In this episode of Climate Positive, hosts Gil Jenkins and Guy Van Syckle chat with Zeyneb Magavi, Executive Director of HEET, a Massachusetts-based non-profit focused on designing a strategic evolution of aging gas systems into bidirectional ambient thermal grids, with the aim of driving rapid and equitable decarbonization of heating and cooling in urban areas. The enlivening conversation centers around the networked geothermal, a novel technology gaining traction nationwide that utilizes underground thermal energy systems to provide efficient and sustainable heating and cooling. Magavi breaks down how this innovative neighborhood-scale decarbonization solution works, highlights the business case, policy drivers, the benefits for communities, utilities, workers, and more.Links:HEET WebsiteZeyneb Magavi on LinkedInZeyneb Magavi BioHEET on  XHEET on  LinkedInArticle: Underground Thermal Energy Networks May Be About to Have Their Moment (Wall Street Journal, April 21, 2024)Article: How an Unlikely Coalition of Climate Activists and a Gas Utility Are Weaning a Boston Suburb Off Fossil Fuels (Inside Climate News, December 21, 2024)HEET Blog:  13 Massachusetts Communities Kickstart New Geothermal Networks with $450,000 in Funding from MassCEC (February 29, 2024)HEET Blog: Networked Geothermal: The National Picture (April 17, 2023)Episode recorded December 17, 2024 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

Brandon Oyer, Head of Americas Power and Water at Amazon Web Services, spearheads major initiatives to integrate nuclear energy into Amazon's sustainability goals. He discusses the urgent need for power generation to meet the growing demand from data centers. Oyer dives into Amazon's pioneering agreements with both large-scale and small modular nuclear reactors. The conversation highlights the bipartisan support for nuclear, the economic benefits of these initiatives, and the vital role of nuclear energy in achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2040.

With rising investor demand and regulatory pressure in certain jurisdictions, company disclosure of their exposure to climate risks and their environmental impact has emerged as an expectation with tangible economic benefits. Increasingly, companies can improve their access to lower-cost capital by disclosing their exposure to climate risks and opportunities. Indeed currently over 23,000 companies now report through CDP, underscoring growing investor and customer demand for environmental data. In this episode, CDP CEO Sherry Madera joins hosts Chad Reed and Al Jacobs from the biodiversity-focused COP16 in Colombia, to explore the competitive advantages climate disclosures provide companies who proactively measure and manage their environmental impact and the role CDP plays in driving better carbon accounting practices. LinksCDPCorporate Climate Disclosure Has Passed a Tipping Point. Companies Need to Catch Up (World Resources Institute)EPA on Climate-Related DisclosuresEpisode recorded October 28, 2024 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

Coleman Adams, CFO of Nth Cycle, is an expert in critical metal refining, leading innovations in recycling for battery production. He discusses the significance of critical minerals like nickel and lithium, essential for clean energy technologies. Coleman highlights the environmental and geopolitical challenges in the supply chain, particularly reliance on foreign sources. He shares insight on Nth Cycle's groundbreaking Oyster facility in Ohio, which sustainably recycles materials, boosting U.S. self-sufficiency and reducing emissions in battery manufacturing.

Tim McDonnell, Climate & Energy Editor at Semafor and author of the Net Zero newsletter, discusses the evolution of climate journalism and the pressing challenges of the energy transition. He reflects on Ukraine's energy crisis, highlighting local initiatives towards renewable sources amid war-torn infrastructure. McDonnell also explores the intersection of climate policy and the 2024 U.S. election, touching on the energy demands of AI and the importance of engaging diverse audiences for impactful change. His insights bridge the gap between complex issues and public understanding.

In this episode, Dr. Tallamy and Hilary Langer tap into the world of caterpillars, birds, and native flora to illuminate how individuals can be agents of change and address urgent issues of species loss and ecosystem collapse. From publishing research on insects to reviving his own property that was overrun by non-native plants, Dr. Tallamy's journey has been a fascinating exploration of the intricate web of life that begins from the ground up. He offers a fresh perspective on the symbiotic relationship between native plants, insects, and the ecosystems they support, and emphasizes the urgency of education and personal responsibility to protect species in the face of a changing climate. Links:Homegrown National ParkNew York Times: Why You Should Plant OaksDr. Doug Tallamy Professional PageBooks by Dr. TallamyMeet the Ecologist Who Wants You to Unleash the Wild on Your BackyardWhy Native Plants Are Key to Saving Our Ecosystems: An Interview With Doug Tallamy Episode recorded September 5, 2024 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

Over the last few years, the United States has led the world in the fight against climate change by passing some of the most impactful and largest investments in infrastructure and related regulatory reforms ever. Together, the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law seek to deploy nearly $1 trillion in climate positive infrastructure investment over the next decade. At the same time, however, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued a series of decisions that together significantly curtail the authority of executive agencies charged with implementing and defending legislation passed by Congress and signed by the President. In its most recent term, the Court issued four such decisions including Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which overturns a 40-year precedent and ensures the courts will have a commanding voice over climate policy and regulation for the foreseeable future.In this episode, Chad Reed unpacks the details and implications of Loper Bright and related Court decisions with Kevin Poloncarz, a partner with Covington & Burling and one of the top climate change attorneys in the United States. Links:Supreme Court strikes down Chevron, curtailing power of federal agencies (SCOTUSblog, July 2024)CleanLaw – Suite of Supreme Court Decisions Undermine Administrative LawPalmaz VineyardsEpisode recorded September 12, 2024 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

For the world to meet its growing need for low-cost clean energy and achieve ambitious decarbonization targets, land-based onshore wind energy must be an increasingly large part of the electricity generation mix—potentially as much as 20-41% by 2050, according to BloombergNEF and the International Energy Agency (IEA). But there is a challenge: the most efficient and cost-effective wind turbines, currently applied only in offshore wind farms, have enormous blades—some longer than a football field. That makes them extremely difficult, if not impossible, to deliver and deploy, as bridges, tunnels, and road curves literally get in the way. To explore how the onshore wind industry can overcome these obstacles and drive further growth for the sector, Gil Jenkins spoke with Mark Lundstrom, Founder and CEO of Radia. Mark is a serial cross-industry entrepreneur and MIT aerospace engineer who has co-founded companies over the course of his career that seek to bring aerospace solutions to new sectors, including biotech, telecommunications, and materials science. With Radia, Mark is focused on applying these technologies to the low-carbon energy transition. Radia is in the process of building the world’s largest aircraft, which will enable the deployment of the industry's biggest and best wind turbines to locations they could never reach before—creating more clean power at a lower cost.Links:Radia WebsiteMark Lundstrom on LinkedInRadia on LinkedInPress Release:Radia to Provide Low-Cost Clean Energy with the World’s Biggest Wind Turbines Enabled by the World’s Largest Aircraft (March 17, 2024)Press Release: Aerospace Leaders Aernnova, Leonardo and AFuzion Will Partner With Radia to Build WindRunner™, World’s Largest Aircraft (July 16, 2024)Whitepaper: DeSolve Study: GigaWind has enormous economic and environmental impact (Princeton University researchers Dr. Jesse Jenkins and Dr. Nestor Sepulveda - September 1, 2023)Episode recorded August 22, 2024  Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

The maritime industry transports over 80% of goods worldwide and is essential to the deployment of climate technologies.  At present, the industry contributes approximately 2 to 3% of global emissions, but this figure is projected to grow without major changes to the industry and its ancillary services. However, decarbonizing the maritime industry is unusually challenging.  As the president of Marine and executive vice president at Wärtsilä, Roger Holm’s team helps power one out of every three ships worldwide. In light of new EU regulations and the International Maritime Organization’s goal of net neutral carbon emissions by 2050, Wärtsilä is now focused on solving the decarbonization riddle for clients that operate ships that can last for decades and need to be able to adapt to a wide range of infrastructure and fuels in ports. In this episode, Roger Holm chats with Hilary Langer and shares why Wärtsilä approaches maritime decarbonization at the systems level, why clients are increasingly focused on sustainability, and where he sees the greatest potential for carbon and cost savings. Links:Wärtsilä Marine SolutionsEuropean Commission - Reducing emissions from the shipping sectorWorld Resources Institute - Decarbonizing International ShippingNYTimes Gift Link – Shipping Contributes Heavily to Climate Change. Are Green Ships the Solution?Bloomberg - How the Shipping Industry Aims to Reach Net Zero by 2050Episode recorded August 14, 2024 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

As the accelerating deployment of variable wind and solar resources pushes us ever closer to Net Zero – or the state whereby we’re not emitting any more greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere than we are simultaneously removing – we increasingly need to deploy both battery storage as well as dispatchable renewable baseload generation. But despite its ability to serve as dispatchable renewable baseload, geothermal energy today accounts for less than 1% of the world's primary energy supply.  In this episode, Chad Reed chats with Jeanine Vany, co-founder and executive vice president of corporate affairs at Eavor, a next generation geothermal energy company based in Calgary, Canada. Jeanine adeptly explains how Eavor’s Closed-Loop solution is different and better than traditional geothermal, discusses how Eavor plans to scale its initial projects, details the numerous environmental benefits next generation geothermal can provide and much more.Links:EavorUnderground, Underdog: The Eavor StoryLoonshots by Safi BahcallEpisode recorded June 21, 2024 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, Hilary, and Guy at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.