On 23 May 2022, the Australian Labor Party entered government for the first time since 2013, under the leadership of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Alasdair spoke to Dr. Marija Taflaga, Director of the Australian National University's Center for the Study of Australian Politics, to talk about shifting climate politics in the county, and what the new government could mean for the green transition. Further reading: 'The frontline: Inside Australia's climate emergency' in The Guardian. Read here. Superpower: Australia's Low-Carbon Opportunity by Ross Garnaut. Read more and purchase here. How to Talk About Climate Change in a Way That Makes a Difference by Rebecca Huntley. Read more and purchase here. The Carbon Club: How a network of influential climate sceptics, politicians and business leaders fought to control Australia's climate policy by Marian Wilkinson, Allen and Unwin, 2020Click here to read our investigation into the UK biomass supply chain, or watch a clip from the BBC Newsnight documentary.

Lauren talks to Tania Li, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Toronto, about the sustainability of the oil that's in 50% of supermarket food products - and the issues with labour and land rights in Indonesia's palm oil industry. Further reading: Tania's books and other publications can be found on her website, taniali.org Oil palm development in Thailand: economic, social and environmental considerations, by Jonas DallingerRainforest Alliance:  Our Response to the EU Regulation on Deforestation-Free Products Chain Action Research:  EU Deforestation Regulation: Implications for the Palm Oil Industry and Its Financers Chain Action Research:  Indonesian Moratoria: Loopholes, Lack of Sanctions Fail to Stop Palm Oil-Linked Deforestation Click here to read our investigation into the UK biomass supply chain, or watch a clip from the BBC Newsnight documentary.

Sri Lanka is in the midst of an acute economic, energy, and political crisis. With fuel, food and electricity shortages, protestors have taken to the streets and are now being arrested in the thousands. On June 8, Bertie spoke to Melani Gunathilaka, an activist with Extinction Rebellion and Climate Action Now who has become a leading voice in the Gotagogama protests. They discussed the role of climate policy in the cascading crises and corruption allegations that have recently plagued the country. Further reading: Is organic farming really to blame for Sri Lanka's ongoing food crisis?What is the financial cost of loss and damage from climate change? Watch: 'Inside Sri Lanka's economic crisis'Melani shared a list of demands made by Gotagogama protestors. You can read page one of the demands here, and then page two here. Click here to read our investigation into the UK biomass supply chain, or watch a clip from the BBC Newsnight documentary.

Bertie talks to Drew Pendergrass, coauthor of Half Earth Socialism, recently published by Verso books. They discuss geoengineering, population scaremongering, climate colonialism, and the big question for many on the left: will we be able to mitigate the climate crisis under capitalism?Further reading: Buy Half Earth Socialism from Verso, currently at a discount.Read Bertie's review of the book on Land and Climate here. Play Troy and Drew's climate simulation game here.Find more from Troy and Drew on their website. Click here to read our investigation into the UK biomass supply chain, or watch a clip from the BBC Newsnight documentary.

Lauren talks to Assaad Razzouk, host of the Angry Clean Energy Guy podcast and British Lebanese clean energy entrepreneur. They talk about the recent elections in Lebanon, systemic problems with climate finance, and the ways a clean energy transition could help struggling economies. Click here to read our investigation into the UK biomass supply chain, or watch a clip from the BBC Newsnight documentary.

Daniel Klier is CEO of ESG Book, and was previously HSBC's first Head of Sustainability, and Chair of the Bank of England Climate Risk Working Group. Alasdair spoke to him about how banks are confronting climate mitigation, and what needs to be done for banks and the finance industry to meet net zero targets. Daniel's suggested further reading: The IEA's Net Zero Scenario Bloomberg New Energy Finance Publications from the Energy Transition Commission Impact Investing InstituteESG Book InsightsClick here to read our investigation into the UK biomass supply chain, or watch a clip from the BBC Newsnight documentary.

The controversial election of Bongbong Marcos as President of the Philippines on May 9th overshadowed another Filipino news item of global importance that week. After a nearly 7-year-long inquiry, the Philippines Human Rights Commission published a huge document detailing how human rights are infringed by climate change, who is responsible, and what courts could do about it. Bertie talked to the Executive Director of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, Yeb Saño, about the groundbreaking report. Further reading: You can read the report in full here. Read Greenpeace International's press release about the report here. Read Greenpeace's summary of the Filipino presidential candidates' climate platforms here. Click here to read our investigation into the UK biomass supply chain, or watch a clip from the BBC Newsnight documentary.

Award winning author and journalist Sonia Shah talks to Alasdair about her book, The Next Great Migration: The Beauty and Terror of Life on the Move. She talks about what we can learn about human migration from wildlife, why climate migration should be seen as an adaptation strategy rather than a coming crisis, and the dangers of elitism in scholarly science. Further reading: Details about The Next Great Migration and where to buy it, as well as Sonia's other books, can be found here on her website.'First Came the Hurricane, Then Came the Campaign of Terror', by Sonia Shah in The Nation.Native Species or Invasive? The Distinction Blurs as the World Warms, by Sonia Shah in Yale School of the EnvironmentClimate Change, Forced Migration, and International Law by Jane McAdamClimate and Human Migration: Past Experiences, Future Challenges by Robert McLeman.'Follow the science: but whose science, and to where?' by Lauren Sneade on Land and ClimateClick here to read our investigation into the UK biomass supply chain, or watch a clip from the BBC Newsnight documentary.

Did you know that methane is more than 25 times more potent than CO2 in terms of trapping heat in the atmosphere? In this episode we look at reducing methane emissions without mandating veganism. Our guests Anatoli Smirnov and Sabina Assan are researchers at Ember, international data analysts for clean energy solutions in the power sector. Despite drives to plant-based eating in the West, meat consumption is only going up and will not change any time soon. The other big methane emitters come from the power sector. Coal mining emits 52 million metric tons of methane per year, more than is emitted from either the oil sector, which emits 39 million tons, or the gas industry, which emits 45 million tons. So closing coal mines is the only viable alternative in tackling methane. Global methane emissions from the energy sector are about 70% higher than the amount national governments have officially reported. Methane reduction is  critical. Check out the methane hub to find out about how world leaders and businesses are looking to fulfil the 2030 methane pledge. You can read more about Ember's work here.Click here to read our investigation into the UK biomass supply chain, or watch a clip from the BBC Newsnight documentary.

The day before 80 countries meet in Palau to discuss ocean governance, Bertie talked to Dame Meg Taylor DBE about the changes the Pacific Elders' Voice are campaigning for, including pollution of plastics and nuclear waste, illegal and unsustainable fishing, and loss and damage. Pacific Elders' Voice is a group of diplomats, academics, and creatives who work together to platform issues important to the future of the Pacific Islands. Meg Taylor's distinguished career includes serving as the Ambassador of Papua New Guinea to the United States, Mexico and Canada (1989-1994), Vice President of the International Finance Corporation (1999-2014), and most recently, Secretary General of the Pacific Islands Forum (2014-2021). She was made a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2002.Further Reading: Read more about the Our Ocean Conference 2022Read the Pacific Elders' Voice Statement on Oceans 'UN ocean treaty summit collapses as states accused of dragging out talks', The Guardian, 21 Mar 2022'Nations commit to develop a legally binding agreement': press release announcing the proposed treaty on plastic pollution, with links to the full text. 'This dome in the Pacific houses tons of radioactive waste – and it's leaking', The Guardian, Fri 3 Jul 2015Follow Pacific Elders Voice here on Twitter, and here on Facebook.Click here to read our investigation into the UK biomass supply chain, or watch a clip from the BBC Newsnight documentary.