Planet Beyond

In this episode of Planet Beyond, host Jon Baston-Pitt speaks with Richmond Quarcoo, founder and director of Plastic Punch. Richmond shares the origins of Plastic Punch, which began after discovering sea turtles tangled in plastic waste along the beaches in Ghana. The organisation uses citizen science to address marine litter and inspire behavioural change. One key initiative is beach cleanups, wh...

How will innovation impact the future of the offshore industry? In this fourth episode of the Planet Beyond IPF mini-series, recorded live at the IPF conference in New Orleans, we discuss the cutting-edge innovations shaping the burgeoning offshore wind industry in the US. Jon Baston-Pitt is joined by guests Deanne Hargrave of Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind and Chad Pastor of Fugro to explore the u...

In this final episode of our Ocean Decade mini-series, released on World Oceans Day , we focus on the last of the Barcelona conference’s five plenary sessions, Resources and partnerships for the Ocean Decade .  In the plenary, Alfredo Giron moderated a panel discussing collaborations in support of the Decade’s goal of promoting ‘the science we need, for the ocean we want’. In recordings from...

How can we map, model and analyse the impacts of climate change and mitigation actions on oceans and coasts around the world? In this episode, a supplement to Planet Beyond’s Ocean Decade miniseries, Jon Baston-Pitt talks to leading marine scientists about the development of ocean forecasting, and the more recent development of The Digital Twins of the Ocean. Nadia Pinardi, a professor of oceanogr...

How can the offshore wind industry balance environmental stewardship, community engagement, and economic growth to drive the global energy transition? In this episode, recorded live at the International Partnering Forum (IPF) in New Orleans, Jon Baston-Pitt is joined by Karen Baker, and Jean-Stéphane Naas, to discuss the challenges of marine spatial planning, community engagement, and biodiversity...

In this fourth full-length episode recorded live at the UN Ocean Decade conference in Barcelona we are joined by Vivienne Solis Rivera, who was a speaker at the Ocean Decade Plenary Session 4: An Inspiring and Engaging Ocean for All. This session focused on the 9th and 10th UN Ocean Challenges, skills and knowledge for all and changing humanity’s relationship with the ocean. Throughout this mini s...

Every challenge is an opportunity for growth: that’s a key takeaway from Ross MacFarlane and Hidayat Alizada. Both of our interviewees have achieved personal sporting success, while supporting good causes. Ross, Remote Operations Centre Manager at Fugro in Dubai, shares insights into resilience and determination. He discusses his passion for triathlons and marathons, overcoming setbacks like battl...

The Planet Beyond team has been recording live from the International Partnering Forum (IPF) 2024 in New Orleans. In this episode of the Planet Beyond IPF mini-series, host Jon Baston-Pitt is joined by industry experts to explore the journey of developers transitioning from land-based to offshore wind projects in the United States. Ken Kimmell, Alberto Osorio and Daniel Runyan share the work being...

In this third full-length episode recorded live at the UN Ocean Decade conference in Barcelona we hear from participants in the third plenary session of the event, on Science and Solutions for a Safe and Predicted Ocean. In her keynote address to the plenary session, Dwikorita Karnawati, head of the Indonesian agency for Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysics, BMKG , described how the lack of ea...

The Planet Beyond team has been recording live from the International Partnering Forum (IPF) 2024 in New Orleans. In this first episode of six recorded at the event, we look at the role underwater archaeology plays in supporting offshore wind project development. Jon Baston-Pitt speaks to explorer and diver Peter Tattersfield, founder of Kaxaan Nautical Foundation, and Jeff Enright, Senior Project...

In this second full-length episode recorded live at the UN Ocean Decade conference we hear from participants in the second plenary session of the event, on Science and Solutions for a Sustainable and Resilient Ocean Economy . In the session—and in their conversation with Jon Baston-Pitt—Claire Jolly, from the OECD; Sergi Tudela, from Catalonia’s regional government; and Peter Haugan, from the Norw...

The SKAO, or Square Kilometre Array Observatory, will allow scientists to peer through time into the universe’s distant past. Its telescope arrays in South Africa and Australia, along with its HQ at Jodrell Bank in the UK, have been designed to capture a picture of the universe as the first galaxies formed, the so-called ‘epoch of reionization’, when the cosmos was just 200 million to 400 million...

The UN Ocean Decade conference took place in Barcelona in April 2024. The Planet Beyond team was there, recording episodes at our on-site studio. During the conference, we released three short episodes looking at each day’s agenda. And we recorded interviews for five long episodes that will run every fortnight, up until Ocean Day, June 8. In each episode, Jon Baston-Pitt speaks to participants in...

What will be the future of our planet? Dakota Peebler, an 18-year-old leader in ocean conservation, emphasises the crucial role of collective youth action in shaping a better future for our planet. Dakota, co-founder of Heirs To Our Ocean, shares her incredible journey from childhood fascination to leading a movement for ocean preservation. She discusses the essential skills she has gained along t...

The Planet Beyond podcast is heading to New Orleans for the International Partnering Forum (IPF) 2024 . IPF brings together global leaders and businesses in the wind energy supply chain. And we’ll be there, recording a mini series on the offshore wind revolution, speaking with experts, being inspired by leaders, and drawing hope from the younger engineers. In this first episode of the mini series,...

This week, Planet Beyond is recording live at the 2024 Ocean Decade conference in Barcelona. In this last of our three daily live episodes, we speak to Jyotika Virmani, executive director of the Schmidt Ocean Institute, a non-profit foundation established in 2009. The Institute’s goal is to advance innovative oceanographic research and discovery. It provides collaborators with free ship time...

This week, Planet Beyond is recording live at the 2024 Ocean Decade conference in Barcelona. In this second of our three daily live episodes, we look back over the first day of the event, and look forward to the next. We speak to Ambassador Peter Thomson, the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Ocean. We also hear from Anna Majó Crespo, of Barcelona City Council, and Taiji Terasaki, a Jap...

This week, the Planet Beyond team are recording live at the 2024 Ocean Decade conference in Barcelona. At the event, delegates will focus on delivering essential science for sustainable oceans. This episode is the first of three shorts to be released during the Ocean Decade Conference, to bring you the sounds and ideas from the conference floor. Made in collaboration with the Intergovernmental Oce...

In a little over a week, Planet Beyond will be recording live at the UN Ocean Decade conference in Barcelona. In the run up to the event, we’re considering the value of oceans. In our last episode, we looked at the value of the ocean as a way to store carbon and mitigate the effects of climate change. In this episode, we look at what the ocean can mean to us as individuals and communities. Andy Do...

How do we innovate? Often, says Femke De Jager, by failing. The keys to success are resilience and persistence. It’s all about trying things out, sometimes failing, but always learning. Throughout her career, Femke has focussed on developing new ways of managing and maintaining assets, at world leading companies including PwC and ConQuaestor, DSM and Stork, and now Fugro. She believes that innovat...

We need to manage our coast lines to reduce the impact of climate change. But coastal areas, and mangroves in particular, also offer one of the most effective naturebased mechanisms for capturing carbon. At COP 28 in the UAE last November, the importance of the oceans to climate change was a key focus, and the parties at the conference recognised the value of nature based solutions. Our guests for...

How can business development professionals help customers find solutions they may not even know they need? That has been Michael Neuhaus’s mission, in a career at Fugro spanning three decades. Every sales professional needs a compelling product to offer customers. That was what Neuhaus had, as he started his career, with Fugro’s pioneering cone penetration testing technology. He could tell custome...

We live in a fast changing world, with impacts on how we all work. That’s as true for those in finance and leadership, as it is for anyone. In this episode we sit down with Fugro CFO Barbara Geelen to explore how changes in society, and the evolving crisis of climate change, are reshaping leadership roles. Today, a good CFO must have as deep an understanding of climate change, as they do of profit...

Jeff Richardson is an experienced Remote Operations Centre Manager however, we spoke to him for this episode not about his job but what it is he does in his spare time: he is a dedicated volunteer Coast Guard rescue officer. He shares with us his experiences, and explains what drives him to take on two demanding roles, where he has to perform at his highest level. Jeff takes us through the challen...

Earlier this year, Katherine Scrimgeour posted on LinkedIn about her own experiences of dealing with dyslexia. It’s a condition that can undermine confidence at work, but that doesn’t mean it should hold anyone back. It struck a chord with Planet Beyond host Jon Baston-Pitt, who also experiences dyslexia. In this short, Jon and Katherine talk about their experiences, and about the importance of sp...