In this 1st episode of the new 6th season of Planet A, Dan Jørgensen talks to Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University, about the geopolitics of fossil fuels and how the green energy transition affects the world order.Thompson´s current research concentrates on the political economy of energy and the democratic, economic, and geopolitical disruptions of the twenty-first century.She is also well known for co-hosting the highly acclaimed podcast Talking Politics.Her most recent book Disorder – Hard Times in the 21st Century was published on year ago - on the 24th of February 2022 – the same day Russia invaded Ukraine.The book which weaves together energy and geopolitics in a historic perspective couldn’t have had a more timely launch.Thompson’s book has received glowing reviews and was shortlisted by the Financial Times for Best Business Book of the year 2022.The book portrays an increasing instability of the global political system today and the ramifications of the current attempt to transition to clean energy worldwide.

The heat waves of the future could produce deadly “wet bulb temperatures” that would kill millions of people by sheer heat exhaustion. How will governments, citizens and international organizations react, if a heat wave killed 20 million people in India? That is the premise of the novel “The Ministry for the Future” – a novel that mixes science fiction and environmentalism.The guest on the premiere episode of the fifth season of Planet A is renowned science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson. In “The Ministry for the Future”, he writes about a dystopian, near future where the devastating consequences of climate change are ravaging the world. The book describes how governments and philanthropists try to use geoengineering, like spraying sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere or capturing meltwater of The Greenland Ice Sheet to stem climate change. While his book “The Ministry for the Future” invites readers into a world where nothing is unthinkable and everything is possible, the solutions he describes are not all science fiction.And in this episode of Planet A he discusses the promise and perils of geoengineering, the COP-process, the current energy crisis and whether we need nuclear energy in the global green transition with host Minister Dan Jørgensen.

Solutions to climate change are ideas worth spreading. And that is what TED is all about. On the sixth episode of Planet A’s fourth season, the curator of TED, Chris Anderson, spreads his ideas on how to make a good talk and address climate change in a way that excites and motivates people.TED has been sharing big ideas on climate change for more than 15 years with prominent speakers like Al Gore, Bill Gates, and Prince William – as well as the host of this podcast, Dan Jørgensen.So how do we push transformative ideas for the green transition moving forward?Listen for yourself in this episode.You can find the TED talks referenced here:Al Gore: Averting the climate crisisDan Jørgensen: How wind energy could power Earth ... 18 times overTim Urban: Inside the mind of a procrastinator

Sometimes having good talks on climate change requires a good listener.  And we have one of the best in Professor Jason Box on the 5th episode of Planet A’s fourth season where Dan Jørgensen talks with the esteemed professor of glaciology about the state of the Greenland Ice Sheet and what it can tells us about the changing climate.Jason Box has been co-author of the latest three assessment reports from IPCC and co-wrote the decisive UN report ‘Climate Change 2007’ for which the team was co-awarded the Nobel Peace prize the same year. He has also participated in more than 30 expeditions in Greenland to study climate changes and monitor the development of the ice sheet. So what does the ice tell us? Listen for yourself in this episode of Planet A.

In the 4th episode of Planet A’s fourth season, Dan Jørgensen talks with the renowned American author, Jonathan Safran Foer.  His debut “Everything Is Illuminated” and his later novels “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” and “Here I Am” has established him as one of the most thought provoking American authors in this century. Over the last decade his non-fiction books “Eating Animals” and “We Are the Weather – Saving the Planet Begins at Breakfast” plunged him into the debate on climate change – and on this episode of Planet A.And it all begins with what we eat for breakfast. Safran Foer proposes that we cut as many animal products as possible from our diet – until dinner. That way we can find comfort in the food we are used to eat, while still taking action on one of the biggest emission sourcesSafran Foer suggests that we have overlooked what we can do about climate change ourselves. Thus, while we cannot change human nature, we can make choices about what we eat.

In the 3rd episode of Planet A’s fourth season, Dan Jørgensen talks with Dr. Debra Roberts co-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC).The IPCC recently released its report ”Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability” that assesses the impact climate change could have on ecosystems, biodiversity and human communities.Dr. Roberts calls the report a clear wake-up call that will force us to either ”adapt or die”.For some animals, the latter option may become their fate. The report finds that - even if we meet the goal enshrined in the Paris Accord - there will be a severe loss of biodiversity.Thus, an increase in global temperatures of 1.5° will ”very likely” result in the extinction of somewhere between 3 and 14 percent of the several thousand land dwelling species that the IPCC looked at.Furthermore, a 5° increase in global temperatures could eradicate up to 48 % of the land based species.Some developments - such as hydrological changes resulting from the retreat of glaciers – have already become irreversible, leading to more droughts and rising sea levels.However, the report also outlines feasible and effective adaptation options, which can reduce risks to people and nature. Dr. Roberts argues that to enable climate resilient development, it will require systemic change in everything from the way we produce energy to how we build cities and manage ecosystems.

In the 2nd episode of Planet A’s fourth season, Dan Jørgensen talks with Lutz Weischer, Head of Policy for the NGO Germanwatch.  Germanwatch works on a wide range of environmental issues, but is perhaps best known for its annual publication of “CCPI” - the Climate Change Performance Index.  As evident in numerous international assessments, the world is currently not on track to limit the rise of global temperatures to 1.5 degrees celsius and climate action is urgently needed.  Thus, the CCPI aims to enhance transparency in international climate politics and enables comparison of climate protection efforts and progress made by individual countries. In this episode, Mr. Weischer explains how the CCPI compares the climate policies and actions of different countries. The CCPI is unusual in the way that the top-ranked country is in fourth place. Germanwatch argues that no country performs well enough to be ranked and achieve an overall very high rating. Accordingly, the first three positions in the overall ranking therefore remain empty as even though all countries were as committed as the current frontrunners, it would still not be enough to prevent dangerous climate change. The index is produced in collaboration with the think tank NewClimate Institute and the Climate Action Network (CAN) - a global network of more than 1,300 civil society organizations in over 130 countries. 

In the 1st episode of Planet A’s fourth season, Dan Jørgensen talks with Professor Joseph Nye of Harvard University.Professor Nye gained global fame by introducing the term “soft power”, that is the ability of a country to persuade others to do what it wants – without using force or coercion.In this episode of Planet A, he explains how soft power is particularly relevant to address transnational problems like climate change. Professor Nye also talks about the increasing importance of exerting “power with” - rather than “power over” - other nations. To him, climate change is an example of a problem that no government can control by working alone – it demands collaboration with other governments.Furthermore, he argues there are two great power shifts going on in this century. One is a power shift from Europe and the US to Asia, particularly countries like China and India. The other great power shift is from vertical to horizontal power. That is the power shift from governments to non-governmental and transnational actors, which manifests itself at the COP-negotiations.However, despite the rising influence of activists and the growing power of social media, nation-states remain the most important actors in the international system. But we can only stem climate change if nation states strengthen international collaboration about creating common norms, rules and institutions.

In the 5th episode of Planet A’s third season, Dan Jørgensen talks with Dr. Kate Marvel.Dr. Marvel is a research scientist at Columbia University and works for NASA, studying how climate change affects our planet. Her research has not only made her an eminent expert on the interplay between clouds and climate change, but also brought her international prominence for her TED Talk “Can clouds save us from climate change?”.In the podcast, she explains how clouds both warms and cools the Earth, by either trapping heat or blocking sunlight. But in fact, climate change is also affecting the movement of clouds, pushing them from the tropics towards the North and South Pole. Furthermore, Dr. Marvel explains about possibilities and perils of geoengineering. While generally skeptical about the use of geoengineering, to her the question of - who should decide what to do - is front and center.She also argues that while science has confirmed patterns like warming of the Arctic, the existing climate models failed to predict the occurrence of other climate induced events.The latter point indicates that there are gaps in the scientific understanding of climate change and that its impact could be worse than anticipated.However, she ends on a positive note arguing that climate science is gaining more prominent in the wider public debate about climate change. But even more importantly, she underlines that the science shows that we still can avert a disaster.NB. Apologies for the background noise on the recording that is due to on-going construction work in Dr. Marvel’s building.

In the 4th episode of Planet A’s third season, Dan Jørgensen talks with Laurence Tubiana and Tomas Anker Christensen about the complexity of negotiations at COP26 in Glasgow, the significance of the outcome and the nature of the COP proces.Laurence Tubiana is CEO of the European Climate Foundation (ECF) and the former French Climate Change Ambassador and Special Representative for COP21. In this capacity, she became the key architect of the Paris Agreement.Tomas Anker Christensen is the current Danish Climate Ambassador and has extensive experience with climate diplomacy. As Senior Adviser for the UN Secretary General, he played a key role in planning, organising and executing the Climate Summit in 2014.Mr. Anker Christensen opens the episode by providing a comprehensive primer on the most important issues that were discussed at COP26. He explains the importance of “keeping 1.5 alive” and talks about the general negotiation dynamics, carbon markets, climate finance and the reason why it is necessary that the global ambition is ramped up next year.Building on her expertise as the main architect of the Paris Agreement, Ms. Tubiana shares her views on the outcome of COP26. Although she's been sceptical about the outcome she calls COP26 a “much needed moment” and looks ahead to COP27, which will be held in Egypt next year.