Climate Confident - Stories And Strategies That Cut Emissions

Get in touch - leave me a message Shipping moves 90% of global trade – and yet it’s one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise. In this episode of Climate Confident , I sit down with Heikki Pöntynen, CEO of Finnish cleantech pioneer Norsepower, to explore a solution that’s both elegantly simple and radically effective: modern rotor sails. Heikki explains how Norsepower has revived and re-engineered...

Get in touch - leave me a message In this episode of Climate Confident , I sit down with Chris Moyer , President of Echo Communications Advisors , to unpack the tension at the heart of today’s clean energy movement: how do we keep momentum when federal politics try to slam the brakes? Chris has spent nearly 20 years advising senators, campaigns, and climate leaders on shaping public narratives tha...

Get in touch - leave me a message In this episode of Climate Confident , I spoke with Ori Shaashua, Co-founder and CCO of Gigablue, a marine carbon dioxide removal (mCDR) company taking a radically scalable approach to the carbon challenge. Gigablue’s MCFS (Marine Carbon Fixation and Sequestration) method taps into the ocean’s natural carbon cycle by cultivating phytoplankton in floating substrate...

Get in touch - leave me a message Is climate doomism stopping us from acting? In this episode, I speak with climate economist Michael Jakob , author of The Case Against Climate Doom , about why despair is not just unhelpful, it’s inaccurate. We explore the real economic tipping points that are accelerating decarbonisation: plummeting costs for solar, wind, storage, and EVs. Michael argues that the...

Get in touch - leave me a message In this episode of Climate Confident , I sat down with Kanika Chandaria , Climate Lead at Agreena , to explore one of the most overlooked yet high-impact climate solutions: soil. We talked about why regenerative agriculture is gaining traction, not just as a nature-based solution, but as a scalable, economically viable climate strategy. Kanika broke down how soil...

Get in touch - leave me a message Most climate policies focus on cutting emissions. But what if the real issue is what’s being left off the table, fossil fuel production itself? In this week’s episode of Climate Confident , I speak with Tzeporah Berman , Chair of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative , about why global climate goals are doomed if we keep expanding fossil fuel supply...

Get in touch - leave me a message Most people don’t think about carbon emissions when they think about the internet—let alone digital advertising. But here’s the kicker: the ad tech ecosystem is responsible for roughly the same emissions as the global aviation sector. Yes, really. In this episode of the Climate Confident podcast, I spoke with Frank Maguire , SVP of Product Marketing & Sustaina...

Get in touch - leave me a message In this episode of the Climate Confident podcast, I sat down with Stuart Thompson , President of ABB Electrification Service , to unpack one of the most overlooked but critical fronts in the climate transition: industrial decarbonisation. Industry accounts for around a quarter of global energy-related carbon emissions, and much of that stems from outdated infrastr...

Get in touch - leave me a message Hi folks, Tom Raftery here. Just dropping into your feed to let you know there’s no new Climate Confident episode this week - I’m taking a short break to recharge and get ready for some brilliant conversations I’ve got lined up in the coming weeks. But don’t worry, the podcast will be back next Wednesday at 7am CEST, as always, with another inspiring story of clim...

Get in touch - leave me a message In this episode of the Climate Confident podcast, I sit down with Ciaran Flanagan , who leads Siemens’ Global Data Centre business , to unpack the evolving role of data centres in our energy and climate systems. We dig into the data centre’s journey from a “sausage machine” of power-hungry servers to a potential hero in grid stability and renewable energy adoption...

Get in touch - leave me a message In this episode of the Climate Confident podcast, I sit down with Sangeeta Waldron , a communications professional and author of What Will Your Legacy Be? , to explore how our personal choices and narratives shape the climate fight. We cover a lot of ground. Sangeeta shares how her time in the Himalayas revealed the harsh realities of climate change and sparked he...

Get in touch - leave me a message In this episode of the Climate Confident podcast, I’m joined by Angel Hsu , associate professor at UNC Chapel Hill and founder of the Data-Driven EnviroLab . We dive deep into how AI can be used to combat climate misinformation and bring real accountability to climate pledges. Angel and her team have built two domain-specific AI tools, ChatNetZero and ChatNDC, des...

Get in touch - leave me a message In this week's episode of the Climate Confident podcast, I’m joined by Bryan Parkes , Head of Innovation Acceleration at Zespri , the world’s largest marketer of kiwifruit. Bryan shares how Zespri is taking a bold, practical approach to climate resilience through its Zespri ZAG Innovation Fund - an annual US$2 million commitment to agricultural innovation fun...

Get in touch - leave me a message How do we scale nature-based carbon removal without greenwashing or over-promising? That’s exactly what I explore in this episode with Lisett Luik , co-founder of Arbonics . We all know forests are powerful carbon sinks. But turning that into credible, measurable climate action is harder than it sounds. Lisett shares how Arbonics is using satellite data, digital t...

Get in touch - leave me a message In this episode of the Climate Confident podcast, I spoke with Laura Miranda Perez , Chief Communications & Sustainability Officer at Oxford PV , about one of the most important developments in solar tech today: perovskite-silicon tandem solar cells. We unpacked how Oxford PV’s approach improves solar panel efficiency from the typical 20–22% to over 30%, and w...

Get in touch - leave me a message In this episode of the Climate Confident podcast, I speak with Alexei Beltyukov , co-founder of Universal Fuel Technologies , about a new approach to producing Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), using a process they call flexiforming . Unlike traditional methods like HEFA or Fischer–Tropsch, flexiforming allows producers to use a much wider range of feedstocks, from...

Get in touch - leave me a message In this episode of Climate Confident , I speak with Alice Chun , inventor of the world’s first inflatable, origami-inspired solar light and founder of Solight Design . Alice shares how a career in material technology and a deeply personal experience with her son’s asthma led her to tackle energy poverty, disaster relief, and carbon emissions with a single, decepti...

Get in touch - leave me a message In this episode of the Climate Confident podcast, I spoke with Ryan Schermerhorn, a US-based patent attorney who’s been helping clean tech innovators navigate the IP maze - until recently with the help of a now-suspended fast-track programme. We discussed the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) Climate Change Mitigation Pilot Program, which allowed...

Get in touch - leave me a message In this episode of the Climate Confident podcast, I sat down with John Sturman , Managing Director at NatPower UK , to dig deep into the realities of grid decarbonisation and energy transition at nation scale. John pulled back the curtain on how NatPower is scaling up battery storage and renewable projects not just in the UK, but across the globe. From developing...

Get in touch - leave me a message In this episode of the Climate Confident podcast, I sat down with Faustine Delasalle , CEO of the Mission Possible Partnership (MPP), to delve into the real challenges, and opportunities, of decarbonising heavy industry and transport. Faustine and I explored the current state of industrial decarbonisation, including the progress made over the last five to six year...

Get in touch - leave me a message In this episode of the Climate Confident podcast, I had the pleasure of speaking with Sandhya Sabapathy , Global Head of Environment and Net Zero at Entain , about the evolving role of sustainability in business – and what it truly takes to make climate action effective, strategic, and inclusive. We discussed how sustainability has moved from the sidelines to the...

Get in touch - leave me a message In this episode of Climate Confident , I sit down with Chris Doherty , CEO of Joulen , to discuss how data, AI, and battery storage are changing the way homes and businesses interact with renewable energy. With energy costs fluctuating and grid constraints becoming more of a challenge, the role of smart energy management has never been more important. Chris explai...

Get in touch - leave me a message In this episode of Climate Confident , I sit down with Jenny Morgan , author of Cancel Culture in Climate , to explore how public shaming and polarisation are holding back real progress on climate solutions. We already have the tools and technologies needed to reduce emissions, yet fear of criticism—whether from activists, media, or the public—often paralyses busi...

Get in touch - leave me a message In this episode of Climate Confident , I sit down with Puja Balachander , CEO and co-founder of UpGreen , to explore how commercial landlords and asset managers can accelerate energy efficiency retrofits while keeping costs down. Buildings account for nearly 40% of global carbon emissions , yet many remain inefficient due to financial and logistical barriers. UpGr...

Get in touch - leave me a message In this episode of Climate Confident , I sit down with Dr. Jemma Green , Co-Founder and Chairman of PowerLedger , to explore how blockchain technology is reshaping the energy sector. We discuss the shift towards peer-to-peer energy trading , how utilities can adapt to a decentralised grid, and what role blockchain-backed renewable energy certificates can play in e...