Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael welcomes Achim Steiner, Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme and co-chair of UN Energy. Michael had questions for Steiner on UNDP’s roster of initiatives, balancing climate priorities with development goals, and how to clear a path to financing billions of dollars of clean infrastructure in the midst of a global energy crisis.Like, share and subscribe to Cleaning Up for more essential conversations around the net zero transition. Links and Related Episodes: Learn more about UNDP: https://www.undp.org/energyOver 120 countries are part of UNDP’s Climate Promise: https://climatepromise.undp.org/Discover UNDP’s Sustainable Finance Hub: https://sdgfinance.undp.org/Many of the episodes mentioned can be found in our ‘United Nations’ playlist on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvl91lgPsUg&list=PLe8ZTD7dMaaDVAOrAyAwuMKrmq3G9ih75Watch Episode 98 with Bill McKibben: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W9uR6eTe94Watch Episode 59 with Alain Ebobissé: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep-59-alain-ebobisse-meeting-africas-infrastructure-needs/Guest BioAchim Steiner became Administrator of the United Nations Development Programme in 2017, and is also the Vice-Chair of the UN Sustainable Development Group. Steiner has been a global leader on sustainable development, climate resilience and international cooperation for nearly three decades.Prior to joining UNDP, he was Director of the Oxford Martin School and Professorial Fellow of Balliol College, University of Oxford. He led the United Nations Environment Programme (2006-2016), and was Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi. Steiner previously held positions including Director General of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and Secretary General of the World Commission on Dams.Steiner graduated in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (MA) from Worcester College, Oxford University, and holds an MA from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael welcomes Dr. Nawal Al-Hosany, UAE’s Permanent Representative to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), for a wide-ranging discussion on IRENA’s work promoting an equitable transition, the UAE’s emergence as a renewables superpower, and the significance of COP28 coming to the region later this year.Links and Related Episodes: Learn more about the International Renewable Energy Agency and its work: https://www.irena.org/Learn about IRENA and the UAE’s Beyond Food initiative: https://www.irena.org/News/pressreleases/2022/Mar/UAE-and-IRENA-Launch-New-Initiative-to-Provide-Access-to-Energy-for-Clean-CookingDr. Nawal’s recent op-ed on the importance of climate education: https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/2023/01/05/its-time-to-put-youth-at-the-top-of-the-climate-agenda/Visit the UAE mission to IRENA’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@uaemissiontoirenaWatch Cleaning Up Episode 87 with Francesco La Camera: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep87-francesco-la-camera-the-economist-diplomat-championing-clean-energy/Guest BioDr. Nawal Al-Hosany is the Permanent Representative of the UAE to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) as of April 2018. Previously, Dr. Al Hosany held the position of the Executive Director of Sustainability at Masdar, the international renewable energy leader based in Abu Dhabi. She also served as the Director of the Zayed Future Energy Prize for eight years between 2011-2018. Dr. Al-Hosany is an active member of various climate-focused boards and committees, including the advisory council of National Geographic magazine and the advisory Panel for the Momentum for Change initiative of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). She is a board member of Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and she serves as the Vice Chair for the Global Council of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).She graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at the UAE University in 1992 and obtained her PhD from Newcastle University in the UK in 2002. In July 2018, Dr. Al-Hosany was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Keele University in the UK in recognition for her achievements in the field of sustainability. Dr Al-Hosany has also received the “Arab Woman Award” and the “Emirates Business Women Award”.

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael welcomes Tom Samson, CEO of Rolls-Royce SMR. Rolls-Royce SMR are among a raft of new companies innovating in the field of Small Modular Reactors, hoping to provide nuclear energy in smaller, more repeatable modules at a lower price point than traditional gigawatt-scale reactors. Michael had questions for Samson on nuclear’s “desperately poor track record” for price control, the practicalities of factory-building a nuclear reactor, and the feasibility of nuclear finding a role in an energy landscape full of increasingly cheap renewables. Like, subscribe and share for more insights and in-depth interviews from the front-line of the net-zero transition.Links and Related Episodes: Learn more about Rolls-Royce SMR: https://www.rolls-royce-smr.com/about-us Watch a walkthrough of Rolls-Royce SMR’s nuclear technology here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jmp-z5bzmE Watch Cleaning Up Episode 5 with Kirsty Gogan, “Fighting for Nuclear”: https://www.cleaningup.live/episode-5-kirsty-gogan/ Watch Cleaning Up Episode 94 with Julia Pyke, “The Fight for GW Nuclear”: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep94-julia-pyke-the-case-for-gw-nuclear/ Watch Cleaning Up Episode 74 with Francesco Starace: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep74-francesco-starace-europes-clean-power-leader/ Watch Cleaning Up Episode 97 with Julio Freidmann: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep97-julio-friedmann-the-carbon-wrangler/ Guest Bio Tom Samson is the CEO of Rolls-Royce SMR Limited. He has over 30 years of experience in the power industry in various senior level executive positions in the UK and internationally. Samson joined Marubeni Corporation in 2009, where he undertook a number of CEO and Board-level assignments in the UAE and USA. Samson was appointed Chief Operating Officer for ENEC in the UAE in 2012, where he helped establish Nawah Energy as the operator of Barakah, the first nuclear power plant in the region. Samson was appointed CEO and Board member at NuGeneration Ltd in 2015, which was responsible for developing a new nuclear power station at Moorside in Cumbria. In early 2020 Samson joined Rolls-Royce to lead their SMR Consortium and is a Board Member of Rolls-Royce SMR Limited. Samson holds a degree from Edinburgh Napier University in Energy Engineering. Samson began his career as a Chartered Engineer at GEC Alstom designing combined cycle gas-fired power plants.

This week, Michael invites Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, CEO of Hydrogen Europe, to debate the importance of hydrogen in powering Europe and the world towards a decarbonized economy. Hydrogen Europe is an industry association of more than 400 members that promotes the role of hydrogen in reaching carbon neutrality in Europe. Chatzimarkakis holds hydrogen to be the miracle molecule of the transition, while Michael’s Hydrogen Ladder has a far narrower view of its likely uses on the path to net zero. What follows is a comprehensive, robust – and at moments, fierce - discussion of hydrogen in the transition, covering electrolyzers, fertilizers, freight, transportation and heating, as well as following the “pots of money” behind hydrogen infrastructure and lobbying in Europe. Spark more healthy debate around net zero pathways by liking and sharing the episode, and don’t forget to subscribe. Relevant Guest & Topic Links: Learn more about Hydrogen Europe: https://hydrogeneurope.eu/ HE’s Hydrogen Act (2021) lays out a roadmap for a ‘European Hydrogen Economy’: https://hydrogeneurope.eu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/2021.04_HE_Hydrogen-Act_Final.pdf HE’s Clean Hydrogen Monitor (2022) provides an overview of the European hydrogen market: https://hydrogeneurope.eu/clean-hydrogen-monitor2022/ Explore Michael’s Hydrogen Ladder here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/clean-hydrogen-ladder-v40-michael-liebreich/ President von der Leyen’s speech at the European Parliament Plenary on December 15th 2022: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/fi/speech_22_7727 Watch Cleaning Up Episode 111 with Dan Yergin here: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep111-daniel-yergin-the-worlds-most-influential-energy-analyst/ Watch Episode 88 with Patrick Graichen here: https://www.cleaningup.live/ep88-patrick-graichen-germanys-secretary-of-state-for-the-energiewende/ Guest Bio:Chatzimarkakis was a Member of European Parliament from 2004 until 2014 for Germany’s Free Democratic Party (FDP), serving on the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy among others. From 1999 to 2004, Chatzimarkakis was Managing Partner at Polit Data Concept, a public affair consultancy, and served as a Science Policy Officer at Germany’s Bundestag from 1995 to 1998. Chatzimarkakis holds an MA from the University of Bonn in Political Science. He has held positions as a lecturer at University Duisberg Essen and Saarland University.

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael is joined by James DeMuth. James is co-founder and CEO of Seurat Technologies, a specialist in 3D metal printing, or Additive Manufacturing. With their own licensed laser technology, their aim is to decarbonize traditional, emissions-intensive manufacturing processes by competing with them, and ultimately, displacing them. Relevant Guest & Topic James is evangelical about the potential of Seurat’s technology to transform the manufacturing industry for the better:“Our goal is to make hardware production as simple to do and as cheap to produce as it is to write code and software... I don't think we have any concept, at all, for the explosion in applications that we would see when that happens.” Relevant Guest & Topic Links:Area Printing Explained https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llAcqwD2TBY Seurat Technologies Inc. https://www.seurat.com/ The Economist on Seurat and Additive Manufacturing https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2022/03/19/a-new-type-of-3d-printing-may-bring-it-into-the-mainstreamOn Seurat’s 2024 plans for a 100,000-square-foot factory https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/10/06/business/local-3d-printing-startup-build-new-factory-mass-production/?p1=BGSearch_Overlay_LatestStories A comprehensive look at Seurat’s approach to additive manufacturing https://issuu.com/inovar-communications/docs/metal_am_spring_2022/141?fr=sN2VjNjQ3NDg2NTg Why the name? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QmzUHwFGKtI  Guest Bio: Since co-founding Seurat in 2015, DeMuth has served as the company’s CTO, and as of 2020, their CEO. DeMuth spent six years at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, as a Research Associate, then as a Mechanical Engineer working in Advanced Manufacturing and Fusion Energy. At LLNL, DeMuth worked on power generation, additive manufacturing technologies, and the Laser Inertial Fusion Energy (LIFE) Engine. DeMuth holds a BSc from Santa Clara University in Mechanical Engineering, and an MA from Stanford University in Mechanical Engineering.

This week’s episode of Cleaning Up sees the return of Jonathan Maxwell, Founder and CEO of Sustainable Development Capital Limited (SDCL), one of the world’s biggest investors in energy efficiency. Jonathan is back for the first in a series of 'checkpoints' on Cleaning Up, as we invite guests back to the show to give an update on their sector or specialism on the path to net zero. Guest Bio: investment trust investing exclusively in energy efficiency - Sustainable Energy Efficiency Income Trust (SEEIT). Jonathan chairs the Trust’s Investment Committee.Jonathan has over two decades of experience in the financial sector – he spent early days of his career at HSBC Infrastructure and led the IPO process of HICL Infrastructure Company (formerly HSBC Infrastructure Company) – one of the biggest infrastructure funds listed on the London Stock Exchange.In 2007 he founded Sustainable Development Capital (SDCL), a boutique investment firm specializing in clean energy, energy efficiency and decentralised energy infrastructure projects. He has led the company ever since as the CEO. Jonathan holds a degree in Modern History from Oxford University.View: Relevant Guest & Topic Links:Find out more about SDCL: https://www.sdclgroup.com/Find out more about SDCL: https://www.sdclgroup.com/ Explore LLNL's flowcharts, or Sankey diagrams: https://flowcharts.llnl.gov/ See last year's flowchart's produced by BEIS detailing UK energy use: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/energy-flow-chart-2021 SDCL Energy Efficiency Income Trust PLC's listing on the LSE: https://www.londonstockexchange.com/stock/SEIT/sdcl-energy-efficiency-income-trust-plc/company-page BEIS in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement, including the pledge to establish an Energy Efficiency Taskforce: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/beis-in-the-autumn-statement#:~:text=Energy%20Efficiency%20Taskforce&text=The%20taskforce%20will%20support%20a,billion%20provided%20in%20this%20Parliament.Watch: Related Episodes:Watch Jonathan's first appearance on Episode 14 of Cleaning Up in 2020: https://youtu.be/Wqrtr2lePM8Watch Episode 111 with Dan Yergin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QIh4U3VgjcWatch Episode 110 with Adair Turner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P2JgeOXp9wWatch Episode 109 with Ion Yadigaroglu and Dipender Saluja: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUTPkszXs_YWatch Episode 84 with Mark Carney: https://youtu.be/HtA5ufMzKAU

Bob Litterman, financial risk expert and climate policy leader, discusses the urgency of global emission reduction incentives. Emphasizing the time sensitivity of climate risk, he advocates for proactive risk management. The conversation explores carbon pricing strategies, clean energy investments, and the role of financial systems in addressing climate change.

Cleaning Up begins the new year and its eighth season in conversation with Daniel Yergin. Yergin, Vice Chairman of S&P Global, is a Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and one of the world’s leading authorities on energy.Alongside discussing the latest edition of his best-selling book, The New Map, Yergin also provided some fascinating predictions for the future of global energy supply and demand, its international nuances, and its historical echoes.Daniel Yergin is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of a trilogy of books on energy and is seen by many as America’s foremost energy expert. He was co-founder of Cambridge Energy Research Associates and currently serves as Vice Chairman of S&P Global, one of the world’s largest research and information companies.Yergin is the author of several bestselling works of history, most notably The Prize: the Epic Quest for Oil Money and Power (1990), which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and has been translated into 20 languages. His latest book is The New Map: Energy, Climate, and the Clash of Nations (2020). Yergin’s other work includes The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World (2011), and Commanding Heights: The Battle for the World Economy (1998).Yergin holds a BA from Yale University and a PhD from Cambridge University, where he was a Marshall Scholar. Yergin has served on the US Secretary of Energy Advisory Board under the last four presidents.View: Relevant Guest & Topic Links:On the energy crisis: CLICK HEREOn copper in the energy transition: CLICK HEREOn Putin and winter in Europe: CLICK HEREWatch: Related Episodes: Nobuo Tanaka, Former Head of the International Energy Agency: CLICK HEREJulio Friedmann, Chief Scientist at Carbon Direct: CLICK HERE

This week, it's a special, bonus episode of Cleaning Up. Michael has some essential messages to keep in mind at the dawn of the new year:1. Climate action is neither doomed nor a sure thing.2. People who disagree with you may share your goals, but put facts and priorities in a different order.3. We will never get to declare victory over climate change. The original version of It’s A New Year And Time To Face Reality can be found here:https://medium.com/@MLiebreich/its-new-year-and-a-good-time-to-face-some-facts-c610f3aa579eFollow or Subscribe to Cleaning Up: Twitter: https://twitter.com/MLCleaningUp LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/cleaning-up-with-michael-liebreich/

Adair Turner, Baron Turner of Ecchinswell, is Chair of the Energy Transitions Commission, a global coalition of major companies, investors and experts identifying pathways to limit global warming to well below 2˚C by 2040.From 2008-2013, Lord Turner chaired the UK’s Financial Services Authority. He was Director General of the Confederation of British Industry (1995-2000); Chairman of the UK Pensions Commission (2003-2006); and was the first Chairman of the UK Climate Change Committee (2008-2012). From 1982-1995 Lord Turner worked at McKinsey, and was Vice-Chairman of Merrill Lynch Europe from 2000-2006.Lord Turner authored Between Debt and the Devil (Princeton: 2015), and Economics after the Crisis (MIT: 2012). He became a cross-bench member of the House of Lords in 2006, and holds a degree in History and Economics from the University of Cambridge.The Energy Transition Commissionhttps://www.energy-transitions.org/Download the Commission's latest report, Degree of Urgency: Accelerating Actions to Keep 1.5°C on the TableDegree of Urgency: Accelerating Actions to Keep 1.5°C on the Table