Wicked Problems - Climate Tech Conversations

Welcome to Wicked Problems. While other climate tech shows are winding down, we’re still pumping out the content about an issue - let’s be honest - you’re going to be thinking about over the break. Because that’s the sort of person you are.For our newsletter and ad-free listening, subscribe at news.wickedproblems.uk. In co-host Richard Delevan's conversation with John Hartley of Levidian, we cover:Levidian's Mission and Technologies* Introduction to Levidian and its role in decarbonizing waste gas.* The technology behind converting methane into hydrogen and graphene.Impact of Methane Transparency on Business* John Hartley's insights on how increased transparency in methane monitoring aids Levidian's business growth.* The importance of political will in setting the market-making rules in climate tech.Decarbonization Trends in Industrial Sectors* Discussion on how different industries are moving towards decarbonization independently of climate conferences.* The role and impact of Levidian's LOOP units in decarbonizing waste gas.John Hartley's Catalysts:* A fascinating study of hydropower dams and what that taught him about* WhenToPlugIn - the National Grid ESO app* The Week Junior - The kids’ version of news about climate and the world that provides.Thanks for listening. Back soon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Wicked Problems. The climate tech show not afraid to ask the big questions. Like, what last-minute gifts should climate nerds ask Santa to bring them?We asked Ben Cooke, who writes about climate tech and the environment at The Times, to talk through his recommended books of the year:The Deluge, by Stephen MarkleyA climate thriller that goes much faster than its 900 pages might suggest. “It's really, it's really worth it”.Avocado Anxiety, by Louise GrayClimate Capitalism, by Akshat RathiFive Times Faster: Rethinking the Science, Economics and Diplomacy of Climate Change, by Simon SharpeDefinitely one for the policy wonks.The Last Drop: Solving the World’s Water Crisis, by Tim SmedleyAnd one that is on our pre-order list:Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet, by Dr. Hannah RitchieDefusing the Hydrogen BombWe also spoke about his coverage of the UK government decision to drop a hydrogen home heating trial in Redcar, and his reactions to the agreement in Dubai after having attended COP28.Thanks for ListeningWe’ll be back with more episodes before the end of the year:* John Hartley, Levidian CEO (Thursday)* Gunnlaugur Erlendsson, CEO of ENSO Tyres (Saturday)* Ciaran Cuffe, Green Party Member of the European Parliament for Dublin (26 Dec)And plenty more in store for the new year. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Wicked Problems. The climate tech show and newsletter that was so early walking out of COP before it was cool.Things look bleak at a deadlocked #COP28 in Dubai right now - so we thought this was a good time to share this optimistic conversation Claire Brady and Richard Delevan had with Hannah Scott, CEO of Oxfordshire Greentech. We talk about Hannah’s experiences in building one of the world’s most exciting climate tech clusters, where innovation isn’t just talked about but brought to life, and look forward to the Climate Solutions Conference she’s leading in March of next year.Read more:* Oxfordshire Greentech Climate Solutions Conference - 13th March, Said Business School* Get your Earlybird Tickets* Oxfordshire Greentech* Climate Tech Supercluster* Subscribe to our newsletter - news.wickedproblems.ukHannah’s Catalysts:Daring Greatly, by Brené BrownPlaying Big, by Tara Mohr Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Wicked Problems. The climate tech podcast and newsletter that while not at Climate Coachella in person has spent enough time at Expo City in Dubai to wonder if COP28 kept the Irish pub on site.Wicked Problems is a listener-supported show. To receive new shows to your inbox and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber at news.wickedproblems.uk.Serious work was continuing at COP in between Siberian Jurassic Park Wooly Mammoth exhibitions and unalloyed trade show booths - including the pledge to #3xRenewables by 2030. That’s been the planned positive headline for this COP since January. And while it would be good news, is the grid ready for that? Or will too much of the wind and solar built using trillions in (mostly private) investment find itself curtailed - aka wasted - rather than replacing old fossil fuel generating plants and meeting new demand?Gerhard Salge is Chief Technology Officer of Hitachi Energy and is one of the world’s foremost experts on power grid technologies. He sat down with Richard Delevan to talk about the implications of a 3xRenewables world on the grid.Gerhard's LinkedIn article.Gerhard’s Catalysts:Redefining Energy, with Laurent Segalen and Gerard ReidMichael Liebreich, founder of BloombergNEF, commentator, and host of Cleaning Up with Michael LiebreichMichael Barnard, chief strategist at TFIE, Forbes and Cleantechnica contributor and once (and future?) guest on Wicked ProblemsYou can also find this episode onApple PodcastsSpotifyYouTubeand anywhere you get podcasts.Get in touch at news.wickedproblems.uk where you can also get our newsletter and consider getting a paid subscription to help support our work.Thanks for listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Wicked Problems. The climate tech show and newsletter with dogs that remind us that even the end of the world can’t take priority over a timely walk.Wicked Problems is listener-supported - consider becoming a paid subscriber at news.wickedproblems.uk. Andy Reisinger is a respected climate scientist who just published a new paper arguing that the gap between “staying under 1.5” and what the science says is likely means it’s time to talk seriously about managing overshoot.He spoke to in a personal capacity - and in that same capacity he published the paper:Temporary overshoot: Origins, prospects, and a long path ahead (1 Dec 2023)The paper - that link above provides free open access for 50 days, cherished subscriber, so don’t say we never get you anything - seeks to start a serious discussion about Overshoot and what to do about it.We discuss* nature of overshoot and why now* the role and needed scale of carbon removals (CDR) in the overshoot scenarios* going being Net Zero - and the burden-sharing dilemmas among sectors and countries* urgency of reducing other forcing GHGs, especially methaneIt feels taboo to even discuss, and getting back below 1.5 is something that both Andy and other scientists stress is going to be extremely difficult, extremely costly, and difficult to even discuss because it will inherently involve deciding between really bad options. Who pays? How much will those responsible be willing to pay to bring the world back under 1.5?Andy also references:Overconfidence in Overshoot - (29 Nov 2023)“Professor Joeri Rogelj, Director of Research at the Grantham Institute – Climate Change and the Environment, argues that the risks of climate overshoot are dangerous and underappreciated”Andy Reisinger:LinkedInBlueSkyWe also discussed Solar Radiation Management, prompted by a presentation from Thelma Krug from the IPCC:Thanks for listening.You can also find this episode onApple PodcastsSpotifyYouTubeand anywhere you get podcasts.Get in touch at news.wickedproblems.uk where you can also get our newsletter and consider getting a paid subscription to help support our work. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Former Vice President Al Gore joins the podcast to discuss the urgency of addressing climate change and the role of AI. They also explore Visions 2030's immersive experiences and AI-driven software. The Lumisphere project aims to change conversations about the future and climate, while SolarPunk offers an optimistic view of the future. They recommend reliable sources like Yale School of Climate Communications and highlight Bruce Mao's design thinking tools.

Dr. Sugandha Srivistav from Oxford Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment discusses the forgotten inventor George Cove who may have had a breakthrough in solar technology. They explore the possibility of Cove being kidnapped and how his disappearance impacted solar energy innovation. The podcast also delves into the impact of monopolies on innovation and the potential consequences of early solar dominance.

Welcome back to Wicked Problems - the climate tech podcast and newsletter that’s less stressful for King Charles than a fountain pen. As things heat up at COP28 in Dubai, and world leaders discuss how to agree to stop putting carbon dioxide up into the atmosphere, what do we do with the 1000 Gigatons of CO2 we’ve already stuck up there?Cara Maesano of RMI (formerly known as the Rocky Mountain Institute) speaks with co-hosts and about RMI’s new comprehensive 400-page applied innovation roadmap on Carbon Removal. It analyses 32 different carbon removal pathways and is aimed at policymakers, investors and other funders to identify the gaps in R&D needed for a “silver buckshot” approach towards scaled solutions for pulling CO2 out of the air to get us down from whatever the level above 420 ppm we’ll be if and when we reach Net Zero emissions.RMI: Applied Innovation Roadmap for CDRCara’s Catalysts:Ministry for the Future, by Kim Stanley RobinsonClimate Reparations: The Case for Carbon Removal, by David Wallace-WellsYou can also find this episode onApple PodcastsSpotifyYouTubeand anywhere you get podcasts.Get in touch at news.wickedproblems.uk where you can also get our newsletter and consider getting a paid subscription to help support our work.If you liked this conversation, consider sharing it with someone who hasn’t yet done the math about why CDR is not sufficient, but will be necessary.Thanks for listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Wicked Problems. Ulrich Seitz has worked in climate tech for 15 years - as an entrepreneur, a venture investor, and as an advisor. And he thinks a boom in investment in climate adaptation technologies that face the consequences of climate change is right around the corner, even while not giving up on mitigation efforts.Ulrich SeitzCo-hosts Richard Delevan and Claire Brady talk with Ulrich about his views on the most investable sectors in adaptation, like water management and soil conservation. He talks about his Climate Adaptation Project, which aims to increase awareness and identify investment opportunities in adaptation. They discuss how extreme weather events and natural disasters are raising public awareness about climate change and the urgent need for adaptation strategies. Seitz emphasizes the significance of value creation in entrepreneurship and shares how dealing with smart individuals in his first company inspired his career path.Ulrich’s Catalyst: Be Useful, by Arnold SchwarzeneggerUlrich on LinkedInClimate Adaptation ProjectAdaptation Gap Report 2023, UN Environment ProgrammeUK Climate Change Committee on Barriers to Adaptation FinancePwC on AdaptationRichard on BlueSky and LinkedInClaire on LinkedIn and BlueSkySign up at news.wickedproblems.uk to get our newsletter and future episodes delivered right to your inbox. Get that and other episodes here or onAppleSpotifyYouTubeThanks for listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome back to Wicked Problems. Despite sounding like we’re auditioning to be the new noise of the TARDIS, we hope our conversation with Startup Coalition deputy policy director, and friend of the show, Charlie Mercer is easier to listen to than running a key over the bass strings of a piano.Charlie helped us decode the implications for the climate tech sector of this week’s UK “Autumn Statement”, which is not a new line of outerwear but a fancy name for the mini-budget unveiled this week by Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.Some of the highlights worth noting:* £960 million by 2030 for a “green industries growth accelerator” - calling out offshore wind, hydrogen, CCUS, power grids, and nuclear. (Which makes us wonder how much of that turns out to be new money.)* £2 billion for the automotive sector, mostly for “zero emissions investments”* £500 million for AI - some of which could find its way to climate tech applications* progress on removing barriers for pension funds to invest in climate tech and work better with VCs - Charlie points out that a 5% shift in UK pension investing would be £50 billion.* ensuring - thanks to Startup Coalition lobbying - that some 5,000 UK businesses didn’t wind up falling short of qualifying for R&D tax credits* promise of future clarity on “smart data” - which could inspire a whole range of new companies using that opted-in data for new ideas: like using smart electricity meter data to help manage demand and create “Virtual Power Plants” that are becoming a hot topic in the US.Charlie’s reaction on LinkedIn.And CarbonBrief had an excellent summary of the climate implications as well, worth checking out.We’ll be back Saturday to bring you me and speaking with Ulrich Seitz, founder of The Climate Adaptation Project, making the case that it’s time for a lot more money to flow towards climate tech adaptation.Get that and other episodes here or onAppleSpotifyYouTubeThanks for listening. We’re off to get some Strepsils. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.