ClimateGenn hosted by Nick Breeze

In this ClimateGenn episode, I am speaking with Dr Nathalie Hilmi at the Centre Scientifique in Monaco about the need to invest in research, restoration and regeneration of the world's oceans. [ Support my channel at https://genn.cc and directly on http://patreon.com/genncc ] By protecting and restoring ocean ecosystems we can start to create resilience in an area we know is in decline but yet we know so little about. We have much of the technology and we have the intelligence but we still lack the political will and the investment to protect the world's fast-declining marine ecosystems that our lives are codependent up on. In the next pre-COP episode I am also speaking with Professor Jason Box to highlight his new work around the Zombie ice on Greenlands ice sheet that is already committed to rising global sea levels this century and is not included in any of the climate models that we depend on for policymaking. I’ll be catching up with both Nathalie and Jason among many others during week 2 at COP27 in Sharm El-Shiek. This is being dubbed the African COP to draw attention to the world's most vulnerable societies in the global south. We are striving too for a global loss and damage fund that even you and I may be in need of, in the rapidly advancing onset of extreme climate impacts. Thanks for listening. You can support my work via Patreon and on Genn.cc. Please do subscribe and leave feedback on any of the channels where you listen or watch this content.

Recent activism in the UK has made worldwide headlines. By bringing cultural treasures into the discussion, it raises new anxieties, and questions about what is at stake. The visual impact of the soup hitting the van Gogh painting was viscerally shocking to many, including me. On reflection, it reminded me of when the painter Francis Bacon was asked what he would save in a burning house if the choice was between a Rembrandt self-portrait and a cat. Without hesitation Bacon said the cat, emphasising the value of life over art. With that in mind, the Living Planet Report, shows that animal populations have declined by 70% since 1970. This is mass extinction territory and it is the world that these protestors are trying to draw the wider public attention to. Regardless of what we think of their action, the post-war boomer generation and my own that have succeeded it, have partaken in this destruction both of the complex web of life on Earth and also the dreams and aspirations of the next and every successive generation. In this ClimateGenn episode, recorded a few weeks ago with, author, philosopher, and former XR spokesperson, Professor Rupert Read, and his colleague 'Systems and culture change strategist’ Paddy Loughman, we discuss the urgent need for a mobilisation of the moderate masses in what they define as a Moderate Flank. Social tipping points occur when enough when the force of change can no longer be held back. But what does a Moderate Flank actually look like?

In this ClimateGenn episode, I speak with climate scientist & author Professor Bill McGuire about his recent book titled Hot House Earth. Bill discusses the necessity to discuss worse-case climate outcomes at a time when emissions are still rising and political leaders are looking the other way. [Visit https://genn.cc for more content & https://patreon.com/genncc ] We discuss the absence of global leadership in the fight to hold temperature rise to within the boundaries that humanity has thrived for the last 11 thousand years. The rate of change means that the next 100 years, let alone the next ten thousand, really require global leadership and collective action from everyone on Earth who has the ability and agency to act. In the next episode, I speak with former XR spokesman, author, and philosopher, Professor Rupert Read, and Systems and culture change strategist, Paddy Loughman, who have been working towards establishing a new inclusive cross-societal paradigm of action to tackle climate breakdown, that they call the Moderate Flank. Thanks for listening to ClimateGenn, you can subscribe on all major podcast channels and Youtube to stay up to date and you can also support this channel via Patreon.

In this final Sustainability in Alentejo episode, I speak with João Barroso, manager of the Wines of Alentejo Sustainability Programme (WASP).   [Visit https://genn.cc for more info or support this channel on https://patreon.com/genncc]  We discuss how the programme evolved from a need to respond to worsening climatic conditions, into a solid certification programme to help communicate the measured results of producers who take sustainability seriously.  João also discusses how the programme consciously developed a knowledge-sharing network to accelerate the uptake of best practices.   Some of these best practices include the use of regenerative farming which, in a drought-prone region like Alentejo, is showing very positive results. The difference here, as João says, is between trying to survive in a desert, or, thriving in a garden of Eden. Either way, viticulture at higher temperatures has to mean working with nature, as Professor Kimberly Nicholas has said earlier in the series.   The last point, as Dr Gregory Jones mentioned earlier, is about finding ways to expand these best practices beyond the regional level to the national and international levels.  This is where the wine producers and journalists and communicators interface to tell those stories. It seems to me that it is up to all of us to try and decode what is behind the certification labels.  We do this best by telling the stories of contemporary viticulture that respects nature, promotes stewardship of the land, and ultimately inspires trust in consumers that the wine industry is on a sustainable pathway.

In this ClimateGenn Episode, Dr Shaun Fitzgerald OBE, Director of the Centre for Climate Repair in Cambridge, discusses new research to build resilient and scaleable kelp growing platforms, asking the key question of whether kelp forests can capture and store a billion tonnes of carbon? [Visit https://genn.cc or support my work on patreon for more access: https://patreon.com/genncc As the Centre for Climate Repair forges ahead with its 3 R’s strategy of reducing emissions, removing carbon from the atmosphere and repairing essential climate systems such as the Arctic, Shaun has high hopes for large scale ocean sequestration but does not stop short of stating the need for urgent research into engineering methods for reflecting sunlight away from the Earth. These are controversial proposals for many people and yet the climate problem keeps getting worse, with many governments only making tiny incremental commitments that maintain the status quo of a fossil fuel driven economy and society. The truth is, as Professor Kevin Anderson has stated, that if we rely on the current ambition our political leaders, we really “are going to hell in a handcart”. I am interested to hear feedback from listeners and gauge your thoughts on these kinds of proposals.

In this episode, I am speaking with Luis Patrão, director of enology and viticulture at Coelheiros, a stunning 800 hectare, historic estate, north of Evora, in the centre of Alentejo. [Support this channel on https://patreon.com/genncc and find more info at https://genn.cc ] When I visited the estate, Luis gave me a guided tour to demonstrate how the 600+ hectare cork oak forest, 50 hectares of vines, and the 40 hectare walnut orchard are being transformed into a regenerated resilient, and balanced ecosystem that is simply glorious. It wasn’t always like this. The estate had more of a focus on hunting, running all the way back to 1467. It was only at the end of the last century, that Coelheiros started to be transformed into what is now a buzz of biodiversity. Luis explains how their biggest challenge has been small birds and bugs, that eat everything from the plants themselves to the fruit they produce. Wetland restoration and ending centuries of hunting have seen the return of birds of prey such as eagles and falcons. These in return have driven away the small birds that eat the fruit, and the introduction of bats is proving effective at balancing the bug population. Luis also talks about the increased use of grapes more suited to the climate. Alicant Bouschet is again a favourite for this purpose, where the berries have proven to be more resilient to heatwaves, as well as having a later ripening period. A feature of this conversation is that Luis talks about the positive impact this process of ‘working with nature’ has had on the wine quality, which he describes as being “ more pure and with greater richness on the palate”. This kind of readiness for the new cycles of hotter and intense climatic conditions mean that Coelheiros is one of the leaders in Alentejo in starting out on the pilgrimage towards a truly sustainable viticulture.

In this ClimateGenn episode, I am speaking to Dr Levke Caesar about the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC, about what would happen if this vital piece of the climate system either slowed dramatically or even shut down altogether. [Visit https://genn.cc for more information on ClimateGenn and support this channel via https://patreon.com/genncc ] To date the models have been poor anticipators of the speed of localised climate changes. Levke gives an insightful and sincere perspective on the importance of the AMOC as a critical piece of the climate system jigsaw. In the next episode, we stay in the oceans and speak with Dr Shaun Fitzgerald, Director of the Centre for Climate Repair in Cambridge, about the collaborative effort they are involved with to develop kelp seaweed for both carbon sequestration and the benefit of marine ecosystems and more. Subscribers via Patreon can also access another episode with Professor Bill McGuire discussing his new book Hothouse Earth and, very shortly, a new interview from my visit to the Monaco Scientific Centre to interview Dr Nathalie Hilmi about the centre's work in ocean research and conservation with corals and whales among other marine ecosystems on the agenda. Please also check out the Sustainability in Alentejo wine series that I have been posting. The latest episode features an interview with Professor Kimberly Nicholas at the University of Lund about regenerative practices that underscore the critical importance of learning to work with nature rather than against nature. Thanks for listening to ClimateGenn. Please do like, follow, share, or subscribe if you can. Also, please do leave feedback on episodes. Animation sources - NASA:

In this interview with climate and wine scientist, Professor Kimberly Nicholas, we discuss the urgency of the climate crisis and the need to scale up mitigation and adaptation in the wine industry and beyond to avoid catastrophic impacts of climate heating. [Visit: https://genn.cc/alentejo for more information on this wine and Climate change series. Support my work via Patreon.] Kimberly is originally from Sonoma in California’s wine country and is currently based in Sweden at the University of Lund. She has also recently published a book titled ‘Under The Sky We Make’ highlighting the agency available to all of us to contribute toward a better world. Kimberly also produces a monthly advice column called We Can Fix It sharing thoughts and engaging in broader discussion on this complex subject. With the lens focussed primarily on wine, we look at the benefits of using a wider range of grape varieties, as well as the growing trend towards regenerative agriculture, to restore soil carbon and build resilience. To give some context to why there is an emphasis on words like urgency, catastrophe, and resilience, is because the Intergovernmental Panel On Climate Change (IPCC), a scientist-led division of the United Nations, have in 2022 stated that we need to reduce our emissions in developed nations by 10-12% per year, in order to have a 50% chance of holding warming from rising above 1.5ºC global mean average. Reducing emissions this fast is a colossal task and is why so many people now agree we are in a climate emergency. Action must start now across our society if we are going to stand a chance of succeeding in sustaining a liveable climate. The world of wine may only be a tiny percentage of global agriculture but it is also a very sensitive crop and widely regarded as a cultural and luxury product. It is also greatly exposed to the risks of a changing climate and is widely seen as a leader in taking the actions required to transition towards true sustainability.

In this episode of Sustainability in Alentejo Wine Series, I am speaking with João Roquette, CEO and Chairman of the Esporão group about the company’s transformation to organic and resilient production. Esporão is one of the most famous brand names in Portuguese wine and especially in Alentejo. João has played a leading role driving the company’s move towards organic viticulture. During my visit I saw huge amounts of effort going into researching indigenous varieties for adaptability to the new climate conditions which are extreme today but will rapidly become normal tomorrow. The extent of this work has made Esporão a phenomenal success. The company owns 623ha of organic vineyards – the biggest ownership in Portugal, representing about 18% of total organic production in the country. Here João talks us through how the company reoriented itself as a pioneer towards sustainability goals before the WASP programme was established. He also says, the Alentejo region as a whole should be proudly waving the flag as leaders in Portugal in taking bold environmental action.

In this ClimateGenn episode I speak to Silver Lining Institute Executive Director, Kelly Wanser about the urgent need to invest billions of dollars into expanding our global coverage of climate modelling capacity. [Support this channel on https://patreon.com/genncc] The worsening risks we face mean climate interventions to cool the planet are back in discussion in the corridors of power. We discuss the hold ups and the necessity for research that could give all of us a clear idea as to whether such schemes should be deployed or not. We also discuss how engaging the talents of global south scientists beyond the current superficial level could be a game changer in advancing our ability to respond, and to intervene, in order to counter the catastrophic impacts of warming we are seeing accelerating all around us. Quotes: “We are in the far end of what looks like a really bad place for climate change.” “The media is telling us the math doesn’t add up and the situation is getting a little bit frightening.” On climate interventions: “Looking at the system where it is and the dangers to people… and the dangers to natural systems, ecology and biodiversity, we are now seeing there is more openness in those communities who were extremely opposed to this than they were in the past… and that’s new!” “Ultimately, in the United States, and we’ll make this call to the rest of the world, we think there needs to be a step function, a real multi-billion dollar increase in investing against our observations and out model improvements. Separate from climate intervention, just to do the problems, we are not investing enough.” “We quickly need money and this technical access for researchers in the global south if we want to say that their participation is meaningful… I’ll speak bluntly, I think their participation is more superficial than it should be because they don’t have the capacity to actually do the science.” Excerpts from interview with Kelly Wanser, Exec Director of SilverLining Institute.