Energy vs Climate

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Octopus Energy paid its UK customers collectively over £100,000 during a recent heat wave, not through new infrastructure, but a text message and a price signal offering demand flexibility. That caught our attention.

In this episode, Ed and Sara (David sits this one out) talk with Eric Davids, Head of Strategy for Octopus Energy's US business, about redefining utility-customer relationships, how approaches in the UK stack up against North American utilities' much blunter "please conserve" grid alerts, and what happens when consumers get real price exposure and it doesn't go well.

🎙️ TIMESTAMPS
0:50 – Episode intro
1:54 – Welcome Eric Davids
5:55 – What is demand flexibility?
7:38 – Inside Octopus's £100K UK heat wave response
9:49 – Alberta's grid alerts vs. Octopus's incentives
22:09 – Guardrails against price exposure risk (Winter Storm Uri)
28:19 – Is this just another hype cycle?
35:43 – Equity and the energy transition

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They say there's no growth without feedback. This season, you've given us plenty of it.

In this episode, David, Sara, and Ed do something most podcasters shouldn't do: they read the comments. Out loud and on purpose.

Some feedback was positive. Some was additive. Some fell into the category we're calling "strongly suggestive."

If you've ever left a comment on an EvC clip wondering whether David, Sara and Ed actually saw it: they did. This is what they had to say back.

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Ed's new project, Critical Mass, starts with a deceptively simple question: if Canada decides it wants more nuclear power, can it actually deliver it? The answer turns out to be complicated.

As part of the project, we're hosting four live town halls across the country. The first was recorded at Toronto Climate Week on June 5, featuring Todd Smith (former Ontario Minister of Energy, now VP at Candu Energy) and Brendan Frank (VP of Policy at Clean Prosperity). Together they work through the project's core tensions - cost, democratic legitimacy, and standardization - with the kind of honest talk you've come to expect from EvC.

Thank you to Geoff Burt and The Consecon Foundation for helping make the evening possible.

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The aftershocks of the Iran war are reshaping energy markets, investment decisions, and climate politics in very different ways around the world.

David, Sara, and Ed sat down with Vijay Vitheeswaran, Global Energy and Climate Innovation Editor at The Economist and 2025 Energy Writer of the Year, to discuss the shock rippling through energy markets since the war in Iran began.

On one side are forces accelerating the energy transition like electrification, EV adoption, solar deployment, and rapidly scaling clean tech. On the other are forces pushing toward deeper fossil fuel lock in: energy security fears, coal expansion, oil investment surges, and persistent fossil fuel subsidies. Which force is actually winning?

The conversation covered a lot of ground — from samosa vendors in Delhi packing up because cooking fuel tripled in price, to what a potential OPEC collapse could mean for the oil sands.

This show's a great listen, especially if you're trying to make sense of a world where the energy transition and fossil fuel lock-in are happening simultaneously.

About Our Guest:

Vijay Vaitheeswaran is the Global Energy & Climate Innovation Editor of The Economist. He has produced numerous cover stories and won awards for his reporting. He is an accomplished public speaker and his three books have created a stir, with accolades ranging from lengthy reviews in The New Yorker to shortlisting for the FT/McKinsey Business Book of the Year prize. The Financial Times has declared him to be “a writer to whom it is worth paying attention.”

Vijay is a Life Member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He serves as an advisor on innovation to the World Economic Forum/Davos, and has taught at NYU Stern Business School and Northwestern University. Vijay is an alumnus of Harvard Business School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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Nuclear is having a global moment. But the story in Canada is a lot more complicated.

David, Sara, and Ed sat down with Prof. Jason Donev of the University of Calgary for a full, unsparing look at where nuclear fits in a rapidly growing and electrifying Canadian grid.

Jason is one of the clearest thinkers on energy systems in the country. He's also someone who started out opposed to nuclear and changed his mind.

We set this episode up to tackle two questions. First, what is the case for new nuclear right now, given rising electricity demand from electrification, industry, and AI. And second, why Canada, despite decades of experience, has struggled to build new projects beyond Ontario and New Brunswick.

A few things you'll hear about:

Canada had a nuclear accident in 1952. Jimmy Carter helped clean it up.
“Small” modular reactors can be up to 300 megawatts. A CANDU is closer to 700. “Small” is a relative term.
Darlington’s BWRX-300 is a closely watched test case for Western SMRs. Will costs fall with follow-on units, or will nuclear repeat its Achilles heel and get more expensive?

It turned into a lively and wide-ranging conversation on costs, timelines, small modular reactors, and the deeper issue that keeps coming up with nuclear. The physics may be solved, but the politics and institutions are not.

About Our Guest:Prof. Jason Donev is a tenured professor teaching Energy Science and Physics at the University of Calgary. He leads EnergyEducation.ca, the world’s largest and most widely used energy resource for adults.

Timestamps:(00:00) Introduction
(02:20) Jason's journey from nuclear skeptic to advocate
(06:53) A brief history of nuclear in Canada
(12:39) Canada's nuclear accident record — what really happened
(17:56) The global nuclear resurgence: 40 countries, tripling by 2050
(20:27) SMRs: hype vs. reality
(22:58) Is nuclear being used to delay climate action?
(30:09) Why Western nuclear costs are "a joke" — and what to do about it
(31:57) Nuclear waste: real problem or political football?
(36:06) Why nuclear needs BOTH big business AND big government
(52:07) What should Canada actually do?

🔗 Related Episodes:
⚛️ The Nuclear Debate with Elizabeth May (S1, Ep. 10)
🔄 Turn the Tables
Full References & Notes

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EvC Superfan and fellow energy nerd Robert Tremblay turns the tables on Sara and Ed — asking the questions the podcast usually doesn't: how EvC started, the energy transition over the 7 seasons of the show, what's changed, and whether any of it is working.

They get into their backgrounds, the EvC origin story (are the rumours about Danielle Smith true?), how the show has evolved, and what they actually think about Canada's climate trajectory. Plus a rapid-fire round... well, at least as rapid-fire as EvC gets.

Topic Timestamps

00:00:20 — Intro and episode setup

00:01:07 — Hosts' backgrounds before the podcast

00:07:09 — Origin story: how EvC came to be

00:12:56 — How things have changed since 2020: energy data and political landscape

00:23:04 — Is the Energy vs. Climate premise still relevant?

00:30:35 — Alberta/Canada focus vs. international scope

00:34:30 — Can Alberta lead the energy transition?

00:38:48 — Climate targets: useful or counterproductive?

00:43:00 — Rapid fire questions

About Our Guest Host:
Rob Tremblay is Policy Manager at Energy Storage Canada, where he leads policy analysis and advocacy efforts across Alberta while contributing to federal and technical policy initiatives nationally. He also Co-Chairs the Board of the Calgary Climate Hub. He's passionate about advancing the energy transition and is a frequent Energy vs Climate listener and questioner.

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Energy vs Climate X Climate Books Reviews

This week we're sharing an episode from Ed's other podcast, Climate Book Reviews, co-hosted with Dr. Roger Thompson of Arizona State University.

Their guest is John Vaillant, author of Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast. (US and International - Fire Weather: A True Story from a Hotter World)

Many listeners will know Vaillant from his earlier books The Golden Spruce and The Tiger, both gripping works of narrative nonfiction. In Fire Weather, he turns his attention to the massive 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire and what it tells us about the new era of extreme fire.

In this episode:

How the Fort McMurray fire burned for a week straight — and why traditional firefighting was useless
The concept of "fire weather" and why wildfires are now generating their own atmospheric systems
The oil industry's early awareness of climate change and the shift to deliberate misinformation
Attribution science: can we prove a specific wildfire was caused by climate change?
What hope looks like in the face of an altered climate

Chapters:
00:00 Cold Open: When Firestorms Become Unstoppable
01:00 Welcome & Introducing John Vaillant
03:00 The Fort McMurray Fire: Inside the Inferno
09:00 Writing Fire — Craft, Research & the Book's Structure
17:00 Community Heroes & Local Response
20:00 We've Altered the Climate: A Shift in Consciousness
23:00 Fire Tornadoes & Australia's Black Summer
28:00 Attribution Science: Proving Climate Change Caused This
33:00 Fire Weather: The New Physics of Wildfire
35:00 The Oil Industry Knew: The Greatest Betrayal
40:00 The Rising Wave of Wildfire Literature
42:00 Finding Hope in the Age of Fire

References & notes

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The Iran war and the near-closure of the Strait of Hormuz have triggered a major shock to global oil and LNG markets.

Roughly 20 million barrels of oil per day normally move through Hormuz. The IEA says nearly all of that has been disrupted.

Oil and gas prices have surged sharply; and the disruption extends well beyond oil as Qatari LNG exports have been largely severed. Asia is especially exposed, since most Gulf energy exports flow there.

This isn’t just an oil story. It’s a “can people cook dinner” story, a reminder that geopolitics gets real once it enters the kitchen.

In this episode, David, Sara, and Ed unpack what this shock means for global energy markets, the climate, and the pace of the energy transition.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
00:17 — Welcome & episode overview
01:54 — How the Iran War is disrupting oil & gas markets
07:28 — 30x induction stove sales in India & accelerating tech adoption
09:38 — AI forecasts say EV sales are rising because of the war?
13:00 — The coming LNG whipsaw: glut or shortage?
16:21 — How much wilder could this get? Escalation risks
17:07 — Global recession risk from tariffs + oil shocks
17:30 — Has the Iran War accelerated peak global emissions?
19:36 — Data centers, energy demand & geopolitics in the kitchen
26:54 — What the war means for Canadian oil, gas & LNG exports
29:49 — Federal-Alberta MOU & pipeline politics
30:52 — The war's legacy: will it help or hurt the energy transition?

References & Notes

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Vijay Gadepally joins Ed and Sara to break down the real energy footprint of AI—and why most people (and companies) are getting it wrong.

They discuss:

How "agentic" AI systems use an order of magnitude more energy than ChatGPT.
Whether efficiency gains can keep pace with exploding usage (spoiler: not yet).
The one simple change that could cut AI energy use by 80%.

Vijay is Senior Scientist at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory Supercomputing Center and Co-Founder of Bay Compute and Radium Cloud. He studies what's actually happening under the hood of AI systems—and has the data to back it up. If you've been wondering whether AI is derailing the clean energy transition, or whether smarter software design could keep energy use in check, this is the conversation you need to hear.

🎙️ TIMESTAMPS
00:00:00 - Introduction & Cold Open
00:01:17 - Welcome & Guest Introduction
00:02:59 - Agentic AI: The New Energy Problem
00:04:10 - A Brief History of AI: From Expert Systems to LLMs
00:08:43 - Agentic AI vs. LLMs vs. Reasoning Models Explained
00:10:00 - The Energy Reality: One AI Node = 10-15 Homes
00:14:13 - Why Energy Consumption is Unpredictable
00:16:02 - The Big Flip: Training vs. Inference Energy Use
00:26:22 - What Does "Efficient AI" Actually Mean?
00:29:37 - Are Tech Companies Optimizing for Energy or Market Share?
00:36:20 - The Low-Hanging Fruit: Cutting AI Energy Use by 80%

Full notes & references

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This episode is different. We're tackling China's energy transition, and instead of David, Sara, and Ed just talking about it, they went out and interviewed different experts on the subject.

Why China? Because it's arguably the most important energy story on the planet right now. China is the world's largest emitter. It's also the world's largest investor in clean energy. It manufactures the lion's share of solar panels, batteries, and now electric vehicles in the world.

Functionally, what happens there determines whether the world has any real shot at meeting long-term climate targets.

David spoke with Andrew Light, distinguished professor at George Mason University and former Senior Climate Official in the Biden administration.

Sara talked with Jeremy Wallace, professor of China Studies at John Hopkins and Christina Pan, a PhD candidate at Cornell researching renewable energy in China.

And Ed interviewed Hong Li, a professor at the Institute of Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and an expert on battery chemistry.

Three different perspectives followed by David, Sara, and Ed trying to make sense of it all.

🎙️ TIMESTAMPS
00:13 - Intro: The scale of China's ambition
01:44 - David Keith interviews Andrew Light
03:33 - How China took over the Solar industry
04:55 - The massive Nuclear build-out: "Too small?"
11:08 - US vs. China: The clean energy arms race
15:30 - Sara Hastings-Simon interviews Jeremy Wallace & Christina Pan
24:48 - Will China's emissions peak before 2030?
29:48 - State Control vs. Ruthless Competition: What drives the growth?
40:11 - Ed Whittingham interviews Hong Li: The view from inside China
48:34 - EvC Roundtable: What can the West learn from China's speed?

Show notes & references on episode page.

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Recorded live at the Energy Transition Centre in Calgary, David, Sara, and Ed took on one of the toughest questions in Canadian climate politics: what does energy transition actually look like for Alberta?

They dug into emissions, economics, diversification, and the uncomfortable trade-offs that tend to get glossed over in public debate.

It's a fun conversation with an extended Q&A from the live audience.

Just a note, unfortunately we had some mic issues so apologies for any audio hiccups you might notice.

🎙️ TIMESTAMPS
00:00:00 - Introduction & Welcome to Calgary
00:04:00 - Alberta's Hard Truths: Oil Dependence & Petro State Reality
00:10:00 - EV Growth & Peak Oil Demand by 2030
00:19:00 - China's Energy Bet: Lucky or Strategic?
00:22:00 - Alberta's Path Forward: What Should We Bet On?
00:25:00 - Can We Bend Emissions Without Breaking the Economy?
00:33:00 - Economic Diversification: Beyond Oil & Gas
00:42:00 - Oil Sands Resilience in a Disordered World
00:49:00 - Audience Q&A: Heavy Oil & Emissions Intensity
00:59:00 - Q&A: China and Climate Politics
01:11:00 - Q&A: Should Climate Be on Alberta's Election Agenda?
01:16:00 - Rapid Fire Q&A: TMX, Renewables vs Fossil Fuels, Carbon Tax
01:22:00 - Closing & Credits

Thanks as always to Avatar Innovations for being such gracious hosts.

🔗 LINKS

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Can we have guilt-free flying?

David, Sara, and Ed chat with Sebastian Eastham, associate professor of sustainable aviation at Imperial College London, about the climate impacts of aviation and what we can actually do about it.

The conversation covers immediate levers like contrail avoidance and operational changes that don't require waiting decades for new tech—plus the real potential (and limitations) of sustainable aviation fuels.

It's a lively and at times blunt conversation, with sharp audience questions and limited patience for climate cosplay. You'll get the cosplay bit once you listen...

🎙️ TIMESTAMPS
00:18 - Introduction
01:15 - Webinar Start
46:00 - Audience Q&A

🔗 LINKS
Full show notes
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About Our Guest

Seb Eastham is the Associate Professor for Sustainable Aviation at Imperial College London. An atmospheric scientist and aeronautical engineer, he seeks to understand what the true environmental impacts of aerospace activity are and what we can do about them. He develops and applies novel numerical models of the atmosphere, ranging from the scale of a single exhaust plume up to the global Earth system, to provide new understanding of those impacts and guide the development of new solutions to support a growing and sustainable aerospace sector. One of his current focus areas is to find robust strategies to reduce (or eliminate) the climate impacts of condensation trails, currently thought to be responsible for up to half of aviation's contributions to climate change.

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You asked — David, Sara, and Ed answered.

We're wrapping up the year with our annual Ask EvC Anything episode, touching on topics that pair well with New Year's bubbly: We talk about whether Canada’s climate targets are quietly slipping out of reach, the practicalities and prospects of direct air capture, what a net zero electricity grid in Alberta might actually look like by 2050, whether shiny new materials like metal organic frameworks are breakthrough solutions or just the latest carbon hype cycle, and why we call the show Energy vs Climate.

References & Show Notes available on episode page.

About Your Co-Hosts:

David Keith is Professor and Founding Faculty Director, Climate Systems Engineering Initiative at the University of Chicago. He is the founder of Carbon Engineering and was formerly a professor at Harvard University and the University of Calgary. He splits his time between Canmore and Chicago.

Sara Hastings-Simon studies energy transitions at the intersection of policy, business, and technology. She’s a policy wonk, a physicist turned management consultant, and a professor at the University of Calgary where she teaches in the Energy Science program, and co-leads the Net Zero Electricity Research Initiative. She has a particular interest in the mid-transition.

Ed Whittingham isn’t a physicist but is a passionate environmental professional. He is the founder of Advance Carbon Removal, a coalition advancing demand side solutions for carbon removal in Canada. He is also the former CEO of the Pembina Institute, Canada’s widely respected energy/environment NGO. His op-eds have been published in newspapers and magazines across Canada and internationally.

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A look back at the biggest energy stories of 2025 and some crystal ball gazing about what to watch for in 2026.

David, Sara and Ed chat with Robbie Orvis, Senior Director of Modeling & Analysis at Energy Innovation, an American Think Tank.

The show was set up to do two things: First, to sort out what genuinely shifted in 2025 and what didn't. Second, to build a 2026 energy and climate watch list that helps separate real transition signals from the noise and the hype.

It's a lively conversation with great audience questions - a sign that people are trying to make sense of a confusing year.

References & notes available on episode page.

About Our Guest:

Robbie Orvis is Senior Director, Modeling & Analysis at Energy Innovation. As a specialist in energy and climate policy, Robbie routinely works with federal and state policymakers in the U.S. as well as international policymakers to analyze legislation and regulation and to provide insights on how to achieve climate goals. He has helped develop and deploy Energy Policy Simulator models in more than a dozen countries, including Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, and to analyze decarbonization pathways in each region.

Robbie is the lead author of Designing Climate Solutions: A Policy Guide for Low-Carbon Energy and frequently provides insights to decision-makers on how to design policies to achieve deep decarbonization. His research is regularly cited in the nation’s top news outlets, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, Politico, Bloomberg, and the Los Angeles Times, and he is a regular contributor to Forbes.

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There are many takes on the big Carney-Smith energy agreement – we thought you could use one more.

The new Canada–Alberta MOU unveiled last Thursday is already generating more chatter than a pipeline hearing, and has set off a fresh round of debate about economy, emissions, and where the country is headed on energy. The hot takes have been flying. Naturally, we couldn’t resist adding our own, so we grabbed the mics the next day to sort through what it all means.

And because we weren’t the only ones buzzing after the news dropped, we’re also bringing you five on-the-ground reactions from attendees at EvC Calgary pop-up event the day the announcement landed. You’ll hear those right after ours — a kind of post-MOU tasting flight, if you will.

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For us, delivering content about energy and climate is a labour of love – we put our time towards Energy vs Climate because we feel strongly about the public service benefit of the project.

But there are costs for our producer, website, Ed’s manicures, and more. (OK one of those isn’t true.) That's why this show relies on the support of generous donors, like our listeners.

Please consider making a one-time or monthly donation to our annual donation campaign.

Your generosity directly pays for our production hard costs, and not Ed’s manicures. Further, as a project of the Academy for Sustainable Innovation (Charitable Business Registration Number 789760675R R0001), Energy vs Climate provides a charitable tax receipt for all donations over $10.

Many thanks and be well,

David, Sara, and Ed

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David, Sara, and Ed chat with Dr. Jai Asundi, Executive Director of the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), an independent Indian think tank.

Dr. Asundi has been leading CSTEP since 2009, connecting data, modeling, and policy to tackle India's energy and climate challenges. They dive into India's electricity grid, the EV revolution, oil and gas dependency, and where energy meets geopolitics.

About Our Guest

Dr Jai Asundi is the Executive Director at the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) in Bangalore, India. In the past decade he has been working on variety of problems where science and technology play a dominant role. He is a senior member of the IEEE and holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh where he is currently Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy.

References available on episode page

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David, Sara, and Ed join Real Talk with Ryan Jespersen for a live on-air conversation.

Their decidedly non-spooky Halloween round-table discussion covered a lot of climate and energy ground, including the G7, critical minerals, carbon capture and storage, and oat milk cream liquor. (Well admittedly that last one is not a climate and energy topic, but if you listen you'll get the reference.)

It's live (or was live), it's real, it's Real Talk with the EvC gang!

01:04 - The G7 Energy and Environment Ministerial
10:07 - Industrial Policy and Canada's Energy Future
13:55 - Critical Minerals and Global Competition
17:03 - Canada's Emissions and International Responsibility
20:06 - The Future of Oil Demand
22:54 - The Role of Carbon Capture and Storage
32:06 - Challenges in Oil Sands Investment and Climate Skepticism
34:40 - Balancing Low Emissions and Affordable Energy
38:25 - Impact of Government Policies on Renewable Energy Investment
46:01 - Water Resource Management and Climate Responsibility
49:05 - Preparing for Natural Disasters and Climate Change

Ryan Jespersen hosts Real Talk, one of Canada's most-downloaded modern talk shows. He recently graced the cover of Edify Magazine as the "Prince of Podcasting." Ryan was named one of Alberta's 50 Most Influential People by Venture Magazine, and was on Avenue's inaugural list of Edmonton's Top 40 Under 40. You'll find him online at ryanjespersen.com, and on Twitter and Instagram (@ryanjespersen).

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Sara & Ed chat with Martin Olszynski about Alberta's mounting energy liability crisis.

They discuss the billions in future costs for decommissioning, remediation, and reclamation of oil and gas projects as well as the challenge in accurately quantifying government and public exposure to financial and environmental risk amid profound energy sector disruption.

The question isn't whether these liabilities will materialize—it's who pays when they do. It's a lively and wide-ranging conversation that sparked a flood of audience questions.

Show Notes available on the episode page

About Our Guest:

Martin Olszynski is an Associate Professor and the current Chair in Energy, Resources, and Sustainability at the University of Calgary Faculty of Law. Martin's primary research interests are in environmental, natural resources, and water law and policy. He has appeared as a witness in regulatory hearings, committee hearings of both the House of Commons and the Senate, and as counsel before the Supreme Court of Canada. From 2020 to 2025, he was a member of the federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada's advisory council on impact assessment.

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A fun, fast-paced, skeptics tour through some of the most talked-about emerging energy technologies.

From enhanced geothermal systems to thermal batteries, balcony solar, flying cars, and yes, even space-based solar power – David, Sara, and Ed dig into what’s real, what’s hype, and what might actually move the needle on decarbonization.

(00:00) - Cold open
(02:08) - Small modular nuclear reactors
(09:14) - E-bikes
(15:46) - Balcony solar
(22:13) - Fusion
(28:33) - Thermal batteries
(34:56) - Enhanced geothermal
(42:04) - Carbon capture and storage capacity
(43:19) - Space solar
(45:07) - Flying cars

A huge thanks to all the listeners who submitted suggestions for this episode!
Show Notes & References

About Your Co-HostsDavid Keith is Professor and Founding Faculty Director, Climate Systems Engineering Initiative at the University of Chicago. He is the founder of Carbon Engineering and was formerly a professor at Harvard University and the University of Calgary. He splits his time between Canmore and Chicago.

Sara Hastings-Simon studies energy transitions at the intersection of policy, business, and technology. She’s a policy wonk, a physicist turned management consultant, and a professor at the University of Calgary and Director of the Master of Science in Sustainable Energy Development.

Ed Whittingham is a clean energy policy/finance professional specializing in renewable electricity generation and transmission, carbon capture, carbon removal and low carbon transportation. He is a Public Policy Forum fellow and formerly the executive director of the Pembina Institute, a national clean energy think tank.

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Produced by Amit Tandon & Bespoke Podcasts

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Sara's back for the launch of Season 7 of Energy vs Climate!

For our first episode, David, Sara, and Ed discuss whether solar will be the big energy winner.Has solar energy already won? What’s driving its rapid ascent? And what does it mean for energy production and policy here in Canada?

Show notes & references available on episode page.

About Your EvC Co-Hosts:

Sara Hastings-Simon studies energy transitions at the intersection of policy, business, and technology. She’s a policy wonk, a physicist turned management consultant, and a professor at the University of Calgary and Director of the Master of Science in Sustainable Energy Development.

Ed Whittingham is a clean energy policy/finance professional specializing in renewable electricity generation and transmission, carbon capture, carbon removal and low carbon transportation. He is a Public Policy Forum fellow and formerly the executive director of the Pembina Institute, a national clean energy think tank.

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We're sharing another episode of Ed’s podcast Climate Book Reviews with acclaimed Canadian author Don Gillmor on his latest non-fiction work, On Oil.

Ed is joined by his regular co-host Dr. Roger Thompson, Director of Writing Programs and Professor at Arizona State University.

This episode dives into the sharply drawn and darkly funny world of On Oil, a slim and punchy examination of the most earth-altering industry of our time. Drawing from Gillmor's early years working on Alberta oil rigs and his deep experience as a journalist and novelist, the book traces how oil has shaped not only our landscapes and economies, but also our politics, foreign policy, and our public imagination.

It's a lively and wide-ranging conversation with Don about the inspiration behind the book, and how the oil industry—like a character in a novel—is navigating a world in flux.

About Our Guest:

Don Gillmor is an award-winning Canadian novelist, journalist and children's book author. His journalism and criticism have appeared in The Walrus, where he was a senior editor; Saturday Night and Toronto Life, where he was a contributing editor; and Rolling Stone, GQ, The Globe and Mail and The Toronto Star, among other publications. He has won 12 National Magazine Awards.

About Your Hosts:

Roger Thompson is a professor and writer at ASU. He began his career working with environmental literature and nature writing and established with Ed Whittingham an environmental internship program in Banff, Alberta for students at a VMI, a military college. His most recent environmental book, No Word for Wilderness: Italy’s Grizzlies and the Race to Save the Rarest Bears on Earth (Ashland Creek), documents the attempts by grassroots activists and university faculty to preserve the Marsican bears of Abruzzo, and it reveals for the first time the mafia’s attempts to use National Parks to fleece EU subsidies.

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Ed chats with Jason Walsh, Executive Director of the BlueGreen Alliance (BGA).

Jason and his organization recently made headlines for opposing the so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act—President Trump's sweeping piece of legislation passed this summer that rolls back many of the clean energy tax credits introduced by the Inflation Reduction Act. While a lot of the climate world focused on the emissions impacts, BGA came out swinging over what they saw as a quiet gutting of labour standards, domestic manufacturing momentum, and the link between public investment and good jobs.

Jason and Ed discuss:

How the bill reshapes the clean energy landscape
Whether it really neuters domestic content rules
Politics of climate and labour in an increasingly polarized U.S.
And what political durability looks like for climate policy heading into 2026

About Our Guest:

Jason Walsh is the Executive Director of the BlueGreen Alliance (BGA). Named one of the Washington D.C.’s 500 Most Influential People by the Washingtonian, Walsh has more than twenty-five years of experience at state and federal levels in policy development and advocacy in a range of issue areas—including climate, clean energy, and economic and workforce development—and as a coalition organizer and manager.

Walsh previously served in the Obama administration, as the Director of the Office of Strategic Programs in the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and as a Senior Policy Advisor in the White House Domestic Policy Council, where he led Obama administration’s efforts to align and scale up federal investments in workers and communities impacted by the shift away from coal in the power sector.

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In this latest episode of Ed’s occasional podcast Climate Book Reviews, we dive into the wildly imaginative and disturbingly plausible world of Ashley Shelby’s acclaimed story collection, Honeymoons in Temporary Locations.

Recently named one of Fresh Energy’s Favorite Climate Books of 2025 and shortlisted for the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize, Shelby’s collection has been praised by Scientific American, Foreword, and the Post and Courier for its biting wit, emotional punch, and genre-bending storytelling.

Ed is joined by his regular co-host Dr. Roger Thompson—now Director of Writing Programs and Professor at Arizona State University—for a lively, funny, and far-ranging conversation with Shelby herself. They unpack her satirical takes on resistance, inequality and privilege in crisis (think "luxury apocolypse bunkers”), and what it means to grieve - and medicate away - the losses brought on by climate change.

Shelby’s work has appeared in Slate, The New York Times Book Review, LitHub, Salon, and Audubon, and she’s received the Red Hen Press Short Fiction Award, the Enizagam Short Story Award, and the Third Coast Fiction Prize. She’s also the author of Red River Rising, an acclaimed account of the 1997 Grand Forks flood.

If you like your climate fiction smart, satirical, and maybe a little too close to home, this one’s for you.

More info and past Climate Book Reviews episodes at: climatebookreviews.co

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David & Ed chat with renowned scientist, author and Canadian, Dr. Katharine Hayhoe who argues that hope—not doom—is what drives action.

Dr. Hayhoe is one of the world’s most prominent climate communicators and known for crossing political, religious, and cultural lines to connect with audiences that most climate advocates can’t or won't reach. It's an engaging discussion that delves into the psychology of despair, the limits of data in changing minds and behaviour, and whether hope still has a fighting chance.

Show Notes:

Available on the episode page on our website.

About Our Guest:

Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist whose research focuses on understanding what climate change means for people and the places where we live. She is the Chief Scientist for The Nature Conservancy and a Horn Distinguished Professor and Endowed Professor of Public Policy and Public Law in the Dept. of Political Science at Texas Tech University. She is the author of the book, Saving Us: A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World, has given a TED talk with over 4 million views, and hosted the PBS digital series Global Weirding. Katharine has been named one of TIME's 100 Most Influential People, Foreign Policy’s 100 Leading Thinkers, and the United Nations Champion of the Environment.

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LIVE from the Montreal's Climate Solutions Prize Festival 2025

Na'im Merchant, Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada and the host of The Carbon Curvepodcast, and Grégoire Baillargeon, President of BMO Quebec and Vice Chair of BMO Capital Markets join Ed Whittingham for a panel discussion exploring how Canada can become a global leader in carbon removal.

With two podcast hosts and one Bank of Montreal president, Ed, Na'im and Greg pass the host's mic like a baton as they unpack the developer, buyer and policy dimensions of today’s CDR market in Canada and abroad.

About Our Guests:

Na’im Merchant is the Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada. He is passionate about the potential for carbon removal to meet climate goals while driving economic and social change. He previously founded Carbon Curve, a consulting practice focused on equitably scaling up carbon removal. Na’im is an advisor to Terraset and the Carbon Removal Standards Initiative, and was previously an Elemental Impact Policy Fellow. He brings 10+ years of leadership experience in non-profits that expanded access to health innovations around the world.

Grégoire Baillargeon is President of BMO, Quebec and Vice Chair, BMO Capital Markets, in November 2022. Passionate about transition and fighting climate change, Mr. Baillargeon has also been acting as Vice Chair of the BMO Climate Institute since September 2024. He recently joined the advisory board of Volt-age: Electrifying Society, a research program at Concordia University, and also serves on Carbon Removal Canada’s advisory board. Under his leadership, BMO became the first bank to join the Montréal Climate Partnership, as well as the launch of conVERTgence, two movements aimed at accelerating decarbonization and integrating sustainable business practices in the city.

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David & Ed chat with Dr. Rose Mutiso about the tension between energy, climate, and economic development in Africa and the global south.

They touch on many topics to do with sub-Saharan Africa, including energy production & consumption, electricity and power grids, and the vast economic inequity that still exists between the global north & south.

About Our Guest:

Dr. Rose M. Mutiso is a Kenyan scientist, thought leader, and social entrepreneur. She is the Founder & Executive Director of the African Tech Futures Lab (ATFL), a new institute helping decision-makers across the continent navigate emerging science and technology in energy, climate, AI and digital systems—with clarity, agency, and long-term vision. Previously, she was Research Director at the global think tank Energy for Growth Hub. Rose is also the co-founder and former CEO of the Nairobi-based nonprofit Mawazo (“Ideas”) Institute, which supports early-career African women scientists through doctoral research funding and professional development. Prior to this, she served as a Senior Fellow on energy and innovation policy in the U.S. Department of Energy and Senate. She also writes Kibao, a Substack focused on energy, climate, tech, and Africa.

Show Notes:

(00:15) Dr. Mutiso, Energy for Growth Hub

(00:15) Office of International Climate & Clean Energy - US Department of Energy

(00:15) The Mawazo Institute

(02:17) High Energy Planet podcast co-hosted by Dr. Mutiso

(02:58) Kibao, Substack newsletter by Dr. Mutiso

(09:54) The Economist: Nigeria has more people without electricity than any other country

(15:04) D. Kammen, UC Berkeley professor, energy expert

(24:51) O. Okunbor, former Shell Nigeria country chair

(30:00) TED Talk: The energy Africa needs to develop - and fight climate change

(38:56) High Energy Planet Ep.31-Katie & Rose on the Future of Foreign Aid

(43:36) Degrees Forum (Conference on solar geoengineering)

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Ed and David chat with special guest Andreas Malm, author of How the World Surrendered to Climate Breakdown and How to Blow Up a Pipeline: Learning to Fight in a World on Fire.

They discuss Malm’s critiques of climate inaction—how liberal democracies, fossil capital, and the Global North have collectively abandoned meaningful efforts to stop climate breakdown—and what comes next for movement strategy, the ethics and effectiveness of disruption, and what kind of climate action might actually work in the next crucial decade.

Full show notes & references

About Our Guest:

Andreas Malm is an associate professor of human ecology at Lund University. His latest book, with Wim Carton, is The Long Heat: Climate Politics When It's Too Late, forthcoming from Verso in October.

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Ed Whittingham & Roger Thompson discuss Upton Sinclair's classic novel - Oil!

We're sharing another episode of Ed's occasional podcast, Climate Book Reviews, this time discussing the book that was the inspiration for the critically acclaimed 2007 movie, There Will Be Blood, starring Daniel Day-Lewis.

Ed and co-host Dr. Roger Thompson (Associate Dean and Professor of Writing and Rhetoric at Stony Brook University in New York) chat with Michael Tondry, editor of a critical edition reissue by Penguin Books.

Michael talks about the history of the book, the events that gave birth to it, and the book’s depiction of both the hope and horrors of oil exploration and extraction.

About Your Hosts:

Roger Thompson is a professor and writer at Stony Brook University. He began his career working with environmental literature and nature writing and established with Ed Whittingham an environmental internship program in Banff, Alberta for students at a VMI, a military college. His most recent environmental book, No Word for Wilderness: Italy’s Grizzlies and the Race to Save the Rarest Bears on Earth (Ashland Creek), documents the attempts by grassroots activists and university faculty to preserve the Marsican bears of Abruzzo, and it reveals for the first time the mafia’s attempts to use National Parks to fleece EU subsidies.

Produced by Amit Tandon & Bespoke Podcasts

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Energy expert Amy Myers Jaffe returns to EvC to chat with Ed about Energy and Artificial Intelligence.

Nearly every aspect of the economy seems to be impacted by the stunningly rapid development of AI. Energy is no exception. Ed and Amy have a wide-ranging discussion that covers a lot of ground and touches on several hot topics, including:

How AI is transforming the production, distribution, and consumption of energy;
The energy needs of data centers;
Whether or not AI is an asset or liability for the clean energy economy;
The role of tech companies;
The geopolitics of AI;
Security vulnerabilities created by increasingly AI-dependent energy infrastructure;
And Canada-US relations.

(01:35) Skip Intro

Detailed Notes available on the show page

About Our Guest:

Amy Myers Jaffe is a leading expert on global energy policy, sustainability, and geopolitical risk. She is widely published on energy, commodity markets and finance and is author of several books, including her most recent book, Energy’s Digital Future and Oil, Dollars, Debt and Crises: The Global Curse of Black Gold. Jaffe serves as Director of the Energy, Climate Justice and Sustainability Lab at New York University’s School of Professional Studies and is a research professor who teaches graduate-level courses examining clean technology innovation and business and global climate finance. Jaffe is a regular contributor to the popular podcast “The Energy Gang” and a frequent media commentator in television and print media, including the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times of London and CNN International. Jaffe holds a career prize in energy economics from the US Association for Energy Economics and also served as the organization’s President in 2020.

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There’s something in Carbon Removal for everyone — are we building enduring relationships to advance the sector?

A bonus EvC episode - on February 27, 2025, EvC co-host Ed Whittingham hosted a panel discussion at Carbon Removal Canada's Carbon Removal Day in Ottawa. They cover a number of topics including the changing political headwinds in the US, efforts to bolster investment in Canada, and silicon valley's interest in CDR. Plus, they take a few audience questions.

Detailed show notes on episode page.

About Our Guests:

Lucy Hargreaves is the VP of Corporate Affairs & Policy at Patch, a SF-based carbon markets platform that’s accelerating investment into global climate action at scale. Beyond her work at Patch, Lucy is part of the core team driving Build Canada and Canada Spends, volunteer-led initiatives focused on helping Canadian entrepreneurs share their ideas for a bolder, richer, freer country and making government spending more accessible and transparent.

Daniel Kelter is Carbon Removal Canada’s Director of Government Relations, a strategic policy advisor who excels at connecting political insight with industry challenges. With experience working alongside Members of Parliament and navigating the intricacies of hard-to-decarbonize sectors like fertilizer and steel, Daniel has been instrumental in crafting advocacy strategies that forge strong government-industry partnerships."

Jorden Dye is the director for the Business Renewables Centre-Canada and the Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) Centre, both initiatives of the Pembina Institute focused on accelerating climate action through corporate procurement. His work includes leading a community of over 60 participating organizations across Canada to spur renewable energy development and developing educational resources to introduce carbon dioxide removal to new audiences.

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David & Ed chat with Dr. Holly Buckabout Conspiratorial-Environmentalism’s connection to climate & geoengineering; the anti-vax movement; and what it tells us about mainstream environmentalism & climate politics.

(03:08) Skip Intro
(09:12) David's personal experience with Conspiratorial-Environmentalism
(27:15) Social Media and monetization
(38:58) What do we do when environmentalists turn to conspiracies?
(46:33) Audience Questions

Detailed show notes available on episode page

About Our Guest:
Holly Jean Buck is an Associate Professor of Environment and Sustainability at the University at Buffalo. She is an environmental social scientist and human geographer whose research focuses on public engagement with emerging climate and energy technologies. She holds a Ph.D in Development Sociology from Cornell University, and is the author of the books Ending Fossil Fuels: Why Net Zero Is Not Enough and After Geoengineering. Currently, she is a 2024-25 Radcliffe-Salata Climate Justice Fellow at Harvard University.

About Your EvC Co-Hosts:
David Keith is Professor and Founding Faculty Director, Climate Systems Engineering Initiative at the University of Chicago. He is the founder of Carbon Engineering and was formerly a professor at Harvard University and the University of Calgary. He splits his time between Canmore and Chicago.

Sara Hastings-Simon studies energy transitions at the intersection of policy, business, and technology. She’s a policy wonk, a physicist turned management consultant, and a professor at the University of Calgary and Director of the Master of Science in Sustainable Energy Development.

Produced by Amit Tandon & Bespoke Podcasts

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Host Ed Whittingham closes out Season 1 by examining the case against Direct Air Capture by one its harshest critics, Al Gore, followed by the counterarguments of supporters. Will DAC live up to its hype and potential to help cool a warming planet?

Guests include:

Greg Nemet, professor at the University of Wisconsin
Klaus Lackner, professor at Arizona State University
David Keith, professor at the University of Chicago and a DAC pioneer who founded the company Carbon Engineering
Sara Hastings-Simon, professor at the University of Calgary
Christian Theuer, Policy Communications Lead at Heirloom
Jim McDermott, co-founder and the managing partner of Rusheen Capital Management, LLC
Éric St-Pierre, Executive Director of the Trottier Family Foundation

Learn more at www.scrubbingthesky.com

Produced by Amit Tandon & Bespoke Podcasts.

The podcast is part of the Carbon Herald’s podcast network.

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Host Ed Whittingham delves into the early days of another pioneering Direct Air Capture (DAC) company, Switzerland’s Climeworks, and its innovative modular approach to deploying its technology. Ed also looks into the developing synergy between the tech sector and carbon removal.

Guests include:

Jan Wurzbacher, co-founder of Climeworks
Lucy Hargreaves, Corporate Affairs and Climate Policy at Patch
Jim McDermott, co-founder and the managing partner of Rusheen Capital Management, LLC
David Keith, professor at the University of Chicago and a DAC pioneer who founded the company Carbon Engineering

Learn more at www.scrubbingthesky.com

Produced by Amit Tandon & Bespoke Podcasts.

The podcast is part of the Carbon Herald’s podcast network.

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Host Ed Whittingham continues the story behind the development of Direct Air Capture (DAC) technology and its potential role in helping to fight climate change. Ed explores the early days of Canadian cleantech company Carbon Engineering, and how it drew the attention of both Bill Gates and Occidental Petroleum.

Guests include:

Ken Caldeira, senior scientist at Breakthrough Energy
David Keith, professor at the University of Chicago and a DAC pioneer who founded the company Carbon Engineering

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or on your podcast app of choice.

Learn more at www.scrubbingthesky.com

Produced by Amit Tandon & Bespoke Podcasts.

The podcast is part of the Carbon Herald’s podcast network.

A special thanks to our friends at the Challenging Climate podcast which is available wherever you find your podcasts.

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Jesse Jenkins, David Keith, and Ed Whittingham break down the key policy reversals, their impact on U.S. emissions, and the broader geopolitical and economic consequences—for Canada and beyond. Plus, audience questions!

Full Show notes with links to references on our website

About Our Guest:

Jesse D. Jenkins is an assistant professor and macro-scale energy systems engineer at Princeton University with a joint appointment in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and the Andlinger Center for Energy and Environment. He leads the Princeton ZERO Lab (Zero-carbon Energy systems Research and Optimization Laboratory), which focuses on improving and applying optimization-based energy systems models to evaluate and optimize low-carbon energy technologies, guide investment and research in innovative energy technologies, and generate insights to improve energy and climate policy and planning decisions.

About Your Co-Hosts:

Sara Hastings-Simon studies energy transitions at the intersection of policy, business, and technology. She’s a policy wonk, a physicist turned management consultant, and a professor at the University of Calgary and Director of the Master of Science in Sustainable Energy Development.

Produced by Amit Tandon & Bespoke Podcasts

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EvC co-host Ed Whittingham's new series on Carbon Dioxide Removal

Host Ed Whittingham dives into the world of Direct Air Capture (DAC), a technology that extracts carbon dioxide directly from the ambient air. Ed explores the early history of carbon dioxide removal, why it could be useful in fighting climate change, and challenges the technology has faced along the way.

Guests include:

Klaus Lackner, professor at Arizona State University and often referred to as the “Grandfather of DAC”
David Keith, professor at the University of Chicago and a DAC pioneer who founded the company Carbon Engineering
Paul McKendrick, author of the book that inspired this series

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or on your podcast app of choice.

Learn more at www.scrubbingthesky.com

Produced by Amit Tandon & Bespoke Podcasts.

The podcast is part of the Carbon Herald’s podcast network.

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The race to remove carbon is on. This is the inside story.

🌎 Scrubbing the Sky: Inside the Race to Cool the Planet drops early March 🌎

This narrative podcast series takes listeners through one of the most ambitious climate efforts ever attempted: removing carbon from the atmosphere.

Join EvC's co-host Ed Whittingham as he uncovers the story behind carbon removal —the companies racing to scale it, the challenges they face, and what it means for our future.

📲Subscribe on Apple: https://bit.ly/3EH9ihj

📲Subscribe on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3EHDVn7

Learn more at www.scrubbingthesky.com

Follow Scrubbing the Sky on: LinkedIn | Bluesky | YouTube

Produced by Amit Tandon & Bespoke Podcasts.

Scrubbing the Sky is part of the Carbon Herald podcast network.

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Ed chats with four movers & shakers in Canadian climate philanthropy.

On Nov. 13, 2024, nine prominent Canadian family foundations, including EvC's David Keith’s, announced a combined pledge of $405 million, all dedicated to accelerating Canada’s shift to a low-carbon economy. They touch on:

Why this financial commitment occurred and why now
The challenges facing climate advocacy today and in the near future
What needs to succeed in the next 3-5 years
How philanthropy should respond when governments start to roll back key pieces of climate and environmental legislation - just like what we’re seeing already happening in the US post-inauguration.

About Our Guests:

(01:23) Claire Seaborn is an expert advisor to the Clean Economy Fund, former Chief of Staff to Energy and Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson, and now a lawyer practicing at Torys LLP.

(08:39) Devika Shah is the Executive Director of Environment Funders Canada, an umbrella organization for environmental foundations.

(15:17) Bruce Lourie is President of the Ivey Foundation, one of the largest climate funders in the country.

(20:55) Eric St-Pierre is the Executive Director of the Trottier Family Foundation, also one of Canada’s largest climate funders.

Detailed show notes on episode page...

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Join David & Ed for a special end-of-2024 Ask-Us-Anything episode dedicated to your questions.

Thanks to everyone who sent in your questions - we couldn't do it without you!Also, thanks to the Pembina Institute for help with an answer at 22:00 (reference link - Meeting the emissions cap-A feasible pathway for the oil and gas).

More show notes on our website.
About Your EvC Co-Hosts:

Sara Hastings-Simon studies energy transitions at the intersection of policy, business, and technology. She’s a policy wonk, a physicist turned management consultant, and a professor at the University of Calgary and Director of the Master of Science in Sustainable Energy Development.

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𝘿𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙙 & 𝙀𝙙 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙗𝙚𝙨𝙩-𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙬𝙧𝙞𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙨𝙩 𝘿𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙙 𝙒𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙖𝙘𝙚-𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙨. It's a wide-ranging discussion covering everything from the potential fallout of the US election, shifting global interests and priorities, climate activism, China's role in climate and green energy technology, and as usual - listener questions for our guest.

(01:27) US election fallout
(09:33) Where do we sit globally on climate?
(11:59) State of climate activism?
(20:07) Communicating climate risk without alarm
(29:09) Air pollution
(35:22) Listener questions
(46:37) China's green tech dominance
(49:34) Who should we be reading?

Detailed show notes available here

About Our Guest:David Wallace-Wells is currently a columnist and staff writer at The New York Times, where he writes a weekly newsletter on climate change, technology, the future of the planet and how we live on it. He was previously the Deputy Editor at New York Magazine, where he also wrote a column on climate change, including the cover story, “The Uninhabitable Earth,” which was expanded into a New York Times bestselling book with the same title.

About Your Hosts:
David Keith is Professor and Founding Faculty Director, Climate Systems Engineering Initiative at the University of Chicago. He is the founder of Carbon Engineering and was formerly a professor at Harvard University and the University of Calgary. He splits his time between Canmore and Chicago.

Sara Hastings-Simon studies energy transitions at the intersection of policy, business, and technology. She’s a policy wonk, a physicist turned management consultant, and a professor at the University of Calgary and Director of the Master of Science in Sustainable Energy Development.

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Support Energy vs Climate on #GivingTuesday

Energy vs Climate is a labour of love – we hosts don't draw a salary from the show because we feel strongly about the public service benefit of the project.

But, we still have production costs. So, we're asking one last time for you to please consider making a one-time or monthly donation in our only annual donation campaign. Thanks in part to last year's generous supporters, just yesterday we recorded a show with New York Times columnist David Wallace-Wells. It was a terrific conversation (thanks to all who sent in questions), and we look forward to dropping it on our feed in the next few days. We're nearly at our goal of $5000 - by helping us to reach this goal, you're helping to keep Energy vs Climate on the air.

Thanks so much everyone. Now back to EvC's irregularly scheduled programming.

-Ed, Sara and David

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Climate Book Reviews is co-hosted by EvC's own Ed Whittingham and his friend Roger Thompson, Associate Dean and Professor of Writing and Rhetoric at Stony Brook University in New York.

Each episode highlights some climate related books worth knowing about. This episode is an interview with New Zealand author Kirsten McDougall about her novel, She’s a Killer. At times hilarious and at other times troubling, the book is set in the not-too-distant future and features a near genius with sociopathic tendencies facing the realities of her severely climate impacted world. For more info on the CBR podcast, check out climatebookreviews.com

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David & Ed chat with University of Chicago's Michael Greenstone.

Show Notes:
(02:52) Engineering the Planet
(03:25) The future of the Temperature–Mortality Relationship
(04:48) Valuing the Global Mortality Consequences of Climate Change
(07:36) Climate Damages and Adaptation Potential Across Sectors of the US
(09:35) Heat Exposure & Poverty
(11:30) Seasonality of Mortality Under Climate Change
(13:59) Evaluating the 35°C Wet-Bulb Temperature Adaptability Threshold
(15:30) Relationship Between Season of Birth, Temperature Exposure, & Wellbeing
(17:35) Heat & Learning
(20:14) Slow Burn: The Hidden Costs of a Warming World
(22:06) Air Pollution on Life Expectancy from China’s Huai River Policy
(25:10) Introducing the Air Quality Life Index
(26:52) The Clean Air Act of 1970 & Adult Mortality
(26:58) US: Clean Air Act (1970)
(28:34) China’s War on Pollution
(32:45) For Breathable Air
(34:31) Social Cost of Carbon
(40:48) The Social Cost of Carbon Is Now US$225 Per Tonne
(42:07) Rising Temperatures, Melting Incomes
(42:11) The

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𝗟𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗘𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀: 𝗨𝗡𝗜𝗧𝗘 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗗𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗱 𝗞𝗲𝗶𝘁𝗵 & 𝗘𝗱 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗵𝗮𝗺
David and Ed hit the stage at the Energy Disruptors: UNITE 2024 summit in Calgary to discuss solar geoengineering, a major focus of David's academic research. Together, they unpack the technical and non-technical dimensions of solar geoengineering, including global governance and decision making.

(00:45) Start of live show and topic introduction
(04:49) What is Solar Geoengineering?
(30:45) Audience Q & A

𝗔𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗘𝘃𝗖 𝗖𝗼-𝗛𝗼𝘀𝘁𝘀:
David Keith is Professor and Founding Faculty Director, Climate Systems Engineering Initiative at the University of Chicago. He is the founder of Carbon Engineering and was formerly a professor at Harvard University and the University of Calgary. He splits his time between Canmore and Chicago.

𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘺 𝘈𝘮𝘪𝘵 𝘛𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘰𝘯 & 𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘬𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘥𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘴

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Rethinking EV Charging
A commonly held belief by new or prospective EV owners is that purchasing one requires the installation of a “level 2”, or 240 volt, home charger. Sara and Ed chat about recent University of Calgary research that challenges this assumption. They discuss considerations that might go into choosing which option is best for EV owners and people considering EVs, as well as the practical realities when it comes to charging, range anxiety - and pottery kilns.

About Your EvC Co-Hosts:

Sara Hastings-Simon studies energy transitions at the intersection of policy, business, and technology. She’s a policy wonk, a physicist turned management consultant, and a professor at the University of Calgary and Director of the Master of Science in Sustainable Energy Development.

Produced by Amit Tandon & Bespoke Podcasts

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We have a special climate politics focused show to open the new season. It's a time of elections here in Canada and the U.S. As multiple campaigns heat up, we’re asking, where does climate fit in as an issue?

David Keith and Ed Whittingham chat with political strategist and co-host of The Strategists podcast, Stephen Carter, to understand where climate fits as a priority issue for voters. They discussed whether or not climate can still be a winning issue, how proponents of the consumer facing carbon tax failed to make it politically resilient, and why climate remains a left-right oppositional issue in Canada and the U.S.

About Our Guest:Best known as one of Canada’s leading political strategists, Stephen Carter played a leadership role in the rise of Mayor Naheed Nenshi, Premier Alison Redford, and Mayor Jyoti Gondek. The National Post, CBC and other political commentators have described him as a “political mastermind.” He is a former premier's office and mayor's office chief of staff, and was National Director of Campaign Strategy for Hill+Knowlton Strategies from 2012 - 2015.

Produced by Amit Tandon & Bespoke Podcasts

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A personal message from EvC co-host Sara Hastings-Simon.

You can find more information on cancer screening in Canada at the Canadian Cancer Society website.

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Introducing Climate Now:

Today, we are excited to bring you an episode from the Climate Now podcast. Climate Now, hosted by James Lawler, and accessible wherever you listen to podcasts as well as on their website - climatenow.com - is a podcast and newsletter that explores and explains the ideas, technologies, and policies we need to address the global climate crisis.

The episode we’re sharing, "When insurers can no longer afford the risk," features former Director of Investment Research at Wellington Management, and current Founder of Probable Futures, Spencer Glendon. In this episode, you'll learn how home insurance policies are priced today, why that method is proving insufficient in a rapidly changing climate, and what this means for the future of the home insurance industry and homeowners.

More available at climatenow.com

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Energy vs Climate is available wherever you get your podcasts.

Produced by Amit Tandon

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David, Sara, and Ed talk to Canada's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Jonathan Wilkinson. They cover a broad range of energy and climate policy topics, revisiting many of the themes from the past season to examine what Canada is doing on areas like electrification, batteries, oil and gas, critical minerals, carbon pricing and sustainable jobs.
About Our Guest:

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson has served as the Member of Parliament for North Vancouver since 2015. He has also served in the Prime Minister’s Cabinet as Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, and currently as Minister of Energy and Natural Resources. Raised in Saskatchewan, Minister Wilkinson spent more than 20 years in the private sector, holding leadership positions with a number of companies dedicated to the development of clean technology.

About Your Co-Hosts:

Sara Hastings-Simon studies energy transitions at the intersection of policy, business, and technology. She’s a policy wonk, a physicist turned management consultant, and a professor at the University of Calgary and Director of the Master of Science in Sustainable Energy Development.

Produced by Amit Tandon & Bespoke Podcasts

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David, Sara, and Ed talk to Dr Benjamin Franta, Senior Research Fellow in Climate Litigation at the Oxford Sustainable Law Programme and the founding head of the Climate Litigation Lab.

Show Notes:
(01:05) Dr. Benjamin Franta
(02:20) Nearly 15% of Americans deny climate change is real
(02:25) The social anatomy of climate change denial in the US
(02:50) Understanding the Shift in Media Perception Towards EVs
(08:40) Climate litigation more than doubles in five years, now a key tool in delivering climate justice
(10:43) The Rising Threat of CO2
(10:50) A U.S. President Was First Informed of CO2’s Impact 59 Years Ago This Month
(11:25) Edward Teller warned the oil industry about global warming
(12:10) Assessing ExxonMobil’s global warming projections
(21:05) Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe
(21:25) The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt; Ten problems with Jonathan Haidt’s book
(22:15) Exxon's Climate Concealment
(32:05) Drilled Podcast
(42:30) Shell appeals against Dutch court's landmark climate ruling
(48:23) Waterkeeper Alliance
(50:30) Vermont Is Coming for Big Oil

Produced by Amit Tandon & Bespoke Podcasts

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As wind and solar experience rapid growth and a growing share of power grids, the intermittent nature of renewables underscores the need for effective energy storage technology development. EV batteries will need their own tech advancement for nervous consumers with range anxieties to make the switch to electric mobility.

Hosts David, Sara, and Ed chat with battery storage expert Dr. Shirley Meng of the University of Chicago

About Our Guest:
Dr. Y. Shirley Meng is a Professor at the Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering at the University of Chicago. She serves as the Chief Scientist of the Argonne Collaborative Center for Energy Storage Science (ACCESS) Argonne National Laboratory. Dr. Meng is the principal investigator of the research group - Laboratory for Energy Storage and Conversion (LESC), that was established at University of California San Diego since 2009. She held the Zable Chair Professor in Energy Technologies at University of California San Diego (UCSD) from 2017-2022.

Produced by Amit Tandon & Bespoke Podcasts

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Another BONUS Podcast Episode!The electricity file has been popping, especially in Alberta, where on a weekly basis a clash of worldviews on the future of electricity generation is on full display. A year ago, Sara's University of Calgary colleague, Dr. Blake Shaffer, helped us to make sense of the role of electrification in the 2023 federal budget. We thought it worthwhile circling back to Blake, to unpack the many electricity developments that have dominated headlines since. David's still away this month, so once again it's Sara and Ed chatting with Blake.

About Our GuestBlake Shaffer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics at The University of Calgary. He works on electricity markets, climate policy, and energy transitions, and frequently provides policy advice to governments at various levels. Prior to his return to academia, Blake had a 15 year career in energy trading, specializing in electricity, natural gas and emissions markets.

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New BONUS Podcast EpisodeCanada's consumer carbon tax policy has been getting a lot of press attention of late, especially following the $15/T increase that took affect on April 1, 2024. Much has been said about it across the political spectrum, some of it accurate, and some of it just plain wrong. David's away this month, so it's just Sara and Ed talking all things carbon tax with special guest Mark Jaccard.

About Our GuestMark Jaccardhas been a prof at Simon Fraser University since 1986 save a couple of sabbaticals serving as Chair and CEO of the British Columbia Utilities Commission. Mark has served on the IPCC, domestically on the National Roundtable on the Environment and the Economy, and he’s a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and CD Howe Institute. His most recent book is the “The Citizen’s Guide for Climate Success,” published in 2021.

Show Notes:
(00:06:20) – Low Carbon Fuel Standards in Canada
(00:08:37) – Designing flexible regulations to mitigate climate change: A cross-country comparative policy analysis
(00:12:37) – Top Runner Programme
(00:14:36) – Choose Wisely - Options and Trade-offs in Recycling Carbon Pricing Revenues
(00:16:55) – Bridging the Gap: Real Options for Meeting Canada’s 2030 GHG Target
(00:19:13) – Assessing climate sincerity in the Canadian 2021 election
(00:23:25) – Independent Assessment: 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan
(00:32:22) – Rebates rise as carbon price increases to $80 per tonne
(00:33:37) – Designing flexible regulations to mitigate climate change: A cross-country comparative policy analysis
(00:36:57) – The Political Costs of Oil Price Shocks
(00:39:50) – Exploring Citizen Support for Different Types of Climate Policy
(00:54:07) – Inside what ‘axe the tax’ means to Pierre Poilievre’s supporters: ‘He understands Canadians’

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Dr. Simon Evans, Deputy Editor & Senior Policy Editor at Carbon Brief join co-hosts David, Sara, and Ed, to tease apart EV fact from fiction.

About Our Guest:Simon Evans is deputy editor and policy editor at Carbon Brief. Simon covers climate and energy policy. He holds a PhD in biochemistry from Bristol University and previously studied chemistry at Oxford University.

Show Notes:
(00:02:01) – Factcheck: 21 misleading myths about electric vehicles
(00:04:59) – Electric vs. Gas Cars: Is It Cheaper to Drive an EV?
(00:06:37) – IPCC Climate Change 2023 Synthesis Report
(00:10:30) – Reducing CO2 emissions from passenger cars
(00:12:15) – Good Politics Bad Policy – Why governments should end their subsidies for EVs
(00:17:25) – U of T researchers model the health benefits of electric cars, find 'large improvement in air quality'
(00:18:45) – Roles of diffusion patterns, technological progress, and environmental benefits in determining optimal renewable subsidies in the US
(00:20:13) – Politics in the U.S. energy transition: Case studies of solar, wind, biofuels and electric vehicles policy
(00:27:20) – Five point plan to protect drivers from a rush to net zero is backed by MPs, motorists & campaigners
(00:31:20) – Electric Vehicle Battery Supply Chains
(00:37:12) – Alberta Budget 2024: EV groups question fairness of new $200 annual tax
(00:43:46) – Yes, frigid weather may reduce your EV battery range. Here's how to prepare
(00:48:24) – Hydrogen vs Electric Cars

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Co-hosts David, Sara, Ed, and energy/environmental economist Dr. Andrew Leach of the University of Alberta unpack the past, present and future of Canada's oilsands.

About Our Guest:Andrew Leach is an energy and environmental economist and is Professor at the University of Alberta, with a joint appointment in the Department of Economics (Arts) and the Faculty of Law. His research spans energy and environmental economics. His most recent book isBetween Doom and Denial: Facing facts about climate change.

Show Notes:

(00:46) – Oil Market Report - November 2023

(01:57) – A Matter of Fact: How the oil sands benefits Canadians

(05:06) – Canada’s oil and gas sector, the road to net zero and regional fairness

(06:16) – Making progress on Canadian oil sands CO2 emissions intensity

(06:36) – This oil sands crude has lower GHG emissions intensity than the U.S. average

(12:45) – Crude Oil Forecast Markets & Transportation

(16:16) – Refinery Economics

(25:30) – What's in store for 2024 — Part 3: Growth Plans at Alberta's largest in-situ producers

(28:19) – Not Fit for Purpose: Oil Sands Mines and Alberta’s Mine Financial Security Program

(29:53) – Fiscal Plan A Responsible Plan for a Growing Province 2024-27

(38:02) – CCS Won’t Happen in Oilsands Without Bigger Subsidies, Cenovus Exec Warns

(43:15) – The Role of Critical Minerals in Clean Energy Transitions

(46:39) – Whose jobs face transition risk in Alberta? Understanding sectoral employment precarity in an oil-rich Canadian pr

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Overview:
What does the history of energy tell us about energy transition?
Can we learn from the past or will we repeat the same mistakes?
What do people get wrong when trying to extract lessons from the history of energy?

Co-hosts David, Sara, and Ed are joined by guest, Dr. Petra Dolata, to discuss data on historical transitions, including lessons of deindustrialization in the Ruhr region of Germany on Season 5, Episode 8 of Energy vs Climate.

About Our Guest:
Petra Dolada is Associate Professor in the Department of History at the University of Calgary. A former Canada Research Chair (Tier II) in the History of Energy, who held previous academic positions at the Freie Universität Berlin in Germany and at Kings College London in the UK, her research examines the 1970s energy crises, transatlantic energy relations and the historical connections between deindustrialization and energy transitions. She is the co-convenor of the Energy In Society working group at the Calgary Institute for the Humanities.

Topics:
(00:00) Intro
(03:19) Socio-energy systems design: A policy framework for energy transitions
(05:00) The 200-year history of energy transitions
(07:20) History of Prime Movers and Future Implications
(08:34) Gauging the Role of Energy Substitution in Transitioning to Low-Carbon Economies
(12:12) The Social Dimensions of Energy Transitions
(14:00) Histories of Transitions
(16:35) Peaking: A Brief History of Select Energy Transitions
(21:00) Profitable Solutions to Climate, Oil, and Proliferation
(25:00) What we need to know about the pace of decarbonization
(35:24) World History and Energy
(40:07) The Future Role of Coal: International Market Realities vs Climate Protection?
(47:10) The Energy Transition Is a Technological Revolution — with a Deadline
(51:00) Three sides to every story: Gender perspectives in energy transition pathways in Canada, Kenya and Spain

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What is the role of literature in the climate policy and technology discussion? How does the genre allow us to explore uncomfortable climate scenarios, including those to do with heat death and direct action? While ultimately successful, the path laid out in the book is very bumpy, volatile, and rife with violence – strikingly different from the smooth and orderly transition often offered up by politicians and techno-optimists.

On S5E7 of Energy vs Climate, David, Sara, Ed, and New York Times bestselling author Kim Stanley Robinson (of The Ministry for the Future) discuss how science fiction can help us explore different climate scenarios and solutions.

EPISODE NOTES@0:21 – Kim Stanley Robinson
@0:21 – The Ministry for the Future - Kim Stanley Robinson
@3:13 – How hot is too hot for humans? Understanding wet-bulb temperatures
@9:00 – Carboncoin
@10:25 – The unprecedented Pacific Northwest heatwave of June 2021
@13:55 – Karl Popper
@18:45 – How to Blow Up a Pipeline - Andreas Malm
@20:32 – Dave Foreman
@21:30 – Climate protesters throw tomato soup on Van Gogh’s ‘Sunflowers’
@27:50 – Who is Wiebo Ludwig? A thunder storm wrapped in the flesh of a man. Part 1
@30:52 – Glacier geoengineering to address sea-level rise: A geotechnical approach (Lockley et al, 2020)
@31:50 – Solar Geoengineering - should we go there?
@39:25 – Empowering Female Climate Change Activists in the Global South: The Path Toward Environmental Social Justice - Peggy Ann Spitzer
@44:05 – The Hottest Year
@46:10 – Utility of the blockchain for climate mitigation (Chen, 2018)
@49:05 – Overshooting 1.5

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Published each year, the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) World Energy Outlook (WEO) is a leading source of scenario-based analysis of global energy demand and supply. This year, as the global energy crisis shows signs of calming, the WEO finds a peak in fossil fuels before 2030 across all scenarios. The result has been met with skepticism by some politicians in Canada, with Alberta’s Premier Danielle Smith going so far as to question the credibility of the organization.

A follow-on special report from the IEA on the oil and gas industry in net zero transitions, released on November 23, offers additional insights on the role of oil and gas producers in achieving a decarbonized global energy sector.

David, Sara, Ed, and the International Energy Agency’s Chief Energy Economist, Tim Gould discuss the findings of these IEA reports and the implications for Canada and its natural resources on Season 5, Episode 6 of Energy vs Climate.

EPISODE NOTES
@3:20 – World Energy Outlook 2023
@6:10 – Oil and gas industry faces moment of truth – and opportunity to adapt – as clean energy transitions advance
@9:45 – Electric Vehicles
@10:53 – China’s electric vehicle surge will shock global markets
@14:06 – Oil demand to begin long-term decline this decade, according to new Pembina report
@24:01 – Oil Companies Are Preparing for a Lucrative Decline
@24:26 – Building Momentum Toward Net Zero
@29:05 – Canada’s Energy Future 2023
@32:50 – The Place of Energy Security in the National Security Framework: An Assessment Approach
@42:26 – Canada introduces framework to cap greenhouse gas pollution from oil and gas sector
@45:34 – Minister Guilbeault announces Canada’s draft methane regulations to support cleaner energy and climate action
@46:40 – World Energy Investment 2023
@56:26 –

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We are excited to bring you a special live taping of Energy vs Climate from November 22, 2023 at the Ampersand in Calgary.

Energy vs Carbon Removal is a dive deep into this still relatively new climate mitigation pathway. The IPCC and other bodies increasingly view Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR) as a critical tool to reduce CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere and bring warming back down to 1.5C by century’s end.

It seems like new carbon removal start-ups are springing up weekly. But the barriers to commercializing CDR tech remain daunting. Will CDR live up to its hype or fail to launch?

EvC partnered with carbonNEXT’s series Carbon Talks for this live show.

EPISODE NOTES
@5:00 – What is Carbon Removal?
@6:00 – What's the least bad way to cool the planet?
@8:35 – Carbon Engineering
@9:45 – What is Ocean Alkalinization?
@9:45 - Enhanced Rock Weathering
@12:52 – Climeworks - Orca
@16:25 – CCUS Investment Tax Credit - PRIMER (Spring 2023)
@17:30 – US power sector carbon capture and storage under the Inflation Reduction Act could be costly with limited or negative abatement potential (Grubert & Sawyer, 2023)
@21:50 – Occidental and 1PointFive, King Ranch Reach Lease Agreement to Support up to 30 Direct Air Capture Plants on Leased Acreage
@26:00 – Decarbonizing Cement
@33:00 – Carbon Removal Canada - Reports & Resources
@38:22 – What You Need to Know About Article 6 of the Paris Agreement
@50:15 – Lessons From California’s Carbon Dioxide Removal Policies
@53:35 – Greengate Travers Solar
@1:01:53 – The State of Carbon Dioxide Removal Report

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What matters - and really doesn’t matter - when it comes to Building for Sustainability? David, Sara and Ed answer that question in a live episode of Energy vs Climate recorded on November 5, 2023 to kick off the Building for Sustainability symposium in Canmore, AB.

EPISODE NOTES
@00:3:30 Carbon sink and low-carbon building materials
@00:5:30 Keeping The Heat In - Section 8: Upgrading windows and exterior doors
@00:10:03 Spring Creek Mountain Village receives green energy certification
@00:11:48 Fact sheet: Early Estimate of National Emissions 2022@00:15:21 Goodbye, gas furnaces? Why electrification is the future of home heating
@00:20:25 Recent Progress in Green Cement Technology Utilizing Low-Carbon Emission Fuels and Raw Materials: A Review
@00:24:00 Heat Pumps Pay Off: Unlocking lower-cost heating and cooling in Canada
@00:27:11 The green economy transition: the challenges of technological change for sustainability
@00:29:00 Tesla Energy Storage Business, Solar Roof Revenues: Heading in Opposite Directions?
@00:38:56 Incentive Programs
@00:39:50 Banff launches the first municipal solar feed-in tariff in Canada
@00:40:34 The Solar Club™
@00:42:49 CANMORELAND
@00:44:24 An Overview of Natural Gas Bans in the U.S.

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Long distance and interregional transmission lines promise to increase reliability, mitigate the impact of extreme weather events, and provide electricity consumers with access to low-cost resources. They are an important piece of the energy transition puzzle. But despite the well documented benefits of long-distance transmission, to date there has been limited progress in building out interties across North America.

What lessons can we draw from the early days of renewable development that are relevant to this new challenge? What is the current state of efforts to develop long distance transmission and interties in the US, and how does this compare to Canada’s approach? And what is the role of "patient capital” in financing these opportunities?

David, Sara, Ed, and Michael Skelly of Grid United discuss all things transmission on Season 5, Episode 3 of Energy vs Climate.

EPISODE NOTES
@1:00 – Michael Skelly
@1:00 – Superpower - Russell Gold
@3:51 – Texas Renewable Energy Zones
@7:44 - TransWest Express Transmission Project, USA
@8:05 - Hertel-New York interconnection line
@9:00 - EvC - Canada's Big Bet on Electrification
@16:10 - The economics of large-scale wind power in a carbon constrained world (DeCarolis and Keith, 2006)
@24:50 - Viking Link Interconnector Project, Denmark-UK
@27:15 - North Plains Connector
@29:14 - Replacing the Utility Transmission Syndicate's Control (Peskoe, 2023)
@29:19 - Grid Governance in the Energy Trilemma Era: Remedying the Democracy Deficit (Kleit and Walters, 2023)
@33:00 - China's mega transmission lines
@33:50 - Morocco-UK Power Project
@35:00 - EvC - How Solar Became Cheap
@45:01 - Buying hydro from B.C. will help Alberta meet net-zero goal, in Ottawa's vision

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Hey everyone, Ed here.

David, Sara and Ed will be back next week with an episode about electricity interties in the clean energy system.

Until then we’d like to share another podcast with you that we think might be of interest, called Challenging Climate. Hosted by Jesse Reynolds and Pete Irvine, Challenging Climate tackles tough questions about the science, technology, economics and politics of climate change. Their topics range from climate modelling, persuasive narratives, national security, international development and even biotech. Jesse, Pete and their guests cover similar topics to what we cover here at Energy vs Climate, while offering a different perspective, one we hope listeners will find interesting and enlightening. Find it and subscribe wherever you listen.

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Since the Paris Agreement coming into force in 2016, world leaders have increasingly emphasized the need to keep warming to the 1.5°C target by the end of this century, in order to avoid more dangerous impacts from climate change. Yet temperature readings around the globe show that the world has already warmed by roughly 1°C on average above pre-industrial levels. Many models suggest we will very likely exceed 1.5°C of warming, possibly in the next 5-10 years, in the absence of aggressive worldwide action to reduce emissions and (perhaps) engineer the climate.

While we have made much progress, unfortunately the world is nowhere close to that level of action. So does the 1.5°C target still make sense if overshoot seems almost certain? Is it a science-based target or a political target - and even a reasonable and just target in the first place? Is the target about holding the line at 1.5°C or getting it back down to 1.5°C by 2100? When are we likely to exceed it, how will we know, and what will be the physical and political consequences of missing it?

On S5E2 of Energy vs Climate, David, Sara, Ed, and climate scientist Zeke Hausfather of Stripe and Berkeley Earth discuss all things 1.5°C.

EPISODE NOTES
0:36 – Key Aspects of the Paris Agreement
1:23 – Climate Change: Global Temperature
2:16 – Zeke Hausfather - Berkeley Earth
5:37 - Earth likely to cross critical climate thresholds even if emissions decline, Stanford study finds
7:07 – 10 Big Findings from the 2023 IPCC Report on Climate Change
8:25 – Adrien Abécassis - COP 27 Debrief
10:16 – The Berkeley Earth Land/Ocean Temperature Record - Rohde and Hausfather (2020)
12:21 – Near-term acceleration in the rate of temperature change - Smith, et al (2015)
15:05 – How low-sulphur shipping rules are affecting global warming
15:12 – Tonga Eruption Blasted Unprecedented Amount of Water into Stratosphere

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On our first episode of Season 5, Sara and Ed speak toDr. Melanee Thomas of the University of Calgary about her survey research into Albertans' attitudes to the energy transition, the oil and gas industry, coal and climate change. David wasn't able to join us for this one, but he'll be back live for Episode 2.
EPISODE NOTES
@00:49 If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it: how the public’s economic confidence in the fossil fuel industry reduces support for a clean energy transition

@2:16 Great expectations: Public opinion about energy transition

@11:21 CanCO2Re Initiative

@12:35 Clean energy investment is extending its lead over fossil fuels, boosted by energy security strengths

@17:00 Forget Ottawa — Albertans growing alienated from their own leaders, too

@19:30 Investment Impact of Alberta's Renewable Energy Moratorium

@19:44 Suncor has been too focused on energy transition, must get back to fundamentals: CEO

@20:14 Ottawa to reveal plan for emissions cap on oil and gas this fall

@22:25 Alberta oil industry wary of NDP government

@26:50 Alberta Energy Regulator: Coal Production

@33:23 Mark Carney Sees ‘Wall of Opportunity’ for Energy Investors

@36:50 Coal Boss Takes Climate Change Denial to the Extreme

@40:14 Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority

@43:28 Psychosocial adaptation to climate change in High River, Alberta: implications for policy and practice (Hayes et al.)

@45:43

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[Rerelease] David, Sara, Ed and author Jeff Goodell discuss the impacts of heat on humans, the topic of Jeff’s new book. From heat-wave deaths, to reduced ability to learn, to the economic effects, who will suffer the most, and what does it mean for the politics of the energy transition?

EPISODE NOTESB.C. heat wave leads to 11-hour ambulance wait time, spike in sudden deaths

The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson review

The Water will come: Rising Seas, sinking cities and the remaking of the civilized world

Mortality risk attributable to high and low ambient temperature: a multicountry observational study

One extra day > 32C in first trimester --> 50$ less income at age 30.

Global non-linear effect of temperature on economic production

Hot Temperature and High Stakes Exams: Evidence from New York City Public Schools

Global heating ‘may lead to epidemic of kidney disease’

Death toll exceeded 70,000 in Europe during the summer of 2003

The Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: code red for a healthy future

At COP26, 100000 march for climate justice

Mortality during the catastrophic 2021 heat dome

Sebastian Perez Did Not Have to Die

OSHA - Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings Rulemaking

The health costs of climate change from CICC

United Nations COP16 Cancun Agreements

COP Emission pledges may limit global heating to below 2C

Reframing incentives for climate policy action

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Hi Everyone!

We've got a favour to ask. We're doing a survey to help us understand what you like about Energy vs Climate, and how we can bring you more of that!

We would be extremely grateful if you took just a few minutes out of your summer schedule to complete the survey. Your feedback will help us as we plan for Season 5.

Thanks! We look forward to coming back in September.

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On a special summer episode of Energy vs Climate, we’re addressing the record-setting wildfires that Canada has been experiencing this summer. We're joined by molecular paleoecologist Allison Karp to examine how fire has changed across geologic timescales and how much of this year's wildfires we can attribute to climate change.

EPISODE NOTESAllison Karp, paleoecologist at Yale and Brown University

Earliest evidence of wildfire found in Wales 430 million years ago, BBC, original journal article here

Indigenous fire management and traditional knowledge

Record-setting climate enabled the extraordinary 2020 fire season in the western United States

Data attribution is political: Trump Blames Wildfires on Poor Forest Management. Biden Focuses on Climate Change

Politics aside, 1/2 to 2/3 of wildfires attributed to climate change due to increased aridity

Economic toll and health impacts of wildfires

Estimated 25% increase in particulate matter at size less than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5) attributed to wildfires

Dr. Frances Moore and the shifting baseline syndrome

More from paleoecologist, Allison Karp:

Fire contributing to grasslands expansion millions of years ago
Fire activity in savannas responded differently to increases in rainfall 1000s of years ago

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No, we didn’t forget to fill in the pod title after Matt Ferrell’s name. On Still TBD, aka the Still To Be Determined Podcast, Matt and his brother Sean discuss electric vehicles, renewable energy, smart technologies, and how they impact our lives. And this week we have a special treat for you: a bonus episode with Ed, Sara, and Matt, who also happens to be host of the massively popular Undecided YouTube channel.

Matt's team reached out to us about collaborating and we loved what he was up to, sharing his journey of learning about smart and sustainable technologies with more than 1.2 million subscribers.

So, we got together for a virtual nerd-out about our homes and vehicles - a.k.a. the gateway "drugs" to pursuing a more sustainable lifestyle. It's the fly-on-the-wall look into our lives you've all been clamouring for 😉. We hope it entertains and inspires and we hope you'll check out Matt's excellent YouTube channel and podcast.

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On the final episode of Energy vs Climate Season 4, we’re covering the basics of solar geoengineering. We're joined by The Right Honourable Kim Campbell, former Prime Minister of Canada, to unpack the debate over the role of further research, the place of these technologies in the global climate toolkit, and the role for Canada in research and governance.

EPISODE NOTES
@1:36 Right Honourable Kim Campbell, Canada's 19th and first female Prime Minister

@2:56 Solar geo-engineering resources

@2:56 David vs. David on solar geo-engineering, David Suzuki - the Nature of Things

@8:31 Toward a responsible solar geoengineering research program, David Keith

@11:15 Climate Overshoot Commission and what is climate overshoot?

@16:50 EvC and special guest Adrien Abécassis on COP27

@23:40 Solar geo-engineering International Non-Use Agreement

@25:00 “Godfather of AI’ Geoffrey Hinton quits Google...”-The New York Times

@25:30 Alberta investing billions into CCUS

@29:37 Solar geo-engineering project in Sweden halted

@44:40 Why Smart People Can Be So Stupid – Robert J. Sternberg

@60:01 Termination shock from solar geo-engineering defined

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On Season 4 Episode 9 of Energy vs Climate, David, Sara, Ed and special guest Dr. Blake Shaffer of The University of Calgary, dig into the how and why of Canada's big bet on electrification in the 2023 Federal Budget.

SHOW NOTES to come!

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On Season 4 Episode 8 of Energy vs Climate. David, Sara, Ed, and special guest Dr. Chris Bataille, Adjunct Research Fellow at Columbia University’s Center for Global Energy Policy (CGEP) and researcher with the Institut du Développement Durable et de Relations Internationales (IDDRI.org), discuss contracts for difference policy and and how can it help industrial decarbonization.

EPISODE NOTES:
Dr. Chris Bataille, Adjunct Research Fellow at Columbia University Centre on Global Energy Policy.

@1:12 EvC season 4, Ep. 3: Inflation Reduction Act and impacts to Canada

@4:20 Contract for Difference (CfD) – Explained

@5:50 CfD in Alberta’s electricity market, supporting renewables deployment by Sara Hastings-Simon

@6:52 CfD example in the UK electricity market, supporting renewables deployment

@10:22 The Climate Policy Certainty Gap and How to Fill It, by UCalgary School of Public Policy Dale Beugin and Blake Shaffer

@13:16 Canada’s pancake stack of sticks and carrots: Output based pricing system, the Clean Fuel Standard, methane regs, oil and gas emissions cap, CCUS tax credit, Emissions Reduction Fund, and Clean Growth Program

@15:05 Canada vehicle emissions regulations on par with California

@15:45 EvC Season 3, Ep. 32: Rebecca Dell, ClimateWorks Foundation, on Decarbonizing cement

@19:42 Canadian subsidies can compete with the USA’s Inflation Reduction Act

@29:28 EvC Season 2, Ep. 10: Sally Benson, Stanford University, on Carbon Capture

@40:04 Shell Quest carbon capture and storage project

@46:50 Dr. Emily Grubert on lowering emissions through process over carbon capture

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“Just Transition” is making headlines again in Alberta with the Provincial government pushing back against the yet to be tabled just transition legislation the Federal government first promised in 2019. Part of the debate is political, but underneath is the reality of the energy transition and the impact it will have on Alberta communities.

How do we separate the politics from the policies when it comes to transition? What can we learn from coal communities that have already started to undergo similar transitions? What have policy makers gotten right? Wrong? And what does this mean for the Provincial and Federal governments facing economic transition on an even larger scale in the province of Alberta?

Dig in with Sara, David, Ed and special guest Doray Veno, Executive Director of Lynks - Harvest Sky Services and Supports Society on Season 4, Episode 7 of Energy vs Climate

EPISODE NOTES

@1:13 Government of Canada Sustainable Job Plans
@1:51 Why Alberta dislikes the term ‘Just transition’.
@3:40 Alberta coal phase-out and impacts on the Town of Hanna
@4:30 “Hanna offers a clear example of how climate-change policies can impact a community in unexpected ways.”
@8:00 Alberta government announces grant to help Hanna amid coal phase-out
@10:47 Fear of the Unknown: Coal Community Hanna still waiting for a phase-out plans
@13:00 Solar project announced for Hanna
@20:26 ‘Just Transition’ must serve people, communities and companies
@28:03 Hanna seeing a rise in more entrepreneurship
@41:58 How can we transition to more sustainable industries in Canada, support workers and develop resilient communities?
@50:23 Government of Canada – the dishonesty surrounding the consequences of Just Transition trade offs
@51:03 Canada needs its own bold industrial strategy – the US cannot keep carrying us.
@51:47 IRA: Biden's climate agenda has a problem: Not enough workers
@51:48 The Human Cost of Climate Policy: A Call to the United States and Canada to Move in Lockstep on Labour Strategy

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You may recall that we sipped Annex Ale Project's Easy Answers Pale Ale when we recorded our Crypto vs Climate episode back in Season 3. Little did we know that would be the start of a fun and productive relationship with the good folks at Annex Ales. And now the beer is here, we're proud to introduce our very own Energy vs Climate Session Ale, the beer that remembers to turn off the lights when it leaves the room.

To celebrate, we made a bonus episode taking you behind the scenes of brewing the beer.

Keeping with the Energy vs Climate program, Annex Ale Project brewed this beer using alt techniques that minimize energy input while maintaining maximum flavour output. Following the initial boil, cool, and subsequent in-tank dilution, Annex dry-hopped with Vic Secret and Lemondrop to achieve a delicious, pleasantly piney resinous aroma—super on-brand with what we assume to be Mother Nature's vibe.

All proceeds from EvC Session Ale go towards increasing the brewery’s energy efficiency, so cheers to new lighting and improved circulation!

And stay tuned for the second half of EvC Season Four, coming in early March 2023.

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On Season 4, Episode 6 of EvC, Sara, David and Ed tackle the thorny and always controversial topic of carbon offsets, live at Avatar Innovations at The Energy Transition Centre in downtown Calgary.

An offset in principle is paying someone else - a company, or a country - to reduce emissions that you yourself cannot, or simply will not reduce. What is the role of offsets in helping the world to avoid dangerous climate change? What's 'additionality' when it comes to offsets, and is it fundamental or merely an after thought? How are offset markets regulated to ensure integrity? And should you bother to click that "yes" button to offset your flight emissions?

EPISODE NOTES

@1:10 EvC Live held at the Energy Transition Center, at the Ampersand

@2:02 Infidelity Offsets video from Climate Ad Project

@4:15 Business Renewable Centre of Canada

@4:48 Guide to Purchasing Carbon Offsets with Pembina Institute

@5:48 CDM mechanism to reduce emissions by developed countries - Kyoto Protocol

@10:05 Additionality, permanence, leakage 101

@23:09 Example of voluntary offsets

@24:30 Two flavours of offsets: Alberta Emissions Offset Registry and the Emissions Performance Credit Registry

@32:41 Discussion on the quality of voluntary offsets

@37:43 Gaming the system with low quality voluntary offsets

@53:50 Low-cost American airline, JetBlue, moving away from carbon offsets

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David (just back from Egypt), Sara, Ed and special guest Adrien Abécassis, Chief Policy Officer of the Paris Peace Forum and former Advisor to the French President (also just back) unpack COP 27 and what it means for Canada and the world going forward on Season 4 Episode 5 of Energy vs Climate.

EPISODE NOTES
@1:31 Adrien Abécassis, former senior advisor to the French president, and the Chief Policy officer of the Paris Peace Forum

@7:55 Key outcomes of the COP27

@9:28 $750 billion a year into clean energy and energy transition

@12:00 Recap Paris Agreements had much bigger outcomes

@15:30 A fair transition for developing countries to meet global emission objectives

@24:20 Climate change impacts will affect GDP

@32:00 Canada’s fossil fuel industry send delegates to COP27

@35:50 Climate Overshoot Commission

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What do the analysis and insights tell us about potential pathways for the world’s energy future and the implications for Canada’s natural resources? How is government action and technological development changing the shape of these pathways and what are the major sources of uncertainty? And what can Canada do to prepare for these potential futures?

On Season 4 Episode 4 of Energy vs Climate David, Sara, Ed, and the International Energy Agency’s Chief Energy Economist, Tim Gould discuss the 2022 World Energy Outlook and its implications for Canada.

EPISODE NOTES:
@2:25 – International Energy Agency’s: The World Energy Outlook Report

@6:40 – Shell’s Energy Modeling

@8:00- Key findings of the World Energy Outlook

@8:29 – Extreme Heat & Global Food Insecurity

@9:46- Europe’s Fit for 55 Package

@13:18 Improving the way we think about projecting future energy use and emissions of carbon dioxide

@24:15 Global Energy crisis can lead to a cleaner and more secure future

@29:05 New energy-security paradigm

@32:14 Designing the mid-transition: A review of medium term challenges for coordinated decarbonization on in the U.S

@34:20 Doyne Farmer’s Empirically Grounded Technology Forecasts and the Energy Transition

@35:40 Canada’s LNG exports to Asian market and what it means for emissions

@46:50 Russia’s role as global energy supplier will continue to shrink

@54:54 China’s pledge to promote low Carbon energy development

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After months of uncertainty the United States passed the biggest climate bill in its history, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Coming on the heels of the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, and combined with executive action across government agencies, the actions represent a major turning point in US climate action at the federal level.

But what is actually in the IRA, and what comes next for implementation? How does the US approach compare to Canada’s actions on climate and how will Canadian companies and citizens be impacted by these new developments? What should Canada do to prepare for this new world – to both protect our industries and leverage the opportunities that may arise?

On Season 4 Episode 3 of Energy vs Climate, David, Sara, and Ed ‘gang’ up on the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act with Katherine Hamilton, formerly of the Energy Gang podcast and break down the act's impact on energy policy north of the border.

EPISODE NOTES

@1:28 Welcoming Katherine Hamilton, Chair of 38 North Solutions
@2:28 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)
@3:25 Historic bipartisan deal ahead of IRA
@5:26 Democrats claim to cut CO2 emission by roughly 40% by 2030
@7:29 Supporting a just transition for coal communities
@14:26 Over $20 billion to set up national non-profit green bank
@15:03 Canada’s Infrastructure Bank, Growth Fund, and Canadian Innovation and Investment Agency
@ 30:29 Alberta’s industrial carbon offsets and free allocations

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David, Sara, Ed, and climate economist Gernot Wagner of Columbia University discuss Europe’s energy crisis and its implications for Canadian energy exports, on Season 4 Episode 2 of Energy vs Climate.

Episode Notes
@1:12 Welcoming Dr. Gernot Wagner of Columbia University
@2:18 How Russia’s invasion of Ukraine highlights the crisis and opportunity of the energy transition
@4:00 Europe’s dependency on Russia’s Cheap Gas
@12:17 Germany Charters LNG Terminals
@17:18 Expansion of heat pump manufacturing - Pinkafeld
@20:28 How Europe Got Hooked on Russian Gas Despite Reagan’s Warnings
@23:32 The push for LNG Long term contracts
@34:18 Alleged sabotage of Russian gas pipelines
@38:04 Canada’s LNG Export Terminals
@43:37 Inflation Reduction Act
@46:22 Rising EV demand and the push for Lithium

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On Episode 35 of Energy vs Climate, David, Sara and Ed are back for Season 4! They interview acclaimed energy policy advisor, Hal Harvey, and award-winning New York times reporter Justin Gillis about their new book, The Big Fix: Seven Practical Steps to Save our Planet; an examination of seven areas where communities and individuals can insert themselves into key political decisions to ensure the most climate conscious choices are being made.

EPISODE NOTES:
@0:33 The Big Fix: Seven Practical Steps to Save Our Planet

@3:23 Energy Innovation: Policy and Technology, Energy Foundation, Energy Foundation China, European Climate Foundation, ClimateWorks

@10:00 The Inflation Reduction Act

@15:30 Alberta Utilities Commission

@21:45 California's Title 24

@24:05 Norwegian EV policy - Norsk elbilforening

@27:15 California Gov. bans sale of gasoline-powered cars by 2035

@42:15 Moore's Law vs. Wright's Law (forbes.com)

@55:02 Jigar Shah | Department of Energy

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Sara, David and Ed are back for Season Four of Energy vs Climate on September 20th with a lineup of shows that we're really excited about. Until then we'd like to share Sara's guest appearance on an episode of The Energy Transition Show with Chris Nelder from earlier this summer.

The Energy Transition Show covers the full range of energy transition globally, including grid power, all fuels, transportation systems, macro economics, and more. Featuring interviews with some of the smartest and most knowledgeable people in energy, longtime energy expert, Chris Nelder explores the global energy markets and their ongoing transition away from fossil fuels and towards renewables.

We're glad to be sharing this show with fans of EVC who aren't already familiar with the energy transition show, and to those of you who are, we hope you enjoy Sara and Chris's wide ranging and deep dive into Canada's energy transition.

Find The Energy Transition Show with Chris Nelder and subscribe wherever you listen now onto the show.

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Energy vs Climate is still on summer hiatus, but we wanted to pop in with a very special recording of an in-person event we hosted at the end of July at Annex Ale Project in Calgary.

In the show, we cover some thoughts on the climate news of the summer, answer some live audience questions, and tease some potential future topics we hope to cover on EvC.

We had a great time engaging with folks in person so stay tuned for more information about future in-person programming by subscribing to our emails at energyvsclimate.com.

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Hi, Sarah here. We're still in a summer break, but we've got an exciting in person, Energy vs Climate meet and greet coming up that we wanted to tell you about. Subscribers to our emails will receive the details next week. And tickets are limited. So if you're not signed up for EVC emails, yet head over to energyvsclimate.com and subscribe today.

Thanks and hope to see you soon.

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David, Sara, and Ed are back for the final episode of Season Three, a special ask-us-anything episode dedicated to your audience questions. From nature-based solutions, to environmentally-responsible oil, hydrogen, geothermal, and more, they dig into a wide variety of topics.

EPISODE NOTES:
@2:27 Accounting Emissions to Consume with Care
@3:53 The forests backing California's carbon offsets are burning up
@8:20 EvC S1E7 Are Nature-based Solutions a Natural Policy Choice?
@9:18 Can we control the CO2 in the atmosphere? Freeman Dyson
@7:34 Delta Airlines Carbon Offsets Now Letting Passengers Fly Green
@17:17 Oilsands are high-carbon fuel source
@22:22 EvC S2E5 Decarbonizing Transportation
@24:02 Figure: SPM.7
@25:14 20% of commuters commute <5km by car, 1/3 <10km
@26:26 12 tried-and-true ways to reduce cars in cities
@38:57 Jean Charest vows to repeal consumer carbon price plan
@43:50 How We Survive Podcast
@ 44:42 The Salton Sea could produce the world's greenest lithium
@46:57 How much of global greenhouse gas emissions come from food?
@47:57 The potentials and limitations of tree plantings as a climate solution
@50:57 Nate the House Whisperer
@52:42 Canada introduces tax credit for CCUS investments
@54:27 EvC S3E12: Decarbonizing Cement
@56:14 E-bike for mother’s day
@57:27 Deliberative Democracy - an overview

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The cement and concrete industry is an essential part of the Canadian and global economies. Concrete, made from cement, is a material that is used in virtually every building construction and infrastructure project across the country and the world. It’s also a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. Cement and concrete production account for roughly 7% of global emissions annually.

On Episode 32 of Energy vs Climate Ed, David, Sara, and guest Dr. Rebecca Dell of the ClimateWorks Foundation examine the most promising technology and process solutions for decarbonizing cement and concrete. They discuss the key opportunities and challenges on the path to doing so, and debate what governments should do to encourage the industry to get on board.

EPISODE NOTES:
@0:00 Register for EvC's Season Three Finale: Ask Us Anything Episode
@2:18 @rebeccawdell, ClimateWorks Foundation
@3:19 What's in Concrete: Illustration
@16:04 – California Ran on Nearly 100% Clean Energy This Month - BNN Bloomberg
@25:25 – LC3 – Limestone Calcined Clay Cement
@28:30 – Sustainable Building Materials - Geopolymer Concrete
@30:45 – CarbonCure's Sustainable Concrete Solution - Concrete Technology Reducing Carbon Impact
@31:21 – Solidia® – Sustainable cement manufacturing and concrete curing technologies
@33:10 – Oxygen loss in biosphere 2 - Severinghaus
@40:03 – The LEILAC Pilot Plant | Direct Separation Calcinating Technology
@42:14 – Investment Tax Credit for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage - Canada.ca
@45:46 – Cement Sustainability Initiative (CSI) (WBCSD)
@50:12 – Lehigh Cement and Enbridge Agree to Advance a CO2 storage solution in Alberta
@51:10 – Liberal climate plan looks to guarantee a carbon price, no matter who is in power | CBC News
@1:03:00 – Low Carbon Fuel Standard | California Air Resources Board
@1:04:18 – Clean Fuel Standard - Canada.ca
@1:07:00 – Joint statement: Canada's Cement Industry and the Government of Canada announce a partnership

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Alberta has declared an intention to attract a new sector to the province – cryptocurrency. But the early experience has been rocky and the significant energy demands of the sector is reason for concern. What are the energy and climate impacts of crypto? Should Alberta and Canada chase this 21st century gold rush? And just how much did Ed and David make in their foray into crypto investing?

Ed, David, and Sara discuss the energy and climate implications of crypto on this special podcast-only episode of Energy vs Climate.

‌EPISODE NOTES‌@1:00 Easy Answers | Annex Ale Project (not sponsored)

@ 4:15 How Crypto Became the New Subprime - The New York Times

@7:30 Uncensored Crypto

@11:25 Understanding relative metal prices and availability: Combining physical and economic perspectives

@17:45 Crypto miners see "stranded" natural gas as a novel energy source - Marketplace

@21:30 Alberta sets sights on being new frontier for cryptocurrency entrepreneurs | CBC News

@22:25 Bitcoin Operations Fly Under the Radar for Alberta Regulators, Emission Reduction Plans - The Energy Mix

@23:43 A bitcoin mining power plant secretly set up shop in Alberta. Now it's being forced to shut down | CBC News

@25:00 Cryptocurrency Traders Move Into Carbon Markets - WSJ

@40:30 How Taiwan's 'civic hackers' helped find a new way to run the country | Technology | The Guardian‌

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Industrial policy is hot again, back with a new name (mission innovation) and a new target (climate change). Detractors point to past failures and the risk of costly mistakes and argue that governments should avoid picking winners and stick to carbon pricing. Is government-directed innovation a good tool for climate innovation? How can governments do it well? What should they avoid? And what lessons are there for Canada's energy transition?

Join David, Sara, Ed, and industrial policy expert Dani Rodrik of Harvard University to discuss government-directed innovation as a tool for decarbonization, on Episode 30 of Energy vs Climate.

EPISODE NOTES:
@3:15 Dani Rodrik
@4:00 Combating Inequality: Rethinking Government's Role
@4:34 NDP won’t oppose higher defence spending in exchange for billions on social programs
@6:32 A 10-Point Plan to Cut Oil Use – Analysis - IEA
@6:41 Nikos Tsafos thread about EU country commitments to fast track energy transition.
@7:40 In a World on Fire, Stop Burning Things | The New Yorker and The End of Nature, by Bill McKibben
@10:21 Japan discussing Russian oil import ban with U.S. and Europe
@16:36 Energy vs Climate: How Solar Became Cheap
@20:20 Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
@25:29 Remembering “Solyndra” – How Many $570M Green Energy Failures
@26:27 TESLA | Department of Energy
@31:00 AOSTRA - Oil Sands - Alberta's Energy Heritage
@33:44 Tariffs on Chinese solar panels may hurt Canadian renewables industry - The Globe and Mail
@35:00 Clean Fuel Standard - Canada.ca
@35:23 California Air Resources Board
@40:10 Canada's Future in a Net Zero World - Transition Accelerator
@48:14 Small Business Microloan Program

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David, Sara and Ed are back March 23rd with a new episode of Energy vs Climate. Until then, we'd like to share another podcast with you.

Smart Prosperity: The Podcast with Eric Campbell offers fresh takes on the current affairs, business, technology and ideas behind the green economy. With a decidedly Canadian twist. The Smart Prosperity episode we’d like to share with you digs into Carbon capture technology and why climate experts are divided over it. Ed was Eric’s guest on the episode, along with Susannah Pierce, President of Shell Canada and Christina Hoicka, Canada Research Chair in Urban Planning for Climate Change at the University of Victoria.

Fans of EvC’s own carbon capture episode with Stanford’s Sally Benson from season 2 will find this episode builds on our discussion.

On the whole, Smart Prosperity: The Podcast covers similar topics to us here at Energy vs Climate, while offering a different perspective, one we hope listeners will find interesting and enlightening. Find it and subscribe wherever you listen.

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The cost of solar power has decreased by a factor of 1,000 over the last fifty years, and by a factor of 10,000 since it was first used to power a satellite in the mid-1950s. According to the International Energy Agency, in some sunny regions solar is now the cheapest energy available – cheaper than coal, gas and wind. What have we learned from solar's multi-decade cost curve decline? How did it benefit from a free flow of ideas, equipment and people across national borders? What lessons can we apply to other forms of climatetech, such as energy storage and carbon capture?

David, Sara, Ed, and special guest Greg Nemet break down solar’s trajectory on Episode 29 of Energy vs Climate.

Episode Notes:
@0:47 - IPCC 6: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability

@1:00 - Ukraine War and U.S. Politics Complicate Climate Change Fight

@2:15 - How Solar Energy Became Cheap, Twitter: @GregNemet

@5:56 - There should be no new gas supply contracts with Russia: IEA (cnbc.com)

@7:14 - 25. anniversary of the 1973 oil embargo: Energy trends since the first major U.S. energy crisis

@15:15 - Inter-technology knowledge spillovers for energy technologies - ScienceDirect

@20:00 – Expert Assessments of Future Photovoltaic Technologies

@21:00 - The German Feed-in Tariff - futurepolicy.org

@32:03 - Evaluating the causes of cost reduction in photovoltaic modules - ScienceDirect

@34:50 - U.S. Solar Photovoltaic System and Energy Storage Cost Benchmark: Q1 2020 (nrel.gov)

@40:02 - Canadian Solar – Global

@54:34 - Low Carbon Fuel Standard - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics

@55:17 - WTO Body Confirms Ontario’s Local Content Rules for Renewables Are Discriminatory (powermag.com)

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In the past year the number of companies committing to net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 has exploded. With the fifty largest companies by value accounting for 28% of global GDP, corporate action is critically important if we are to avoid dangerous climate change. But what does a net zero commitment for a company mean in practice? What distinguishes the good from greenwashing, and can we even tell from the outside? What are the risks and opportunities for a company making a net zero commitment in the first place?

Join David, Sara, Ed, and special guest Dr. Gabrielle Walker, Founder and Director of Valence Solutions, as they journey to net zero on Episode 28 of Energy vs Climate.

EPISODE NOTES:

@1:10 Dr. Gabrielle Walker, @GabrielleWalk3r
@4:20 Offshore wind farms could double as electric charging…
@6:20 BMW Group significantly increases use of low-carbon steel
@6:39 Fact Sheet: Biden-Harris Administration Advances Cleaner Industrial Sector
@7:00 Biden launches ‘Buy Clean’ task force to boost greener manufacturing
@7:11 EU set to race ahead of UK in green steel production
@8:03 Volvo's Dump Truck Takes Shape From World's First Green Steel - Bloomberg, Mercedez-Benz to use low-carbon steel
@16:11 Microsoft announces it will be carbon negative by 2030 - Stories
@16:27 Race To Zero Campaign | UNFCCC
@28:00 Energy Transitions Commission | Achieving net-zero emissions by 2050
@31:02 Carbon Emissions Factor Into Major Oil Sands Shakeup | Climate Central
@33:00 IEA says ending new oil and gas exploration today is the only viable climate path
@37:16 Fuels: old and new – World Energy Outlook 2021 – Analysis - IEA
@38:01 BP’s Strategic Shift To Renewables
@41:44 Europe Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
@44:20 Gabrielle Walker | Speaker | TED
@45:27 The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty

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On Episode 27 of EvC, from gas stoves to hot water heaters and furnaces, what might electrifying the home look like in Alberta and Canada? And should we? Guest Bruce Nilles of Climate Imperative helps David, Sara and Ed break down the future of natural gas in the home.

@2:10 ecoENERGY for Renewable Power
@2:14 AB Emissions reduction programs
@2:37 Sierra Club Beyond Coal campaign
@3:39 Climate Imperative, @brucenilles
@5:07 – Erin O'Toole out | National Post
@5:47 – Meat Consumption Pacing Up Climate Change?
@16:23 – Residential Indoor Air Quality Guideline, Human Health Risk Assessment for Ambient Nitrogen Dioxide
@18:56 – Study: Pollutant Exposures from Natural Gas Cooking Burners
@20:48 – NO2 exposure shows causal link with Asthma, Scientists find the climate and health impacts of natural gas stoves are greater than previously thought
@28:18 - Effective Kitchen Ventilation for Healthy Zero Net Energy Homes with Natural Gas
@32:26 – Berkeley gas hook-up ban appears likely to spread to other California cities
@32:13 – America’s Natural Gas Utilities Add One New Customer Every Minute
@33:33– California first state to phase out gas-powered lawn equipment , New York City banning natural gas hookups for new buildings
@34:30 – DECC_Heat_Pumps_in_District_Heating_-_Final_report.pdf (publishing.service.gov.uk)
@34:31 – Cold Climate Heat Pumps
The Electrification and Deep Retrofit Potential of Canadian Federal Buildings - RMI

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David, Sara and Ed are back next week with a new episode of Energy vs Climate. Until then, we'd like to share another podcast with you.

ARC Energy Ideas explores the trends that influence the energy business, including political, environmental, technological, social and economic forces. The show is hosted by Peter Tertzakian and Jackie Forrest of the ARC Energy Research Institute. Jackie and Peter have been thought leaders in the space for years. In fact Peter joined us way back on Episode 3 of Energy vs Climate to discuss the divestment movement.

On Canada Oil and Gas 2022: Another bull run, but different and another IEA report, Peter and Jackie review the ARC Energy Research Institute’s recently released outlook for the Canadian oil and gas economy for 2022, showing just how far things have turned around for the industry since April 2020. They also discuss how differently revenue is being invested compared to previous booms, and dig into the IEA’s most recent report reviewing Canadian energy policy.

On the whole, ARC Energy Ideas cover similar topics to us here at Energy vs Climate, while offering a different perspective, one we hope listeners will find interesting and enlightening.

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David, Sara, Ed, and special guest Professor Jody Freemanof Harvard Law School break down what the first year of the Biden Administration means for Canadian energy and climate policy.

EPISODE NOTES
@1:32 @JodyFreemanHLS
@2:46 Top-emitting Alberta oilsands site got government relief from pollution payments
@6:47 Reframing incentives for climate policy
@13:06 American Leadership on Clean Cars
@13:29 U.S Methane Emissions Reduction Action Plan
@13:58 EPA power plant rules
@14:27 Joe Biden wants America to lead the world against the climate crisis.
@14:57 Clean Electricity: A Net-Zero Grid By 2035
@21:02 Conservative Supermajority on the Supreme Court
@22:35 Democrats are on track to lose big in 2022
@23:13 US inflation surges to 30-year high
@25:29 Supreme Court Move Could Stymie EPA Regulation
@28:27 Supreme Court of Canada upholds the constitutionality of federal carbon pricing legislation
@29:54 Summary of the Clean Air Act
@34:31 How we passed the clean power plan target a decade early
@36:14 Tesla Loan Program
@38:53 Renewable Portfolio Standards
@44:10 US tax credit encourages investment in carbon capture and storage
@49:09 How the ‘Culture War’ could break democracy
@55:42 O’Toole would cut emissions to meet target set by Harper, rejects Liberals’ new, more aggressive goal
@57:15 Canada’s output-based pricing system

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On Episode 25 of Energy vs Climate, David, Sara and Ed tackle a topic they often get questions about: how to get into the low-carbon energy field.

They share advice for people looking to start or transition their careers from a variety of professionals across sectors, and offer stories of their own paths to working in low-carbon energy.

EPISODE NOTES:

@2:00 Jeremy Barretto - Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP
@4:18 Duncan Kenyon - Hilversum Sustainability Consulting
@5:53 Jackie Forrest - Arc Energy Research Institute
@8:45 Mike Kelland - Planetary Hydrogen
@10:30 – My Climate Journey, Work on Climate, Air Miners, Breakthrough Energy Fellows Program, Carbon 180 Fellowship Program
@13:25 Leap and Google Nest Launch Smart-Thermostat-to-Energy-Market Offering
@15:00 Janice Tran - Kanin Energy
@ 16:15 Creative Destruction Lab
@18:43 Tim Weis - University of Alberta
@23:20 Meredith Adler - Student Energy
@24:30 Future Skills Council Report from the Government of Canada
@25:40 MSc in Sustainable Energy Development at the UofC
@32:30 Measuring Temperature in Space: Airborne interferometer for atmospheric emission and solar absorption
@38:20 Dr. David Schindler Aquatic Scientist
@42:22 Dr. Jim Sandercock - NAIT
@43:55 Julia-Marie Becker - RBC
@45:00 Eric St Pierre - Trottier Family Foundation
@46:45 Terri-Lynn Duque - ENMAX power
@48:30 David Kelly Founder - SkyFireEnergy
@49:44 Anna Stukas - Carbon Engineering
@ 51:45 The Citizen’s Guide to Climate Success by Mark Jaccard
@52:30 Dr. Julio Freedman - Carbon Wrangling

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On Episode 24 of Energy vs Climate, David, Sara and Ed are joined by Rolling Stone contributing editor and author Jeff Goodell, to discuss the impacts of heat on humans, the topic of Jeff’s current book project. From heat-wave deaths, to reduced ability to learn, to the effect on economic input, who will suffer the most, and what does it mean for the politics of the energy transition?

EPISODE NOTES@ 0:54 B.C. heat wave leads to 11-hour ambulance wait time, spike in sudden deaths
@ 1:07 The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson review – how to solve the climate crisis
@ 1:46 New York Times Review: The Water will come: Rising Seas, sinking cities and the remaking of the civilized world
@ 2:53 Mortality risk attributable to high and low ambient temperature: a multicountry observational study
@5:21 One extra day > 32C in first trimester --> 50$ less income at age 30.
@5:59 Global non-linear effect of temperature on economic production
@6:24 Hot Temperature and High Stakes Exams: Evidence from New York City Public Schools
@ 15:05 Global heating ‘may lead to epidemic of kidney disease’
@ 15:51Death toll exceeded 70,000 in Europe during the summer of 2003
@ 17:03 The 2021 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: code red for a healthy future
@ 18:32 At COP26, 100000 march for climate justice
@19:49 Mortality during the catastrophic 2021 heat dome
@ 20:54 Sebastian Perez Did Not Have to Die
@ 24:51 OSHA - Heat Injury and Illness Prevention in Outdoor and Indoor Work Settings Rulemaking
@27:53 The health costs of climate change from CICC
@36:10 United Nations COP16 Cancun Agreements
@58:11 COP Emission pledges may limit global heating to below 2C
@ 58:53 Reframing incentives for climate policy action – Oil Producers don’t benefit from ‘free-riding’

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When it comes to our transportation system, decarbonizing aviation is a very expensive ton of CO2 to go after. But potential solutions abound, including lower carbon liquid jet fuel, electrification, hydrogen and more energy efficient aircraft. On Episode 23 of Energy vs Climate Dr. Steven Barrett of MIT’s Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics helps David, Sara and Ed assess those different pathways as the aviation industry searches for how to do its fair share in a net-zero world – without putting flight out of reach for all but the very rich.

@ 1:58 The world’s largest offshore wind farm just hit two major milestones
@3:47 $3.5-million provincial inquiry into 'anti-Alberta' activities struggles to find a bad guy
@ 6:00 Rigged: online archive and podcast documenting the history and evolution of disinformation in America
@ 6:33 Will Postmedia Face a Reckoning for Its Climate Coverage?
@ 13:04 Harbour Air eyes 2023 for first electric passenger flights
@ 15:26 The limits of bioenergy for mitigating global life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels
@ 18:34 Smarter driver Fuel-efficient driving course
@ 22:02 Delta commits $1 billion to become first carbon neutral airline globally
@ 23:25 France moves to ban short-haul domestic flights
@ 25:50 Despite pandemic pause, demand for new airplanes is expected to swell in next two decades, Boeing says
@ 28:01 Government of Alberta support for hydrogen
@34:25 The Sky’s the limit challenge Seeking a Canadian Breakthrough in Green Aviation Fuels
@ 38:21 Sweden sees rare fall in air passengers, as flight-shaming takes off
@ 38:31 Scientists' warning on affluence
@43:21 Contrails: How tweaking flight plans can help the climate
@50:16 Carbon neutral hydrocarbons (Trade off point carbon tax/synthetic fuels)
@50:54 David on Solar fuels (Video)
@51:59 IPCC report on Carbon Capture including Storage Capacities

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Coal is grabbing headlines – China has pledged to stop financing new coal plants abroad, the Liberals campaigned on a promise to ban thermal coal exports, and the Alberta government backtracked on a plan to open up the foothills and mountains to mining. Metallurgical coal is also under fire with a global push for carbon-free steel. So what is the future for coal in China, Canada and the world more broadly? What role can Canadian LNG play in displacing China coal-fired electricity, and what does the experience of coal contraction globally tell us about the future for other fossil resources?

On Episode 22 of Energy vs Climate David, Sara, Ed, and special guest Edward Cunningham, Director of the Harvard Kennedy School Asia Energy and Sustainability Initiative, mine for answers.

EPISODE NOTES

@2:34 Kerry Lines up Pledges to Scrub Emissions from Carbon Heavy Industries
@4:34 The Nobel Prize in Physics 2021 goes to climate modellers
2014's Nobel prize for blue LED
@7:49 Not coming to a road near you any time soon - Self-driving cars
@9:13 Mining looks to electric, autonomous vehicles to reduce costs and improve efficiency
@11:17 Coal timeline graphic (pg. 52) + EvC Youtube version
@15:02 Coal in China
@24:29 Belt-and-road news
@24:57 China’s Global Power Database tracks power plants financed by Chinese foreign direct investment and/or China's two global policy banks
@31:20 Assessing China’s efforts to pursue the 1.5°C warming limit
@37:40 IEA World Energy Outlook 2021 (Coal plant age at retirement)Contributions by different countries/regions to CO2
@41:57 Canadian LNG to displace Chinese coal-fired electricity?
Pembina Institute on LNG
@47:22 Global Liquefied Natural Gas Expansion Exceeds Demand 1for Coal-to-gas Switching in Paris Compliant Pathways
@50:00 Carbon tariffs and Met Coal
@54:25 CCUS in China
@57:54 China’s largest department capture project is a global minnow
EvC Episode 19: Carbon Capture
@58:30 What coal tell us about the future for other fossil fuels.

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David, Sara and Ed unpack what moved the dial on climate and energy this summer. They also look at this week's climate and energy news and preview what's to come on this season of Energy vs Climate.

@1:12 Sustainable Energy Development Masters Program at the University of Calgary
@3:30 Energy within Environmental Constraints - Harvard Massive Online Open Course
@6:37 Executives from Exxon, Shell, BP and others are being called to testify in Congress
@7:39 Merchants of Doubt by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway
@7:45 Drilled Podcast
@12:58 Harvard University pledges to divest from fossil fuels
David on Divestment
@17:41 Cost of financing for coal
Coal financing costs surge as investors opt for renewable energy
@20:55
Work begins on 3.3 GW solar-CSP project linked to 500 MW of storage, in Qinghai
China pledges to stop building new coal energy plants abroad
@27:13 Heat Impacts
Extreme, deadly heat in Canada is going to come back, and worse. Will we be ready?
Heat has larger impacts on labor in poorer areas (David is a co-author)
Relationship between season of birth, temperature exposure, and later life wellbeing
@35:25 2021 IPCC Report
@35:30 The Environmentalist’s Dilemma: Promise and Peril in an Age of Climate Crisis by Arno Kopecky
@39:42 US EV sales data
Norway bans gas car sales in 2025, but trends point towards 100% EV sales as early as April
@50:49 Germany’s energy consumption and power mix in charts
@53:16 Liberal’s Clean Electricity Standard and Federal/Provincial jurisdiction
Lost in Transmission: A Constitutional Approach to Ending Canada’s Energy Infrastructure Poverty - Kristen van de Biezenbos

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Hi,

We hope you’re all staying well during this eventful summer.

We have a favour to ask. We're doing a survey to help us understand what you’re looking for from Energy vs Climate and where we could make programming and format changes to better meet your needs.

We would be very grateful if you took just a few minutes out of your summer schedule to complete this survey. Your feedback will help us as we plan for Season 3 of the pod and beyond.

Thanks, and we look forward to coming back in late September with new Energy vs Climate shows covering new topics.

Ed, Sara and David

Get on the email list at www.energyvsclimate.com

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On Episode 20 of Energy vs Climate David, Sara, and Ed revisit some of the topics covered on previous episodes and answer outstanding audience questions about net zero oil sands, carbon capture, nuclear, enhanced oil recovery, the electricity grid, and their grand vision for Canada's energy future.

This is the last episode of the season, but we'll be back in September with more guests, more debate, and more solutions for the energy transition. In the meantime, we're looking to you, our listeners, to help us make next season even better so subscribe to our newsletter at energyvsclimate.com and watch for an audience survey coming to your inbox later this summer.

Watch the Youtube version of this episode.

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The world has been taking carbon capture, utilization and storage seriously for a couple of decades now. It feels like we’re on the cusp of an explosion of CCUS projects, especially in the US. But will this be any different than Carbon Capture 1.0, which some consider a failure to launch? And if yes, why?

On Episode 19 of the Energy vs Climate show, David, Sara and Ed host special guest Sally Benson, professor of energy resources engineering at Stanford University. Benson directs the Stanford Center for Carbon Storage and the Stanford Carbon Removal Initiative. She brings technical knowledge and decades of experience to the topic. Sally and David first overlapped on CCS two decades ago and served on the IPCC’s 2005 Special Report on CCS. What did they get wrong? Right? What has been learned? And what does it mean for Canada?

Watch the Youtube version of this episode.

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On Episode 18 of Energy vs Climate, top climate scientist Andrew Weaver dives into Canada’s energy versus climate bunfight. Weaver, a professor of earth and ocean sciences at the University of Victoria and former leader of the BC Green Party shares the most surprising parts of moving from science to politics, what it’s like to negotiate the political tension between the go-slow right and the eager left, and answers the question: how realistic is Canada’s 2030 commitment?

Watch the Youtube version of Episode 18.

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From cement to steel to mining, Canada has a lot of its economy wrapped up in heavy industry. What are the key opportunities and challenges on the path to decarbonizing heavy industry? What are some of the most promising technology and process solutions? What should governments do to help these sectors to decarbonize? On Episode 17 of Energy vs Climate, David, Sara, Ed, and special guest Thomas Koch Blank, senior principal at RMI, dig into what's working, not working, and what to do next.Or check out the Youtube video version of Episode 17.

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Climate and energy debates rest on predictions. How many years left to save the planet? How cheap will solar power get? We dive into the dirty world of making such projections. What’s the difference between climate models and energy system models? What do past forecasts tell us about the accuracy of these models? Hint: there’s no shortage of overconfidence.

On Episode 16 of Energy vs Climate, David, Ed, Sara, and special guest Ken Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution for Science Department of Global Ecology at Stanford University debate the use and abuse of models in energy decisions, and share behind-the-scenes insight into how David and Ken helped Bill Gates learn these topics.Tune into the Youtube version of the episode.

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From personal transportation to long haul freight, how fast can we decarbonize, how much will be electrified vs other solutions, and what are the limiting factors affecting the pace of change? On Episode 15 of Energy vs Climate, David, Sara, Ed, and special guest Amy Myers Jaffe, research professor and managing director of the Climate Policy Lab at Tufts University, break down the steps to decarbonizing transportation and dig into what the transition will mean for Alberta and Canada in terms of demand for oil, changes to local transportation infrastructure, and the potential to capture a part of the new market. Check out the Youtube version of this episode.

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As Albertans we want to build Alberta back better. What does this mean for Albertans and Calgarians, the future of jobs in the energy sector, new technologies, and the roles of government and industry in addressing climate change?

For Episode 14 of the Energy vs Climate show, we partnered with the Calgary Climate Symposium to produce a live symposium webinar/podcast. Watch a video version of this episode on Youtube.

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The Energy vs Climate show partnered with Solar Alberta to produce a live in-conference podcast at the 2021 Solar Show. Tune in to hear our thoughts on the role of PV generation in Alberta and what its growth could mean for the electricity grid, jobs, and Canada's climate targets. In particular, David and Ed debated the pros and cons of Alberta producing its own solar power versus importing it from jurisdictions like Arizona, with David arguing hard for the latter. As you'll hear, given that it was at a Solar Alberta conference, he once again showed his fearless ability to walk into a “room,” even a virtual one, and tell people exactly what they don’t want to hear.

Watch this episode on Youtube.

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Canada needs a more realistic and honest dialogue about the trade-offs between energy policy, the economy, and climate protection. But how do we facilitate that dialogue?

What are the challenges for climate/energy policy actors when working with reporters, and vice-versa? How can energy and climate stakeholders work with the media to better communicate the scientific and economic realities of the energy transition?

On Episode 12 of Energy vs Climate, David, Sara, Ed, and special guest Laura Lynch of CBC’s What on Earth share their positive and not-so-positive experiences communicating about climate and energy.A video version of this episode can be found on Youtube.

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Canada's new climate plan is big and bold. Will it deliver on our climate goals? Will it lead to “a healthy economy” as its title suggests, or crush it? What does a $170 per tonne carbon price by 2030 mean for Canadian industry? Is this a cost-effective way to cut emissions and get us to net zero? And, is it politically stable or might it be overturned with the next election? On Episode 11 of Energy vs Climate, David, Sara and Ed host professor and energy economist Mark Jaccard to examine Canada’s new climate policy and what we do (and don’t) know about the impact of carbon price.Check out a video replay of the show at www.energyvsclimate.com and on Youtube.

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Nuclear power: Our only solution to reach net zero, or threat to civilization and distraction from other low-carbon pathways?On Episode 10 of Energy vs Climate, David, Sara, and Ed welcome guest Elizabeth May, MP and former leader of the Green Party of Canada to examine the nuanced role of nuclear power in Canada.

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'Climate finance' is an emerging field that aims to harness the power of finance for climate change mitigation and adaptation. From Blackrock Capital CEO Larry Fink’s game-changing letter to shareholders, to new clean finance reporting rules, and Canadian Mark Carney’s advocacy for climate finance as head of the Bank of England, climate finance is all over the news. In 2019, Canada’s Expert Panel on Sustainable Finance declared that "Finance is not going to solve climate change, but it has a critical role to play in supporting the real economy through the transition." How might this unfold?

On Episode Nine of Energy vs Climate, David, Sara, Ed, and Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative Fellow Keith Forman address how much of the climate finance hype is greenwash versus practical reality and whether climate finance can help the oil and gas industry through its transition, at a time when capital for Canadian oil and gas projects has slowed to a trickle.

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Break down what the U.S. election results may mean for Canadian energy and climate policy with David, Sara, Ed, and special guest Dr. Leah Stokes on Episode 8 of Energy vs Climate. Dr. Stokes is an assistant professor of political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), and the author of Short Circuiting Policy. With her work on energy, climate, and environmental politics, Dr. Stokes is one of the most vibrant voices on U.S. climate policy.

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The Canadian federal government has committed to using "nature-based solutions to fight climate change, including by planting two billion trees." But is reforesting an area the size of a European country and managing that forest, naturally a good form of climate/energy policy and public investment? On Episode 7 of Energy vs Climate, energy experts David Keith, Sara Hastings-Simon and Ed Whittingham unpack the growing (but still abstract) field of natural ecosystem protection and climate mitigation with special guest Mark Tercek, former president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy and co-author of "Nature’s Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature."

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The federal government's September 23rd Speech from the Throne said "Canada has the resources – from nickel to copper – needed for clean technologies. This – combined with Canadian expertise – is Canada’s competitive edge." On Episode 6 of Energy vs Climate, energy experts David Keith, Sara Hastings-Simon and Ed Whittingham explain exactly what critical minerals such as lithium, copper, and rare earths are, how they relate to clean technologies and energy systems, and whether Alberta - and Canada - really have a competitive edge in this area. Plus, the team provides an update on Alberta's Hydrogen Strategy.

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Hydrogen is once again the #1 element in the energy transition world. Does the new hydrogen economy offer real potential as a pathway to net zero and Canadian leadership on climate and low carbon energy production, or is it just the latest overhyped tech-fix that avoids practical action?

David, Sara and Ed share a brief introduction to the basics of hydrogen as it relates to energy systems, and discuss the challenges and opportunities for Canada in a hydrogen economy from a technical, business and policy perspective.

They’re joined by special guest Dr. Francis O’Sullivan, Senior Lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management and Head of Onshore strategy for Ørsted. At Ørsted Dr. O’Sullivan is responsible for their early-stage technology investment portfolio as well as long-term commercial planning and market analysis in support of Ørsted’s investment programs across onshore wind, solar and storage globally.

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On episode 4 of the Energy vs Climate podcast, energy experts David Keith, Sara Hastings-Simon and Ed Whittingham discuss their recent editorial in the Globe & Mail, including the role of the oil sands in the economic future of the province, COVID-19 as a factor in peak oil, the dynamics of oil markets, and the risks in focusing on net zero oil moonshots.

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If you’re enjoying Energy vs Climate, then you might want to check out Political Climate. Political Climate is a bipartisan podcast on energy and environmental issues in America and around the world, presented by the University of Southern California’s Schwarzenegger Institute and hosted by Julia Pyper, Brandon Hurlbut, and Shane Skelton. Their most recent series, -- entitled DITCHED: Fossil fuels, money flows and the greening of finance -- examines the expanding and evolving trend of fossil fuel divestment and sustainable investment.You can listen to the DITCHED series and find all Political Climate episodes on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn or wherever you get podcasts!

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On episode 3 of the Energy vs Climate podcast, energy experts David Keith, Sara Hastings-Simon and Ed Whittingham welcome guest contributor Peter Tertzakian, Managing Director of ARC Financial, Deputy Director of the ARC Energy Research Institute and cohost of the ARC Energy Ideas podcast to discuss the divestment movement and what it means for the fossil fuel industry, for consumers, and for investors.

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On Episode 2 of the Energy vs Climate podcast, energy experts David Keith, Sara Hastings-Simon and Ed Whittingham review and debunk Planet of the Humans, the 2019 documentary from producer Michael Moore.

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On the first episode of the Energy vs Climate podcast, energy experts David Keith, Sara Hastings-Simon and Ed Whittingham discuss the energy crisis in Alberta and how the province and the country can overcome the challenges of a climate-driven energy transition.

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Break down the trade-offs and hard truths of the energy transition in Alberta, Canada, and beyond with energy experts David Keith, Sara Hastings-Simon and Ed Whittingham.

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Energy vs Climate: Recent Episodes