Podcasts about emissions reductions

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Best podcasts about emissions reductions

Latest podcast episodes about emissions reductions

The CGAI Podcast Network
Energy Security Cubed: President Elect Trump's Energy Policy and Implications for Canada

The CGAI Podcast Network

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2024 61:57


On this episode of the Energy Security Cubed Podcast, we feature the audio from a panel focusing on the outlook for energy policy in the United States following the election of Donald Trump and how these could impact Canada. // Guest Bio: - Kasha Piquette is a former Deputy Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, as well as former Associate Deputy Minister of the Sustainability, Emissions Reductions and Innovation Secretariat Executive Council at the Government of Alberta - CGAI Fellow Rory Johnston is a Toronto-based oil market researcher, the founder of Commodity Context, and a lecturer at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy - CGAI Fellow Ellen Wald President of Transversal Consulting, and Co-Founder of Washington Ivy Advisors and a Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Center - CGAI Fellow Eric Miller is President of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group, a consultancy that advises private and public sector clients on trade, energy, and business matters // Host Bio: - Kelly Ogle is Managing Director of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute - Joe Calnan is a Fellow and Energy Security Forum Manager at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute // Book Recommendations: - "Elon Musk" by Walter Isaacson: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Elon-Musk/Walter-Isaacson/9781982181284 - "The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives" by Ernest Scheyder: https://www.simonandschuster.ca/books/The-War-Below/Ernest-Scheyder/9781668011805 - "The Familiar", by Laigh Bardugo: https://static.macmillan.com/static/fib/the-familiar/ - "The Good Allies: How Canada and the United States Fought Together to Defeat Fascism during the Second World War", by Tim Cook: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/738542/the-good-allies-by-tim-cook/9780735248205 - "All the Beauty in the World", by Patrick Bringley: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/All-the-Beauty-in-the-World/Patrick-Bringley/9781982163310 - "The Duel: Diefenbaker, Pearson and the Making of Modern Canada", by John Ibbitson: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/711008/the-duel-by-john-ibbitson/9780771003264 - "Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment", by Jason Schreier: https://www.amazon.ca/Play-Nice-Future-Blizzard-Entertainment/dp/1538725428 - "Saudi, Inc.", by Ellen R Wald: https://www.simonandschuster.ca/books/Saudi-Inc/Ellen-R-Wald/9781643132259 // Interview recording Date: November 13, 2024 // Energy Security Cubed is part of the CGAI Podcast Network. Follow the Canadian Global Affairs Institute on Facebook, Twitter (@CAGlobalAffairs), or on LinkedIn. Head over to our website at www.cgai.ca for more commentary. // Produced by Joe Calnan. Music credits to Drew Phillips.

The Fraser of Allander Institute Podcast
Quantifying Glasgow's Emissions Reductions: A Data-Driven Analysis from 2005 to 2022

The Fraser of Allander Institute Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2024 17:23


(0:00) - Introducing the GEMINOA project - background and context(1:16) - Key findings:Glasgow's 46% emissions reductionNational grid decarbonisation impactSector-by-sector breakdown(3:32) - Local policy measurement challenges:(7:30) - Economic implications:(11:00) - Future outlook:GEMINOA project developmentsPolicy implicationsUpcoming research

JSA Podcasts for Telecom and Data Centers
Road to Net Zero: Miranda Gardiner & Michael Donohue on Emissions Reductions & Sustainability at Yotta 2024

JSA Podcasts for Telecom and Data Centers

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 9, 2024 16:10


Join Miranda Gardiner, Executive Director of iMasons Climate Accord, and Michael Donohue, Chair of the iMasons Climate Accord's Power Working Group, in this insightful fireside chat, live from Yotta 2024 on JSA TV! Discover the ICA's roadmap to achieving net-zero emissions, the challenges and opportunities of a just power transition, and the future of sustainability in digital infrastructure. This conversation is packed with critical insights for organizations looking to scale their sustainability efforts and contribute to a greener future.#NetZero #Sustainability #JustTransition #iMasonsClimateAccord #Yotta2024 #EmissionsReductions

The Manila Times Podcasts
EDITORIAL: Methane warning is a call for more emissions reductions | Sept. 11, 2024

The Manila Times Podcasts

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 10, 2024 5:02


EDITORIAL: Methane warning is a call for more emissions reductions | Sept. 11, 2024Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net Follow us: Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital Check out our Podcasts: Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer Stitcher: https://tmt.ph/stitcherTune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein #TheManilaTimes#VoiceOfTheTimes Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

RNZ: Morning Report
Forestry industry on government's emissions reductions plan

RNZ: Morning Report

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 17, 2024 4:05


The forestry sector is warning that tree-planting numbers for this year might be about half of what the government predicts in its emission reduction plans. The plan, announced by Minister of Climate Change Simon Watts, aims for a massive tree-planting push to soak up emissions. But the New Zealand Institute of Forestry says the government's numbers are wrong, and the projections are unrealistic. Its president James Treadwell spoke to Ingrid Hipkiss.

RNZ: Morning Report
Government unveils draft emissions reductions plan

RNZ: Morning Report

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2024 6:21


The government has just released its draft emissions reduction plan for 2026-2030. The plan lays out how New Zealand will meet progressive greenhouse gas targets.Corin Dann spoke to Climate Change Minister Simon Watts.

RNZ: Morning Report
Labour on Government's Emissions Reductions Plan

RNZ: Morning Report

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2024 9:06


The Government's draft emissions reduction plan has been released this morning, laying out how it will meet greenhouse gas limits on the way to reaching net-zero carbon emisisons by 2050. It relies on more tree planting and new technologies. Leader of the opposition Labour's Chris Hipkins spoke to Corin Dann.

Irish Farmers Journal Weekly Podcast
Ep 1047: Farming news -Beef scheme issues, emissions reductions and succession

Irish Farmers Journal Weekly Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 12, 2024 32:14


Farmers frozen out of this year's €50/head Beef Welfare Scheme, positive moves by the agriculture industry to see emissions from the sector fall by 4.5% as well issues around succession and why farming may not be appealing to younger people are among the topics discussed on this week's podcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Viewpoint - A TD Securities Podcast
Balancing Act: Emissions Reductions and Rising Energy Demand

Viewpoint - A TD Securities Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 11, 2024 15:49


Explore the critical balance between energy demand and emissions reductions. Alec Clark, Head of Global Energy, Investment Banking, TD Securities, sits down with host, Amy Van Arnhem, Managing Director and Head of Canada Senior Relationship Management, TD Securities, to discuss how companies are embracing innovation to drive growth and sustainability in the sector and the implications for investors and industry stakeholders.This podcast was recorded on May 29, 2024.  For relevant disclosures, visit: tdsecurities.com/ca/en/legal#PodcastDisclosure. To learn more about TD Securities, visit us at tdsecurities.com or follow us on LinkedIn @tdsecurities.

Scotland's Farm Advisory Service Podcast
Rural RoundUp: A Carbon Conversation, audits, emissions, reductions and more

Scotland's Farm Advisory Service Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later May 22, 2024 25:50


Welcome back to the Rural Round-up hosted by me, Kerry Hammond. This show is produced in association with the Scottish Government. On today's episode I'm joined by George Chalmers and Tiffany Stephenson who chat all things Carbon. Carbon Audits, emissions reductions and more. FAS Resources Carbon Audits | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot) Specialist Advice | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service (fas.scot) Other Resources Preparing for Sustainable Farming (PSF) (ruralpayments.org) Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (ruralpayments.org) Carbon Literacy for rural industries | Keep Scotland Beautiful For more information, visit www.FAS.scot Twitter: @FASScot Facebook: @FASScot

South Carolina Business Review
Targeting locomotives for emissions reductions

South Carolina Business Review

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2024 5:49


The transportation industry continues to be the target for reducing the effects of climate change. Our next guest says that if the railroads want to eliminate their carbon footprint, they must decarbonize line haul locomotives.

Robert McLean's Podcast
Climate News: 75-year-old idea takes centre stage at COP28; BItter divide at COP28 over fossil fuels; Koalas tested by ever-increasing heat

Robert McLean's Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 13, 2023 18:13


An idea that found fertile soil at Mont Perelin in Switzerland 75 years ago frustrates decision-makers at COP28 in Dubai; "COP28 talks on the cusp of failure with bitter divide over the future of fossil fuels"; "This is what the Arctic's record-hot summer looked like"; "Climate Commission report makes for awkward reading"; "Climate summit pushback over fossil fuels: ‘This is a war for survival'"; "Koalas suffer in the heat – here's how to help this summer"; "UK minister departs Cop28 as climate talks reach crisis point"; "Australia accused of hypocrisy in calling for end to fossil fuels at COP28"; "Power cuts, evacuations as Cyclone Jasper crawls towards FNQ"; "‘First line of defence': mangroves – and mitigation - lost in Fiji's tourism development"; "Planning to use drugs at a festival on a scorching summer day? Here's why extreme heat might make MDMA riskier"; "We rely heavily on groundwater – but pumping too much threatens thousands of underground species"; "Left is Not Woke: a philosopher's plea for universalism and ‘progress' is a frustrating polemic"; "The NZ aviation industry is making bold climate claims – and risking anti-greenwashing litigation"; "Business booms on the sidelines of COP28"; "COP28: UAE signs deal with Bill Gates' nuclear company on advanced reactors"; "COP28: An Exxon CEO Attends COP for the First Time Ever"; "Pledges from climate talks not enough to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, IEA says"; "US Opts Out of Dutch Plan to End Fossil Fuel Subsidies at COP28"; "A New UN ‘Roadmap' Lays Out a Global Vision for Food Security and Emissions Reductions"; "Protests at UN climate talks, from cease-fire calls to detainees, see ‘shocking level of censorship'"; "Greenpeace billboard labels government 'climate extremists' over oil and gas exploration plans"; "Cultivated meat approval progresses to the next stage"; "The Climate Summit Starts to Crack a Tough Nut: Emissions From Food"; "Countries Most at Risk Call Proposed Climate Agreement a ‘Death Warrant'"; "A Tense Climate Summit Begins Against a Backdrop of War and Record Heat"; "COP28 Opens in Dubai with Calls for Accelerated Action, Higher Ambition Against the Escalating Climate Crisis"; "The New World Bank Leader Has the Climate Crisis at the Top of His Agenda"; "Tiny Electric Vehicles Pack a Bigger Climate Punch Than Cars"; "A Quarter of Freshwater Fish Are at Risk of Extinction, a New Assessment Finds"; "What Ails Offshore Wind: Supply Chains, Ships and Interest Rates"; "As Frogs Disappear Worldwide, ‘There Is No Way to Stop That Killer'"; "How Can Buildings Beat the Heat in a Desert City? Blend Ancient and Modern."; "At Cop28 it feels as if humanity's shared lifeboat is sinking. There are only hours left to act"; "COP28: Climate talks enter last day with no agreement in sight on fossil fuels"; "Cop28 – LIVE: Draft text of final deal is released as talks go down to wire"; "UK climate minister leaves Cop28 summit as talks reach critical point: ‘A slap in the face'"; "The Climate Care Program by Vets for Climate Action"; "COP28: Strong outcome to end fossil fuel era backed by large majority of UNFCCC Parties"; "‘Stop the rapid loss of nature': Labor warned to clamp down on biodiversity offsets in environment law overhaul"; "People Living in Green Areas Seem to Age Slower at The Cellular Level"; "East Africa's floods decimate almost entire rainy season harvest leaving over four million people with no food or income"; "Can't read a map or use a first aid kit: Australians lack hiking skills, survey shows"; "Flying was his dream. Now he wants to reduce the carbon footprint of air travel."; "The science is clear: we need net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050"; "Fossil fuel dictatorships and petrostates"; "What happens if the 1.5C target for global heating is missed?"; "COP28: UN climate talks in jeopardy in fossil fuel backlash". --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/robert-mclean/message

Across the Sky
What to make of the 5th National Climate Assessment

Across the Sky

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 20, 2023 42:54


Yes, the planet is getting warmer. But what's happening in the United States specifically and what will the impacts be? The newly released Fifth National Climate Assessment is the most comprehensive report yet on how climate change is impacting the country. Dr. Jeremy Hoffman, the lead author of the Southeast chapter, joins the podcast this week to give an overview of the assessment. What is different about this report from previous ones? How do current and future impacts vary across different regions, industries, and social classes? Dr. Hoffman also discusses why there is reason for optimism as we move forward with tackling climate change. We want to hear from you! Have a question for the meteorologists? Call 609-272-7099 and leave a message. You might hear your question and get an answer on a future episode! You can also email questions or comments to podcasts@lee.net. About the Across the Sky podcast The weekly weather podcast is hosted on a rotation by the Lee Weather team: Matt Holiner of Lee Enterprises' Midwest group in Chicago, Kirsten Lang of the Tulsa World in Oklahoma, Joe Martucci of the Press of Atlantic City, N.J., and Sean Sublette of the Richmond Times-Dispatch in Virginia. Episode transcript Note: The following transcript was created by Headliner and may contain misspellings and other inaccuracies as it was generated automatically: Southeast Braces for Rising Seas Sean Sublet welcomes climate scientist Jeremy Hoffman to Lee Enterprises Weather podcast Sean Sublette: Hello once again, everybody. I'm, meteorologist Sean Sublette. And welcome to Across the Sky, our national Lee Enterprises Weather podcast. Lee Enterprises has print and digital news operations in more than 70 locations across the country, including in my home base in Richmond, Virginia. I'm joined by meteorologist colleagues Matt Holiner in Chicago, Joe Martucci at the New Jersey Shore, Kirsten Lang this week is on assignment. Our guest this week is climate scientist Jeremy Hoffman. Jeremy got his PhD in geology with a focus in Paleo climatology at Oregon State University. And importantly, he is the lead author of the new Southeast chapter of the Fifth National Climate Assessment, which just came out this week. After several years here in Richmond at the Science Museum of Virginia, he is now working with Groundwork USA, a network of local organizations devoted to transforming the natural and built environment of low resource communities across the country. So we have got a lot to get to, with Jeremy in this episode. Guys, one of the things that I think was really good for us to point out was that we're hit with so many reports, right? This report comes out. This report comes out. We see this headline, that headline. This one is different. This one really focuses on specific sectors and impacts to all the regions of the United States. And Matt, you and I were talking, so many people were involved to get some good, what we call consensus opinions. Right? Matt Holiner: Yeah. This reminds me very much, if you haven't listened to our episode with Neil deGrasse Tyson, a great listen, but we talk about this with him, or he brought it up, how you want scientific consensus, you don't want the one person who has this one, probably that's not how science works. You want something that's been worked on and been looked at by a lot of people. And a lot of people worked on this report, and some of the most respected scientists in the country worked on this report. So this wasn't a report done by one person. And it's not just a few page report. It's very detailed, lots of people working on it to reach a consensus on what's happening, a scientific consensus. This isn't just an opinion, this is based on fact, and a lot of hours and a lot of people will put effort into it. Joe Martucci: Yeah, and you could check that out at NCA 2023. Globalchange. Gov. That's NcaTwenty. Globalchange. Gov. Yes. Usually when a number of people are saying the same thing, that is usually meaning that there is power behind this. What is in the report is factually correct, at least to the best of their abilities here. And this all goes into what I say a lot of times when it comes to climate change, let's just get the elephant out of the room. It is a big topic, that does get heated here. But the way to think about this is there are facts and forecasts about our climate changing world, and then there's what to do or not to do about it. And that's where your beliefs come in. There is a difference between what our beliefs are and then what is actually happening. So, as we learn here in the podcast, this is talking about the facts and the forecast part of it. What is actually the thoughts of the researchers in terms of what to do or not to do about it is not in this. That's for now, Congress and our elected, officials to decide on. And he talks about that in the podcast, so I'm looking forward to it. Sean Sublette: Yeah, he gets into a lot of that. They kind of outline some policy ideas, but didn't say we need to X, Y or Z. So without further ado, let's get right to Jeremy Hoffman, who's the lead chapter offer of the Southeast chapter of the National Climate Assessment. The fifth National Climate Assessment has been several years in the making Sean Sublette: Jeremy, thanks for joining us. This has been a labor of love, I'm sure. the fifth national climate assessment is literally years in the making. Talk a little bit about the genesis of the NCA national climate assessment. This isn't just another report that's out there, right? I mean, this is a congressional act, right? Hundreds of scientists are working on this. Jeremy Hoffman: Yeah. So, first of all, thanks so much, Sean, and your team, for inviting me to be a part of the discussion today. You're absolutely right. I mean, this has been a, ah, report that's several years in the making. First and foremost, the national climate Assessment itself is a congressionally mandated, production of the US government, of the US GCRP, or the US, Global Change Research program and the NCA Five, really began, back in the end of 2019 when the Federal Steering Committee that would be kind of running the show and pushing the report forward was established. And then by the middle part of 2020 or so, that's when the, lead authors were selected based on a public nomination process. so I was informed of my selection as the, chapter lead for the Southeast chapter, at that time, as well as, getting to know my coordinating lead author, Steve McDulty, who's the director of the Southeast, Region Forest Service. Steve, amazing career, has worked on basically every climate assessment, since they began, so he had been working on climate assessments since before I was born. So it was really great to have somebody with such experience helping me, get to know the climate assessment process. And so, by 2021, by the end of 2020, we had our chapter author team selected and established, and so then basically for the last two years, since that time, we've been doing, different drafts of the content of the fifth national climate Assessment. This has included an outline phase or the zero order draft. In early 2021, we got some, public feedback at that time, which was really great. We had, public engagement workshops that had visitors from all over the different, regions. We had, stakeholder, engagements as part of that process. And so we emerged with a really, kind, of bottom up outline of what the Southeast, the stakeholders and public and residents of the Southeast were really interested in and concerned about. SO Then there was a multiple iterative process, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th drafts, which, I believe the fourth order draft, went through, or the third order draft went through the National Academy's peer review process, as well as another public review, the Southeast chapter. We had, almost 100 public comments about our chapter draft, reflecting on the content and kind of pieces that might have been missing, as well as National Academy's review, which was three pages of a nearly line by Line review. And so, yes, this report is, the integrated effort of over 700 people, academics, professionals, climate, and resilience communicators. I mean, it is. The sheer number of people involved in the production of this from the NCA team side of things is immense. And then you think about the thousands and thousands of residents of this country that provided public review to the draft. This is not some flash in the pan kind of report. The state of climate impact and risk, science for the United States, that will be the kind of science of record that people can come back to again and again as they confront the risks of climate change in their communities, for at least the next five years, until the NCA six comes out. So, yes, it was a massive undertaking. It was such an incredible experience professionally, and I'm just so thrilled about the way that it's been rolled out to such public fanfare, around the country. Sean Sublette: Wonderful. Before I let the other guys jump in, I want to start at the very top. I mean, from what I've been able to tell, because I haven't gone through all of it yet. It's massive. It's kind of a reinforcement of things that we largely knew if we're paying attention. Right. but are there a couple of things that have come out in this version, NCA Five, that really stand out as bigger changes or more emphatic compared to NCA Four, whether it's in the Southeast or any part of the United States? Is there anything that really jumped out at you as a scientist? Jeremy Hoffman: Well, first of all, I think virtually across all of the regional chapters and even the sector specific chapters, almost without exception, virtually every way that we understand that climate change is happening has just gotten stronger, since NCA Four. Whether that be patterns, and trends in annual temperatures or our warm nights, indicators of heavy precipitation, indicators of rising sea levels. All of those things that we use as our indicators of climate change is happening now in the United States, virtually without exception, have all gotten more robust. So, as far as the framing around kind of content that's already been covered for the multiple other NCAs, this report very much focuses on, the fact that quite literally, how much more all of these things continue to intensify are entirely related to the choices that we make today. The human element about the uncertainty of what happens in the future, is really, particularly centered across all of the different chapters. So we're talking about, very much that what happens now has a direct correlation to what happens in the future. And depending on the level of global warming that we, experience and allow to happen, dictates the future intensity of the, climate indicators that we have already, seen change. Now, some of the particular things that I think, ah, are particularly noteworthy in the Southeast. I think the most alarming result is related to sea, level change. Sea level is going up, globally, because land based ice in the Polar Regions is melting and adding that water that was frozen into big, giant ice sheets that water is melting and going into the ocean. That raises, global sea levels. Also, most of the energy being trapped by the intensified greenhouse gas effect is being absorbed by the oceans. So the oceans are warming up. This is a really fascinating bit about water, is that as it warms up, it expands. You, can do this experiment at home, boiling water on your stove at home. You see that as it warms up, it's actually starting to take up a greater volume, over time. So we have those two things going on globally. But then when you look at the localized things, that can then further amplify global sea level rise that's happening throughout the Southeast, and really creating, a fairly, urgent need to confront these rising sea levels because we actually have a faster relative sea level rise throughout the Southeast. That drives our future projections to be much higher than the global average expectation. So things like excessive groundwater, know, in coastal, you know, Norfolk, Virginia has the highest rate of sealable rise on the entire east coast of North America, due to localized groundwater extraction, as well as things like the relaxation of the Earth's crust following the end of the last Ice Age. So this connects to things happening tens of thousands of years ago. But also there are localized oceanographic, changes that are ongoing that further amplify sea, level trends that we have in the Southeast. Now, what does this mean long term? By 2050, which pretty much a lot of the future climate projections that are seen in the report focus on more near term changes. So 2050 or so, sea level rise of 2ft is expected at a kind of intermediate to high range scenario, which seems to match the trends that we have detected already. So when we think about the amount of people that are moving under the coastline, the amount of things that we're building along the coast, the threats of a changing sea level, really become apparent through intensified amount of flooding related to hurricanes, to storm surges, even just sunny day or nuisance flooding going up, taking up more time, disrupting people's day to day lives on the coast. And we know that these flooding conditions disproportionately affect those without the resources in order to prepare for them. And that's what I would say is another aspect of this report that is centered throughout, the report in sectors and regional, chapters is that there is a disproportionate impact of climate change on poorer communities and communities of color that experience the challenges of climate change, first and worst, whether that's through their health impacts or to their livelihoods. This is a real theme across the report that you will see, ah, very much, highlighted across both sectors and regions. So I'd say, there are a few other things we can talk about for sure, but when it comes to the Southeast sea level rise and throughout the whole country and throughout the report, this focus on disproportionate impact, is really something that is a big change from NCA four with. Joe Martucci: Everything you said, right? Who is actually taking this information, making actions upon it? I know you said it's congressionally mandated. I don't know if you said this during the broadcast or just before, while we were off air. But who's taking this information? And what are the actionable steps that have been done based on previous climate assessments? Like, is this something that is actually being put to use in the United States? Jeremy Hoffman: So I find that, if you look up the citations for, the NCA, four chapters, they appear in all manner of different capacities, whether it's just public awareness. So, this kind of coverage, news coverage, making its way into the public realm, though, refining and defining new questions related to climate change impacts. So it further drives the research that is, working to illuminate more detailed, information, around climate change. But yes, we do see this making its way into decision making. And the biggest point about the national climate assessment is for it to be, policy relevant, but not policy prescriptive. So what's really great about these national climate assessments is that it is meant to just provide the information that can then shape those decision makers, plans for the future. I've seen it, make its way into, coastal resilience plans. I've seen the information and citations to previous reports, make its way into nonprofit community group kinds of presentations, whether it's, advocating for things like improved transit, or more shade in their neighborhoods. These sorts of documents, again, really find their way into a variety of different conversations, that I think just work to, establish a normalized set of data that we can use in those sorts of, discussions. And I think, it's been really amazing, the variety of different ways, that these reports have been, utilized. And I think that NCA Five, because of its real focus on finding ways to communicate with groups that maybe weren't aware that the national climate assessment exists. I am really excited to see it used, for other, endeavors, maybe more aligned with the humanities or social sciences, and understanding more about things like mental health and well-being where a hazard showed up, in the past. So, there's a variety of different things, from concrete climate related policy to, just improving the way that individuals and communities can talk about climate change in their own backyards. Climate change is causing drought and flooding in the United States Matt Holiner: And, Jeremy, I think one of the things that's, confusing for folks is when we're talking about climate change, we're talking about how drought is becoming more intense and occurring more often, and flooding is becoming more intense and occurring more often. And so then people are like, well, which one is going to win? Is drought going to win? Or is flooding going to win? And I think it's going to somewhat depend on where you are in the world about what is more likely. But when you're just looking at the United States, is there anything we could say by region about who is likely to suffer more from drought and who is likely to suffer more from flooding? Jeremy Hoffman: So the kind of traditional wisdom in the climate size community is that you get this pattern of the dry gets drier and the wet gets wetter. So, by. And the country itself tends to be divided about halfway between what's dry to the west and what's wet to the east. And we've seen that playing out, in the, precipitation related indicators of climate change anyway, the Southeast and the Northeast experiencing the more, robust changes to the intensity and duration and frequency of extreme precipitation. Changes to the annual amount of precipitation tends to be in those places that were already kind of wetter climates to begin with. And so when we look into the future, the more, clear patterns related to, extreme precipitation tend to fall along those same lines, where the Southeast and the Northeast continue to see this kind of increased, the duration and frequency of extreme precipitation events, overall. Now, on the flip side of that, we do see that in the Southwest, the projections of Dryness, become really, pretty substantial. The paleo, climate evidence suggests that we're already in an unprecedented amount of dryness and drought in that region and into the future. As the atmosphere becomes more thirsty, the soil is going to become more thirsty, driving these sorts of, additionally intense, trends, to, more drier and drought prone conditions. Now, when you start to zoom in on any one particular place, now we know how complicated rainfall is, we know how complicated drought is. But by and large, we can kind of think of this as being the dry parts of the country are going to continue to feel that dryness, and for every increased additional 10th of a degree from global warming, that gets more intense. And those places that see, extreme precipitation in the present and experience more annual precipitation in the present, that will continue to get, more acute, as, global warming continues as well. Sean Sublette: Jeremy, this is all so deep. We want to do get into a few more specifics. We will do that after we take a quick break. Every increment of global warming directly affects local impacts Sean Sublette: You're listening to the across the sky podcast, and we're back with climate scientist Jeremy Hoffman on the across the Sky podcast. He's the lead chapter author of the Southeast chapter of, the Fifth National Climate Assessment. So many times, Jeremy, we hear about tipping points and I worry that people are going to wake know they expect something a year from now and the country looks like that movie the day after tomorrow. It's really not that way. Can you talk through how this kind of works? In, other words, how does every 10th of a degree matter kind of walk through that a little bit? Jeremy Hoffman: Regarding impacts, first and foremost is like, while there's increasing amount of knowledge and a lot of open questions about these tipping points, it's much more, about what the long term, trajectory of our emissions pathways are and how that directly relates to the intensity of global warming. Because the intensity, the total amount of global warming that we experience then translates into how much more frequent does that, totally, unpredictable heat wave become, how much more rain is falling in that really intense rainfall event. And that's because the physical constraints of the atmosphere in many ways, and then how that cascades down into the really important impacts on people like, the design incentives that we use for stormwater or the, exposure of an outdoor worker to the extreme heat wave. So let me try and break that down a little bit. And the best example of this is the clausiest cleperon relation, the physical constraint of the atmosphere that, for every nominal increase in the temperature, there is about a seven. For every degree Celsius of warming in the atmosphere, that generally relates to about a 7% increase in the humidity content. So if you break that down into even smaller chunks, you can see how over every single increment of warming then is related to a corresponding and in Some cases accelerating amount of, additional water vapor that's in the air that then can be squeezed out like a bigger sponge over the same area that it affected before. And so what that means is for every degree of, warming, we have a corresponding increase of vapor. That means potentially a corresponding increase in rainfall, which we then have to deal with in our infrastructure, which was in many ways designed decades ago for a climate that no longer exists and will continually get further and further away as global warming continues. So we think about more rainfall affecting the storm sewers that were built in some places centuries ago. They, can't keep up with that rainfall. So that means a direct relationship between increments of warming to unprepared infrastructure and impact on humans in their day to day lives. So when we talk about this kind of like increments of global warming and how every increment matters, that's what we're talking about. We're talking about how the incremental warming relates to then the incremental, impact damage, suffering, and other outcomes that relate to human, experience of living in this country and definitely around the world. So, while again, there is an increase of knowledge and interest in these tipping points, what we have to recognize is those incremental increases in their direct relationship to the cost of our food, the amount of, infrastructure that we have to update, and the impact on our health systems when a more intense and frequent heat wave, happens. So, yeah, I appreciate that question, because I think it really is. People have to understand that link between a 10th of a degree and the hundreds of dollars that that might mean for their bottom line. Matt Holiner: And, Jeremy, as we work through this part, I kind of want to come in and focus on agriculture, because, boy, some of the people that are most vocal, about the impacts that they're seeing from climate change already are the farmers, whether they're dealing with drought or flooding, either one, they don't want to see. And also the changing of the frost and freeze times. And when should they plant their crops and when should they harvest their crops? Are there any developments in this, assessment as far as agriculture goes and the outlook across the country? Jeremy Hoffman: Well, absolutely. There is both an agriculture specific chapter, which I encourage people to go and read. Joe Martucci: Ah. Jeremy Hoffman: NCA 2023, Globalchange.gov. and there is also, agriculture finds its way into just about every regional chapter. For example, in the Southeast, we talk a lot about the unpredictability of rainfall. That tends to be the case around the country, where we have these rapidly changing conditions from very dry to very wet, or from very wet to very dry. And so what they do is to establish not only what the historical change has been, but what does that mean by the end of this century, 2070 to 2100, which I'll remind you, children born today will be alive in this time period that we tend to think about as very removed from direct human experience. My niece will be living in the Midwest as this occurs in the future. Anyway, these precipitation extreme changes become more acute the more global warming occurs. So, again, it's like, as we allow these larger increments and additional increments of global change to, occur, this directly relates to then, the unpredictability of these, precipitation events. Now, one of my favorite kinds of stories, from the Midwest and farmers, is that the majority of America's pumpkins come from the Midwest. I grew up in Illinois, in. So, you know, the pumpkin harvest in Southern Illinois, south central Illinois, is something that I got to see with my own eyes, and how, the direct relationship between precipitation extremes and the harvest of pumpkins threatens then the experience of having pumpkin pie, for Thanksgiving. So we think about, the relationship between, the importance of, having, reliable, and place based understanding of how these things will relate to, agricultural communities. Really underscores, the importance of the NCAA Five. Now for another example is, and you mentioned these changing freeze dates. You can think about the first time that a freeze occurs, which is kind of what we're waiting for, at this time of year, when will it dip below 32 or 28, for the first time, and then the last frost of the season occurring sometime between March and May, depending on where you live. And this really has a huge effect, especially in the Southeast, on fruits. So, everybody remembers the Georgia peach, and so peaches need a particular amount of frost, and cold days, in order to fruit successfully and flower successfully the following spring. And if the, freeze dates, this last freeze date tends to be moving earlier into the spring on average, that has a direct relationship then to the robustness of those flowers that then turn into the peaches should a weather event like a late season frost occur. So the, long term change of this last freeze date superimposed on still the weather events like late season frosts still occurring, put these really delicate and temperature, sensitive crops, at increasing risk. And that relates to, the agricultural community's economies. Place based and specific kinds of crop based economies are really feeling this uncertainty in both rainfall and, temperature trends overall. And when I think about, how that relates to a variety of our crops that, produce foods that I love to eat, including pumpkin pie, including peaches, it really becomes clear that climate change impacts on the US are really climate, change impacts at the grocery store. Joe Martucci: Yeah, you're making me think of, with the freeze dates changing and the frost dates changing. I've done some stories, here in New Jersey about how farmers are a little, definitely more uneasy going into the early spring, because while on average we're getting warmer, especially with those nights, it still only takes just one late freeze to really knock things out. They might be growing earlier, but then they get knocked out because of a freeze that happens in early May, let's just say. Also, I just want to throw this out. Know, I've done a podcast before, with Gary Pavlis. He's a wine expert here in New Jersey and talking about how the winery industry has actually flourished in New Jersey. Because you're able to grow those grapes further north in the state where it was one time, just in Cape May in New Jersey. Now it's gone further to the north. So it's just interesting how you, bringing in all the agricultural stuff. We'll get this podcast home here as a 365 view, 365 degree view of this. The National Climate Assessment is completely free and open to the public Joe Martucci: What are you most proud of the work that you and your team has done? And what do you hope that the American public can get out of this as we go forward into the next couple of years ahead? Jeremy Hoffman: Well, I think some of the most important information in the NCA Five is not related to the scientific observations of a changing climate. It's actually the focus on what an opportunity we have to completely and totally transform our energy system, which has immediate health related benefits for everyone in the country, but particularly those communities that are disproportionately exposed to things like air pollution. there's also the huge offset of future costs to things like our energy grid or our transportation infrastructure if we invest in it now, which means jobs, it means vitality for our local communities, it means new industries like you just mentioned, the wine industry moving further north. I mean, the transformation that our economy could harness through preparation and mitigation of future climate change, is just huge. And so how that relates to a more just and equitable, future for our country is something that finds its way throughout, the chapters, and the report writ large. And I think the most hopeful bit, to me is that everything that we've just talked about, as far as what the future means, is in our hands. Everything that's in this report about the future, everything is related to how we decide to move forward. Do we drastically and dramatically reduce the amount of heat trapping gases going into the atmosphere, driving global climate change, or do we delay, and wait and see, or not transform as quickly as we could, not realize all those benefits, not realize all that economic growth, all that, transformation of how, our country works, it's entirely in our hands. And I think I actually walk away from this report being proud of how hopeful it can be interpreted to be, and just what an opportunity we have, in order to adapt, to mitigate and build resilience, equitably for the changes in the future. now, I would say that also one of the proud moments, is just the breadth of content that we've been able to produce, from the equity focused, kind of outcomes to indigenous knowledge being, incorporated throughout, our chapter, and a focus towards the near term impacts of climate change. I'm really just proud of it all and hopeful, for what's possible in the future. Sean Sublette: Jeremy, this is so amazing. I appreciate your time, I appreciate your work. Let, people know where they can find the national climate assessment and that it's not some big document on a shelf somewhere. And where can people find out more about what you were doing right now, especially with Groundwork USA. Jeremy Hoffman: Yeah. So thanks, Sean. First and foremost, the national climate assessment is completely free, totally open, and ready for you to go read it. It's at NCA 200:23 Globalchange. Gov. And included on that, is a really interesting, interactive, data Atlas that you can go in and explore in a web based map platform what the future holds for your community at the county level. So go and look at the future precipitation, go and look at the future hot days. And involve yourself in this report, because if it is your report, it is our, scientific knowledge. Explore it. Now. There's also a series of webinars that will be coming up over the next few months and throughout 2024. So you can go to just globalchange.gov and look at the events page for NCA five related webinars. And lastly, my organization, the organization that I work with, Groundwork USA, Groundworkusa.org. We're an affiliated network of 21 place based environmental justice nonprofits that work to transform underutilized contaminated land in cities across the United States into green community assets that prepare our communities for the changes in climate that they're already experiencing while looking at the past and the history of those communities, to empower them to advance more equitable investments in climate resilience. So check us out. Get involved in your local community organization. And thanks again for the invitation. It's been a pleasure, Jeremy. Sean Sublette: It's been great having you again. Jeremy Hoffman is lead author of the Fifth National Climate Assessment Sean Sublette: Jeremy Hoffman, our guest on the across the Sky podcast. Lead chapter or chapter Lead, Excuse me, of the Southeast chapter, of the Fifth National Climate Assessment. Stay with us. We'll be back with more on the across the Sky podcast. Guys, that is a lot to digest for sure, but I've known Jeremy for a while and he is as thorough as anybody as I have ever met on this topic. One of the things that I really like, the way he kind of lays this out, is that, the decisions we make now will impact those for generations to come, including those of us with kids and hopefully one day grandkids. So there's a lot of opportunity here there's a lot of hemming and hawing about this or that, but there is opportunity. You know, I've talked to Catherine Hayhoe, who is also a climate scientist, and it's important to, as bad as some of this information can be to take in, we already have room for some optimism. Coal is already on the decline, especially domestically. So there's a lot of room for optimism going forward and a lot of opportunity to make things better in the years to come. Matt Holiner: Yeah, I did like how he used the word that he's hopeful for this because it's easy, and I've mentioned this multiple times when we've discussed climate change, it's easy to just focus on the negative and how bad things are and how we're just a mess and we're not getting anything accomplished. But this, assessment, this report is an accomplishment. We're coming out every five years. In the last five years, we've seen already what's happening because of climate change, the increasing number of billion dollar weather disasters. So we're already getting a clearer picture of what impact climate change is having. We're seeing it already, so it becomes easier to get a clearer picture of how things are going to progress in the future. We're getting a better understanding, starting to notices some differences, even region by region, in the US. So we're getting a better and better understanding of the science and what the impacts will be and the climate models are improving. And so we have a clear picture of what's going to happen and the impacts that are going to happen. And so because of that, we're getting, I think, more motivation. When you have more details and you have more information on this subject, more people can act on it. And that's still the missing part. We're making progress. Our amount of carbon dioxide emissions is dropping in the US. It just needs to drop faster if we want to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. And we're starting to get a clearer picture of what those worst impacts are. And I think this assessment, with so many people working on it, is a good resource for people who are still unsure exactly how is this going to play out. Just go to this report, it'll answer your questions and give you some ideas of what we really need to do to take action. That's the thing. Like take this report seriously and let's start making more progress. We're making progress, but let's make more progress. And this is a good starting point. Joe Martucci: And you know what, too, when it comes to a lot of the projections with climate change the next couple of decades are already baked in, everything between now and about 2050 or so. It's pretty much going to happen, here. So as he said during the podcast, our grandkids, our kids, I hope I'm alive in 2100. We're going to see. I would be 109 by then. I got a shot. But it's really that 2050 to 2100 time frame where these projections, are in a position where they can be altered depending on what kind of action or inaction we take, as a society. Sean Sublette: Yeah, so a lot of deep stuff to get into this week. But having said that, we should dial it back a little bit. Right, Joe? Let's do some stuff that's fun in the next couple of podcasts. Let's get on that. Talk to me, buddy. You got a palace Jersey that we need to talk to. Joe Martucci: Totally. Well, we're going to talk to somebody who's not far away from me in New Jersey. He is in Connecticut. We're talking with Joe Moravsky. Now, if that name sounds familiar to you, that's because he's on American Ninja Warrior. He's been on American Ninja Warrior for a long time on the hit NBC show. But he is also a meteorologist. That is why they call him the Weatherman. It's not just because they said, oh, that's a cool nickname. It's because he actually is a meteorologist. So we're having him on talk about, his love for weather and his time on the show here. That's going to be coming up on the 27 November here. And then on December the fourth, we're going to have one of my old Rutgers professors. So we have a lot of, we'll say mid Atlantic flair. The next couple of weeks. We have Dr. Alan Robock. He is professor, at Rutgers University, has produced a lot about climate, by the way, I should add. But he's going to talk to us about Bob Dylan in the weather because believe it or not, you can do a PhD thesis on Bob Dylan in the weather. And he did just that. So we're going to have, him to talk about that. Then as we get closer, to the end of the New Year, we have an episode, for you on December 18, ten things to know about winter. If you recall, our ten things to know about fall got a little contentious. We'll see what happens for the winter one. And then we're going to have our annual year in review that will come out sometime between Christmas and New Year's here. That's what we have going on, on the across the Sky podcast. If you want to chime in, you certainly can. We've got a couple of emails. We even got one phone call. But you can email us at podcast@lee.net that's podcast@lee.net and then in terms of giving us a call, if you really want to talk with us here, you can call us at 609-272-7099 yes, we. Sean Sublette: Used to call those voicemails back in the day, didn't we? Joe Martucci: yes, we did. Yes, voicemails. And also, when the hashtag was the pound sign. Sean Sublette: Oh, yes. Hashtag was the pound sign. The good old days. All right. With that, we will wrap it up for this week. Thank you so much, for joining us on the across the Sky Podcast. Have a great Thanksgiving. If you're listening to this before. Yeah, absolutely. So for Matt Holiner in Chicago, Joe Martucci at the Jersey Shore, Kirsten Lang on assignment this week. I'm, meteorologist Sean Sublette in Richmond. Thanks again for joining us, and we will talk with you next time.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Climate Positive
Matt Rogers | Outsmarting waste with the Mill kitchen bin (Ep. 50 replay)

Climate Positive

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 16, 2023 26:27


In this week's episode, Gil speaks with Matt Rogers, the founder and CEO of Mill, a startup revolutionizing how we tackle food waste. They delve into the inspiration behind Mill, discussing how the idea came about and the parallels to Matt's previous work as the co-founder of Nest, the company behind the iconic learning thermostat and other smart home products. Matt discusses the functionality of Mill's kitchen bin, which transforms food scraps into nutrient-rich animal feed, and how the company is bringing this groundbreaking product to the market. He explains the emissions profile of Mill's appliance and the positive impact it can have on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Also, Matt shares his insights on the crucial role of technology and innovation in driving sustainable solutions.Links: Mill WebsiteMill Impact StatsMatt Rogers TwitterMatt Rogers LinkedInMill LinkedInMill TwitterMill InstagramMill TikTokThe episode originally aired on June 15, 2023.Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

Energy Policy Now
What's a “Fair Share” Of Emissions Reductions Under the Paris Climate Process?

Energy Policy Now

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 7, 2023 36:56


Brazilian economist and IPCC lead author Roberto Schaeffer examines what constitutes a “fair share” of emissions reductions under the Paris climate process, and how fairness is defined. -- This December, at COP 28 in Dubai, countries will consider the results of the first “global stocktake,” which is a global report card that compares real climate commitments and actions with the level that's in fact needed to achieve global net zero and avoid the worst of climate outcomes. Following COP, countries will be expected to intensify their efforts to reduce their climate impacts and keep the targets of the Paris Climate Agreement in sight.  As they consider their future commitments, countries will grapple with their capacity to reduce emissions, whether that level is in fact “fair” in a global sense, and what the climate implications of their efforts may be. Roberto Schaeffer, a professor of energy economics at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, explores paths to deliver the dual imperatives of fairness, and maximum carbon reductions, in the global climate context. Schaeffer is a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Assessment Reports, and a co-recipient of the Nobel Prize. His work focuses on frameworks to maximize individual country contributions to the global climate effort. Roberto Schaeffer is a professor of energy economics at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro. Related Content The Net Zero Governance Conveyor Belt https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/the-net-zero-governance-conveyor-belt/ East Meets West: Linking the China and EU ETS's https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/research/publications/east-meets-west-linking-the-china-and-eu-etss/ Accelerating Climate Action https://kleinmanenergy.upenn.edu/podcast/accelerating-climate-action/   Energy Policy Now is produced by The Kleinman Center for Energy Policy at the University of Pennsylvania. For all things energy policy, visit kleinmanenergy.upenn.eduSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

RBN Energy Blogcast
Smoke on the Water - As IMO Targets Additional Emissions Reductions, LNG Carriers Play a Role

RBN Energy Blogcast

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 3, 2023 13:02


ThinkEnergy
Summer Rewind: Positive Energy in a Polarized World

ThinkEnergy

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 4, 2023 54:43


To address climate change, we must be united, working together towards a common goal. But differing perspectives have created a complex and polarized debate: renewable energy versus fossil fuel versus nuclear power. These discussions require an open mind and constructive dialogue to find solutions that work for all stakeholders. In thinkenergy episode 106, Dr. Monica Gattinger, li, unpacks how we can build a stronger way forward for Canada – together. Related links Positive Energy: https://www.uottawa.ca/research-innovation/positive-energy  Positive Energy, Twitter: https://twitter.com/uOttawa_Energy  The Institute for Science, Society and Policy: https://www.uottawa.ca/research-innovation/issp  The Institute for Science, Society and Policy, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/institute-for-science-society-and-policy/  Monica Gattinger, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monica-gattinger-748a6a42/  Monica Gattinger, Twitter: https://twitter.com/MonicaGattinger To subscribe using Apple Podcasts   To subscribe using Spotify   To subscribe on Libsyn --- Subscribe so you don't miss a video on YouTube   Check out our cool pics on Instagram   More to Learn on Facebook   Keep up with the Tweets   ------------------------------ Transcript: Dan Seguin  00:06 This is thinkenergy. The podcast that helps you better understand the fast changing world of energy through conversations with game changers, industry leaders, and influencers. So join me, Dan Seguin, as I explore both traditional and unconventional facets of the energy industry,   Dan Seguin  00:28 Everyone, welcome back. Energy and climate change are important topics that have been increasingly discussed in recent years due to the significant impact they have on the environment, the economy, and society as a whole. The effects of climate change, such as rising sea levels, increased frequency of extreme weather events, and loss of biodiversity are widely recognized by the scientific community. However, there are different views on the best ways to address these issues, particularly in terms of energy policy, and the way we live, work, consume and travel. While some advocate for the transition to renewable energy sources, others still argue for the continued use of fossil fuels or the development of other technologies such as nuclear energy.   Dan Seguin  01:27 These differing perspectives have created a complex and often polarized debate. It is important to approach these discussions with an open mind, consider the evidence and engage in constructive dialogue to find common ground and solutions that work for all stakeholders. We've often heard that working together and respecting different opinions are essential for effective collaboration and innovation. For climate change, it's more important than ever, that we come together to work towards a common goal. So here is today's big question. When it comes to energy, and climate, are we able to consider diverse perspectives so we can identify blind spots, and challenge assumptions that will ultimately lead to a stronger way forward for Canada. Today, my special guest is Dr. Monica Gattinger. She's the director of the Institute for Science, Society and Policy. She's a full professor at the School of Political Studies and founder Chair of Positive Energy at the University of Ottawa. Monica, welcome to the show. Now, perhaps you can start by telling our listeners a bit about yourself, and how the positive energy program that you found it at the University of Ottawa came to be?   Monica Gattinger  02:55 Thanks, happy to. I'm a professor at the University of Ottawa. And I've been a student of energy, Dan it kind of pains me to say it, for but going on three decades now. And I guess about maybe 10 years ago or so around 2014-2015, you might remember at that time, there was a lot of contentiousness in the energy sector, particularly around pipeline development. And I think, you know, I felt a certain frustration that I'd go to energy conferences, and we'd all kind of get concerned about this. And, you know, I don't know, throw our hands up in the air, but what was happening, and then walk away, come back at the next conference to do the same thing. So the idea that I had was to create an initiative that would convene leaders who were concerned about these issues of public confidence and energy decision making, convening them together to try to identify what some of the key challenges are. And then I would undertake a research team, some solution focused, applied academic research to actually feed that process on an ongoing basis. So it's, you know, not just conferences, we walk away conferences, we walk away, it's, let's put in place a process to actually excuse me to actually get to some solution seeking on the challenges.   Dan Seguin  04:11 Okay, now, I have to ask you, because I love the name, given how polarizing energy has been for a number of years now, is the name meant to have a double meaning?   Monica Gattinger  04:20 Yes, it is. You are exactly right. That was you know, at the time when we created that name, that was precisely what we were trying to do, which is let's have some positive discussions about energy. I think the other thing I'd point to is, you know, for us, and it's always been the case that energy is all energy. So yes, at the time when we created positive energy, you know, what was in the news was big pipelines. But many of these issues and the challenges that we address with our work, apply to all energy sources, whether it's, you know, electricity, oil and gas at the upstream downstream, midstream sectors, so we really wanted to try to foster a pan Canadian approach on on the issues with energy as the core.   Dan Seguin  05:10 Monica, in one of your research reports, you acknowledge that division is eroding public trust and preventing progress. Why is that happening? Is it a lack of understanding around climate change and Canada's goals? Or is it more about the method or policies in place to get there?   Monica Gattinger  05:32 That's a super important question, Dan. And it's really at the heart of what we're aiming to do with positive energy. So if you look at where we're at now, on energy and climate, there's, you know, a tremendous global move towards net zero. And, of course, this is going to mean just a wholesale transformation of our energy systems and broader economy. So, you know, there are bound to be disagreements of division over how we go about doing that. And I think, you know, one of the crucial things about this energy transition in comparison to previous energy transitions, is that it's going to be largely policy driven, like, yes, there will be market developments, but policy is going to be playing such an important role. So to your question, you know, a lot of this is around the methods or the policies that we're going to be putting in place when it comes to energy transition. And I think our work really starts from the, you know, the very strong belief that if we don't have public confidence in government decision making over energy and climate, we're not going to be able to make ongoing forward progress on either energy or, or climate objectives. And for us, public confidence is, you know, the confidence of people, whether as citizens, as consumers as community members, but it's also the confidence of investors, right, we know that we're going to need a tremendous amount of new energy infrastructure, without the investor confidence to make that happen, we're not going to be able to to, you know, achieve the emissions reductions that are envisioned envisaged. So for us that whole question of division, and how do we address division, where it exists, is just fundamental to our efforts.   Dan Seguin  07:17 Okay. Now, do you think we lack a shared positive vision as Canadians on the future? And how we get there together? How do we build bridges? Is this what you're trying to achieve with positive energy?   Monica Gattinger  07:32 Yeah, I'd say yes or no, on the shared vision. So you know, we do a lot of public opinion, polling researchers, as you might know, Dan, and and, you know, uniformly Canadian scores, government's very poorly, on whether they are succeeding and developing a shared vision for Canada's energy future. That said, you know, I don't see it all as a whole bad news, there is remarkable alignment of views among Canadians on many aspects of the country's energy future, I think sometimes what, what we tend to hear, you know, are the voices in political debates and in the media, and in the end in the media, that are on you know, sort of opposite ends of a spectrum, if you look at, you know, sort of where Canadians are at, in general, you know, in terms of the majority opinions, they're often much more aligned than what you might think, by listening to some of our political debates or reading the media. So I think what we're trying to do at positive energies is a few things. One is, you know, to really try to see just how divided we are, and a lot of our work has brought forward that we're not as divided as we might think, on some of these issues. And the second thing we're trying to do is provide a forum for people who do want to work constructively and positively to chart a positive path forward, provide that forum for those to do that, and then to undertake academic research to support that. And one of the things that we found is that there's just a tremendous appetite for that kind of initiative.   Dan Seguin  09:05 Okay, Monica, hoping you can shed some light on this next item. What do you mean, when you see that Canada is at a log jam when it comes to charting our energy future?   Monica Gattinger  09:19 That's a great question. Because, you know, when I think about when we wrote that, that was a few that were written a few years ago. So it kind of answers that question a little bit differently now than I would have if you'd asked it at the time that we wrote it. So if you think about it, cast your mind back to 2015. And the creation between the federal government and the provinces of the pan Canadian framework on clean growth and climate change, there was a lot of alignment between the federal government and provinces and territories around climate change. And then we had some electoral turnover and new governments coming into power at the provincial level and the round sort of the 2018 period and that relative peace between federal and provincial governments began to be overturned. And so that, you know, the log jam that we were referring to was really written at that period of time, we were seeing a lot of fractiousness between the federal government and provincial governments. And don't get me wrong, we still see, we still see some of that, but certainly not to the level we did at that time. So I think it over the last few years, we've seen much greater alignment emerge in the country, notably around the concept of net zero, which we think is really, really, really constructive progress. I think, where we see some of the challenges now is moving to implementation, right? How do we move to reduce emissions and actually roll up our sleeves and do it in a way that will build and maintain public confidence? That's, you know, that's very much where we're casting our efforts these days.   Dan Seguin  10:50 Okay, cool. And what are some of the weaknesses you found in energy decision making?   Monica Gattinger  10:56 So I think there are a few that I would point to, you know, one would be and our current work is zeroing in on this more than we have in the past, is the whole question of energy security. And by that what, what we're referring to is the reliability and affordability and availability of energy. So in the absence, I mean, Dan, you know, you work at hydro Ottawa, so you would know, when you know, when the lights go out. People are nervous, it really captures their attention. I'll put it that way. And so in the absence of, you know, reliable, affordable energy, it's going to be very difficult to make ongoing progress on emissions reductions. So that whole question of energy security is one of the what I'd say is sort of the weaknesses in the frame that policymakers are often bringing to, to energy decision making, I think a second area that really is going to need some attention is our policy and regulatory frameworks for energy project decision making. I mean, we know, let's say, you know, take electrification, if we're going to be moving forward on electrification in a meaningful way. Most reasonable estimates assume we're going to need to double or triple our generating capacity in the country, and all the infrastructure transmission, local distribution, all that goes along with that, that's going to require building a whole lot of infrastructure. And so there's definitely some weaknesses there in our existing frameworks for doing that. And then the third area I'd point to is collaboration between governments. And so yes, federal and provincial, but it's also increasingly, municipal governments as well need to be collaborating with other levels of government and indigenous governments too, so bringing together that collaboration across jurisdictions is an area where there's a lot of a lot of strength that we're going to need to be building.   Dan Seguin  12:47 Okay, Monica, following up on this theme, positive energy has conducted a number of public opinion surveys since 2015, to gauge Canadian support for the country's climate commitments and their views on our international credibility. What are some surprises? And have you seen any change in attitudes since you started the surveys?   Monica Gattinger  13:11 Yeah, we've done a lot of work. We have a fantastic partnership with Nanos research, we've been working with Nick Nanos and the Nanos team since 2015, we've done lots of public opinion polling along the way. And so I think, you know, one of the things that has surprised me the most about this, and maybe it's just my own naivete as as a, you know, an academic researcher, but is just the pragmatism of Canadians, you know, many of the questions that we put to Canadians come back with very pragmatic and balanced responses. So there seems to be that recognition on the part of, of Canadians of the need to take a balanced approach to energy and climate issues. So I'll give you just a couple of quick examples. So we've been tracking Canadians level of climate ambition, we started doing this actually, during the pandemic. And so we asked people on a scale of zero to 10, where zero is now the worst time and 10 is the best time to take action on climate, you know, what, what, how would you score things? And, you know, the majority of Canadians, you know, score things strongly, they want to see climate action. We've seen some weakening of that, notably, as we've got some weakening of the economic conditions that has weakened people's appetite. So that's sort of one thing we, you know, Canadians want climate action. On the second. Second thing I'd point to is, we've done a lot of tracking as well, around Canadians views on the importance of oil and gas to Canada's current economy and to its future economy. And so, you know, there again, we see what you might expect, which is people there's a recognition that oil and gas is important to Canada's current economy. Views tend to drop off a little bit in terms of its importance to the future economy, but much stronger than I would have anticipated in terms of the level of, you know, opinions when it comes to the strength, or when it comes to the importance, apologies of oil and gas and Canada's current and future economy. One thing I'm just going to, you know, like heads up, we've got a study coming out very shortly. And we've seen a jump in Canadians' views around the importance of oil and gas to the country's current and future economy. And we're thinking that this might be because of economic conditions having changed, you know, the war, Russia's war in Ukraine, just creating a different kind of an environment for Canadians opinions, then the last thing I point to that, for me is kind of been surprising, but in a not always fun way is that we've also been tracking Canadians views on government's performance on energy and climate issues. And then it doesn't matter what aspect of government performance we ask people about, they always score it like so weak, like weak to the point, when we first asked this question, I'm like, Nick, do people you know, just kind of score governments weekly? And so this is just, you know, typical stuff. He's like, No, Monica, that's really low scores. So I think there's a recognition there on the part of Canadians that governments have a lot of work to do, that this is difficult stuff, to to to take on. But that we're going to need to if we're going to be able to achieve some of our climate ambition in the country.   Dan Seguin  16:27 Now, let's dig into the research. First, can you tell us who you're convening and bringing together to conduct your research and who your intended audience is? Who do you want to influence?    Monica Gattinger  16:42 Yeah, so we're bringing together leaders, from business, from government and from government, we're referring to both policymakers and regulatory agencies, leaders from indigenous organizations, from civil society organizations, like environmental NGOs, and then academics, like myself. And our aim is really with the research and convening that we're undertaking is to inform decision making, you know, so the key audience for this from our perspective as government decision makers, whether policymakers or regulators at, you know, at at any level of government, really, more broadly, in our we're working very closely with the energy and climate community at large. So our intended audience isn't, you know, sort of the general public per se, although I like to think that we're sort of working on their behalf in terms of a lot of the work, a lot of the work that we're doing   Dan Seguin  17:37 Great stuff, Monica, now, let's talk about your first multi year research phase, public confidence in energy decision making. Why is it important to start here?   Monica Gattinger  17:49 Yeah, for us, this was really crucial to try to dig into and understand why we are facing these challenges to public confidence in decision making, for energy and climate issues. And, you know, believe it or not, we spent about two years trying to dig into that problem and identify all of its different, all of its different components. So we published a study in that first phase of research called system under stress, where we were focusing on energy decision making, and the need to inform, sorry, to reform energy decision making in that study, and this was sort of how we unpack this challenge of public confidence. We use this metaphor of elephants, horses, and sitting ducks. And so the elephants were elephants in the room. So at that time, one of the big issues that was, you know, informing or leading to challenges in public confidence was that there was a belief on the part of quite a few folks that governments were taking insufficient action on climate change. And as a result of that, not having a forum, you know, to move forward action on climate change, many folks who were concerned about that or raising those issues in regulatory processes for individual energy projects, right? And if your regulators say, well, that's not part of my mandate. So what would we do with this, and that led to some challenges. Another Elephant, you know, another elephant in the room at that time was reconciliation with indigenous peoples, that there was insufficient action on the part, you know, on the, you know, in the minds of many around reconciliation with indigenous peoples and so, you know, some of the big challenges that indigenous communities were facing, whether missing, murdered indigenous women, you know, potable drinking water, economic conditions, a whole host of challenges were also being raised in the context of individual energy project decision making. The process for lack of other forums to take those concerns to another elephant in the room was cumulative effects. Right. So communities were concerned not necessarily about a particular project, but about the project that came before the project, who was going to come after it, and what would be the cumulative effects on their community. So that was sort of the elephant, the elephant in the room policy gaps, basically, that governments needed to take more action to fulfill. When it came to the horses, we were referring to horses that had left the barn. So in other words, changes in society and the broader, you know, context, where you're not going to turn the clock back on them. So things like, you know, people expect, rightly, to have a say, in decisions that affect them. They're not different, you know, they don't defer the way they used to, to governments and to decision makers, they expect to have a say in decisions that affect them. And some of our decision making processes weren't frankly, providing sufficient opportunities for them to be heard. Technological change, right, you know, you're not going to turn the clock back on social media. And that also has fundamentally changed the context in terms of how information circulates capacities for misinformation, disinformation, etc. And so when against this backdrop, you know, who are the sitting ducks? Well, the sitting ducks are government decision makers, right? They're trying to deal with all of these challenges. We got a lot of traction with that report, Dan, because I think it sort of helped people to, you know, frame up, what is the nature of the challenge that we're facing when it comes to public confidence, which of course, then begins to open up solution spaces?   Dan Seguin  21:40 Okay. What did you uncover when it came to the role of local communities?   Monica Gattinger  21:46 Yeah, we did a major study on this, it was some of this was happening concurrently. But we did a major study in collaboration with the Canada West Foundation, where we did some very deep dive case study research on half a dozen energy projects across the country with the aim of identifying drivers of local community satisfaction or dissatisfaction with energy project, decision making processes. So these were projects, you know, wind, gas plants, hydro facilities, transmission lines, pipelines, shale development, like a whole variety of different kinds of projects in different locations across the country. And so there are a few things I'd point to there in terms of some of the key findings. Probably the first and foremost is the importance of early and meaningful consultation and engagement. And I feel kind of silly saying that, because it's like, we have been saying this for years, how important this is. But yet, you know, there are still proponents that aren't necessarily, you know, aren't necessarily getting out there early and in a meaningful way, to communities. I think the second thing, and it's related, that I'd point to is the importance of information, like yes, communities want information about a project. But it's an what we refer to in the report is a necessary but insufficient condition, right, just saying, you know, here's the project, here's the information, this should change your mind, if you've got any concerns, really and truly is not is not enough, you need that meaningful engagement, you need to hear from people. And in some instances, this is a third thing I'd point to. In some instances, you know, it's important to draw the distinction between what a community's interests are so it could be, you know, economic development, jobs, etc, but also what their values are. And there may be some projects that even though they might advance the community's interests, in terms of jobs, etc, if they run counter to community values, and what they want to see developed in their community, it will be very challenging to foster support for up for a project. Another thing, we found just a couple more things that point to here. Another thing we found that I think is going to be increasingly important as we move on net zero and emissions reductions, oftentimes at the community level, the key environmental issue is local environmental impacts, as opposed to global climate change impacts. So even if you've got a project that's going to be good for the climate, if it's got local environmental impacts from the perspective of a community, those concerns may actually trump the good that could be done more broadly when it comes to the climate. And so I guess the last thing I'd point to is, you know, just the importance of process, having a decision making process in which people can have faith. And so, you know, we did a lot of work right in communities. So you'd have community members say, like, I can get behind a decision that I don't agree with, you know, if my perspective is at the end of the day, we're heard in a meaningful way and were considered in a meaningful way. But governments decided to go in a different direction. I can, you know, I can live with that as long as I felt that the process was one that was legitimate. So that process piece is so important at the community level.   Dan Seguin  25:02 Okay, now, what were some of the biggest takeaways from your project? Monica? Were you surprised by any of the data?   Monica Gattinger  25:09 Yeah, I think, you know, for me, I probably go back to the local versus global impacts piece, I think that is a circle, we're gonna have to figure out how to square for lack of a better a better metaphor here going forward, because many of the projects that we're going to need in the years ahead in terms of emissions reductions, they are going to have local environmental impacts. You know, and it doesn't take long to think about examples of that, right. So think about mining for critical minerals, think about transmission infrastructure, think I mean, on and on and on. And so thinking through how do we, you know, be respectful of local communities ensure we've got processes in place that that they can have faith in and ensure that local environmental impacts are mitigated in a meaningful fashion? And frankly, no has to be an option sometimes, right? There are some projects that have to receive a no of all projects are greenlighted, that puts the entire system into question in people's minds.   Dan Seguin  26:15 Okay, Monica, your second research phase just concluded Canada's energy future in an age of climate change. What challenges and opportunities were you focused on? And what did you uncover?   Monica Gattinger  26:28 That's a big question, Dan. So maybe just a couple of things I'll point to. The first is to say that, you know, for that particular project, because it was or that phase because it got underway at a time where there was quite a lot of fractiousness between the federal and provincial governments. We took on the topic of polarization, in that phase of the research to try to understand, you know, just how polarized are we, when it comes to energy and climate issues? And, and the, you know, the, the, the fortunate answer was that we're not as polarized as we might think, on some of these issues. So those areas where, you know, people's opinions are truly at opposite ends of a spectrum, they've got their heels dug in, the opinions are very hardened and crystallized, they're not willing to move, you know, there's, those are very few and far between a lot more of the division that we see back to that word division that we talked about earlier, Dan, it so those are opinions that are maybe a little bit more malleable to change, where you can potentially bring people together and have a constructive, constructive conversation to move things forward. So that the polarization, the polarization work, I think was really important to try to, you know, shine a light empirically on just how polarized are we, one thing that did come out of that work, though, that I think is really important to note is that a lot of the polarization that we see is along partisan lines. And so it's really important to have and create non-partisan forums for people to come together because partisan polarization on energy and climate issues can be quite challenging. So we looked at polarization, we also looked at, we continued our work around sort of roles and responsibilities of different government authorities in energy and climate decision making, we did a really big project around energy regulators with, you know, again, thinking about how important they are going to be in the future when it comes to energy project proposals and evaluating energy project proposals. And I think, you know, what came out of that work is just the importance of creating regulatory frameworks that are functional, right, they're going to enable us to get to a decision. But that is adaptable. You know, we know there are going to be new energy sources, new technologies we're going to need to be adapting our frameworks over time. And that are, you know, absolutely this crucial element and of legitimate that they are that people have confidence in those decision making processes. But it's not just about regulators. It's also about the broader policy context within which they work, you know, the need for regulatory agencies to be operating in the context of clear policy frameworks. You know, for there to be a good understanding between policymakers and regulators they have their respective roles when it comes to things like energy project, energy project approvals. The third area that we focused on in this most recent phase of research was models of and limits to consensus building, right. So if we do have division, how do we try to foster consensus and we recognize we're not going to get to you know, everybody holding hands and singing Kumbaya there. This is politics, there will be, there will be divisions. But we did a lot of work on this whole concept of what are some of the models that can be utilized to foster consensus? What are some of the limits to those models? And the sort of bottom line of that research is that progress is possible when it comes to consensus building, but it's not easy. It's a hard one, it takes time, it takes a lot of thoughtful preparation and care to put in place processes that will drive towards positive outcomes.   Dan Seguin  30:32 Okay. Now, there were five case studies that came out of this phase intended to identify what works when it comes to public confidence in decision making. What are some of the highlights?   Monica Gattinger  30:44 Yeah, and this kind of picks up on the question of consensus building and models of and limits to consensus building. So we undertook a number of case studies of different initiatives that have been tried in Canada to try to foster consensus. So we looked, for example, at the Alberta climate leadership plan, we looked at the Eco fiscal commission, we looked at the National roundtable on the environment of the economy, we looked at the just transition Task Force on the coal fired power phase out. So this was a mixture of federal provincial, government, non government, current past initiatives. And there are a few things that I point to that, you know, came out of that work. The first is that there are no silver bullets. I mean, Boy, wouldn't it be nice if there were easy answers to these really tough questions, but there are not easy answers to these really tough questions. They, you know, it really is important to, to have kind of a multi pronged approach. And more than one approach, there isn't going to be one single initiative that's going to solve all of these challenges. But process matters process really matters. So who is involved? How are decisions taken? You know, is the process seen as legitimate? That's really, you know, absolutely the place to start with any of these processes around consensus building. Again, information is a necessary but insufficient condition, right. So you can have in place a process that is designed to, you know, bring forward recommendations to the government on policy. But if people don't have trust in the information that's produced by that initiative, you've got a problem, right? So I think the Eco fiscal commission was really interesting in that, in that case, because it brought together an advisory board, that included representation from a variety of different political parties, the aim being to see if these folks can come together, and you know, work together and have confidence in this process, then others are more likely to have confidence in the information that's produced on the studies that are produced by by in that case, the ecofiscal, commission, there are a lot of relationships between different processes. So for example, you know, if you think about the development of a carbon price in Canada, you know, yes, that's where the Eco fiscal commission was focusing a lot of its efforts. But the Alberta climate leadership plan, in part paved the way towards the development of a federal price on carbon, because of the work that was done in the province to put in place a carbon pricing a carbon pricing scheme. And then the final thing, and this isn't something that people always like to hear, unfortunately, is that building consensus takes time. And it's something that is, as we know, in the current context with, you know, with climate change is something that we don't necessarily have the luxury of having. So it's how do you sort of hold those two things in your hand at the same time, and I often use the example of a carbon tax, having a carbon tax in Canada is a massive achievement for the country. But it took probably a decade or more to get there. And that's only one small in the big scheme of things policy tool. So you know, no silver bullets. It takes time, but it is possible. So progress is possible, but it's hard won.   Dan Seguin  34:12 Okay, now, this was fascinating. Monica, you identified two realities of energy and environmental leaders in Canada, when it comes to Canada's energy transition. Maybe you can unpack that for us just a bit more.   Monica Gattinger  34:29 Yeah, for sure. So this was a really, really neat study, one of the things that we found in our work, because we convene when we are, you know, very close to a lot of energy and environmental leaders. One of the things that we were finding is that this word transition could have elements to it that were kind of polarizing. And so for some folks, it was something that actually drove them away from our table rather than bringing them to our table. So being academics, we thought, well, let's do a study on this. What do people think transition is? What does it mean to them? Why are we running into these issues? And I have to credit our former Research Director, Dr. Marissa Beck, this was her idea, it was her study, she did an absolutely tremendous job. So she went out there and spoke with over 40 energy and environmental leaders across the country. And, and what, you know, what emerged from that work was that there were really two different realities that people inhabited, either, you know, sort of in whole, or in part, when it comes to transition. And we didn't name the realities, we just stated them, you know, in a very, in a very sort of fact based way. And they differed in terms of scope, and pace of change. And, you know, so in one of the realities, you know, the, the idea is that we're going to have a more measured pace of change, it's going to be driven by market developments, some policy developments, we're going to in the future have, you know, a diverse energy portfolio that's going to include, you know, a variety of different energy sources, yes, in different proportions than we currently have them. But you know, that oil and gas, for instance, is going to be a part of the future. So that's sort of one reality, the other reality grounded in a much more, you know, ambitious, rapid, need for change, quickly grounded in science, much stronger role for government in terms of setting out the policy framework, much greater attention to the need to, notably to phase down oil and gas and in particular oil. And so you can imagine if you've got folks inhabiting these different realities, it is difficult for them to come together, because they're often talking past. They're often talking past one another. And, and so we didn't necessarily have any solutions for this proposed in that particular, in that particular study. I think our work really does try to do some convening around those issues. But what it really did in this particular study resonated so well, with folks in the Energy and Environment communities, we had people saying, like you just nailed it. Yes, that is exactly what is happening right now. And so you would have folks say, you know, well, the reality is, or we just need an honest conversation. But what the reality meant to them, what an honest conversation would mean to them was, was something completely different than folks inhabiting the other reality. And so these are the kinds of challenges, you know, Dan, that we, we hope to shed light on with our work. And we also hope to also address the research and convening as well.   Dan Seguin  37:50 Now, your third phase has just begun. What can you tell us so far, about strengthening public confidence on the road to net zero and the areas you're looking to cover in your research over the next several years?   Monica Gattinger  38:07 Yeah, no, that's a great opportunity to share this with you, Dan. Thanks. Thanks so much. So yeah, I mean, if our first phase was focused on public confidence, and kind of the here and now, second phase was Canada's energy future in an age of climate change, this phase is the longest term, longest term phase yet in terms of looking at net zero. And looking at 2050. We've got four areas that we're focusing in on in terms of this research, that really build in many ways on the work that we've done to date, we've been talking so far data about the importance of regulation, and having energy project decision making systems that are going to foster and support the kind of change to our energy systems that we're going to need. That's a big, a big area for us, one of the areas as well, that we're going to start to be getting into an in a more meaningful way, is downstream regulation as well, because with the, you know, with the growing attention to electrification, this is going to mean, you know, greater focus to what are our regulatory frameworks for energy delivery, whether it's in power markets, or in gas markets. And we think that there's, there's something that we will have to offer there as well, in terms of our work. So that's on the regulatory front. Another topic that for us, we think is really important is this whole question of energy security. And by that, you know, again, this isn't just about what's happening in global energy markets, it's what's happening domestically as well in terms of the need of the need to have reliable and affordable energy to ensure that we don't, you know, take one step forward and then two steps back on emissions reductions. So it's really very much about solving for Yes, emissions reductions and affordable reliable energy simultaneously, which in our observation is something that you know, has has not always been on the radar of policymakers, I think the energy system has just done such a great job of providing reliable, affordable energy that it's not always thought about. And yet, you know, if we're going to be transforming our energy systems, it better be front and center. Or we could really run into some challenges in terms of public confidence on the road ahead. The third area we're zeroing in on is intergovernmental collaboration. We are a federation, we are a federation with increasing roles and authority for indigenous governments, as well. So it's really about how do we make sure we've got good collaboration between federal, provincial, territorial, indigenous and municipal governments on the road ahead. And again, it's that kind of collaboration, collaboration piece. And then finally, we're going to continue with the public opinion survey research. And that work generally aims to support the other streams of research. So we're asking questions that relate to some of the broader work that we're doing. Cool. Okay.   Dan Seguin  41:07 I know you're going to tell me it's early Monica, but based on what the data and public service have shown over these many years, is Net Zero. resonating with people?   Monica Gattinger  41:19 Well, interestingly, so last June, we held a conference to mark the, you know, the conclusion of phase two and the launch of phase three. And we did some public opinion survey research going into that conference, including some questions around net zero. So we asked people if they had heard about net zero. And then we asked them, you know, the dreaded open ended question, and what does it mean to you? So it's one thing to have heard about, it's another thing to, you know, be asked to define it. And I was really surprised at like, the majority, like a strong majority of people had heard of net zero. And when asked to define it provided a definition that was pretty on target. So people, you know, I don't know if that means it's resonating with people. But they have definitely absorbed that this concept, and that this is something that, you know, is in policymakers is in policymakers minds. I think the other thing I would note, though, is you know, there's netzero, and then there's just emissions reductions writ large, the work that we've done around Canadian support for emissions reductions, climate change, policy, etc, shows just time and again, Canadians want to see this, they want to see emissions reductions, they want to see it done in a balanced way back to the pragmatic response I was giving earlier. But they're definitely, definitely committed to that.   Dan Seguin  42:43 Okay, now, when do you expect your first publication will be shared?   Monica Gattinger  42:47 So we've got our quarterly public opinion surveys that come out every few months. We actually have some, we're just finalizing a study right now that will be published very, very shortly. In terms of the research publications, we've got two underway right now, that should be published within the next number of months. One is looking at regulation for project decision making, and in particular, this whole question of timelines. So if you talk with folks, you know, in industry and in government, right now, they'll say, Well, we got to build all this stuff. But can we build it fast enough? And so that's actually the title of the project? Can we build it out fast enough? And we're focusing on what are some of the issues when it comes to regulatory frameworks for project decision making. So that's one study that should be coming out within the next few months. And then a second one, it's republication of a study that we completed for the Canadian Gas Association, electricity Canada and Natural Resources Canada, but this time last year, which was looking at regulation of energy delivery systems and power and gas markets, you're looking at international case studies to try to identify like, how are other countries grappling with the challenges of netzero in their power and gas markets. So we're going to be updating and republishing that study. We're in the process of doing that right now, that should be coming out in the next few months. And the case studies that we're looking at in that research are Western Australia, the United Kingdom, which as you might imagine, is a very interesting case study given the challenges that they've had on their power and gas markets. And New York State.   Dan Seguin  44:25 Just wondering here, is there anything you can tell us about your appointment to the province's New Energy Transition panel, its objectives and how you feel this could move the energy conversation forward in Ontario.   Monica Gattinger  44:39 Thanks for the question. I mean, I'm, you know, let's be honest, I'm an energy geek. And so it is just an unbelievable honor to have been appointed to the panel. This for me, is a dream appointment. I'm just so so so enthused about it. I'm not going to be able to speak on behalf of the panel. It's too Early in our work, but I will just share, you know, in my personal capacity now that I think the panel does have the capacity or the potential to be really quite important to the province's energy future. So if you think about, you know, the research that we've been doing at positive energy, the importance of informed decision making on the part of governments to recognize all of the strengths, limitations, consequences, intended or otherwise, of their decisions on energy and climate. So the panel, I think, has a great opportunity to help inform decision making. But as I've said, on a couple of occasions, today, information is a necessary but insufficient condition, right process matters. And, you know, the panel, again, has the potential to be a very important process in terms of its engagement, and meaningful engagement with stakeholders, with indigenous partners, with all those who are interested in the province's energy future. So, you know, a couple of just additional things I would say. One is that the panel's focus in its mandate on long term energy planning, I think, I think is very important, because we're gonna need to plan and think through the long term more than we ever have before in terms of our energy systems when it comes to emissions reductions. I think the other thing, you know, I would lastly, but not leastly, I would recognize, you know, the importance of affordability and reliability. You know, yes, undertaking emissions reductions, but ensuring it's done in a reliable and affordable way. That enables, you know, economic competitiveness and the like. And that's something that, you know, that this government, the Ontario government, brings to the table, which I think is extremely important and will be crucial for the future.   Dan Seguin  46:53 Okay, Monica. Now, if you could speak to everyone in Canada, what would you want people to know, that you think is not widely known? Or understood?   Monica Gattinger  47:06 Yeah, there are a few things I would point to there. I think one would be the scale of the transformation that we're contemplating with netzero. I mean, if you take electrification, just as an example, you know, about only about 20% of and use energy, I mean, I'm telling you this, Dan, you know, all this stuff, but only about 20%. The venue's energy, you know, is currently accounted for by electricity. If we're looking to scale that up, you know, depending on what model you look at, but let's say you're looking to scale that up to you know, 80%, that's four times what it where it currently stands, this is a massive, massive transformation of our energy systems and broader economy. And I think that's one area where, you know, there isn't necessarily as much understanding as there could be in terms of the scale. Like, the second thing that I would love to get out there is that, you know, there's often a view that industry is, you know, dragging its heels, it's, you know, putting in place roadblocks, it's acting as a barrier. That's not what I see, in our engagements with folks in industry across the country, and a whole variety of different energy, different segments of the energy sector. Industry is there. What, you know, the real challenge now is kind of how do we move from the what, to the how, and foster an environment that will foster the kind of change that the companies are really looking to make. And then the third area that I would point to is reconciliation with indigenous peoples. We haven't spoken about that too much this morning. But that's one of the areas over the last number of years where there has just been such a fundamental change in the way industry, and indigenous communities and governments are working together. I think what we often see in you know, in the newspapers in the media is instances of conflict, you know, for obvious reasons, that's, that's, you know, what the media is going to be drawn to, but there are so many examples of just unbelievably constructive, meaningful partnerships between indigenous communities and industry. And I think that's something that you know, that that really is, is just a wonderful, wonderful change over the last few years.   Dan Seguin  49:24 Lastly, Monica, we always end our interviews with some rapid fire questions. I'm hoping you say you're ready.   Monica Gattinger  49:33 Okay, I'm ready. I'll do my best.    Monica Gattinger  49:36 Here we go.What are you reading right now?   Monica Gattinger  49:39 I am reading The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood. You would think you know, during a global pandemic, you wouldn't read dystopian fiction, but that's what I'm doing. Terrific. Terrific book. by Margaret Atwood.   Dan Seguin  49:52 Okay, Monica, what would you name your boat? If you had one or maybe you do have one?   Monica Gattinger  49:58 I do not have one but if I did I think I would name it Smooth Sailing, because that's what I'd want to be doing when I was on my boat.    Dan Seguin  50:05 Okay, who is someone that you really admire?    Monica Gattinger  50:09 Oh, without question. My parents. You know, we've had some pretty tragic things happen in my family and they have, you know, continued to be positive soldier on, be great grandparents to my kids, I don't know how they do it, I admire them to the moon and back, as they say,   Dan Seguin  50:26 Okay, moving on, what is the closest thing to real magic that you've witness?    Monica Gattinger  50:33 That's a tough one, I think I'd say I spent a lot of time outdoors. We have dogs. So I'm often out with the dogs, I ride horses. So I'm often out horseback riding anything in nature, there are so many magical moments where you see, you know, ways that animals are interacting with one another or things happening. Things happening in the, you know, in the plant environment and ecosystem that to me are just magical, and remind me of just how little we know about the world around us.   Dan Seguin  51:06 Okay, Monica, that's cool. What has been the biggest challenge to you personally, since the pandemic began,   Monica Gattinger  51:13 My family has been extremely fortunate during the pandemic. So yeah, it feels almost kind of trite to talk about challenges. I think if there's one thing that I would point to, though, it's the last time it's the last time notably, in my family's case, between my sons and their grandparents. You know, my youngest son used to go to his grandparents house every day after school, they'd feed him snacks, he'd come home, that's gone. They've you know, they've they're missing him growing into a young man, that's, that's been really, really tough. I mean, it's a first world problem. I, you know, we really have been fortunate. But that last time is, unfortunately, and we're just not going to get that back.   Dan Seguin  51:58 Now, we've all been watching a lot more Netflix and TV lately. What are some of your favorite shows are movie   Monica Gattinger  52:06 I could talk for hours about this. But if I had to just pick one, the whole Yellowstone series, I am just crazy for that series, you know, because I horseback ride anything that involves horses and ranches. And my own family history, you know, involves homesteading. Just that whole series Yellowstone 1883 1923. And he was talking about magic down the fact that all of that comes out of Taylor Sheridan's brain that fast I have, I don't understand at all. But I really enjoy watching it. That series is just phenomenal.   Dan Seguin  52:45 Lastly, Monica, what is exciting you about your industry right now.   Monica Gattinger  52:50 I think it's the people who are now on the let's roll up our sleeves face. And let's figure out how to know how to get this done. There's the waterfront of challenges seems endless, but the fact that that there's much more alignment among industry, government, civil society, you know, take your pick indigenous organizations, etc, about ensuring that we're reducing emissions, and, you know, the desire to work together to figure out how, to me is really exciting.   Dan Seguin  53:20 Well, Monica, this is it. We've reached the end of another episode of The thinkenergy Podcast. Thank you so much for joining me today. If our listeners want to learn more about you and your organization, how can they connect or find out more?   Monica Gattinger  53:35 We have a website that you will be welcomed to, to reach out to just type into Google "University of Ottawa positive energy" and it should pop up for you. People are welcome to reach out to me personally, you know, again, easy to find me on the Internet, email addresses and the like. I'd be happy to hear from people.   Dan Seguin  53:55 Again. Thank you so much for joining me today. I hope you have a lot of fun.   Monica Gattinger  53:59 This was great. Thanks, Dan. Really appreciate the opportunity.    Dan Seguin  54:03 Thanks for tuning in for another episode of the thinkenergy podcast. Don't forget to subscribe and leave us a review wherever you're listening. And to find out more about today's guests or previous episodes, visit thinkenergypodcast.com I hope you will join us again next time as we spark even more conversations about the energy of tomorrow.  

Climate Positive
Matt Rogers | Outsmarting waste with the Mill kitchen bin

Climate Positive

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 15, 2023 26:27


In this week's episode, Gil speaks with Matt Rogers, the founder and CEO of Mill, a startup revolutionizing how we tackle food waste. They delve into the inspiration behind Mill, discussing how the idea came about and the parallels to Matt's previous work as the co-founder of Nest, the company behind the iconic learning thermostat and other smart home products. Matt discusses the functionality of Mill's kitchen bin, which transforms food scraps into nutrient-rich animal feed, and how the company is bringing this groundbreaking product to the market. He explains the emissions profile of Mill's appliance and the positive impact it can have on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Also, Matt shares his insights on the crucial role of technology and innovation in driving sustainable solutions.Links: Mill WebsiteMill Impact StatsMatt Rogers TwitterMatt Rogers LinkedInMill LinkedInMill TwitterMill InstagramMill TikTokEpisode recorded May 2. 2023 Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

The Manila Times Podcasts
EDITORIAL: Ride-hailing firms should take lead in emissions reductions | May 17, 2023

The Manila Times Podcasts

Play Episode Listen Later May 16, 2023 5:39


EDITORIAL: Ride-hailing firms should take lead in emissions reductions | May 17, 2023Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net Follow us: Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital Check out our Podcasts: Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer Stitcher: https://tmt.ph/stitcherTune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein#TheManilaTimes #EDITORIAL Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Jefferson Exchange
Oregon Global Warming Commission points the way to greater emissions reductions by 2030

The Jefferson Exchange

Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2023 14:47


Oregon Global Warming Commission, which recently released its Climate Action Roadmap to 2030 report includes the Transformational Integrated Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Project Report. Guest: Catherine McDonald, the Chair of the Global Warming Commission.

The Front
Inside Labor's big green deal

The Front

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 28, 2023 11:45


What the safeguard mechanism means for the environment, industry, and households as Labor's signature climate policy passes into law. Find out more about The Front podcast here and read about this story and more on The Australian's website or search for The Australian in your app store. This episode of The Front is presented and produced by Kristen Amiet, and edited by Jasper Leak. Our regular host is Claire Harvey. The multimedia editor is Lia Tsamoglou, and original music composed by Jasper Leak.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Climate 21
Unlocking the Power of Science-Based Targets: A Climate Confident Podcast Episode with SBTi CEO Luiz Amaral

Climate 21

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 11, 2023 36:47 Transcription Available


In this premier episode of the newly rebranded Climate Confident podcast, I sat down with Luiz Amaral, CEO of the Science Based Targets Initiative. As global leaders in helping companies set ambitious, science-based emission reduction targets and measure progress, the Science Based Targets initiative is at the forefront of meaningful climate action. Join Luiz and I as we delve into the critical importance of science-based targets, the ways in which SBTi works with companies to set these targets, and the next steps in the fight against climate change. This informative and engaging episode is not to be missed. Tune in and learn from the experts on the Climate Confident podcast.SBTi links:LinkedInTwitterAnd the websiteIf you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - feel free to leave me a voice message on my SpeakPipe page, send it to me as a direct message on Twitter/LinkedIn. Audio messages will get played (unless you specifically ask me not to).If you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show. Thanks.And remember, stay healthy, stay safe, stay sane!Music credit - Intro and Outro music for this podcast was composed, played, and produced by my daughter Luna JuniperManufacturing MattersInsights and interviews discussing trends, innovations, and advanced automation technologyListen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifySupport the showThis was a truly fascinating episode of the podcast and I learned loads as always, and I hope you do too.If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - get in touch via direct message on Twitter/LinkedIn. If you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show. Music credit - Intro and Outro music for this podcast was composed, played, and produced by my daughter Luna JuniperPodcast supportersI'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's generous supporters: Lorcan Sheehan of PerformanSC Anthony (Tony) Raftis of Nano Watt Solutions And remember you too can Support the Podcast - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one.Thanks for listening, and remember, stay healthy, stay safe, s...

ClimateBreak
How Carbon Emission Registries Can Help Organizations Reduce Their Emissions with Dan Krekelberg

ClimateBreak

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 10, 2023 1:44


What are carbon registries? Carbon registries work with companies, organizations, and government agencies to identify, measure, and report their greenhouse gas emissions. The data can be used to support emission reduction efforts by these entities, both voluntary reductions or those required by regulation. Carbon registry data can also be used to identify entities with high levels of greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon registries enable members to identify specific emissions reduction opportunities, save on fuel and energy costs through increased efficiency, and comply with current or anticipated regulations. In addition, making carbon registry data transparent can demonstrate public accountability and climate leadership. But, unless there are legal obligations to report emissions, reporting is voluntary, likely missing major emitters. And data does not necessarily mean action; data collection and transparency can be a form of “greenwashing” when not followed by constructive action. What is The Climate Registry?The Climate Registry (TCR) is a non-profit organization that provides tools for North American companies, government agencies, non-profits, and universities to more fully understand their GHG emissions. TCR tracks the sources of members' greenhouse gas emissions and tabulates how many tons of each greenhouse gas they emit. With this information, packaged for laypeople and easily accessible, members can better understand  how they might reduce these emissions. In addition, TCR ranks organizations by  awarding “all-star”, “platinum” and “gold” rankings, based on an evaluation of  their commitment to emission reduction. TCR is advised by a Council of Jurisdictions including representatives from diverse U.S. states, Native nations, and Canadian provinces and territories. It began as the California Climate Action Registry (CCAR), developed by the state of California to help businesses track their emissions. Recognizing that climate change is a threat that ignores borders, TCR expanded to include the entirety of North America. This broader jurisdiction provides a way to see and compare data from hundreds of organizations in one place, with the same reporting protocols and data-collection methods employed. In addition to a carbon registry, TCR maintains a separate water-energy nexus registry. Who is Dan Krekelberg?Dan Krekelberg is policy director at The Climate Registry. He has over a decade of experience leading the development of programs working to improve the sustainability of communities and organizations. He oversees accounting, reporting, and verification initiatives at The Climate Registry, as well as programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Learn MoreTCR 2021 Impact ReportThe Climate Registry - Protocols8 Best GHG Registries Approved For Offsetting Carbon EmissionsThe Climate Registry - The Net-Zero Portal

Drilled
Truck Manufacturers Are Lobbying Against Emissions Reductions In the U.S.

Drilled

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 13, 2022 17:27


A new report from Influence Map shows that despite all their talk of "clean trucks," truck manufacturers are lobbying heavily against emissions reductions at both the state and federal level. Read the report: https://influencemap.org/report/US-Heavy-Duty-Transport-Climate-Change-20434

Strong and Free
#170: Are Emissions Reductions in the Agriculture Space Realistic?

Strong and Free

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 13, 2022 51:21


The federal government put forward  the 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan - which called for a 30 percent reduction in fertilizer emissions by 2030. The agricultural sector was taken aback. I chat with Karen Proud, President of Fertilizer Canada to learn more.Episode #xx - Karen Proud, President, Fertilizer Canada

Earth Wise
The Carbon Footprint Of Electric Vehicles | Earth Wise

Earth Wise

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 29, 2022 2:00


Electric vehicles are widely known to be the environmentally friendly alternative to internal combustion-based cars.   But there are skeptics who argue that EVs actually have a larger carbon footprint than nonelectric vehicles.  The argument is that the manufacturing and disposal of vehicle batteries is very carbon intensive.  They also point to the reliance on coal […]

Climate 21
Using Finance To Drive Down Low Carbon Costs - A Chat With Carbon Chain CEO Adam Hearne

Climate 21

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 5, 2022 32:46 Transcription Available


Banks and financial institutions are looking to invest in projects which reduce emissions, but to avoid the greenwashing label, these projects need hihi quality data. That's where CarbonChain comes in.CarbonChain is a carbon accounting platform that supplies high fidelity data so organisations can prove emissions reductions. I invited Adam Hearne, CarbonChain's co-founder and CEO to come on the podcast to tell me more.We had an excellent discussion talking about how CarbonChain calculates emissions for their customers, the kinds of industries CarbonChain works in (the really heavy emitters), and where to next for the company.This was a truly fascinating episode of the podcast and I learned loads as always, and I hope you do too.If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - feel free to leave me a voice message on my SpeakPipe page, head on over to the Climate 21 Podcast Forum, or just send it to me as a direct message on Twitter/LinkedIn. Audio messages will get played (unless you specifically ask me not to).If you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show. Thanks.And remember, stay healthy, stay safe, stay sane!Music credit - Intro and Outro music for this podcast was composed, played, and produced by my daughter Luna JuniperDev InterruptedWhat the smartest minds in engineering are thinking about, working on and investing in.Listen on: Apple Podcasts SpotifyI've left SAP. I'm talking to a number of companies, but there is nothing signed yet, so if anyone else wants to get in touch, the window is still open for a while longer. Feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn, Twitter, or simply email me tomraftery@outlook.com

The Planet Today
Fracking's connection to Leukemia, more emissions reductions potentially on the way, & more!

The Planet Today

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 26, 2022 28:19


Matt and Nick talk about the effects of fracking on children living nearby (Children Living Close to Fracking Sites Have Two to Three Times Higher Risk of Leukemia - DeSmog),Water reuse projects to combat drought in the US (Biden administration announces $310M in funding for water reuse projects amid widespread drought | The Hill),Some good news for Scotland's butterfly population (Scotland's butterflies flourishing in hotter summers | Butterflies | The Guardian),And Administrative Action potentially on the way to further the Inflation Reduction Act's emissions reductions (Biden Prepares Actions to Cut Emissions After Signing Climate Bill - The New York Times (nytimes.com))!

Clare FM - Podcasts
Clare Environmental Campaigner Claims Data Centres Will Mean Emissions Reductions Targets Missed

Clare FM - Podcasts

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 4, 2022 15:47


A Clare environmental campaigner claims an expanded use of data centres the country will miss its emissions reductions targets on electricity in the Climate Action Plan. It's after concerns were raised at a public meeting last evening about the progression of a €1.2 billion facility on the outskirts of Ennis. The county town's Mayor, though, says the facilities are necessary. Ruairi O'Fathaigh and Tim Hannon from Futureproof Clare spoke to Clare FM's Morning Focus about last night's meeting.

RTÉ - Morning Ireland
Gov. fails to reach agreement on emissions reductions targets

RTÉ - Morning Ireland

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 28, 2022 8:17


Colman O'Sullivan reports from a meeting of the National Climate Stakeholder Forum; Christopher O'Sullivan, Fianna Fáil TD from West Cork, says farmers don't want a long, drawn-out "Brexit scenario", they want a decision now.

RNZ: Morning Report
Calls for changes in calculating emissions reductions

RNZ: Morning Report

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 27, 2022 5:18


The Climate Change Commission wants the Government to change the way emissions reductions are calculated, because businesses aren't actually reducing their emissions. Commission Chair Rod Carr says businesses are currently incentivised to simply plant trees, rather than make actual cuts to their emissions. If changes aren't made, he predicts businesses won't cut their emissions, but new plantation forestry will continue to rise. Rod Carr spoke to Corin Dann.

RTÉ - News at One Podcast
Ministers Eamon Ryan & Charlie McConalogue to discuss emissions reductions for ag sector

RTÉ - News at One Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 20, 2022 3:51


Paul Cunningham, Political Correspondent on today's meeting between the two ministers

Charlottesville Community Engagement
May 11, 2022: Green Business Alliance reports GHG emissions reductions in program's first year; Transit agencies still report shortage of drivers

Charlottesville Community Engagement

Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2022 13:56


Today marks 21 years since the death of Douglas Adams, a writer whose importance to my formation is not necessarily worth noting, but the commemoration of his passage is being noted all the same. Each of us is mortal and for the most part do not know when we will breathe our last. Until mine, I feel it is important for me to document as much as possible, and that is the mission of each and every installment of Charlottesville Community Engagement, a program that most definitely would not have existed if not for the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. The jury is still out on the Celestial Homecare Omnibus. Share and enjoy! On today’s program:Workers at one of Bodo’s Bagels three locations want to unionizeThe latest version of Consumer Price Index is out, and inflation is up but not quite as much as last month Area businesses involved in the Community Climate Collaborative’s Green Business Alliance report Greenhouse Gas Emissions reductionsAnd more study on future planning for transit takes place at a time when existing systems are struggling to find enough drivers Shout-out: RCA seeks input on the restoration of Riverview ParkThe first Patreon-fueled shout-out today is for the Rivanna Conservation Alliance and their work to help the City of Charlottesville with the restoration of Riverview Park. The RCA wants your input to inform a project that aims to restore a 600-foot section of the Rivanna riverbank in an area that’s designated for public access to the waterway as well as a 200-foot section of a dangerously eroding stormwater channel nearby. How should the work be prioritized? That’s where you come in with your input. Visit rivannariver.org to learn more about the project, which seeks to help Riverview Park continue to be a welcoming place to exercise, cool off, paddle, fish, play, explore, observe nature, and escape from the day-to-day stresses of life.Workers at Bodo’s franchise seek to unionizeTwo members of Charlottesville City Council will be on hand this afternoon as employees of the Bodo’s Bagels’ location on the Corner announce their desire to unionize. “Employees with the union organizing committee cite several concerns leading up to the effort, including understaffing, a lack of pay transparency, inadequate paid sick leave, and wages that aren’t keeping up with the rising cost of living in Charlottesville,” reads the press release from the United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 400.That group already represents grocery workers at Kroger and Giant Food. The release states that “approximately” 14 employees are involved and that they presented signed union authorization cards to Bodo’s management on Tuesday and seek voluntary recognition. “The employees also filed for an election with the National Labor Relations Board in the event that management refuses to voluntarily recognize the union, at which point an election will be conducted by the federal labor department,” the release continues. However, representatives from Bodo’s management said the cards were not presented. In a statement, they also said the company has always sought to set a high standard. “Bodo’s has been doing the best we can in every way we can for the Charlottesville community for over thirty years, and we've always been keenly aware that that's a moving target,” wrote Scott Smith and John Kokola to Charlottesville Community Engagement. “We support the right of our employees to choose whether or not they want to bring in a third-party representative, though we have always worked hardest to be that advocate by offering substantially above market wages, and hands on, proactive, compassionate management,” their comments continued.Both Payne and Magill are advocates for a collective bargaining agreement that would allow city employees to unionize. Municipal employees in Virginia could not do so until legislation passed the Virginia General Assembly in 2020. Last August, Council directed former City Manager Chip Boyles to pursue study of a collective bargaining ordinance. Boyles was out of office two months later. In March, the city issued a request for proposals for a firm to help establish a collective bargaining program, but so far a contract has not been awarded. (city bid page) “There will be an award forthcoming, but the process of evaluating the submissions is ongoing so there is no date that can be provided of when the contract will be awarded,” said David Dillehunt, the interim deputy director of communications. See also: Charlottesville to study collective bargaining options, August 19, 2021Bureau of Labor Statistics: Inflation continues to growThe federal agency that keeps the official metric on the cost of goods has released the numbers for April, and the Consumer Price Index rose 0.3 percent, a slower increase than reported in March. “Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 8.3 percent before seasonal adjustment,” reads the release that was published this morning. That’s a lower number than when the numbers were reported in April, when the increase was 8.5 percent. The prices of shelter, food, airline fares, and new vehicles were the categories that increased the most. Food increased 0.9 percent over March, but the energy index actually declined in April. Gasoline dropped 6.1 percent, but natural gas and electricity increased. There are two sub categories for food. The price of “food cooked at home” increased 0.9 percent and “food away from home” increased 1 percent. Nonprofit group claims success in effort to reduce GHG emissions in business cohortLast May, the Community Climate Collaborative formed the Green Business Alliance to encourage sixteen companies to take steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The goal is to reduce their collective emissions by 45 percent by 2025, five years ahead of when both Albemarle County and Charlottesville pledged to meet the same objective. This morning the nonprofit entity reports the group has a collective 28 percent reduction in the first year since a baseline was established. “Comparing 2021 emissions to the baseline year, which varies by member, the [Green Business Alliance] Boffset a total of 4,800 metric tons of CO2-equivalent,” reads their press release. Some of the ways those reductions have been made are by relocations to new buildings. For instance, Apex Clean Energy moved to a new building that consolidated all employees in one place. “The mass-timber Apex Plaza, which features green building materials, solar power generation, and on-site battery storage, is on the cutting edge of sustainable design—mirroring Apex’s work at the forefront of the new energy economy,” reads a description of the new building on the company’s website. While the Apex Plaza building is not LEED-certified, it is one of the largest timber-built structures in the nation, and timber-built structures have a lower carbon footprint than those built of concrete or steel. Additionally, the Quantitative Investment Management moved to the CODE Building, which is LEED-certified. Other participants have moved to LEED-certified building since their baselines, including the Center and the CFA Institute. In addition, eight of the 16 companies installed over 1,600 solar panels on their properties, offsetting another 550 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. For more information, read the Community Climate Collaborative’s blog post on the topic. Watch a video with highlights of Apex Plaza: Second shout-out to JMRL’s How To FestivalIn today’s first subscriber-supported shout-out, the Jefferson Madison Regional Library will once again provide the place for you to learn about a whole manner of things! The How To Festival returns once more to the Central Library in downtown Charlottesville on Saturday, May 14 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. There is something for everyone in this fast-paced, interactive and free event!There will be 15-minute presentations and demonstrations on a diverse set of topics. Want to know how to do a home DNA test? Tune a guitar? What about using essential oils to repel mosquitoes? Visit the library website at jmrl.org to learn more. Schedule is coming soon! That’s the How To Festival, May 14, 2022. Regional Transit Partnership updated on studies and drive shortagesThe audience for Charlottesville Community Engagement may have successfully doubled the number of views for the April 28, 2022 meeting of the Jefferson Area Regional Transit Partnership. At the tail end of the program, I called upon you all to take a look at the meeting and I can successfully report there have now been 11 views. But, of course, the reason you read a newsletter like this is so you don’t have to view them. So, as promised, here are some highlights from the rest of the meeting. The Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission continues to oversee the creation of a Regional Transit Plan, and the Regional Transit Partnership will have a full review at their meeting scheduled for May 26. But, the members of the partnership had the materials in the packet for the April 28 meeting. You have access to those materials here via cvillepedia.“The project started in the fall of 2021 and the team developed a land use assessment and a transit assessment,” said Lucinda Shannon, a transportation planner for the TJPDC. “They identified community goals and solicited community input for the vision for the future of transit in the region.”The consultants are currently writing up network and corridor improvements. “And in June the team will gather public input on the proposed improvements and then will make adjustments and then the project should finish by August,” Shannon said. The vision plan will be presented to City Council and the Board of Supervisors this summer. This is not to be confused with a governance study that is in the planning stages to inform what a potential Regional Transit Authority might look like. “The governance study is more on how we’re going to pay for the vision and the projects,” Shannon said. This is also not to be confused with the draft route changes proposed by Charlottesville Area Transit that have not yet been implemented due to driver shortages. “We’re extremely limited on our driver numbers and are actually really short,” said Garland Williams, CAT’s director. “We’ve got to figure out how to get more drivers in the hopper to do the level of service that the community wants.” As of April 28, Williams said CAT needed 20 additional drivers. He said he’s lost several drivers to the private sector which have higher-paying jobs. As of today, that number is down to 17. “We currently have 3 new drivers in training,” said Kyle Ervin, the marketing coordinator for CAT. The topic of driver shortages topic came up during a recent non-RTP roundtable of transit providers. Karen Davis, the deputy director at Jaunt, said her agency has been meeting with CAT and University Transit Service to work out solutions. “Jaunt has identified some potential overlap of CAT routes with [Albemarle County Public Schools] routes which warrants discussion,” Davis said. Davis said the City of Charlottesville has also approached Jaunt to assist with better transit service to Crescent Halls when it reopens later this year. The next meeting of the Regional Transit Partnership is May 26. Until then, let’s see if we can get the number of views on the April 28 meeting up to 20! And let’s get likes up to 2! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

Beyond the Headlines
Ontario Provincial Election Special

Beyond the Headlines

Play Episode Listen Later May 2, 2022 58:34


Ontario's Provincial Election is fast approaching, and to that end this episode of Beyond the Headlines is dedicated to understanding some of the critical issues facing the province. We are grateful to be joined by the authors of two transition briefings from the Ontario 360 initiative within the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy. Ontario 360 is a purpose-built initiative to scan Ontario's economic challenges and opportunities and develop evidence-based public policy ideas to inform and shape the Ontario government's policy planning and priorities. In conjunction with leading policy thinkers from across the province, Ontario 360 has commissioned a series of bi-weekly policy briefings in advance of the provincial election. These are short, digestible, non-partisan and fact-based pieces designed to appeal to policy leaders, in addition to a broader audience. The briefings cover a wide range of policy issues from fiscal policy to homelessness, from innovation policy to urban Indigenous concerns, from tax policy to the future of work, and many more. You can follow Ontario 360's work on twitter @ontario360 or by visiting their website www.on360.ca.  For today's discussion, we first sit down with Tomas Hachard from the Institute on Municipal Finance and Governance. Tomas co-authored the briefing entitled “Meeting in the Middle: How to get Provincial-Municipal Cooperation Right.” After a short break, we are joined by David McGown of the Canadian Business Coalition for Climate Policy. David authored the two-part briefing entitled “The Politics of Emissions Reductions in Ontario.” We're so glad you tuned in for our show, and hope you enjoy the discussion! Guests: Tomas Hachard, University of Toronto/IMFG @thachard @imfgtoronto  David McGown, Canadian Business Coalition for Climate Policy @davidkmcgown   Senior Producer Connor Fraser @RealCJFraser 

PolitiCoast
Ep 283: Plans upon plans

PolitiCoast

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 2, 2022 57:55


We talk plans: UNDRIP, Emissions Reductions and to buy fighter jets. The post Ep 283: Plans upon plans appeared first on PolitiCoast.

Climate 21
Turning Waste Into Fuel - A Chat With Anaergia Founder And CEO Andrew Benedek

Climate 21

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 30, 2022 24:45 Transcription Available


This week's episode of the podcast deals with methane once more.Last week's episode featured a startup in the methane space called Bennamann. This week I interviewed Andrew Benedek, the founder, and CEO of one of the world's most established methane companies Anaergia.We talked again about the importance of capturing fugitive methane, Anaergia's place in the ecosystem, as well as their future plans.This was an excellent episode of the podcast and I learned loads as always, and I hope you do too.If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - feel free to leave me a voice message over on my SpeakPipe page, head on over to the Climate 21 Podcast Forum, or just send it to me as a direct message on Twitter/LinkedIn. Audio messages will get played (unless you specifically ask me not to).And if you want to know more about any of SAP's Sustainability solutions, head on over to www.sap.com/sustainability, and if you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show. Thanks.And remember, stay healthy, stay safe, stay sane!Music credit - Intro and Outro music for this podcast was composed, played, and produced by my daughter Luna Juniper

Climate 21
Climate Interventions - What Are They And Can They Help - A Chat With Prof Wake Smith

Climate 21

Play Episode Play 22 sec Highlight Listen Later Mar 2, 2022 39:09 Transcription Available


Have you come across the term Climate Interventions before? If not, possibly you've heard of Geoengineering.Prof Wake Smith lectures in Yale about Climate Interventions, and is about to publish a book called  Pandora's Toolbox, The Hopes And Hazards Of Climate Interventions. So obviously, I invited him to come on the podcast to enlighten us on the topic.We had a fascinating conversation covering the limitations of our Net Zero goals, why we might need Climate Interventions, and what Climate Interventions we could use.This was an excellent episode of the podcast and I learned loads as always, and I hope you do too.If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - feel free to leave me a voice message over on my SpeakPipe page, head on over to the Climate 21 Podcast Forum, or just send it to me as a direct message on Twitter/LinkedIn. Audio messages will get played (unless you specifically ask me not to).And if you want to know more about any of SAP's Sustainability solutions, head on over to www.sap.com/sustainability, and if you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show. Thanks.And remember, stay healthy, stay safe, stay sane!Music credit - Intro and Outro music for this podcast was composed, played, and produced by my daughter Luna Juniper

Food Focus
Conflicting Incentives? An Economist's Perspective on GHG Emissions Reductions in Crop Production

Food Focus

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 2, 2022 28:13


In this episode Mike speaks with Dr. Alfons Weersink, Professor in the Department of Food, Agricultural, and Resource Economics at the University of Guelph, about GHG emissions from crop production. Alfons provides a perspective on the economic returns to fertilizer application and the implications for emissions from crop production. He also provides some insight into policy initiatives to help farmers adapt and reduce emissions.

Net-Zero Carbon
Part 3: Journey to Emissions Reductions

Net-Zero Carbon

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 7, 2022 28:57


Many firms are turning to voluntary carbon offsets to address the emissions from their business that they can't reduce today. Danny Gomez, Managing Director of Financial and Emerging Markets at Freightwaves, sits with Dan Scarbrough, President and COO of IncubEx, and Andrew Hall, Director, Sustainable Finance at TMX Group, to discuss fundamentals of the offset market. They'll be sharing what Trayport (a wholly-owned subsidiary of TMX Group) alongside IncubEx are doing to help create transparency, standardization, and liquidity to this fast growing market.Follow Net-Zero Carbon on Apple PodcastsFollow Net-Zero Carbon on SpotifyMore FreightWaves Podcasts

FreightCasts
Part 3: Journey to Emissions Reductions EP23 Net-Zero Carbon

FreightCasts

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 7, 2022 28:57


Many firm are turning to voluntary carbon offsets to address the emissions from their business that they can't reduce today. Danny Gomez, Managing Director of Financial and Emerging Markets at Freightwaves, sits with Dan Scarbrough, President and COO of Incubex, and Andrew Hall, Director of Sustainable Finance at Trayport, to discuss fundamentals of the offset market and to hear about what their firms are doing to help create transparency, standardization, and liquidity to this fast growing market.Follow Net-Zero Carbon on Apple PodcastsFollow Net-Zero Carbon on SpotifyMore FreightWaves Podcasts

Climate 21
Final episode of 2021

Climate 21

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 22, 2021 35:05 Transcription Available


So, we've come to our final episode of 2021, but fear not, lots more excellent episodes of the Climate 21 podcast are coming your way starting January 12th next, and every Wednesday after that.In this episode, I have a favour to ask to start with. The podcast is now in the high hundreds of listeners, thank you all for that, but I'd love to get it into the thousands of listeners. Please, if you could do me one favour over the holidays, introduce a friend to this podcast. If you enjoy the podcast, and think others would too, don't be shy about telling them. It would be excellent for me (and hopefully for them too!).If you haven't heard all the back catalog of episodes, I summarise some of them here. Some of my highlights. If there are episodes you may have missed, take the opportunity over the break when I'm not publishing new episodes, to go back and check some of the previous ones. The beauty of these is the content is evergreen. It doesn't age nearly as quickly as more techy content. The show has been going for just over a year now and all the episodes are as fresh as the day I hit Publish. Enjoy!If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - feel free to leave me a voice message over on my SpeakPipe page, head on over to the Climate 21 Podcast Forum, or just send it to me as a direct message on Twitter/LinkedIn. Audio messages will get played (unless you specifically ask me not to).And if you want to know more about any of SAP's Sustainability solutions, head on over to www.sap.com/sustainability, and if you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show. Thanks.And remember, stay healthy, stay safe, stay sane!Music credit - Intro and Outro music for this podcast was composed, played, and produced by my daughter Luna Juniper

RN Breakfast - Separate stories podcast
Labor sets 43% emission reduction target

RN Breakfast - Separate stories podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 6, 2021 10:44


Shadow Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen has flatly ruled out any deals with the Greens to pass a 43% carbon target, if Labor wins the election and has to deal with a hung Parliament. If an Albanese Government can't legislate the target - it will introduce it by other means.

ACT Greens Podcast
COP26, Glasgow, and what it means for you. Ft Shane Rattenbury

ACT Greens Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 12, 2021 61:04


A recording of an online panel discussion about the COP26 United Nations climate summit currently underway in Glasgow. Shane Rattenbury, ACT Minister for Emissions Reductions, hosts a conversation with Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young who is attending the conference, Professor Mark Howden who is the Director of the ANU Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions and Chair of the ACT Climate Change Council, and Jahin Tanvir, local climate activist and 2021 Young Canberra Citizen of the Year who attended the pre-COP 'Youth4Climate' event in Italy.

Irish Farmers Journal Weekly Podcast
EP 435: Farming News - impact of carbon emissions reductions on rural Ireland and anger at CAP

Irish Farmers Journal Weekly Podcast

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 28, 2021 15:33


This week Phelim O'Neill, Anne Finnegan and Pat O'Toole discuss the KPMG economic impact assessment of carbon emissions reductions on farming and farmer anger at CAP.

RealAg Radio
RealAg Radio, Oct 6: Accounting for fertilizer emissions reductions, AgExpert, and the potato harvest

RealAg Radio

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 6, 2021 55:34


There is plenty going on in the agriculture world this week. On this mid-week, first week of October edition of RealAg Radio, you’ll hear from: Joshua Bourassa, researcher at the Simpson Centre at University of Calgary, on calculating and counting fertilizer emissions reductions; An FCC AgExpert product spotlight with April Popadynec; Kevin MacIsaac of United... Read More

RealAgriculture's Podcasts
RealAg Radio, Oct 6: Accounting for fertilizer emissions reductions, AgExpert, and the potato harvest

RealAgriculture's Podcasts

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 6, 2021 55:34


There is plenty going on in the agriculture world this week. On this mid-week, first week of October edition of RealAg Radio, you’ll hear from: Joshua Bourassa, researcher at the Simpson Centre at University of Calgary, on calculating and counting fertilizer emissions reductions; An FCC AgExpert product spotlight with April Popadynec; Kevin MacIsaac of United... Read More

Farm and Ranch Report
Farm-Level Emissions Reductions - Part Three

Farm and Ranch Report

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 24, 2021


For agriculture to contribute to climate change solutions, the industry must also reduce its emissions.

Farm and Ranch Report
Farm-Level Emissions Reductions - Part Two

Farm and Ranch Report

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 23, 2021


Farm machinery manufacturers like AGCO are developing ways to help farmers reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

Farm and Ranch Report
Farm-Level Emissions Reductions - Part One

Farm and Ranch Report

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 22, 2021


Companies that both sell to and buy from farmers are under pressure to reduce emissions all along the food supply chain.

Climate 21
Making the world run better, and improving people's lives - a chat with SAP's Gunther Rothermel

Climate 21

Play Episode Play 28 sec Highlight Listen Later Jun 16, 2021 27:18 Transcription Available


It has been a while since I had anyone from SAP on the podcast, and since SAP recently held its SAP Sustainability Summit, I wanted to catch up with the team to see how things are progressing.For this episode I invited Gunther Rothermel to come on the show. Gunther leads the Sustainability Engineering teams at SAP, so he's the perfect guy to let us know how things are shaping up. And given most of the world's business transactions use an SAP system, enabling SAP customers to more easily make sustainable choices is a major imperative.I thoroughly enjoyed the conversation being the total electro-head that I am and could have kept talking for another forty minutes. I hope you enjoy it too.If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - feel free to leave me a voice message over on my SpeakPipe page, head on over to the Climate 21 Podcast Forum, or just send it to me as a direct message on Twitter/LinkedIn. Audio messages will get played (unless you specifically ask me not to).And if you want to know more about any of SAP's Sustainability solutions, head on over to www.sap.com/sustainability and if you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show. Thanks.And remember, stay healthy, stay safe, stay sane!Music credit - Intro and Outro music for this podcast was composed, played and produced by my daughter Luna Juniper

All Industrial Heating Podcasts
Emissions Reductions that Matter with Brian Kelly of Honeywell

All Industrial Heating Podcasts

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2021 23:00


Brian Kelly from Honeywell sat down with our editor to discuss his June article titled “Emissions Reductions that Matter.” If you want to save money on utilities or green-up your process, check out this podcast to find out how. And read Brian's June article to learn even more.

All Industrial Heating Podcasts
Emissions Reductions that Matter with Brian Kelly of Honeywell

All Industrial Heating Podcasts

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 3, 2021 23:00


Climate 21
Reducing agriculture's footprint - a Chat with BayWa CIO Tobias Fausch

Climate 21

Play Episode Play 25 sec Highlight Listen Later Jun 2, 2021 24:07 Transcription Available


Bavarian agtech company BayWa AG was recognised recently as one of the Top 50 Global Sustainability and Climate Leaders for all the work they do not just reducing their own emissions, but crucially helping their customers in the agriculture space to reduce their emissions too.   I reached out to their CIO, Tobias Fausch to invite him to come on the podcast to talk about some of their many extremely innovative initiatives aimed squarely at emissions reductions. He readily agreed and we had a fascinating conversation, I learned loads. I hope you enjoy it too.If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - feel free to leave me a voice message over on my SpeakPipe page, head on over to the Climate 21 Podcast Forum, or just send it to me as a direct message on Twitter/LinkedIn. Audio messages will get played (unless you specifically ask me not to).And if you want to know more about any of SAP's Sustainability solutions, head on over to www.sap.com/sustainability and if you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show. Thanks.And remember, stay healthy, stay safe, stay sane!Music credit - Intro and Outro music for this podcast was composed, played and produced by my daughter Luna Juniper

RNZ: Checkpoint
Agriculture cannot dodge emissions reductions - Climate Change Commission

RNZ: Checkpoint

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 1, 2021 3:15


The Climate Commission Chair has told farmers to clean up their climate practices or risk international punishment. Rod Carr told a climate conference that there'll be no way for the agricultural sector to wriggle out of slashing emissions. Our environment reporter Hamish Cardwell was there.  

Climate 21
Deloitte and climate emissions reductions - a chat with Marc Van Caeneghem

Climate 21

Play Episode Play 18 sec Highlight Listen Later May 19, 2021 36:54 Transcription Available


Deloitte, one of the largest professional services companies in the world announced recently its World Climate Commitment. Given who Deloitte are, I was keen to know more, so I invited Marc Van Caeneghem to come on the podcast. Marc is a member of Deloitte's Executive Committee and is their Global Climate and Sustainability Leader. Marc and I had a fascinating conversation, where we talked about Deloitte's aims to reduce its own emissions, and crucially how it helps clients reduce their emissions. I learned loads. I hope you do too.If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - feel free to leave me a voice message over on my SpeakPipe page, head on over to the Climate 21 Podcast Forum, or just send it to me as a direct message on Twitter/LinkedIn. Audio messages will get played (unless you specifically ask me not to).And if you want to know more about any of SAP's Sustainability solutions, head on over to www.sap.com/sustainability and if you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show. Thanks.And remember, stay healthy, stay safe, stay sane!Music credit - Intro and Outro music for this podcast was composed, played and produced by my daughter Luna Juniper

Charlottesville Community Engagement
May 6, 2021: Green Business Alliance forms to advance emissions reductions; Northam signs legislation for New River Valley train station

Charlottesville Community Engagement

Play Episode Listen Later May 6, 2021 20:21


Today's Patreon-fueled shout-out is for the Plant Northern Piedmont Natives Campaign, an initiative that wants you to grow native plants in yards, farms, public spaces and gardens in the northern Piedmont. Native plants provide habitat, food sources for wildlife, ecosystem resiliency in the face of climate change, and clean water.  Start at the Plant Northern Piedmont Natives Facebook page and tell them Lonnie Murray sent you!    On today’s installment:Charlottesville City Schools begin official consideration of names for Clark and Venable elementary schoolsThe Green Business Alliance launches on a mission to meet greenhouse gas reduction goals ahead of scheduleLegislation is signed in Christiansburg for an authority to work towards a new passenger rail to the New River Valley To begin today’s installment, U.S. 250 at Afton Mountain is still closed, three days after a rockfall began. There’s no timetable for when the roadway might reopen.“On Wednesday, rocks, soil and debris continue to slide down the steep slope into the roadway,” reads a press release. “Geologists and engineers with the Virginia Department of Transportation are continuing their assessment of the site and the extent of the slide area. Then they can determine how to safely remove debris from the road as well as unstable material still on the slope above the road. The slope must also be stabilized before the road can be reopened to traffic.”Stay tuned. Sixteen companies and nonprofits in the greater Charlottesville area have launched the creation of something called the Green Business Alliance as a way of providing leadership on the way toward meeting the community’s goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Susan Kruse is the executive director of the Community Climate Collaborative, which goes by C3. “This is the decade where we must act to prevent the most catastrophic impacts of climate change,” Kruse said. “Our nation, our Commonwealth, and our community have all set ambitious goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Yet we cannot reach those goals without working together in our homes, in our schools, and in our businesses.” Kruse said C3 selected these businesses based on their past commitments to energy efficiency, and a dedication to being bold. “I am pleased to announce their collective greenhouse gas emissions by 45 percent by 2025,” Kruse said. “That is five years faster than the goal set by the city of Charlottesville and Albemarle County and well ahead of the Commonwealth’s goal to hit net zero by 2045.”Kelli Palmer of the CFA Institute at the May 5, 2021 launch of the Green Business Alliance Kruse estimated that if they meet these goals, that will reduce 13,156 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. The groups selected provided three years worth of energy data and have agreed to continue submitting that information to C3 to audit the data going forward.One of the groups is the CFA Institute, and Kelli Palmer was on hand to speak on their behalf. Palmer is the head of Global Inclusion & Diversity and Corporate Citizenship at CFA and she remarked at being at an in-person event.“This is the first time I’ve been in community in real life with other people in over a year so that alone is a cause for celebration,” Palmer said. Palmer said CFA’s mission is to be a worldwide leader, and participation in greenhouse gas reduction at its headquarters is consistent. “It is our mission, CFA Institute that is, to lead the investment profession globally by promoting the highest standards of ethics, education, and professional excellent for the ultimate benefit of society,” Palmer said. Another member of the Green Business Alliance is Sentara Martha Jefferson, which moved from the city of Charlottesville to Albemarle County nearly ten years ago. Catherine Hughes is the executive director.    “We almost doubled our physical plant from approximately 300,000 square feet at our downtown location which Kelli [and CFA Institute] now resides in to 600,000 square feet approximately and we were able to do so without increasing our energy consumption,” Hughes said. “That came with a lot of work. Every decision as far as building the building is part of that.” The Tiger Fuel Company may not be the one of the first that jump to mind when you think of green businesses, but President Gordon Sutton is on board to prepare his firm for the future. “Our business is in large part focused on the distribution of fossil fuels which makes me somewhat of an outsider in this setting,” Sutton said. “I’m proud to tell you however that we have for years now been working on ways to reduce our carbon footprint. One of the compelling ways we have achieved that has been through embracing solar and installing solar arrays on our facilities.”Sutton said Tiger Fuel was so satisfied with the results that decided to get into the business.“We have decided to completely immerse ourselves in the industry by acquiring a small solar company with a national footprint but roots right here in Virginia,” Sutton said. That company is Altenergy, which Sutton said has over 16 years of experience and has installed 21 megawatts of solar generation capacity across ten different states. Sutton said he knows that reduction of greenhouse gases will require dramatic reductions in or cessation of the use of fossil fuels. The final Green Business Alliance member who spoke at the event was Liza Borches, the President and CEO of Carter Myers Automotive. “We all know that transportation is the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the United States,” Borches said. “And as a part of this industry, we have a choice. We can put our head down, keep pushing forward selling a lot of cars, and not be proud of what our industry is doing to contribute to our climate impact, or we can pull up a chair to the table, be a part of the conversation and help find the strategic solutions that we need for our future.”Borches said part of her company’s role is to educate consumers about the benefits of alternative-fuel vehicles, and this year she and her staff helped push for Virginia legislation known as the Clean Cars Act which directs the State Air Pollution Control Board to create a program for low-emissions and no-emissions vehicles. It was at about this point in the recording that the wind began to become an issue. Governor Ralph Northam was also in attendance to watch as members of the Green Business Alliance received certificates indicating their participation in the program. Northam is in his last year and said he has tried to get something done while in office. “We’ve had these climate commissions in Virginia and we’ve listened to the data and we’ve said at the meeting that we need to take action, and we really never have,” Northam said. “The past few years we have been able to work together and really understand what we’re up against in society.” It was around this point in the recording that the wind picked, and I would be curious to know how much energy that would have generated. So, we’re going to wait until later in the program to hear more from Northam on the story from Christiansburg. The Charlottesville Public School system has begun the process of evaluating the names of two elementary schools to see if they should be changed. On Monday, the Schools Naming Committee held a community forum with breakout sessions on the appropriateness of the current names of Clark Elementary School and Venable Elementary School. In all, there are ten schools for the city to review, and the process will go from oldest to newest. Beth Baptist is interim director of student services and achievement. “Clark and Venable are our older schools so those are the schools that we are starting with,” Baptist said. “We are not on a timeline for this project. We want to do it right.” One of the slides from the May 3, 2021 presentation available on the School Names Committee websiteCommittee member Phil Varner prepared information for the break-out groups to consider before they spent time in breakout areas. He said he began research two years ago after watching a presentation from filmmaker Lorenzo Dickerson about the work that went into one of his films. “So he had done some work on researching Black schools pre-desegregation in Albemarle for his documentary Albemarle’s Black Classrooms    ,” Varner said. “And sort of almost tangentially to that there was work and a bit in his presentation before the Albemarle School Board about Paul Cale, who previously had an elementary school named after him.” What is now known as Mountain View Elementary had been named after Paul Cale, who served as superintendent of Albemarle Schools from 1947 to 1967 according to a September 2019 article by Katherine Knott in the Daily Progress. Superintendent Matt Haas said at the time he wanted the school renamed because Cale did not act swiftly to fully integrate schools after the Brown v. Board of Education ruling in 1954.“And that got me thinking who are our elementary schools named for, and surprisingly it was hard to find good information,” Varner said. “Surprisingly it was hard to find good information. For many of the people they were named after, I could literally only find a sentence that described what they taught and where. Clark and Venable were famous in their own right but don’t really have a very strong connection with the actual school system.”Varner said naming schools memorializes a person in the same way that putting up a statue memorializes a person. He said philanthropist Paul McIntire, who donated Confederate statues, also played a role in naming Clark after George Rogers Clark, a Revolutionary War general who inherited several enslaved people as property. “They were always done by whoever the dominant group was in Charlottesville, whoever held the power and using these names to enforce and entrench their power and I really wanted to see this devolve into letting the people who are actually affected by this, students, teachers, parents in the buildings, make these decisions about what their school represents and who it is named for,” Varner said. To learn more about the names of the ten Charlottesville school facilities, visit the website correctingthenarrative.org to learn more. To keep up with the project, visit the page on the Charlottesville School system. You’re listening to Charlottesville Community Engagement. In this subscriber supported public service announcement, over the course of the pandemic, the Albemarle Charlottesville Historical Society has provided hours and hours of interviews, presentations, and discussions about interpretations and recollections of the past. All of this is available for you to watch, for free, on the Historical Society’s YouTube Channel. There’s even an appearance by me, talking about my work on cvillepedia! Tune in! Three hours after being present in Albemarle at the launch of the Green Business Alliance yesterday, Governor Northam traveled southwest to Christiansburg to sign legislation authorizing the creation of a new authority to help build a new railway station to serve the New River Valley. Mike Barber is the mayor of the Town of Christiansburg. “The Town of Christiansburg is proud to have been selected for the site for the future passenger rail station,” Barber said. “We believe this station will meet many of the town’s current goals and priorities in relationship to transportation, connectivity, economic development and promotion of regional tourism, not just in Christiansburg but in the entire New River Valley.” Barber said rail has played an important role in history in the history of southwest Virginia, but the last passenger rail train traveled through in 1979. In recent years, efforts have been underway to bring one back, and the goal is to eventually extend the Northeast Regional Service that terminates in Roanoke to Christiansburg. The Northeast Regional Services dates back to October 2009 as part of a three-year pilot project that has been wildly successful. Governor Northam signed HB1893 into law at the event in Christiansburg (read the bill)Shannon Valentine is Virginia’s Secretary of Transportation. “And over the next 12 years, so much has changed,” Valentine said. “Virginia sponsored rail has grown from one route to four, one train to six round-trips, [and yearly] ridership from 125,000 to 971,000.” Valentine said the route is one of the most profitable in the United States. The original cost for the three-year pilot cost $17.5 million. The Northam administration has decided to try again to make an investment to give people a way to get around the state without driving. “When we started three and a half years ago we had a lot of discussions and said, you know, we really can’t pave our way out of congestion across this great Commonwealth and we’ve got to look at other means of transportation and so certainly rail and transit have been part of that.” Planning for the new train station includes the 2015 New River Valley Passenger Rail study The creation of the New River Valley Passenger Rail Authority is just one part of the infrastructure improvements that will be required to get the trains there on time. “Today we are making a commitment to invest $257 million to create this vital connection between southwest Virginia and other parts of the Commonwealth and beyond,” Northam said. “And yes while we are bringing rail to Blacksburg and Christiansburg, we’re not finished and we want to take it all the way out to Bristol to open it up to the great southwest .” When regular passenger service eventually begins between Charlottesville and Richmond, it will do so on tracks owned by the state of Virginia. Now the state is working to secure right of way in the western part of Virginia where Norfolk Southern owns the lines to make sure passenger and freight can coexist. “Through the western rail initiative, we will acquire approximately 28.5 miles of the Virginia line from the Salem crossovers west of Roanoke, to Merrimac and Christiansburg,” Northam said. “We’ll make improvements to the Roanoke yard, and invest in infrastructure upgrades along the 29-81 corridor to accommodate the new service… And up at the northern end of this line we’ll build a seven-mile siding from Nokesville to Halverton creating a continuous two-track corridor for 22 miles from Manassas to Remington.” Northam said a second daily train on the Northeast Regional Service between Roanoke and D.C.’s Union Station will begin in 2022. “When improvements are completed in 2025, both trains will be extended to the New River Valley,” Northam said. Sixth District Congressman Morgan Griffith was also present at the signing of the legislation. He said he had initially been skeptical of the idea but came around when he saw ridership numbers continue to grow. “I have to confess and anybody who studies the record would know that I missed the train in Lynchburg and I missed the train in Roanoke, so I wanted to make sure I got on in Christiansburg,” Griffith said.Delegate Chris Hurst of the 12th District was the patron of legislation that created the authority. He credited the group New River Valley Passenger Rail for their work in moving the idea from concept to an official entity that can now work to have the station in place. He’s also a member of an advisory board overseeing improvements on Interstate-81 Advisory Board. That includes some funding for the western rail initiative.“We are really addressing things up and down the entire Interstate-81 corridor with different modes of transportation,” Hurst said. “It was also mentioned in our 81 advisory committee the other week that we are going to be increasing capacity for the Virginia Breeze bus system which has been incredibly popular for us along the 81 corridor. We are doing amazing things in the New River Valley.”Later this month, Amtrak is expected to lift their restrictions on capacity on their trains. Are you planning a journey? I’d love to hear about it if you do have tickets, or want to? Let me know! Want to support the show? Here are some ways! Remember, Ting will match your contribution.Support my research by making a donation through PatreonSign for a subscription to Charlottesville Community Engagement, free or paidPay me through VenmoTell your friends and family! This is a public episode. Get access to private episodes at communityengagement.substack.com/subscribe

RealAg Radio
RealAg Radio, May 4: Liberal popularity, fertilizer emissions reductions, frost risks, and more

RealAg Radio

Play Episode Listen Later May 4, 2021 55:08


Thanks for tuning into this Tuesday edition of RealAg Radio! Today’s show is a part of a virtual on-location sponsored by WinField United Canada. You’ll hear: David Coletto of Abacus Data, on how the Liberal Party has held their popularity, and what that means for a potential election; A product spotlight with Darren McColm of... Read More

RealAgriculture's Podcasts
RealAg Radio, May 4: Liberal popularity, fertilizer emissions reductions, frost risks, and more

RealAgriculture's Podcasts

Play Episode Listen Later May 4, 2021 55:08


Thanks for tuning into this Tuesday edition of RealAg Radio! Today’s show is a part of a virtual on-location sponsored by WinField United Canada. You’ll hear: David Coletto of Abacus Data, on how the Liberal Party has held their popularity, and what that means for a potential election; A product spotlight with Darren McColm of... Read More

SBS Hmong - SBS Hmong
Australia's zero emission plan by 2050

SBS Hmong - SBS Hmong

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2021 9:44


Tsoom fwv Morrison tau siv nyiaj txog li $540 million coj los pab Australia cov lagluam ntau yam tsis hais yog tej chaw tsim khoom siv, tej neeg cog qoob loo, tej lagluam tsim tooj tsim hlau, lagluam renewable energy, pas dej tsim hluav taws xob, tsim cov chaw txhom thiab coj tej pa tsis huv coj mus faus, cov laj lim tswv yim ua lagluam tshiab, cov kev siv cov technology huv, cov chaw teeb txheeb laboratory thiab tej kws tshawb fawb nrog rau cov kev txo se yog cov tswv yim uas tus tsoom fwv no xav tias yuav pab kom Australia tej lagluam muaj peev xwm nrog daws kom tsis txhob muaj tej pa tsis huv li lawm rau xyoo 2050.

Climate 21
Using concrete as a carbon sink? A chat with Prof Volker Sick

Climate 21

Play Episode Play 26 sec Highlight Listen Later Mar 17, 2021 32:38 Transcription Available


Stopping global emissions is not enough. We have to also find ways to remove CO2 from the atmosphere and sequester it.One of the biggest contributors to global emissions is the production of concrete. Imagine if concrete production could be turned from a carbon emitting process into a carbon sink... That is one idea the Global CO2 initiative is looking into. They have come up with a new way to make concrete that uses CO2 as an ingredient. It is an exciting idea, so I reached out to the Director of the Global CO2 Initiative Prof Volker Sick to come on the podcast to talk about this idea.We had a fascinating conversation, I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope you enjoy it too.If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - feel free to leave me a voice message over on my SpeakPipe page, head on over to the Climate 21 Podcast Forum, or just send it to me as a direct message on Twitter/LinkedIn. Audio messages will get played (unless you specifically ask me not to).And if you want to know more about any of SAP's Sustainability solutions, head on over to www.sap.com/sustainability and if you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show. Thanks.And remember, stay healthy, stay safe, stay sane!Music credit - Intro and Outro music for this podcast was composed, played and produced by my daughter Luna Juniper

Common Sense Digest
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reductions for Colorado Buildings featuring Kathie Barstnar and Dave Davia

Common Sense Digest

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 4, 2021 42:20


As cities, states, the United States, and the international community consider ways of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the latest episode of the Common Sense Digest focuses on initiatives instituted or under consideration in our own backyard.  Recently, the state launched its “Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap.” The roadmap outlines potential state actions which would help to comply emission reduction targets set in 2019 legislation, HB19-1261. The overall targets are a 26% reduction by 2025, a 50% reduction by the year 2030 and 90% reduction by 2050, all relative to emission levels in 2005. Currently, state GhG emissions are somewhere between 10% and 15% below 2005 levels, and the latest projections, inclusive of recent policy changes indicate more policy changes will be required to achieve the state's targets. Our built environment, including commercial, residential and industrial buildings is now squarely in the sights of regulators and policy makers.To unpack the multitude of initiatives pertaining to the built environment, their costs, the high hurdles that exist to achieve the goals, and more, we have invited Kathie Barstnar, the Executive Director of Colorado Chapter of NAIOP, and Dave Davia, EVP and CEO of the Rocky Mountain MCA. The issue is complex and multifaceted, but as always, thanks to the input of our experts, we hope this episode gives the issue clarity, and provides a dose of common sense.  Thank you for listening to the Common Sense Digest. Please subscribe, rate, and review the podcast on your favorite podcatcher.

Climate 21
Can Indoor Vertical Farming help reduce our emissions? A chat with &ever CSO Mark Korzilius

Climate 21

Play Episode Play 24 sec Highlight Listen Later Feb 24, 2021 36:10 Transcription Available


I'm a big fan of the concept of Indoor Vertical Farming, so when I came across the company &ever I reached out to their CSO, Mark Korzilius and asked him to come on the podcast to tell me more about their operations.&ever is a startup in the vertical farming space with a large operation in Kuwait, some interesting hyperlocal operations in Germany, and a larger plant (sorry, bad pun!) opening in Singapore.I loved that in this interview with Mark, he was very realistic about the advantages of vertical farming - not promising that it will save the world, but rather giving a sober, studied view of its advantages, and the huge advantages they bring.As you can probably tell, I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. I hope you enjoy listening to it too.If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - feel free to leave me a voice message over on my SpeakPipe page, head on over to the Climate 21 Podcast Forum, or just send it to me as a direct message on Twitter/LinkedIn. Audio messages will get played (unless you specifically ask me not to).And if you want to know more about any of SAP's Sustainability solutions, head on over to www.sap.com/sustainability and if you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show. Thanks.And remember, stay healthy, stay safe, stay sane!Music credit - Intro and Outro music for this podcast was composed, played and produced by my daughter Luna Juniper

AJ Daily
2-12-21 Land prices, agricultural greenhouse gas emissions reductions, and Buy American mandate

AJ Daily

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2021 4:04


2-12-21 AJ DailyWill the Surge in Land Prices Continue? Adapted from a release by Farmers National Company. To read more, visit http://www.angusbeefbulletin.com/extra/2021/01jan21/0121mg_B_LandPrices.html. Agriculture Makes Gains in Greenhouse Gas Emission Reductions, adapted from a release by the American Farm Bureau Federation. For more information, go to https://www.fb.org/newsroom/agriculture-makes-gains-in-greenhouse-gas-emission-reductions. USCA Sends Letter to Biden Administration on Buy American Mandate, adapted from a release by Lia Bondo, United States Cattlemen's Association. For the full release, go to https://us9.campaign-archive.com/?e=__test_email__&u=c35966bef9b816acff772766f&id=5a6ab82ea4.

Climate 21
The role of the investment community in climate emissions reductions - a chat with JP Morgan's Paul O'Connor

Climate 21

Play Episode Play 41 sec Highlight Listen Later Jan 20, 2021 33:26 Transcription Available


The investment community has enormous influence on global markets  (by directing capital flows) and the climate emissions space is by no means immune to this.I invited J.P. Morgan's Head of  EMEA ESG Debt Capital Markets Paul O'Connor to come on the podcast to talk about how this works.I know next to nothing about finance as you can probably tell from the questions I was asking, but Paul was excellent, and explained it all extremely well, so even I could understand, and I learned loads.As you can probably tell, I thoroughly enjoyed our conversation. I hope you enjoy listening to it too.If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - feel free to leave me a voice message over on my SpeakPipe page, head on over to the Climate 21 Podcast Forum, or just send it to me as a direct message on Twitter/LinkedIn. Audio messages will get played (unless you specifically ask me not to).And if you want to know more about any of SAP's Sustainability solutions, head on over to www.sap.com/sustainability and if you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show. Thanks.And remember, stay healthy, stay safe, stay sane!Music credit - Intro and Outro music for this podcast was composed, played and produced by my daughter Luna Juniper

The Crownsmen Show
CE 19. Carbon Connect International - Methane Emissions Reductions & Funding ft Darcy Spady

The Crownsmen Show

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 13, 2021 53:27


Darcy Spady, is the Managing Partner of Carbon Connect International and served as the 2018 SPE International President. He brings 33 years of experience in conventional oil, heavy oil and unconventional gas to from both the hands on engineering side and the global outlook perspective. Watch Episode Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A8_XaQ5_PI

Climate 21
What are Shell's climate emissions reduction ambitions? A chat with Shell exec committee member Huibert Vigeveno

Climate 21

Play Episode Play 18 sec Highlight Listen Later Dec 9, 2020 31:08


Fossil fuel companies are in large part responsible for the current climate emergency we find ourselves in - both through the products they produce, and through delaying climate action by governments for as long as they possibly could.Things have changed for the better more recently though. With the signing of the Paris Climate Agreement, with the global rise of renewables, and with an ever increasing number of climate-related disasters, fossil fuel companies (most of them at least) are starting to realise they need to transition to clean energy, and help their customers change too.It is in this context, and seeing Shell's goal of being a net zero emissions energy business by 2050, I invited Huibert Vigeveno a member of Shell's Executive Committee and Director of Shell's Downstream operations to come on the podcast to talk to us. He very graciously agreed. Listen to what he had to say.I have also reached out to executives from BP and Repsol to come on the podcast. I really enjoyed making this podcast. I hope you enjoyed listening to it. If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - feel free to leave me a voice message over on my SpeakPipe page or just send it to me as a direct message on Twitter/LinkedIn. Audio messages will get played (unless you specifically ask me not to).And if you want to know more about any of SAP's Sustainability solutions, head on over to www.sap.com/sustainability and if you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show. Thanks.And remember, stay healthy, stay safe, stay sane!Music credit - Intro and Outro music for this podcast was composed, played and produced by my daughter Luna Juniper

Climate 21
Climate 21 Intro

Climate 21

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 7, 2020 2:43


Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, where-ever you are in the world. This is the Climate 21 podcast, and I am your host, Global Vice President for SAP, Tom Raftery.Climate 21 is an initiative by SAP to allow our customers calculate, report, and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.The climate 21 podcast will showcase best practices and thought leadership by SAP, its customers, partners and competitors (if they're game) in emissions reductions. I will be interviewing climate change experts, executives from companies rolling out the best climate initiatives, and other stakeholders in the space.Subscribe now to be sure you don't miss an episode

Alberta Morning News
Emissions Reductions Alberta

Alberta Morning News

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 16, 2017 8:17


Stephane Germain, president of GHG Sat. Inc., spoke about Emissions Reductions Alberta, and it's investment in technology as part of its ERA Methane Challenge strategy.