Climate Vision 2050

Take a trip into the future that will challenge the way you think and act today. In each episode, BCG's Patricia Sabga and her AI co-host GENE delve into disruptive scenarios that could define the coming decades. BCG experts join the conversation, probing the possibilities and implications for leaders. Human and machine work together to explore the very real actions CEOs could take today to prepare.

We're very proud of Climate Vision 2050 and its combination of rich, experimental storytelling, cutting-edge science, and its message of hope.

We're excited to announce that Climate Vision 2050 has been nominated for a Webby Award, recognizing excellence in podcasts focusing on Sustainability & the Environment.

Please consider voting using the link below if you enjoyed the show. Thank you for your time.

https://vote.webbyawards.com/PublicVoting#/2024/podcasts/shows/sustainability-environment

Electric vehicles have revolutionized the automotive industry and created a sustainable circular economy. Today in 2050, the internal combustion engine is a relic of the past. At the Paulista Grand Prix in São Paulo, race car driver Bela Tanaka goes neck and neck with Rahul Gonzalez for a chance at the top 5. 

The materials in batteries today are extracted from recycled materials through urban mining.  Recycling helps support resilient supply chains and localized production. Charging infrastructure is ubiquitous. Even the roads can charge vehicles. 

We hear from Nathan Niese, partner and associate director of electrification and climate change at BCG and Hans Eric Melin, managing director at Circular Energy Storage; a London-based consultancy focused on lithium-ion battery life cycle management.  They explain how policymakers, manufacturers, and consumers have helped to speed up the adoption of electric vehicles. 

Climate Vision 2050 is a podcast from BCG, a global consulting firm committed to climate and sustainability action.  Join us every episode as we explore how the world radically reduced carbon emissions and stepped back from the brink of climate catastrophe. 

This week, we’re presenting an episode of Climate Rising from our friends at Harvard Business School.  In this first episode of a new series on climate change and AI, Hamid Maher and Charlotte Degot, Managing Directors and Partners at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), explain how BCG has developed and uses AI tools to help their clients manage climate risks and address mitigation and adaptation challenges. They describe how they pitch these solutions to potential clients, and share their advice for those interested in careers in business and climate. 

For transcripts and other resources, visit climaterising.org.

Climate Rising Host: Professor Mike Toffel, Faculty Chair, Business & Environment Initiative

Guests:

●      Hamid Maher, Managing Director and Partner, Head of Africa, BCG

●      Charlotte Degot, Managing Director and Partner, Global Lead for CO2 AI, BCG

In our next and final season one episode of Climate Vision 2050, we’ll take to the streets of São Paolo for the Paulista Grand Prix—an annual car racing event.  We'll explore how electric vehicles revolutionized the industry and created a sustainable circular economy. We'll also delve into advancements in charging technology that allowed EVs to overtake the internal combustion engine.

Clothing recycling along with second-hand and rental markets have significantly decreased waste in the fashion industry. Today in 2050, every garment tells a story. This transparency about an item’s provenance empowers consumers to make responsible choices. At Tokyo Fashion Week, model Emiko Ikeda must decide if they should take a stand against unethical clothing manufacturing. 

The lines between the digital and physical realms has blurred, completely changing the way we think about fashion today.  Avatars of fantastical creatures and the injection of individuality and creativity into clothing have brought a new dynamism to the way we dress every day. 

Fashion Futurist Geraldine Wharry and BCG partner and sustainable fashion expert Catharina Martinez-Pardo, share the journey we’ve taken to get here.  They share stories about 3D printing, increased regulations and sustainable manufacturing processes. 

Climate Vision 2050 is a podcast from BCG, a global consulting firm committed to climate and sustainability action.  Join us every episode as we explore how the world radically reduced carbon emissions and stepped back from the brink of climate catastrophe. 

In 2050, mangrove forests are thriving across Southeast Asia’s shorelines, protecting coastal communities from flooding and erosion.  The region is a world leader in nature-based solutions to climate challenges.  Environmental scientist Danilo Manolo travels through a protected mangrove forest in a national park in Malaysia to halt an illegal logging operation.

Southeast Asia’s inland conservation initiative, the Heart of Borneo, protects forests the size of Utah in perpetuity. The preserve is a safe habitat for many species and contributes to the economy. Ecotourism is thriving, generating jobs and economic security for many families. 

Lavanya Rama Iyer, head of policy and climate change at WWF Malaysia, and Dave Sivaprasad, BCG managing director and partner talk about the importance of adaptation and resilience in combating climate change in Southeast Asia. They share stories about what it’s like to live in harmony with nature in this diverse region. 

Climate Vision 2050 is a podcast from BCG, a global consulting firm committed to climate and sustainability action.  Join us every episode as we explore how the world radically reduced carbon emissions and stepped back from the brink of climate catastrophe. 

Controlled-environment agriculture allows farmers to grow fruits and vegetables indoors all over the world and even on Mars.  Vertical farms are interwoven into the fabric of our cities, and produce is grown in greenhouses in less densely populated areas.  Farmer Louisette Thibault must contain a pest outbreak at indoor farming facilities in and around Montreal, Canada. 

Climate challenges have put massive pressure on agricultural production in recent decades.  Controlled-environment agriculture has brought the production of fruits and vegetables closer to the point of consumption regardless of weather, heat, or drought. Problems around food equity and access, high-volume grain production and protein shortages remain, but these new farms are helping to reduce water consumption and carbon emissions.

We hear from Evan Fraser imagining himself as the head of composting and recycling at a farm on Mars.  He is the director of the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph and author of Dinner on Mars.  Matt Westerlund, a BCG managing director and partner, goes deep on controlled-environment agriculture. 

Climate Vision 2050 is a podcast from BCG, a global consulting firm committed to climate and sustainability action.  Join us every episode as we explore how the world radically reduced carbon emissions and stepped back from the brink of climate catastrophe. 

Shipping is propelled into the future by a force that has moved vessels since antiquity: the wind.  Ships powered with sails, kites, flettner rotors, and more sustainable fuels have aided decarbonization.  Captain Karan Sharma battles a hurricane as he competes in a company-wide efficiency rating game called GreenShip50. 

Digital tools and increased automation have transformed the shipping industry.  Today, most of our vessels and ports operate with minimal human intervention–except in emergencies. The industry also began to share data, and nations began to collaborate; critical steps to ensuring the sustainability of this industry. 

Peter Jameson, a BCG partner and sustainable shipping expert, explains how the shipping industry has evolved in recent decades. Faïg Abbasov, director of the shipping program at Transport & Environment, Europe’s leading clean transport campaign group, is also a guest 

Climate Vision 2050 is a podcast from BCG, a global consulting firm committed to climate and sustainability action.  Join us every episode as we explore how the world radically reduced carbon emissions and stepped back from the brink of climate catastrophe. 

The path to decarbonize aviation seemed insurmountable. Through new aircraft design, alternative fuels, and infrastructure improvements flying is greener than ever.  In a rush to get to the delivery room of his new baby, electric supercharging technician Paul Harper travels home on a supersonic jet run on sustainable aviation fuel. 

Since the Wright Brothers’ first flight in the early 1900s, the aviation industry has depended on fossil fuels to power planes.  Today in 2050, the industry relies on liquid hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuels, electric aircraft, and blended-wing body planes.  

Gökçin Çinar, assistant professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan and principal investigator of the Integrated Design of Environmentally-Friendly Aerospace Systems (IDEAS) Lab, explains the changes, as does Ryah Whalen, executive director of innovations at BCG Innovations. 

Climate Vision 2050 is a podcast from BCG, a global consulting firm committed to climate and sustainability action.  Join us every episode as we explore how the world radically reduced carbon emissions and stepped back from the brink of climate catastrophe. 

Nairobi’s green tech and innovation boom make it a 2050 powerhouse. That success comes with climate challenges that the city is addressing.  Urban planner Bailey Muthoni lives in housing built from plastic waste and gets around on an electric motorbike.  She stages a tactical urbanism intervention advocating for improved walkability at the city's parliament.

The city’s population has quadrupled since the 2020s, forcing it to find creative ways to house new and longtime residents while addressing poverty and inequality.  At the same time, the city had to transition to an electrified bus rapid transit system and charging infrastructure for electric motorbikes.  The city is fully powered by renewable energy.

We hear from John Kidenda imagining himself as the founder of the Nairobi Tactical startup.  He is the chief of utility operations at PowerGen Renewable Energy.  We also hear from Katie Hill, an expert leader in climate and energy technology and BCG partner. 

Climate Vision 2050 is a podcast from BCG, a global consulting firm committed to climate and sustainability action.  Join us every episode as we explore how the world radically reduced carbon emissions and stepped back from the brink of climate catastrophe.