Bob has been the executive director of the Solar Electric Light Fund (or SELF for short) since 1997. Under his leadership, SELF has installed over 650 solar energy systems in 25 countries, making it one of the world’s leading nongovernmental organizations that designs and implements solar energy-based solutions for those living without access to electricity. An early advocate of access to energy as being essential to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, he is widely considered an authority on the subject of energy poverty. During his tenure he has broadened SELF’s mission and vision to address the broader implications of energy poverty. In 2000, he developed the Whole Village Development Model, an innovative approach for using solar energy to help communities improve their health, education, food and water security, and economic development programs. In 2008, Bob received the King Hussein Leadership Award from Her Majesty Queen Noor.
Links______________________
SELF: https://www.self.org/Partner with SELF: https://www.self.org/partner-with-us/Bob's Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-freling
Timestamps
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0:00 - Introduction
1:12 - What is energy poverty and why is it important?
7:58 - Where is energy poverty most prevalent around the world?
11:08 - How much progress has been made with energy access over the past few decades
14:20 - What does life without electricity look like?
20:02 - What do people use at heat/light sources instead of electricity?
23:08 - The profound consequences of energy poverty
32:40 - Why can’t more communities be connected to the grid?
38:59 - What work does the Solar Electric Light Fund?
44:21 - What are the unexpected benefits of electrification?
47:36 - What is the road ahead for eliminating energy poverty and SELF?
53:20 - Final takeaways
Introduction
Today I am joined by Dr. John Cook. Dr. Cook is a Senior Research Fellow with the Melbourne Centre for Behaviour Change at the University of Melbourne. He obtained his PhD at the University of Western Australia, studying the cognitive psychology of climate science denial. His research focus is understanding and countering misinformation about climate change.
In 2007, he founded Skeptical Science, a website which won the 2011 Australian Museum Eureka Prize for the Advancement of Climate Change Knowledge and the 2016 Friend of the Planet Award from the National Center for Science Education.
John authored the book Cranky Uncle vs. Climate Change, which combines climate science, critical thinking, and cartoons to explain and counter climate misinformation. He also co-authored the college textbooks Climate Change: Examining the Facts and Climate Change Science: A Modern Synthesis, as well as the book Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand.
In 2013, he published a paper finding a 97% scientific consensus on human-caused global warming, a finding that has been highlighted by President Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron.
Links
John Cook: https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/1028119-john-cook
Cranky Uncle: https://crankyuncle.com/
Skeptical Science: https://skepticalscience.com/
Timestamps
0:00 - Introduction
1:32 - Why can’t we ignore misinformation?
2:50 - What is the difference between misinformation and disinformation?
7:20 - How has climate change denial changed over the past 20 years?
8:46 - Who are the sources of misinformation?
9:41 - Science denial is not a unique challenge
12:55 - Cognitive psychology and its importance in tackling climate change
17:55 - What are the drivers of belief in climate change misinformation?
21:23 - What are the types of climate change misinformation?
28:51 - The persuasiveness of purveyors of misinformation
31:51 - How can we counter misinformation?
42:48 - F.L.I.C.C. - The climate change misinformation taxonomy
43:40 - F - Fake experts
44:41 - L - Logical fallacies
49:37 - I - Impossible expectations
54:50 - C - Cherry-picking
59:55 - C - Conspiracy theories
1:02:28 - Misinformation breakdown - Example 1
1:08:07 - Misinformation breakdown - Example 2
1:11:19 - Misinformation breakdown - Example 3
1:17:22 - Final takeaways
Dr. Roger Cohen is an entrepreneur, focused on addressing climate change through innovative solutions. He leads C2Zero and the Real Carbon Price Index (RCPI), initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions. Roger was part of the founding team at BetaShares and has held senior roles at Macquarie Bank, Deutsche Bank, and NatWest. Roger has lectured in risk management to engineering students at the University of Sydney and serves as a senior adviser at the Monash Centre for Financial Studies. A Fulbright Scholar in the USA in 1988, Roger holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Sydney and is a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia. Links ____________________________________ Roger’s Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/portablebeta/
Effectiveness of compliance market mechanisms: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.143761
Only 20% of emissions are covered by compliance schemes: https://www.realcarbonindex.org/
Less than 16% of carbon credits issued constitute real emission reductions.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53645-z
Corporations creating demand for low-integrity carbon offsets: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51151-w
Renewable energy offsets are no longer considered ‘high integrity’: https://icvcm.org/carbon-credits-from-current-renewable-energy-methodologies-will-not-receive-high-integrity-ccp-label/ Timestamps ____________________________________ 0:00 Intro
1:00 - Consilience and Siloed Thinking
3:55 - A brief overview of carbon markets
18:06 - What are compliance carbon markets?
23:00 - Example 1: Carbon Tax
26:45 - Example 2: Emissions Trading Schemes
34:22 - Are compliance schemes effective at reducing greenhouse gas emissions?
40:00 - Are compliance schemes reducing emissions fast enough?
46:22 - Summary of compliance carbon markets discussion
47:41 - What is the voluntary carbon markets?
49:31 - What are carbon offsets?
54:47 - What is the problem with carbon offsets?
1:04:07 - Do we need carbon offsets?
1:08:57 - Prognosis on the future of carbon markets
Dr. Dhanasree Jayaram is a Senior Assistant Professor at Manipal Academy of Higher Education and serves as the co-coordinator of the Centre for Climate Studies. She specialises in geopolitics and international relations, with a focus on environmental and climate security, climate diplomacy, and environmental geopolitics in Southern Asia, the Indo-Pacific, and polar regions. Dr. Jayaram is the author of Breaking out of the Green House: Indian Leadership in Times of Environmental Change (2012) and Climate Diplomacy and Emerging Economies: India as a Case Study (2021).
Links
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Profile: https://www.manipal.edu/gir/department-faculty/faculty-list/dr--dhanasree-jayaram-ms--ph-d/_jcr_content.html
Timestamps
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0:00 - Dr Jayaram’s background
6:30 - What is geopolitics, and why does it matter?
11:57 - How do geopolitical and security concerns intersect with climate change?
17:57 - Examples of geopolitics and climate change
25:23 - Geopolitics is an overlooked issue with considerations to climate change
31:44 - What is climate diplomacy?
37:00 - Do we need ‘climate-borders’?
44:45 - Is climate change one of the biggest security risks for countries around the world?
49:19 - Corporations influence on geopolitics
55:20 - Final takeaway
Genevieve Guenther is the founding director of End Climate Silence and affiliate faculty at The New School, where she sits on the board of the Tishman Environment and Design Center. While writing the End Climate Silence newsletter, Dr. Guenther advises NGOs, corporations, and policymakers on fossil-fuel disinformation and climate communication, and she serves as an Expert Reviewer for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Her research has appeared in both scholarly journals and media outlets such as Scientific American, The New Republic, and MSNBC, and she has been invited to speak about climate and language to audiences at Duke, Columbia, and Harvard, among other universities. She lives in New York City with her family.
Links _______________________ Genevieve Guenther: https://genevieveguenther.com/
The Book: The Book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Language-Climate-Politics-Fossil-Fuel-Propaganda/dp/0197642233
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1hcQAzzFak4ITdykd5XvSX?si=c721b45ebe8e4e7a Instagram/Twitter/Linkedin: @utopiaisnow
Timestamps ____________________
0:00 - Intro
2:40 - How words construct our political imaginations
6:21 - Language is used and abused to influence how we think about the climate crisis
12:27 - Everything we experience is shaped by language
16:29 - The Language of Climate Politics
19:01 - A quick word game - How is the term ‘alarm-ism' being misused?
32:22 - Facing the climate crisis with courage
35:20 - What language should we use to fight the climate crisis?
40:45 - Closing words
Dr Camelia Dewan is an environmental anthropologist focusing on the anthropology of development. She holds a PhD in Social Anthropology and Environment from the University of London (SOAS/Birkbeck) and is an Associate Senior Lecturer in Cultural Anthropology examining the socio-environmental effects of shipbreaking in Bangladesh. Dr Dewan is the author of Misreading the Bengal Delta: Climate Change, Development and Livelihoods in Coastal Bangladesh (University of Washington Press, 2021). Links _______________________ Camelia Dewan: https://www.uu.se/en/contact-and-orga...
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jkFkD3 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3A4PPjZ Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/2SwB9Jr Instagram/Twitter/Linkedin: @utopiaisnow
Timestamps ____________________ 0:00 - What does it mean to be an anthropologist? 5:25 - Climate discourse about Bangladesh 13:29 - Climate victimisation and Bangladesh’s environmental history 26:25 - Climate reductionisms in Bangladesh 36:15 - The politics of climate change 47:35 - Parting thoughts 52:22- Key takeaways Credits ____________________ Thumbnail: Headshot Music: A Journey Through The Universe – Lesion X #anthropology #climatechange #bangladesh
Professor Harini Nagendra is the Director of the Research Centre at Azim Premji University in Bangalore, India, and leads the University’s Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability. Nagendra is known for her research spanning over 30 years on forest conservation, and urban sustainability, with several seminal publications in both areas of work. Her interdisciplinary work on forests combines remote sensing, biodiversity studies, and institutional analysis, and is recognised for elucidating the link between pattern and process in the human-dominated landscapes of South Asia.
Links _______________________ Harini Nagendra: https://azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/people/harini-nagendra Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jkFkD3 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3A4PPjZ Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/2SwB9Jr Instagram/Twitter/Linkedin: @utopiaisnow
Timestamps
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0:00 - Teaser 1:06 - Introduction 13:30 - If you could share one thing about India, what would it be? 15:03 - How much does India’s ecological history inform India today? 18:01 - Western vs Eastern mismatch of environmental problems and solutions 28:13 - How is India experiencing Climate Change? 32:15 - How is the Indian government responding to environmental & climate-related disasters? 35:04 - Transdisciplinarity, cognitive dissonance, and growth vs environmentalism 50:41 - The importance of culture, art, and literature in creating change 58:19 - Harini Insights as an author of fictional novels? 1:05:32 - Is a Green Party viable in India?< 1:10:40 - Outlook of India's environment
Credits
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Thumbnail: Headshot
Music: A Journey Through The Universe – Lesion X
#ecology #climatechange #india
Donnie Maclurcan Ph.D. leads the Post Growth Institute, an international organization exploring how we thrive within ecological limits. Believing purpose-driven enterprise is at the heart of a healthy market economy, he has consulted to over 500 not-for-profit projects and businesses, across 32 countries. His own initiatives include leading the development of the Offers and Needs Market, the Post Growth Fellowship, the Post Growth Alliance, Free Money Day, the (En)Rich List, the Not for Profit Way training, and the globally active #postgrowth hashtag. Affiliate Professor of Economics at Southern Oregon University and a Fellow of the Royal Society for the Arts, Donnie is working on his fourth book: How on Earth: our future is not for profit.
Links _________________
Contact: utopiaisnow2020@gmail.com
Post-Growth Institute: https://www.postgrowth.org/
Paper Mentioned: https://bit.ly/3gg6E6B
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jkFkD3
Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3A4PPjZ
Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/2SwB9Jr
Instagram/Twitter/Linkedin: @utopiaisnow
Timestamps
_________________ 0:00 - Teaser 0:41 - Who is Donnie? 6:50 - An introduction to post-growth 11:04 - Is emotional resonance a good way to evaluate the ‘correctness’ of an idea? A brief digression on debt 18:48 - The role and value of not-for-profit businesses & mutual banks 26:44 - The tyranny of numbers 31:28 - A story on non-for-profits 37:59 - The ethical tension between growth & purpose 43:35- Do for-profit businesses have a place in future society? 48:41 - What is Donnie’s Utopia for a post-growth world?
Credits
________________
Thumbnail: Headshot
Music: A Journey Through The Universe – Lesion X
Chris has more than 15 years of experience in researching climate policy and climate communications. Chris is also a contributing author for the IPCC Working Group I Sixth Assessment Report, serves as a Non-Executive Director of the award-winning environmental news organization DeSmog, is an Associate of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, and holds the position of Research Associate in the School of Global Studies at the University of Sussex. Chris's new book is titled Liberalism and the Challenge of Climate Change, which is the subject of the following podcast.
Links _______________________ Tim Buckley: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/christopher-shaw-a5554214 Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jkFkD3 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3A4PPjZ Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/2SwB9Jr Instagram/Twitter/Linkedin: @utopiaisnow Timestamps ____________________ 0:00 - Teaser 0:32 - Chris’s Story 9:21 - What is liberalism and why is it a challenge to climate change 16:36 - Previous movements have brought about change, why can’t individuals bring about change to climate change action as well? 23:04 - Liberalism is complacent to catastrophe 28:12 - Are anti-liberal solutions to climate change a dog whistle for left-wing politics to thrive? 39:26 - What are some non-liberal solutions to climate change? 50:19 - Can the West give up liberalism in favor of mitigating climate change? 1:00:46 - Final takeaways Credits ____________________ Thumbnail: Headshot Music: A Journey Through The Universe – Lesion X #liberalism #climatechange #freedom
Tim Buckley, Director, Climate Energy Finance (CEF) has 30 years of financial market experience covering the Australian, Asian and global equity markets from both a buy and sell side perspective. Tim was formerly Director Energy Finance Studies, Australia/South Asia, IEEFA, and was a Managing Director, Head of Equity Research at Citigroup for 17 years until 2008.
Links
_______________________
Contact: Tim Buckley: https://au.linkedin.com/in/tim-buckley-0a654313
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jkFkD3Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3A4PPjZ
Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/2SwB9Jr
Instagram/Twitter/Linkedin: @utopiaisnow
Timestamps
______________________
0:00 - Why is Finance important for mitigating the ecological crisis?
9:30 - How is the green energy transition going?
29:23 - Are we decarbonising fast enough?
36:49 - Tim on governments being captured by fossil fuel interests
43:52 - How can financial analysts justify investing in fossil fuel companies?
54:59 - Parting thoughts
Credits ____________________ Thumbnail: Headshot Music: A Journey Through The Universe – Lesion X
#renewableenergy #climatechange #finance
Rodolfo Dirzo is Professor of Biology and Earth Systems Science at Stanford University. Rodolfo's scientific work examines the study of species interactions in tropical ecosystems from California, Latin America, and other tropical areas of the world. Recent research highlights the decline of animal life (“defaunation”), and how this affects ecosystem processes/services (e.g. disease regulation). Rodolfo teaches ecology, natural history, conservation biology, and biocultural diversity at undergraduate and graduate levels at Stanford, and conducts science education programs with underserved children in the Bay Area.
Timestamps _____________________ 0:00 - Teaser 0:49 - Introduction to Rodolfo Dirzo 8:39 - Defaunation & global trends in declining animal populations 15:13 - What is ecology? 18:12 - Risks of declining animal populations 27:49 - The Wolves in Yellowstone - Trophic cascading 34:24 - A slight digression on COVID-19 & animal trafficking 38:42 - What is the sixth extinction & why is it significant? 45:40 - What are the causes of the sixth extinction? 54:25 - Why Biological Loss is just as critical as climate change 1:05:21 - What can we learn from previous mass extinctions 1:08:10 - What can we do to mitigate biodiversity loss
1:17:53 - Rodolfo’s utopiaLionel Page is a Professor of Economics and the Director of the Behavioural and Economic Science Cluster at the University of Queensland. He has worked on a wide range of topics in behavioural economics, such as risk preferences, social preferences and strategic behaviour.
Timestamps
_____________________
0:00 - Teaser
1:14 - A Quick Story & Introduction to Lionel Page
8:48 - Rationality & Emotions
30:54 - Evolutionary Psychology & Being Optimally Irrational
50:52 - How might our decision-making processes need to change to address problems like climate change?
58:49 - How can we overcome our short-termism?
1:08:10 - Is belief in conspiracy theory rational?
1:16:35 - What is Lionel’s Utopia
Aaron Vansintjan is the Author of 'The Future is Degrowth' & Co-Editor of Uneven Earth. Aaron completed his PhD Candidate in the Department of Film, Media, and Cultural Studies at Birkbeck, University of London. He studies gentrification in Montreal and Hanoi. His PhD research draws on the fields of urban geography, comparative urbanism, political ecology, ecological economics, and food studies.
Timestamps
__________________
0:00 - Teaser
0:41 - Who is Aaron and his pathway from Philosophy
8:41 - What Degrowth Isn’t
17:06 - The History of Growth
25:11 - Fragmentation, isolation & the consequent impacts on communal care
32:44 - Is capitalism to blame for ecological, economical, social and spiritual damage?
39:30 - How can Degrowth be implemented in practice?
45:43 - CRITIQUE OF DEGROWTH 1 - Matt Huber’s Class Critique of Degrowth - Aaron’s Rebuttal
55:02 - More Degowth Policies to appeal to the ecologically minded and the working class
1:06:20 - CRITIQUE OF DEGROWTH 2 - Ought we be A-Growth rather than Degrowth? - Aaron’s Rebuttal
1:17:47 - What is Aaron’s Utopia (as a critic and sci-fi writer)
Credits
__________________
Music: A Journey Through The Universe – Lesion X
Professor Karoly was leader of the Earth Systems and Climate Change Hub in the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program, based in CSIRO, during 2018 to June 2021. During 2012-2017, he was a member of the Climate Change Authority, which provides advice to the Australian government on responding to climate change, including targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. He was involved in the Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2001, 2007, 2014 and 2021 in several different roles and was a part of the revered group of IPCC authors who shared the Nobel Peace prize with Al Gore in 2007. He was awarded the 2015 Royal Society of Victoria Medal for Scientific Excellence in Earth Sciences and elected a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science in 2019.
Links
___________________
Contact: utopiaisnow2020@gmail.com
David Karoly: https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/67077-david-karoly
Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jkFkD3Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3A4PPjZ
Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/2SwB9Jr
Instagram/Twitter/Linkedin: @utopiaisnow
Timestamps
___________________
0:00 - Teaser
1:54 - Intro to David Karoly
12:01 - The Moral Sentiments of a Climate Scientist
22:54 - What is the current state of the climate
30:32 - How has David coped with conducting research and consistently encountering distressing evidence for 40+ years?
38:47 - Climate Change & Social Justice
46:10 - Climate change as Class War
51:23 - How do you manage to take time for yourself in the face of the Sisyphean task of fighting against climate inaction?
57-52 - “Certain things, they should stay the way they are. You ought to be able to stick them in one of those big glass cases and just leave them alone”. -J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. If you could, what would you stick under a big glass case?
1:00:52 - What can people do to help fight climate injustice?
Credits
__________________
Music: A Journey Through The Universe – Lesion X
