The Sustainable Futures Report

This is the Sustainable Futures Report for Thursday, the 30th of November, and finally, it's time to move on.   This is the 477th episode and the final episode after 15 years of publication. After careful consideration I've decided that the Sustainable Futures Report will not return. Before I go I'll take the opportunity to comment on COP28, which starts this week, to suggest some books which you should put on your Christmas list and there's a couple of videos which you really must watch, one from Dave Borlace and another one from Oblivia Coalmine. Find all the details on the website.    

I need to take stock and make the Sustainable Futures Report as relevant and interesting to you the listener as I can. I'm going to develop ideas for the theme and the content. To do that I'm taking a break and aiming to be back in January.

This is an unexpected bonus edition of the Sustainable Futures Report for Thursday 17th August. Last Saturday, I was asked if I would appear on TalkTV to talk about the Greenpeace action when they sat on the roof of the prime minister's country house in North Yorkshire. You can hear what I said, what the other panellist said and what the public said as well. 

Sharon Lashley, managing Director of Climate Action North, explains how to make a difference. Choose things you can achieve. Attempting the impossible will only make you want to give up.

"Sunak is worse than a war criminal," says Just Stop Oil. "He knows new oil and gas will impose unimaginable suffering and destroy the lives and livelihoods of billions of people. He knows that it will push the world past irreversible tipping points, meaning that the consequences and suffering will echo for centuries. He is risking nothing less than the collapse of human civilisation."

I talk to Solitaire Townsend, co-founder of Futerra, author, sustainability expert and optimist. She explains how the professionals in PR, Marketing, Accountancy, Lobbying and the Legal profession can smooth the way for the fossil industries and major polluters, or use their power to oppose them. Some are doing both, as she explains. Other businesses have got the message and are doing all they can - but they're "green hushing". You'll find out what that is.

Thoughts on managing the message, political indifference, the UK's skills and infrastructure problems and a plea to the UN to act on inequality. Also the problems with charging your EV and startling insights from my barber.

Everyone knows about lithium, and about how it's used in batteries for almost every electronic device, but lithium is only part of the story. I talk to John DeMaio, CEO Graphex Technologies and President of Graphene Division of the Graphex Group Ltd. 

Just Stop Oil. Are they getting it right or are they getting it wrong? I have a view from inside the oil industry. Can protest and free speech survive in the face of new laws, and legal procedures which can bankrupt protesters without even taking them to court? And a minister resigns just before the PM sacks him, but he claims it's for a completely different reason

This week I'm talking about transitions with a webinar from Business Green and a warning from energy company, Ithaca. There's a report and a letter to the prime minister from the Climate Change Committee, and what did happen at that Paris Finance Summit? More worrying news about climate tipping points and a new film to cheer you up. Or not.

There are still many people who are determined to deny the dangers of the climate emergency with refusal to face facts or even by supporting censorship. There are lots of stories at the moment about the climate, principally about soaring sea temperatures, but also about the legacy of wildfires in Canada and the effect of temperature on solar panels. Are we counting the cost of the climate crisis correctly? A paper in Nature Sustainability suggests that we are counting the money cost and ignoring the human cost. How will we achieve a transition to net zero? Is Just Stop Oil the answer, or will it make things worse? And finally how good are you at thinking on your feet, when faced with tricky climate questions? There's a new online club to help you with that. First, though, we'll look at some political policy issues.

Today we have a follow-up on last week's methane story, a reminder of World Refill Day and I reveal why we're burning more coal this week. In other news I ask who's in the driving seat, or is the seat driving? There's a podcast about the end of the world, but first, let's talk about the warming oceans, the biggest heat sink on the planet.

Today, I'll bring you items about electric cars, about Western Australia's personality of the year, and about the controversy over the President of COP 28. First, though, I'm going to talk about methane. 

If you work hard on making your organisation sustainable, isn't it nice to be recognised? Karen Sutton founded the Global Good Awards. Here's how it happened.

A wide-ranging interview with James Murray, Editor in Chief of Business Green. Our conversation included the role of China, carbon capture and storage, the resignation of the CEO of Verra (the offset certification body) and even the sponsorship by Drax Power of the upcoming Net Zero Festival.

The WMO warns that we will hit 1.5℃ within the next two or three years. How is the legal profession approaching climate issues and climate-damaging clients, and why are cyclists bad for the economy?

Yes, the King's coronation has taken place and we'll hear more about that a bit later. Well, not so much about the coronation itself as about what went on on the sidelines. If you can't stand the heat take it out of the kitchen with new technology which may not be quite as new as some reporters suggest. We hear from Naomi Klein on the hallucinations of artificial intelligence, and from Zoe Cohen, friend of the Sustainable Futures Report, addressing the annual general meeting of Barclays Bank. Nuclear fusion is the immense reaction which powers the sun. Now some Israeli scientists want to replicate it in a shipping container. And there's advance notice of the Net Zero Festival which takes place in London next October.

This week I talk to Tim Clover, CEO and founder of Glow, a consumer research technology company, about how ESG influences consumer choices. Comments also on that book - How to Blow Up a Pipeline - and a warning about the potential dangers of AI.

Extinction Rebellion held a four-day demonstration in Whitehall last weekend. Will it make any difference? Or should we blow up a pipeline?

An interview with Leo Taylor, CEO of YumBug. A man who is bringing insect-based cuisine to a pub or restaurant near you.

The Threat from Artificial Intelligence ... and a long promised review of micro-mobility                

Much of our environment is at risk from more than Climate Change. It is at risk from human activity damaging biodiversity, and in some cases driving parts of it to extinction. Who cares and who is responsible? Well increasingly governments care and shareholders care and those who lead major corporations may be at risk if they don't recognise their actions or the actions of their organisations are damaging biodiversity. That brings us to this week's interview.

The AR6 report from the IPCCwill be the main story today so I'm going to hold over micro mobility and 15 minute communities until I can spend enough time on them to do them justice. But we'll also have time to take a trip to a swimming pool, a cathedral and a secret vault in the Arctic.

I recently had the opportunity to talk to Christophe Bourguignat about insurance in the context of natural disasters and the climate crisis.

This week I'm talking about the power of the press, about how the rich view the climate crisis and what are they doing about it, how NASA is saving the world and a different perspective on one of the oil majors. First, we are back to carbon offsets and Verra's U-turn.

I promised you more detail on the carbon offset controversy which was started by a report in the press last month. Here's an interview with someone with firsthand knowledge of the market, Chief Impact Officer and co-founder of Compensate, Niklas Kaskeala.                

This week's headline is Regenesis, the title of a book by George Monbiot. I'll tell you what I think and indeed what others think about his latest ideas. I'm also bringing you a few stories that you might have missed; some about food, some about geo-engineering, the threat of a new pandemic and another book I'm just reading. 

Each week I write between 2,000 and 4,000 words to bring you an episode of the Sustainable Futures Report. I also write to the paper from time time and sometimes I get published...

Is the law an ass? Or is it something more sinister?

Sustainability news doesn't stop, nor does the weather, nor do GHG emissions. I've a bit of catching up to do, including XR, more extreme weather, wood burning stoves, the government's environmental plan, FOMO and FOFO, the controversy over Verra and carbon offsets, the future for podcasts, the financial climate, the unlawful arrest of journalists, biodiversity and the cost of Twitter, a comment from Greta and a whole lot more that I'm going to have to hold over until next week.

If we are to preserve a habitable environment and successfully meet the challenge of the climate crisis our organisations need competent, sustainable leadership. I spoke to Clarke Murphy, who knows about these things.

My guest this week, Leonardo Zangrando, wants to save the oceans and wants to inspire 100 million people to help him do that. Sounds a lot, although given that world population passed 8 billion last year is it really a lot? The oceans, he tells us, are the lungs of the planet. Forget the tropical rainforests - the oceans are far more significant. Everything, everything we do, affects the oceans. And the oceans affect us.

Trees are good for the planet. Hank Dearden explains how trees do so much more for us than just sequester carbon. We can all help too!

Today I'm talking to Paul Hughes about new applications for batteries. How they can store energy, save energy, save money and cut carbon emissions.

There are now 8,000 million people (8 billion) across the world. Every one of those has to be fed. The RIPE project has been ongoing for decades at sites in different parts of the world. Its aim is to adapt plants to the harsher future that climate change is creating, to safeguard food supplies. I spoke to Steve Long, Project Director

In the final part of our series on the management of waste I bring you an interview with Peter Wang Hjemdahl of rePurpose Global. As I mentioned last week, his organisation aims to help you get your plastic footprint under control. The headline on the website is “Together, rePurpose Global's coalition is recovering 14,228,074 pounds of plastic each year - will you join us?”

This week I'm looking back on 2022. I've published 62 episodes over the year - about 150,000 words. Thank you for listening and thank you for your feedback. In this episode I'm going to look at what concerned us this time last year and what progress we've made since then. In December last year we were talking about COP26, which had just ended in Glasgow. There were complaints about fossil fuel subsidies, an Insulate Britain protester on hunger strike, profound wisdom on climate mitigation from Allegra Stratton (Yes, I can see you remember her) and Certified Greenwash. And there's always something about energy.

Waste has a cost. It's a cost to the environment in terms of pollution. It's a cost to the world as lost resources. Increasingly it's a cost to the producer, through  the cost of disposal or even through fines. Stacy Savage is Founder & CEO of Zero Waste Strategies. Here's how she helps her clients address the problem.

In April 2021 seven women took hammers and chisels to the office of Barclays Bank in Canary Wharf, London and cracked the glass panels of the facade. They put up posters saying, “In case of climate emergency break glass.” They then waited to be arrested. All seven appeared in court this week. All seven were found guilty of criminal damage. One of those arrested was Zoe Cohen, who spoke to the Sustainable Futures Report only last month.  She told me why she did it, and what sentence she can expect.

The idea of the circular economy is to use, reuse and recycle materials to minimise the amount that we have to take from virgin resources. In an ideal world there is no such thing as a waste. When something is finished with it becomes an input to a new process. We are very far from achieving that, but there are people working hard to make it a reality. People like those at the Material Library of India. And it's about a lot more than just collecting things up after they have been thrown away. Recently I spoke to Shubhi Sachan, founder of the Material Library of India.

To give you some pointers on how to control your carbon footprint I'm talking this time to John Cossham. And not just about being green and cutting carbon, but our wide-ranging discussions included population, changing the system, being vegan or vegetarian, the steady-state economy, doughnut economics, gross domestic happiness, tipping points and positive feedback, climate anxiety, near-term human extinction and why we should be doing good now – it's the right thing to do. And never, ever give up hope.

It's over. Cop 27 has finished even though it ran on for several days after its scheduled closing. An agreement was reached at the last minute! But where have we heard all this before?              

I've been promising you a review of what's been going on from an environmental point of view since Anthony Albanese's Labor government took office in May. I spoke to Dr Simon Wright. He's Director at Simply Sustainable Consulting and Research Principal, Institute for Sustainable Futures (ISF) at the Orange campus of the University of Technology, Sydney.

This week the United Nations climate conference, cop 27, opened and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres set the tone with the warning that, "We are on a highway to climate hell with our foot still on the accelerator.” UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made a U-turn and decided to attend COP27  after all, maybe because he heard that Boris Johnson was going. Sunak turned up for the opening day but didn't stay long. The main part of today's episode is a wide-ranging interview with Zoe Cohen who has capaigned with XR, Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil. "I'm a 52 year old mum who takes nonviolent direct action, because I believe it's the right thing to do given the situation we're in." We spoke about growth, about soup, sunflowers and mashed potato, about the unreality of net zero 2050 (it's a joke) and why you, too, should get arrested.

Measuring your personal carbon footprint is a first step towards taking action to combat the climate crisis. It's a first step and a small step and there is much more to be done. Recent reports make that abundantly clear. So what's your carbon footprint? (I'll show you mine if you show me yours.) This week we also look at preparations for COP27, and whether PM Rishi Sunak will U-turn and decide to attend after all. Maybe he'll let the King go too!

Can we produce meat without farming and without slaughtering livestock? I spoke to Daan Luining, co-founder and Chief Technical Officer of Meatable.              

In the news this week: .. a couple of protests and plans for a further crackdown on protesters. Could there be yet another government U-turn, this time in favour of sustainability? There is a video you should see and I'll tell you about upcoming interviews planned for the next few months. Finally, what is sustainability anyway?

An interview with Daniela Fernandez, founder of the Sustainable Oceans Alliance. Image by rawpixel.com

I've called this one Good News for two reasons, one is that I want to attract your attention and secondly because I don't want the Sustainable Futures Report to be seen as a litany of bad news.

We're on the brink of massive changes. This week I'm going to talk about the UK government, though not about its financial management. There is a report from the world meteorological organisation as more extreme weather events are reported. A new academic study warns that palm trees face extinction while in Finland more and bigger buildings are being built from timber. On the energy front the UAE is stepping up oil production, and is hydrogen the ideal clean solution for home heating, or will it be just too expensive?

As I write this on the day after the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II there's little I can bring you in the way of sustainability news from the United Kingdom. The world didn't stop, of course, and we are in the middle of a series of extreme weather events.