ClimateGenn hosted by Nick Breeze

In this episode of ClimateGenn I am speaking to Dr Paul Behrens about the complexity of population, consumption and climate change. Support this channel on Patreon: https://patreon.com/genncc (website: https://genn.cc) In his book, ‘The Best of Times, The Worst of Times’ Paul addresses population, presenting both a pessimistic potential outcome, and also a more hopeful outcome based on a set of choices that we, especially those of us in wealthier high emitting countries, can make to improve the chances for a better future. One big barrier to a better future is the growing narrative that stokes fears about migration. The propagating of these myths falls under the title of econativism, a term that Paul both defines and discusses in some detail. Population and migration are critical and controversial issues and when placed in the context of continually rising emissions and consequent impacts, they stress the need for reflection on how we value our own life and the lives of all those around us. In the next episode I am speaking to Dr Min Hee Go in South Korea about her recent book ‘Rethinking Community Resilience’ that looks at the politics of disaster recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. Minnie’s research highlights the necessity to not just build back from catastrophe but also how we must ensure community resilience, as the frequency and extremity of these events increase. Thank you for listening to ClimateGenn. You can follow this series on all major podcast channels, on Youtube, on my website at GENN.cc and you can follow and support on Patreon.

Please do subscribe on https://genn.cc and be sure to comment or send me your feedback by email. You can also support this series via https://patreon.com/genncc.   In this ClimateGenn episode, I am speaking to author and chief scientist at the Nature Conservancy, Professor Katharine Hayhoe about how her recent book ‘Saving Us’ addresses issues relating to personal agency.    2022 has advanced out of the gate with threats of war, massive volcanic eruptions, economic and political upheavals, conspiracy theories, and the worsening accelerating degradation of the biosphere upon which we are all entirely reliant.   Awareness is growing and people from all walks of life are awakening to the need for emergency action. It now feels like we are simply being held back by an adherence by the few to the value systems and aspirations of the last century.   Thank you for listening to ClimateGenn, we have a programme of interviews for this year looking at the multi-faceted problem of rebalancing life in the biosphere.  Please do subscribe and be sure to comment or send me your feedback by email.  You can also support this series via https://patreon.com/genncc.

In this ClimateGenn episode, I speak to Dr Ye Tao at Harvard University who is head of the Mirrors for Earth Energy Rebalancing (MEER). You can follow/support/get in touch via https://genn.cc + back via https://patreon.com/genncc Addressing climate threats With global agriculture across the world at high risk from rising temperatures and associated impacts, Ye’s team are proposing increasing the Earth’s reflectivity in order to reduce the temperature within the biosphere. In this interview we go into some detail about how it works, resource requirements, where it would be deployed and the pathway to scaling up. Social response is critical Ye also highlights the need for more understanding of psychology in order to be able to align the growing numbers of people around the world who are realising that our future is in a perilous state. By bringing people together, putting our wellbeing and safety before profit and extractive endeavours, only then do we really stand a chance of seeing these grand ideas tested and eventually deployed. So much to lose, all to play for A special thank you this week to Marion Troia who sent in a transcript of my last interview with Dr Tero Mustenon. This is interview received terrific feedback and resonated with a great many people, not least myself, so I am really grateful for this support. Thank you to all my new Patrons who are supporting this series and to everyone for listening, commenting and getting in touch.

In this ClimateGenn episode, I am speaking Dr Tero Mustonen who is based within the Arctic Circle about the enormous changes happening there today and that are going to cascade across the globe impacting every one of us. Follow and support at: https://genn.cc and https://patreon.com/genncc Tero works with indigenous peoples inside the Arctic Circle and beyond, utilising what is called Traditional Knowledge Systems that include the linguistic, cultural and natural environments that are complex and holistic. These ancient ways of understanding the world also hold the key to solving many of our systemic problems and yet they are being extinguished, along with the broad swathe of life on Earth. This is all a result of centuries of extraction and consumption, that underpin our contemporary experience of living in developed nations. Despite Tero’s despairing message, he also suggests a pathway to planetary repair through rewinding and by deepening our custodial relationship with nature. Thank you for listening. Please do subscribe if you want to stay up-to-date. You can also support ClimateGenn via Patreon and please do leave feedback which I am always interested to receive.

In this ClimateGenn episode, I am speaking with author Tom Rosenstiel about his new political thriller, The Days To Come. Tom has switched hats from journalist to fiction writer, possessing a depth of insight into how both disciplines interact with the public and our experience of reality? Please visit https://genn.cc for series information, or https://patreon.com/genncc to support my work. The Days To Come is a thriller with a climate change theme that touches on many of the complex factors that can either accelerate or undermine our progress in tackling the climate crisis. In this interview we discuss how the book intersects with contemporary reality and also how fiction and journalism contribute to shaping the narrative we internalise that helps us for envision the future. In the next episode I am speaking with indigenous Sámi scholar Dr Tero Mustonen, who is based in the Finnish Arctic, about the climate changes that threaten his communities existence and by extension, our own. We will also discuss what we can do to try and reverse the extreme nature of change in these critical and vulnerable regions of the world. Thank you for listening. Please do subscribe, comment or send feedback because I do read as much as I can and try to respond where possible. Thank you.

In this ClimateGenn episode, I am speaking to professor Peter Wadhams from the University of Cambridge about his recent research for a book he is writing on the viability of greenhouse gas removal from the atmosphere.   Subscribe at https://Patreon.com/genncc Visit https://genn.cc for more information.   Some of these proposals are also referred to as negative emissions technologies, or ‘nets’  and are widely included in national emissions reduction plans despite none being proven at scale today.  We discuss the viability of various proposed techniques including tree planting, bioenergy capture and storage as well as direct air capture and ocean proposals including farming kelp and the use of diatoms for large-scale sequestration.  In the last segment we discuss the risks posed by Arctic methane releases and two proposed techniques for dealing with a potential methane emergency, whereby multiple   billions of tonnes of the potent greenhouse gas are released at once.   These are controversial proposals despite policymakers assuming they will work in the future. The danger of these suppositions is compounded by the fact that many research projects are embryonic and underfunded.   Thank you for listening.  In the next episode, I speak with author Professor Tom Rosenstiel about his new political thriller, The Days To Come. In this interview, we discuss fiction writing and journalism and how these both intersect with reality to shape our world.  You can subscribe on all major podcast channels or Youtube and you can also support my work via https://Patreon.com/genncc Visit https://genn.cc for more information.  Thanks for listening.

Political elites in the UK have never looked more out of touch than they do today. Despite this, in Scotland, we see a Climate Citizens Assembly that is working with experts to come up with ideas for achieving a lower carbon, cleaner and fairer society. back my work and access more content at https://patreon.com/genncc and https://genn.cc In this episode, I am speaking with the Secretariat of the Scottish Climate Assembly, Susie Townend, who has overseen the creation of the first report to the Scottish Parliament guided by experts but very much created by ordinary folks from across the country. The Scottish Parliament is reviewing the report submitted by the assembly and will respond with feedback by the end of this year. Given the Scottish government’s positive signals given during COP26 in Glasgow, on their commitment to Loss and Damage funding for vulnerable nations, there is some confidence that they are taking the assembly’s input seriously. This kind of informed approach, places empathy, justice, and inclusion at the heart of the policymaking process. It also acknowledges that involving citizens increases momentum towards shaping a world we actually want to live in. Thank you for listening. This whole project is now under the name of ClimateGenn and the archive of work can be seen at genn.cc. You can support this work via patreon.com/genncc - you can also subscribe on Youtube and all of the main podcasts & social media channels.

In this ClimateGenn podcast episode, I am speaking to Dr Saleemul Huq about the true outcome of COP26 highlighting how the UK Presidency abandoned the world's most vulnerable nations in order to tow the line of the USA. Follow on https://genn.cc | Become a Patron at https://patreon.com/genncc Saleem also makes it clear that 1.1ºC, where we are today, is the new 1.5ºC - climate impacts are here and they are devastating lives and also taking lives. We must stop thinking about climate action in the future tense and start taking action in the present before it is truly too late to adapt to what we now know is coming. Once highly regarded as a nation that wielded great strength in diplomacy, COP26 will be remembered for the British government's disastrous inability to manage events of global importance. As we move away from Glasgow the threat of extreme impacts grows all the time around us and in response we commit to increasing greenhouse gas emissions that are driving us off the cliff. The pledges made cannot be trusted on the basis that previous pledges have been broken. If as Saleem says, the rich countries continue to bully the poorer nations while consuming the remaining carbon budgets, then our own moral integrity is what is in question. At what point do we say 'no more'? Thank you for listening to the ClimateGenn podcast - you can catch up with my work on my website at genn.cc or support it via Patreon.com/genncc.

In this episode, recorded in Glasgow, I speak to Dr Paul Behrens from Leiden University about how, regardless of what choices we make, humanity is now committed to passing through the eye of the metaphorical needle. What we can expect on the other side may well be in our gift to decide but with each strike of the clock, the forecasts for humanity get bleaker. In his new book, ‘The Best of Times, The Worst of Times’, Paul presents realistic outcomes based on the best case and worst-case scenarios. As he says, the worst case does not necessarily mean a 4ºC world. Tragedy can come long before this and in many parts of the world, it already has. To illustrate this point further, I have put an excerpt of Sir David King speaking about why we must take climate repair seriously, at the end of this podcast. I am planning to catch up again with Paul in the near future to record a population special, based on his research that is also profiled in the book. These are important perspectives worth grasping in an ever more complex and treacherous world. Thanks for listening to this COP notes mini-series. In the next episode, I will be speaking to Dr Saleemul Huq as we look forward from the wreckage of COP26. I will also be publishing my interview with Scottish Climate Assembly Secretariat, Susie Townend. Susie has overseen the creation of the Climate Assembly report to the Scottish parliament that is currently in review. This is an exciting insight into how citizens, experts and policymakers could shape a fairer, more equitable, landscape for change. Please do consider subscribing to patreon.com/genncc. You can also view my whole archive on https://genn.cc.

In this special podcast edition, I have combined the two interviews with Sir David King and Professor Kevin Anderson to create a wrap-up commentary on the COP that I think is insightful and multifaceted. https://patreon.com/genncc | https://genn.cc | genn.cc/yt Both interviewees come with a wealth of insight and experience and whether you agree or disagree with what they say, there is no doubt that both scientists force us to think deeply about the way forward from this crisis point in the human journey. Both speakers also touch on common themes about how we think of the COP process and what a successful or failed COP actually looks like. If the politics is failing then what are the positive aspects that we should keep or even exponentiate? Hopefully, guidance towards those answers emerges from these interactions. Thank you for listening. We are nearing the end of COP26 specific content. I have one more interview to upload with Dr Paul Behrens where we discuss some of the themes in his fascinating new book, ‘Best of Times, Worst of Times’. I am also scheduling another call with Dr Behrens to discuss his fascinating chapter on population dynamics as they apply to the Earth’s carrying capacity. If you enjoy this series then please consider joining via patreon.com/genncc - where more subscriber-only content will be published.