The Energy Revolution

Are businesses leaders or laggards in the energy transition?   Despite attempts by some to paint clean energy and net zero as anti-business and anti-growth, business leaders themselves are broadly supportive of the shift and see it as a place of economic opportunity.   This week our host Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett sits down with Rachel Solomon Williams, CEO of the Aldersgate Group, who work directly w...

The politics of net zero is changing. The term itself falling out of favour. According to the media, the consensus is fraying at the edges, with Nigel Farage and Kemi Badenoch banging the anti-net zero drum at every chance they get. And yet, beneath the surface there is still a relative amount of agreement. Labour, the Lib Dems, SNP, Plaid Cymru, and the insurgent Greens all agree that climate and...

Is a country's energy future determined by its geography? When it comes to energy resources, not all countries are made equal. Some are blessed with windy seas, others with regular sun, and a handful with the resources needed to build clean energy technology. This episode looks at some of the archetypes for energy systems, the limits of geography, and the opportunity for countries to still dec...

The UK has an ambitious goal to achieve Clean Power by 2030, and cement itself as a clean energy superpower in the decade that follows. The success of this will depend not just on national leadership, but an ability to make the case for the energy transition locally, for the people that will see infrastructure built in their back yards, or want to know how they’ll feel the benefits on their bills....

An uncomfortable truth in the energy transition is that Coal is still a major part of the global energy system. Despite being majorly polluting and often no cheaper than cleaner alternatives, it's persisted particularly in countries like China, India, and Indonesia, but also the USA and Australia. Why? And how do we truly phase it out of the system. Our guest this week is Lucy Shaw, who's...

The solar industry has faced tough questions about its supply chains and the links to state-enforced forced labour, particularly in regions like Xinjiang, China. In this week’s episode Sulaiman speaks with Rachel Owens, former human-rights campaigner and CEO of the Solar Stewardship Initiative, to talk about the major steps the sector has been taking to address the issue. We discuss how increased...

The energy system has changed dramatically in the last 40 years, both in the UK and globally.   But how do these changes happen? What makes technology transitions and innovation a reality? Is it policy, politics, or global economic patterns outside our control?   We're joined by Jim Watson, Professor of Energy Policy and Director of the Institute for Sustainable Resources at University College...

What makes the Texas energy system so special? Separated from the rest of the US grid, the Texas system is a living lab for the future of energy, achieving remarkable rollout of renewables despite the politics of the state. This week we’re joined by Mark Lauby from the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the organisation responsible for grid and system stability across the US, to unpa...

How do race and the legacies of empire continue to impact the energy transition? For black history month our host, Cambridge Fellow and former government advisor Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett, looks at the ways that race and empire still impact our energy transition: including ‘energy apartheid’ in South Africa, the legacy of segregation on the Texas grid, and the role of slavery and empire in the early...

The UK has been extremely slow to decarbonise the heating sector. Why? And what can be done? Meeting the UK's climate ambitions will require millions of heat pump installations and widespread heat network infrastructure to be established, but both of these sectors are struggling to get off the ground. In this episode we are joined by Adam Berman, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Energy UK, t...

Growth is at the centre of Labour's political programme, and with Rachel Revees' nod to airport expansion many have wondered if climate goals will take a hit in pursuit of the economy. But what is behind the Heathrow story and what does it tell us about the wider thinking in Treasury on public infrastructure and climate in the UK. Today we're joined by Alex Chapman from the New Economi...

What happens to the energy system when you think about the end consumer first? People want warm homes, cheap power, and to get from place to place - they don't care how we make this happen, and arbitary distinctions between different parts of the energy system are holding us back. In this episode we're joined by Caroline Bragg, CEO of ADE , to discuss everything from consumer flexibility t...

Since the Russia-Ukraine war began, EU states have spent spent more on Russian fossil fuels than they've given to Ukraine in aid. In this episode, we discuss how countries and companies get around the UK and EU sanction regimes, and what this means for the ongoing conflict, as well as Europe (and the world's) transition to a cleaner, safer energy system. In the midst of a trade war and cha...

What can 200 years of energy history teach us about the energy revolution happening today? We are joined by Arthur Downing, Director of Strategy at Octopus and author of the forthcoming book Power and the People: a history of energy in Britain since 1800, to discuss how the energy system has changed in the 200 years since its inception, and what lessons we should learn as we try to build a new sys...

Orsted is in crisis. Stock prices are down 86% since their 2021 high, and problems pile up as Trump has halted the construction of their latest Revolution Wind Farm off the Northeast Coast. Our host Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett, former UK government advisor and Cambridge Policy Fellow, unpacks the mistakes that Orsted made in its approach to the USA market and its poltical blindspots. He also covers wha...

Does government need to get out the way and let markets deliver net zero? Or is the state key to delivering the technologies we need for the future? This week is a crossover episode with the Modo Energy podcast, Transmission . Our host Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett, former government advisor at the UK Department for Energy and at No10 Downing Street, goes back and forth with Ed Porter, VP for Insights at...

In an age of increasing misinformation it's becoming harder and harder to find what's truly going on in energy and climate. This week we sit down with Simon Evans, journalist from the Carbon Brief, and talk about everything from the Telegraph's anti-net zero obsession to the rise of AI content and how to communicate the facts when there's so much noise around. Hosted by Sulaiman Ilyas-Jarrett, for...

Energy security is changing. The war in Ukraine shattered complacency of many politicians in Europe and beyond, and laid bare the need to think radically differently about future energy security. This was no surprise to this week's guest, former NATO advisor and Founder of Enoda Paul Domjan, who has been thinking about the changing state of energy security for over 20 years. We cover everythin...

This week we speak with Rebecca Williams, Deputy CEO at the Global Wind Energy Council, for a global deep dive into the state of offshore wind - and why there’s still reason for optimism. We unpack the wave of cancelled projects, rising interest rates, the return of Trump-era geopolitics, and what it all means for the future of offshore wind. From Europe to the US, China, South America, and Southe...