A wide-ranging interview with Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta.

The President talks about climate change, the country's oil and gas reserves, and the nation's support for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty initiative. And he also talks about inequities in the global financial system, as well as his expectations for this year's UN 'COP30' climate summit, and next year's 'COP31' summit.

You can find out more about the President on his official website https://ramoshorta.com/.

You can find out more about Rai Matak here https://pollinationgroup.com/rai-matak/.

In this episode, Productivity Commissioner Barry Sterland chats about the Commission's new, interim clean energy and net zero report - and he touches on the other major new Commission report he has co-authored, on tax and regulatory reform. Tune in to hear what this very productive Productivity Commissioner - who is one of Australia's top climate and economic policy experts - has to say about the electricity market, environmental approvals, large emitters, carbon credits, and housing resilience!

You can find the Commission's report at https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/current/net-zero/interim.

Here at Track Changes we love feedback! Email your comments, episode suggestions etc to [email protected]. And if you like the episode, please rate it, and share it with colleagues - it helps us grow into a bigger, better podcast - thanks for tuning in!

This episode is a 'road trip' around Australia in the 'Track Changes' classic ute exploring what states and territories are doing (or undoing) on climate change and sustainability!

And it includes stopover chats with SA Deputy Premier Susan Close, The Next Economy chief executive Lizzie Webb, and Jarrod Leak, chief executive of the Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity.

Buckle up and find out which state seems to have embraced 'a future delayed in Australia'! Hear about a back-from-the-dead climate bill! Learn which regional city could soon be known for 'flying whales'!

Here at Track Changes we love feedback! Email your comments, episode suggestions etc to [email protected]. And if you like the episode please rate it, and share it with colleagues - it helps us grow into a bigger, better podcast - thanks for tuning in!

Useful links:

A2EP has a huge range of resources for businesses on existing and emerging energy technologies - https://www.a2ep.org.au.

The Next Economy has some great reports on its work with regional communities - https://nexteconomy.com.au.

Details on South Australia's Biodiversity Act are here https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/topics/biodiversity/biodiversity-act.

The three talented and insightful climate change activists/energy experts in this panel episode can see right through oil and gas industry spin - and that's because each of them used to work for a fossil fuel company.

You'll hear from Lindsey Gulden (formerly of Exxon, now with US-based Leg Up Data), Greg Bourne (ex-BP and now a Climate Council councillor after stints heading environment group WWF Australia and chairing the Australian Renewable Energy Agency), and Alex Hillman (ex-Woodside and now with the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility).

They share their unique insights into how fossil companies really think and operate. Find out:

• How the messaging from oil and gas companies differs from reality.
• How these companies have changed in recent years.
• Key steps to achieving a fossil fuel phase-down, even if these businesses refuse to willingly transition.

Here at Track Changes we love feedback! Email your comments, episode suggestions etc to [email protected]. And if you like the episode please rate it, and share it with colleagues - it helps us grow into a bigger, better podcast - thanks for tuning in!

Around the world, national governments - and sometimes state governments - operate emissions trading schemes that apply to businesses emitting large amounts of dangerous greenhouse gas.

Australia's program is called the Safeguard Mechanism, and it covers just over 200 factories, mines, and fossil fuel power stations.

Is the Safeguard tough enough? Should it be expanded to cover more sites? What will happen to the Safeguard when Australia decides on a 2035 national emissions reduction pledge?

In this episode, I chat to three Safeguard experts - Thomas Hodson and Grace Tully, both of consultancy Anthesis, and Dr Franziska Curran, an academic and consultant.

After that, I chat with Mark Tilly, Asia Pacific editor with online climate change and nature news services Carbon Pulse and Biodiversity Pulse, about what Australia's stunning federal election result - which delivered a landslide victory for Labor - means for climate change and nature policy.

Tune in to hear from this awesome foursome - Grace, Thomas, Franziska, and Mark!

Where should climate activists focus their attention now, in these difficult and frightening times? How can we make fossil fuel companies stop polluting, when they show no signs of doing so? And what changes are making it easier for activists to gain traction?

In this episode, we hear from Bill McKibben and Kafia Ahmed, who have years of activism experience and are deep thinkers about these issues. And we hear about their efforts to bring together and maximise the impact of a 70-million strong pool of potential activists who have been overlooked for too long.

Bill and Kafia talk about dealing with misinformation campaigns, the need for incentives to encourage big polluters to cut their emissions, and the need for strong punitive measures for big polluters who don't stop polluting.

And they discuss why so many companies have said they'll do the right thing on climate change, but have then backtracked.

As Bill puts it: 'these guys operate out of fear, so one of the jobs of movements is to strike enough fear into them that they do the right thing'.

Bill and Kafia also talk about Third Act, founded by Bill a few years ago, and headed by Kafia, which brings Americans aged over 60 into the climate change and social justice activism fold.

As Kafia says, the members of Third Act aren't interested in just putting their feet up. "It's all about putting your feet on the ground and stomping towards justice."

Or, as Bill puts it, Third Act members aren't fighting for their future. But they are fighting for their legacy.

Bill is a hero in the climate movement, and one of the most influential figures in climate change activism. He is a prolific author on climate change, and played a key role in founding 350.org, the first global grassroots climate organisation. He has also played a leadership role in global fossil fuel divestment campaigns.

More recently Bill founded Third Act, which has grown to a network of more than 70,000 Americans in just a few years.

Kafia Ahmed is the chief executive of Third Act, and for almost 20 years she has been organising in communities on issues including climate change, housing, racial justice, immigration, gender-based violence, and prison reform. Kafia has worked extensively in both the US and East Africa.

You can find out about Third Act here https://thirdact.org.

Bill and Kafia are currently closely involved in launching a major day of celebration of clean energy on September 21, called Sun Day. You can find more details here https://www.sunday.earth.

A hybrid episode based on the findings of a survey of 1,800 practitioners by specialist ESG recruitment agency Talent Nation.

There's some fascinating insights into trends in the ESG sector in this episode. For example:

• People are more likely to stay put in their jobs than in the previous year or two, with the exception of early career professionals.
• Very few early career professionals consider they are paid adequately.
• Women are paying a 'loyalty penalty', with women that have been in their jobs for a long time likely to be paid significantly less than their male peers.
• Three years ago 80% of sustainability managers had more than 10 years experience, compared to just under 60% this year.
• The speed with which many sustainability professionals are being promoted does raise burnout risks, particularly for professionals that have not had sufficient mentoring, or that work alone or in a small team.

This episode comprises an interview with Talent Nation founder and chief executive Richard Evans, and highlights from a webinar jointly hosted by Richard and Talent Nation principal recruitment consultant Claire Black.

You can find out more about Talent Nation and obtain a copy of the survey report at https://talentnation.com.au.

Yes, we do need carbon credits to successfully fight climate change. Despite what some say, there's no evidence that we can raise sufficient finance to successfully fight climate change without using them. And there's no way to fully decarbonise at speed without bringing them into play.

However, those involved in their creation, purchase, or use need to follow what is now well-established guidance on doing so with integrity. And they need to use them for the right purposes.

This episode on carbon credits features Michaela Morris, the newly-appointed chief executive of Tasman Environmental Markets, known as TEM, which provides carbon offsetting solutions in Australia and across the Asia-Pacific.

Michaela previously worked in a senior executive role at the prestigious Climateworks thinktank, and before that worked as a senior climate and sustainability consultant, assisting major companies with their decarbonisation and sustainability efforts.

Michaela talks about perceptions of carbon credits, outlines problems with the concept of "real zero", discusses how to wisely choose and use carbon credits, and chats about 'scope 3' emissions.

Michaela stresses the need for companies that are contemplating using credits to have science-based emissions reduction targets in place, as well as credible transition plans.

And she advises companies not to "net off" their use of carbon credits against their residual emissions in their reporting, describing it as counter-productive.

In addition, she lists four purposes for which carbon credit use is legitimate:

• dealing with residual emissions.
• going voluntarily above and beyond your target operational emissions reductions in any given year.
• investing in CO2 removal.
• smoothing your decarbonisation trajectory, while staying within your carbon budget.

You can find out more about TEM at https://www.tasmanenvironmental.com.au and you can find out about its new TEM Online Enterprise service at https://www.tasmanenvironmental.com.au/solutions/marketplace-solutions/

Could Australia's future as a renewable energy superpower encompass providing Direct Air Capture services to major international companies?

Find out in this chat with two direct air capture (DAC) experts - Julian Turecek, chief executive of Australian start-up AspiraDAC, and Professor Deanna D'Alessandro, director of Sydney University's Net Zero Institute.

Find out how DAC works, the state of play, and when the technology is likely to be ready for large-scale deployment.

You can find out more about AspiraDAC here https://www.aspiradac.com

There's more on the Net Zero Institute here https://www.sydney.edu.au/net-zero-institute/

You can find out more about the Direct Air Capture Coalition here https://daccoalition.org

Three fab guests for this new episode - talking about the use of drones to protect the environment and fight climate change!

James Schultz is the co-founder and chief executive of GreenCollar, Australia's largest provider of nature-based carbon abatement. Cam Baker is co-founder and chief executive of NZ-based EnvicoTech, a global drone company. And Joss Crawford is executive director of operations with EPA Victoria.

Drones with LiDAR, drones with buckets, drones with heat sensors, and drones that drop seed and baits. Drones that can catch crooks, and drones that empower communities. Drones that help put the 'big' in big data. Tune in to find out more!

Also, Joss mentions this excellent, non-drone-related project in our chat: https://www.monash.edu/mada/news/2021/new-tramlab-toolkits-provide-a-route-to-womens-safety-on-public-transport.

Oh, and just because it's so good, and it's sort of relevant, here is a fantastic drone display from the 2023 UN Climate Ambition summit! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drbWlcyU8tU