Climate Positive

Over the last few years, the United States has led the world in the fight against climate change by passing some of the most impactful and largest investments in infrastructure and related regulatory reforms ever. Together, the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law seek to deploy nearly $1 trillion in climate positive infrastructure investment over the next decade.
 

At the same time, however, the U.S. Supreme Court has issued a series of decisions that together significantly curtail the authority of executive agencies charged with implementing and defending legislation passed by Congress and signed by the President. In its most recent term, the Court issued four such decisions including Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which overturns a 40-year precedent and ensures the courts will have a commanding voice over climate policy and regulation for the foreseeable future.

In this episode, Chad Reed unpacks the details and implications of Loper Bright and related Court decisions with Kevin Poloncarz, a partner with Covington & Burling and one of the top climate change attorneys in the United States. 

Links:

Supreme Court strikes down Chevron, curtailing power of federal agencies (SCOTUSblog, July 2024)

CleanLaw – Suite of Supreme Court Decisions Undermine Administrative Law

Palmaz Vineyards

Episode recorded September 12, 2024

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at [email protected] or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

For the world to meet its growing need for low-cost clean energy and achieve ambitious decarbonization targets, land-based onshore wind energy must be an increasingly large part of the electricity generation mix—potentially as much as 20-41% by 2050, according to BloombergNEF and the International Energy Agency (IEA). But there is a challenge: the most efficient and cost-effective wind turbines, currently applied only in offshore wind farms, have enormous blades—some longer than a football field. That makes them extremely difficult, if not impossible, to deliver and deploy, as bridges, tunnels, and road curves literally get in the way. To explore how the onshore wind industry can overcome these obstacles and drive further growth for the sector, Gil Jenkins spoke with Mark Lundstrom, Founder and CEO of Radia. Mark is a serial cross-industry entrepreneur and MIT aerospace engineer who has co-founded companies over the course of his career that seek to bring aerospace solutions to new sectors, including biotech, telecommunications, and materials science. With Radia, Mark is focused on applying these technologies to the low-carbon energy transition. Radia is in the process of building the world’s largest aircraft, which will enable the deployment of the industry's biggest and best wind turbines to locations they could never reach before—creating more clean power at a lower cost.

Links:

• Radia Website
• Mark Lundstrom on LinkedIn
• Radia on LinkedIn
• Press Release:Radia to Provide Low-Cost Clean Energy with the World’s Biggest Wind Turbines Enabled by the World’s Largest Aircraft (March 17, 2024)
• Press Release: Aerospace Leaders Aernnova, Leonardo and AFuzion Will Partner With Radia to Build WindRunner™, World’s Largest Aircraft (July 16, 2024)
• Whitepaper: DeSolve Study: GigaWind has enormous economic and environmental impact (Princeton University researchers Dr. Jesse Jenkins and Dr. Nestor Sepulveda - September 1, 2023)

Episode recorded August 22, 2024 

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at [email protected] or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

The maritime industry transports over 80% of goods worldwide and is essential to the deployment of climate technologies.  At present, the industry contributes approximately 2 to 3% of global emissions, but this figure is projected to grow without major changes to the industry and its ancillary services. However, decarbonizing the maritime industry is unusually challenging.  As the president of Marine and executive vice president at Wärtsilä, Roger Holm’s team helps power one out of every three ships worldwide. In light of new EU regulations and the International Maritime Organization’s goal of net neutral carbon emissions by 2050, Wärtsilä is now focused on solving the decarbonization riddle for clients that operate ships that can last for decades and need to be able to adapt to a wide range of infrastructure and fuels in ports. 

In this episode, Roger Holm chats with Hilary Langer and shares why Wärtsilä approaches maritime decarbonization at the systems level, why clients are increasingly focused on sustainability, and where he sees the greatest potential for carbon and cost savings. 

Links:

Wärtsilä Marine Solutions

European Commission - Reducing emissions from the shipping sector

World Resources Institute - Decarbonizing International Shipping

NYTimes Gift Link – Shipping Contributes Heavily to Climate Change. Are Green Ships the Solution?

Bloomberg - How the Shipping Industry Aims to Reach Net Zero by 2050

Episode recorded August 14, 2024

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at [email protected] or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

As the accelerating deployment of variable wind and solar resources pushes us ever closer to Net Zero – or the state whereby we’re not emitting any more greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere than we are simultaneously removing – we increasingly need to deploy both battery storage as well as dispatchable renewable baseload generation. But despite its ability to serve as dispatchable renewable baseload, geothermal energy today accounts for less than 1% of the world's primary energy supply. 

In this episode, Chad Reed chats with Jeanine Vany, co-founder and executive vice president of corporate affairs at Eavor, a next generation geothermal energy company based in Calgary, Canada. Jeanine adeptly explains how Eavor’s Closed-Loop solution is different and better than traditional geothermal, discusses how Eavor plans to scale its initial projects, details the numerous environmental benefits next generation geothermal can provide and much more.

Links:

Eavor

Underground, Underdog: The Eavor Story

Loonshots by Safi Bahcall

Episode recorded June 21, 2024

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at [email protected] or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

We started the Climate Positive podcast just over three years ago at HASI, seeing an opportunity to contribute our unique perspective to the climate and clean energy podcast scene. As a pure play climate investment firm, we aimed to cultivate a forum for mission-driven leaders, innovators, and changemakers to engage in conversations about the challenges and opportunities on the path to a climate-positive future. Our inaugural episode of Climate Positive featured our trailblazing former CEO and current Board Executive Chair, Jeff Eckel. Now, looking back on over 75 episodes since launch, we wanted to take a moment to reflect and celebrate this journey and share more about the people leading HASI today in this special episode. Join Chad, Gil, and Hilary in this insightful conversation with three of HASI's most senior leaders - CEO Jeff Lipson, CFO Marc Pangburn, and Chief Client Officer Susan Nickey.

Links: 

• Jeff Lipson Bio & LinkedIn
• Marc Pangburn Bio & Linkedin
• Susan Nickey Bio & Linkedin
• Ep. 1: A climate finance pioneer | Jeff Eckel, CEO of HASI
• Press Release: HASI and KKR Establish $2 Billion Strategic Partnership to Invest in Sustainable Infrastructure Projects (May 7, 2024)

Episode recorded June 13, 2024 

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at [email protected] or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

For over a century, the U.S. government has provided subsidies – often in the form of tax credits – to support domestic energy production. For renewable energy sources, these tax credits have traditionally subsidized investment (i.e., a project’s capital expenditure) and production (i.e., the amount of energy produced by a project). But the Inflation Reduction Act altered these tax credits in a number of ways: it significantly extended their life, massively expanded the technologies eligible for them and made them more easily transferable so that project developers can sell them directly to a wide array of third parties for cash. The transferability provision alone has already supercharged the growth of this market and, as a result, has helped to drive low cost capital to project developers attempting to accelerate the energy transition. 

In this episode, Chad Reed and Guy Van Syckle sit down with Alfred Johnson, co-founder and CEO of Crux – a new platform created for developers, tax credit buyers, banks and advisors to manage and transfer tax credits. While an inherently complex and at times eye glazing topic, Alfred dynamically details how his platform works, provides the puts and takes on recent market developments and conveys some sage advice – including lessons from U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen. 

Links:

Crux

Crux Quarterly Market Update: 1Q 2024

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Episode recorded May 31, 2024

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at [email protected] or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

Barbara Humpton, President and CEO of Siemens USA, sits down with Gil Jenkins and Susan Nickey to discuss Siemens' pivotal role in advancing sustainability across industry, infrastructure, and transportation sectors. The conversation dives into Siemens' approach to decarbonization as an engine for growth and spotlights how innovation at the grid edge will be key to delivering a more sustainable future, guiding energy flows and balancing supply with the demands of buildings, industry, and private consumers. Additionally, Barbara discusses the encouraging trend of U.S. manufacturing expansion, advancements in EV charging infrastructure, and more. Finally, Babara shares insights into her leadership philosophy, discusses her passion for integrating work and personal life priorities, and explains why she started a podcast for Siemens, The Optimistic Outlook, back in 2021.

Links: 

• Bio
• Barbara Humpton on X
• Barbara Humpton on LinkedIn
• Podcast: The Optimistic Outlook with Barbara Humpton
• The Optimistic Outlook LinkedIn Newsletter
• Siemens on LinkedIn
• Siemens USA on X
• Press Release: Siemens launches Gridscale X™, paving the way for autonomous grid management (February 27, 2024)
• Video: Barbara Humpton's Address for George Mason University's 2024 Spring Commencement

Episode recorded June 12, 2024 

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at [email protected] or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

Just as not every battery is created equal, neither is every renewable energy credit (REC). Even though RECs today are commodified financial products companies purchase to reduce their carbon footprint, the actual avoided emissions impact of an individual REC can vary dramatically based on the time and place it is generated. As our carbon accounting frameworks seek to become more precise and impact-driven and as transmission constraints proliferate, it is increasingly important that the markets for RECs and other net zero procurement products become more sophisticated. 

In this episode, Chad Reed sits down with Casey Martinez – the Founder and CEO of Clean Incentive, an emerging new platform focused on changing the way companies think about and execute on their net zero procurement targets. In addition to the getting into the weeds on Clean Incentive’s new Power Emissions Certificates (PECs), they discuss the imperative of data granularity, the challenging role of additionality and how to channel investment capital to the most impactful projects. 

Links:

https://www.cleanincentive.com/

https://www.pec-alliance.org/

Thank Again by Adam Grant

Episode recorded May 31, 2024

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at [email protected] or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

In this episode, Hilary Langer met with Dr. Antonius Gagern, the Executive Director of the Carbon to Sea Initiative, for a lively conservation about a hot topic: the promises and sensitivities of tinkering with the ocean’s chemistry to enable it to store more carbon dioxide. Initial research on ocean alkalinity enhancement supports its potential as a significant means of capturing carbon. Carbon to Sea is a $50M non-profit effort that brings together leading funders and researchers to explore ocean alkalinity enhancement.  The area is gaining increasing attention and traction, as evidenced by the White House’s launch of a “Fast-Track Action Committee” on Marine Carbon Dioxide Removal. Within the past year, the U.S. federal government has put out about $100 million in grants to accelerate research in the area, including $23.4M from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Researchers and funders are balancing the urgency of action with the need to ensure that any intervention is a clear win for the oceans they seek to protect.

Links: 

• Home - Carbon to Sea Initiative
• Meta's former CTO has a new $50 million project: ocean-based carbon removal | MIT Technology Review
• Climate crisis sparks effort to coax oceans to suck up carbon dioxide | Science | AAAS
• Supercharging Nature to Suck Carbon From the Air - WSJ

Episode recorded May 15, 2024

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at [email protected] or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod. 

In this episode, Gil Jenkins sits down with Bill Weir, Chief Climate Correspondent at CNN, for a rich, engaging, and meaningful conversation about his new book, “Life As We Know It (Can Be): Stories of People, Climate, and Hope in a Changing World.”

While reporting from every state and every continent, Bill Weir has spent decades telling the stories of unique people, places, cultures, and creatures on the brink of change. As the first Chief Climate Correspondent in network news, he's immersed in the latest science and breakthroughs on the topic, while often on the frontlines of disasters, natural and manmade. In 2020, Bill began distilling these experiences into a series of Earth Day letters for his then-newborn son to read in 2050, to help him better understand the world he will have grown up in and be better prepared to embrace the future. Bill's work and his letters were the inspiration for “Life As We Know It (Can Be),” which confronts the worry and wonder of climate change with messages and examples of hope for all of us on how a better future can still be written. 

Highlighting groundbreaking innovation in fields of clean energy, food and water sources, housing and building materials, and more, and touching on how happiness, resilience, and health and wellness factor into the topic of climate change, Bill's stories take readers on a global journey, from one community in Florida that took on a hurricane and never lost power, to the Antarctic Peninsula where one species of penguin is showing us the key to survival, to the nuclear fusion labs where scientists are trying to build a star in a box.  

Through a tapestry of stories—tales of resilience, community, and the indomitable human spirit— ‘Life As We Know It (Can Be)’ celebrates our planet’s marvels, contemplates our collective desires, and calls us all to unite with nature and each other. It’s about preparing and planning for the future, together. 

Links: 

• Book: “LIFE AS WE KNOW IT (CAN BE): Stories of People, Climate, and Hope in a Changing World”
• Bill Weir’s fourth letter on Earth Day to his young son (CNN, April 22, 2024)
• Bill Weir Bio
• Bill Weir on X
• Bill Weir on LinkedIn

Episode recorded April 19, 2024

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at [email protected] or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.