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-frelingTimestamps__________________0:00 - Introduction1:12 - 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 decades14:20 - 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 poverty32:40 - 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

IntroductionToday 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.LinksJohn Cook: https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/1028119-john-cookCranky Uncle: https://crankyuncle.com/Skeptical Science: https://skepticalscience.com/Timestamps0:00 - Introduction1:32 - 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 challenge12:55 - Cognitive psychology and its importance in tackling climate change17:55 - 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 misinformation31:51 - How can we counter misinformation?42:48 - F.L.I.C.C. - The climate change misinformation taxonomy43:40 - F - Fake experts44:41 - L - Logical fallacies49:37 - I - Impossible expectations54:50 - C - Cherry-picking59:55 - C - Conspiracy theories1:02:28 - Misinformation breakdown - Example 11:08:07 - Misinformation breakdown - Example 21:11:19 - Misinformation breakdown - Example 31:17:22 - 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. Links ____________________________________ Roger’s Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/portablebeta/ 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/ Timestamps ____________________________________ 0:00 Intro 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

George Marshall (born 1964) is a British environmental campaigner, communications specialist and writer. He is the founder of Climate Outreach and is a specialist in climate communication. He is the author of Carbon Detox (2007) and Don't Even Think About It: Why Our Brains Are Wired to Ignore Climate Change (2014). Links ______________________________ Profile: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/climategeorgeIntergroup Conflict Paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ejsp.3127 Conservative vs Socialist Paper: https://theconversation.com/conservative-governments-protect-more-land-while-socialists-and-nationalists-threaten-more-species-236519 Timestamps ______________________________ 0:00 - Introduction 0:22 - Why psychology is critical to mitigating the impact of climate change 9:33 - How can we communicate more effectively on climate change? 14:29 - Can climate change be addressed as a policy issue, rather than a political issue? 22:07 - Building broader political identities to mobilise action on Climate Change 32:38 - The need for trusted messengers 43:00 - How to push beyond political identities to mobilise action? 51:39 - The weaknesses of climate change as a motivator for action

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). Links ______________________________ Profile: https://www.manipal.edu/gir/department-faculty/faculty-list/dr--dhanasree-jayaram-ms--ph-d/_jcr_content.html Timestamps ______________________________ 0:00 - Dr Jayaram’s background 6:30 - What is geopolitics, and why does it matter? 11:57 - How do geopolitical and security concerns intersect with climate change? 17:57 - Examples of geopolitics and climate change 25:23 - Geopolitics is an overlooked issue with considerations to climate change 31:44 - What is climate diplomacy? 37:00 - Do we need ‘climate-borders’? 44:45 - Is climate change one of the biggest security risks for countries around the world? 49:19 - Corporations influence on geopolitics 55:20 - Final takeaway

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 _______________________ Genevieve Guenther: ⁠https://genevieveguenther.com/ 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 Instagram/Twitter/Linkedin: ‪@utopiaisnow‬ 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). Links _______________________ Camelia Dewan: https://www.uu.se/en/contact-and-orga... Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jkFkD3 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3A4PPjZ Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/2SwB9Jr Instagram/Twitter/Linkedin: ‪@utopiaisnow‬ Timestamps ____________________ 0:00 - What does it mean to be an anthropologist? 5:25 - Climate discourse about Bangladesh 13:29 - Climate victimisation and Bangladesh’s environmental history 26:25 - Climate reductionisms in Bangladesh 36:15 - The politics of climate change 47:35 - Parting thoughts 52:22- Key takeaways Credits ____________________ Thumbnail: Headshot Music: A Journey Through The Universe – Lesion X #anthropology #climatechange #bangladesh

Dr Jeff Rotman is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Marketing and co-director of the Better Consumption Lab at Deakin Business School. He is the recipient of the 2021 Vice-Chancellor’s Early Career Researcher Award for Career Excellence. He specialises in research on consumer psychology with a specific focus on the areas of ethics, emotion, and sustainability. Links _______________________ Jeff Rotman: https://www.deakin.edu.au/about-deakin/people/jeffrey-rotman Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jkFkD3 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3A4PPjZ Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/2SwB9Jr Instagram/Twitter/Linkedin: @utopiaisnow Timestamps ____________________ 0:00 - Teaser 1:34 - Our minds handle risk strangely – and that’s partly why we delayed climate action so long 12:46 - What is motivated reasoning and why is it crucial to understand? 22:18 - Group identity and survival 33:07 - Us vs. them morality, selective reasoning, and green beard traits 46:19 - What are the ways we can shift our perception to mitigating climate change? 53:28 - Is shame an effective motivator in mitigating climate change? 1:03:12 - Status seeking as a strategy for encouraging green solutions 1:09:28 - The one marketing insight that everyone should know 1:12:50 - What is Jeff’s Utopia? Credits ____________________ Thumbnail: Headshot Music: A Journey Through The Universe – Lesion X

Dr Robin Lamboll researches what humans emit into our atmosphere, what effects it will have on us, and what we can do about it. Robin completed a PhD in the physics of solar cells at the University of Cambridge, modeling the behavior of new designs of solar cells, and has an MSci in Natural Sciences from Cambridge. Robin has previously worked as a quantitative consultant and successfully represented the UK in multiple international poetry slams. Links _______________________ Robin Lamboll: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/people/r.lamboll Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jkFkD3 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3A4PPjZ Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/2SwB9Jr Instagram/Twitter/Linkedin: @utopiaisnow Timestamps ____________________ 0:00 - Teaser 0:59 - Why do we need to limit average warming to 1.5°C? 4:06 - What is the importance of limiting every fraction of a degree past 1.5°C? 5:33 - The frightening reality of climate science 10:14 - Robin’s research on the latest carbon budget 13:39 - If every country implemented its current policy commitments, would we limit warming to 1.5°C? 16:20 - How accurate is the current carbon budget assessment? 20:01 - How do we assess how much (CO2) to emit annually? 25:25 - Implementing the insights of the carbon budget 27:05 - The curious effect of dust and aerosols on global temperatures 35:31 - What are tipping points and why are they critical to the climate discourse 41:23 - What is the punchline of Robin's research? Credits ____________________ Thumbnail: Headshot Music: A Journey Through The Universe – Lesion X #carbonbudget #climatechange #climateaction

Professor Harini Nagendra is the Director of the Research Centre at Azim Premji University in Bangalore, India, and leads the University’s Centre for Climate Change and Sustainability. Nagendra is known for her research spanning over 30 years on forest conservation, and urban sustainability, with several seminal publications in both areas of work. Her interdisciplinary work on forests combines remote sensing, biodiversity studies, and institutional analysis, and is recognised for elucidating the link between pattern and process in the human-dominated landscapes of South Asia. Links _______________________ Harini Nagendra: https://azimpremjiuniversity.edu.in/people/harini-nagendra Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3jkFkD3 Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/3A4PPjZ Google Podcast: https://bit.ly/2SwB9Jr Instagram/Twitter/Linkedin: @utopiaisnow Timestamps ____________________ 0:00 - Teaser 1:06 - Introduction 13:30 - If you could share one thing about India, what would it be? 15:03 - How much does India’s ecological history inform India today? 18:01 - Western vs Eastern mismatch of environmental problems and solutions 28:13 - How is India experiencing Climate Change? 32:15 - How is the Indian government responding to environmental & climate-related disasters? 35:04 - Transdisciplinarity, cognitive dissonance, and growth vs environmentalism 50:41 - The importance of culture, art, and literature in creating change 58:19 - Harini Insights as an author of fictional novels? 1:05:32 - Is a Green Party viable in India?< 1:10:40 - Outlook of India's environment Credits ____________________ Thumbnail: Headshot Music: A Journey Through The Universe – Lesion X #ecology #climatechange #india