Outrage + Optimism: The Climate Podcast

Persephonica and Global Optimism
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Mar 18, 2021 • 1h 4min

93. The Race To Zero! Extreme Electrification with Nico Rosberg and Sara Price

This is the second episode in our Race To Zero series! All evidence points to the tipping point for electrification of road transport, and the end of the internal combustion engine. But will this happen fast enough?  One of the key pillars of the Race to Zero is to accelerate the adoption of Zero Emissions Vehicles. Today, transport accounts for about 16% of global emissions, but is a much higher share of total emissions in industrialized countries. For example in the United States, transport accounts for nearly 30% of emissions and globally is a major source of the pollution causing one in ten deaths. If we’re going to succeed in this, it’s going to take everyone. So how do we bring in new people to take action on climate change? And how do we reach and inspire a new generation to never purchase an internal combustion engine? We ask Nico Rosberg and Sara Price whether the innovative impact of Extreme E and its exciting partnership with citizen action campaign, Count Us In, can bring the power of sport and the excitement of motor racing, to inspire the public to apply pressure that spurs industry and government policy to accelerate the race to zero carbon. —   Check out everything Extreme E!   —   Thank you to our guests this week!    Nico Rosberg Sustainability Entrepreneur | Founder & CEO of Rosberg X Racing   Personal Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube   Rosberg X Racing Twitter | Facebook | Instagram   —   Sara Price  Driver of the No. 99 Hummer EV Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Website   —   Nigel Topping High Level Climate Action Champion for COP26   Personal  Twitter l LinkedIn | Instagram   Race to Zero Twitter | LinkedIn   COP26 - UN Climate Change Conference Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn   —   Marina Guião will be taking over our social media channels on Friday, March 19th! You can follow her on Instagram.   — Keep up with Christiana Figueres here: Instagram | Twitter — Tom Rivett-Carnac: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn — Paul Dickinson is on LinkedIn! LinkedIn — Follow @GlobalOptimism on social media and send us a message! Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn   Don't forget to hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss another episode of Outrage + Optimism! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Mar 11, 2021 • 1h 20min

92. Vicki Hollub Thinks Oil Has a (Low Carbon) Future

This week we get into Republicans and climate change, faith and climate change, and some exciting news in climate philanthropy! And our guest for this episode is President & CEO of Occidental Petroleum, Vicki Hollub. Not only is she the first and currently only female CEO of a major oil and gas company, but Occidental - or Oxy as the company is fondly known - is the first US oil and gas major to announce their strategy to reach Net Zero across emissions scopes 1,2 and 3. We explore with Vicki the process of capturing carbon for enhanced oil recovery and why this has translated into plans to build the largest Direct Air Capture facility in the world, how they see their new DAC business venture beyond Oxy’s own fields, a vision of the energy future with oil and how they think they will contribute to a Net Zero carbon world. But with the complicated history between oil and gas majors and the public, will the public trust needed to ensure Oxy’s success be rebuilt in time? And stick around later in the show for a musical performance from Alex Serra! — Thank you to our guest this week!    Vicki Hollub President & CEO, Occidental Petroleum Twitter | Oxy LinkedIn | Vicki LinkedIn — Our musical guest this week is Alex Serra! Instagram | YouTube | Facebook | Music | Website | Patreon — As Christiana mentioned early in the episode, check out #Faiths4Climate   SacredPeopleSacredEarth: Homepage | Sign + share the statement   Greenfaith: Twitter | Instagram | Facebook — Keep up with Christiana Figueres here: Instagram | Twitter — Tom Rivett-Carnac: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn — Paul Dickinson is on LinkedIn! LinkedIn — Follow @GlobalOptimism on social media and send us a message! Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn   Don't forget to hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss another episode of Outrage + Optimism! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Mar 5, 2021 • 1h 5min

91. The Race to Zero! Road to COP26

Welcome to the first episode of our new Race To Zero series! With COP26 as the vital milestone for climate action in November 2021, the promises and pledges made by governments must be converted into meaningful action beginning today. We know the EU, the UK and many other countries have net zero pledges but can they achieve them without a global collective effort?  And it’s not just up to governments - history has shown that political actors need the real economy to place wind in their sails. So with everything on the line and the clock ticking, the Race to Zero has no separation between winners and losers, and failure is NOT an option. Joined this week by Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP, President-Designate of COP26, Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UNFCCC, Mary Anne Hitt, National Director of Campaigns for The Sierra Club, and Nigel Topping, High Level Climate Action Champion for COP26, we get a first hand look at what is at stake, who is stepping up, and how everyone can join the race to a better future. And we’ll find out why COP26 is not just a 2 week event in November, but a race that has already begun.   —   Guests this week   Alok Sharma Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP, COP President Designate Twitter | Instagram   Patricia Espinosa Title: Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC Twitter   Mary Anne Hitt National Director of Campaigns, Sierra Club Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn   Nigel Topping  High Level Climate Action Champion for COP26 Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram    —   UNFCCC Twitter | Instagram   Race to Zero Twitter | LinkedIn   Sierra Club Twitter | Instagram   COP26 - UN Climate Change Conference Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn — Keep up with Christiana Figueres here: Instagram | Twitter  — Tom Rivett-Carnac: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn — Paul Dickinson is on LinkedIn! LinkedIn — Follow @GlobalOptimism on social media! Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn Don't forget to hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss another episode of Outrage + Optimism! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Feb 25, 2021 • 1h 9min

90. Ferocious Love with Katharine Wilkinson

With a deep freeze in Texas leaving a wake of devastation, a UN Security Council Meeting weakly addressing climate change as the planet’s “gravest threat”, and massive investment for offshore wind in Denmark to produce green ammonia, there’s no shortage of things to be outraged by or optimistic about this week! We are at a new political moment where we are seeing the ambition for a cleaner world, and we are seeing the economics weigh more and more towards phasing out fossil fuels. We’re even seeing the political winds shift toward championing racial, social, and economic justice! And at the heart of the climate movement that is deeply committed to making all of this possible is a ferocious love for our planet, nurtured and activated by a ‘feminist climate renaissance’ as our guest, Katharine Wilkinson, phrases it. This week we talk to Katharine Wilkinson, author, teacher and former Editor-in-Chief at Project Drawdown, about her latest book co-edited with Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, ‘All We Can Save’, an anthology of women’s voices in the climate movement, and what is giving her a “fire in the belly and the heart” in tackling the climate crisis. Our interview with Katharine gets into why she believes the climate crisis is ultimately a leadership crisis, and explores the idea of transformative leadership and emerging voices at the core of the climate movement which she describes as, “characteristically feminine, but also more committedly feminist in its commitment to equality and justice.” And stick around later in the show for a musical performance from Desirée Dawson! — Thank you to our guest this week, Katharine Wilkinson. Website | Twitter | IG | Linkedin Project Drawdown’s Website The ‘All We Can Save Project’ Buy a copy of “All We Can Save”! A Matter of Degrees Podcast @allwecansave - Twitter | IG @degreespod - Twitter — Our musical guest this week is Desirée Dawson! Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Music | Website Watch Desirée’s CBC Searchlight 2016 Finale Performance Here — Go check out Science Moms! Website | Instagram   Moms Clean Air Force Website | Facebook — Keep up with Christiana Figueres here: Instagram | Twitter — Tom Rivett-Carnac: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn — Paul Dickinson is on LinkedIn! LinkedIn — Follow @GlobalOptimism on social media and send us a message! Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn   Don't forget to hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss another episode of Outrage + Optimism! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Feb 18, 2021 • 1h 10min

89. The Ministry for the Future with Kim Stanley Robinson

On Friday, The United States will officially be back in the Paris Climate Agreement! *cue appropriate volume of fanfare* And while in a week where Dallas, Texas is colder than Anchorage, Alaska - our co-host Paul Dickinson takes us on a short list of topics discussing the social cost of carbon recently updated by Joseph Stiglitz and Lord Nicholas Stern to match the severity of the climate crisis, as well as a listener question regarding the unregulated growth and steadily growing emissions of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. But all of this in context, with the US “still in” as it’s being promoted - We anxiously await the United States’ Nationally Determined Contribution which should be announced anytime between now and late April. Once that number comes through, the race to COP 26 will be at full speed where the very first 5 year check in of global accountability and ambition towards a net-zero 2050 and beyond will happen.  So with the world’s largest economy on track to boost the global coalition of nations dedicated to this collective goal, will we be able to achieve emission reductions fast enough to avoid catastrophe? This week our guest is legendary science fiction writer, Kim Stanley Robinson, whose prolific career includes the international bestselling Mars trilogy, and more recently Red Moon, New York 2140, Aurora, Shaman, Green Earth, and 2312. Stan joins us for an exclusive look into the themes of his latest book: The Ministry for the Future, which offers an unflinching look at what our future may hold even in 2025 if we do not address runaway climate change. Optimistically he says, “We are all living in a science fiction novel we are coauthoring together.” So, what future will we write? Sci-Fi Pop Music this week from French duo, Toukan Toukän! — Thank you to our guest this week, Kim Stanley Robinson. Grab a copy of his latest book - ‘The Ministry For The Future’ Facebook | Twitter (Unofficial) — Our musical guest this week is Toukan Toukän! Music video for ‘Konowoulen’ Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Website — Keep up with Christiana Figueres here: Instagram | Twitter — Tom Rivett-Carnac: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn — Paul Dickinson is on LinkedIn! LinkedIn — Follow @GlobalOptimism on social media and send us a message! Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn   Don't forget to hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss another episode of Outrage + Optimism! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Feb 11, 2021 • 1h 7min

88. Living on Planet Earth with Oliver Jeffers

According to new research by a team of U.S. and U.K. scientists published in Environmental Research, Fossil fuels alone are responsible for more than 8 million premature deaths annually. That’s 1 out of 5 deaths. Let that sink in for a moment. 1 out of 5. This figure underscores a fact absent from much public debate and discussion about climate change. While the fight to stop greenhouse gas pollution by curtailing fossil fuel use is framed in terms of how it would improve the future, it’s also true that fossil fuels are killing millions of people right now. And right now is the time to change our thinking. But when Climate scientists and activists are continuously imploring us to ‘look at the bigger picture’ to address climate change right now, what does this mean? How do we do it? These are questions that our Outrage + Optimism guest, Oliver Jeffers tackles in this week’s interview with Christiana, Tom and Paul, as he delves into how he performs this perspective shift by ‘simple optics’ in his award winning picture books and visual art. Whether brought on by an experience of art, science, religious practice, grief, love or parenthood, there is a need for us all to undergo a change in perspective and see beyond our day to day concerns and routines to grow an awareness of ourselves as a human family with a shared duty to protect our Earth, our home, from growing climate catastrophe. Art like Oliver’s, provides the perfect vehicle for this transformational and necessary journey which we hope you will all join us on. Music this week from the incredible Presidio. Listen in! — Thank you to our guest this week, Oliver Jeffers. Instagram | Facebook | Twitter   Oliver delivered a series of free art classes for children (and adults) in partnership with Harrods in which he demonstrates how to draw some of his best loved characters from his books.   His website also includes more free activities for children and their families. An Ode to Living on the Earth is Oliver’s fantastic Ted Talk. The Moon, The Earth and Us is Oliver Jeffers 2019 art installation. This Way Up is the upside down map that Oliver Jeffers referenced in the interview.  More of Oliver Jeffers’ art work is available here. These are the temporary tattoos that Clay wants. Here is the Dipped Painting Project. — Our musical guest this week is Presidio! Stream their latest EP - ‘Telepathy’ - Listen to “Unwind” Facebook | Instagram — Keep up with Christiana Figueres here: Instagram | Twitter — Tom Rivett-Carnac: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn — Paul Dickinson is on LinkedIn! LinkedIn — Follow @GlobalOptimism on social media! Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn   Don't forget to hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss another episode of Outrage + Optimism! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Feb 4, 2021 • 1h 9min

87. The Future of Urban Transport

This is our fourth and final episode of an Outrage + Optimism investigative series on The Future of Transport. In 2019, UN Secretary General stated that “cities are where the climate battle will largely be won or lost” and he couldn’t be more right. With seven out of ten people expected to live in urban areas by 2050, and cities currently consuming ⅔ of the world’s energy, the need to transition off of fossil fuel based urban transport has never been more urgent. But how do we solve deadly air pollution, traffic congestion, overcrowding while securing racial justice and a just transition for marginalized communities? The answer might surprise you. From flying taxis and high speed pods, to better bus routes and bike lanes, the urban transport solutions of the future look as unique and varied as the cities they might one day serve. The future of sustainable cities will mean that billions of citizens can safely get around and enjoy healthy, equitable lives in our urban spaces. From Sao Paulo to London, Montreal to Kampala, Our hosts Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, and Paul Dickinson  speak to transport planners, pioneers and professors, all rising to the challenge of creating more sustainable cities.    —   Listen to the previous episodes of our miniseries here - The Future of Transport   This series is sponsored by NESTE Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram   —   Guests this week:   Kevin Manaugh: Associate professor in the Department of Geography and The Bieler School of Environment at McGill University Twitter | LinkedIn | Twitter (McGill)   Pia Heidenmark Cook: Chief Sustainability Officer, Ingka Group Twitter | LinkedIn | Twitter (IKEA)   Robin Chase: Co-founder of Zipcar, Veniam, NUMO Twitter | LinkedIn | Twitter (NUMO)   Claire Birungi: Institute for Transportation & Development Policy, Country Manager, Uganda Twitter (ITDPA) | Facebook (ITDPA) | Instagram (ITDPA)   Sergio Avelleda: Urban Mobility Director at the World Resources Institute Ross Center For Sustainable Cities LinkedIn | Twitter (WRI) | Facebook (WRI) | LinkedIn (WRI)   Jay Walder: CEO Virgin Hyperloop LinkedIn | Twitter (VH) | Facebook (VH) | LinkedIn (VH) | Instagram (VH) | YouTube (VH)   Florian Reuter: CEO Volocopter LinkedIn | Facebook (Volo) | Instagram (Volo) | Twitter (Volo) | LinkedIn (Volo)   Shirley Rodrigues: London’s Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy Twitter | Twitter (LDN) | LinkedIn   —   Keep up with Christiana Figueres here: Instagram | Twitter    —   Tom Rivett-Carnac: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn   —   Paul Dickinson is on LinkedIn! LinkedIn   —   Follow @GlobalOptimism on social media! Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn   Don't forget to hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss another episode of Outrage + Optimism! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jan 28, 2021 • 1h 10min

86. The Scientific Case for The Race to Zero with Johan Rockström

Welcome to Season 3! With a renewed sense of optimism felt around the world with the inauguration of President Joe Biden in the United States this month, our collective sigh of relief is quickly met with the sobering reality of the moment - Nature’s systems are collapsing and we are running out of time to stop irreversible changes to our planet. The science is clear. If we do not rapidly cut global greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50% in 2030, we will push our Earth beyond the ‘planetary boundaries’ that have sustained life for millions upon millions of years. So what exactly are these ‘planetary boundaries’ we are dangerously approaching, and what are the science-based solutions to achieve our 2030 emissions target? Is there hope for our future? Our guest this week, Johan Rockström, is here to present the sobering, scientific case for why science demands a united global commitment for the race to zero. Johan Rockström is an internationally recognised scientist and director of the Potsdam Institute of Climate Impact Research. He is best known for his influential work on the ‘planetary boundaries’ framework on which he has delivered two outstanding Ted Talks, the most recent as part of the Ted Countdown series. Stick around for an unbelievable music performance from Ayoni! — Help us shape Season 3 of Outrage + Optimism by filling out our short listener survey!  – Thank you! — Thank you to our guest this week, Johan Rockström. Twitter | Twitter (PIK) | Facebook (PIK) | LinkedIn (PIK)   Watch two of his TED Talks mentioned in the episode here: 10 Years to Transform The Future of Humanity - or Destabilize The Planet 5 Transformational Policies For a Prosperous and Sustainable World — Our musical guest this week is Ayoni! Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube — Keep up with Christiana Figueres here: Instagram | Twitter — Tom Rivett-Carnac: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn — Paul Dickinson is on LinkedIn! LinkedIn — Follow @GlobalOptimism on social media! Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn   Don't forget to hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss another episode of Outrage + Optimism!   0:59 (5:45) [15.22] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jan 20, 2021 • 53min

BONUS: U.S. Inauguration Special with Gina McCarthy

Today we witness history, the 59th United States Presidential Inauguration. And a long time coming, right? It’s been 4 years of destructive and incompetent leadership on climate from the United States federal government, but today the U.S. is BACK. Not only formally back in the Paris Climate Agreement, but back at the table with leadership and new positions in the White House creating the policy, action, and messaging around climate action. So who better to talk to on this historic day than the incoming National Climate Policy Chief, and a beloved friend of this podcast, Gina McCarthy. Most recently President and CEO of NRDC, she was also the 13th administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under President Obama, where she ushered in a paradigm shift in national environmental policy, which expressly linked it to global public health. Literally on her way to receive her COVID vaccine in DC so she can work at the White House, Gina pulled over to talk about what we can expect from this new office, new administration, and new moment. — Help us shape Season 3 of Outrage + Optimism by filling out our short listener survey!  – Thank you! — Thank you to our guest this week, Gina McCarthy! Follow Gina McCarthy on Twitter Click Here to listen to our previous episode with Gina. — Keep up with Christiana Figueres here: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook — Tom Rivett-Carnac: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn — Paul Dickinson is on LinkedIn! LinkedIn — Follow @GlobalOptimism on social media! Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn   Don't forget to hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss another episode of Outrage + Optimism! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Jan 15, 2021 • 58min

85. The Future of Shipping

This is our third episode of an Outrage + Optimism investigative series on The Future of Transport. With 2020 barely in the rearview mirror, the pandemic rages on across the globe, new variants bringing concern and unified collective action to the forefront as a rapidly developed vaccine begins being administered as we speed into 2021. That same resolve needs to be applied to climate change and the sectors in most urgent need of decarbonisation. And this week, we dive into the future of sustainable shipping. We rarely ever think about the things we buy as being transported by sea, but shipping has been the backbone of global economies for thousands of years and today accounts for 90% of world trade. It is responsible for 2-3% of global emissions which if it were a country, would put it on a par with Germany - the world’s sixth biggest emitter. The challenge to decarbonise shipping is huge. With around 60,000 vessels currently in operation emissions are expected to be 50% higher in 2050 than in 2018. So how to turn this ship around? Our hosts Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, and Paul Dickinson speak to scientists, CEOs, politicians and pioneers committed to charting a course to a more sustainable shipping future. — Help us shape Season 3 of Outrage + Optimism by filling out our short listener survey!  – Thank you! Listen to the previous episodes of our miniseries here - The Future of Transport   This series is sponsored by NESTE Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram   —   Guests this week   Jutta Paulus, MEP, Greens/EFA Twitter | Facebook | Instagram   Erik Lewenhaupt, Head of Sustainability, Stena Line Twitter | Stena Line   Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO, Port of Antwerp LinkedIn | Twitter   Peter Hinchliffe, Former Secretary General, International Chamber of Shipping Twitter   Louis-Noel Vivies, Managing Director, Energy Observer  Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Website   Diane Gilpin, CEO and founder, Smart Green Shipping Twitter | LinkedIn | Website   Simon Bullock, Researcher, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Manchester  Twitter | Twitter (Tyndall Manchester)   James Mason, Researcher, Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Manchester  Twitter | Twitter (Tyndall Centre)   Nishan Degnarain, Chair, Ocean Finance Initiative, London School of Economics Twitter   Søren Skou, CEO of A.P. Møller - Mærsk Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Søren’s LinkedIn   Jules Kortenhorst, CEO of Rocky Mountain Institute  Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram | Jules’ LinkedIn   —   Keep up with Christiana Figueres here: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn | Facebook   —   Tom Rivett-Carnac: Instagram | Twitter | LinkedIn   —   Paul Dickinson is on LinkedIn! LinkedIn   —   Follow @GlobalOptimism on social media! Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn   Don't forget to hit SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss another episode of Outrage + Optimism! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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