TRACK CHANGES - chats with climate change and sustainability experts

The world's newest environmental treaty will protect the high seas - those parts of the ocean that belong to no nation. These marine waters extend over about half the planet. This ambitious treaty recently won the world's most prestigious environmental prize - the Earthshot prize for reviving our oceans. The prize was accepted on behalf of the treaty by the director of the High Seas Alliance - Rebecca Hubbard.  In this episode, Track Changes hosts Franziska and Murray do a virtual 'trip' to Rio to recreate that well-deserved prize-winning moment at the 2025 Earthshot prizes. And then we chat with Rebecca, who explains how the treaty was developed and what it will do.  It's an inspiring episode - enjoy! 

The proposed Melanesian Ocean Reserve is an ambitious proposal to protect more than six million square kilometres of incredibly biodiverse ocean, centred on the waters of Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, and New Caledonia. In this episode, we talk to globally renowned politician Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu's Climate Change and Environment Minister, who is playing a leading role in bringing the Reserve into being. Ralph was a leading figure in securing UN General Assembly support to seek an International Court of Justice advisory opinion on the climate change obligations of nation states. And he is now spearheading efforts to make that landmark ICJ opinion the baseline for policy-making and decision-making on climate change. Enjoy the episode!

Will the UN COP30 climate summit in Belem, Brazil, be a success? Will it be a COP that explicitly aims for 'Tropical Forests Forever' and tacitly leaves the world in a 'fossil fuels forever' mindset? Or will it be a COP where there is action across the board? And what is likely to happen on the crucial issue of providing finance to developing countries to help them reduce emissions and adapt to climate change and disruption? In this episode, two senior journalists from the Carbon Pulse news service - Allison Gacad and Mark Tilly - share their insights about this make-or-break COP.

It's important to face up to the destructive nature of the Queensland LNP's so-called energy roadmap, and related LNP moves that make it much harder for renewable energy projects to get assessed, let alone approved.  The LNP has gone rogue on energy, barely maintaining any pretence of treating the renewables sector fairly. And if there is to be an energy transition in Queensland, it will be despite the LNP state government, not because of it. In this special episode, Queensland Opposition Leader Steven Miles discusses the LNP's roadmap, and talks about what it means for the state, and for the nation.  

Some industry groups have for years succeeded in undermining effective climate policies. And there's no sign of them stopping. In this episode, Christian Downie discusses his impressive work on how these industry associations operate - and his findings on the eye-watering amounts of money they spend. Plus we do a deep dive on some of them - including the Australian Energy Producers, and the Minerals Council of Australia. And we also discuss Manufacturing Australia's current fossil gas campaign. Christian is a Professor in the School of Regulation and Global Governance at the Australian National University, and he's also director of the ANU's Governing Energy Transitions Lab. As well as teaching at ANU, he's taught at the University of Cambridge and the London School of Economics. Christian has also been an advisor to several government departments, and he's co-edited a new book called Climate Obstruction - A Global Assessment. And particularly relevant to today's chat, he has a strong research interest in how some business associations have stymied good climate policy. Enjoy!  

The most feasible short-term approach to decarbonising commercial shipping is not green ammonia or green methanol - and definitely not LNG - it's wind, says Andrew Dickson. Andrew has worked on big solar, hydrogen and wind projects, and he reckons high-tech wind assisted shipping propulsion is the easiest place to start. That's because scaling green maritime fuels - while it needs to be done - is so complex and will take such a long time. With wind, there's no fuel supply (bunkering) issues, no dangerous substances, no complex new crew training requirements, and it's retrofittable. And it can result in a meaningful cut in emissions. (And no, it's not a deck covered in turbines, and it's not your standard sail). And a bonus chat with Carbon Pulse Asia Pacific editor Mark Tilly, who gives a policy perspective on cutting maritime emissions, with the goal of net zero by 2050.  Co-hosted by Murray Griffin and Dr Franziska Curran.

A panel-pod on the scourge of climate disinformation and misinformation - "the firehose of falsehoods" as one panellist poetically puts it! We need to understand which groups are running climate change disinformation and misinformation campaigns -  and who is funding them - if we are to make progress. "We don't need to change the minds of everyone in society to get climate action - we just need to activate enough people!"  Featuring three people involved in a landmark new book called Climate Obstruction - A Global Assessment - out from Oxford University Press. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/climate-obstruction-9780197787144?cc=au⟨=en& Timmons Roberts is a co-editor of the book, and Melissa Aronczyk and John Cook are two of the many contributors to it. Tune in (and read the book too - it's terrific!) Track Changes is a podcast for those active in the climate and sustainability bubble, and for the bubble curious. It features chats with climate and sustainability experts, and it's presented by Melbourne-based communications advisor - and former climate journalist - Murray Griffin.

Tony Chappel, chief executive of the NSW EPA, talks about the authority's groundbreaking new proposals to help make sure NSW meets its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets. Tony talks about the steps the NSW EPA will take to ensure large emitters cut carbon pollution, and to make sure these companies tell the public what they emit and what they're doing about it. And he talks about how the NSW proposals differ from federal emissions reduction legislation, and how the two regulatory regimes will interact. You can find the proposed NSW greenhouse gas guidance materials at https://yoursay.epa.nsw.gov.au/climate-change-licensee-requirements.  Then, Carbon Pulse North America editor Allison Gacad has some great insights to share on what the US EPA achieved under the Obama and Biden Administrations, and what has happened under the Trump Administration. She'll also talk about how US states are responding to the Trump Administration rollbacks.

A wide-ranging interview with Timor-Leste President José Ramos-Horta. The President talks about climate change, the country's oil and gas reserves, and the nation's support for the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty initiative. And he also talks about inequities in the global financial system, as well as his expectations for this year's UN 'COP30' climate summit, and next year's 'COP31' summit. You can find out more about the President on his official website https://ramoshorta.com/. You can find out more about Rai Matak here https://pollinationgroup.com/rai-matak/.

In this episode, Productivity Commissioner Barry Sterland chats about the Commission's new, interim clean energy and net zero report - and he touches on the other major new Commission report he has co-authored, on tax and regulatory reform. Tune in to hear what this very productive Productivity Commissioner - who is one of Australia's top climate and economic policy experts - has to say about the electricity market, environmental approvals, large emitters, carbon credits, and housing resilience! You can find the Commission's report at https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/current/net-zero/interim. Here at Track Changes we love feedback! Email your comments, episode suggestions etc to murray@earthed.au. And if you like the episode, please rate it, and share it with colleagues - it helps us grow into a bigger, better podcast - thanks for tuning in! 

This episode is a 'road trip' around Australia in the 'Track Changes' classic ute exploring what states and territories are doing (or undoing) on climate change and sustainability! And it includes stopover chats with SA Deputy Premier Susan Close, The Next Economy chief executive Lizzie Webb, and Jarrod Leak, chief executive of the Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity.  Buckle up and find out which state seems to have embraced 'a future delayed in Australia'! Hear about a back-from-the-dead climate bill! Learn which regional city could soon be known for 'flying whales'!  Here at Track Changes we love feedback! Email your comments, episode suggestions etc to murray@earthed.au. And if you like the episode please rate it, and share it with colleagues - it helps us grow into a bigger, better podcast - thanks for tuning in! Useful links: A2EP has a huge range of resources for businesses on existing and emerging energy technologies - https://www.a2ep.org.au.  The Next Economy has some great reports on its work with regional communities - https://nexteconomy.com.au.  Details on South Australia's Biodiversity Act are here https://www.environment.sa.gov.au/topics/biodiversity/biodiversity-act. 

The three talented and insightful climate change activists/energy experts in this panel episode can see right through oil and gas industry spin - and that's because each of them used to work for a fossil fuel company. You'll hear from Lindsey Gulden (formerly of Exxon, now with US-based Leg Up Data), Greg Bourne (ex-BP and now a Climate Council councillor after stints heading environment group WWF Australia and chairing the Australian Renewable Energy Agency), and Alex Hillman (ex-Woodside and now with the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility).  They share their unique insights into how fossil companies really think and operate. Find out: How the messaging from oil and gas companies differs from reality. How these companies have changed in recent years. Key steps to achieving a fossil fuel phase-down, even if these businesses refuse to willingly transition. Here at Track Changes we love feedback! Email your comments, episode suggestions etc to murray@earthed.au. And if you like the episode please rate it, and share it with colleagues - it helps us grow into a bigger, better podcast - thanks for tuning in!

Around the world, national governments - and sometimes state governments - operate emissions trading schemes that apply to businesses emitting large amounts of dangerous greenhouse gas. Australia's program is called the Safeguard Mechanism, and it covers just over 200 factories, mines, and fossil fuel power stations. Is the Safeguard tough enough? Should it be expanded to cover more sites? What will happen to the Safeguard when Australia decides on a 2035 national emissions reduction pledge? In this episode, I chat to three Safeguard experts - Thomas Hodson and Grace Tully, both of consultancy Anthesis, and Dr Franziska Curran, an academic and consultant. After that, I chat with Mark Tilly, Asia Pacific editor with online climate change and nature news services Carbon Pulse and Biodiversity Pulse, about what Australia's stunning federal election result - which delivered a landslide victory for Labor - means for climate change and nature policy.  Tune in to hear from this awesome foursome - Grace, Thomas, Franziska, and Mark!    

Where should climate activists focus their attention now, in these difficult and frightening times? How can we make fossil fuel companies stop polluting, when they show no signs of doing so? And what changes are making it easier for activists to gain traction?  In this episode, we hear from Bill McKibben and Kafia Ahmed, who have years of activism experience and are deep thinkers about these issues.  And we hear about their efforts to bring together and maximise the impact of a  70-million strong pool of potential activists who have been overlooked for too long. Bill and Kafia talk about dealing with misinformation campaigns, the need for incentives to encourage big polluters to cut their emissions, and the need for strong punitive measures for big polluters who don't stop polluting.  And they discuss why so many companies have said they'll do the right thing on climate change, but have then backtracked.  As Bill puts it: 'these guys operate out of fear, so one of the jobs of movements is to strike enough fear into them that they do the right thing'.  Bill and Kafia also talk about Third Act, founded by Bill a few years ago, and headed by Kafia, which brings Americans aged over 60 into the climate change and social justice activism fold.  As Kafia says, the members of Third Act aren't interested in just putting their feet up. "It's all about putting your feet on the ground and stomping towards justice."  Or, as Bill puts it, Third Act members aren't fighting for their future. But they are fighting for their legacy. Bill is a hero in the climate movement, and one of the most influential figures in climate change activism. He is a prolific author on climate change, and played a key role in founding 350.org, the first global grassroots climate organisation. He has also played a leadership role in global fossil fuel divestment campaigns. More recently Bill founded Third Act, which has grown to a network of more than 70,000 Americans in just a few years. Kafia Ahmed is the chief executive of Third Act, and for almost 20 years she has been organising in communities on issues including climate change, housing, racial justice, immigration, gender-based violence, and prison reform. Kafia has worked extensively in both the US and East Africa. You can find out about Third Act here https://thirdact.org.  Bill and Kafia are currently closely involved in launching a major day of celebration of clean energy on September 21, called Sun Day. You can find more details here https://www.sunday.earth.

A hybrid episode based on the findings of a survey of 1,800 practitioners by specialist ESG recruitment agency Talent Nation. There's some fascinating insights into trends in the ESG sector in this episode. For example: People are more likely to stay put in their jobs than in the previous year or two, with the exception of early career professionals. Very few early career professionals consider they are paid adequately. Women are paying a 'loyalty penalty', with women that have been in their jobs for a long time likely to be paid significantly less than their male peers. Three years ago 80% of sustainability managers had more than 10 years experience, compared to just under 60% this year. The speed with which many sustainability professionals are being promoted does raise burnout risks, particularly for professionals that have not had sufficient mentoring, or that work alone or in a small team. This episode comprises an interview with Talent Nation founder and chief executive Richard Evans, and highlights from a webinar jointly hosted by Richard and Talent Nation principal recruitment consultant Claire Black.  You can find out more about Talent Nation and obtain a copy of the survey report at https://talentnation.com.au. 

Yes, we do need carbon credits to successfully fight climate change. Despite what some say, there's no evidence that we can raise sufficient finance to successfully fight climate change without using them. And there's no way to fully decarbonise at speed without bringing them into play.  However, those involved in their creation, purchase, or use need to follow what is now well-established guidance on doing so with integrity. And they need to use them for the right purposes.  This episode on carbon credits features Michaela Morris, the newly-appointed chief executive of Tasman Environmental Markets, known as TEM, which provides carbon offsetting solutions in Australia and across the Asia-Pacific. Michaela previously worked in a senior executive role at the prestigious Climateworks thinktank, and before that worked as a senior climate and sustainability consultant, assisting major companies with their decarbonisation and sustainability efforts.  Michaela talks about perceptions of carbon credits, outlines problems with the concept of "real zero", discusses how to wisely choose and use carbon credits, and chats about 'scope 3' emissions. Michaela stresses the need for companies that are contemplating using credits to have science-based emissions reduction targets in place, as well as credible transition plans. And she advises companies not to "net off" their use of carbon credits against their residual emissions in their reporting, describing it as counter-productive.  In addition, she lists four purposes for which carbon credit use is legitimate:  dealing with residual emissions. going voluntarily above and beyond your target operational emissions reductions in any given year. investing in CO2 removal. smoothing your decarbonisation trajectory, while staying within your carbon budget.  You can find out more about TEM at https://www.tasmanenvironmental.com.au and you can find out about its new TEM Online Enterprise service at https://www.tasmanenvironmental.com.au/solutions/marketplace-solutions/ 

Could Australia's future as a renewable energy superpower encompass providing Direct Air Capture services to major international companies? Find out in this chat with two direct air capture (DAC) experts - Julian Turecek, chief executive of Australian start-up AspiraDAC, and Professor Deanna D'Alessandro, director of Sydney University's Net Zero Institute. Find out how DAC works, the state of play, and when the technology is likely to be ready for large-scale deployment. You can find out more about AspiraDAC here https://www.aspiradac.com There's more on the Net Zero Institute here https://www.sydney.edu.au/net-zero-institute/ You can find out more about the Direct Air Capture Coalition here https://daccoalition.org

Three fab guests for this new episode - talking about the use of drones to protect the environment and fight climate change! James Schultz is the co-founder and chief executive of GreenCollar, Australia's largest provider of nature-based carbon abatement. Cam Baker is co-founder and chief executive of NZ-based EnvicoTech, a global drone company. And Joss Crawford is executive director of operations with EPA Victoria.  Drones with LiDAR, drones with buckets, drones with heat sensors, and drones that drop seed and baits. Drones that can catch crooks, and drones that empower communities. Drones that help put the 'big' in big data. Tune in to find out more!  Also, Joss mentions this excellent, non-drone-related project in our chat: https://www.monash.edu/mada/news/2021/new-tramlab-toolkits-provide-a-route-to-womens-safety-on-public-transport.  Oh, and just because it's so good, and it's sort of relevant, here is a fantastic drone display from  the 2023 UN Climate Ambition summit! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drbWlcyU8tU 

In this episode, I run through upcoming climate and sustainability developments in each Australian jurisdiction. There's a lot happening on climate, biodiversity and waste! As well providing a detailed outline of legislative and policy developments, I allocate a word or phrase that in some way captures the performance of each jurisdiction. Find out why I've called one state "the comfort zone", why another state has earned a "show me the money" tag because of its work on financial incentives and disincentives, and why one jurisdiction is showing clear signs of "regulatory capture". There is a reference in this episode to a blog post on Western Australia's appallingly bad Pilbara Environmental Offsets Fund. You can find that post here https://earthed.au/how-things-are-done-in-australias-most-nature-negative-state.  Plus Mark Tilly, Asia Pacific editor of Carbon Pulse and Biodiversity Pulse, chats about international developments in 2025. Get set for a wild ride as the world grapples with the new US Administration!

There is no doubt that we have the means and the knowledge to rapidly decarbonise, reach net zero, and become net negative. But success is not guaranteed.  If we falter over the coming years, could geoengineering through solar radiation modification be a last chance option? Might we reach the point where we need to cool the planet, to give us a bit more breathing space while we decarbonise? Is it possible, or is it too dangerous? Would it undermine efforts to rapidly decarbonise? Would the benefits outweigh the risks, taking into account the harm already being done due to global heating? How would the world decide whether to deploy solar radiation modification (SRM), or even whether to conduct research? Who would make these decisions and what would the guardrails be? These questions are terrifying to contemplate. But so is the prospect of temperature rise beyond 1.5 degrees.  Not surprisingly, there are deep divisions among the scientific community. Some scientists - including high-profile climate scientist James Hansen - consider our current situation is so dire that there should be a rigorous, rapid scientific assessment of the feasibility and impacts of SRM approaches. There are other scientists who are resolutely opposed to SRM, and consider it a dangerous distraction from a focus on decarbonisation and greenhouse gas drawdown.  In this episode, I talk to Janos Pasztor who for seven years worked with the Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative, which took neither a pro- or anti- approach to SRM, instead focusing on governance issues around solar radiation management.  He also talks about a new report on SRM issued by the EU Commission's top scientific advisory body.  Janos's previous roles include UN Assistant Secretary General for Climate Change and senior advisor on climate change to then UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, in the lead-up to the 2015 Paris climate COP that led to the Paris Agreement. He has also held senior executive roles with environment group WWF International, the UN Environment Programme (known as UNEP), and with the secretariat to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Discover more on the various views on SRM: The Carnegie Climate Governance Initiative (operating from 2016 to 2023) https://c2g2.net Solar radiation modification - a report published in December 2024, by the EU Commission's Group of Chief Scientific Advisors. https://scientificadvice.eu/advice/solar-radiation-modification/ SAPEA evidence review report - solar radiation modification, also published in December 2024 https://portal-cdn.scnat.ch/asset/3af0316d-c0f2-5ca6-b543-c9bdba33baa5/srmerr.pdf 'Impact of solar geoengineering on temperature-attributable mortality', also published in December 2024, https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.2401801121?af=R 'Safeguarding the polar regions from dangerous geoengineering' (November 2024) https://www.researchgate.net/publication/385550908_Safeguarding_the_polar_regions_from_dangerous_geoengineering 'An open letter regarding research on reflecting sunlight to reduce the risks of climate change,' (February 2023), signed by more than 100 physical and biological scientists studying climate and climate impacts, including James Hansen https://climate-intervention-research-letter.org