estate expert, real expert on PropTech, and #SpaceAsAService. Antony and Michael first met on Twitter, and found they were doing a by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
61 min listen
Ep8: Roger Dennis 'The Price of Resilience': What does a futurist do? Does it include dealing with jetpacks? Or is it more about helping organisations to become more resilient? Cool as jetpacks might be, our Episode 8 guest, Roger Dennis covers no less interesting topics: how he helped to prepare New Zealand’s businesses and health care system for the pandemic and why we should be collecting as much real-time data about cities as possible. Bio: Roger Dennis’s website says that “[he] consults on the continuum between future thinking, strategy and innovation to introduce opportunities to organisations to create advantage.” Roger has worked with leading organisations like Shell, the Singapore PM’s office, Fonterra (New Zealand’s diary industry cooperative), one of New Zealand’s largest health providers and Z Energy, the country’s leading fuel retailer. In 2010 he returned to Christchurch, New Zealand, to enjoy a quiet life, away from the risks and hassles of the big city – just few mont by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
65 min listen
Ep12: Ramez Naam 'Seeing the Future': How did Ramez Naam spot the exponential cost trends in renewables? How should we tailor our messaging to convince different audiences we need to act on climate change? Why are forecasters so often wrong? Ramez Naam, our Ep12 guest talks about all of the above and much more! Not many people manage to write critically acclaimed science-fiction series and equally appreciated non-fiction books. Even smaller subset happens to also be energy analysts and investors. And there’s only one who, in addition, holds several patents, some co-authored with Bill Gates. Ramez Naam is, by all measures, a rare type of person. Originally from Cairo, Egypt he moved to the US at the age of 3. He studied computer science nad started his career with Microsoft, where he worked on the company’s flagship projects – including Outlook. After 13 years, he switched to the energy sector and was one of the first to spot the exponential cost trends in renewables. In his 2011 pi by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
62 min listen
Ep17: Prof. Ernest J. Moniz 'Innovation and Power': What would Professor Ernest Moniz, 13th United States Secretary of Energy, say to the 16th Secretary who will be appointed in the coming months? Would he, as the architect of the JCPOA (known better as the Iran nuclear deal) agree with Donald Trump that it was “the worst deal ever negotiated? (Spoiler alert: no). What does he consider to be the most interesting innovations in the energy space? Listen to the special, 17th episode of Cleaning Up to find out! Bio/introduction While the US election votes are being counted, Ernie Moniz and Michael Liebreich sit down for Cleaning Up’s 17th episode. Ernie Moniz served as the U.S. Secretary Energy during President Barack Obama’s second term. He was the architect of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (known better as the Iran nuclear deal). In addition to that he played a key role in negotiating the Paris Agreement and founding Mission Innovation at COP21. Currently he is the C by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
79 min listen
Ep5: Kirsty Gogan 'Fighting for Nuclear': What role (if any) should nuclear play in a low carbon future? Should we build more large-scale light-water reactors despite high costs? Is nuclear safe? Kirsty Gogan, a leading voice on nuclear power answers all of the above. In addition to being an authority on nuclear, Kirsty is an award-winning expert on science communication, climate change, and competitiveness. She is managing partner of LucidCatalyst, a specialized consultancy, recently commissioned by the Energy Technologies Institute to produce their Nuclear Cost Drivers Study, and by ARPA-E (the US agency charged with accelerating next-generation energy technologies) to conduct a study on Cost and Performance Requirements for Flexible Advanced Nuclear Plants in Future U.S. Power Markets. Kirsty chairs the UK Government’s Nuclear Innovation Research and Advisory Board (NIRAB) Cost Reduction Working Group. In 2019, NIRAB recommended investment of USD1.3 billion between 2021 and 2025 by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
61 min listen
Ep29: Steven Chu 'Nobel Hero talks Net Zero': This week, we welcome Steven Chu, Professor of Physics and Physiology at Stanford University, and the 1997 co-recipient of the 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics to Cleaning Up. Professor Chu was was the first of two Secretaries of Energy during President’s Obama term as president, the second being Ernie Moniz, my guest on Episode 17 of Cleaning Up. He is now the Chair of the Board of the American Association of the Advancement of Science (AAAS). This week, we have also made it into the Top 10 Climate Change Podcasts: https://blog.feedspot.com/climate_change_podcasts/ Bio Professor Steven Chu is currently William R. Kenan, Jr., Professor of Physics and Professor of Molecular and Cellular Physiology at Stanford University. He is also the Chair of the Board of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a non-profit organisation defending scientific freedom and encouraging a collaborative approach in order to serve humanity as a w by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
75 min listen
Ep6: Christiana Figueres 'To Paris and Beyond': What does it take to turn a demoralised organisation around? How to convince 195 states to sign up to the Paris agreement? What does Christiana Figueres have to say about RCP8.5 and those still believing there will be no energy transition? Find out in Episode 6 of Cleaning Up. Christiana Figueres was appointed Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in July 2010, six months after the failed COP15 in Copenhagen. During the next six years she worked to rebuild the global climate change negotiating process, leading to the 2015 Paris Agreement, widely recognized as a historical achievement. Christiana comes from the most prominent diplomatic/political family in Costa Rica. Her father, José Figueres Ferrer, was President of Costa Rica three times; her mother was an Ambassador and member of the Legislative Assembly; and her older brother José Figueres Olsen, was also President of Costa Rica. She is also by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
48 min listen
Ep22: Robin Chase ‘Mobility, Cities and Social Entrepreneurship’: What is the future of urban transportation in the world’s cities? Will autonomous cars revolutionize our lives? Meet the woman behind the world’s largest car sharing company, Robin Chase, the transport entrepreneur. She is the co-founder of Zipcar, Veniam and now, co-founder of NUMO. She is also a public speaker, author and entrepreneur seeking to change the landscape of mobility on a global level. Bio/Introduction Robin Chase is a transport entrepreneur. She has co-founded Zipcar, Veniam and NUMO. She is also the author of the book ‘Peers Inc: How People and Platforms are Inventing the Collaborative Economy and Reinventing Capitalism’ about how technology has paved the way for a new collaborative economy in which companies are able to help solve large scale social problems. Her current occupation is working with cities to maximize the benefits mass rollout of self-driving cars and low-cost electric bikes can bring. by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
65 min listen
Ep11: Jon Dee 'From Celebrity to Action': How to get members of bands such as Queen, Pink Floyd, Rush, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple together to help a country devastated by an earthquake? How helpful can celebrities be in the clean energy transition? Do we fully recognize the role business plays in solving environmental problems? Jon Dee, leading Australian figure in sustainability and environment answers all of the above! Jon Dee’s website describes him as a “social entrepreneur, broadcaster and philanthropist”. If you download his bio, you’ll find it’s a 35MB power-point presentation. Jon has founded four major charities: Rock Aid Armenia (1988), Planet Ark (1992), DoSomething (2008), and One Tree Per Child (2015). Between 2015 and 2018 he hosted 115 episodes of Smart Money on Sky News Australia, showcasing stories of businesses using sustainability, efficiency and innovation to improve their bottom line. Since 2017, Jon has been appearing weekly on ABC Radio Australia highlighting goo by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
64 min listen
Ep26: Minister Zac Goldsmith 'Environmental leadership in a post-Brexit world': More than any other single person, Zac Goldsmith - or The Right Honourable Lord Goldsmith of Richmond Park as he is properly known – is responsible for the UK Conservative Party’s relatively recent conversion to the cause of the environment. Bio Zac Goldsmith has devoted his entire professional life to the environment – first as editor of the Ecologist magazine, then as an MP and London Mayoral candidate, and now as a Conservative life peer in the House of Lords, where he serves as Minister for Pacific and the Environment at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. As Minister of State, Zac Goldsmith is responsible for forestry and biodiversity, biodiversity and climate and illegal wildlife trade as well as the Pacific region. As Minister of DEFRA (Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), Goldsmith is currently workin by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
55 min listen
Ep18: Nancy Pfund 'Women backing Winners': How can venture capital be used to promote social change and environmental improvement? As a leading venture capitalist of her time and one of the early investors in Tesla, find out the drive behind Nancy Pfund’s incredible career, this week, on Cleaning Up. Nancy E. Pfund is Founder and Managing Partner of DBL Partners, a venture capital firm whose goal is to combine top-tier financial returns with meaningful social, environmental, and economic returns in the regions and sectors in which it invests. Nancy is also the Founder of DBL Investors. Ms. Pfund currently sponsors or sits on the board of directors of several companies, including; Farmers Business Network, The Muse, Advanced Microgrid Solutions, Off-Grid Electric, Primus Power, and, prior to their public offerings, Tesla Motors and Pandora. She also served on the board of SolarCity from 2008 until its acquisition by Tesla in December 2016, on both the audit and compensation com by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
68 min listen
Ep27: Beverley Gower-Jones 'Clean Growth Funder': Beverley Gower-Jones is the leading figure in the cleantech start-up world. She is the Managing Partner at the Clean Growth Fund which invests in the UK's most promising early-stage, clean growth ventures. She’s also the CEO and founder of Carbon Limiting Technologies, helping companies to commercialize new, innovative technologies. Bio Beverley Gower-Jones is the Managing Partner at the Clean Growth Fund, which is backed by, amongst others, the UK Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. The Fund, with a mandate of £40million (and aim to get to £100 million in 2021), invests in the UK's most promising early-stage, clean growth ventures.  Beverley has also co-founded Carbon Limiting Technologies in 2006 and run it ever since. The company’s aim is to support companies in new technologies and clean energy. Before that she worked for 20 years at Shell in various roles – from Production Geologist in Scotland, Brunei, by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
50 min listen
Ep28: Fatih Birol 'Setting the World's Energy Agenda': Named one of the most influential people in the energy sector by the Forbes magazine and the energy personality of the year by the Financial Times in 2017, Fatih Birol is one of the most important voices in the energy world. He is the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, leading it for the second four-year-term now. Dr Fatih Birol has been instrumental in its modernisation process. He is also one of the few heads of an international organisation who have worked their way up through the ranks. Bio Dr Fatih Birol is the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency. He was first appointed in 2015 and re-elected in 2018 for the second term. During his time in office, he modernised the Agency, focusing his efforts on involving major emerging economies in the Agency’s works, broadening IEA’s security mandate and making the IEA the hub for clean energy technologies and energy efficiency. Before becoming the by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
54 min listen
Ep9: Jigar Shah 'Creating Climate Wealth': How does one come up with a brand new clean energy business model? Why if energy transition is the 'biggest wealth creation opportunity of our lifetimes' many have been slow to get on board? What went wrong in California with rolling blackouts and why Jigar Shah believes it has to do with the sunny state being a nanny state? Jigar Shah is one of the few people that have actually invented a whole new clean energy business model. In 2003 he founded Sun Edison which allowed people to get solar panels on their roofs on ‘pay-as-you-go’ basis, instead of paying upfront. In 2009 he became the first CEO of Carbon War Room – a ‘global non-profit commitment to supporting global entrepreneurs scale their climate solutions’ founded by Richard Branson. His time at Carbon War Room inspired him to write a book called ‘Creating Climate Wealth: Unlocking the Impact Economy’. In 2014 Jigar co-founded Generate Capital and has been running it ever since, inve by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
67 min listen
Ep36: Prof. Jim Skea 'It's climate, Jim, but not as we know it.': This week, Michael Liebreich is joined by Professor Jim Skea from Imperial College London’s Centre for Environmental Policy and the co-author of the seminal IPCC 2018 Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5C. Bio Jim Skea is a Professor of Sustainable Energy at Imperial College London and the co-author of the IPCC 2018 Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5C. He’s still involved in the works of the IPCC, currently co-chairing the Working Group III (focused on climate change mitigation) contribution to AR6. Between 2012 and 2017 Professor Skea was an Energy Strategy Fellow at the Research Councils UK. Meanwhile, he was also the President of the Energy Institute between 2015 and 2017. He led the UK Energy Research Centre and worked on UK’s energy transition scenarios from 2004-2012. Born in Scotland, Jim Skea read Mathematical Physics at Edinburgh University, followed by a PhD in Physics at Cambridge University’s by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
60 min listen
Ep14: Jonathan Maxwell 'Cheaper, Cleaner, More Reliable': How much energy are data centres using worldwide? Why have lamps been a massive infrastructure revolution? From food waste in olive production in Spain to air pollution, Michael welcomes Jonathan Maxwell into his home for Cleaning Up’s 14th episode! Jonathan Maxwell is the CEO of Sustainable Development Capital (SDCL), an investment firm that set up the UK’s first listed investment trust investing exclusively in energy efficiency - Sustainable Energy Efficiency Income Trust (SEEIT). Jonathan chairs the Trust’s Investment Committee. Jonathan has over two decades of experience in the financial sector – he spent early days of his career at HSBC Infrastructure and led the IPO process of HICL Infrastructure Company (formerly HSBC Infrastructure Company) – one of the biggest infrastructure funds listed on the London Stock Exchange. In 2007 he founded Sustainable Development Capital (SDCL), a boutique investment firm specializing i by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
61 min listen
Ep34: Kristian Ruby 'Electrifying Almost Everything for Net-Zero': This week, Kristian Ruby, the Secretary-General of Eurelectric since 2017, will be joining us for a conversation. Eurelectric is a pan-European organisation with the aim of representing the common interests of the electricity industry. He was also once part of the Danish government in the Ministries of Climate and Energy as well as Environment. Bio Kristian Ruby has been the Secretary-General of Eurelectric, a pan-European organisation with the aim of representing the common interests of the electricity industry since 2017. Prior to this role, Kristian was Chief Policy Officer at WindEurope between 2015 and 2016. This involved producing political strategies as well as leading the political advocacy work. From 2014 to 2015, he was Chief Advisor/Manager at Operate A/S who work closely with corporations, ministries, and government agencies with PR campaigns concerning climate and the environment. Kristian has po by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
58 min listen
Ep20: Richenda Van Leeuwen 'A Life of Energy Access and Inclusion': As a 10 year old girl, Richenda Van Leeuwen saw a solar panel at the Centre of Alternative Technology on a rainy day in Wales. This would serve as her first point of inspiration for the career ahead of her. Now, she is the Executive Director of Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs. In the 20th episode of Cleaning Up, Michael and Richenda cover gender balance in the energy sector, the crucial role electricity access plays in providing healthcare in the Global South as well as ways to ensure that local economies are the beneficiaries of growth in emerging markets. Bio Richenda joined the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) as Executive Director after serving as Managing Director for Empowering Clean Economies at the Rocky Mountain Institute, and previously chairing the International Institutions at the Global LPG Partnership where she led work on clean cooking energy solutions in developing economi by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
66 min listen
Ep16: Dr Kandeh K. Yumkella 'Sustainable Energy for All': How did Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella impact the Sustainable Development Goals? How has he influenced energy's position in development? Dr Kandeh Kolleh Yumkella – known as KKY in his native Sierra Leone - is a senior academic and politician. He joins Michael Liebreich this week to talk about his journey from being the Director-General at UNIDO to his political career in Sierra Leone. He is parliamentary leader of Sierra Leone’s National Grand Coalition and an MP representing Constituency 062 in Kambia District, where he was born. He is founder and CEO of The Energy Nexus Network (TENN), a regional ecosystem hub for sustainable energy solutions. Dr Yumkella was Minister for Trade and Industry of Sierra Leone from 1994-1995. He joined the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation in 1996, rising through the ranks and serving two four-year terms as Director General between 2005 and 2013. It was during this time that Dr Yumkel by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
89 min listen
Ep10: Angela Francis 'A Green Deal without the Yellow Vests': What does Brexit mean for the climate transition? What will COPs 30 to 50 be about (and why is it trade?) What should environmentalists do instead of giving somebody who's got a pile of problems another one to deal with? Do we need a revolution to save the planet or will reform do? Angela Francis answers all of the above! Angela Francis is Chief Advisor, Economics and Economic Development at WWF, where she provides economic advice across the climate, food and nature programmes as well as leading on trade and industrial policy for a green transition. She started as an accountant in the energy industry before moving into economic development, where she has spent the last 18 years. She led on economics and strategy for the East of England Development Agency and worked on productivity, innovation, and low carbon growth in the UK and Europe for SQW Consulting. She was Regional Economist and Climate Attaché for the FCO in the by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
55 min listen
Happy International Women’s Day!: Today is International Women’s Day. We want to take the time to highlight some of the incredible women who are leading the world’s pivot to net-zero. From politics to finance and diplomacy, these women are vital to climate action on an international level. Each episode is available in full at www.cleaningup.live Name of each episode with their link Episode 2: Rachel Kyte 'Investing in Climate Leadership' https://www.cleaningup.live/episode-2-rachel-kyte Episode 4: Barbara Buchner ‘Counting the Climate Cash’ https://www.cleaningup.live/episode-4-barbara-buchner Episode 5: Kirsty Gogan ‘Fighting for Nuclear’ https://www.cleaningup.live/episode-5-kirsty-gogan Episode 6: Christiana Figueres ‘To Paris & Beyond’ https://www.cleaningup.live/episode-6-christiana-figureres Episode 10: Angela Francis ‘A Green Deal without the Yellow Vests’ https://www.cleaningup.live/episode-10-angela-francis Episode 18: Nancy Pfund ‘Women Backing Winners’ h by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
4 min listen
Ep23: James Cameron 'Trade and Sustainability - the Radical in a Suit': Last but not least, our concluding episode of 2020 is with James Cameron. No not the director, but he is doing radical things in a suit (this will make more sense once you press play). Find out why Tom Paine was an important inspiration for his career, what the WTO needs to do to progress and trade in post-Brexit UK. Bio James Cameron is a barrister, independent adviser and social entrepreneur, and a recognised leader of the global climate change community. He is an expert on sustainability and trade policy – and as you can imagine he’s very much in demand in Britain right now, not only with the post-Brexit negotiations, but also since he was appointed as a ‘Friend of the COP’ for COP26, advising the Presidency. James is a senior advisor for Pollination, a climate change advisory and investment firm, as well as System IQ, Tulchan Communications and AVAIA Capital. He also sits on the Advisory Board for Heathro by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
57 min listen

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Audioblog 13: Clean Hydrogen's Missing Trillions: In this week's episode of Cleaning Up, we find how much and how much more governments would have to spend for hydrogen to live up to its hype. This audio blog is adapted from a piece Michael wrote at the end of last year for BloombergNEF, entitled "Clean Hydrogen's Missing Trillions", which estimated that hitting the Hydrogen Energy Ministerial target of 90 million tonnes of clean energy by 2030 would require subsidies of at least $2.3 trillion to be on the table right now, while the actual figure at the end of last year was 1/10th of that. Although the figures have changed a bit since then, the message remains the same: the subsidy gap remains in the multiple trillions of dollars. It should not therefore be surprising that the news is full of projects being cancelled and delayed. In fact, that will be one of the main hydrogen stories through to 2030 and beyond. by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
36 min listen
Australia's Political Trim Tab - Ep162: Simon Holmes à Court: Up this week is Simon Holmes à Court, the Australian investor and philanthropist with a passion for using data to change the world. In 2022, the federal elections in Australia delivered an upset, as around a third of the electorate turned their back on the established parties and voted in seven new independent MPs taking the total to 10. Simon was responsible for a crowdfunding initiative - Climate 200 - that supported 23 candidates in all, pledging to act on climate, political integrity and gender discrimination. He remains very involved in the challenge of pivoting Australia from a fossil fuel based economy to a clean energy superpower. by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
55 min listen
How to Model Climate Solutions - Ep161: Lily Cole: How can we build a more united climate movement? What should be the role of geoengineering? And how can indigenous voices be brought into the climate conversation? Bryony puts these questions to model, actor, director, ambassador and businesswoman, Lily Cole. by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
61 min listen
How China Became a Green Finance Superpower - Ep160: Dr. Ma Jun: Welcome to season 12 of Cleaning Up! If you want a sense of the trajectory of climate action, you have to understand China, and you have to understand finance. There is no one better to share insights on both than Dr Ma Jun, Founder and President of the Institute of Finance and Sustainability in Beijing. by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
66 min listen
Rounding Up Season 11 - Ep159: Michael Liebreich & Bryony Worthington: Bryony and Michael round up the eleventh season of Cleaning Up this week. They explore the themes running through the episodes, from theories of change to innovation, and discuss the things that surprised them, the moments they liked (or didn't) and reasons for optimism for the transition. by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
69 min listen
Absolutely Electrifying - Ep158: Saul Griffith: Michael chats with Saul Griffith, Australian-born engineer, inventor, advisor, author and 2007 MacArthur "Genius". He specialises in clean and renewable energy technologies, and has founded a dozen technology companies across 20 years in Silicon Valley, as well as authoring 3 books, including `Electrify', and `The Big Switch'. He has recently turned his attention from Otherlab, his independent Research and Development lab, to policy work and writing, including founding Rewiring America and Rewiring Australia, non-partisan organisations dedicated to electrification and decarbonisation and the associated policy and regulatory implications of meeting our climate goals. by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
73 min listen
The Methane Hunters - Ep157: Dr. Sebastien Biraud & Sharon Wilson: Bryony speaks to two fascinating guests, both specialising in methane emissions, their causes and impacts: Dr. Sebastien Biraud and Sharon Wilson. Dr. Biraud is a biogeochemist, leading the Climate Sciences Department. Sebastien's work has taken him to the tropical rainforests of the Amazon, the great plains of the United States, and the Arctic tundra. He is currently co-leading/leading projects for the U.S. Department of Energy and the California Energy Commission. These projects involve integrating and applying high-precision greenhouse gas observations to advance research on the atmospheric carbon cycle and to enhance measurement, reporting, and verification of greenhouse gas emissions. Sharon is a 5th generation Texan who, after 12 years working for the oil and gas industry in Ft. Worth, left and bought 42 acres in Wise County. Unknown to her at the time was that George Mitchell was experimenting in Wise County t by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
68 min listen
Audioblog 12: Net Zero Will Be Harder Than You Think – And Easier. Part II: Easier: This week, Michael presents the second part of his two-parter for Bloomberg New Energy Finance, exploring the bear and bull cases for the net zero transition. This week is the bull case: the "5 superheroes" of the transition, 5 forces/trends even more powerful than last week's "5 horsemen", which can prevail in the challenge of rapidly decarbonising the global economy. The 5 superheroes are: Exponential Growth, Systems Solutions, Great Power Competition, Disappearing Demand, and the Primary Energy Fallacy. And stay tuned until the end for a 6th "bonus" superhero! This audioblog is based on Michael's Bloomberg New Energy Finance opinion piece of the same title. by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
40 min listen
Audioblog 11: Net Zero Will Be Harder Than You Think – And Easier. Part I: Harder: Michael is solo this week on Cleaning Up, outlining the "5 horsemen" of the net-zero transition - the five greatest obstacles to the net zero transition. These 5 horsemen are: the economics of energy solutions, the electrical grid, the demand for critical mineral, political and social inertia, predatory delay by the powerful incumbents. This audioblog is based on Michael's Bloomberg New Energy Finance opinion piece of the same title. by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
30 min listen
A Magnificent Woman And Her Flying Machines - Ep156: Bonny Simi: Bryony returns with Bonny Simi, President of Operations at Jobs Aviation, where she's working on bringing to market a new civilian electric VTOL (eVTOL) aircraft. Prior to joining the team at Joby, Bonny held several operational and strategic roles at JetBlue Most notably, she founded and led JetBlue Technology Ventures, investing in improving the travel, hospitality, and transportation industries. As a pilot, Bonny has commanded Boeing, Airbus and Embraer aircraft at both United Airlines and JetBlue Airways. She is also an Emmy-nominated sports reporter and a 3-time Olympian in the sport of Luge. by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
56 min listen
Extreme Electrochemistry for a Sustainable Future - Ep155: Prof Donald Sadoway: Michael returns to talk with legendary educator and inventor, Donald Sadoway, Professor Emeritus of Materials Chemistry at MIT. After earning his PhD in chemical metallurgy in 1977 at the University of Toronto, he joined the faculty at MIT where he spent 44 years. For 16 of those, he taught 3.091 (Introduction to Solid-State Chemistry)—and his animated lectures, peppered with references to music, art, and literature—doubtless contributed to the subject’s popularity. Among the many accolades bestowed on Professor Sadoway in his 44 years as a teacher and researcher at MIT was a compliment by Bill Gates: “best chemistry lessons anywhere. Unbelievable.” In 2012, for the invention of the liquid metal battery, he was named by Time magazine one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World.” He has founded several hard tech startups, including Ambri, Avanti Battery Company and Boston Metal. by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
67 min listen
Green Heat (And Cooling) Under Our Feet - Ep154: Tamsin Lishman: Tamsin Lishman joins Bryony this week to talk heat pumps. Tamsin is CEO of Kensa Group, a Cornwall-based manufacturer and installer of ground source heat pumps. Kensa is the UK's only manufacturer of ground source heat pumps. Both air source and ground source heat pumps are rapidly growing technologies, and Tamsin believes that Kensa's heat pumps can - and will - be deployed to electrify domestic heating in the UK. On a recent episode of Cleaning Up, Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the IEA, argued that heat pumps are "the closest thing to a silver bullet" we have in the race to net-zero. In over two decades, Kensa has saved over 1 million tonnes of carbon through ground source heat pump installations. The Kensa Group is partly owned by Legal & General Capital, part of Legal & General PLC, and Octopus Energy. Tamsin was appointed CEO of Kensa Group in July 2023. Previously, she had stints at EnergyNest and Centrica. S by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
48 min listen
Shedding Light on Energy's Dirty Secrets - Ep153: Lauri Myllyvirta: Michael sits down this week with Lauri Myllyvirta, co-founder and lead analyst at CREA - the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. After working as a campaigner and then as an analyst at Greenpeace, Lauri helped set up CREA, an NGO that produces research reports on the trends, causes, health impacts, and solutions to air pollution. Importantly, CREA makes extensive reference to local-language evidence sources - helped by Lauri's impressive knowledge of European and Asian languages. by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
70 min listen
Can We Have a Habitable Planet? - Ep152: David Wallace-Wells: This week, Bryony is back, this time to talk to David Wallace-Wells. David is an American journalist and author who often writes about climate change. His 2017 article "The Uninhabitable Earth" for New York Magazine was the publication's most-read article in history. David then turned the article into a book of the same name, which was chosen as Book of the Year, 2019, by The Sunday Times, The Spectator and New Statesman. He has a BA in History from Brown University. by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
73 min listen
Redesigning Mining - Ep151: Mark Cutifani: This week, Michael's guest is Mark Cutifani, chairman of Vale Base Metals and formerly CEO of South African gold mining company, Ashanti, and British mining company, Anglo American. He was born and grew up in Wollongong, Australia. After leaving high school in 1976, he joined Coal Cliff colliery and enrolled in the University of Wollongong to complete a degree in Mining Engineering. He graduated in 1982, top of his class. After working for Coal Cliff, he joined Kalgoorlie Gold Mines, the Western Mining Corporation, Normandy Mining and Sons of Gwalia. In 2007, Cutifani left Inco Limited, where he held the position of chief operating officer. On 17 September 2007, he joined Ashanti, as a director of the company and was appointed CEO on 1 October that year. Shortly after joining Ashanti, Cutifani introduced a campaign called "Safety is our first value". Research into the 2007 fatalities at the company had shown that 70% of the fatalities were c by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
71 min listen
Selling Sustainability - Ep150: Solitaire Townsend: Bryony returns in Season 11 this week, sitting down with her longtime friend Solitaire Townsend. Solitaire is Co-founder & Chief Solutionist at Futerra, and Trustee of the Solutions Union. She is a renowned sustainability expert and solutionist. From Google to the United Nations, Ikea to WWF, Solitaire works with the worlds’ most influential organisations to activate social justice and environmental restoration. Over two decades she has led the movement towards solutions, hope and optimism with numerous publications and keynotes at the UN, MIT, Ted and many more. She was named “Ethical Entrepreneur of the Year” in 2008 and more recently chair of the UK Green Energy Scheme, trustee of Ashden, a founder member of the United Nations Sustainable Lifestyles Taskforce and a London Leader for Sustainability. She holds master’s degrees in both Sustainable Development and Shakespeare. by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
63 min listen
Material World - Ep149: Ed Conway: Kicking-off 2024 and Season 11 is Ed Conway. Ed is the Economics editor at Sky News, covering major UK and international economics, business and political stories. He is also economics columnist for The Times, and has been one of the longest-running economics editors in UK journalism, having started covering the sector in 2003. He is the author of the book on Bretton Woods, The Summit: The Biggest Battle Of The Second World War – Fought Behind Closed Doors (Little, Brown, 2014) and an economics guidebook, 50 Economics Ideas You Really Need to Know (Quercus, 2009). Ed is a governor of the National Institute for Economic and Social Research, and has lectured on the international monetary system at the London School of Economics, the US Treasury and many other forums. His new book, Material World: A Substantial Story of Our Past and Future, explores the history, future and importance of six crucial substances: sand, salt, iron, copper, oil and lithium. by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
76 min listen
The Second Coming of the Lord Turner - Ep148: Lord Adair Turner: For a second consecutive year-closer, Michael welcomes Lord Adair Turner of Ecchinswell back to Cleaning Up. Lord Turner has combined careers in business, public policy and academia. He chairs the Energy Transitions Commission, a global coalition of major power and industrial companies, investors, environmental NGOs and experts working out achievable pathways to limit global warming to well below 2˚C by 2040 while stimulating economic development and social progress. He was chairman of the Institute for New Economic Thinking until January 2019, where he remains a Senior Fellow. He is Chairman of Chubb Europe and on the Advisory Board of Envision Energy, a Shanghai-based group focussed on renewable energy, batteries and digital systems. He became a cross bench member of the House of Lords in 2006. by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
68 min listen
Not the End of the World - Ep147: Dr Hannah Ritchie: Dr Hannah Ritchie is a data scientist and science communicator. Her focus is on the largest problems that shape our world, and how to solve them. Most of her work focuses on environmental sustainability, including climate change, energy, food and agriculture, biodiversity, air pollution and deforestation. She is Deputy Editor and Lead Researcher at Our World in Data, where, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she built the Our World in Data COVID-19 information dashboard. She is also a researcher at the Oxford Martin Programme in Global Development. Her new book, Not the End of the World, is out in January 2024. by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
63 min listen
Tackling Super Pollutants - Ep146: Jason Anderson: This week, Bryony speaks with Jason Anderson, Senior Program Director at ClimateWorks, who oversees the Governance & Diplomacy and Super Pollutant programs. His work spans efforts ranging from implementing the Paris Agreement to cleaning up dirty shipping and preventing methane leakage. Jason has over 25 years of experience in climate and clean energy, beginning in the solar energy conversion office at the U.S. Department of Energy, which led him to promote photovoltaics for rural electrification in Central America. Jason then worked in a range of climate organizations in Brussels for 15 years, ranging from Climate Action Network Europe to the Institute for European Environmental Policy to the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF). Jason was a lead author of the IPCC special reports on ozone and climate interactions, and on carbon capture and storage; in 2007 Jason was acknowledged for his contribution to the IPCC’s Nobel Peace Prize. Ja by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
57 min listen
The Bridgetown Initiator - Ep145: Prof Avinash Persaud: Professor Avinash Persaud is special envoy to the Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley and emeritus professor at Gresham College in the UK. He, along with PM Mottley, helped design the Bridgetown Initiative in 2022 which laid out a path for reforming and ramping up the mobiliisation of climate finance to the developing world. The initiative has gathered vast international support and he’s heading to COP28 in Dubai to work on advancing the climate development agenda. by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
64 min listen
Iron-Air Man - Ep144: Mateo Jaramillo: Mateo Jaramillo is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Form Energy, a company developing, commercializing, and manufacturing breakthrough low-cost, multi-day energy storage solutions that will enable the electric system to be 100% renewably powered. Mr. Jaramillo was formerly Vice President of Products and Programs for Tesla’s stationary storage business, an effort he started. In that role, he was responsible for Tesla Energy’s product line and business model definition, as well as global policy and business development. Mr. Jaramillo joined Tesla in 2009 as the Director of Powertrain Business Development, serving as commercial lead and primary negotiator on over $100M in new development and $500M in production contracts signed for electric powertrain sales. Prior to Tesla, Mr. Jaramillo was Chief Operating Officer and part of the founding team at Gaia Power Technologies, a pioneering distributed energy storage firm. Mr. Jaramillo serves on by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
65 min listen
Is Shipping the Easiest "Hard-to-Abate" Sector? - Ep143: Johannah Christensen: This week, Bryony’s guest is Johannah Christensen, CEO of the Global Maritime Forum. The GMF is an international not-for-profit organization, committed to shaping the future of global seaborne trade to increase sustainable long-term economic development and human wellbeing. To do so, it facilitates a wide variety of initiatives and convenes key stakeholders at the Annual Summit. Bryony met Johannah when she was working on shipping for the Environmental Defense Fund. Before becoming CEO in 2021, she was Managing Director, Head of Projects and Programmes, also at GMF. She was also previously a Programme Manager at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Johannah has a BSc in Business Administration and Modern Languages from Aarhus University and and MSc in Economics and Business Administration from Copenhagen Business School. by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
51 min listen
Metals Refining - From Mining to Brining: Ep 142 - Alex Grant: This week, Michael is back in the host seat to talk to Alex Grant all about the groundbreaking work going on at Magrathea Metals. Alex is co-founder and CEO at Magrathea, developing a new generation of electrolytic technology for making magnesium metal. He was a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree in Energy for 2021, and former Lithium Partner at Minviro where he built environmental impact models of lithium-ion battery supply chain mineral and metal conversion processes including the first embodied carbon model for Tesla's batteries. Alex co-founded Lilac Solutions, a lithium extraction technology company. Alex has an M.S. from Northwestern University in Chemical Engineering and a B.Eng. from McGill University in Chemical Engineering & Philosophy. He is based in beautiful San Francisco, California. by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
45 min listen
Lifting the Curtain on Climate Change Denial - Ep 141: Prof Naomi Oreskes: This week, Michael has invited his good friend Baroness Bryony Worthington to guest-host Cleaning Up! Bryony was the lead author of the UK’s ground-breaking 2008 Climate Change Act, and is now on sabbatical from her role in the House of Lords, where she has been scrutinising legislation. She’s now over in California. See the shownotes below for a link to her appearance on Cleaning Up (episode 25!) Bryony is interviewing Naomi Oreskes, Henry Charles Lea Professor of the History of Science and Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University. A world-renowned earth scientist, historian and public speaker, she is the author of the best-selling book, Merchants of Doubt (2010) and a leading voice on the role of science in society, the reality of anthropogenic climate change, and the role of disinformation in blocking climate action. Her new book, with Erik Conway, is The Big Myth: How Amer by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
64 min listen
Power of Data, Data of Power - Ep 140: Quentin Draper Scrimshire: This week, Michael’s guest is Quentin Draper-Scrimshire, co-founder and CEO of Modo Energy. Modo, founded in 2019, are accelerating the energy transition by enabling companies to make better, data-backed decisions hyper-focused on energy storage. Modo is used by 75% of participants in the GB market, with over 3000 subscribers. Quentin was formerly Head of Energy Storage at KiWi Power Ltd. by Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change
40 min listen

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Climate and Finance, Lessons from a Time Machine - Cleaning Up Audioblog - Episode 1

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