The Energy Revolution

The Democratic Republic of Congo produces over 70% of the words Cobalt, a key material in many modern bateries and clean energy technologies.It is a mining powerhouse, central to the global energy system, and yet the economy remains one of the poorest in the world.So what do these mines look like on the ground? Why have Chinese firms been buying up more of the country's mines? and what does all of this have to do with the EV in your driveway?In our final episode before Christmas we are joined by Dr Ben Radley, Associate Professor at the University of Bath and author of Disrupted Development in the Congo: The Fragile Foundations of the African Mining Consensus (Oxford University Press).Alongside our host, former UK government advisor and Cambridge Fellow Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett, Ben talks to us about all of this and more, to understand the critical role of DRC in the energy system, and whether a fairer mining deal is possible.

Are businesses leaders or laggards in the energy transition? Despite attempts by some to paint clean energy and net zero as anti-business and anti-growth, business leaders themselves are broadly supportive of the shift and see it as a place of economic opportunity. This week our host Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett sits down with Rachel Solomon Williams, CEO of the Aldersgate Group, who work directly with leading businesses such as IKEA,Tesco and Aviva to affect positive change on the ground. They discuss the unique position of companies to deploy changes quickly and the potential to save costs alongside emissions, as well as the real short-term challenges of competing with those that have lower environmental standards and the limits of businesses given the profit motive.

The politics of net zero is changing. The term itself falling out of favour.According to the media, the consensus is fraying at the edges, with Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch banging the anti-net zero drum at every chance they get.And yet, beneath the surface there is still a relative amount of agreement. Labour, the Lib Dems, SNP, Plaid Cymru, and the insurgent Greens all agree that climate and clean energy are core to the UK's future.So what's changed? With our guest Harry Shackleton (Inflect) we look at how fractitious modern politics is bleeding into the net zero debate, the weak leadership of Starmer, and what lessons can be learned from the likes of Zohran Mamdani in the US on delivering a message effectively.The show is hosted by Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett, former senior government advisor and Policy Fellow at the Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy.

Is a country's energy future determined by its geography?When it comes to energy resources, not all countries are made equal. Some are blessed with windy seas, others with regular sun, and a handful with the resources needed to build clean energy technology.This episode looks at some of the archetypes for energy systems, the limits of geography, and the opportunity for countries to still decide how they make the most of what they have. We're joined by Phoebe O'Hara of the Energy Transmissions Commission to talk about their latest research and what it means for the global energy transition.The show is hosted by Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett, former government advisor and current Policy Fellow at the University of Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy.

The UK has an ambitious goal to achieve Clean Power by 2030, and cement itself as a clean energy superpower in the decade that follows.The success of this will depend not just on national leadership, but an ability to make the case for the energy transition locally, for the people that will see infrastructure built in their back yards, or want to know how they’ll feel the benefits on their bills.On today’s episode we’re joined by Merlin Hyman, CEO at  Regen and a staple of the UK energy world for almost two decades. Alongside our host Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett, former government advisor and Policy Fellow at the University of Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy, they discuss everythingfrom collective ownership models for renewables and local government schemes, to practical changes needed to the electricity market and the huge changes in the wind and solar industries to date.Make sure to subscribe and rate us highly on your podcast platform of choice if you enjoy the show and want to help us grow!

An uncomfortable truth in the energy transition is that Coal is still a major part of the global energy system. Despite being majorly polluting and often no cheaper than cleaner alternatives, it's persisted particularly in countries like China, India, and Indonesia, but also the USA and Australia. Why? And how do we truly phase it out of the system.Our guest this week is Lucy Shaw, who's working on a book looking at the role of coal in the world and why it's been so hard for some countries to give up. We talk about the politics that's keeping coal on line from mechanised mines in China to aging sites in Trump's new America, complete with some real stories from Lucy's research on the ground.The show is hosted by Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett, former senior government advisor at the UK Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and the No10 Policy Unit, and a Fellow at the University of Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy.

The solar industry has faced tough questions about its supply chains and the links to state-enforced forced labour, particularly in regions like Xinjiang, China.In this week’s episode Sulaiman speaks with Rachel Owens, former human-rights campaigner and CEO of the Solar Stewardship Initiative, to talk about the major steps the sector has been taking to address the issue.We discuss how increased transparency, accountability, and consistent government regulation can ensure buyers that their clean power isn't coming at the expense of human rights abuses. We show the immense progress that's been maded, but also what more needs to happen to ensure a truly just transition.

Jim Watson, a Professor of Energy Policy at UCL, dives into the evolution of energy systems over the past 40 years. He discusses the rapid dash for gas in the 1990s, driven by economic and political factors, and contrasts it with France's nuclear strategy. Watson explores the crucial role of policy in innovation, the impact of global forces like China's supply chains, and the need for just transition mechanisms in shifting energy landscapes. His insights reveal a blend of past lessons and future optimism around renewable energy innovations.

What makes the Texas energy system so special? Separated from the rest of the US grid, the Texas system is a living lab for the future of energy, achieving remarkable rollout of renewables despite the politics of the state.This week we’re joined by Mark Lauby from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the organisation responsible for grid and system stability across the US, to unpack what makes Texas special, and how it has evolved since the 2021 blackouts.This episode is part of a partnership with Reuters Events ahead of their major upcoming conferences in the UK and USA. Energy Transition Europe will take place on the 20-21 October in London. Use the code TER200 for a £200 discount on a ticket. Link here: https://events.reutersevents.com/energy-live. Energy Live will take place on the 9-10 December in Houston, Texas. Use the code REVOLUTION200 for a $200 discount. Link here: https://events.reutersevents.com/energy-transition/energy-transition-europe. The show is hosted by Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett, former senior government advisor at the UK Department for Energy and No10 Downing Street, and current Policy Fellow at theUniversity of Cambridge Centre for Science and Policy.

How do race and the legacies of empire continue to impact the energy transition?For black history month our host, Cambridge Fellow and former government advisor Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett, looks at the ways that race and empire still impact our energy transition: including ‘energy apartheid’ in South Africa, the legacy of segregation on the Texas grid, and the role of slavery and empire in the early industrial revolution.Internationally he looks at the imperial roots of European oil and gas companies like Shell, BP and Total Energies, as well as the legacy of colonialism in cementing the resource curse that so many Sub-Saharan African countries face, from Congo, Angola, Nigeria and elsewhere.The impact of these histories continue to shape our energy systems, and it is important not to repeat these mistakes as we move to a fairer, renewables based energy system. Academic sources cited in this episode:Energy Racism Report: The Electricity Crisis and the WorkingClass in South Africa. University of Johannesburg. Maggott, Terri, Siphiwe Mbatha , Claire Ceruti, Lydia Moyo , Alice Mporo , Trevor Ngwane , Cleopatra Shezi , and Luke Sinwell .  Accessed November 30, 2022. https://www.uj.ac.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/energy-racism-csrp-web.pdf The 2021 Texas Power Crisis: distribution, duration, anddisparities, Flores NM, McBrien H, Do V, Kiang MV, Schlegelmilch J, Casey JA.. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2023 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9851928/  Race and energy poverty: Evidence from African-Americanhouseholds, Eyup Dogan, Mara Madaleno, Roula Inglesi-Lotz, Dilvin Taskin; Energy Economics (2022). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0140988322000883 Associations between air pollution and socioeconomiccharacteristics, ethnicity and age profile of neighbourhoods in England and the Netherlands. Fecht D, Fischer P, Fortunato L, Hoek G, de Hoogh K, Marra M, Kruize H, Vienneau D, Beelen R, Hansell AEnviron Pollut. 2015https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25622242/ ‘Oil will set us free’: the hydrocarbon industry and theAlgerian decolonization process’, Marta Musso, Britain, France and the Decolonization of Africa: Future Imperfect?, 2017.https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1mtz521.8?seq=3 Beyond Petrostates: The burning need to cut oildependence in the energy transition, Mike Coffin and Andrew Grant. 2021.https://carbontracker.org/reports/petrostates-energy-transition-report/Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century, HelenThompson (2022).