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Dealing with the Climate Crisis
Anthony Day helps you plan a sustainable future with expert guests and reports on green technologies from across a warming world.
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We're just 23 days away from COP 26, the United Nations climate conference which will be held in Glasgow from 31st October to 12th November. We’ve just come to the end of the Conservative party conference here in the UK; the party in government. A conference where the Home Secretary promised draconian measures to criminalise protesters, including those who are urging the government to take urgent action to address the climate emergency.
COP26 and Insulate Britain. These are the two key issues I’ll discuss today. I’ll also tell you about plans for extra editions of the Sustainable Futures Report, coming soon.
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Yes, October already. I've had a break during September, although I hosted two panel events for York Environment Week during the month. You can find links to the recordings on YouTube below.
York Environment Week
My first forum was about Sustainability for SMEs,
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As XR begins two weeks of protest I report on their progress. I bring you more news and ideas about hydrogen, a new technique for energy storage and details of two panel sessions I’ll be hosting next month.
This is the very last episode for August and indeed the last episode before Friday 1st October.
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No, if you’ve ever listened to the Sustainable Futures Report you’ll know that I don’t deny the climate emergency, but there are many who do.
This week I’m talking about denialists and about those in denial. Also this week, hydrogen - should it be grey, green or blue, or is it a red herring? Should Alok Sharma - president delegate and key driver of COP26 - be driving a diesel car? As Biden and Boris both burnish their green credentials why are they both encouraging the extraction of more oil and coal? We close with an interview with the team at Bucha Bio: young entrepreneurs replacing a traditional material with a sustainable alternative.
Front Page News
Although Afghanistan has driven the climate emergency and everything else off the front pages, there are still articles and comment about that IPCC report on the inside pages, and denialists to condemn the message.
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On the heels of extreme weather, from Siberia to China, from Canada to California, from Germany to Greece comes the most alarming report yet from the IPCC. It's Friday, the 13th of August 2021. What an auspicious date!
AR6
If you follow the Sustainable Futures Report, by now you will have worked your way through all the masses of press coverage
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This is episode number 350 of your Sustainable Futures Report. The main part of today's episode is an interview with Ross O’Ceallaigh of the Green Urbanist podcast.
In other news the Siberian heatwave has led to new methane emissions, foreign control of North Sea oil licences threatens UK’s net zero goal, three and a half average Americans could be causing one death, high speed rail, HS2, may never reach the end of the line and there are new insights from Allegra Stratton, the Prime Minister’s climate crisis spokesperson.
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Yes, those wildfires are still burning, and people are still facing the devastation of the floods in Europe, India and China. Scientists are blamed for not seeing it coming and journalists are being harassed for reporting it.
There are reports from the OBR, the National Infrastructure Commission, the Climate Crisis Advisory Group, the Met Office and the Climate Change Committee. There’s also a lot of news, comment, questions and promises about COP26. Suddenly, after decades of scientific concern, people seem to be taking the possibility of a climate crisis seriously.
This is an extra edition of the Sustainable Futures Report. I’ve put it together because there’s so much going on. I know your time is precious, so I didn’t want to add this to a regular edition and make it too long. If you want to save time you can skip to the links below to all these stories.
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This week there’s so much sustainability and climate news that I’m holding it back for an extra episode which will be with you next Tuesday 3rd August.
Before we talk about rewilding there’s news from Ireland of creative and artistic projects with the aim of engaging the public about the changes people will have to make to address climate change.
The projects include coastal light installations, reimagined Bord na Mona villages, decarbonisation projects and pop-up energy stores.
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Wake Up! Wake Up! This is your final wake-up call. Or is it?
Floods, fires and fatalities. Time for action at last?
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China is the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases. China is the world’s biggest manufacturer of solar panels. China has the world’s biggest population of any country. The list goes on. Whatever China does affects the world. We won’t solve the climate crisis without China.
Welcome
Welcome to all my listeners and especially to all you loyal Patrons. (patreon.com/sfr)
Chinese Communist Party 100 Years
China is frequently in the news.
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Sustainable Business for SMEs, wildfires and extreme temperatures, warnings from the IPCC, John Kerry and the new Climate Crisis Advisory Group and the BBC has a change of heart.
First of all let me welcome our latest patron, Sam Styles. Welcome Sam, thanks for becoming a patron and thanks for your support. I hope you enjoy the Sustainable Futures Report and please do get in touch to share any ideas you have about how we could make the podcast better or topics which should be included.
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This week Climate Action staged the Climate Innovation Forum 2021, a three-day event. I got a press pass and I’ll share my review of some of the sessions. Also on this week’s agenda: more on the nuclear plant at Taishan, extreme weather in North America, shortfalls in the UK, and the future of the Sustainable Futures Report.
The Friendly Futurist
I’d like to draw your attention to The Friendly Futurist with Dave Monk. He talks about climate change, but in the context of many other things which are changing our future. “Each week,” he says, “we chat with experts in
Blockchain, Cryptocurrency, The Metaverse, Agtech, Future of Food, Future of Work, Future of Energy, Biotech, Transhumanism, Biohacking, AI, Quantum Computing, Regenerative Agriculture, Nanotechnology, Climate Change, Electric Vehicles, Space Exploration, Introduction of UBI (Universal Basic Income), Return to Slow Fashion and so much more.” Plenty there to exercise the intellect! Find The Friendly Futurist on Apple podcasts or your favourite podcast site. I’ve put a link on the Sustainable Futures Report website where, as you know, you’ll also find the full text of every episode of this podcast with links to all my sources.
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Last week the leaders of seven powerful nations met in the UK. Let’s look at what they said and indeed what they didn't say. I also have the usual miscellanea to share with you, and some thoughts on the future of the Sustainable Futures Report.
G7
The G7, a group of world leaders discussing global issues. One of the major topics it discussed was relations with China, a country not invited to the table despite being a major world power. The Chinese reaction was that the time is past for small groups of countries to think they could rule the world. Russia was not there either. Russia was expelled from the former G8 in response to the annexation of the Crimea in Ukraine.
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No clear theme this week. G-7 is still going on so I can only report on speculation rather than outcomes. We look at a potential pitfall of trade deals, analyse rain in Newcastle, I'll draw your attention to some events which look interesting and there is more, yes more, about bitcoin. In the Amazon region they have been living in harmony with nature for some 5,000 years. Then civilisation happened.
Hello I'm Anthony Day. Welcome to the Sustainable Futures Report for Friday, the 11th of June 2021, episode number 342.
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Last week Business Green staged an important conference - Net Zero Nature. I share some of the insights I gained. In other news, some thoughts about G7 - the upcoming intergovernmental conference, a missed opportunity for green recovery, more reaction to the news about Shell, blowing hot and cold on energy storage, is public transport the way forward? And a bit of mining in the West Midlands.
Yes, I’m Anthony Day, it’s Friday 4th June and this your Sustainable Futures Report. Just the thing to listen to while you’re dozing in the sunshine.
No, don’t doze - pay attention!
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Should the Nord Stream 2 pipeline face sanctions following this week’s air piracy by Russian ally Belarus? Oil company Shell faces continued protests and car manufacturers - and other industries - find the chips are down. In the hunt for rare metals, mining may come back to the UK. Will it cause as much pollution as mining for bitcoin - now opening new markets for coal-generated electricity? Restaurant chain Nando's announces plans to go carbon neutral by November while McDonald's is under siege from Animal Extinction protesters.
It’s Friday. It’s 28th May 2021 and I’m Anthony Day. Before you rush off to enjoy your Bank Holiday Monday, that's a public holiday for those not in the UK, take a moment to listen to the latest Sustainable Futures Report.
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This week Fatih Birol, Executive Director of the International Energy Agency, said that exploitation and development of new oil and gas fields must stop this year and no new coal-fired power stations could be built for the world to stay within safe limits of global heating and meet the goal of net zero emissions by 2050.
Meeting net zero is one target, but meeting increasing energy demand is another. How do we do this without fossil fuels? Is there a role for nuclear power to make up the shortfall?
Recently I met with three experts to discuss this point.
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A lot more stories, actually. I'm trying to get to grips with the stories that I haven't covered over the last four or five weeks. Links to all the sources, as usual, below. There’s a whole range of issues which I’ve loosely grouped into Energy, Science and Warning Signs, Managing the Message, and Inconsistencies, Greenwash and Counter-Intuitive ideas. With that last category in mind, let’s look at the East Yorkshire Oilfields.
Welcome
Hello, I’m Anthony Day. Welcome to the Sustainable Futures Report, recognised as one of the 20 Best Podcasts About Climate Change of 2021 by https://prettyprogressive.com/20-best-podcasts-about-climate-change-of-2021/
It’s Friday 14th May 2021. A special welcome to all my patrons who help keep this award-winning show on the road with a small monthly contribution. If you like the Sustainable Futures Report why don’t you join them? Details at patreon.com/sfr.
East Yorkshire Oilfield
Yorkshire? Yes, in the northeast of England. The Yorkshire coalfield, no longer exploited, is massive, so it’s not surprising that there should be other hydrocarbons like oil and gas to be found. Rathlin Energy has two wells at West Newton in rural East Yorkshire and now wants to drill another six. You can see a virtual consultation on line, but you have to register your name and address before you can get access to the Rathlin website. There’s a link below.
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Almost exactly a year ago to the day I spoke to James Dyke about progress towards solving the climate crisis. He is co-author of a recently-published article entitled Concept of Net Zero is a Dangerous Trap. I thought it was time to invite him back.
Dr James Dyke is Assistant Director of the Global Systems Institute, and Programme Director of the MSc Global Sustainability Solutions at the University of Exeter, UK. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a member of the European Geophysical Union and serves on the editorial board of the journal Earth System Dynamics.
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Joe Biden hosted a climate summit last week. Greta Thunberg accused leaders of still talking and not doing, and nine women were arrested for breaking windows at the HQ of HSBC, a major investor in fossil fuel industries. Talk Radio wanted to know what I thought about it all. You’ll hear what I told them.
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About Anthony Day
A weekly podcast and blog brought to you by Anthony Day. A selection of stories and interviews aiming to be sustainable, topical and interesting.
And also, I do address conferences.
