

Wicked Problems - Climate Tech Conversations
Richard Delevan
A show about climate and climate tech: the intersection of technology and capital, people and politics, that will shape the future, and whether you'd want to live in it.Host Richard Delevan is normally trapped in the UK, but with a global view - featuring guests from VC/PE, startups, scaleups, corporates, media, and beyond.Subscribe at wickedproblems.earth for an ad-free version, our newsletter, and member-only goodies. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 22, 2023 • 43min
Climate Comedy Breakthrough
Welcome back to Wicked Problems. We know when we’re outclassed so we’ll leave the jokes to the professionals. Claire Brady and Richard Delevan were joined by Ben Carey and Nick Oldridge, the co-founders of Climate Science Breakthrough. Like most really good comedy it’s deadly serious at its core - like spending your family fortune on a climate science comedy project instead of your kids. We hear about how the project came about, why they thought putting comedians like Nish Kumar and Jonathan Pie together with climate scientists like Dr. Fredi Otto and Professor Joanna Haigh might break through in new ways about the climate problems and solutions. Tell us what you think at news.wickedproblems.uk and sign up for our newsletter. You can also find us here:Claire on LinkedIn and BlueSkyRichard on BlueSky and LinkedInOldridge and Carey are about to release the fourth video in their series, but this is a chance to catch up on the ones that have been released so far and hear the story behind them. Nish Kumar and Dr. Fredi OttoKiri Pritchard McLean and Bill McGuireJonathan Pie and Prof. Joanna HaighAnd some of the other videos we referenced: Bassem Youssef + Piers MorganDr. Matthew WinningRolleigh WilliamsThanks for listening. We’ll be back soon with another episode. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 18, 2023 • 31min
BAR Technologies - Decarbonising maritime shipping with sail
Maritime shipping accounts for 3% of global emissions.Moving away from diesel for powering the 90% of global trade that happens by ship is beginning in earnest as the industry starts to decarbonise, and shipping gets included in emissions trading schemes.BAR Technologies CTO Simon Schofield talked to us about their WindWings technology, applying high-performance racing design thinking to shipping, and how could be part of the decarbonisation mix for shipping.Tell us what you think and sign up for our newsletter at news.wickedproblems.uk.Watch Simon demonstrate how the wing works, using a scale model:https://youtube.com/shorts/h-7mzdJdDlE?feature=shareFor more episodes, subscribe here or at Apple PodcastsSpotify - YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@WickedProblems-ClimateTechWe’ll be back next week with more episodes with our co-hosts Claire Brady and Richard Delevan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 15, 2023 • 37min
Mark Little: A Climate Newscast from 2050
Mark Little was a foreign correspondent for RTE, the Irish national broadcaster, before a second career in tech. He founded citizen journalism verification service Storyful, sold that to NewsCorp, was the Ireland MD for Twitter, founded an online safety startup, Kinzen, before it was acquired by Spotify, where he continues to work. Tonight he’s back on TV, presenting a fictional newscast from the future, Tomorrow Tonight - Ireland 2050. It promises to be great television - grounded in the science, not dystopia or utopia, and with some characters that writer Colin Murphy may or may not have taken verbatim from actual earnings calls of 2023 techbro billionaires. Find Mark onlineBlueSkyLinkedInHistory of the Future podcastTomorrow Tonight - Ireland 2050RTE PlayerAnd you can get this and other Wicked Problems podcasts in the usual places including:AppleSpotifyYouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbds-IoMme638pxF0OLHPfwThanks for listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 13, 2023 • 40min
The Prize (Cobalt): EVelution Energy's Gil Michel-Garcia
Gil Michel-Garcia is co-founder of EVelution Energy, which is building a solar-powered cobalt processing facility in Yuma, Arizona that could supply enough material for 1 million EV batteries a year to US auto manufacturers. And how competition for critical mineral supplies between China and the West will shape his sector as well as a lot of the politics of the next decade.Cobalt is one of those minerals that has seen wild price swings over the past couple of years: We spoke just as US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met with her Chinese counterpart and US President Joe Biden is expected to meet with President Xi Jinping this week, to deescalate recent tensions over among other things those critical minerals vital to the energy transition, and where a tit-for-tat trade dispute over them threatens to either temporarily disrupt supply chains or reconfigure the world into ever more decoupled trading blocs. Gil talks with Richard Delevan about how the sector is being shaped at this moment, and whether he’s worried about how next year’s elections could affect his business and those like it.Subscribe at news.wickedproblems.uk to get this and other episodes with co-host claire bradyAlso find us on:BlueSky - Delevan.bksy.socialAppleSpotifyYouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbds-IoMme638pxF0OLHPfwThanks for listening. See you soon. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 8, 2023 • 45min
Climate Capitalism, Optimism, Fatalism, and 1.5C in the rearview
Welcome back to Wicked Problems - the climate tech podcast that has to be as good as other podcasts, but backwards and in heels.Richard and Claire chat through Akshat Rathi’s new book, Climate Capitalism.They also reflect on their reactions to the new research that says staying under 1.5C of warming might be out of reach, their conversations with Ketan Joshi and Susan Joy Hassol. And the answers to the question, what should we be saying about the 1.5C target in light of their new research - from Leo Hickman of Carbon Brief, asked by James Murray at the BusinessGreen Net Zero Festival, and Akshat Rathi of Bloomberg and Solitare Townsend of the consultancy, Futerra.Subscribe at news.wickedproblems.uk to get more episodes, and our newsletter.Some of the episodes and resources we reference:* Climate Capitalism, by Akshat Rathi - tl;dl - It’s great and you should buy multiple copies.Other episodes we reference: Ketan Joshi, Susan Joy Hassol, BusinessGreen Net Zero Festival, Alastair Campbell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nov 6, 2023 • 28min
Susan Joy Hassol: Communications 1.5C in the rearview. Part 2.
Climate scientist Susan Joy Hassol discusses new research on climate models and the urgency of immediate action in combating the climate crisis. She emphasizes the importance of storytelling, phasing out fossil fuels, and creating a better world through climate technologies. Hassol shares her final thoughts on telling a positive story about the future and provides further resources.

Nov 4, 2023 • 46min
Ketan Joshi: Communications with 1.5C in the rearview. Part 1.
Exploring the feasibility of achieving the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal. Discussing the recent reports by the IEA on fossil fuel peaking and renewable energy targets. Emphasizing the importance of communication and motivation. Recommending climate tech and climate change resources. Discover where to find the guest's work and upcoming episodes in the series.

Nov 1, 2023 • 46min
BusinessGreen Net Zero Festival
Welcome back to Wicked Problems. It’s been quite a week and we’re not even halfway through yet. So on Halloween, for a treat, Richard Delevan did some reporting at Day One of the BusinessGreen Net Zero Festival. This episode offers you some excerpts of some of the best conversations from the day, as well as some chats with those intrepid folks working the booths. You’ll hear from James Murray, editor of BusinessGreenLucy Siegle, writer, broadcaster and environmentalistAlex Scott, E3GSolitaire Townsend, Chief Solutionist at FuterraLeo Hickman, editor of Carbon BriefJake Dubbins, MD of Media BountyPamela Stathaki, DentsuMatt Winning, environmental economist and stand-up comicand Alastair Campbellwe also caught up with * Paul Bains, supply lead at The Felix Project* Paul Gosling - director of Sustainability & Environment at Hays Recruitment, who mentioned his Sustainable Futures - Career Conversations pod* Julie from the Woodland Trust, who hooked us up with a very cool VR tour of woodlands* Faye from the Community Massage Project (communitymassageproject.co.uk). If you’re hearing this on your way to Day Two of the Net Zero Festival do go check them out. We also caught the moment when an Extinction Rebellion protestor crashed one of the panel discussions and was calmly and respectfully handled by James Murray. You can have a look at the whole exchange:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pem0d919cJg Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 28, 2023 • 56min
Climate actions that will work. It's a short list. - Ep 5 - Climate Futurist Michael Barnard
IEA's World Energy Outlook, COP28, Hydrogen hopium, CCUS, predatory delay, HVDC, electrification, LDES, Michael Liebreich, and MPs "with the STEM background of illiterate newts"Subscribe to our newsletter at news.wickedproblems.uk, and get new #climatetech conversations first with co-hosts Richard Delevan and Claire Brady.Michael Barnard is a Forbes and Cleantechnica contributor, chief strategist at The Future is Electric, and climate futurist advising global corporates and financial institutions on decarbonisation scenarios with 80-year horizons. And woe be unto you if you turn up in his LinkedIn comments without receipts. This week the IEA released its 2023 World Energy Outlook, an updated Michael Liebreich Hydrogen Ladder 5.0, and #COP28 is only a month away - making it the perfect time to check in with the most unfiltered energy and climate tech strategists around. He comprehensively out-nerds host Richard Delevan in this episode of the Wicked Problems Podcast. Michael’s Catalysts: Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters by Richard Rummelt - a key for understanding Barnard’s ruthless focus on what’s real.Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order by Ray Dalio Has China Won? The Chinese Challenge to American Primacy by Kishore Mambabani - The Eminence Grise behind Singapore’s Lee Kwan Yew Co-hosts Claire Brady (LinkedIn) and Richard Delevan will be back soon with another epsiode. Send your feedback and ideas for guests and topics at info@wickedproblems.uk and subscribe at news.wickedproblems.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oct 24, 2023 • 16min
Will new disclosure rules or COP28 have more lasting climate impact?
In this episode, Richard Delevan gives you an audio read of today’s Wicked Problems newsletter with some bonus content. For links to all the content mentioned, do check out the newsletter - https://wickedpr0blems.substack.com/p/will-new-disclosure-rules-or-cop28-force-more We talk through IPCC Chair Jim Skea’s maiden interview on BBCRadio 4, and look at the slow quiet march of the rule makers in California and Brussels that might have more lasting impact - and climate tech opportunity - than COP28.Some other great links we do mention: John Reynolds’ exclusive interview in The Currency with Energy Impact Partners on their plans for Irish climate tech.Congrats to Niall Mac Dowell on his new Xiron Globalconsultancy with some super-smart collaborators out of Shell, the UK Civil Service and the US DOE. Good time to get some beachfront property 25 miles from the current shoreline, thanks to Antarctic ice sheet collapse.Check out THAT Bassem Youssef/Piers Morgan interview. And the real-world 1909 kidnap and extortion plot to kill solar PV research, uncovered by an Oxford post-doc. Leave us feedback and subscribe to our newsletter at wickedproblems.uk Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.