Utopia is Now

Bob has been the executive director of the Solar Electric Light Fund (or SELF for short) since 1997. Under his leadership, SELF has installed over 650 solar energy systems in 25 countries, making it one of the world’s leading nongovernmental organizations that designs and implements solar energy-based solutions for those living without access to electricity. An early advocate of access to energy as being essential to achieving the Millennium Development Goals, he is widely considered an authority on the subject of energy poverty. During his tenure he has broadened SELF’s mission and vision to address the broader implications of energy poverty. In 2000, he developed the Whole Village Development Model, an innovative approach for using solar energy to help communities improve their health, education, food and water security, and economic development programs. In 2008, Bob received the King Hussein Leadership Award from Her Majesty Queen Noor.

Links______________________

SELF: https://www.self.org/Partner with SELF: https://www.self.org/partner-with-us/Bob's Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bob-freling

Timestamps

__________________

0:00 - Introduction

1:12 - What is energy poverty and why is it important?

7:58 - Where is energy poverty most prevalent around the world?

11:08 - How much progress has been made with energy access over the past few decades

14:20 - What does life without electricity look like?

20:02 - What do people use at heat/light sources instead of electricity?

23:08 - The profound consequences of energy poverty

32:40 - Why can’t more communities be connected to the grid?

38:59 - What work does the Solar Electric Light Fund?

44:21 - What are the unexpected benefits of electrification?

47:36 - What is the road ahead for eliminating energy poverty and SELF?

53:20 - Final takeaways

Introduction

Today I am joined by Dr. John Cook. Dr. Cook is a Senior Research Fellow with the Melbourne Centre for Behaviour Change at the University of Melbourne. He obtained his PhD at the University of Western Australia, studying the cognitive psychology of climate science denial. His research focus is understanding and countering misinformation about climate change.

In 2007, he founded Skeptical Science, a website which won the 2011 Australian Museum Eureka Prize for the Advancement of Climate Change Knowledge and the 2016 Friend of the Planet Award from the National Center for Science Education.

John authored the book Cranky Uncle vs. Climate Change, which combines climate science, critical thinking, and cartoons to explain and counter climate misinformation. He also co-authored the college textbooks Climate Change: Examining the Facts and Climate Change Science: A Modern Synthesis, as well as the book Climate Change Denial: Heads in the Sand.

In 2013, he published a paper finding a 97% scientific consensus on human-caused global warming, a finding that has been highlighted by President Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

Links

John Cook: https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/1028119-john-cook

Cranky Uncle: https://crankyuncle.com/

Skeptical Science: https://skepticalscience.com/

Timestamps

0:00 - Introduction

1:32 - Why can’t we ignore misinformation?

2:50 - What is the difference between misinformation and disinformation?

7:20 - How has climate change denial changed over the past 20 years?

8:46 - Who are the sources of misinformation?

9:41 - Science denial is not a unique challenge

12:55 - Cognitive psychology and its importance in tackling climate change

17:55 - What are the drivers of belief in climate change misinformation?

21:23 - What are the types of climate change misinformation?

28:51 - The persuasiveness of purveyors of misinformation

31:51 - How can we counter misinformation?

42:48 - F.L.I.C.C. - The climate change misinformation taxonomy

43:40 - F - Fake experts

44:41 - L - Logical fallacies

49:37 - I - Impossible expectations

54:50 - C - Cherry-picking

59:55 - C - Conspiracy theories

1:02:28 - Misinformation breakdown - Example 1

1:08:07 - Misinformation breakdown - Example 2

1:11:19 - Misinformation breakdown - Example 3

1:17:22 - Final takeaways

Dr. Roger Cohen is an entrepreneur, focused on addressing climate change through innovative solutions. He leads C2Zero and the Real Carbon Price Index (RCPI), initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions. Roger was part of the founding team at BetaShares and has held senior roles at Macquarie Bank, Deutsche Bank, and NatWest. Roger has lectured in risk management to engineering students at the University of Sydney and serves as a senior adviser at the Monash Centre for Financial Studies. A Fulbright Scholar in the USA in 1988, Roger holds a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Sydney and is a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia.

Effectiveness of compliance market mechanisms: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2024.143761

Only 20% of emissions are covered by compliance schemes: https://www.realcarbonindex.org/

Less than 16% of carbon credits issued constitute real emission reductions.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53645-z

Corporations creating demand for low-integrity carbon offsets: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51151-w

Renewable energy offsets are no longer considered ‘high integrity’: https://icvcm.org/carbon-credits-from-current-renewable-energy-methodologies-will-not-receive-high-integrity-ccp-label/

1:00 - Consilience and Siloed Thinking

3:55 - A brief overview of carbon markets

18:06 - What are compliance carbon markets?

23:00 - Example 1: Carbon Tax

26:45 - Example 2: Emissions Trading Schemes

34:22 - Are compliance schemes effective at reducing greenhouse gas emissions?

40:00 - Are compliance schemes reducing emissions fast enough?

46:22 - Summary of compliance carbon markets discussion

47:41 - What is the voluntary carbon markets?

49:31 - What are carbon offsets?

54:47 - What is the problem with carbon offsets?

1:04:07 - Do we need carbon offsets?

1:08:57 - Prognosis on the future of carbon markets

Dr. Dhanasree Jayaram is a Senior Assistant Professor at Manipal Academy of Higher Education and serves as the co-coordinator of the Centre for Climate Studies. She specialises in geopolitics and international relations, with a focus on environmental and climate security, climate diplomacy, and environmental geopolitics in Southern Asia, the Indo-Pacific, and polar regions. Dr. Jayaram is the author of Breaking out of the Green House: Indian Leadership in Times of Environmental Change (2012) and Climate Diplomacy and Emerging Economies: India as a Case Study (2021).

Genevieve Guenther is the founding director of End Climate Silence and affiliate faculty at The New School, where she sits on the board of the Tishman Environment and Design Center. While writing the End Climate Silence newsletter, Dr. Guenther advises NGOs, corporations, and policymakers on fossil-fuel disinformation and climate communication, and she serves as an Expert Reviewer for the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Her research has appeared in both scholarly journals and media outlets such as Scientific American, The New Republic, and MSNBC, and she has been invited to speak about climate and language to audiences at Duke, Columbia, and Harvard, among other universities. She lives in New York City with her family.

Links

The Book: The Book: https://www.amazon.com.au/Language-Climate-Politics-Fossil-Fuel-Propaganda/dp/0197642233

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1hcQAzzFak4ITdykd5XvSX?si=c721b45ebe8e4e7a

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro

2:40 - How words construct our political imaginations

6:21 - Language is used and abused to influence how we think about the climate crisis

12:27 - Everything we experience is shaped by language

16:29 - The Language of Climate Politics

19:01 - A quick word game - How is the term ‘alarm-ism' being misused?

32:22 -  Facing the climate crisis with courage

35:20 - What language should we use to fight the climate crisis?

40:45 - Closing words

Dr Camelia Dewan is an environmental anthropologist focusing on the anthropology of development. She holds a PhD in Social Anthropology and Environment from the University of London (SOAS/Birkbeck) and is an Associate Senior Lecturer in Cultural Anthropology examining the socio-environmental effects of shipbreaking in Bangladesh. Dr Dewan is the author of Misreading the Bengal Delta: Climate Change, Development and Livelihoods in Coastal Bangladesh (University of Washington Press, 2021).

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jkFkD3

Timestamps

Hello All,

In this episode, I have a candid chat about where I have been and what you can expect going forward.

Timestamps

Links

Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3A4PPjZ