In The Sustainable Hour no 384 on 13 October 2021, our two guests in The Tunnel are:

John Gemmill, the Chief Executive Officer of the Clean Ocean Foundation. From John we learn about the 21-year history of the foundation, plus their current project called #StopTheRedTide – where thy are using the lessons they have gleaned from their work elsewhere to lobby for Warrnambool’s sewerage processing to be upgraded. It is time to put a cost on pollution as we ask: “What is a Red Tide worth? What is stopping it worth?”

Alan Taylor, who works as a sustainability coach at multinational health insurance company British United Provident Association, Bupa. Yet another enthusiastic guest, Alan tells us about how seriously Bupa is taking responsibility for their emissions internationally. BUPA wants to make a positive impact on the word, contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and climate action is a critical priority for the company, considered “the defining agenda”. “We also know that being a responsible business underpins our long-term success,” Bupa states on his home page.

Alan also works with a small group of professional coaches and psychologists across three continents – Europe, North America and Australasia – who are working with the global Climate Coaching Alliance to co-create effective methods to support organisations and their employees in taking effective action towards climate change. They are currently offering up to five organisations across the globe the opportunity to participate in a group coaching programme. This programme draws on innovative approaches that build employees’ awareness at a deeper personal level, moving from avoidant to adaptive ways of coping and engaging in effective behavioural strategies at an individual and collective level.

Mik Aidt starts off the hour by calling out our elected political representatives for the obscene amounts of money being given to the fossil fuel industries and the fact that coal mines are still being approved by the relevant ministers. In support with the school students who will be on the streets climate-striking again this Friday, Mik calls for nothing less than a climate revolution.

The fact that this revolution has already kicked off globally became evident during a five-day online conference last week, Daring Cities, where one city mayor after the next talked about how they are busy transforming their cities into areas that take more carbon out of the atmosphere than they put in. We play an excerpt from a speech by the mayor of Turku in Finland,