Climate Confident - Practical Climate Solutions That Cut Emissions

Hosted by Tom Raftery

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Episodes

288

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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EN-IE

About the show

Climate Confident is for business leaders, climate professionals and policymakers who need to understand what is actually cutting emissions—and what it takes to make those solutions work at scale. Each Wednesday, I speak with the executives, engineers, scientists, founders and policymakers turning climate ambition into measurable progress. Together, we examine the technologies, business models, policies and implementation strategies reshaping energy, transport, industry, supply chains, food and finance. These are not conversations about distant targets, vague pledges or greenwash. They are candid discussions about what is working, what is failing, where the real bottlenecks lie, and how leaders can make better decisions about decarbonisation, resilience, investment and risk. You will hear: Proven approaches to reducing emissions Hard-earned lessons from real-world implementation Analysis of the markets, technologies and policies driving the transition Honest examination of costs, trade-offs, setbacks and unintended consequences Practical ideas for turning climate commitments into action New episodes are published every Wednesday at 7am CET. Subscribers also receive bonus episodes featuring highlights, analysis and emerging themes from across the series. Follow Climate Confident for practical climate solutions, informed debate and the insights you need to turn ambition into measurable progress. Guest suggestions and feedback are welcome at Tom@tomraftery.com . Verification code: socialdb-verify-407bbf5c40

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60 recent

August 12, 2026Episode 28939 min

Soil Is Becoming Infrastructure, and Finance Is Starting to Notice

Get in touch - leave me a message Soil health is starting to look less like an environmental side issue and more like infrastructure. The real question is whether regenerative agriculture can improve resilience and economics without asking farmers to absorb years of financial pain. My guest is Tim Weaver of Holganix , working at the intersection of soil health, regenerative agriculture and measurable environmental outcomes. We look at the pressures farmers and companies already recognise: volatile fertiliser costs, water scarcity, supply-chain risk, and the growing demand for credible soil carbon claims rather than estimates and greenwash. We examine what changes when soil outcomes can be measured using cores, probes, farm equipment data and satellite imagery; why AI still depends on having enough reliable data underneath it; and whether water may ultimately matter more than carbon. We also challenge the assumption that regenerative agriculture necessarily means lower profitability before the benefits arrive. Listen now to understand why soil is moving from the sustainability conversation into the risk, finance and infrastructure conversation, and what that could mean for farmers, companies and investors. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita Krajnc Cecilia Skarupa Ben Gross Jerry Sweeney Andreas Werner Stephen Carroll Roger Arnold And remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition. Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice. If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident

August 5, 2026Episode 28844 min

Cheap Solar, Batteries and EVs Are Breaking Fossil Fuel Economics

Get in touch - leave me a message Cheap solar, batteries and EVs are no longer merely cleaner alternatives. Their falling costs are undermining fossil-fuel economics, and leaders may be misjudging the speed of that shift. My guest is Peter Newman , Professor of Sustainability at Curtin University and a long-time IPCC contributor whose work has focused on cities, transport a nd automobile dependence. We examine how China’s manufacturing scale is turning clean technology from a policy ambition into mass-market competition, while tariffs and legacy planning risk slowing adoption elsewhere. We look at why cities are the decisive arena: where renewable power, transit, density and affordable housing either reinforce one another or remain disconnected. We also challenge the assumption that EV charging will remain the infrastructure problem, and ask when petrol and diesel networks themselves become the constraint. Listen now to understand how clean-technology economics is changing fossil-fuel risk, and what cities, businesses and policymakers need to get right before the shift accelerates. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita Krajnc Cecilia Skarupa Ben Gross Jerry Sweeney Andreas Werner Stephen Carroll Roger Arnold And remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition. Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice. If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident

July 29, 2026Episode 28755 min

Measure First: Stop Spending on the Wrong Carbon Fixes

Get in touch - leave me a message Carbon accounting can send companies straight at the wrong problem. A visible sustainability initiative may feel productive while the real emissions hotspot sits in raw materials, product design or the supply chain. My guest is John Beath, CEO and Chief Technical Director of John Beath Environmental, whose work in lifecycle assessment helps companies test assumptions before they commit money, engineering effort or supplier changes. The stakes are practical: get the system boundary wrong, and a product carbon footprint can misdirect investment rather than improve it. We examine why Scope 3 emissions so often dwarf what happens inside the factory, why bio-based or recycled materials are not automatically the lower-carbon choice, and what leaders miss when durability, reverse logistics or avoided emissions are left out. We also unpack the solar-panel case where the presumed hotspot was silicon—but the decisive intervention was elsewhere. Listen now to understand how better lifecycle assessment can expose the carbon decisions that matter most—and stop your organisation spending heavily on fixes that barely move the needle. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita Krajnc Cecilia Skarupa Ben Gross Jerry Sweeney Andreas Werner Stephen Carroll Roger Arnold And remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition. Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice. If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident

July 22, 2026Episode 28644 min

Battery Storage’s Biggest Risk Is Inaccurate Data

Get in touch - leave me a message Battery storage is getting cheaper, but the data used to trade and operate it may be badly wrong. When forecasts miss, penalties stack, warranties get messy, and returns can quietly unravel. My guest is Ash Vats of 3E , who works on battery intelligence for utility-scale assets. We look at the gap between what a battery management system reports and what the hardware can actually deliver - a gap with direct consequences for grid reliability, revenue and asset life. We examine why some battery sites show faults before day one, how state-of-charge estimates can be materially wrong, and why operators - not traders alone - need to shape commercial decisions. We also unpack what changes when owners, asset managers and traders stop working from three different versions of the same asset. Listen now to understand what is really limiting battery storage returns, and how better operational intelligence can recover capacity, reduce commercial risk and improve long-term performance. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita Krajnc Cecilia Skarupa Ben Gross Jerry Sweeney Andreas Werner Stephen Carroll Roger Arnold And remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition. Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice. If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident

July 15, 2026Episode 28537 min

The Battery Isn’t the Bottleneck: Why Hydraulics Are Blocking Heavy Equipment Electrification

Get in touch - leave me a message Heavy machinery can waste three quarters of the energy fed into it. The battery may not be the real electrification bottleneck. In this episode, I speak with Hiten Sonpal, CEO of Rise Robotics , about a neglected part of the energy transition: the hydraulic systems inside construction, mining, and port machinery. You’ll hear why conventional hydraulics are only around 25% efficient, how that forces manufacturers to install larger batteries, and why electric heavy equipment can become commercially unviable before it reaches the market. We dig into how Rise Robotics’ beltdraulic systems replace oil and pressure with belts and pulleys - cutting battery size, charging demand, downtime, maintenance, and hydraulic leaks. Hiten also explains how drive-by-wire creates the data needed for teleoperation, digital twins, and autonomous machinery. You might be shocked to learn that better efficiency can matter more than better batteries. That shift could reduce costs across the machine, charging network, and grid, while accelerating decarbonisation, emissions reduction, and progress towards net zero. We also examine where adoption may happen first, from mining and ports to marine and food production, and why policy alone cannot solve this industrial transition. 🎙️ Listen now to hear how Hiten Sonpal and Rise Robotics are turning overlooked climate tech into cleaner heavy industry. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita Krajnc Cecilia Skarupa Ben Gross Jerry Sweeney Andreas Werner Stephen Carroll Roger Arnold And remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition. Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice. If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident

July 8, 2026Episode 28442 min

AI Is Infrastructure: Its Water, Power, and Governance Costs Can’t Be Deferred

Get in touch - leave me a message AI isn’t weightless. Every model, token, and workflow sits on land, water, power, heat, and governance choices. In this episode of Climate Confident, I’m joined by Sophia Mendelsohn , who leads SAP ’s Global Sustainability Platform. We look at AI not as abstract software, but as physical infrastructure with real consequences for climate tech, decarbonisation, the energy transition, policy, and the businesses racing to use it. You’ll hear why data centres now sit at the centre of the sustainability conversation. Treat AI as “just software” and you defer the hard questions: where the power comes from, how water is used, how communities respond, and who is accountable when emissions reduction promises meet infrastructure reality. We dig into how sustainability teams can move beyond PDFs and carbon accounting, and into procurement, supplier data, financial planning, and board-level AI decisions. Scope 3 comes up too - including the awkward truth that asking suppliers for data does not mean you’ll get usable answers. You might be shocked by how AI could shift the balance of power: from waiting for disclosures to calculating baselines, testing assumptions, and making better net zero decisions before systems lock in. 🎙️ Listen now to hear how Sophia Mendelsohn and SAP are thinking about sustainable AI, emissions reduction, and real-world climate action. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita Krajnc Cecilia Skarupa Ben Gross Jerry Sweeney Andreas Werner Stephen Carroll Roger Arnold And remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition. Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice. If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident

July 1, 2026Episode 28342 min

Australia’s Diesel Risk Is Turning Electrification Into Energy Security

Get in touch - leave me a message What if electrification is no longer just a climate solution — but an energy security strategy? In this episode of Climate Confident, I’m joined by Gavin Mooney , an independent energy transition advisor working across utilities, electrification, and energy markets. We look at Australia as a live test case for the energy transition: a country rich in coal, gas, sunshine, and wind, yet still exposed through imported diesel, freight, mining, agriculture, and long-distance transport. That contradiction matters. For climate tech, decarbonisation, net zero, emissions reduction, and policy, it changes the frame from “cleaner energy” to “who controls the energy system?” You’ll hear why rooftop solar has become normal in Australia, with more than one in three homes now generating power from the roof, and why home batteries are scaling faster than many expected. We dig into how storage is changing the economics of solar, why virtual power plants are running into a trust problem rather than a technology problem, and why smart tariffs may prove more effective than utilities trying to take control of assets people bought themselves. You might be shocked to learn how quickly diesel vulnerability can reshape thinking on EVs, electric trucking, and resilience. We also touch on India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Lebanon, Ethiopia, Nepal, and Vietnam — places where the energy transition is moving in ways that rarely make the headlines, but absolutely should. 🎙️ Listen now to hear how Gavin Mooney cuts through the noise on electrification, storage, policy, and real-world climate action. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita Krajnc Cecilia Skarupa Ben Gross Jerry Sweeney Andreas Werner Stephen Carroll Roger Arnold And remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition. Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice. If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident

June 24, 2026Episode 28241 min

AI’s Energy Paradox: More Compute Could Cut Industrial Emissions

Get in touch - leave me a message What if AI’s biggest climate impact isn’t chatbots, but cutting real energy waste in buildings, grids, and factories? In this episode of Climate Confident, I’m joined by Philippe Rambach , Chief AI Officer at Schneider Electric , to unpack one of the sharpest tensions in climate tech today: AI is increasing electricity demand, but used well, it may also be one of the tools we need for decarbonisation, emissions reduction, and a faster energy transition. You’ll hear why Philippe argues that the real opportunity is not in chasing every shiny new model, but in applying AI to physical systems: reducing peak demand, optimising building energy use, supporting grid operators, and helping companies move from pilots to production. We dig into Schneider Electric’s work on using AI to cut energy waste, including the striking claim that in some energy-saving applications, the carbon emitted to run the model can be dwarfed by the energy saved. We also get into the hard bits people love to ignore because apparently spreadsheets and wishful thinking are still considered strategy in some quarters. Why do so many AI pilots fail to scale? Why does domain knowledge matter as much as technical skill? How should businesses think about responsible AI, privacy, policy, net zero, and the operational realities of electrification? This is a practical conversation about AI for energy, not AI theatre. 🎙️ Listen now to hear how Philippe Rambach and Schneider Electric are applying AI to real-world decarbonisation and climate action. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita Krajnc Cecilia Skarupa Ben Gross Jerry Sweeney Andreas Werner Stephen Carroll Roger Arnold And remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition. Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice. If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident

June 17, 2026Episode 28141 min

Animal Agriculture’s Stranded Asset Risk, and Why ESG Keeps Missing It

Get in touch - leave me a message What if one of the biggest climate risks in your portfolio is hiding in plain sight — in food, land, methane, and animal-dependent industries? In this episode of Climate Confident, I’m joined by Claire Smith , founder and CEO of Beyond Investing , to unpack why climate finance cannot stop at fossil fuels. Claire has spent years building investment products that screen for animal use, climate impact, weapons, defence, human rights issues, and risks mainstream ESG too often waves through with a clean conscience and a spreadsheet. You’ll hear why Claire believes animal agriculture is a broken business model, propped up by subsidies and exposed to stranded asset risk in ways that echo the fossil fuel sector. We dig into how food systems connect to methane, water use, land use, biodiversity loss, emissions reduction, and supply chain fragility — and why treating food as a side issue in the energy transition is a mistake. You might be shocked to learn that animal agriculture uses around 75% of agricultural land while producing only 18% of calories. We also explore where climate tech, policy, and capital could help scale animal-free alternatives and resilient food systems that support decarbonisation, net zero, and real-world climate action. 🎙️ Listen now to hear how Claire Smith and Beyond Investing are challenging lazy ESG thinking and redirecting finance toward a cleaner economy. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita Krajnc Cecilia Skarupa Ben Gross Jerry Sweeney Andreas Werner Stephen Carroll Roger Arnold And remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition. Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice. If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident

June 10, 2026Episode 27937 min

No One Wants to Ship Water: The Energy Security Case for Flow Batteries

Get in touch - leave me a message No one wants to ship water around the world. That one line says a lot about the next phase of energy storage. In this episode of Climate Confident, I’m joined by Min Tang , Director of International Business at Rongke Power , one of the world’s leading vanadium flow battery companies. We get into why long-duration storage is moving from climate tech side-story to core grid infrastructure, and why that matters for decarbonisation, energy transition planning, net zero delivery, emissions reduction, and policy. You’ll hear why vanadium flow batteries are not trying to replace lithium-ion batteries, and why that matters. Different problem. Different tool. Min explains how flow batteries can run for more than 20,000 cycles, retain capacity over decades, and support grid-scale black start, the kind of resilience that becomes rather important when grids are asked to absorb more renewables, power more electrification, and stay upright while demand from industry and AI data centres grows. We dig into the economics too: why storage duration changes cost, how electrolyte leasing can cut upfront CapEx, and why local supply chains could become a major strategic advantage. You might be shocked to learn that localisation is baked into this technology because the electrolyte is mostly water. Glamorous? No. Important? Absolutely. 🎙️ Listen now to hear how Min Tang and Rongke Power are helping turn long-duration storage into practical climate action. Sign up to Climate Confident+ for deep dive analysis of the major climate and energy stories of the day. Support the show Podcast subscribers I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Anita Krajnc Cecilia Skarupa Ben Gross Jerry Sweeney Andreas Werner Stephen Carroll Roger Arnold And remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. 🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability? I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition. Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice. If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident