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Climate Confident

Advertise on podcast: Climate Confident

Rating
★★★★★
5
from
25 reviews
This podcast has
296 episodes
Language
English
Publisher
Tom Raftery
Explicit
No
Date created
2020/09/07
Latest episode
2026/10/07
Average duration
39 min.
Release period
7 days

Description

Climate Confident is the podcast for business leaders, policy-makers, and climate tech professionals who want real, practical strategies for cutting emissions and building a resilient low-carbon future. Every Wednesday at 7am CET, I sit down with the people doing the work, executives, engineers, scientists, founders, and policymakers, to unpack what’s actually driving climate progress across energy, transport, industry, supply chains, food, finance, and more. This isn’t about vague pledges or greenwash. It’s about what’s working, what isn’t, and what leaders need to understand now to make better decisions faster. Expect conversations on: scalable solutions in energy, mobility, food, industry, and financethe politics, markets, and policies shaping the transitionthe technologies and tools improving climate accountability, resilience, and risk managementhard truths, hidden bottlenecks, bold ideas, and real-world success storiesSubscribers also get Bonus episodes, including highlight reels, analysis, emerging themes I’m seeing across conversations, and other subscriber-only extras. You can still listen to the most recent episodes for free, and if you want to go deeper, subscription gives you more Climate Confident in your feed. Want to shape the conversation? Drop me a line anytime at [email protected], whether it’s feedback, a guest suggestion, or just a hello. Ready to stop doomscrolling and start climate-doing? Hit follow and let’s get to work.

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Check latest episodes from Climate Confident podcast


Enhanced Rock Weathering’s Scaling Bottleneck Is Proof, Not Rock
2026/10/07
Get in touch - leave me a message Enhanced rock weathering looks deceptively simple: crush suitable rock, spread it on farmland and let chemistry remove CO₂. The harder question is whether you can prove that removal reliably enough to make the economics work. I speak with Chris Zair, Director of Partnerships at UNDO, about what happens when enhanced rock weathering moves from controlled trials into real fields. For buyers, investors and policymakers, the stakes are practical: measurement and verification can account for roughly half the cost stack, and weak data can stop credible carbon removal from becoming financeable infrastructure. We look at why disappearing rock creates an unusual MRV problem, what changes when carbon-credit contracts pay only on delivery, and why having plenty of rock and farmland still does not guarantee scale. We also examine the trade-off between durability, cost and speed - including why particle size can radically alter how quickly CO₂ is removed. Listen now to understand what is really holding back enhanced rock weathering - and what has to change for carbon removal to become measurable, financeable and repeatable at scale. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita KrajncCecilia SkarupaBen GrossJerry SweeneyAndreas WernerStephen CarrollRoger ArnoldAnd remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition.  Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice.  If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident
The 15-Litre Engine Opens Heavy-Duty Trucking to RNG—Economics Decide What Scales
2026/09/30
Get in touch - leave me a message For years, renewable natural gas had a basic problem in heavy-duty trucking: it lacked a 15-litre engine capable of doing the work fleets expect from diesel. That barrier is disappearing. The harder question now is whether the economics and infrastructure stack up. My guest is Scott Brinner, Executive Vice President of RNG Solutions at NoPetro Energy, who works across RNG production, fuelling and fleet deployment. We look at the real decision facing operators: can fuel savings overcome a $70,000–$90,000 truck premium without creating new operational risk? We examine why high-mileage, return-to-base fleets may be the strongest early fit, what fuelling and maintenance infrastructure can quietly derail adoption, and why the climate case depends on feedstock, methane leakage and lifecycle accounting—not the label on the pump. We also test where RNG belongs alongside battery-electric trucking rather than treating every route as the same problem. Listen now to understand where renewable natural gas can genuinely work in heavy-duty trucking—and what fleets need to prove before scaling it. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita KrajncCecilia SkarupaBen GrossJerry SweeneyAndreas WernerStephen CarrollRoger ArnoldAnd remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition.  Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice.  If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident
Carbon Removal’s Real Bottleneck Isn’t Technology. It’s Demand.
2026/09/23
Get in touch - leave me a message Carbon removal is often framed as a technology problem. But what if the harder constraint is demand, and what if waiting decades to remove a tonne of CO₂ carries a climate cost of its own? My guest is Barclay Rogers, founder and CEO of Graphyte, a durable carbon removal company using agricultural and timber residues in a process it calls Carbon Casting. He brings a practical operator’s view of what it takes to move carbon removal from credible tonnes to meaningful scale. We examine the “time value of carbon”, challenge the assumption that removals should wait until every possible emissions cut has been exhausted, and look at what really constrains scale once the underlying process works. We also get into measurement and verification, project finance, community acceptance, wildfire mitigation, and the uncomfortable question of where biomass carbon removal stops making sense. Listen now to understand what could turn durable carbon removal from an emerging market into infrastructure — and what still stands in the way. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita KrajncCecilia SkarupaBen GrossJerry SweeneyAndreas WernerStephen CarrollRoger ArnoldAnd remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition.  Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice.  If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident
Generation Is Not Delivery: The Grid Problem Behind Decarbonisation
2026/09/16
Get in touch - leave me a message Building more renewable generation is not enough if the grid cannot carry the electricity to where it is needed. Curtailment, connection queues and delayed infrastructure are turning grid capacity into a climate and competitiveness constraint. My guest today is Niklas Persson, CEO of Grid Integration at Hitachi Energy, with nearly three decades in electrification. We look at what happens as industry, transport and data centres demand more clean power while transmission infrastructure, permitting and grid connections struggle to keep pace. We examine why the grid may need to arrive before demand is certain, how interconnectors can reduce the cost of resilience, and whether energy independence could actually require greater cross-border interdependence. We also explore HVDC, the 600 MW ELMED link between Tunisia and Italy, and a harder policy question: when grid capacity is scarce, who should get connected first? Listen now to understand why electricity generation is only half the decarbonisation challenge, and what has to change if clean power is actually going to reach the businesses, vehicles and communities that need it. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita KrajncCecilia SkarupaBen GrossJerry SweeneyAndreas WernerStephen CarrollRoger ArnoldAnd remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition.  Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice.  If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident
Solar, Batteries and EVs Are Turning Delay Into an Investment Risk
2026/09/09
Get in touch - leave me a message Solar, batteries and EVs are moving fast enough to change the risk calculus for energy investment. The bigger mistake may now be assuming today’s system, and its customers, will still be there tomorrow. I speak with Professor Ray Wills, Managing Director of Future Smart Strategies, who has been modelling technology adoption curves for years. We examine what accelerating clean-energy deployment means for capital allocation, electricity prices, new gas infrastructure and industrial competitiveness. We look at how batteries can reshape power-market economics before they dominate annual generation, why conventional forecasts may struggle with nonlinear adoption, and what China’s scale in solar, batteries and EVs tells Western leaders about where competitive advantage is moving. The harder question is no longer simply how fast these technologies can grow, but how costly it becomes to plan as though they won’t. Listen now to understand how rapidly changing energy economics could alter the investment decisions businesses and policymakers are making today.  Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita KrajncCecilia SkarupaBen GrossJerry SweeneyAndreas WernerStephen CarrollRoger ArnoldAnd remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition.  Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice.  If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident
Long-Duration Energy Storage Is Ready. The Energy Markets Aren’t
2026/09/02
Get in touch - leave me a message Long-duration energy storage is increasingly ready to deploy. The harder problem is that electricity markets still struggle to value what duration actually provides - flexibility, reliability and power when the sun sets, the wind drops and demand peaks. My guest is Julia Souder, CEO of the Long Duration Energy Storage Council. She works across the policy, finance and deployment questions shaping this market, and brings a useful view of what is already happening in places such as China, Australia, the UK, Ireland and the US. We look at why storage is becoming an infrastructure and investment question rather than simply a technology question; what changes when markets pay for four hours of capacity but the grid increasingly needs eight, 12 or 24; and why revenue certainty may now matter more than another technical breakthrough. We also examine what China appears to be getting right about deployment, and why long-duration storage matters for data centres, industrial heat and renewable-heavy grids. Listen now to understand what is really holding back long-duration energy storage at scale, and what could shift the economics, policy and investment case. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita KrajncCecilia SkarupaBen GrossJerry SweeneyAndreas WernerStephen CarrollRoger ArnoldAnd remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition.  Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice.  If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident
Buyer Pressure Helped Avoid 2 Million Hectares of Deforestation
2026/08/26
Get in touch - leave me a message Two million hectares of avoided deforestation is not a theoretical climate benefit. It is what Priscillia Moulin says can happen when companies stop treating supply-chain risk as somebody else’s problem. ClimateEpisode291.srtSRT Priscillia is Director of Strategy at MosaiX, working on deforestation-free commodity supply chains across palm oil and other high-risk materials. Her work sits at the intersection of traceability, satellite monitoring, supplier engagement and EUDR — where corporate commitments have to survive contact with real plantations, real contracts and real communities. What struck me most was how much leverage buyers can have once they know where products actually come from. We look at why satellite data still needs human verification, how a confirmed deforestation case can sometimes be stopped within days, and why simply dropping a non-compliant supplier may protect a brand while doing very little for the forest. We also challenge the habit of reducing forests to carbon alone. Listen now to understand how traceability and commercial pressure can turn deforestation policy into measurable change on the ground. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita KrajncCecilia SkarupaBen GrossJerry SweeneyAndreas WernerStephen CarrollRoger ArnoldAnd remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition.  Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice.  If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident
98% of a Construction Firm’s Emissions Sit in Its Supply Chain
2026/08/19
Get in touch - leave me a message At John Sisk & Son, up to 98% of company emissions sit in the supply chain. That changes the decarbonisation problem completely: the biggest levers are often not on the construction site, but in what gets bought. I speak with Keith O’Flynn, Group Supply Chain Sustainability Manager at Sisk, about what that means in practice for one of Ireland’s largest contractors. When concrete and steel dominate purchased-goods emissions, procurement decisions become climate decisions — but thin margins, imperfect carbon data and established standards can slow change. We examine why low-carbon concrete can deliver major embodied-carbon reductions yet still struggle to scale, what makes cleaner steel harder to source, and why spend-based Scope 3 accounting can give companies a dangerously fuzzy picture of their footprint. We also look at the tension between commercial reality and the growing demand from clients for demonstrably lower-carbon projects. Listen now to understand where construction’s Scope 3 emissions really sit — and what has to change if companies are serious about cutting them. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita KrajncCecilia SkarupaBen GrossJerry SweeneyAndreas WernerStephen CarrollRoger ArnoldAnd remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition.  Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice.  If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident
Soil Is Becoming Infrastructure, and Finance Is Starting to Notice
2026/08/12
Get in touch - leave me a message Soil health is starting to look less like an environmental side issue and more like infrastructure. The real question is whether regenerative agriculture can improve resilience and economics without asking farmers to absorb years of financial pain. My guest is Tim Weaver of Holganix, working at the intersection of soil health, regenerative agriculture and measurable environmental outcomes. We look at the pressures farmers and companies already recognise: volatile fertiliser costs, water scarcity, supply-chain risk, and the growing demand for credible soil carbon claims rather than estimates and greenwash. We examine what changes when soil outcomes can be measured using cores, probes, farm equipment data and satellite imagery; why AI still depends on having enough reliable data underneath it; and whether water may ultimately matter more than carbon. We also challenge the assumption that regenerative agriculture necessarily means lower profitability before the benefits arrive. Listen now to understand why soil is moving from the sustainability conversation into the risk, finance and infrastructure conversation, and what that could mean for farmers, companies and investors. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita KrajncCecilia SkarupaBen GrossJerry SweeneyAndreas WernerStephen CarrollRoger ArnoldAnd remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition.  Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice.  If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident
Cheap Solar, Batteries and EVs Are Breaking Fossil Fuel Economics
2026/08/05
Get in touch - leave me a message Cheap solar, batteries and EVs are no longer merely cleaner alternatives. Their falling costs are undermining fossil-fuel economics, and leaders may be misjudging the speed of that shift. My guest is Peter Newman, Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University and a long-time IPCC contributor whose work has focused on cities, transport and automobile dependence. We examine how China’s manufacturing scale is turning clean technology from a policy ambition into mass-market competition, while tariffs and legacy planning risk slowing adoption elsewhere. We look at why cities are the decisive arena: where renewable power, transit, density and affordable housing either reinforce one another or remain disconnected. We also challenge the assumption that EV charging will remain the infrastructure problem, and ask when petrol and diesel networks themselves become the constraint. Listen now to understand how clean-technology economics is changing fossil-fuel risk, and what cities, businesses and policymakers need to get right before the shift accelerates.  Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita KrajncCecilia SkarupaBen GrossJerry SweeneyAndreas WernerStephen CarrollRoger ArnoldAnd remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition.  Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice.  If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident
Measure First: Stop Spending on the Wrong Carbon Fixes
2026/07/29
Get in touch - leave me a message Carbon accounting can send companies straight at the wrong problem. A visible sustainability initiative may feel productive while the real emissions hotspot sits in raw materials, product design or the supply chain. My guest is John Beath, CEO and Chief Technical Director of John Beath Environmental, whose work in lifecycle assessment helps companies test assumptions before they commit money, engineering effort or supplier changes. The stakes are practical: get the system boundary wrong, and a product carbon footprint can misdirect investment rather than improve it. We examine why Scope 3 emissions so often dwarf what happens inside the factory, why bio-based or recycled materials are not automatically the lower-carbon choice, and what leaders miss when durability, reverse logistics or avoided emissions are left out. We also unpack the solar-panel case where the presumed hotspot was silicon—but the decisive intervention was elsewhere. Listen now to understand how better lifecycle assessment can expose the carbon decisions that matter most—and stop your organisation spending heavily on fixes that barely move the needle. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita KrajncCecilia SkarupaBen GrossJerry SweeneyAndreas WernerStephen CarrollRoger ArnoldAnd remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition.  Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice.  If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident
Battery Storage’s Biggest Risk Is Inaccurate Data
2026/07/22
Get in touch - leave me a message Battery storage is getting cheaper, but the data used to trade and operate it may be badly wrong. When forecasts miss, penalties stack, warranties get messy, and returns can quietly unravel. My guest is Ash Vats of 3E, who works on battery intelligence for utility-scale assets. We look at the gap between what a battery management system reports and what the hardware can actually deliver - a gap with direct consequences for grid reliability, revenue and asset life. We examine why some battery sites show faults before day one, how state-of-charge estimates can be materially wrong, and why operators - not traders alone - need to shape commercial decisions. We also unpack what changes when owners, asset managers and traders stop working from three different versions of the same asset. Listen now to understand what is really limiting battery storage returns, and how better operational intelligence can recover capacity, reduce commercial risk and improve long-term performance. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita KrajncCecilia SkarupaBen GrossJerry SweeneyAndreas WernerStephen CarrollRoger ArnoldAnd remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition.  Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice.  If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident
The Battery Isn’t the Bottleneck: Why Hydraulics Are Blocking Heavy Equipment Electrification
2026/07/15
Get in touch - leave me a message Heavy machinery can waste three quarters of the energy fed into it. The battery may not be the real electrification bottleneck. In this episode, I speak with Hiten Sonpal, CEO of Rise Robotics, about a neglected part of the energy transition: the hydraulic systems inside construction, mining, and port machinery. You’ll hear why conventional hydraulics are only around 25% efficient, how that forces manufacturers to install larger batteries, and why electric heavy equipment can become commercially unviable before it reaches the market. We dig into how Rise Robotics’ beltdraulic systems replace oil and pressure with belts and pulleys - cutting battery size, charging demand, downtime, maintenance, and hydraulic leaks. Hiten also explains how drive-by-wire creates the data needed for teleoperation, digital twins, and autonomous machinery. You might be shocked to learn that better efficiency can matter more than better batteries. That shift could reduce costs across the machine, charging network, and grid, while accelerating decarbonisation, emissions reduction, and progress towards net zero. We also examine where adoption may happen first, from mining and ports to marine and food production, and why policy alone cannot solve this industrial transition. 🎙️ Listen now to hear how Hiten Sonpal and Rise Robotics are turning overlooked climate tech into cleaner heavy industry. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita KrajncCecilia SkarupaBen GrossJerry SweeneyAndreas WernerStephen CarrollRoger ArnoldAnd remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition.  Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice.  If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident
AI Is Infrastructure: Its Water, Power, and Governance Costs Can’t Be Deferred
2026/07/08
Get in touch - leave me a message AI isn’t weightless. Every model, token, and workflow sits on land, water, power, heat, and governance choices. In this episode of Climate Confident, I’m joined by Sophia Mendelsohn, who leads SAP’s Global Sustainability Platform. We look at AI not as abstract software, but as physical infrastructure with real consequences for climate tech, decarbonisation, the energy transition, policy, and the businesses racing to use it. You’ll hear why data centres now sit at the centre of the sustainability conversation. Treat AI as “just software” and you defer the hard questions: where the power comes from, how water is used, how communities respond, and who is accountable when emissions reduction promises meet infrastructure reality. We dig into how sustainability teams can move beyond PDFs and carbon accounting, and into procurement, supplier data, financial planning, and board-level AI decisions. Scope 3 comes up too - including the awkward truth that asking suppliers for data does not mean you’ll get usable answers. You might be shocked by how AI could shift the balance of power: from waiting for disclosures to calculating baselines, testing assumptions, and making better net zero decisions before systems lock in. 🎙️ Listen now to hear how Sophia Mendelsohn and SAP are thinking about sustainable AI, emissions reduction, and real-world climate action. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita KrajncCecilia SkarupaBen GrossJerry SweeneyAndreas WernerStephen CarrollRoger ArnoldAnd remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition.  Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice.  If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident
Australia’s Diesel Risk Is Turning Electrification Into Energy Security
2026/07/01
Get in touch - leave me a message What if electrification is no longer just a climate solution — but an energy security strategy? In this episode of Climate Confident, I’m joined by Gavin Mooney, an independent energy transition advisor working across utilities, electrification, and energy markets. We look at Australia as a live test case for the energy transition: a country rich in coal, gas, sunshine, and wind, yet still exposed through imported diesel, freight, mining, agriculture, and long-distance transport. That contradiction matters. For climate tech, decarbonisation, net zero, emissions reduction, and policy, it changes the frame from “cleaner energy” to “who controls the energy system?” You’ll hear why rooftop solar has become normal in Australia, with more than one in three homes now generating power from the roof, and why home batteries are scaling faster than many expected. We dig into how storage is changing the economics of solar, why virtual power plants are running into a trust problem rather than a technology problem, and why smart tariffs may prove more effective than utilities trying to take control of assets people bought themselves. You might be shocked to learn how quickly diesel vulnerability can reshape thinking on EVs, electric trucking, and resilience. We also touch on India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Lebanon, Ethiopia, Nepal, and Vietnam — places where the energy transition is moving in ways that rarely make the headlines, but absolutely should. 🎙️ Listen now to hear how Gavin Mooney cuts through the noise on electrification, storage, policy, and real-world climate action. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita KrajncCecilia SkarupaBen GrossJerry SweeneyAndreas WernerStephen CarrollRoger ArnoldAnd remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast  - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition.  Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice.  If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident

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Fascinating podcast! Highly recommend
I discovered this podcast in late 2021 and it’s become my go-to. There’s so many stories here that have to do with hope, technology, economy, humans a...
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Great sustainability blog
Really appreciate the breadth of your guests experiences. Keep up rhe great work!
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perchpod 2021/07/23
Great podcast
Excellent podcast on the most critical issue of our time. Tom is an excellent and insightful host.
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Love Tom and his provocative POV
Tom is a leading expert in making connections across technology, innovation, the climate emergency, and global supply chains. If you’re curious about ...
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Excellent interviews at intersection of climate, energy, and business
Glad that I learned of and put Climate 21 on the list of podcasts for listening to on long walks. The intersection of climate, energy, tech, business ...
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