Ricken argues that companies have been accidentally geoengineering since the turn of the Industrial Revolution, as a byproduct of their pollution, and says ‘it’s crazy’ that research into deliberate forms of geoengineering isn’t being allowed.

Ricken has a long history as a campaigner and activist working in the climate and democracy spaces. He founded Avaaz, an online activism platform, and led successful campaigns around the Paris Agreement and beyond.  He was voted "Ultimate Gamechanger in Politics" by the Huffington Post, listed among the world's top 100 thinkers by Foreign Policy, and named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.

Patel studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Oxford, graduating first in his class, and holds a Master's from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. He went on to live and work on conflict resolution and civilian protection in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Sudan, and Afghanistan for organizations including the International Crisis Group.

Together, Bryony and Ricken dive into:

• Why climate risks may be far greater than current models suggest
• The cooling effects we’re losing as we clamp down on pollution
• The  case for researching geoengineering
• How democracy, truth, and climate are deeply intertwined
• And how to build a successful movement around climate change.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is proud to be supported by its Leadership Circle. The members are Actis, Alcazar Energy, Arup, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Cygnum Capital, Davidson Kempner, Ecopragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schneider Electric, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information about the Leadership Circle, visit cleaningup.live

Links and more:

• Ricken’s website: https://www.rickenpatel.net/
• The Climate Hub: https://www.cc-hub.org
• The State of the Climate 2026 | Ep242: Zeke Hausfather: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzySrSD8vz8
• Parasol Lost: https://actuaries.org.uk/news-and-media-releases/news-articles/2026/jan/14-jan-26-parasol-lost-recovery-plan-needed/

Kakaras draws on decades in both academia and industry to explain how decisions actually get made inside large engineering companies, and why the energy transition isn’t about picking a single “winner,” but deploying a mix of solutions at scale.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is proud to be supported by its Leadership Circle. The members are Actis, Alcazar Energy, Arup, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Cygnum Capital, Davidson Kempner, Ecopragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schneider Electric, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information about the Leadership Circle, visit cleaningup.live

Links and more:

• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries: https://www.mhi.com/
• Iron-Air Man - Ep144: Mateo Jaramillo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ih0gBGCkROM
• Cracking the Geothermal Code - Ep58: John Redfern: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU8TDupVvjM
• The Dane who Harnessed the Wind - Ep139: Henrik Stiesdal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rjuZ_aCsFQ
• Ep121: Prof. Rob Miller "Jet-Zero Hero": https://youtu.be/zqMHiyyWlZo
• Padeswood CCS: Decarbonizing cement production in the UK https://padeswoodccs.co.uk  
• Primetals: A decade of pioneering green steel solutions
• Large Heat Pumps and the future of district heating https://spectra.mhi.com/energy-transition/the-untapped-potential-of-district-heating
• The geothermal plant behind Europe’s lithium push https://spectra.mhi.com/energy-transition/the-geothermal-plant-behind-europes-lithium-push
• What role will ‘new nuclear’ play in the energy transition? https://spectra.mhi.com/energy-transition/what-role-will-new-nuclear-play-in-the-energy-transition

As AI demand explodes, hyperscale data centres are emerging as massive, inflexible loads, rivaling entire cities. But do they have to be a burden on the grid?

This conversation dives into a groundbreaking trial led by Emerald AI in partnership with National Grid and NVIDIA—demonstrating that data centres can dynamically adjust their power consumption in real time using software.

Key insights include:

• How AI data centres could reduce grid stress instead of increasing it
• The concept of “flexible demand” and why it’s a game changer for AI data centres
• Real-world trial results
• Why “speed to power” matters more than cheap electricity in the AI race
• How software, not infrastructure, could help unlock billions in grid capacity
• The hidden flexibility inside AI workloads (and why not all compute is equal)

From kettle spikes during football matches to lightning strikes on the grid, this episode reveals how intelligent systems can respond in seconds, turning a looming energy crisis into a massive opportunity.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is proud to be supported by its Leadership Circle. The members are Actis, Alcazar Energy, Arup, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Cygnum Capital, Davidson Kempner, Ecopragma Capital, EDP, Euroelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schneider Electric, SDCL and Wärtsilä.

Read more: 

• The Emerald AI/National Grid white paper: https://www.ngpartners.com/stories/emerald-ai-whitepaper
• The $60 Billion Plan For Europe’s Largest AI Data Centre | Ep235: Robert Dunn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juAyLAUmU3w

This week on Cleaning Up, host Bryony Worthington speaks with Fiona Howarth, founder of Octopus Electric Vehicles, about the rapid transformation of the global car industry and the powerful role electric vehicles are beginning to play in the energy system. From her early fascination with clean energy to building one of the UK’s most innovative EV businesses within Octopus Energy, Fiona shares the inside story of how electric mobility moved from niche curiosity to mainstream disruption. She explains why falling battery costs, bold policy like the UK’s ZEV mandate, and fierce competition from Chinese manufacturers such as BYD are accelerating the transition faster than many expected. 

The conversation explores how EVs are evolving beyond transportation. With vehicle-to-grid technology, cars could become distributed batteries: storing renewable power, stabilising the grid, and even providing drivers with free electricity for their journeys. It’s a vision that could reshape both the energy market and the economics of driving. 

But as some companies race ahead, some traditional automakers are pushing back, asking for slower timelines. Fiona argues that the real risk isn’t moving too fast, it’s backing the wrong players in a historic technological shift. 

Leadership Circle: 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schneider Electric, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links and more: 

• Octopus EVs website: https://octopusev.com/ 
• Cleaning Up interview with Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl-cRh35Hm4 
• Earth Set Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@TheEarthSetPodcast

This episode was recorded Thursday March 5. 

Leadership Circle: 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schneider Electric, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich sits down with Hilde Tonne, Chair of Arup and former CEO of Statnett, to explore the hard realities behind the energy transition. From offshore wind and nuclear to grid bottlenecks and data centre demand, Hilde brings a uniquely systems-level perspective shaped by decades leading infrastructure transformation across telecoms, energy and engineering. 

They dive into: 

• Why grid investment, not generation, may be Europe’s biggest constraint 
• Whether hyperscaler AI companies should foot the bill for massive grid upgrades 
• The hidden bottlenecks in regulation, permitting and procurement • How ‘total design’ thinking can cut carbon by 40% before construction even begins 
• Whether electrification makes Europe more resilient, or more exposed 

Hilde argues that this transition is no longer just about climate. It’s about security, competitiveness, affordability and economic growth. But achieving it will require rethinking regulation, redesigning infrastructure and the bureaucracy around it, and aligning public and private capital at unprecedented scale. 

Leadership Circle: 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schneider Electric, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links and more:

•  Arup’s website: https://www.arup.com/ 
• Inside Europe’s Largest Data Centre: https://youtu.be/juAyLAUmU3w

Laurent shares the personal moments that shaped his obsession with energy security, from witnessing Cold War division in Germany to cleaning an oil spill off the beaches of Brittany, and how those experiences led him to the heart of Europe’s carbon trading system and into high-stakes commodity markets.

Along the way, Laurent recounts:

• How he became becoming one of the most profitable uranium traders on the market
• The financial mechanics behind interconnectors, and why east-west cables make money
• Why sodium batteries could reshape grid storage
• His experience designing carbon markets, and whether they are working or not.

At the centre of the discussion is NATO-L (North Atlantic Transmission One Link): an audacious proposal to link Canadian hydro and wind to European markets through ultra-high-voltage subsea cables.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schneider Electric, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Links and more:

• NATO-L website: https://nato-l.com/
• Redefining Energy Podcast: https://www.redefining-energy.com/
• Ep92: Simon Morrish "650 Leagues of HVDC Under the Sea": https://youtu.be/m6KIMswZkWA

From the front lines of the energy transition, Miguel explains why electricity demand in the United States is exploding, driven by AI, data centres, and re-industrialisation, and why this could make renewables one of the most attractive investments of the decade. He also shares how EDP transformed itself from an 80% coal-based utility into a company generating over 90% of its electricity from renewables.

But the transition hasn’t been entirely smooth. Miguel recounts the dramatic moment when Spain’s grid collapsed, taking Portugal down with it, and what it taught him about resilience, grid stability, and the hidden challenges of running a modern clean power system.

They also dive into:

• Why soaring power demand is changing energy economics
• The real story behind renewable costs and rising electricity prices
• The link between European competitiveness and energy independence
• The political and economic reality of investing in US clean energy
• Why resilience may define the next phase of the transition

This episode was recorded prior to the recent storms in Portugal. For more information on how EDP is responding to the storms, and what to do if you are affected by them, please visit: www.edp.com

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schneider Electric, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Links and more:

• EDP website: https://edp.com/en
• The £60 Billion Plan To Rewire Britain | Ep227: John Pettigrew https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7Lg1A958aA
• The Enormous Ambition Of Germany’s New Grid Build Out | Ep233: Tim Meyerjürgens: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQgUuJ-dx78
• The $60 Billion Plan For Europe’s Largest AI Data Centre | Ep235: Robert Dunn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juAyLAUmU3w
• The Price of Resilience - Ep8: Roger Dennis https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CELQT31riDE

Drawing on five years of hands-on experimentation funding everything from biochar to direct air capture and policy advocacy, Höglund challenges the dominant “speed and scale” narrative. Instead, he makes the case for a new phase: prove and learn. 

Together, Michael and Robert unpack why the highest-impact climate interventions are often the least measurable, why corporate net-zero targets are more conditional than we admit, and what it will actually take to make carbon removal credible, scalable, and worth paying for.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schneider Electric, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Links and more: 

• Marginal Carbon: Marginal Carbon
• CDR.fyi: https://www.cdr.fyi/
• MilkyWire Climate Transformation Fund: https://milkywire.com/
• Carbon Gap: https://carbongap.org/
• Julio Friedmann on Cleaning Up: https://youtu.be/DX7k6qnTxE8

In this episode of Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich is joined for a third time by Damilola Ogunbiyi, CEO and UN Special Representative for Sustainable Energy for All and Co-Chair of UN Energy. Together, they explore how Africa and the wider Global South are quietly reshaping the global energy transition, from rapid growth in solar, storage, mini-grids, and EVs to bold policy moves that many developed economies haven’t dared to make.

They dive into why energy access is about dignity, health, and gender equality; why finance, not technology, is the real bottleneck; and how local capital, data, and innovation could determine whether “Most of World” powers its future with clean energy or fossil fuels.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schneider Electric, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Links and more:

• Sustainable Energy For All: https://www.seforall.org
• Damilola’s past appearances on Cleaning Up:
  • https://youtu.be/TbN1Y1C0ido
  • https://youtu.be/VcpNOmm1pMw
• Ban Ki-moon on Cleaning Up: https://youtu.be/B14_MeRhfBw
• The Sierra Leone Documentary: https://youtu.be/z-5QjSfy2SM
• Clemens Calice on Cleaning Up: https://youtu.be/urmP7zN6n04
• Alain Ebobissé on Cleaning Up: https://youtu.be/ISTvp0BQz3E

This week on Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington sits down with leading climate scientist Dr. Zeke Hausfather on the day the 2025 global temperature data is released. Despite a La Niña year, the planet has just experienced one of its hottest years on record — pushing us ever closer to the 1.5°C threshold.

Zeke explains why recent warming has accelerated, how declining air pollution may be unmasking hidden heating, and what disappearing cloud cover could mean for climate sensitivity. 

The conversation ranges from the surprising accuracy of early climate models, the risks of rising nationalism, and what the U.S. withdrawal from international science means for the world. 

They also tackle controversial questions:  Are worst-case climate scenarios still plausible? Is geoengineering a dangerous distraction — or an emergency brake? And can carbon removals ever work economically at scale.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Discover more:

• Zeke’s articles in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/by/zeke-hausfather
• Zeke on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zeke-hausfather-7327699/
• Zeke’s Blog on Substack: https://www.theclimatebrink.com/p/my-2026-and-2027-global-temperature

Spread across 54 countries and with a combined GDP the size of Italy, Africa's population is young and growing rapidly. It is set to grow from 1.5 billion people today to 2.5 billion by 2050. And it could reach 4 billion by 2100, accounting for two out of every five people on the planet.  Africans want and deserve the same prosperity shared by richer parts of the world. And that means investment. So why is investment not flowing? 

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich speaks with Clemens Calice, CEO and founder of Cygnum Capital, which invests around $1.3 billion in Africa’s energy transition. Together they explore why risk perception and outdated models are slowing investment across Africa. 

From rooftop solar for factories and mines, to electric motorbikes, power pools, and the geopolitics of gas, this episode makes the pragmatic case for how Africa can leapfrog to a cleaner, more resilient energy future.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Cygnum Capital, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Discover more:

• Cygnum Capital: https://www.cygnumcapital.com
• Episode 196, Lucy Heintz of Actis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhGDI_0QIHg
• Episode 216, Daniel Calderon of Alcazar Energy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMhFOWO4C84
• Episode 120, Ana Hajduka, founder of Africa Green Co.: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktWh_G6Sw_g

This week’s episode of Cleaning Up comes to you from inside of the UK’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, where last week Bryony Worthington sat down with Katie White MP, the UK’s recently appointed Climate Minister, to discuss her new role, what she’s excited about, and current challenges that she’s facing.

Katie and Bryony met more than 20 years ago when they worked together at Friends of the Earth on the campaign for the Climate Change Act. In her new role, Katie is now the minister responsible for carbon budgets and net zero, alongside other climate priorities. It was only 12 months after she was elected as an MP for Leeds North West that Katie was promoted Climate Minister, in what she’s described as her dream job.

From their shared history campaigning for the Climate Change Act to today’s challenges of energy affordability, electrification and public consent, Katie and Bryony unpack what’s working, what isn’t, and how to connect climate action to lower bills, stronger security and a better quality of life.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Cygnum Capital, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Discover more:

• Katie White biography and brief: https://www.gov.uk/government/people/katie-white
• Katie White’s constituency website: https://katiewhitemp.org.uk/

In the first episode of Season 17 of Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich and Bryony Worthington unpack a turbulent start to 2026. From shock geopolitical moves in the Americas and riots in the Middle East to the curious calm of a $60 oil price, they explore whether fossil fuels still move the world the way they once did. 

The conversation ranges from the collapse of climate multilateralism and Europe’s energy malaise to the unstoppable rise of electrification, batteries, and system-level clean energy solutions across China, India, Africa, and the “rest of the world.”

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Discover more:

• The Electrification Staircase: https://www.watts-next.eu/ 
• Kingsmill Bond on Cleaning Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2bsoCOznXk
• Arunabha Ghosh on Cleaning Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMrn-JewoCo
• Rachel Kyte on Cleaning Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1m2lm2n_EE
• Catch up on Season 16 of Cleaning Up: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe8ZTD7dMaaDWQkhmAsaQ28p0h3Lw5I6v

Tzeporah Berman has been leading environmental campaigns in her native Canada and beyond for over thirty years. Today, she is Chair of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, and International Program Director at Stand.earth, the environmental organisation that she co-founded. 

Tzeporah was formerly co-director of Greenpeace’s Global Climate and Energy Program, and her success campaigning against fossil development has seen her dubbed “Canada’s Queen of Green”. Tzeporah and Michael take in everything from helping turn Meta and other tech giants off coal and onto renewables, fighting fossil and pipeline expansion in Alberta, and whether a non-proliferation treaty could be the solution for a managed decline of fossil fuel use.

Read more:

• The fossil fuel non proliferation treaty website: https://fossilfueltreaty.org

As the world transitions away from fossil fuels, one of the biggest challenges is decarbonizing industrial processes that require consistent, reliable sources of energy to produce high-temperatures. Typically these processes run on fossil gas, but now thermal batteries offer a solution by using electricity to store renewable energy in the form of heat. 

Anand Gopal, Executive Director of Policy Research at Californian think tank Energy Innovation, joins Baroness Bryony Worthington to discuss his team's research on using thermal batteries to provide heat for manufacturing. Or as he calls them, hot rocks in a box. By storing intermittent solar or wind energy as the heat of molten salts or crushed rocks, thermal batteries can deliver reliable heat on-demand. 

While the tech is almost at commercial availability, there's still one big obstacle: cost. In many countries it is still much cheaper to use gas over electricity, and that makes powering up thermal batteries uneconomical. So what needs to be done to employ them at scale? And will they take the wind out of hydrogen's sails? Find out on this week's episode of Cleaning Up. 

Read more: 

• Energy Innovation
• Industrial Thermal Batteries: Decarbonizing U.S. Industry While Supporting a High-Renewables Grid
• Energy Innovation's report on electric vehicle leasing
• Energy Innovation's report on electric vs gas cars
• Energy Innovation's report on industrial heat in China
• Energy Innovation's report on electrification of industrial heat

In this end-of-year episode of Cleaning Up, Baroness Bryony Worthington is joined by Lord Adair Turner, Chair of the Energy Transitions Commission, for a wide-ranging, candid, and occasionally fiery conversation about where the energy transition truly stands.

Looking back on a decade since the Paris Agreement and ahead to the road beyond 2025, Turner delivers a clear-eyed diagnosis: emissions and politics are heading in the wrong direction, but technologies — including solar PV, batteries, and the wider “electrotech stack” — are advancing faster than almost anyone expected.

Together, Bryony and Adair unpack why electrification is emerging as the central lever for decarbonising transport, industry, and heat; how China’s clean-tech machine is reshaping global energy economics; and why abundant, ultra-cheap electricity could fundamentally change prosperity, geopolitics, and climate outcomes.

They also grapple with the harder questions: affordability versus ambition, the limits of carbon pricing, the challenge of decarbonising steel, cement, aviation and shipping, and the disruptive impact of US politics on global climate cooperation. They debate whether COPs still matter, why “nearly clean” power may be smarter than chasing absolute purity, and what breakthroughs could surprise us next.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Discover more:

• Energy Transitions Commission: https://www.energy-transitions.org/
• Power Up: How Clean Energy Is Putting Fossil Fuel Demand in Doubt: https://www.energy-transitions.org/publications/power-up-fossil-fuel-demand-in-doubt/
• Lord Turner’s previous appearance on Cleaning Up: https://youtu.be/xxTngGxpeW0 
• Why Is It So Hard to Clean Up Global Shipping? | Ep229: Tristan Smith: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdUCidkeDto

This week on Cleaning Up, host Michael Liebreich sits down with Lord Browne of Madingley — former CEO of BP and one of the earliest voices inside Big Oil to publicly call for emissions reductions from fossil fuels.  

Recorded in front of a live audience in London, the discussion explores how geopolitics, energy security, AI, and rising global anxiety are reshaping the path to decarbonisation. Lord Browne reflects on launching BP’s original “Beyond Petroleum” strategy, his current work investing billions through BeyondNetZero, and why the future of climate action will be driven as much by adaptation, resilience, and people as by technology itself.

From the rise of China as an electrification juggernaut and the US as an AI-powered energy giant, to the tipping point where clean energy demand could finally outpace fossil fuels, this episode offers rare insight from someone who has shaped — and challenged — the global energy system from the inside.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Discover more:

• BeyondNetZero: https://www.generalatlantic.com/climate/
• Lord Browne’s previous appearance on Cleaning Up: https://youtu.be/8VXQ2EGAcGM
• The Pragmatic Climate Reset, Part 1: https://youtu.be/OHKGor2_BzQ

This week on Cleaning Up, Baroness Bryony Worthington sits down with Seb Kennedy, energy journalist and founder of Energy Flux, to unpack the turbulent geopolitics of natural gas, the coming LNG glut, and why the UK–Norway relationship sits at the heart of Britain’s energy affordability crisis.

Drawing on their recent joint op-ed, Bryony and Seb explore the UK’s dependence on Norwegian gas, the vast windfalls that have flowed into Norway’s sovereign wealth fund since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and whether a new bilateral deal could shield consumers from future price shocks. They examine the structural forces reshaping global gas markets, the rise of speculative trading, and whether electrification will become harder when gas gets cheap.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Discover more:

• Read Seb & Bryony’s Op-Ed on Energy Flux: https://www.energyflux.news/uk-norway-gas-trade-time-for-a-new-deal/
• Seb’s Energy Flux Podcast: https://www.energyflux.news/tag/podcast/
• Michael’s conversation with Carine Ihenecho Smith, Chief Governance and Compliance Officer at Norges Bank Investment Group: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H028Vwf7pNM
• The UK’s updated plan for the North Sea gas transition: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/north-sea-future-plan-for-fair-managed-and-prosperous-transition
• Britain eases opposition to new oil, gas permits, holds firm on taxes | Reuters: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/uk-government-allows-some-new-oil-gas-fields-holds-firm-taxes-2025-11-26/

In this special, on-location episode of Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich visits Sines, Portugal, where Start Campus is transforming the site of a decommissioned coal plant into a next-generation data-centre campus that once finished will be Europe’s largest data centre. 

CEO Robert Dunn takes us inside the first operational building, currently 29MW but just 2.5% of what’s to come, to explore the engineering, economics, and vision behind a €10 billion physical infrastructure build that will eventually house an additional €40 billion in incoming IT hardware.

From earthquake-proof structures to seawater cooling and uninterruptible power supply systems, Rob breaks down what it means to design for 99.99999% uptime in an AI-driven world. Michael and Rob also dive into the reality and hype surrounding AI: the surge in GPU-hungry AI training, the race to build at gigawatt scale, the challenges of financing these mega-projects, and the balancing act between speed, cost, sustainability, and long-term viability.

Set against the backdrop of Microsoft’s freshly announced $10 billion investment in the Sines campus, this episode illuminates how the data-centre industry is reshaping global energy systems, local communities, and the future of compute.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Discover more:

• Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/juAyLAUmU3w
• The Start Campus website: https://www.startcampus.pt/
• Microsoft makes one of its largest investments in Europe at Start Campus in Portugal: https://www.startcampus.pt/microsoft-makes-one-of-its-largest-investments-in-europe-at-start-campus-in-portugal
• Michael’s Green Giant’s Whitepaper: https://pioneerpoint.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2021.11.17-Green-Giants-White-Paper-Final.pdf
• The Year Energy Woke Up To AI | Audioblog 14: Generative AI, The Power and the Glory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwZ2iNh133A

This week on Cleaning Up Bryony Worthington sits down with Liane Randolph, former Chair of the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and longtime public servant, shaping California’s climate, energy, and air-quality strategy. Across roles spanning the Public Utilities Commission and state natural resources agencies, Randolph has been at the center of some of the most consequential policy decisions in the United States — from the rise of rooftop solar and utility-scale storage to the creation of zero-emission vehicle mandates and the state’s pioneering cap-and-invest system.

Together, they unpack how California built the modern EV market, the origins of the famous “duck curve,” and why central planning turned out to be critical for keeping the lights on in a decarbonizing grid. Randolph also details the extraordinary federal pushback now facing the state: repealed Clean Air Act waivers, legal battles over truck and car standards, and tariff-driven supply-chain shocks that threaten progress.

The episode explores:

• The past and future of California’s zero-emission vehicle strategy — from catalytic converters to the birth of Tesla
• Why batteries exploded onto the grid, and how wildfire adaptation is reshaping costs
• The mechanics and impacts of California’s whole-economy cap-and-invest program
• The new affordability crisis — and whether a pragmatic climate “reset” is needed
• Electric aviation, high-speed rail, and the technologies California should bet on next
• The state’s 2045 net-zero planning — and which sectors will need breakthroughs like DAC and industrial CCS

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Discover more:

• CARB: https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/
• First Cars, Now Planes: Is The Future of Flying Electric? Ep194: Anders Forslund: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hW3uTBbAGHA
• Why Is It So Hard to Clean Up Global Shipping? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdUCidkeDto

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich sits down with Tim Meyerjürgens, CEO of TenneT Germany, the country’s largest transmission system operator, to explore the physics and finance behind decarbonising Europe’s power networks.

From billion-euro transmission lines to the domestic and international politics of connecting the North Sea’s vast offshore wind potential with Germany’s industrial heartland, Meyerjürgens offers a rare inside view of one of Europe’s most complex and capital-intensive transitions.

The conversation dives into:

• How TenneT split its Dutch and German operations to attract €9.5 billion in equity from investors like Norges Bank and GIC

• The challenge of accelerating grid buildout from 20-year to 5-year timelines

• The delicate balance between regulation, investment, and public acceptance

• Why building our transmission across Europe is key to energy resilience

This episode was supported by TenneT Germany.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Discover more:

• TenneT Germany’s website: https://www.tennet.eu/de-en/home 

• TenneT Germany successfully concludes syndication of €12 billion revolving credit facility: https://www.tennet.eu/de-en/news/tennet-germany-successfully-concludes-syndication-eu12-billion-revolving-credit-facility

• The £60 Billion Plan To Rewire Britain | Ep227: John Pettigrew: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7Lg1A958aA

• Can Europe Survive the Renewables Transition? Ep201: Nikos Tsafos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUvKzs82Mi0

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich debates Erik Rakhou, author of Touching Hydrogen Future, in a no-holds-barred discussion moderated by Andrew Critchlow of S&P Global Commodity Insights.

Together, they contest one of the most contentious topics in energy today: hydrogen. Liebreich argues that hydrogen is plagued by physics-driven cost barriers and limited real-world applications, while Rakhou defends its potential as a critical tool for industrial decarbonization, energy resilience, and long-term security.

From the potential of green vs. blue hydrogen, to global ammonia trade routes, Europe’s pipeline ambitions, and China’s hydrogen cost curve, this debate pulls no punches. 

Topics include:

• Whether there’ll ever be a hydrogen-based economy
• Why hydrogen economics remain so challenging
• The role of carbon pricing vs. subsidies
• e-Fuels and hydrogen’s place in transport, steel, and aviation
• Why electrification trumps hydrogen

This episode was recorded at the S&P Global offices in London and originally broadcast as a S&P Global webinar on October 29, 2025. THanks to S&P Global and Andrew Critchlow for hosting the debate.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Read more:

• Erik's website: https://rakhou.com
• The EU’s hydrogen strategy: https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/eus-energy-system/hydrogen_en
• Data on EU natural gas prices 2010-2025: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1buQTdpQOMShue-zXyZUYVgZ9dPe5rZ5Y/view?usp=share_link
• Michael Liebreich's Keynote Speech at World Hydrogen Congress 2022: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xj900aBPkiY
• Erik’s book ‘Touching Hydrogen Futures’: https://europeangasmarket.eu
• European Court of Auditors call for a hydrogen reality check: https://www.eca.europa.eu/en/news/NEWS-SR-2024-11
• Michael’s Pragmatic Climate Reset: https://about.bnef.com/insights/clean-energy/liebreich-the-pragmatic-climate-reset-part-i/

In this special bonus episode of Cleaning Up, recorded live in Berlin, Michael Liebreich sits down with Kingsmill Bond, strategist at Ember, to unpack The Electrotech Revolution, a powerful new framing of the global shift from a fossil-fuel economy to an electrified, efficient, and inevitable clean energy system.

Together, Kingsmill and Michael explore why the growth of solar and wind is now outpacing fossil fuels worldwide, how China’s leadership is reshaping the global landscape, and what Europe and the US must do to compete. 

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links and more:

• Ember’s Electrotech Revolution Report: https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/the-electrotech-revolution/
• Ember’s Funders: https://ember-energy.org/about/
• Lauri Myllyvirta on Cleaning Up: https://youtu.be/FqjvCeR9VLg
• Michael’s Pragmatic Reset Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHKGor2_BzQ
• Michael’s Pragmatic Reset Part 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFF1imh1U2c

Rachel brings decades of experience — from leading Sustainable Energy for All under Ban Ki-Moon to senior roles at the World Bank and IFC — to unpack how countries, investors, and institutions are navigating the new era of implementation.

Together, Michael and Rachel explore:

• How the UK is re-engaging globally on climate and energy policy.
• The evolution of climate finance and why capital still struggles to flow into emerging markets.
• Which path the world will follow, the US petrostate model, or China’s electrostate model.
• Why investing in grids, governance, and infrastructure is still missing from the energy transition.
• What to expect at COP30 — from forest finance to a possible rethink of the annual COP model.
• And how countries from Africa to Asia are shaping their own pathways to clean growth and energy security.

Rachel also reflects on public attitudes, the politicization of climate action, and the need for pragmatic cooperation over rhetoric.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links and more:

• Rachel’s first appearance on Cleaning Up: https://youtu.be/Umq5pICThDM
• Inside the World's Biggest Investor - Ep138: Carine Smith Ihenacho
• The Planet's Leading Diplomat - Ep70: Ban Ki-moon
• Sustainable Energy for All - Ep16: Dr Kandeh K. Yumkella

This week on Cleaning Up, host Bryony Worthington sits down with Professor Tristan Smith, a leading expert on shipping decarbonisation from UCL Energy Institute, to unpack the dramatic events at the latest International Maritime Organization meeting — where the United States’ last-minute intervention derailed a landmark vote on cutting emissions from ships.

Together, they explore:

• How global shipping, responsible for around 3% of greenhouse gas emissions, became a critical test case for international climate policy
• Why the IMO’s proposed carbon intensity regulation could have marked the beginning of the end for oil and LNG as marine fuels
• The “Tariff diplomacy” and other threats that reshaped global negotiations
• What this means for COP30 and other multilateral agreements.

Bryony and Tristan also dive deep into possible solutions: from e-fuels, ammonia, and battery electrification to nuclear propulsion — weighing what’s practical, what’s political, and what’s merely wishful thinking.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Links and more:

• Is Shipping the Easiest "Hard-to-Abate" Sector? - Ep143: Johannah Christensen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umPAonV20cM
• The IMO website: https://www.imo.org/
• Michael’s Substack on the IMO decision: ​​https://mliebreich.substack.com/p/imo-members-choose-between-the-us

In this special episode, Bryony Worthington sits down with Michael Liebreich, to unpack Part 2 of “The Pragmatic Climate Reset.”

Michael lays out a bold vision for cutting through the noise — replacing ideology with realism, and paralysis with progress. From net zero targets and critical minerals to global politics, energy security, and the economics of clean tech, this is a conversation about what it takes to deliver a just and workable climate transition.

Bryony asks Michael,

• Why criticise Greta Thunberg rather than call out anti-climate commentators like Joe Rogan or President Trump?
• Did he go too easy on the fossil fuel industry?
• What does he think he got wrong?
• How has the essay been received, and did he get any good feedback, either positive or negative.

Michael puts forward the idea that if the transition is to succeed in the long run and keep the public on board, we must proceed as a tortoise, not a hare, building on the considerable momentum of renewables to phase fossil fuels out of our energy mix while also keeping energy affordable, and everyone’s lights on.

Listen now, or watch the full episode on YouTube.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Links and more:

• Read Part I here: https://about.bnef.com/insights/clean-energy/liebreich-the-pragmatic-climate-reset-part-i/
• Read Part 2, here: https://about.bnef.com/insights/clean-energy/liebreich-the-pragmatic-climate-reset-part-ii-a-provocation/
• Watch the first part of the pragmatic climate reset: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHKGor2\_BzQ
• Explore all of Michael's audioblogs and essays: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe8ZTD7dMaaAGobfBqd5eRQfeb5l9vPLG

This week on Cleaning Up, host Michael Liebreich sits down with John Pettigrew, outgoing CEO of National Grid, for a candid conversation marking the end of his 35-year career. Together they explore the UK’s £60 billion plan to deliver Clean Power by 2030, the race to build transmission for offshore wind, the growing strain from AI-driven electricity demand, and lessons from major outages in Spain and Heathrow.

Pettigrew reflects on the evolving “energy trilemma” — balancing decarbonisation, reliability, and affordability — shares reflections from his 35-year career: what’s changed, what went wrong, and what comes next for the grids powering our clean energy future.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Arup, Cygnum Capital, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Links and more:

• John’s first appearance on Cleaning Up: https://youtu.be/1HVcJuO9dNI
• Roger Dennis on Cleaning Up 'The Price of Resilience': https://youtu.be/CELQT31riDE
• National Grid’s £60 billion plan: https://www.nationalgrid.com/gridforgrowth
• National Energy System Operator (NESO): https://www.neso.energy/
• Final report from what happened to the Heathrow substation: https://www.neso.energy/news/final-report-review-north-hyde-substation-outage

India, like China, is home to over a billion people, and is highly reliant on imported fossil fuels and domestic coal. But unlike China, it still has a very rural population and has not yet experienced the rapid rise in per capita energy consumption that accompanied China’s recent development boom. The future path India takes to development is therefore of critical importance.

In this episode of Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington sits down with Dr. Arunabha Ghosh, founder and CEO of the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, and Special Envoy for COP30. Together they explore India’s “twin transition”, achieving universal energy access while driving a massive expansion of clean power. From the data-driven electrification of 130 million households, to innovations in market design that slashed solar prices, to India’s push for secure, diversified green supply chains, this conversation reveals a rarely told side of India’s energy transition story.

Arunabha also shares insights on India’s role in international climate diplomacy, the significance of cooperation with China and Brazil, and the urgent need for hyper-local climate risk assessment to protect communities from extreme weather.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Links and more:

• Council on Energy, Environment and Water website: https://www.ceew.in/
• India hits 50% non-fossil power milestone ahead of 2030 clean energy target: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/india-hits-50-non-fossil-power-milestone-ahead-2030-clean-energy-target-2025-07-14/
• How can India make the leap to become a green, clean country? https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/sep/28/huge-energy-challenges-how-can-india-make-leap-green-clean-country 

In this episode of Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington sits down with coral reef ecologist Dr. Katharina Fabricius, who has witnessed six mass bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef over her three decades of research.

From the “seven sins of climate change” threatening reefs — heat waves, acidification, storms, nutrient runoff, and more — to the resilience and surprising adaptability of corals, Katharina offers a sobering yet hopeful look at the future of our oceans. Together, they explore the science, politics, and moral responsibility of protecting one of the world’s most critical ecosystems, and why the fate of coral reefs is deeply tied to human survival.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Links:

• Ep180: Dr Helen Czerski on Oceans: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fORkPoR48SU
• The latest AIMS report on the state of the Great Barrier Reef: https://www.aims.gov.au/monitoring-great-barrier-reef/gbr-condition-summary-2024-25
• The Seven Sins of Climate Change report 

The airwaves are suddenly awash with commentators, claiming that the transition has failed, that it was always a fool’s errand, and that we must resign ourselves to a fossil-based future forever.

The narratives of failure all revel in pointing out that we have not seen dramatic cuts in fossil fuel use globally, consistent with keeping the temperature increase to 1.5C, and are not on track to achieve global net zero by 2050.

The climate and clean energy community is facing a choice. It can remain reactive, doubling down on old narratives, pressing on with existing policies, preaching to the converted and watching the pace of change slow for the next few years.

Or it can undertake what I call a Pragmatic Climate Reset: Wind back historical over-reach, accept harsh realities, address legitimate concerns, refresh its offer and find new ways of communicating with a confused public.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Links and more:

• Read the full article on BNEF: https://about.bnef.com/insights/clean-energy/liebreich-the-pragmatic-climate-reset-part-ii-a-provocation/

• Watch the first part of the pragmatic climate reset: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHKGor2_BzQ

In Clearing the Air, Hannah tackles 50 of the most common myths and misconceptions about climate solutions, from “Isn’t climate action too polarised and politically divisive to fix?” to “What happens when the wind doesn’t blow?” and “Won’t the world run out of minerals?” Hannah dives into the data behind renewables, electric cars, nuclear power, grids, and even lab-grown meat — cutting through the noise with clarity.

Michael quizzes Hannah on why she wrote the book and what she hopes to achieve with it, and whether it has the potential to change the minds of climate skeptics. This conversation offers a grounded, accessible look at what really works, what doesn’t, and why we should feel more hopeful than the doom-filled narratives suggest.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Arup, Cygnum Capital, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Links & more:

• Clearing The Air: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/462676/clearing-the-air-by-ritchie-hannah/9781784745745
• Ep147: Dr Hannah Ritchie: https://youtu.be/fMLmeWc7NFo
• Ep178: Dr Andy Palmer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzDWFFRDK8o
• Decarbonising the Last Few Percent: https://mliebreich.substack.com/p/decarbonizing-the-last-few-percent

In this season opener of Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich sits down with Malcolm Turnbull — former Prime Minister of Australia, lawyer, statesman, energy investor, and climate champion. From leading Australia through fierce political battles over climate policy to now spearheading renewable projects through Turnbull Renewables, he offers a rare insider’s perspective on the global clean energy transition.

Turnbull and Liebreich explore the clash between optimism and realism in climate action: why cheap solar is reshaping politics, the promise and pitfalls of green hydrogen, and whether pumped hydro could be the long-duration storage solution the world needs. Along the way, they reflect on U.S. politics under Trump, trade negotiations without American leadership, and why “hope is not a strategy” when it comes to energy security.

Leadership Circle: 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Arup, Cygnum Capital, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Links and more:

• Snowy 2.0: https://www.snowyhydro.com.au/snowy-20/about/
• International Hydropower Association: https://www.hydropower.org/
• Green Trade or Green Trade-Off - Ep52: Tony Abbott
• How Big Things (Should) Get Done - Ep128: Prof. Bent Flyvbjerg
• Is The Tide Turning On Hydrogen? Ep210: Andrew Forrest
• Ya Basta: https://liebreich.com/214-2/
• The Spycatcher Trial: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/sep/14/malcolm-turnbull-spycatcher-lawyer-prime-minister

Bryony returns with Bonny Simi, President of Operations at Joby 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. 

She holds a BA in Communications, a MS in Management and a MS in Engineering, all from Stanford University, as well as a MS in Human Resources from Regis University. 

Links and more:

• Watch the full video of this episode on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldy_NC-Doi4
• First Piloted eVTOL Air Taxi Flight Between Two Public Airports: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDNo3VYiOcs
• Joby's website: https://www.jobyaviation.com 
• Read about Joby's partnership with the US DoD here: https://www.jobyaviation.com/news/joby-delivers-first-evtol-edwards/ 
• Hear Bonny talk more about her lessons from competing in luge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj9Ey6fdnT0 
• Listen to the theme song from Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines (the title inspiration for this episode!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPgS26ZhqZs

Alex Honnold is one of the world’s best rock climbers, famous for his free solo ascents of big walls, including his 2017 first free solo of El Capitan in Yosemite.

Alex began studies in engineering at the University of California-Berkeley but dropped out to pursue his passion for climbing, living out of his van. He first attracted attention within the climbing community in 2008 when he became the first climber to free solo Half Dome in Yosemite. In 2012 he established the speed record for the Yosemite Triple Crown, climbing three big walls in under 19 hours. With Hans Florine, Alex climbed the popular Nose of El Capitan, a nearly 3,000-foot granite wall, in a record time of two hours 23 minutes and 51 seconds – a feat National Geographic described as perhaps " the greatest feat of pure rock climbing in the history of the sport."

Alex has been profiled by 60 minutes and the New York Times, appeared on the cover of National Geographic and starred in numerous adventure films. In 2015, together with professional climbing writer David Roberts, he authored Alone on the Wall, the story of seven of his greatest climbing feats up to that year.

In 2012 Alex founded the Honnold Foundation to provide solar power to some of the disadvantaged communities he was coming across in his climbing career. In 2021 the Foundation supported 44 communities across 17 countries with its brand of community-centered innovation catalysed by solar energy.

Links and more:

• Watch the video of this episode: https://youtu.be/MwmQf0mhHkE
• Honnold Foundation: https://www.honnoldfoundation.org/
• Free Solo Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urRVZ4SW7WU
• Free Solo website: https://films.nationalgeographic.com/free-solo
• The Ascent of Alex Honnold – CBS special report with Lara Logan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SR1jwwagtaQ
• Eduro Corner: The most exposed move of Alex’s Free Solo climb of El Capitan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blfR33DUqsg
• Project Bo: https://www.projectbo.org/
• Project Bo, lessons learned: https://www.liebreich.com/project-bo-saving-lives-in-sierra-leone-with-solar-batteries-and-twitter/

In this season finale of Cleaning Up, hosts Michael Liebreich and Bryony Worthington unpack these questions as they review Season 15's most compelling conversations about energy transformation, and celebrate five years of Cleaning Up. 

They dissect the current political landscape, particularly the challenges facing clean energy in the United States, and Bryony grills Michael on his recent Bloomberg essay on the "Pragmatic Climate Reset."

This is the final episode of Season 15 of Cleaning Up, join us in September for the start of Season 16.

Leadership Circle: 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Links and more:

• Watch all the episodes in Season 15 of Cleaning Up: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe8ZTD7dMaaB2B4gQpVBd34bjcF1w0BpP&feature=shared
• See our archive of over 200 episodes at https://www.cleaningup.live/

Needless to say, their argument has been widely amplified by the oil and gas industry. They conclude with a demand for a new approach – which they call a “pragmatic path”. 

Pragmatism is needed, but not the pragmatism of defeat. Not the ‘pragmatism’ of believing fossil fuels hold the key to further human progress. Not the ‘pragmatism’ of addressing climate change only if it suits the interests of fossil-fuel companies. What is needed is the pragmatism of robust but affordable climate action. 

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich debunks narratives that trumpet the alleged failure of climate action, and explains why a pragmatic climate reset is needed.

Leadership Circle: 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links and more: 

• Read the full article on BNEF: https://about.bnef.com/insights/clean-energy/liebreich-the-pragmatic-climate-reset-part-i/
• Tony Blair Institute Climate Reset Report: https://institute.global/insights/climate-and-energy/the-climate-paradox-why-we-need-to-reset-action-on-climate-change
• Michael Cembalest 15th annual Eye On The Market: https://am.jpmorgan.com/content/dam/jpm-am-aem/global/en/insights/eye-on-the-market/heliocentrism-amv.pdf
• Dan Yergin et al, The Troubled Transition: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/united-states/troubled-energy-transition-yergin-orszag-arya
• Generative AI – The Power and the Glory: https://about.bnef.com/insights/clean-energy/liebreich-generative-ai-the-power-and-the-glory/
• Five Superheroes of the Transition: https://about.bnef.com/insights/clean-energy/liebreich-net-zero-will-be-harder-than-you-think-and-easier-part-ii-easier/
• Tony Blair on Cleaning Up: https://youtu.be/Ko90KbFKBnI
• Dan Yergin on Cleaning Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QIh4U3Vgjc 
  
   

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich sits down with Ethan Zindler, former climate counselor to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, now head of countries and policy at BloombergNEF, to dissect the dramatic shifts in US energy policy. 

Fresh from the passage of the "One Big Beautiful Bill," Zindler reveals how recent legislation in the US could set back clean energy development by years, potentially undermining investments in wind, solar and electric vehicles. 

There are a couple of brighter spots too, with costs in some technologies falling so rapidly that they might escape the drag of the current administration, and other technologies — like advanced geothermal and nuclear — seeing an uptick in support. 

Zindler brings the latest analysis from BloombergNEF to Cleaning Up to help unpack the One Big Beautiful Bill and what it means for the future of US energy policy.

Leadership Circle: 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Links and more: 

• Could Trump 2.0 Roll Back The IRA? Ep181: Ethan Zindler – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf5_r3V3Vs8
• The Future of Clean Tech Under Trump — Ep198: Jigar Shah https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCOaF-qQ_TU
• Elon Musk and Michael’s 2007 testimony to Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources: https://www.energy.senate.gov/hearings/2007/3/hearing-ECF571D9-2A3E-444F-A0F0-1C18EE28FFF3

This week on Cleaning Up, host Bryony Worthington sits down with Tessa Khan, founder of Uplift, a charity challenging the oil and gas industry's hold on UK energy policy. A lawyer turned campaigner, Khan offers incisive analysis of why the North Sea's fossil fuel era must end.

Drawing from her background in international human rights and development, Khan reveals how the UK could become a global pioneer in energy transformation. She unpacks the economic myths perpetuated by the oil and gas lobby, exposes the minimal benefits of continued extraction, and champions a just transition to renewable energy.

With the UK at a critical political crossroads, Khan offers a masterclass in strategic advocacy, blending data, political insight, and a passionate vision for a sustainable future. 

Leadership Circle: 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Discover more:

• Tessa Khan’s organisation, Uplift: https://www.upliftuk.org/
• Uplift’s report on the future of the North Sea: https://www.upliftuk.org/post/the-future-of-the-north-sea
• UK Oil & Gas Reserves Report: https://www.nstauthority.co.uk/media/8394/reserves-and-resources-2022.pdf
• BBC article on Rosebank emissions guidance: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c994v5dy3p0o

This week on Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington sits down with Merlin Sheldrake, author of the bestselling "Entangled Life," to explore the extraordinary world of fungi. Sheldrake reveals how these remarkable organisms are not just passive participants in our ecosystem, but active innovators that have been shaping our planet for a billion of years.

 From their crucial role in carbon cycling and soil health to their potential in creating sustainable materials, fungi may be a powerful solution to some of our most pressing environmental challenges. Sheldrake takes us on a journey through fungal networks, discussing their intelligence, chemical capabilities, and symbiotic relationships that challenge our understanding of life. 

Leadership Circle: 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Discover more: 

• Merlin’s Book, Entangled Life: https://www.merlinsheldrake.com/entangled-life 
• Fungi: Web of Life Trailer — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCf7YywIBZ8 
• Society for the Protection of Underground Networks: https://www.spun.earth 
  
   

And in fact, some countries are still waiting for their first. 

Today on Cleaning Up, we’re joined by Daniel Calderon, Founder and Managing Partner of Alcazar Energy Partners. Daniel has made it a specialty of going into countries overlooked by others, building their first wind and solar farms, and as he explains, doing it profitably. 

Leadership Circle: 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Discover more:

• Alcazar Energy Partners:  https://alcazarenergy.com/
• Episode 196 with Lucy Heintz: https://youtu.be/nhGDI_0QIHg
• Episode 181 with Ethan Zindler: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf5_r3V3Vs8
• Episode 204, the Sierra Leone special: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-5QjSfy2SM

Today's sellers of picks and shovels are those providing the hardware and infrastructure to the software and platform providers, and one company stands apart as the beneficiary of the recent boom times in artificial intelligence: Nvidia. 

They're currently among the top three listed companies in the US, alongside Apple and Microsoft, and are incredibly profitable, with estimated margins in excess of 40%. They've been around for 30 years, and are much more than simply chip fabricators. 

This week on Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington sits down with Josh Parker, Nvidia’s head of sustainability, to explore some of the challenges and opportunities he sees in the AI and Climate space.

Leadership Circle: 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Discover more:

• Episode 204, the Sierra Leone special: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-5QjSfy2SM 
• Nvidia’s Sustainability Report:
• Earth2: https://www.nvidia.com/en-gb/high-performance-computing/earth-2/
• cBottle: https://catalog.ngc.nvidia.com/orgs/nvidia/teams/earth-2/models/cbottle
• Michael’s piece on AI efficiency: 
• https://mliebreich.substack.com/p/ai-data-centre-power-and-glory-an

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich interviews Ben van Beurden, former CEO of Shell from 2014 to 2023. The conversation explores the complexities of the energy transition, climate change, and the role of oil and gas companies in addressing global emissions.

Van Beurden argues that there's no silver bullet solution to climate change, emphasizing the need for multiple approaches and a holistic view of energy transformation. He believes oil and gas companies will play a crucial role in developing clean energy solutions and driving systemic change, but ultimately we must move away from polluting fossil fuels in pursuit  of the prize of Clean Energy.

Leadership Circle: 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Discover more:

• Episode 204, the Sierra Leone special: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-5QjSfy2SM 
• Ep111: Daniel Yergin "The World's Most Influential Energy Analyst – https://youtu.be/8QIh4U3Vgjc
• Ep86: From Climate Law Maker to Superglued Law Breaker – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDo7hkcsRFA

This week on Cleaning Up, Baroness Bryony Worthington sits down with Thelma Krug, a renowned Brazilian scientist and mathematician, and former vice chair of the IPCC, to explore these critical questions.

Krug offers an insider's perspective, drawing from her decades of experience monitoring the Amazon rainforest and participating in international climate negotiations.

The conversation ranges from the alarming transformation of the Amazon from a carbon sink to a potential carbon source, to the controversial realm of solar radiation management. As it prepares to host COP30 in Belem in November, Krug provides nuanced insights into Brazil's challenges, the complexities of global climate policy, and the potential for innovative solutions like biofuels and international collaboration.

Leadership Circle:
Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Discover more:
• Sierra Leone special: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-5QjSfy2SM
• COP30 website: https://cop30.br/en
• Degrees Global Forum: https://degreesglobalforum.org
• Episode 168 with Anand Gopal: https://youtu.be/33QiMC4nG1k

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich sits down with EU Energy and Housing Commissioner Dan Jørgensen to dissect the continent's energy transformation. 

In this wide ranging interview recorded at the Berlaymont building in Brussels — the home of the European Commission — Liebreich and Jørgensen delve into critical topics including reducing dependency on Russian energy, the economics of renewable technologies, the role of nuclear power, and the contentious economics of green hydrogen. 

Jørgensen defends the EU's ambitious climate goals while addressing concerns about cost, competitiveness, and political pushback against the green transition. 

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Discover more:

• Sierra Leone special: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-5QjSfy2SM
• Decarbonizing the last few percent: https://mliebreich.substack.com/p/decarbonizing-the-last-few-percent
• Lessons from Spain: https://mliebreich.substack.com/p/lessons-from-spain
• EU Hydrogen Strategy: https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/eus-energy-system/hydrogen_en 
  
   

Some people find this very threatening but not Antonio Cammisecra, CEO of ContourGlobal. CounterGlobal is a leading independent power producer who is well on their way to transition away from coal to electricity production based on renewables and gas. 

Antonio joins Michael on Cleaning Up to discuss how to build resilience and security in renewable-dominated grids, how ContourGlobal's battery storage systems are delivering solar at night, and why grids around the world are struggling to cope as electricity demand rises. 

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Discover More: 

• ContourGlobal's website: https://www.contourglobal.com
• Episode 74 with Francesco Starace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_LnZz09Cwk 
• Episode 201 with Nikso Tsafos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUvKzs82Mi0
• Episode 208 with Anders Lindberg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtsCCJ4o1WA 
• The Year Energy Woke Up to AI: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwZ2iNh133A 
• Decarbonizing the last few percent: https://mliebreich.substack.com/p/decarbonizing-the-last-few-percent 
• Lessons from Spain: https://mliebreich.substack.com/p/lessons-from-spain
  
   

As the Executive Chairman of the Fortescue, one of the world's largest iron ore companies, Andrew Forrest is not an easy to pigeonhole industrial billionaire. He built Fortescue into a hugely successful company, partly thanks to his belief in taking unconventional paths. 

After a serious accident meant he had to take a break from work, he enrolled in a PhD in marine science. For over a decade now, has been very vocally committed to getting his company's practices aligned with a climate-safe pathway. More recently, he's also been shaking fellow CEOs and leaders out of climate complacency by highlighting the risks of lethal humidity. 

This week on Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington asks Andrew about the current climate crusade he's on, what he makes of the recent policy decisions taken by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to agree carbon penalties for highly emitting ships, and if hydrogen can compete with renewables to be the power source of the future. 

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Discover More:

• Fortescue's website: https://www.fortescue.com/en
• The Sierra Leone Special: https://youtu.be/z-5QjSfy2SM
• Hydrogen Insider: 'The market didn’t turn up' | Fortescue's green hydrogen boss exits the company: https://www.hydrogeninsight.com/production/the-market-didn-t-turn-up-fortescues-green-hydrogen-boss-exits-the-company
• Clean Hydrogen's Missing Trillions - Audioblog 13: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNxCrQyCTpk

This week on Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington sits down with renowned economist Mohamed El-Erian to unpack the complex intersections of global finance, politics, and climate change. 

El-Erian offers insights into the current economic landscape, exploring how central banks, trade tensions, and technological innovations are reshaping our understanding of international economics. 

From the rise of China's green technology sector and the scrapping of Canada’s carbon tax to bond vigilantism and the potential long-term consequences of US trade policy, this episode provides a nuanced look at the challenges and opportunities facing the global economy in an era of unprecedented uncertainty.

Find more: 

• The Sierra Leone Special: https://youtu.be/z-5QjSfy2SM
• Mohamed’s website: https://www.mohamedel-erian.com/
• How China Became a Green Finance Superpower: https://youtu.be/Fu6giWzTxAY

Leadership Circle: 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

"Yes," says Anders Lindberg, President of Energy and Executive VP at Wärtsilä, on this week's episode of Cleaning Up. It'll just cost €65 trillion extra by 2050. 

Anders' team at Wärtsilä has recently published its Crossroads to Net Zero report, which argues that keeping a little bit of flexible generation on the grid will save huge amounts of money as the globe strives for net zero, while also speeding up the transition to renewables. The argument centres on what to do with the last few percent of power supply, and what forms of generation need to be built to ensure consistent electricity supply and prevent black or brown outs.

Perhaps unsurprisingly for a gas engine manufacturer, Wärtsilä's report makes the case that gas should provide the last few percentage points of electricity generation. Michael Liebreich puts that claim to the test. 

Discover more:

• Wärtsilä's Crossroads to Net Zero report: https://www.wartsila.com/energy/towards-100-renewable-energy/choosing-the-optimal-pathway-for-energy-transition
• Can Germany’s Gas Giant Go Green? Ep206: Michael Lewis - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DOD-f6uSPgc
• Q&A: What we do – and do not – know about the blackout in Spain and Portugal — https://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-what-we-do-and-do-not-know-about-the-blackout-in-spain-and-portugal/
• ENTSO-E expert panel initiates the investigation into the causes of Iberian blackout: https://www.entsoe.eu/news/2025/05/09/entso-e-expert-panel-initiates-the-investigation-into-the-causes-of-iberian-blackout

Leadership Circle: 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

This week on Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington talks to Jamie Beard, founder of Project InnerSpace, about why geothermal energy has never lived up to its hype, and whether it has the potential do so.  Currently generating less than 1% of global energy, Beard believes that geothermal could become a game-changing technology that can leverage existing drilling expertise from the oil and gas sector to provide 24/7 energy.

Beard breaks down the technical and economic challenges facing geothermal energy, exploring its potential to provide stable, clean power and heat across different global regions. From the United States to India, she outlines how next-generation geothermal technologies could offer a more consistent renewable energy solution.

This conversation was recorded live at Geothermal House, as part of San Francisco Climate week.

Leadership Circle:
Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Discover More:
• The Sierra Leone Special: https://youtu.be/z-5QjSfy2SM
• Project InnerSpace: https://projectinnerspace.org/
• Brony’s episode with Cindy Taff of Sage Geothermal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3I2fn9_atE
• The Department of Energy’s Next-Generation Geothermal Power Commercial Liftoff: https://liftoff.energy.gov/next-generation-geothermal-power/

Uniper is one of Germany's largest energy companies. It is active across more than 40 countries and has 19.5 GW of power generation capacity to its name. It was one of the funders of the built-but-never-used Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline that connects Russia to Germany and, for most of its history, was heavily reliant on Russian gas. 

So when the gas taps from Russia were turned off, Uniper reported losses of $40 billion — the highest losses in German corporate history — and was subsequently nationalised by the German government. The company has since returned to profitability under its new CEO, Michael Lewis, our guest this week on Cleaning Up. 

Michael Lewis joins Michael Liebreich to discuss the company's rise from the ashes, and how it plans to reach its climate targets and overcome the dunkelflaute.

Leadership Circle: 
Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

More from Cleaning Up:

• The Sierra Leone documentary: https://youtu.be/z-5QjSfy2SM
• Ep164 — Leonhard Birnbaum, CEO of EON: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa-DHuPNEDg
• Episode 175 — Greg Jackson, CEO of Octopus Energy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl-cRh35Hm4
• Episode 190 — Lord Adair Turner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxTngGxpeW0
  
   

An escalating trade war and global tariffs has sent the rest of the world reeling and threatened the global financial system with collapse. China has come under particular fire, but the US has also targeted its closest allies and neighbours — Canada, Mexico and the EU — with tariffs. 

Any sense of certainty has been thrown out of the window as a more inward looking US seeks to reshape the global order. So what does all this mean for the energy transition, and plans to reach net-zero? Michael Liebreich and Baroness Bryony Worthington join forces for the opening episode of Season 15 of Cleaning Up to discuss. 

Leadership Circle: Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Discover more: 

• Cleaning Up’s Sierra Leone Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-5QjSfy2SM
• Cleaning Up’s interview with Mark Carney: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtA5ufMzKAU
• Ember’s Global Electricity Review: https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/global-electricity-review-2025/
• Michael’s AI Update on Deepseek: https://mliebreich.substack.com/p/ai-data-centre-power-and-glory-an
• Michael’s retreat inside an old millhouse: https://lemoulindabondance.com/

In 2013, an extraordinary doctor called Dr Niall Conroy set up a neonatal intensive care unit at the Bo Government Hospital, in Sierra Leone's second largest city, and set about training the staff to give the best possible care to the desperately vulnerable babies who were admitted. But there was one problem he couldn't solve: electricity. 

Babies need warmth, and that means electrically powered incubators, and they need oxygen, which means oxygen separators, and the nurses need light in order to work. However in Sierra Leone, there are power cuts almost daily. They can be a few minutes, they can be hours, or they can last days. 

In 2017, Michael Liebreich heard about this problem and put together a group of friends and supporters to create Project Bo. Since then, the neonatal intensive care unit has had a solar system and batteries installed, and hundreds of babies’ lives have been saved due to a reliable electricity supply. 

Eight years on, Michael visits Project Bo for the first time to see how the system is performing, meet the medical professionals working there, and find out if there's anything else that we can do to improve it.

Watch on YouTube:

Find the full documentary on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMxJzLNc214

Help Support Project Bo:

• More About Project Bo: https://www.projectbo.org/
• Our Campaign to Raise $100,000: https://www.gofundme.com/f/projectbo

Other Organisations Electrifying Healthcare:

• Eki Foundation ⁠⁠https://fundacioneki.org/en/
• Don Bosco Solar School In Bo⁠: ⁠⁠⁠https://donboscosolar.org/
• Powering Healthcare Hub (Sustainable Energy for All): https://www.seforall.org/programmes/powering-healthcare-hub
• We Care Solar: https://wecaresolar.org/
• Resilient Power | Power for Health: https://www.directrelief.org/issue/resilient-power
• Kids Operating Room: https://www.kidsor.org/

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Credits:

• Presented by Michael Liebreich
• Written by Oscar Boyd & Michael Liebreich
• Filmed, Produced & Edited by Oscar Boyd
• Graphics by Jamie Oliver
• Logistics: Jo Jagger & Alexandra McInerney
• Special thanks to Dr Niall Conroy, Nurse Juliana Conteh, Nurse Columbia Samuella Bull, Mohammed Kargbo, as well as to the team at Bo Government Hospital, and the mothers who spoke with us for this documentary.

This week on Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington sits down with Kate Brandt, Google's Chief Sustainability Officer, to unpack these critical questions. Brandt offers an insider's view of how one of the world's most influential companies is tackling the climate crisis, from tackling its own emissions to the impact of misinformation on its platform. Brandt has a fascinating background, having spent time in both the Pentagon, and advising President Obama on energy security and sustainability issues. In her current role, she oversees the team working to reduce Google's environmental impact. 

Google has set itself an ambitious company-wide climate goal of halving their 2019 emissions by 2030 but their latest sustainability report showed that they were off track, as the company has grown and increased their investment in energy-hungry artificial intelligence. As providers of curated information at a global scale, Google has a unique intersection with the climate problem. Primarily, their impact comes from the electricity they buy, but they're also able to guide customers' decisions through the provision of information and through their parent company Alphabet. 

They've made some pretty bold investments in innovative, disruptive companies, so measuring their impact is arguably more than the sum of their Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. Nevertheless, missing a clear target can't be very comfortable. Brandt discusses the company’s ambitious yet challenging emissions reduction targets, the transformative potential of AI in environmental solutions, and the innovative clean technologies that might just help us reimagine our energy future. 

From predicting floods and reducing aircraft emissions, to molten salt batteries and grid optimization technologies, this conversation reveals how Google thinks about innovation and the climate.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Go deeper:

• 2024 Environmental Report - Google Sustainability
• Google X
• How AI Can Speed-Up Climate Action | BCG
• The Year Energy Woke Up To AI — Audioblog 14: Generative AI – The Power and the Glory
• Malta Inc.

The Climate Change Act, passed in 2008, has helped steer the UK towards its net-zero goals, setting five yearly carbon budgets that are specifically designed to be ambitious but flexible, with lots of options available to the government to meet the targets. 

Joining this week’s episode of Cleaning Up is Emma Pinchbeck, the new CEO of the Climate Change Committee (CCC), the organisation which advises the government on the route it should take to net zero. 

Emma spent close to a decade leading the UK’s energy sector trade association, and is now responsible for producing advice on the UK's final three carbon budgets. In February, the CCC published the seventh carbon budget, which covers the period centred around the year 2040. 

Emma joins Bryony Worthington to talk about the progress the UK is making in meeting its carbon targets, the challenges ahead, and why it's so important the UK holds the course, even if others have chosen to abandon their climate ambitions.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links:

• The 7th Carbon Budget: https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/the-seventh-carbon-budget/
• Emma’s previous appearance on Cleaning Up: https://youtu.be/66flrmMEmso

Barely five years into the 2020s, this decade is already shaping up to be one of the most turbulent since the Second World War. As we record this episode, the US has just slapped 25% tariffs on steel and aluminum, prompting swift retaliation from Europe and Canada.

The energy landscape is just as volatile. While the US seems set on spending the next four years as a semi-rogue petrostate—acting as if climate change were an afterthought—China is seizing the moment. It’s doubling down on EVs and electrification at home, tightening its grip on clean energy supply chains, and dominating global exports of solar panels, batteries, EVs, wind turbines, and even cables. In doing so, Beijing is cementing its status as the world’s premier electro-state.

This leaves Europe at a crossroads. How does the EU tackle sky-high energy prices while reducing its reliance on US LNG and Chinese clean tech? Can it craft a compelling narrative to counter the rising tide of populism that’s circling ever closer to the Berlaymont building in Brussels?

To help us unpack these critical questions, we’re joined by Nikos Tsafos, Greece’s recently promoted Deputy Energy Minister. His portfolio spans energy and emissions, and he collaborates with policymakers across transport and industry—not just in Greece, but throughout the EU.

Thank you to Nikos Tsafos for providing the graphs showing Greece’s energy transition.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links:

• Nikos Tsafos' Website: https://nikostsafos.com
• Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’ letter to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen regarding the EU energy market: https://www.primeminister.gr/en/2024/09/13/34887
• Energy System of Greece: https://www.iea.org/countries/greece
• Yanis Varoufakis: Power, Markets & Power Markets - Ep104: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLbm8fg08hc
• Audioblog 14: Generative AI – The Power and the Glory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwZ2iNh133A

This week on Cleaning Up, host Bryony Worthington takes us deep inside the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, where scientists are on the front lines of tracking our planet’s most urgent environmental challenges.

Meet Ralph Keeling, the scientist carrying forward his father’s legendary legacy—the Keeling Curve, the definitive record of our atmosphere’s rising carbon dioxide levels. His decades of meticulous measurements lay bare the stark truth about climate change and why these long-term observations are more vital now than ever.

And that’s not all. We also sit down with Professor Ray Weiss, the atmospheric detective who played a key role in saving the ozone layer. His work helped drive the Montreal Protocol—one of humanity’s greatest environmental victories.

With climate science under attack, what lessons can we learn from past successes? And what happens if we stop listening to the data?

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links:

• Scripps Institution of Oceanography: https://scripps.ucsd.edu/
• The Keeling Curve: https://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu/
• The Keeling Curve Foundation: https://www.keelingcurve.org/
• AGAGE (The Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment): https://www-air.larc.nasa.gov/missions/agage/
• History of the Montreal Protocal: https://www.unep.org/ozonaction/who-we-are/about-montreal-protocol

Joining Cleaning Up this week is Patrick Graichen, a former Energy and Climate minister in the last government, representing the Green Party. Prior to entering government, Patrick ran the think tank Agora Energiewende, working on energy from 2001 to 2012. With his deep expertise Patrick offers unique insights into the evolving political landscape and its potential impact on Germany, Europe, and beyond. 

Patrick has witnessed how shifting public opinion can stall progress, and was responsible for a highly contested policy to phase out gas boilers and phase in heat pumps, which ultimately caused him to quit government. Bryony Worthington asks Patrick what he learned from that phase, and digs into the big questions surrounding the German car industry, nuclear power and the future of gas. 

Leadership Circle

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links

• Agora Energiewende:  https://www.agora-energiewende.org
• Patrick's Previous Appearance on Cleaning Up: https://youtu.be/MBCX7aZcRWI 
• Episode 154 with Kensa CEO, Tamsin Lishman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TpHa-uU6lc 
  
   

Jigar Shah joins Cleaning Up fresh from his four-year tenure as Director of the U.S. Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office (LPO). Appointed in 2021, Shah transformed the once-obscure office into a clean-tech commercialization powerhouse, committing more than $100 billion in loans to U.S.-based companies. But with a new administration implementing sweeping cuts to the federal workforce, is all his work at risk? Or will market forces and the very real risk of blackouts keep clean energy innovation moving forward?

In this conversation with Michael Liebreich, Shah shares how he turned the LPO into a driving force for clean technology deployment, and what lessons can be learned by policymakers, investors and entrepreneurs. He also offers a candid assessment of the opportunities and challenges across key sectors—from advanced nuclear to sustainable aviation fuels. 

Leadership Circle

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links and more

• DoE Liftoff Reports: https://liftoff.energy.gov 
• Episode 9 with Jigar Shah: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJhhinSeh9I
• Episode 193, Mike Headroom's AI Audioblog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwZ2iNh133A

Kumi Naidoo has a storied career as an activist. At just 15 years old, he started out as an anti-apartheid campaigner and organiser in South Africa, before fleeing the country and attending Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, where he received a PhD for his research into the resistance movement in South Africa. 

After Nelson Mandela was freed, he returned home to help organise Mandela’s campaign to become President, and later became the head of both Greenpeace and Amnesty International. 

Naidoo has turned his energy to a new campaign, one that focuses specifically on the phase out of fossil fuels: the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative. The Initiative, founded by former Cleaning Up guest Tzeporah Berman, seeks to establish a binding agreement amongst the most ambitious nations to phase out fossil fuels. So far, it has been endorsed by 16 nation states and 131 subnational governments and cities. 

Naidoo joins Bryony Worthington to talk about what he's learned from 45 years of campaigning, from hunger strikes to occupying oil rigs in the Arctic, where he thinks activism needs to go from here, and why he believes the Fossil Fuel Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative is the path forward. 

Leadership Circle

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links and more:

• Canada's Controversial Queen of Green
• The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty

Lucy Heintz is partner and head of energy infrastructure at Actis, whose most recent Energy Fund represents over $6 billion of investable capital. She is a driving force behind the small slice of investment which does address clean energy in growth markets. 

Lucy joins Cleaning Up to unpack Actis' approach to investing in critical clean energy infrastructure projects across the Global South. From assembling renewable energy platforms to managing foreign exchange risks, Lucy shares the strategies that have historically allowed Actis to succeed in markets that many consider to be too risky. 

The Acronym Corner:

• BII - British International Investment; the UK's development finance institution. https://www.bii.co.uk/en/
• LP - Limited Partner, the capital provider for fund
• DFI - Development Finance Institution, e.g. BII
• DISCO - A distribution company, in places like India and Pakistan. Responsible for distributing energy from producers to consumers.
• DNO - Similar to a DISCO but UK focused, a company licensed to distribute electricity.
• PPA - Power Purchase Agreement — A long term contract between an electricity producer and a customer, that guarantees electricity be bought and sold at a pre-negotiated price for the period of the agreement.
• MIGA - The World Bank's Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency. Its mandate is to promote cross-border investment in developing countries by providing guarantees (political risk insurance and credit enhancement) to investors and lenders. See: https://www.miga.org/about-us

Leadership Circle: 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links and more: 

• Actis Energy Infrastructure Fund: https://www.act.is/about-us/sectors/energy/
• Inside the World's Biggest Investor - Ep138: Carine Smith Ihenacho
• The Bridgetown Initiator - Ep145: Prof Avinash Persaud
• Enabling Africa's Green Energy Revolution - Ep120: Ana Hajduka
• Actis 2024 highlights film:
• Intro to Actis film:
• IPE: Generating alpha returns in energy infrastructure
• Infrastructure Investor: Shining a spotlight on emerging markets
• New Private Markets, De-risking transition investments in emerging markets
   

Disclaimer:

The statements made by Actis executives are as at February 2025 and are not necessarily representative of the views of executives of portfolio companies in which Actis has invested, and Actis assumes no obligation to update the information herein. Please refer to the following link for further important information in relation to this podcast: https://www.cleaningup.live/a-clean-energy-playbook-for-the-global-south-ep196-lucy-heintz/

Things have not been quite as smooth since: There's been extensive pushback, starting from the red states in the US, but spreading from there against ESG. And of course, sustainable finance and sustainable investing are firmly in the crosshairs of the new Trump administration. 

David Blood is the co-founder and senior partner at Generation Investment Management, and he's been a driver behind a number of the most substantial sustainable finance initiatives. He's built a very substantial asset management firm around the concept that sustainable investing will not just do the right thing for the planet and its people, but also provide superior returns. 

David joins Michael on Cleaning Up to argue the case for sustainable investing in 2025 and explain why there's been such a backlash to it. 

Leadership Circle 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links and more

• Generation Investment Management Website
• Inside the World's Biggest Investor - Ep138: Carine Smith Ihenacho 
• How China Became a Green Finance Superpower - Ep160: Dr. Ma Jun

Anders is the CEO of Heart Aerospace, the Swedish airplane developers who've recently established an R&D facility in California to develop their 30 seater hybrid-electric plane. Later this year, their all-electric prototype will take to the skies in its first test flight. 

While there are a number of companies innovating in the aerospace sector, including Joby Aviation, featured in Episode 156 of Cleaning Up, Heart is targeting larger planes and longer routes. They already have orders to buy hundreds of planes, most notably from United Airlines, and have received early investment from Bill Gates' Breakthrough Energy Ventures. 

This episode was recorded at the Heart Aerospace facilities in El Sugundo, Los Angeles. 

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links:

• The Heart Aerospace website
• A Magnificent Woman And Her Flying Machines - Ep156: Bonny Simi 
  
   

All this, and more in the audio adaptation of Michel's article for BloombergNEF: Generative AI: The Power and the Glory. 

Read the full piece at: https://about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich-generative-ai-the-power-and-the-glory/

Leadership Circle: 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links and More 

For a full list of background reading to accompany this Audioblog, visit: https://open.substack.com/pub/cleaninguppod/p/a-super-secret-ai-reading-list 

 

This week on Cleaning Up, host Bryony Worthington sits down with Dr. Andrew Steer, President and CEO of the Bezos Earth Fund, to explore these critical questions. Established in 2020 with a $10 billion commitment from Jeff Bezos, the Bezos Earth Fund is on a mission to spend this capital by 2030 - the "decisive decade" for climate and nature. 

Andrew shares insights into the fund's venture capital-inspired approach, balancing support for proven organisations and innovative newcomers. He delves into the delicate dance of respecting grantee expertise while providing strategic guidance, and the importance of avoiding dependence. The conversation covers the fund's diverse portfolio, from electrifying school buses to harnessing AI for nature monitoring and sustainable agriculture. Andrew also tackles the thorny issues of carbon markets and the need for a new mindset in the environmental movement. 

Leadership Circle

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links and more

• The Bezos Earth Fund website  
• Is There a Future for Lab-Grown Meat? - Ep166: Bruce Friedrich 

Leadership Circle

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links and more

• How To Win The Climate Argument | Ep172: John Marshall
• Canada's Controversial Queen of Green - Ep131: Tzeporah Berman 
• Is Trump's Victory A Win For China? Ep185: Professor Qi Ye
• Can Nuclear Repower China's Coal Fleet? - Ep163: Staffan Qvist & Dr. Yaoli Zhang 
• The Inconvenient Truth about Climate Science - Ep93: Prof. Roger Pielke Jr. 
• Paper on Curtailment of Nuclear Power Output during Heatwaves
  
   

Naomi Oreskes is the 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, and a leading voice on the role of science in society and the role of disinformation in blocking climate action, a topic that feels more relevant than ever. 

Please enjoy, and we’ll be back with Season 14 of Cleaning Up on January 8th.

I hope you are having a good break over the holiday season, and getting to spend some quality time with your family. I’m in Switzerland, where it has just snowed about a meter in 24 hours.

In case you’re missing your regular dose of climate content, we’re starting something new, which we’re calling Cleaning Up Redux. During the break between seasons, we’ll be republishing some gems from our back catalogue, which now covers nearly 200 episodes.

To kick us off, today we’ll be listening back to episode 68, from Season 4, released in December 2021. It’s a conversation with Amory Lovins, whom I dubbed the Einstein of Energy Efficiency. Amory is the co-founder and former chairman and chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute. He is also the author of more than 30 books and 700 papers, and now an Adjunct Lecturer in Atmosphere and Energy at Stanford University.

I first became familiar with Amory’s work even before I founded New Energy Finance journey, as a fierce promoter of the cause of energy efficiency by design, and equally fierce opponent of the idea of any role for nuclear power. Amory and I do not see eye to eye on everything, but we have become good friends and occasional sparring partners.

Amory joined me on Cleaning from his passive house high up in the Rocky Mountains, which is so warm despite not having any active heating that, at the time of recording, he had produced 78 crops of indoor bananas – a fact of which he is rightly proud.

The reason I chose this episode to kick off Cleaning Up Redux is that, in these very turbulent and politicised times, it has a refreshing back-to-basics feel. If you can save energy you save money, and that is always a good thing. If we all focused more on making clean energy cheaper for consumers and businesses, and a bit less on persuading politicians to do things that drive up energy costs, the transition might be moving a lot faster.

I hope you enjoy my December 2021 conversation with Amory Lovins.

Further reading: 

• IEA Energy Efficiency 2021 report: https://www.iea.org/reports/energy-efficiency-2021 Official bio: https://rmi.org/people/amory-lovins/ 
• How Big Is the Energy Efficiency Resource?  (a half-hour summary talk is at https://energy.stanford.edu/events/special-energy-seminar-amory-lovins-holmes-hummel) https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aad965 Recalibrating Climate Prospects https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab55ab 
• Can a Virus and Viral Ideas Speed the World’s Journey Beyond Fossil Fuels? (with Kingsmill Bond) https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abc3f2 
• SAE: Reframing Automotive Fuel Efficiency https://doi.org/10.4271/13-01-01-0004

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich welcomes back Lord Adair Turner for a deep dive into the state of the energy transition at the end of 2024. They discuss the remarkable progress in technologies like solar, batteries and electrification, but also the political and economic challenges of driving rapid decarbonisation. Turner shares his optimism that we have the technologies to reach net zero by 2070-2080, but also his concern that the pace of change may not be fast enough to avoid significant warming. They explore issues like the role of nuclear power, the need for grid investment, and the complexities of climate finance and international cooperation. 

This episode grapples with the tension between technological progress and political realities - and how to navigate that divide to accelerate the transition to a sustainable, zero-carbon future as we move into the new year. 

Leadership Circle 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links and more

• Adair's book, Just Capital
• The Energy Transitions Commission: https://www.energy-transitions.org
• How China Became a Green Finance Superpower - Ep160: Dr. Ma Jun 
• The Einstein of Energy Efficiency - Ep68: Amory Lovins
• The Solar Revolution - Past, Present and Future - Ep173: Jenny Chase
• ⁠Can Exponential Growth Save a Finite Planet? - Ep187: Azeem Azhar 
• The UK Energy Company Creating the Utility of the Future - Ep175: Greg Jackson 
• The Bridgetown Initiator - Ep145: Prof Avinash Persaud
• How To Win The Climate Argument | Ep172: John Marshall 
• Is It Ever OK to Promote Fossil Fuels?  
• TNO's Hydrogen Insights
  
   

Bryony Worthington sits down with Greg de Temmerman, Deputy CEO of the Quadrature Climate Foundation, to explore these critical questions. As a former plasma physicist who worked on the world's largest nuclear fusion project before transitioning into philanthropy, Greg brings a unique perspective to the climate challenge. 

Greg shares his insights on the progress and challenges in fusion research, highlighting the importance of material science breakthroughs and the role of AI in advancing the field. He then discusses his transition from research to the think tank world, where he sought to provide a more science-based approach to climate solutions and address the growing anti-tech sentiment in France. 

The conversation delves into Quadrature's evidence-based, pragmatic approach to philanthropy, and Greg's views on the foundation's support for geoengineering research and carbon removal technologies. He emphasises the need to grapple with the complexities of the energy transition, including the social and political challenges of managing winners and losers, and explains why he thinks the climate fight is like ultra-running. 

Leadership Circle: 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links: 

• Quadrature Climate Foundation
• Kelly Wanser on Geoengineering 
• Anand Gopal on Thermal Storage and Carbon Removal 

This week, host Michael Liebreich sits down with James Cameron, an international climate lawyer who has been involved with the COP process since before COPs were COPs. James shares his insights into the challenges and dynamics of these high-stakes global talks, from the crucial role of small island states to the difficulties of bridging the divide between developed and developing nations. James and Michael explore the inner workings of the COP process - its successes, failures and the urgent need for reform. James provides a clear-eyed assessment of where the negotiations have fallen short, and outlines concrete ideas for how to make the COP a more effective forum for driving real-world climate action. 

Leadership Circle: 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links:

1. Ya Basta: Stop the UN Climate Charade - https://www.liebreich.com/214-2/ 
2. James' previous appearance on Cleaning Up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qn7GKiW5E4k 
3. Christiana Figueres on CU: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YSzUJ_nMV0 
4. Catherine McKenna on CU: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEP1SGL-DcA 
5. Amber Rudd on CU: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZOokwqLaRc 
6. Laurence Tubiana on CU: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpVmECce7R8

This week on Cleaning Up, host Michael Liebreich sits down with Azeem Azhar, founder of Exponential View, to explore the complex relationship between exponential growth, climate change, and the societal implications of transformative technologies. Michael and Azeem delve into the promises and pitfalls of a future shaped by the rapid advancements in renewable energy, battery storage, and artificial intelligence.

Exponential View: 

Listeners of Cleaning Up can receive one year of complimentary access to Exponential View Premium, visit: https://www.exponentialview.co/cleaningup. Offer valid for 7 days starting November 27, 2024. 

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live.

Links:

• Azeem's website
• The Solar Revolution - Past, Present and Future | Ep173: Jenny Chase 
• Battery Recycling Is Here - But Where Are The Batteries? - Ep165: Hans Eric Melin 
• Separating Hype from Hydrogen – Part One: The Supply Side - Audioblog 3
• Separating Hype from Hydrogen – Part Two: The Demand Side - Audioblog 4
• Inside the World's Largest AI Supercluster xAI Colossus
• AI's $600bn problem

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael welcomes Ogilvy UK Vice-chair Rory Sutherland to explore the role of psychology and behavioural science in tackling the climate challenge. Rather than relying solely on policy, regulations, and technological solutions, Sutherland argues that understanding human decision-making and tapping into our innate psychological drivers could be key to catalyzing widespread behaviour change. 

From the power of "satisficing" and "psycho-physics" to the importance of signaling and subconscious hacking, Sutherland delves into the hidden forces that shape our environmental choices - both for better and for worse. The conversation also grapples with the ethical quandary of whether actively promoting fossil fuels is justifiable, even as a "messy intermediate phase" in the transition to clean energy. This episode challenges viewers to think beyond the conventional approaches to climate action and consider how a deeper understanding of human psychology could unlock more effective, and even counterintuitive, solutions. 

For those interested in data on which advertising groups continue to work with fossil fuel companies, please see: https://cleancreatives.org/f-list. Asked about WPP (Ogilvy’s Parent Company) and Ogilvy’s inclusion on the F-list, WPP commented: "WPP and Ogilvy have not commented publicly on the accuracy or validity of the F-List’s research. However, several of the contracts named on the F-List are wrongly attributed to Ogilvy. They are in fact relationships with an entirely different agency, OGR, formerly known as Ogilvy Government Relations. Other than ownership by WPP, OGR has had no connection to Ogilvy since 2011 and they rebranded last year to avoid historical confusion." 

Leadership Circle: 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links: 

• Rory’s book, Alchemy
• Ogilvy UK: https://www.ogilvy.com/uk
• How Lily Cole Models Climate Solutions | Ep161 
• How To Win The Climate Argument | Ep172: John Marshall 

Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, has said that 'almost every energy story is essentially a China story. But it's a complicated story that has been powered by vast supplies of coal. China's economy has grown rapidly, with per capita levels of energy consumption now matching Europe's, making it the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gasses. 

At the same time, China has increased the share of electricity and total energy to around 28% thanks to a rapid uptake of electric vehicles and increasing use of electricity for heating domestically. If it continues on its current trajectory, it is likely to peak its greenhouse gas emissions from energy in the next few years, if it hasn't done so already. China is also playing an increasing role beyond its borders: In 2023, 20% of the global EV export market belong to China, and it dominates the battery, solar and wind industries. 

This week on Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington sits down with Professor Qi Ye, Director of Public Policy at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, who's had a ringside seat during China's rapid shift towards a clean energy economy. Together they unpack the complex dynamics shaping the global energy transition in China. Discover the remarkable scale and pace of China's clean energy transformation, the challenges of international collaboration, and Professor Qi's vision for a new era of climate leadership.

Leadership Circle: 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit cleaningup.live.

Links: 

• How China Became a Green Finance Superpower - Ep160: Dr. Ma Jun
• The World's Preeminent Energy Economist - Ep133: Fatih Birol
• How Trump & Musk Will Reshape US Climate Action — Election Special

In this special episode of Cleaning Up, hosts Michael Liebreich and Bryony Worthington reflect on the implications of the recent US election results and the potential impact on energy and climate policy. They explore the likely policy changes under a Trump administration, including potential cuts to clean technologies like offshore wind and electric vehicles, as well as the potential for increased fossil fuel production and the relaxation of environmental regulations. 

Bryony shares her insights from her recent trip to China, where the expectation was that Trump would win and the general sentiment was that China could do business with him. Michael examines the perceived lack of a coherent strategy in Europe to compete with the US and China in the clean energy and technology sectors.

Leadership Circle

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. 

Links and more

• How To Win The Climate Argument | Ep172: John Marshall 
• Could Trump 2.0 Roll Back The IRA? Ep181: Ethan Zindler

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich sits down with Jonathan Maxwell, CEO and founder of Sustainable Development Capital LLP (SDCL), for the third time on Cleaning Up. Jonathan shares his perspective on the urgent need to address energy efficiency and waste, drawing from the themes explored in his book "The Edge." Jonathan and Michael delve into SDCL's innovative approach to providing on-site energy solutions that deliver cheaper, cleaner, and more reliable power to businesses, industries, and public institutions. 

Jonathan explains how their focus on distributed generation and decentralised energy systems is transforming the way organisations think about and manage their energy needs. Finally, policy. Jonathan and Michael discuss the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act in the US (and the potential turmoil from recent election results), the European Union's Green Deal, how these initiatives can be further strengthened by a greater emphasis on energy efficiency and productivity, and what the West needs to catch China. 

Leadership Circle 

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit cleaningup.live 

Links

• Cheaper, Cleaner, More Reliable - Ep14: Jonathan Maxwell 
• Checkpoint 2023: Energy Efficiency Investment - Ep113 Jonathan Maxwell 
• How China Became a Green Finance Superpower - Ep160: Dr. Ma Jun
• Metals Refining - From Mining to Brining: Ep 142 - Alex Grant
  
   

Around the world there are tens of millions of small boats, from high-performance luxury craft to workhorse fishing vessels, nearly all of which run on fossil-fuel powered engines. But with the rapid advancements in electric vehicles, a small group of companies are now turning their minds to cracking the boating problem, inventing electric engines that are quieter, less polluting, and can deliver just the same performance. 

In Europe, perhaps the best known is the German company Torqeedo. Founded in 2004, they've sold a quarter of a million electric motors to date, and this year, were acquired by Yamaha Motors. Norwegian company Evoy have recently joined forces with Vita, a UK-Monaco based company, and Candela, another Scandinavian boat builder, are revolutionising engines and boats with their hydrofoiling concept. 

This week on Cleaning Up, Baroness Bryony Worthington speaks with Ben Sorkin, CEO and co-founder of Flux Marine, headquartered in Newport, Rhode Island. Flux Marine are hoping to take on the US market with their customizable electric propulsion systems and have a 40,000 square foot factory in Rhode Island. Bryony asks Ben how his electric engines compete on cost and performance, what Flux Marine’s scale-up plans are, and why it’s so much harder to electrify a boat than a car. 

Leadership Circle

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live 

Links

• Flux Marine: https://www.fluxmarine.com 
• Is Shipping the Easiest "Hard-to-Abate" Sector? — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umPAonV20cM 
• Arc Boats: https://arcboats.com 
• Candela Hydrofoiling Boats: https://candela.com

This week on Cleaning Up, host Michael Liebreich sits down with Colin McKerracher, Head of Clean Transport at BloombergNEF, to unpack the latest trends and dynamics in the electric vehicle market from cars to trucks to two wheelers. They dive deep into the regional differences, the strategies of European automakers, the impact of tariffs, as well as the latest forecasts and predictions in BloombergNEF's Electric Vehicle Outlook.

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit cleaningup.live

Links:

• BloombergNEF's Electric Vehicle Outlook: https://about.bnef.com/electric-vehicle-outlook/
• The Debunker-in-Chief - Ep15: Auke Hoekstra
• The Solar Revolution - Past, Present and Future - Ep 173: Jenny Chase
• Slowdown, what Slowdown? The EV Revolution is Just Getting Started - Ep178: Dr Andy Palmer
• Could Trump 2.0 Roll Back The IRA? Ep181: Ethan Zindler

Zindler also addresses the tensions between fossil fuel interests and clean energy priorities, as well as the Treasury's efforts to engage with international partners and ensure an equitable clean energy transition. As the US grapples with the growing costs of climate-fueled disasters, this episode offers insights into how a key economic policymaking body is adapting to the climate emergency and the new geopolitics of the green energy transition. 

Leadership Circle

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live

Links

• Overview of the Treasury's climate activities: https://home.treasury.gov/policy-issues/climate-change
• Cleaning Up with Dr Ma Jun: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu6giWzTxAY
• Cleaning Up with Dipender Saluja & Ion Yadigaroglu: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUTPkszXs\_Y

The oceans define every aspect of our planet's physical systems, its ecosystems, human history and human culture. They also define the planet's future. Oceans represent an almost unexplored frontier in the fight against climate change, whether as a host for offshore wind farms, an enhanced carbon sink, a source for critical minerals or a route for high-voltage DC cables. But could there be unintended consequences? 

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich welcomes Dr Helen Czerski, whose expertise is 25,000 miles wide and seven miles deep, to discuss the crucial role the oceans play in regulating our climate and keeping the planet habitable. Helen is a physicist and oceanographer, and associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at University College London. She is the author of two books: 'A Storm in a Teacup' and 'The Blue Machine', about the physics of the oceans. 

Leadership Circle: Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle and how to become a member, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live 

Links and more: 

• Helen's website: https://www.helenczerski.net
• Helen's book, Blue Machine: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/441190/blue-machine-by-czerski-helen/9781804991961
• Episode 107 of Cleaning Up with David Cebon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K61ZXd_F6Qo

This week on Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington sits down with Cindy Taff, a 35-year veteran of Shell, where she was Vice President of Unconventional Drilling, leading a team of 350 people with a budget of over $1 billion. Since leaving Shell, Cindy has made a bold pivot to the world of geothermal energy, and is now CEO of Sage Geosystems, where she is using her expertise in drilling, project management, and subsurface engineering to try to crack next generation geothermal energy. 

Cindy shares her journey, from rising through the ranks at Shell to leading a startup on the cutting edge of the energy transition. She delves into the technical challenges of tapping into "hot, dry rock" geothermal resources, drilling at 20,000 feet below the Earth's surface, the regulatory hurdles of using techniques like fracking or 'stim drilling', and the potential to to use geothermal wells as an energy storage solution. 

Cindy has a unique perspective on how the oil and gas industry's toolbox can be repurposed to drive the clean energy transition, and believes geothermal is poised to play a crucial role in powering a sustainable future. Will she be proved right?

Leadership Circle

Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, EcoPragma Capital, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle and how to become a member, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live 

Links and more

• Sage Geosystems - https://www.sagegeosystems.com
• Sage Geosystems and Meta sign 150MW geothermal power agreement - https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/geothermal/sage-geosystems-and-meta-sign-150mw-geothermal-power-agreement
• Sage Geosystems raises $17M to build first-of-its-kind geothermal energy storage system in Texas: https://www.utilitydive.com/news/sage-geosystems-geothermal-storage-fervo-princeton/707879/
• Ep 168 Hot Rocks in a Box: The Rise of Thermal Batteries - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33QiMC4nG1k

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich sits down with Dr. Andy Palmer, a pioneer in the electric vehicle industry. With over 45 years of experience in the automotive sector, Andy has witnessed the industry's transformation firsthand - from his early days as an apprentice to senior leadership roles at companies like Nissan and Aston Martin. 

Andy shares the fascinating story behind the development of the Nissan Leaf, the world's first mass-market EV. He delves into the challenges of bringing this groundbreaking vehicle to market and how it kickstarted his journey from "piston head" to "battery head." We also explore Andy's time at Aston Martin, where he tried to steer the iconic British brand towards an electric future. Andy provides keen insights into the rapid evolution of battery technology, the role of government policy, and the future of autonomous driving. 

Leadership Circle: 

We are delighted to announce the Cleaning Up Leadership Circle, and our founding members: Actis, EcoPragma Capital, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle and how to become a member, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live

Links and more: 

• Andy's website: https://www.drandypalmer.com
• Michael's writeup on AstonGate - https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/astongate-fake-emission-figures-embattled-carmaker-sock-liebreich/
• The need for plurality - Andy Palmer's response to Rowan Atkinson: https://www.drandypalmer.com/post/the-need-for-plurality-in-response-to-rowan-atkinson
• Episode 175 with Greg Jackson of Octopus Energy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl-cRh35Hm4

 Bryony Worthington sits down with Kelly Wanser, Executive Director of the nonprofit SilverLining, which conducted early-stage experiments to improve the reflectivity of clouds in an experiment earlier this year. They discuss the different climate interventions being researched, the scientific and political challenges, and the critical need for robust evidence and governance to navigate these uncharted waters. From cloud brightening experiments to stratospheric aerosol injection, this conversation explores the potential upsides and major risks involved in intervening in the Earth's climate system. 

Leadership Circle: 

We are delighted to announce the Cleaning Up Leadership Circle, and our founding members: Actis, EcoPragma Capital, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle and how to become a member, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live

Links and more: 

• SilverLining Website: https://www.silverlining.ngo
• NYTimes article on SilverLining's experiment: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/02/climate/global-warming-clouds-solar-geoengineering.html
• Episode 168 with Anand Gopal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33QiMC4nG1k&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE

Green hydrogen has become one of the mainstays of efforts to keep the lights on as the country replaces nuclear and coal power with wind and solar, and also of efforts to replace cheap Russian gas in power generation and industry. But can green hydrogen possibly live up to expectations? 

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich is joined by someone who works at the heart of Germany’s hydrogen policy-making machine: Eva Schmid is Director of Hydrogen and Synthetic Energy Carriers at DENA, the German Energy Agency, a think tank that works with the German government to deliver its energy strategy. As you’ll see she has a clear-eyed sense of what hydrogen can and can’t be expected to do, and a focus on using it to protect the resilience of the German economy. 

Leadership Circle

We are delighted to announce the Cleaning Up Leadership Circle, and our founding members: Actis, EcoPragma Capital, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle and how to become a member, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live

Links & more: 

• DENA, The German Energy Agency: https://www.dena.de/en/home/
• Germany's National Hydrogen Strategy, 2023: https://www.bmwk.de/Redaktion/EN/Publikationen/Energie/national-hydrogen-strategy-update.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2
• Hydrogen Import Strategy: https://www.bmwk.de/Redaktion/EN/Hydrogen/Downloads/importstrategy-hydrogen.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=1
• The EU Hydrogen Strategy: https://energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/energy-systems-integration/hydrogen/key-actions-eu-hydrogen-strategy_en
• European Court of Auditors hydrogen report: https://www.eca.europa.eu/ECAPublications/SR-2024-11/SR-2024-11_EN.pdf
• EU Commissions response to Auditors report: https://www.eca.europa.eu/Lists/ECAReplies/COM-Replies-SR-2024-11/COM-Replies-SR-2024-11_EN.pdf

Welcome to the first episode of Season 13 of Cleaning Up, in which Michael Liebreich sits down with Greg Jackson, the founder and CEO of Octopus Energy, to uncover the incredible story behind the company's rapid growth and its transformation into a global energy powerhouse. 

Greg and Michael explore how Octopus Energy has gone from a small startup to the largest energy supplier in the UK, directly serving over 7 million households, and with a presence in 8 of the top 10 competitive energy markets worldwide. Greg reveals the key drivers behind Octopus Energy's success, including the innovative Kraken platform that powers their operations, the strategic acquisitions that fuelled their expansion, and the company's unwavering focus on customer-centric solutions during the recent energy crisis. 

The story doesn't end there. Greg shares his ambitious vision for the future, whether or not its possible to reach 1 billion Kraken licenses by 2030 and the company's groundbreaking work in areas like locational pricing, electric vehicle integration, and the electrification of home heating. 

Leadership Circle

We are delighted to announce the Cleaning Up Leadership Circle, and our founding members: Actis, EcoPragma Capital, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle and how to become a member, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live

Links & More

• Episode 32: Building the Billion-Customer Energy Company — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9kHNMyH7bw
• Episode 154: Green Heat (and Cooling) Under our Feet — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TpHa-uU6lc
• Michael at the Imperial College Energy Futures Lab, and the subsequent panel discussion with Greg Jackson — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0Q9cuF8zKg
• Octopus Energy customers provide 108MW of grid flexibility in first ‘Saving Session’ — https://octopus.energy/press/believe-it-or-watt-octopus-energy-customers-provide-108mw-of-grid-flexibility-in-first-saving-session-equivalent-of-a-gas-power-station/

• China's leadership in green finance and the role of air quality issues in driving climate action
• The rapid growth of the solar industry and its potential to meet global electricity demand
• The progress and challenges around electric vehicles, battery recycling, and the need for a holistic approach to energy storage
• The potential of thermal batteries for storing excess renewable energy
• The debates around engineering solutions like direct air capture and synthetic proteins
• The politics of climate change, the UK election results, the EU's hydrogen plans, and what might happen in the US
• The intersection of fashion, sustainability, and climate change 

We'll be back for Season 13 of Cleaning Up at the beginning of September. Thanks so much for listening, and see you then! In the meantime, please share this podcast with a friend, colleague, family, or whoever you think might enjoy it. 

Links and more: 

• Listen to and watch every episode of season 12: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe8ZTD7dMaaAHKRt7GpWNkrhhrXv2-KoR 
• Jim Mellon of Agronomics: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqFPic5iqds 
• Jonathan Maxwell of Sustainable Development Capital: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OTbyOxYUpg
• Lauri Myllyvirta, co-founder and lead analyst at CREA: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqjvCeR9VLg

Michael Liebreich is joined by BloombergNEF lead solar analyst Jenny Chase to chart the course of the solar industry, do a little mythbusting, and ask what next for this multibillion dollar industry. Is China’s dominance of solar a problem? Is solar still too expensive for developing countries? And when will we get free electricity?

Links: 

• Jenny’s Book - Solar Power Finance Without the Jargon
• The Usain Bolt of Solar Power - Ep130: Paddy Padmanathan
• 650 Leagues of HVDC Under the Sea - Ep92: Simon Morrish
• Auke Hoekstra’s IEA underestimates chart

This week on Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington is joined by John Marshall, the founder of the Potential Energy Coalition, a marketing firm that uses data-driven marketing techniques to accelerate the energy transition and climate action. They discuss:

• How John transitioned from a career in Madison Avenue marketing to founding a non-profit focused on climate change, inspired by his son.
• Potential Energy Coalition's use of data-driven marketing strategies to identify the most effective messaging and framing to motivate climate action, including leveraging loss aversion and emphasising what people love and fear losing.
• The importance of using marketing to shape the climate narrative, counter disinformation, and create political space for climate policies.
• How marketing can be used to promote clean energy solutions like electric vehicles and heat pumps, and the role of the nonprofit sector in supporting pro-climate policies and infrastructure.
• Insights on global marketing strategies for climate action, highlighting the need to tailor messages to local markets while maintaining a unifying narrative.

Links & More:

• Potential Energy Coalition website
• John's TED talk
• The Schoolbus Ad
• Cleaning Up Episode 141 with Naomi Oreskes

Read/watch more: 

• Rosie's YouTube Channel  
• Michael on Engineering with Rosie
• Are Vertical Axis Wind Turbines Better?
• How Big Things (Should) Get Done - Ep128: Prof. Bent Flyvbjerg
•  GenCost by CSIRO
• Australia's Nuclear Future - Centre for Independent Studies

• How data and evidence can shape policy debates around EVs and other clean technologies
• The latest trends in EV costs, range, and charging infrastructure
• The politics of EVs in the UK and Europe, including differences between political parties
• The impact of EVs on government revenues and potential reforms to vehicle taxation
• The role of EVs in integrating renewable energy onto the grid

Read more/links:

• New AutoMotive
• EV Cost Saving Calculator
• Global EV Tracker

Dr Simon Evans is the deputy editor and senior policy editor at Carbon Brief, a UK-based website covering the latest developments in climate science, climate policy and energy policy. 

Read more: 

• Carbon Brief
• Cleaning Up Episode 131 with Tzeporah Berman
• Cleaning Up Episode 25 with Bryony Worthington
• Cleaning Up Episode 30 with Claire Perry O'Neill
• The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Initiative
• The Beyond Oil & Gas Alliance

Anand Gopal, Executive Director of Policy Research at Californian think tank Energy Innovation, joins Baroness Bryony Worthington to discuss his team's research on using thermal batteries to provide heat for manufacturing. Or as he calls them, hot rocks in a box. By storing intermittent solar or wind energy as the heat of molten salts or crushed rocks, thermal batteries can deliver reliable heat on-demand. 

While the tech is almost at commercial availability, there's still one big obstacle: cost. In many countries it is still much cheaper to use gas over electricity, and that makes powering up thermal batteries uneconomical. So what needs to be done to employ them at scale? And will they take the wind out of hydrogen's sails? Find out on this week's episode of Cleaning Up. 

Read more: 

• Energy Innovation
• Industrial Thermal Batteries: Decarbonizing U.S. Industry While Supporting a High-Renewables Grid
• Energy Innovation's report on electric vehicle leasing
• Energy Innovation's report on electric vs gas cars
• Energy Innovation's report on industrial heat in China
• Energy Innovation's report on electrification of industrial heat

Episode Update (Dec 2024)

• The 3.2% figure refers to the relative warming impact of coal-fired power generation versus national gas with a given level of leakage on day one - when all of the methane is still in the atmosphere. As methane decays in the atmosphere faster than CO2 is absorbed, the “breakeven” level of fugitive emissions increases as you look at longer periods. If you take the standard 100-year warming period, fugitive emissions from natural gas would need to be around 8% - well above those measured in the US – for gas power to be as bad as coal power. At 20 years the figure is around 4%. (source: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1202407109) 
• The 4.8% figure has been modified by Professor Howarth subsequent to the release of the episode, based on critiques received when it was in pre-print. Criticism continues, however, and one proposed corrected analysis shows that 100-year GHG intensity of LNG that are at most 15% below the lowest general estimates for coal-fired power. (source: https://thebreakthrough.org/issues/energy/a-major-paper-on-liquified-natural-gas-emissions-is-riddled-with-errors) 
   

More links/resources: 

• OTA Environmental Solutions - https://otaenvironmentalsolutions.com
• ESG Dynamics - https://esg-dynamics.com
• Robert Howarth study into US methane leakage rates - https://www.research.howarthlab.org/documents/Howarth2022_EM_Magazine_methane.pdf
• International Energy Agency methane tracker 2024 - https://www.iea.org/reports/global-methane-tracker-2024
• Cleaning Up Episode 157 - Leaking Methane Needs an Urgent Fix - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIK8Z7oZMps
• Cleaning Up Episode 146 - Jason Anderson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWUzOZmJSlI

Links and more: 

• The Good Food Institute (https://gfi.org) 
• TEA of cultivated meat. Future projections for different scenarios (https://cedelft.eu/publications/tea-of-cultivated-meat/) 
• A new land dividend: the opportunity of alternative proteins in Europe (https://green-alliance.org.uk/publication/a-new-land-dividend-the-opportunity-of-alternative-proteins-in-europe/) 
• Recipe for a Livable Planet: Achieving Net Zero Emissions in the Agrifood System: (https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/406c71a3-c13f-49cd-8f3f-a071715858fb) 
• UNEP Report on alternative proteins (https://www.unep.org/resources/whats-cooking-assessment-potential-impacts-selected-novel-alternatives-conventional) 
• Episode 136 with Jim Mellon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqFPic5iqds)

Circular Energy Storage is a London-based data collection and analytics consultancy focused on the lithium-ion battery end-of-life market. They help companies and organisations in the entire battery value chain to take better decisions in everything that relates to reuse and recycling of lithium-ion batteries. They do this by continuously collecting, analysing and publishing data from all parts of the value chain worldwide and by working actively with customers in their strategy and business development. 

Please like, subscribe and leave a review. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram, and sign up for the Cleaning Up newsletter at https://cleaninguppod.substack.com. 

Links and more: 

Circular Energy Storage: https://circularenergystorage.com/about 

Hans' LinkedIn post on the false narratives around lithium-ion battery recycling rates: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-rate-other-untruths-battery-recycling-hans-eric-melin-m5lde 

Hans' more extensive research report explaining the real rates: https://www.energimyndigheten.se/globalassets/forskning--innovation/overgripande/state-of-the-art-in-reuse-and-recycling-of-lithium-ion-batteries-2019.pdf 

The 2023 Battery Materials Review Yearbook, featuring a chapter authored by Hans: https://www.batterymaterialsreview.com/products/ 

The 2016 paper Hans mentioned, featuring the 95% landfill rate: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11837-016-1994-y

Leonhard began his professional career at McKinsey in Düsseldorf. After holding various positions, he was Senior Partner for the energy and industrial sector. In 2008, he joined RWE AG and was appointed to the Board of Management the same year. He served as Chief Strategy Officer and as RWE Group’s Chief Commercial Officer until 2013, when he was appointed as member of the Board of Management of E.ON SE and took on a variety of responsibilities within the Board. From 2018 until 2021 he was responsible for the innogy integration project, and from 2019 to 2020, he was also Chairman of the Board of Management of innogy SE. In 2021, he was appointed to his current role as CEO of E.ON SE, in which he is responsible for Communications & Political Affairs, Corporate Audit, Strategy, Group and Executive HR, HSE & Sustainability, Legal & Compliance and Nuclear Coordination. He is also Vice-President of the Executive Committee of BDEW, the German Association of Energy and Water Industries, a member of the Executive Committee of the Federation of German Industries (BDI) and President of Eurelectric, the European Electricity Association, and Vice Chair of the World Energy Council.

Please like, subscribe and leave a review. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram, and sign up for the Cleaning Up newsletter at https://cleaninguppod.substack.com. 

Links and more:

Eurelectric: https://www.eurelectric.org/

E.ON: https://www.eon.com/en.html

Eurelectric Power Summit 2024 - LightsOn: https://powersummit2024.eurelectric.org/

Eurelectric's new report - Grids for Speed: https://powersummit2024.eurelectric.org/grids-for-speed/

Eurelectric's new report - Wired for Tomorrow: https://powersummit2024.eurelectric.org/wired-for-tomorrow/El

Electrify Almost Everything for Net-Zero - Ep34: Kristian Ruby: https://www.cleaningup.live/episode-34-kristian-ruby/

Bryony's first guest, Staffan Qvist is a published academic, co-author of the book A Bright Future, and founder of a number of companies dedicated to the clean energy transition. He's been studying this concept of coal repowering since he first co-authored papers on the subject with Polish colleagues in 2019. Bryony's second guest is Assistant Professor Yaoli Zhang of Xiamen University, a thermal generation engineer by training who later "repowered" himself and switched to nuclear engineering. He currently oversees a team researching the repairing of coal in China from both a practical and economic perspective. 

Please like, subscribe and leave a review. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram, and sign up for the Cleaning Up newsletter at https://cleaninguppod.substack.com. 

Links and more: 

How China Became a Green Finance Superpower - Ep160: Dr. Ma Jun: https://www.cleaningup.live/how-china-became-a-green-finance-superpower-ep160-dr-ma-jun/ 

The 2019 book Staffan co-authored - A Bright Future: https://brightfuturebook.com 

The March 2024 US Department of Energy guide on converting coal-fired power plants to nuclear power: https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/8-things-know-about-converting-coal-plants-nuclear-power 

...and the associated press release: https://www.energy.gov/ne/articles/doe-study-finds-replacing-coal-plants-nuclear-plants-could-bring-hundreds-more-local 

The 2022 Paper Dr Zhang and Staffan co-authored on the potential of repowering China's CFPPs with nuclear: https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v15y2022i3p1072-d739738.html 

A recent IAEA article on repurposing CFPPs to nuclear: https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/news/repurposing-coal-power-plant-sites-with-low-carbon-nuclear

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.

Please like, subscribe and leave a review. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram, and sign up for the Cleaning Up newsletter at https://cleaninguppod.substack.com. Find our archive of over 160 hours of conversations with extraordinary climate leaders at https://cleaningup.live.

Links

Michael's December 2023 BloombergNEF piece - "Clean Hydrogen's Missing Trillions", on which this audio blog is based: https://about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich-clean-hydrogens-missing-trillions/

Michael's September 2023 BloombergNEF Piece - "The Five Horsemen of the Transition": https://about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich-net-zero-will-be-harder-than-you-think-and-easier-part-i-harder/

Michael's December 2022 BloombergNEF piece - "The Unbearable Lightness of Hydrogen": https://about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich-the-unbearable-lightness-of-hydrogen/

The Chair's Summary of the 6th Hydrogen Energy Ministerial: https://hem-2023.nedo.go.jp/wp-content/themes/suiso2023--THEME/files/charis-summary-en.pdf

The US National Petroleum Council Report - "Harnessing Hydrogen": https://harnessinghydrogen.npc.org

The PwC Report - "Navigating the Global Hydrogen Ecosystem": https://www.strategyand.pwc.com/de/en/industries/energy-utilities/navigating-the-hydrogen-ecosystem.html

The IEA's 2023 Net Zero Roadmap: https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/13dab083-08c3-4dfd-a887-42a3ebe533bc/NetZeroRoadmap_AGlobalPathwaytoKeepthe1.5CGoalinReach-2023Update.pdf

The IEA's Global Hydrogen Review: https://iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/8d434960-a85c-4c02-ad96-77794aaa175d/GlobalHydrogenReview2023.pdf

Related Episodes

Audioblog 11 - The Five Horsemen of the Transition: https://www.cleaningup.live/audioblog-11-net-zero-will-be-harder-than-you-think-and-easier-part-i-harder-1/

Audioblog 8- The Unbearable Lightness of Hydrogen: https://www.cleaningup.live/cleaning-up-audioblog-episode-8-the-unbearable-lightness-of-hydrogen/

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. 

Simon is an energy analyst, clean-tech investor, climate philanthropist, and director of the Smart Energy Council and the Australian Environmental Grantmakers Network. He was co-founder of the Australian Wind Alliance and inaugural chair of the Melbourne Energy Institute’s Advisory Board. He is a respected commentator on the economic, political and engineering aspects of Australia’s energy transition. 

Links: Simon's 2022 book The Big Teal: https://publishing.monash.edu/product/the-big-teal/ 

Simon's ABC interview on the success of Climate 200 in the wake of the 2022 elections: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t3Mhz6b7cg4 

Simon's 2021 talk - Independents and Climate - The Hope to End the Lost Decade: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RN_-1eLbLL8 

Simon's 2018 op-ed which triggered his expulsion from Kooyong 200: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/apr/09/why-liddell-is-likely-to-close-in-2022-and-why-you-shouldnt-care

The Superpower Institute, working for Australian leadership in the transition: https://www.superpowerinstitute.com.au/

Bryony puts these questions to model, actor, director, ambassador and businesswoman, Lily Cole. Lily's career began at age 14 when she was recruited as a model, pitching her into the high-octane world of fashion. She remains a self-confessed geek, however, and completed her studies including a degree from Cambridge University. In 2016, she started researching a book ‘Who Cares Wins,’ which was published in 2020. 

In both the book and the podcast that followed, she gives a platform to a wide range of people, always seeking to see both sides of the many debates, and also to inspire optimism thanks to the wide range of solutions that are out there, be they technologically driven, or founded on ancient traditions and wisdoms.

Please like, subscribe and leave a review. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram, and sign up for the Cleaning Up newsletter at cleaninguppod.substack.com.  

Links and more:

• Lily’s website and company
• Who Cares Wins: Lily’s book and podcast
• The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt
• The Dawn of Everything by David Graeber and David Wengrow
• Sky Diamond — Carbon capture diamonds
• Bryony’s recommended documentary on diamonds

Between 2014 and 2020, Dr Ma served as Chief Economist and then Member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the People’s Bank of China. Over the subsequent years, Dr Ma played a key role in the development of sustainable finance in China and around the world. He led the drafting of China’s green finance and green bond guidelines; he led work on green finance at the G20; he pushed for the greening of China’s Belt and Road initiative; he set up initiatives with the global accounting and standards bodies; and he helped enlist the world’s major financial centres in the drive to green the capital markets. 

Dr Ma is a towering figure in the area of green finance in China and in the world, and provides an invaluable perspective on one of the most significant players in the clean energy transition.

Please like, subscribe and leave a review. Follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram, and sign up for the Cleaning Up newsletter at https://cleaninguppod.substack.com.  

Links and related episodes:

• Dr Ma’s 2017 book, “The Economics of Air Pollution in China: Achieving Better and Cleaner Growth” https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/ma--17494
• Dr Ma and Simon Zadek: Decarbonizing the Belt and Road https://www.climateworks.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/BRI_Exec_Summary_v10-screen_pages_lo-1.pdf
• Episodes 14 with Jonathan Maxwell – Cheaper, Cleaner, More Reliable  https://www.cleaningup.live/episode-14-jonathan-maxwell/
• Episodes 113 with Jonathan Maxwell — Checkpoint 2023: Energy Efficiency Investment https://www.cleaningup.live/ep113-jonathan-maxwell-checkpoint-2023-energy-efficiency-investment/
• Episode 153 with Lauri Myllivyrta – Shedding Light on Energy's Dirty Secrets https://www.cleaningup.live/shedding-light-on-energys-dirty-secrets-ep153-lauri-myllyvirta/
• Episode 84 with Mark Carney - The 130 Trillion-Dollar Man https://www.cleaningup.live/ep84-mark-carney-matching-net-zero-supply-and-demand/
• Episode 145 with Professor Avinash Persaud – The Bridgetown Initiator  https://www.cleaningup.live/the-bridgetown-initiator-ep145-prof-avinash-persaud/

Links: 

Ep149: Material World - Ed Conway: https://www.cleaningup.live/material-world-ep149-ed-conway/ 

Ep150: Selling Sustainability - Solitaire Townsend: https://www.cleaningup.live/selling-sustainability-ep150-solitaire-townsend/

Ep151: Redesigning Mining - Mark Cutifani: https://www.cleaningup.live/redesigning-mining-ep151-mark-cutifani/ 

Ep152: Can We Have a Habitable Planet? - David Wallace-Wells: https://www.cleaningup.live/can-we-have-an-habitable-planet-ep152-david-wallace-wells/ 

Ep153: Shedding Light on Energy's Dirty Secrets - Lauri Myllyvirta: https://www.cleaningup.live/shedding-light-on-energys-dirty-secrets-ep153-lauri-myllyvirta/ 

Ep154: Green Heat (And Cooling) Under Our Feet - Tamsin Lishman: https://www.cleaningup.live/green-heat-and-cooling-under-our-feet-ep154-tamsin-lishman/ 

Ep155: Extreme Electrochemistry - Prof. Donald Sadoway: https://www.cleaningup.live/extreme-electrochemistry-for-a-sustainable-future-ep155-prof-donald-sadoway/ 

Ep156: A Magnificent Woman And Her Flying Machines - Bonny Simi: https://www.cleaningup.live/a-magnificent-woman-and-her-flying-machines-ep156-bonny-simi/ 

A11: The Five Horsemen of the Transition: https://www.cleaningup.live/audioblog-11-net-zero-will-be-harder-than-you-think-and-easier-part-i-harder-1/ 

A12: The Five Superheroes of the Transition: https://www.cleaningup.live/audioblog-12-net-zero-will-be-harder-than-you-think-and-easier-part-ii-easier/

Ep157: The Methane Hunters - Sebastien Biraud & Sharon Wilson: https://www.cleaningup.live/the-methane-hunters-ep157-dr-sebastien-biraud-sharon-wilson/

Ep 158: Absolutely Electrifying - Saul Griffith: https://www.cleaningup.live/absolutely-electrifying-ep158-saul-griffith/

Saul received his Ph.D. at MIT in the junction between materials science and information theory. Prior to MIT, he studied in Sydney, Australia and at UC Berkeley in metallurgical engineering. 

Links  

Buy Saul's 2022 book Electrify: An Optimist's Playbook for Our Clean Energy Future: https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262545044/electrify/ 

Buy Saul's The Big Switch: Australia’s Electric Future: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Big-Switch-Australias-Electric-Future-ebook/dp/B09QFQHF8W 

Buy Saul's 2023 extended essay: https://www.quarterlyessay.com.au/essay/2023/03/the-wires-that-bind 

Related Episodes 

The Bridgetown Initiator - Ep145: Prof Avinash Persaud: https://www.cleaningup.live/the-bridgetown-initiator-ep145-prof-avinash-persaud/ 

Audioblog 12: The 5 Superheroes of the Transition: https://www.cleaningup.live/audioblog-12-net-zero-will-be-harder-than-you-think-and-easier-part-ii-easier/

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 to figure out how to produce oil and gas from shale. She had a ringside seat at the sneak preview called Fracking Impacts. This experience prompted her to join Earthworks’, working on their Oil & Gas Accountability Project in 2010. In 2014, she became a certified optical gas imaging thermographer and now travels across the U.S. making visible the invisible methane pollution from oil and gas facilities through her non-profit, Oilfield Witness, and giving tours to media, Members of Congress, state lawmakers, regulators, and investment bankers. 

Links 

Explore Sharon's work at Oilfield Witness here: https://oilfieldwitness.org

View Oilfield Witness' award-winning documentary here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMT2ESXlZ14 

Read Sebastien's interview about his work for the Berkeley Lab News Centre here: https://newscenter.lbl.gov/2021/11/10/methanes-short-lifespan-presents-golden-opportunity-to-quickly-address-climate-change/ 

Read about EDF's MethaneSAT, a recently-launched satellite to track global methane emissions: https://www.ft.com/content/d3d8e7fe-4f0f-4eaf-9bc3-ae99b3fa322a 

Learn more about MethaneSAT here: https://www.methanesat.org 

Related Episodes 

Tackling Super Pollutants - Ep146: Jason Anderson: https://www.cleaningup.live/tackling-super-pollutants-ep146-jason-anderson/

This audioblog is based on Michael's Bloomberg New Energy Finance opinion piece of the same title. 

Links

Read the original BNEF piece on which this audio blog was based: https://about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich-net-zero-will-be-harder-than-you-think-and-easier-part-ii-easier/

Read the latest IEA Renewables Report 2023: https://www.iea.org/news/massive-expansion-of-renewable-power-opens-door-to-achieving-global-tripling-goal-set-at-cop28

Read the 2017 research paper - Limits to Growth in the Renewable Energy Sector: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032119305143

Read Michael's 2018 piece for BNEF - Beyond Three Thirds, The Road to Deep Decarbonisation: https://about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich-beyond-three-thirds-road-deep-decarbonization/

Read the research review by Hans Eric Melin on the reuse and recycling rates of lithium-ion batteries: https://www.energimyndigheten.se/globalassets/forskning--innovation/overgripande/state-of-the-art-in-reuse-and-recycling-of-lithium-ion-batteries-2019.pdf

Read Michael Barnard's analysis of the proportion of global shipping linked to the fossil fuel industry: https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelbarnard/2023/12/05/how-will-climate-action-change-the-face-of-global-shipping/?sh=73844bc869d0

View the Lawrence Livermore Sankey Diagram showing estimated US energy flows in 2022: https://flowcharts.llnl.gov

Read the first part of this BNEF piece on the "5 horsemen" of the transition: https://about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich-net-zero-will-be-harder-than-you-think-and-easier-part-i-harder/

Related Episodes

Audioblog 11: Net Zero Will Be Harder Than You Think - And Easier. Part 1: Harder:  https://www.cleaningup.live/audioblog-11-net-zero-will-be-harder-than-you-think-and-easier-part-i-harder-1/

Audioblog  10: The Next Half-Trillion-Dollar Market – Electrification of Heat: https://www.cleaningup.live/cleaning-up-audioblog-episode-10-the-next-half-trillion-dollar-market-electrification-of-heat/

Links

Read the original essay here: https://about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich-net-zero-will-be-harder-than-you-think-and-easier-part-i-harder/

Read Michael's 2022 essay, 'The Quest for Resilience – What Could Possibly Go Wrong?' here: https://about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich-the-quest-for-resilience-what-could-possibly-go-wrong/

Read Michael's 2023 essay, 'The Next Half-Trillion-Dollar Market – Electrification of Heat': https://about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich-the-next-half-trillion-dollar-market-electrification-of-heat/

Read Bloomberg NEF's 2022 New Energy Outlook: https://about.bnef.com/new-energy-outlook/

Read the IEA's report on the role of critical minerals in the transition: https://www.iea.org/reports/the-role-of-critical-minerals-in-clean-energy-transitions

Read the IPSOS report study - 'What Worries the World'?: https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2022-06/Global-Summary_What-Worries-the-World.pdf

Read Simon Michaux's report on the required quantity of critical minerals for net zero: https://www.gtk.fi/en/current/gtk-research-the-currently-known-global-mineral-reserves-will-not-be-sufficient-to-supply-enough-metals-to-manufacture-the-planned-non-fossil-fuel-industrial-systems/

Read Part 2 of this two-parter, on the "5 superheroes" of the transition: https://about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich-net-zero-will-be-harder-than-you-think-and-easier-part-ii-easier/

Related Episodes

Review Ep141 with Naomi Oreskes - Lifting the Curtain on Climate Change Denial: https://www.cleaningup.live/lifting-the-curtain-on-climate-change-denial-ep-141-prof-naomi-oreskes/

She holds a BA in Communications, a MS in Management and a MS in Engineering, all from Stanford University, as well as a MS in Human Resources from Regis University. 

Links 

Explore Joby's website here: https://www.jobyaviation.com 

You can watch more footage of Joby's eVTOL aircraft here: https://www.youtube.com/@JobyAviation/featured 

Read about Joby's partnership with the US DoD here: https://www.jobyaviation.com/news/joby-delivers-first-evtol-edwards/ 

Hear Bonny talk more about her lessons from competing in luge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bj9Ey6fdnT0 

Listen to the theme song from Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines (the title inspiration for this episode!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPgS26ZhqZs

Links

Review Donald's 2012 TED talk, "The Missing Link to Renewable Energy" here: https://www.ted.com/talks/donald_sadoway_the_missing_link_to_renewable_energy?language=en

Explore Avanti Battery Company's tech here: https://avanti.energy

Explore Ambri's tech here: https://ambri.com

Explore Pure Lithium's tech here: https://www.purelithium.io

Explore Boston Metal's tech here: https://www.bostonmetal.com

Explore Sadoway Labs' research here: https://sadowaylabs.org

Take Prof Sadoway's course, 3.091 - Introduction to Solid State Chemistry - here: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/3-091sc-introduction-to-solid-state-chemistry-fall-2010/

Related Episodes

Metals Refining - From Mining to Brining - Ep142: Alex Grant: https://www.cleaningup.live/metals-refining-from-mining-to-brining-ep-142-alex-grant/

Iron-Air Man - Ep144: Mateo Jaramillo: https://www.cleaningup.live/iron-air-man-ep144-mateo-jaramillo/

Tamsin was appointed CEO of Kensa Group in July 2023. Previously, she had stints at EnergyNest and Centrica. She holds a Master of Engineering from Oxford University. 

Links 

See Kensa's website here: https://www.thekensagroup.com 

Read the IEA's report on the future of heat pumps: https://www.iea.org/reports/the-future-of-heat-pumps (For UK viewers) 

Check out the UK government's tool to see if a heat pump could be suitable for your home: https://www.gov.uk/check-heat-pump 

Read this Guardian piece on heat pump installations in the UK: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/jan/08/greener-cheaper-much-warmer-heat-pump-owners-laud-their-new-system 

Read about Kensa's recent fundraise of £70m from Octopus and Legal&General, with the help of EcoPragma Capital, here: https://www.kensaheatpumps.com/news-blog/pump-it-up-octopus-energy-and-legal-general-make-britains-biggest-investment-in-ground-source-heat-pumps/

Lauri has degrees in economics from Helsinki University and in environmental science from University of Jyvaskyla. 

Links 

Read the BBC's recent articles highlighting CREA's research on the UK's Russian oil sanctions: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68018660 

And read the original CREA report here: https://energyandcleanair.org/publication/evading-the-sanctions-uk-imports-oil-products-made-from-russian-crude/ 

Read CREA's report on the surge in coal power in China in 2023: https://energyandcleanair.org/publication/chinas-new-coal-power-spree-continues-as-more-provinces-jump-on-the-bandwagon/ 

Read CREA's report on the health impacts of delaying coal decommissioning in South Africa: https://energyandcleanair.org/publication/health-impacts-of-delaying-coal-power-plant-decommissioning-in-south-africa/ 

Read CREA's report on the recent spree of coal plant permitting in India: https://energyandcleanair.org/publication/india-enters-an-unnecessary-coal-plant-permitting-spree-in-2023/ 

Read CREA's report on the state of Indonesia's transition: https://energyandcleanair.org/publication/emerging-captive-coal-power-in-indonesia/ 

Explore all of CREA's reports here: https://energyandcleanair.org/publications/

He has a BA in History from Brown University.

 Links 

Read David's original 2017 article here: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2017/07/climate-change-earth-too-hot-for-humans.html 

Read the 2020 Nature Article on RCP 8.5 here: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-00177-3 

Read Jim Hansen's recent paper on climate sensitivity: https://academic.oup.com/oocc/article/3/1/kgad008/7335889 

View Bryony's favourite Sankey diagram showing US energy inputs and outputs: https://flowcharts.llnl.gov/

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 caused by sub-standard operations or actions. Cutifani aimed to reduce the number of fatalities by changing the company's culture and improving communication, citing legacy issues from the past as a main cause for the fatalities. During his tenure, the fatality rate was reduced by 50%. He was one of the critics of the new Australian Mining Super Tax, which was announced in 2010, stating that it could delay or endanger the company's Tropicana Gold Mine project. 

Links 

Find out more about the Development Partner Institute here: https://www.dpimining.org 

Find out more about the ICMM here: https://www.icmm.com 

Read more about the Anglo American - Thungela de-merger here: https://www.worldcoal.com/coal/07062021/anglo-american-completes-demerger-of-thungela-thermal-coal-business/ 

Watch Anglo American's review of Mark's time with the company here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXaYCJOWg-4

Related Episodes

Material World - Ep149: Ed Conway: https://www.cleaningup.live/material-world-ep149-ed-conway/ 

650 Leagues of HVDC Under the Sea - Ep92: Simon Morrish: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep92-simon-morrish-650-leagues-of-hvdc-under-the-sea/

She holds master’s degrees in both Sustainable Development and Shakespeare. 

Links 

Solitaire's recent book, The Solutionists: How Businesses Can Fix the Future: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Solutionists-How-Businesses-Can-Future/dp/139860934X 

Watch Solitaire's 2021 Ted talk - Are Ad Agencies, PR Firms and Lobbyists Destroying the Climate?: https://www.ted.com/talks/solitaire_townsend_are_ad_agencies_pr_firms_and_lobbyists_destroying_the_climate?language=en

The Game Changers Movie on Meat and Nutrition: https://gamechangersmovie.com 

Buy Lovebug cat food here: https://www.lovebugpetfood.com 

Related Episodes 

Lifting the Curtain on Climate Change Denial - Ep 141: Prof Naomi Oreskes: https://www.cleaningup.live/lifting-the-curtain-on-climate-change-denial-ep-141-prof-naomi-oreskes/ 

 

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. 

Links

Check out Material World here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Material-World-Substantial-Story-Future/dp/0753559153

Check out Oliver Rackham's The History of the Countryside here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/History-Countryside-Dr-Oliver-Rackham/dp/1842124404

Read Hans Eric Meilin's research on the real rates of lithium recycling: https://www.energimyndigheten.se/globalassets/forskning--innovation/overgripande/state-of-the-art-in-reuse-and-recycling-of-lithium-ion-batteries-2019.pdf

Related Episodes

Episode 16 - Dr Kandeh K. Yumkella: "Sustainable Energy for All": https://www.cleaningup.live/episode-16-kandeh-yumkella/

Episode 92 - Simon Morrish: "650 Leagues of HVDC Under the Sea": https://www.cleaningup.live/ep92-simon-morrish-650-leagues-of-hvdc-under-the-sea/

Episode 142 - Alex Grant: "Metals Refining - From Mining to Brining": https://www.cleaningup.live/metals-refining-from-mining-to-brining-ep-142-alex-grant/

He became a cross bench member of the House of Lords in 2006.

Amongst his business roles, Lord Turner was at McKinsey&Co (1982-1995); was Vice-Chairman of Merrill Lynch Europe (2000-2006) and a Non-Executive Director of a number of companies, including Standard Chartered plc (2006-2008). He is Senior Fellow at the Centre for Financial Studies (Frankfurt) and a Visiting Fellow at the People’s Bank of China School of Finance, Tsinghua University (Beijing). He writes regularly for Project Syndicate, and has published “Between Debt and the Devil” (Princeton 2015), and Economics after the Crisis (MIT 2012).

He is a Trustee Emeritus of the British Museum, honorary fellow of The Royal Society, and received an Honorary Degree from Cambridge University in 2017.

Links

Michael’s BNEF piece - Clean Hydrogen’s Missing Trillions: https://about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich-clean-hydrogens-missing-trillions/#:~:text=My%20estimate%20for%20the%20total,a%20shortfall%20of%20over%2090%25

Michael’s X thread on battery recycling: https://twitter.com/MLiebreich/status/1733376573875609629

An overview of the COP28 Global Stocktake: https://unfccc.int/news/cop28-agreement-signals-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-fossil-fuel-era

The Guardian’s piece on Aramco’s Oil Demand Sustainability Program: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/nov/27/revealed-saudi-arabia-plan-poor-countries-oil

Related Episodes

Lord of the Net Zero Transition – Ep 110: Lord Adair Turner: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep110-adair-turner-lord-of-the-net-zero-transition/

Investing in Climate Leadership – Ep 2: Rachel Kyte: https://www.cleaningup.live/episode-2-rachel-kyte/

Lifting the Curtain on Climate Change Denial – Ep 141: Prof Naomi Oreske: https://www.cleaningup.live/lifting-the-curtain-on-climate-change-denial-ep-141-prof-naomi-oreskes/

Is Shipping the Easiest "Hard-to-Abate" Sector? - Ep143: Johannah Christensen: https://www.cleaningup.live/is-shipping-the-easiest-hard-to-abate-sector-ep143-johannah-christensen/

The Bridgetown Initiator – Ep 145: Prof Avinash Persaud: https://www.cleaningup.live/the-bridgetown-initiator-ep145-prof-avinash-persaud/

Her new book, Not the End of the World, is out in January 2024. 

Links 

Hannah’s TED talk – “Are We the Last Generation — or the First Sustainable One?”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kl3VVrggKz4 

Hannah’s WIRED piece – “Stop Telling Kids They’ll Die From Climate Change”: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/climate-crisis-doom 

Rupert Read - How I talk with children about climate breakdown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Lt0jCDtYSY 

Roger Hallam - Advice to Young People as they face Annihilation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=au33QX9I-Mg 

Roger Hallam at the Oxford Union: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQgBMSefgkM 

Hannah’s new book – Not the End of the World: https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/453652/not-the-end-of-the-world-by-ritchie-hannah/9781784745004 

Related Episodes 

"The Inconvenient Truth about Climate Science" - Ep93 with Roger Pielke : https://www.cleaningup.live/ep93-prof-roger-pielke-jr-the-inconvenient-truth-about-climate-science/

 “Pushing Planetary Boundaries” – Ep49 with Johan Rockström: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep49-johan-rockstrom-pushing-planetary-boundaries/ 

“Poet of the Low-Carbon Transition” – Ep13 with Morgan Bazilian: https://www.cleaningup.live/episode-13-morgan-bazilian/

"Lord of the Net Zero Transition" – Ep110 with Adair Turner: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep110-adair-turner-lord-of-the-net-zero-transition/ 

“From Moore's Law to Moo's Law” – Ep136 Jim Mellon: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep136-jim-mellon-from-moores-law-to-moos-law/ 

 

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. 

Jason holds a Masters in Public Policy degree and a Masters in Science in energy and resources from the University of California Berkeley, and a degree in biological anthropology from Harvard University. 

Links 

Climateworks Governance & Diplomacy Program which Jason oversees: https://www.climateworks.org/programs/governance-diplomacy/ 

COP 28 Website: https://www.cop28.com/en/ 

Read a summary of the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer: https://www.unep.org/ozonaction/who-we-are/about-montreal-protocol 

Read the US EPA’s summary of 2016 Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol: https://www.epa.gov/ozone-layer-protection/recent-international-developments-under-montreal-protocol 

Explore the Climate and Clean Air Coalition’s work on short-lived climate pollutants: https://www.ccacoalition.org/content/short-lived-climate-pollutants 

Read about the Environmental Defense Fund’s new MethaneSAT: https://business.edf.org/insights/methane-satellites-usher-in-new-era-of-emissions-visibility-and-transparency/ 

Explore the Global Methane Pledge: https://www.globalmethanepledge.org/

Related Episodes 

Episode 143: Johannah Christensen – Is Shipping the Easiest “Hard-to-Abate” Sector? - https://www.cleaningup.live/is-shipping-the-easiest-hard-to-abate-sector-ep143-johannah-christensen/ 

 

His career spreads across finance, academia and public policy, including positions as a former senior executive of J.P. Morgan, UBS, State Street, chairman of the CARICOM Commission on the Economy, chairman of the regulatory sub-committee of the UN Commission on Financial Reform and chairman of the Warwick Commission on International Financial Reform, Visiting Scholar at the IMF and a former Governor of the London School of Economics. 

Related Episodes

Episode 2 with Rachel Kyte: https://www.cleaningup.live/episode-2-rachel-kyte/

Links

Read an initial press release of the Bridgetown Initiative: https://pmo.gov.bb/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/The-2022-Bridgetown-Initiative.pdf

Read a summary of the Bridgetown Initiative’s key demands: https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/what-is-bridgetown-initiative-asking-paris-financial-summit-2023-06-20/

Review PM Mottley’s speech to COP27, outlining the need for the Bridgetown Initiatve: https://latinarepublic.com/2022/11/08/mia-mottley-prime-minister-of-barbados-speaks-at-the-opening-of-cop27/

Explore the COP28 website: https://www.cop28.com

Read this report on the difficult path ahead to a new loss-and-damage fund agreement at COP28: https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/sustainable-finance-reporting/impasse-broken-climate-fund-before-cop28-tough-road-ahead-2023-11-06

He earned his AB in economics from Harvard and a Masters in Theology from Yale Divinity School.

Links 

Forbes write-up of Form: https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2023/08/09/iron-and-rust-could-be-the-secret-to-storing-clean-power-for-days/ 

PBS write-up of Form: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/iron-air-battery-renewable-grid/ 

Balkan Green Energy News’ critical analysis of iron-oxide battery technology: https://balkangreenenergynews.com/iron-air-batteries-are-10-times-as-cheap-as-lithium-and-will-be-produced-from-2024/ 

Assessment of SDES and LDES and current technologies: https://www.globalxetfs.com/short-and-long-duration-energy-storage-essential-to-the-clean-energy-transition/

Related Episodes 

Episode 122 with Sir Chris-Llewellyn-Smith: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep122-sir-chris-llewellyn-smith-solving-for-storage/ 

 

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. 

Links

The Global Maritime Forum’s Website: https://www.globalmaritimeforum.org 

Professor Jim Hansen’s recent paper on aerosol pollution and climate: https://academic.oup.com/oocc/article/3/1/kgad008/7335889?login=false 

An article from Oxford’s Smith School on CFDs for shipping: https://www.smithschool.ox.ac.uk/news/contracts-difference-can-aid-shipping-industry-decarbonisation-research 

Michael’s most recent version of his famous “Hydrogen Ladder”: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/hydrogen-ladder-version-50-michael-liebreich/ 

The IMO’s new strategy on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in shipping: https://wwwcdn.imo.org/localresources/en/OurWork/Environment/Documents/annex/MEPC%2080/Annex%2015.pdf 

The announcement of the next IMO summit in Tokyo: https://www.globalmaritimeforum.org/press/global-maritime-forum-announces-tokyo-as-2024-annual-summit-host 



 

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. 

Links: 

Explore Magrathea’s website: https://magratheametals.com/ 

Read about Magrathea’s $10mil seed round: https://www.lightmetalage.com/news/industry-news/magnesium/magrathea-raises-10m-for-new-generation-electrolytic-technology-to-make-magnesium/ 

Read a deep-dive into Magneisum’s characteristics, production techniques and recent developments: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213956721001316 

Read Alex’s white paper - Magnesium as the Metal of Dematerialization: https://www.lightmetalage.com/news/industry-news/magnesium/magnesium-as-the-metal-of-dematerialization/

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 American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market, published by Bloomsbury Press.

Links: 

Read Naomi and Erik’s 2010 book Merchants of Doubt How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Merchants-Doubt-Handful-Scientists-Obscured/dp/1408824833

Read Naomi’s 2013 book Plate Tectonics: An Insider's History Of The Modern Theory Of The Earth here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Plate-Tectonics-Insiders-History-Frontiers/dp/0813341329

Read Naomi and Erik’s 2014 book The Collapse of Western Civilization: A View From the Future here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Collapse-Western-Civilization-View-Future/dp/023116954X 

Read Naomi’s 2019 book Why Trust Science? here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Trust-Science-University-Center-Values/dp/069117900X 

Read Naomi and Erik’s brand new book The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market here: https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/big-myth-9781635573572/ 

Read Naomi’s 2004 paper The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change here: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1103618 

Read the DeSmog article on heat pump disinformation here: https://www.desmog.com/2023/07/20/revealed-media-blitz-against-heat-pumps-funded-by-gas-lobby-group/ 

Related Episodes:

Check out Bryony’s appearance on Cleaning Up here: https://www.cleaningup.live/episode-25-bryony-worthington/ 

Guest Bio 

Naomi Oreskes is 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. Oreskes is author or co-author of 9 books, and over 150 articles, essays and opinion pieces, including Merchants of Doubt (Bloomsbury, 2010), The Collapse of Western Civilization (Columbia University Press, 2014), Discerning Experts (University Chicago Press, 2019), Why Trust Science? (Princeton University Press, 2019), and Science on a Mission: American Oceanography from the Cold War to Climate Change, (University of Chicago Press, 2021). Merchants of Doubt, co-authored with Erik Conway, was the subject of a documentary film of the same name produced by participant Media and distributed by SONY Pictures Classics, and has been translated into nine languages. A new edition of Merchants of Doubt, with an introduction by Al Gore, was published in 2020. Her new book, with Erik Conway, is The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market, published by Bloomsbury Press

Links: 

You can read the National Grid’s explainer on battery storage here: https://www.nationalgrid.com/stories/energy-explained/what-is-battery-storage 

Watch Michael's appearance on Modo: The Podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGg8VOrr7Oc 

The Modo Website: https://modoenergy.com 

Read a write-up of Modo's recent fundraising round: https://www.current-news.co.uk/modo-energy-secures-3-2m-to-expand-asset-success-platform/ 

Explore Modo's research, including technology explainers: https://modoenergy.com/research

Related Episodes: 

Watch Episode 32 with Greg Jackson here: https://www.cleaningup.live/episode-32-greg-jackson/ 

Watch Episode 104 with Yanis Varoufakis here: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep104-yanis-varoufakis-power-markets-power-markets/ 

Guest Bio 

Quentin Draper-Scrimshire is co-founder and CEO of Modo Energy which enables companies to make better, data-backed decisions hyper-focused on energy storage. Prior to co-founding Modo, he was Head of Energy Storage at KiWi Power and, before that, enjoyed a long stint at Centrica where he worked as engineer across a range of energy systems, including oil and gas, wind, and energy storage. Quentin holds a Master’s degree in Engineering from the University of Manchester.

Links: 

Henrik was profiled in The New York Times in May: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/03/business/energy-environment/denmark-wind-power-stiesdal.html 

Henrik featured in Offshore Engineer in 2022: https://www.oedigital.com/news/497276-cto-in-focus-henrik-stiesdal-wind-power-pioneer 

Discover more about Henrik’s company, Stiesdal: https://www.stiesdal.com/about/ Purchase The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Boy-Who-Harnessed-Wind/dp/0007316194 

Related Episodes: 

Watch Episode 130 with Paddy Padmanathan here: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep130-paddy-padmanathan-the-usain-bolt-of-solar-power/ 

Watch Episode 128 with Prof. Bent Flyvbjerg here: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep128-prof-bent-flyvbjerg-how-big-things-should-get-done/ 

Guest Bio 

Henrik Stiesdal is Founder, Chief Technical Officer and Board Member at Stiesdal, who are committed to developing and commercializing technologies with high impact on climate change mitigation. Henrik is a wind power pioneer: having built his first test turbine in 1976, Henrik sold the license to commercial design to Vestas in 1979, kick-starting today’s wind industry. Henrik was Technical Manager of Bonus Energy from 1988, then CTO of Siemens Wind Power from 2004-2014. Henrik installed the world’s first offshore wind farm in 1991, and holds more than 1000 patents.

Links and Related Episodes

Read Michael's write-up of the episode, arguing NBIM's investment strategy locks the world into its current climate trajectory: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/mliebreich_climate-climatechange-netzero-activity-7111416212349227008-BDrC?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

Read NBIM’s 2025 Climate Action Plan: 2025 Climate action plan | Norges Bank Investment Management (nbim.no)

Explore NBIM's Annual Report 2022: https://www.nbim.no/en/publications/reports/2022/annual-report-2022/

You can read NBIM's investment mandate for the Government Pension Fund Global here: https://www.regjeringen.no/contentassets/9d68c55c272c41e99f0bf45d24397d8c/2023.02.27_gfpg_management_mandate.pdf 

Read the statement made by NBIM's CEO Nicolai Tangen at the hearing of the Standing Committee on Finance and Economic Affairs of the Storting (Norwegian parliament) in April 2023: https://www.norges-bank.no/en/news-events/news-publications/Speeches/2023/2023-04-18-tangen/

The Guardian: World’s biggest investment fund warns directors to tackle climate crisis or face sack: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2023/feb/03/worlds-biggest-investment-fund-warns-directors-to-tackle-climate-crisis-or-face-sack

FT: Norway’s $1.4tn oil fund to step up ESG proposals to US companies: https://www.ft.com/content/62e3c629-44cf-43f7-9682-a056f9b5c634

Watch Former Norwegian PM Jens Stoltenberg on “Avoiding the Oil Curse”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8f6geiVdwpk

Guest Bio

Carine was appointed Chief Governance and Compliance Officer at Norges Bank Investment Management in 2020. She joined the company in August 2017 as Global Head of Ownership Strategies and was promoted to Chief Corporate Governance Officer in January 2018. Carine is responsible for ownership and responsible investment activities, control and operational risk, compliance and legal services.

Prior to joining Norges Bank Investment Management, Carine was Vice President Legal and Chief Compliance Officer in Statoil ASA. She has more than 20 years’ experience as a lawyer, working in both financials and the oil and gas industry, as well as in law firms. She also has extensive board experience.

Carine holds a law degree from the University of Oslo, a Master of Law from Harvard Law School and a Master of Economics from the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH).

Links and Related Episodes

Read about the impact of the original ‘I’m Not a Plastic Bag’ campaign: https://www.anyahindmarch.com/pages/im-not-a-plastic-bag

You can read Anya Hindmarch’s pledges to sustainability and more here: https://www.anyahindmarch.com/pages/our-commitments

The Industry: Anya Hindmarch brings circular shopping bags back with Tesco and Morrison’s: https://www.theindustry.fashion/anya-hindmarch-brings-circular-shopping-bags-back-with-tesco-and-morrisons/

Politico: Fashion’s sustainability reckoning: https://www.politico.eu/article/fashion-sustainability-reckoning-industry-textile-regulation-evironment-human-rights/

Guest Bio

Anya Hindmarch founded her business in London in 1987 and it has since grown into a global brand. Today, it is as known for its luxury, organisation-obsessed accessories as it is for its ground-breaking work in sustainability and its playful experiential retail concepts. I Am A Plastic Bag was launched in 2020 to tackle post-consumer waste, with each bag crafted from 32 half-litre recycled plastic bottles. 2007’s I’m A Plastic Bag ignited the debate around the use of plastic bags and contributed to the decision to charge for plastic bags in the UK. In 2021, Anya launched The Universal Bag, a unique collaboration with supermarkets to rethink the reusable shopping bag.

Anya is an Emeritus trustee of both the Royal Academy of Arts and the Design Museum. In 2017, Anya was awarded a CBE in recognition for her contribution to the British fashion industry. In 2021, Anya published her first book, If In Doubt Wash Your Hair.

Jim and Michael discuss the latest developments in cellular agriculture - from pet food to leather goods and restaurant-grade sushi - and how far we are from finding lab-grown products on our supermarket shelves. 

Links and Related Episodes

Watch Episode 110 with Lord Adair Turner: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep110-adair-turner-lord-of-the-net-zero-transition/

Discover Agronomics and their portfolio companies here: https://agronomics.im/

Read more about Moo’s Law here: https://mooslawbook.com/

Discover Jim’s children’s book, Juno’s Ark, here: https://junosark.com/

Jim spoke to Bloomberg’s In The City podcast in April about Britain’s economic health: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-06/podcast-burnbrae-s-jim-mellon-sees-a-bright-future-for-britain-and-the-city?in_source=embedded-checkout-banner#xj4y7vzkg

Guest Bio

Jim worked in Asia and the United States at two fund management companies, GT and Thornton, before establishing his own business in 1991. This business continues today, but Jim no longer works as a fund manager and is instead focused on biotech, clean food and property, with other business interests managed by his family office, the Burnbrae Group. Jim has a special interest in health resilience and longevity science, and is the co-founder of Juvenescence, a company investing in the development of therapies for ageing and the diseases of ageing. Jim also co-founded Agronomics Limited in 2011, an investment company focused on opportunities within the nascent industry of environmentally-friendly and cruelty-free modern foods.

Jim holds a degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oriel College, Oxford, where he is an honorary fellow and supports the Mellon Scholarship in Ageing and Cell Senescence. 

CTVC launched their H1 2023 climate funding update at the end of June, reporting a 40% drop in venture funding. Michael wanted to hear from Zoe whether this was a moment of crisis or correction, and to compare notes on building a market intelligence platform, having jumped through so many of the same hoops building New Energy Finance. 

Make sure you like, subscribe, and share Cleaning Up. We're growing fast on LinkedIn, and we'd love for you tell your professional network about us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cleaning-up-with-michael-liebreich/ 

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Links and Related Episodes

All of the episodes mentioned by Michael at the end of the show can be found in our “Women Leaders of the Net-Zero Transition” playlist on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe8ZTD7dMaaBJwVk9CfU-CZLeX42M7flC 

You can subscribe to CTVC here: https://www.ctvc.co/ 

Read CTVC’s H1 2023 climate tech funding update: https://www.ctvc.co/climate-tech-h1-2023-venture-funding/#:~:text=Highlights,35%25%20from%20H2'22. 

CTVC’s Climate Capital Stack is here: https://www.ctvc.co/the-climate-capital-stack/ 

In May CTCV announced their new climate intelligence platform: https://www.ctvc.co/ctvc-platform-fundraise/ 

Kim and co-founder Sophie Purdom spoke to Techonomy in September 2022: https://techonomy.com/video/the-state-of-climate-tech-venture-capital/ 

Guest Bio 

Kim has spent the last three years building Climate Tech VC, a leading source on climate and innovation with 50,000 weekly readers among climate investors, operators and market leaders. CTVC generates data-driven insights on the climate tech market which have been featured in channels including Bloomberg, Reuters, Financial Times, and TechCrunch. From 2020-2022, Kim was an Investor at Energy Impact Partners, a $2.5B AUM venture capital firm, and from 2018 – 2020, an Investment Banking Analyst at JP Morgan. From 2017 – 2019, Kim was Managing Partner at A-Level Capital. 

Kim holds a bachelor’s degree from John Hopkins University in Economics, Environmental Science and Applied Mathematics.

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Links and Related Episodes

Watch Episode 119 with Aneeqa Khan here: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep-119-dr-aneeqa-khan-fusion-energy-the-materials-challenge/

Watch Episode 133 with Fatih Birol here: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep133-fatih-birol-the-worlds-preeminent-energy-economist/#:~:text=Fatih%20has%20been%20in%2Dpost,efficiency%20and%20net%2Dzero%20pathways.

Read the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) July 7th update on the situation at Zaporizhzhia: https://www.iaea.org/newscenter/pressreleases/update-172-iaea-director-general-statement-on-situation-in-ukraine

The IAEA’s rolling updates on nuclear safety and security in Ukraine can be found here:https://www.iaea.org/nuclear-safety-and-security-in-ukraine

The New York Times on the evidence that Russia sabotaged Kakhovka Dam: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/06/16/world/europe/ukraine-kakhovka-dam-collapse.html

Politico on Ukraine’s warnings of nuclear disaster at Zaporizhzhia: https://www.politico.eu/article/ukraine-warn-disaster-russia-zaporizhzhia-nuclear-power-plant/

Guest Bio

Chris was appointed to lead New Energy Finance’s nuclear analysis team in 2008, which provides global analysis on critical topics from within the nuclear industry. Chris spent most of the previous three decades at SMIdirect as a business development and marketing consultant. There he advised a wide range of clients from the Government of Egypt to IBM on strategic planning, business development, corporate communications and policy initiatives. 

Chris is a faculty member of the Centre for Global Affairs at New York University where he teaches courses on Energy Policy, Energy and the Environment, and the Economics and Finance of Energy. Chris holds a BA from College of the Holy Cross, an MS from NYU’s Polytechnic School of Engineering and an MBA from Baruch College. Chris is a member of the United States Energy Association and the American Nuclear Society.

Few people have as clear a view on the entire energy sector as Fatih, so Michael headed to Paris and IEA HQ to hear insights on surging EV sales, the urgent need for grid modernization and expansion, and a reality-check on hydrogen's role on the path to net-zero. 

Make sure you like, subscribe, and share Cleaning Up. We're growing fast on LinkedIn, and we'd love for you tell your professional network about us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cleaning-up-with-michael-liebreich/

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Links and Related Episodes

Watch Fatih’s first appearance on Episode 28 of Cleaning Up here: https://www.cleaningup.live/episode-28-dr-fatih-birol/

Watch Episode 131 with Tzeporah Berman here: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep131-tzeporah-berman-canadas-controversial-queen-of-green/

Read Fatih’s latest thought leadership here:

“COP28 is a moment of truth for the oil and gas industry’s efforts on climate”: https://www.iea.org/commentaries/cop28-is-a-moment-of-truth-for-the-oil-and-gas-industry-s-efforts-on-climate

“Where things stand in the global energy crisis one year on”: https://www.iea.org/commentaries/where-things-stand-in-the-global-energy-crisis-one-year-on

Fatih’s official bio is available here: https://www.iea.org/contributors/dr-fatih-birol

Read the IEA’s flagship 2021 report, Net Zero by 2050: https://www.iea.org/reports/net-zero-by-2050

In the news:

Time: Exclusive: IEA Head Fatih Birol Wants The Fossil Fuel Industry To Set Climate Targets: https://time.com/6284159/iea-fatih-birol-oil-gas-emission-targets/

Euractiv: IEA chief calls for ‘serious self-criticism’ among EU’s nuclear opponents: https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/iea-chief-calls-for-serious-self-criticism-among-eus-nuclear-opponents/

Guest Bio

Dr Fatih Birol has served as Executive Director of the IEA since 2015, taking up his current position after rising through the ranks of the IEA over two decades, from junior analyst to Chief Economist. He has been named in TIME's annual list of the world's 100 most influential people and by Forbes as one of the most influential people in the world of energy. He chairs the World Economic Forum’s (Davos) Energy Advisory Board. As Chief Economist at the IEA, he oversaw the World Energy Outlook series, the authoritative source for energy analysis and projections and flagship publication of the IEA. 

Fatih holds a BSc in Power Engineering from the Technical University of Istanbul, and an MSc and Ph.D. in Energy Economics from the Technical University of Vienna. Fatih is the recipient of numerous state decorations, including the French Legion of Honour and the Japanese Emperor’s Order of the Rising Sun. 

You can find everything you need to keep up with Cleaning Up here: https://linktr.ee/mlcleaningup

Links and Related Episodes 

Watch Episode 104 with Yanis Varoufakis: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLbm8fg08hc

You can read Michael's piece The Secret of Eternal Growth from 2018 here: https://ifreetrade.org/?/article/the_secret_of_eternal_growth_the_physics_behind_pro_growth_environmentalism

Jon wrote about the reality of 40C heatwaves coming to UK cities in 2022: https://www.bigissue.com/opinion/heatwaves-are-now-reality-we-must-transform-our-cities-green-infrastructure/

Jon called to nationalise the UK’s energy system in Big Issue in 2021: https://www.bigissue.com/opinion/power-for-the-people-its-time-to-renationalise-the-uk-energy-system/

You can read Jon's piece on Sadiq Khan in Architects' Journal  here: https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/opinion/londons-mayor-talks-the-talk-on-climate-pity-he-doesnt-walk-the-walk

Michael cites the book Into the Cool:  Energy Flow, Thermodynamics, and Life. Read more about it here: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/I/bo3533936.html

Jon cites the work of Carly Ziter at Concordia University: https://www.carlyziter.com/

Guest Bio

Jon Burke is Climate Change and Decarbonisation Lead at Gloucester City Council. From 2014 to 2020, Jon was Councillor for the London Borough of Hackney, where he was Cabinet Member for Energy, Sustainability, Transport and Public Realm. In the role, he oversaw the largest urban tree planting campaign in the UK, the roll-out of low-traffic neighbourhoods, and established the borough’s first publicly-owned energy company in a century. From 2012-2016, he was Senior Policy Advisory to the London Assembly’s Labour Group.

Jon holds a degree in Civil Engineering from Liverpool John Moores University and an MA in Political Economy from the University of Manchester. He is a Chartered Environmentalist, and sits on the advisory board of Climate Emergency UK.

Tzeporah was formerly co-director of Greenpeace’s Global Climate and Energy Program, and her success campaigning against fossil development has seen her dubbed “Canada’s Queen of Green”. 

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Links and Related Episodes 

Watch Episode 45 with Catherine McKenna: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEP1SGL-DcA 

Watch Tzeporah’s TED Talk on the “bad math” of the fossil-fuel industry: https://www.ted.com/talks/tzeporah_berman_the_bad_math_of_the_fossil_fuel_industry 

Find out more about Stand.earth here: https://stand.earth/ 

Learn about the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative: https://fossilfueltreaty.org/ 

Explore the Global Registry of Fossil Fuels: https://fossilfuelregistry.org/

Guest Bio 

Tzeporah Berman is an environmental campaigner and policy advisor. She is International Program Director at Stand.earth, the environmental organization that she co-founded (as ForestEthics), and Chair of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. At Stand.earth she works to help develop strategies for the Amazon, shipping, fashion, pipeline, LNG and old growth forests campaigns. 

As co-director of Greenpeace’s Global Climate and Energy program, she led the creation of the Arctic campaign and a successful “Unfriend Coal” campaign to get Facebook, Apple, and others to switch from coal to renewable energy for their data centres. Tzeporah was one of the creators and lead negotiators of the Great Bear Rainforest agreement and the Canadian Boreal Forest Initiative. Her work has contributed to the protection of over 40 million hectares of old growth forests. 

In 2013 Tzeporah was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of British Columbia, and she was the 2019 recipient of the Climate Breakthrough Project Award. Tzeporah is Adjunct Professor of Environmental Studies at York University, Canada. In 2021, she was arrested for blockading the logging of thousand-year-old trees in Fairy Creek, Vancouver Island.

From 2004 until his departure earlier this year, Paddy led the company from startup to energy giant, with an investment value of $62.6 billion. More recently, Paddy is co-founder of both Xlinks and new venture Zhero BV, developing renewable power and hydrogen projects. 

Michael and Paddy discussed what it took to deliver solar at a price previously thought impossible, the importance of pricing investment risk in the developing world correctly, and Paddy’s vision for a faster, more interconnected path to net-zero around the globe. 

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You can find everything you need to keep up with Cleaning Up here: https://linktr.ee/mlcleaningup 

Links and Related Episodes 

Watch Episode 92 with Simon Morrish, CEO of Xlinks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6KIMswZkWA 

Watch Episode 124 with Damilola Ogunbiyi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbN1Y1C0ido Watch Episode 126 with Marco Alverà: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1JvS0ArNwQ 

Watch Episode 128 with Prof. Bent Flyvbjerg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mN79-5S5d5c 

Read Michael’s latest piece for BloombergNEF on the electrification of heat here: https://about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich-the-next-half-trillion-dollar-market-electrification-of-heat/

Guest Bio 

Paddy Padmanathan is a seasoned engineering and energy expert with over 40 years of experience. As CEO of ACWA Power, he spearheaded its expansion from startup in 2004 to a leading private developer, owner and operator of power generation and desalinated water production plants. Headquartered in Saudi Arabia, the company now has a portfolio of 62 assets with an investment value of USD 62.6 billion, producing 38.9 GW of power. 

Prior to joining ACWA Power, Paddy was Vice President and Corporate officer at Black and Veatch, where he was responsible for developing privately financed power, water and wastewater projects in over a dozen countries. Paddy also serves on the Board of Directors of several companies involved in the power and water development sector across the globe, including Zhero BV, Xlinks, Ltd., and Desolenator BV. 

Paddy holds an engineering degree from the University of Manchester and a postgraduate qualification in civil engineering from the University of Lancaster. 
 

Matt and Michael discuss how they came to focus on the net-zero transition from different starting points, why hydrogen is so divisive, the joys and perils of going net-zero at home, and share their predictions for the coming years in the energy sector.

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Links and Related Episodes 

Explore Undecided on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/@UndecidedMF/videos 

Listen to Still To Be Determined here: https://stilltbd.fm/ 

During the conversation, Michael cites his piece from 2018, Two Business Cycles to Prepare for A Low-Carbon World: https://about.bnef.com/blog/liebreich-two-business-cycles-prepare-low-carbon-world/ 

Guest Bio 

Matt is UI/UX designer and Creative Director with over 15 years of management experience. Matt started Undecided with Matt Ferrell in 2018 and has since amassed over a million subscribers for his videos on EVs, solar panels, renewable energy and smart home technology, and the ways in which they are set to impact the lives of consumers. 

Matt was Senior Creative Director at GSN from 2015-2018, where he was creative lead on one of the world’s top skill-gaming web and mobile platforms, WorldWinner. Matt holds a BA in English – Communication and Information Design from Nazareth College and an MA in Media Arts from Emerson College. 
 

Michael and Bent discussed the many, substantial implications of Bent’s research for the net-zero transition, including the stark fact that solar and wind projects sit at the top of the tree when it comes to arriving on time and on budget, with nuclear languishing at the very bottom. 

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Links and Related Episodes 

Bent’s latest book is How Big Things Get Done: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/672118/how-big-things-get-done-by-bent-flyvbjerg-and-dan-gardner/

Watch Episode 58 with John Redfern, CEO of Eavor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MU8TDupVvjM

Watch Episode 92 with Simon Morrish, CEO of Xlinks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6KIMswZkWA

Watch Episode 116 with Tom Samson, former CEO of Rolls Royce SMR: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjThq8c3tT4

Watch Episode 122 with Professor Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1_gL_XXaQQ

Guest Bio 

Bent is among the most cited scholars in the world on Project Management, Planning, Infrastructure and Cities. He has 30 years of experience as an adviser to government and business, including the US, UK, and Chinese governments and Fortune 500 companies. He has consulted on some of the largest projects in the world, from High-Speed 2 in the UK and the California High-Speed Rail project, each the largest civil construction project ever in their respective countries. 

Bent is the author or editor of 10 books and more than 200 papers, translated into 20 languages, including Megaprojects and Risk: An Anatomy of Ambition (2014) and this year’s How Big Things Get Done. He has received numerous honours and awards, among them a knighthood and two Fulbright scholarships. Bent is chairman of Oxford Global Projects, and was formerly the Academic Director of Oxford's MSc in Major Programme Management.

Michael and Emily spoke about building Powerhouse and adding value to its huge startup database, some of the hits from Powerhouse Ventures' first funding round, and ended with a wider discussion about the role of VCs - and pioneering women - on the path to net-zero. 

Make sure you like, subscribe, and share Cleaning Up. We're growing fast on LinkedIn, and we'd love for you tell your professional network about us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cleaning-up-with-michael-liebreich/ 

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Links and Related Episodes 

Learn more about Powerhouse here: https://www.powerhouse.fund/ 

Michael appeared on Emily’s podcast, Watt It Takes, back in 2021: https://www.powerhouse.fund/liebreich 

Watch Episode 9 with Jigar Shah here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJhhinSeh9I 

Watch Episode 18 with Nancy Pfund here: https://www.cleaningup.live/episode-18-nancy-pfund/ 

Watch Episode 47 with Gina Domanig here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlZvy2c92Ss

Guest Bio 

Emily is Founder & Managing Partner of Powerhouse Ventures, and Founder & CEO of Powerhouse. Prior to launching Powerhouse in 2013, Kirsch worked with Van Jones to launch the Green Jobs Corps, Oakland’s first ‘green jobs’ training program. She is the founding convener of the Oakland Climate Action Coalition, which drafted and secured passage of what was at the time the most ambitious climate action plan of any U.S. city. Emily is a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader Fellow, served on the Executive Committee for Clean Energy for President Biden, and appeared on the San Francisco Business Times’ 2020 list of the “Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business.” 

Emily hosts the podcast Watt It Takes, which has over 1 million downloads and has featured founders of some of the energy and automotive industries’ most iconic companies like Nest, Sunrun, and Tesla. Emily studied Sustainable Urban Development at San Francisco State University.

By 2030, TES hope to have produced one million tonnes of what they call ENG, or electric natural gas, as a like-for-like replacement for LNG. Michael had plenty of questions about ENG, TES’ ambitious plans, and the generous subsidies they’re set to take advantage of through the US’ Inflation Reduction Act.

Make sure you like, subscribe, and share Cleaning Up. We're growing fast on LinkedIn, and we'd love for you tell your professional network about us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cleaning-up-with-michael-liebreich/ 

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Further Reading and Related Episodes

Learn more about TES here: https://tes-h2.com/

TES plan to produce 5.5 million tonnes of hydrogen each year at Wilhelmshaven: https://tes-h2.com/wilhelmshaven-green-energy-hub/

The Financial Times reported on TES’ latest funding round: https://www.ft.com/content/e0b366d6-5dbe-41eb-96f7-e49c24f9a2c4

The New York Times wrote a profile on Marco late last year: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/11/business/green-natural-gas.html

Watch Cleaning Up Episode 115 with Jorgo Chatzimarkakis here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NCiEhprSOc

Watch Cleaning Up Episode 107 with David Cebon here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K61ZXd_F6Qo

Watch our whole Hydrogen playlist on YouTube here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe8ZTD7dMaaC57hgJGekXX0m1zegQelke

Watch all of our Audioblogs on YouTube here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe8ZTD7dMaaAGobfBqd5eRQfeb5l9vPLG

Guest Bio

Marco has more than 20 years’ experience in the energy sector. He began his career working at Goldman Sachs before starting and selling a telecom company, and joining Enel, one of the world’s largest green electricity companies. He subsequently worked for Eni, the oil and gas major, for over 10 years in senior positions, and from 2016 to 2022 was CEO of Snam, where he positioned the company as an international leader in green gas and green gas infrastructure. 

Since 2017, Marco has been non-executive director of S&P Global, where he is also chair of the Finance Committee. Macro is also Co-Founder of Zhero, a company focused on developing new energy projects. 

Marco holds a degree in Philosophy and Economics from the London School of Economics, and is the author of The Hydrogen Revolution, one of the FT’s books of the year in 2021.

The Next Half-Trillion-Dollar Market – Electrification of Heat

Our thanks to BloombergNEF for allowing us to record it and share it with our Cleaning Up audience.

Make sure you like, subscribe, and share Cleaning Up. We're growing fast on LinkedIn, and we'd love for you tell your professional network about us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cleaning-up-with-michael-liebreich/ 

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It’s been three years since Kirsty’s last appearance on the show in August 2020, during which we’ve seen new reactors come online across the globe, as well as supply dropouts and wholesale nuclear phase-outs. Kirsty walked Michael through the headlines, as well the rise of SMR (Small Modular Reactor) technology and its potential applications. 

Michael and Kirsty end discussing whether nuclear is offering too little, too late on the path to net-zero in the coming decades, as renewables continue to rise to meet global energy demand. As a one-stop update on all things nuclear, today's Cleaning Up is not to be missed. 

Make sure you like, subscribe, and share Cleaning Up. We're growing fast on LinkedIn, and we'd love for you tell your professional network about us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cleaning-up-with-michael-liebreich/ 

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Relevant Guest & Topic Links 

Read the European Commission JRC’s Technical assessment of nuclear energy: https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC125953 

Watch Kirsty’s first appearance on Cleaning Up Episode 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83oUuo9Af_c&list=PLe8ZTD7dMaaBcbo3W_zva0ChNZ9R9rL-U&index=16 

Watch Julia Pyke, Financing Director of Sizewell C on Episode 94 of Cleaning Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fUcx9RT6hQ&list=PLe8ZTD7dMaaBcbo3W_zva0ChNZ9R9rL-U&index=4&pp=gAQBiAQB 

Watch Tom Samson, former CEO of Rolls-Royce SMR on Episode 116 of Cleaning Up: https://youtu.be/sjThq8c3tT4 

Learn more about the work of TerraPraxis: https://www.terrapraxis.org/ 

Learn more about the work of LucidCatalyst: https://www.lucidcatalyst.com/ 

Guest Bio 

Kirsty has more than 15 years’ experience as a senior advisor to Government on climate and energy policy, including 10 Downing St and the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. Kirsty is managing partner of LucidCatalyst, a highly specialized international consultancy focused on large-scale, affordable, market-based decarbonization of the global economy. LucidCatalyst was recently commissioned to produce the widely cited  Energy Technologies Institute Nuclear Cost Drivers Study, and by ARPA-E to conduct a study on Cost and Performance Requirements for Flexible Advanced Nuclear Plants in Future U.S. Power Markets. 


Kirsty sits on the UK’s Nuclear Innovation Research and Advisory Board and the board of the Nuclear Innovation Alliance. In addition to being an authority on nuclear, Kirsty is an award-winning expert on science communication, climate change, and competitiveness. Kirsty is also co-founder and Global Director of Energy for Humanity (EFH), an environmental NGO focused on large-scale deep decarbonisation and energy access.

Damilola is a returning guest on Cleaning Up after first joining us for Episode 62 in 2021. She’s back to tell us how SEforAll is progressing in its mission to bring electricity to the whole world. After talking Michael through a raft of SEforAll’s new initiatives – across everything from clean cooking to carbon markets - Damilola ends with a passionate plea to change the conversation around the energy needs of the developing world:

“What is happening is you're using a conversation of no fossil / fossil to fund nothing… The crux of it is, if you look at the money that's going in to Africa, 1.5% of all renewable investment? It's absurd, it is embarrassing.”

Make sure you like, subscribe, follow and share Cleaning Up. We're growing fast on LinkedIn, and we'd love for you tell your professional network about us: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cleaning-up-with-michael-liebreich/

You can find everything you need to keep up with Cleaning Up here: https://linktr.ee/mlcleaningup

Relevant Guest & Topic Links

Learn more about SEforAll’s mission: https://www.seforall.org/

Find out more about the parameters of SDG7: https://www.seforall.org/sustainable-development-goal-7-sdg7

Read and explore last year’s Energy Progress Report 2022: https://trackingsdg7.esmap.org/

Damilola first featured on Episode 62 of Cleaning Up in 2021: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep62-damilola-ogunbiyi-energy-the-red-thread-through-the-sdgs/

Edited Highlights from Episode 62 are available here: https://www.cleaningup.live/p/ep62-eh/

Episode 118 of Cleaning Up featured Achim Steiner, Administrator of of UNDP and Co-chair of UN Energy alongside Damilola: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep118-achim-steiner-sustaining-development/

Our episodes featuring Alain Ebobisse, Elizabeth Wathuti and Bill McKibben can all be found in our  Development playlist on YouTube: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLe8ZTD7dMaaDSF7Z5EpAvtWOs8HPUEdC3

Guest Bio

Damilola Ogunbiyi is the CEO of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Sustainable Energy for All, and Co-Chair of UN-Energy. Before joining SEforAll, Damilola was the first female Managing Director of the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency, where she initiated the Nigerian Electrification Project, a programme that to date has provided energy access to over 5 million people across Nigeria

Before joining the Federal Government of Nigeria, Damilola was the first female General Manager of the Lagos State Electricity Board. Under her leadership, five independent power projects were completed to deliver over 55 megawatts of power to Lagos State hospitals, schools, and government facilities.  

Damilola is a member of the Global Leadership Council of the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, an Advisory Board member of the Centre on Global Energy Policy, a member of the Development Advisory Council of the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, a member of the Clean Cooking Alliance Advisory Board, a member of the Advisory Board of University of Oxford’s Future of Cooling Programme, and Co-Chair of UN–Energy.

Damilola holds a bachelor’s degree in Project Management with Construction and a Master’s degree in Construction Management with Public Private Partnership from the University of Brighton. 

For our 123rd episode, Michael and Prince Albert have a wide-ranging and insightful discussion, on the work of the Prince Albert II Foundation to safeguard the planet and its oceans; the Prince's lineage and its deep connections to oceanography; the Prince's adventures and the awakening on climate they prompted; and the joys of success - and the perils of failure - in winter sports.

The episode was recorded at the Palais Princier de Monaco. Cleaning Up would like to thank the Royal Household and all those inside and outside of the Palace who supported production of this special episode.

As always, please like, share, and if you haven't already, subscribe to Cleaning Up.

Relevant Guest & Topic Links

Learn more about the work of the Fondation Prince Albert II de Monaco: https://www.fpa2.org/en/index 

Watch Cleaning Up Episode 7 with Bertrand Piccard here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MeGpW2HOek 

Watch Cleaning Up Episode 96 with Aksel Lund Svindal here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRc1VCBnVgI

Guest Bio

H.S.H. Prince Albert, Alexandre, Louis, Pierre, Sovereign Prince of Monaco,  was born on 14 March 1958. His Highness is the son of Prince Rainier III, Louis Henri-Maxence-Bertrand and Princess Grace, née Kelly. H.S.H. Prince Albert II succeeded his father, Prince Rainier III who died on 6h April 2005. On 12th July 2005, at the end of the period of official mourning, the Prince's accession to the throne was celebrated.

In April 2006, H.S.H. Prince Albert II visited the North Pole by dog sled from the Russian base of Barneo 120 kilometres away. This journey was the opportunity for him to pay tribute to his great-great grandfather, Prince Albert I of Monaco, a pioneer of modern oceanography, who, in 1906, set out to Spitzberg, in the archipelago of Svalbard, the most successful of his four Arctic exploration campaigns. In January 2009, Prince Albert II of Monaco undertook a three-week scientific journey in the Antarctic. He visited a large number of scientific stations and visited the South Pole in the company of the explorer Mike Horn. 

In June 2006, H.S.H. the Prince set up the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation dedicated to protecting the environment. It encourages sustainable and fair management of natural resources and places man at the centre of its projects. It supports the implementation of innovative and ethical solutions in three broad areas: climate change, water and biodiversity.

HSH the Prince participated in five Olympic Games, from Calgary in 1988 to Salt Lake City in 2002, as a member of the national bobsleigh team. A member of the International Olympic Committee since 1985, He is President of the Monegasque Olympic Committee.

The Prince's complete biography can be found here: https://www.palais.mc/en/princely-family/h-s-h-prince-albert-ii/biography-1-5.html

Sir Chris is Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford, and a former Director-General of CERN. At CERN he steered the funding and commissioning of its Large Hadron Collider, and as a theoretical particle physicist, Sir Chris predicted the existence of the very particle - the Higgs Boson - that the Large Hadron Collider went on to help discover. Sir Chris is likely the only person ever to have been knighted for "services to particle physics." 

In the last few years Sir Chris has been busy leading a forthcoming Royal Society study on large-scale energy storage as part of the net-zero transition. He and Michael discuss the significance of storage to a newly configured, renewable grid, the likely cost of stored electricity, and the role of salt caverns in hosting hydrogen stores. 

Relevant Guest & Topic Links 

Sir Chris discussed the energy storage requirements of a net-zero UK at a virtual conference in March 2020. His slides are available here: https://www.era.ac.uk/write/MediaUploads/Other%20documents/Need_for_Storage_in_a_Net_0_World_Chris_Ll_S_23_3_20.pdf 

Discover more about Chris’ storied career here: https://www.physics.ox.ac.uk/our-people/llewellyn-smith 

Watch Episode 104 with Yanis Varoufakis here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLbm8fg08hc

Watch Episode 115 with Jorgo Chatzimarkakis here: https://youtu.be/_NCiEhprSOc

Watched Episode 116 with Tom Samson here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjThq8c3tT4

Guest Bio 

Sir Chris Llewellyn Smith FRS is a quantum field theorist and Emeritus Professor of Physics at the University of Oxford. Chris was Director of Energy Research at Oxford from 2011 to 2017, Director of the UK's fusion programme (2003-2009), Provost and President of University College London (1998-2001), Director General of CERN (1994-1998) when the Large Hadron Collider was approved and construction started, and was the first Chairman of Oxford Physics (1987-1992).