In this Ready Living Podcast episode, sustainability and technology leader Tom Raftery pulls back the curtain on the myth that renewable energy isn't powerful enough to fuel the world’s future.

He exposes the forces behind this engineered narrative, why it persists, and calls for accountability on part of fossil fuel companies, their financial enablers, and the public relations firms that have spent decades manufacturing doubt about climate science.

He explains how terms like “clean coal” and “renewable natural gas” were deliberately created to sanitize harmful emissions, while the concept of “personal carbon footprint” was invented to shift responsibility away from major emitters.

And although individuals’ choices matter, he argues that they pale in comparison to the need for structural change, public-sector leadership, and accountability on part of the wealthiest 1% whose emissions surpass those of millions.

He also talks about the geopolitical and economic forces shaping the future of energy, highlighting the explosive global growth of renewables, particularly China’s extraordinary clean-tech industrialization, which contrasts with the United States’ recent retreat from climate leadership.

Rich in data and sharply drawn analogies, he explains what the real numbers reveal about clean power’s increasing rise and why the economic case for renewable energy has never been stronger. 

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