TRACK CHANGES - climate change and sustainability interviews
TRACK CHANGES interviews people working for decarbonisation, nature repair, and a less polluted and wasteful world. Their insights can help us achieve change in our own working lives. The podcast is hosted by Murray Griffin, from climate and sustainability communications and content consultancy Earthed.au. It includes regular chats with Mark Tilly, AsIa Pacific editor for Carbon Pulse and Biodiversity Pulse.
Wed, April 09, 2025
Working in ESG: wages, conditions, and high-demand skills
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 .
Sun, March 23, 2025
Carbon credits (yes, we do need them)
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/
Wed, March 12, 2025
Direct air capture of CO2 - a new global role for Australia?
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
Mon, February 24, 2025
How drones help us protect the environment and fight climate change
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
Mon, February 03, 2025
What's coming up on climate change and sustainability in 2025
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!
Wed, December 18, 2024
Geoengineering through solar radiation modification - a last chance option?
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 <a href= "https://portal-cdn.scnat.ch/asset/3af031
Sun, December 15, 2024
International trade and climate policy; plus going feral
“We are not getting to net zero, we are not going to meet our climate goals, unless we deal with the emissions associated with international trade.” Emma Aisbett. A double-header episode, firstly covering climate change and international trade, then an update efforts to better manage a key threat to Australia's biodiversity. Preventing catastrophic climate change requires a new approach to international trade. But the World Trade Organisation has struggled to step up. What is being done to ensure trade policy doesn’t stand in the way of climate change action, but is instead supportive of it? And what more can be done? In this episode, you'll hear from climate and trade expert Emma Aisbett, Associate Professor at the Australian National University School of Law. Emma has a bachelor of chemical engineering (UNSW), a masters degree in environmental change and management (Oxford University), and a PhD in economics (UC Berkeley). Her current research centres on trade-related climate policy and international green industrial policy, and she has some intriguing things to say, covering issues including carbon border adjustment mechanisms (CBAMs) and guarantee of origin schemes. Then, it's a change of topic. You'll hear from Mark Tilly, Asia Pacific editor of Carbon Pulse and Biodiversity Pulse about one of the biggest threats to Australia's biodiversity, and what's being done about it. Feral cats in Australia kill over 1.5 billion native mammals, birds, reptiles and frogs, and 1.1 billion invertebrates each year. Predation by cats is a recognised threat to over 200 nationally threatened species, and 37 listed migratory species. Mark gives us an update on the latest efforts by federal, state and territory environment ministers to deal with this threat. Discover more: Papers that Emma has recently contributed to include: · Eight principles to design certification for embedded emissions in major export products. https://policybrief.anu.edu.au/eight-principles-to-design-certification-for-embedded-emissions-in-major-export-products/ · Principles for embedded emissions accounting to support trade-related climate policy. https://researchport
Thu, December 05, 2024
COP29 wrap: A surprise, a superfan, and Singapore
In this episode, find out from Evan Stamatiou what has prompted the Global South to become more enthusiastic about carbon markets. And hear his thoughts on the COP 'beehive', as well as on the importance of COP-complementary action, as demonstrated by regional leaders such as Singapore. And for all you wonks out there who think you understand the Paris Agreement's Article 6 international cooperation provisions, chances are you don't! That's because you've focused on Article 6.2 (country to country trading) and 6.4 (a centralised crediting scheme under UN supervision), and overlooked the importance of the Agreement's 'non-market' Article 6.8 cooperation measure! Article 6.8 superfan Emily Gerrard explains its significant potential, and describes the likely impact of what was achieved at Baku on Article 6. Plus Mark Tilly gives an overview of the COP, discusses the quality of the COP's Article 6 decisions, and describes the COP's most surprising speech. Was this the finance COP or the nothing-much-but-finance COP? Did the COP's presidential problem turn out to be not so much the US President-elect, but the Azerbaijani COP presidency? For answers to all these questions and more, tune in here! For more of Evan's reflections on COP, check out his LinkedIn posts: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evan-stamatiou-8916b115/ . To read Emily's analysis of Article 6, check out here posts here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emily-gerrard/ . And for comprehensive international carbon and biodiversity news, check out Carbon Pulse and Biodiversity Pulse: https://carbon-pulse.com . Explore related COP29 Track Changes episodes: Carbon markets and climate finance - an interview with Peter Castellas of Climate Zeitgeist. COP29 mix-tape - the COP from 'A' to 'J' (conference vox pops from the delegates pavilion). COP29: Richie Merzian - from climate negotiator to clean energy advocate. COP29: Leaders of today and tomorrow (Three speakers at the leaders segment that kicked off COP29 - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the UN's chief climate scientist Jim Skea, and the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley - followed by two leaders of tomorrow - Toni Kemel Soalablai and Charlie Bevis - who are both involved in the Youth Negotiators Academy. <span class="Apple-converted-spac
Thu, November 21, 2024
COP29: Peter Castellas on carbon markets and climate finance
This COP29 episode is a chat with Peter Castellas, chief executive of Climate Zeitgeist. Peter founded Climate Zeitgeist to catalyse investment in business solutions that address climate change. Its activities include the annual Climate Investor Forum, which connects investors and climate change solutions providers. Peter talks about the COP, with a strong focus on progress being made on rules for carbon markets, which are a key instrument that enables climate change cooperation between countries and companies. These rules are being established under what's known as Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Article 6 comprises two parts. Article 6.2 provides for market-based exchanges of emissions abatement between countries. And article 6.4 provides for a UN-administered carbon market. Explore related Track Changes episodes: COP29: A surprise, a superfan, and Singapore (reflections on COP from Evan Stamatiou of Climate Risk Management, Emily Gerrard of Comhar Group, and Mark Tilly of Carbon Pulse). COP29 mix-tape - the COP from 'A' to 'J' (conference vox pops from the delegates pavilion). Richie Merzian - from climate negotiator to clean energy advocate. Leaders of today and tomorrow (Three speakers at the leaders segment that kicked off the COP - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the UN's chief climate scientist Jim Skea, and the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley - followed by two leaders of tomorrow - Toni Kemel Soalablai and Charlie Bevis - who are both involved in the Youth Negotiators Academy. COP29: Damaged but not lost - an interview with WWF's Kesaya Baba, and Mark Tilly of Carbon Pulse.
Wed, November 20, 2024
COP29 mix-tape: Vox pops from the delegates pavilion
Vox pops are journalism's equivalent of bungee jumping - you take a leap forward and hope for the best! I wandered the corridors of the large area allocated for organisation and country pavilions at COP29, asking representatives about their work, and about their focus at the COP. You'll hear from people working on issues including health, adaptation, risk communication, solar energy, transition planning, carbon markets, infrastructure planning, the business response, methane mitigation, and more. And you'll hear from people based in countries and regions including Bangladesh, Switzerland, the Horn of Africa, Sweden, Pacific island nations, India, and South Korea. It was a particular honour to talk to Ghana's lead negotiator, Dr. Antwi-Boasiako Amoah. Ghana is a very active member of the V20, which is a coalition of 70 climate-vulnerable developing countries. It was a thrill to record these interview snippets, and I hope you enjoy listening to them! (Oh, and one more piece of jargon you will hear - 'Article 6' refers to a part of the Paris Agreement that deals with international cooperation, especially through markets).
Mon, November 18, 2024
COP29: Richie Merzian - from negotiator to clean energy advocate
Richie Merzian is currently the chief executive of Australia's Clean Energy Investor Group, which represents investors in the clean energy transition. He is also a former member of Australia's negotiating team, so he can talk about the COP from both sides of the fence. In this wide-ranging episode Richie explains how the negotiations operate, and describes what clean energy investors can bring to the table. We also discuss whether the world would be better off with the US out of the negotiations for the next few years, and the potential impact of the G20 leaders summit. Richie highlights how Australia's experiences with renewables deployment can help other countries that are on the same path. And he emphasises the potential value of Australia and the Pacific hosting COP31 in 2026. It's a wide-ranging episode, and that's because my guest has a wide range of expertise. Tune in for some great insights!
Fri, November 15, 2024
COP 29: Leaders of today and tomorrow
This episode is a two-parter - the first part featuring leaders of today, and the second featuring leaders of tomorrow. First up, you'll hear from three speakers at the leaders segment that kicked off COP29 - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the UN's chief climate scientist Jim Skea, and the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley. (I'm a big fan of Prime Minister Mottley, and you'll understand why when you hear what she has to say about climate finance.) Then you'll hear from two leaders of tomorrow - Toni Kemel Soalablai and Charlie Bevis - who are both involved in the Youth Negotiators Academy. You will be amazed at what the Academy has achieved in a very short space of time. You'll also be fascinated with what Toni and Charlie have to say when I asked how different these negotiations would be, if it wasn't a conference of the parties, but was instead a conference of the parties' youth.
Tue, November 12, 2024
COP 29 - damaged, but not lost: We can still do this!
The episode features Kesaya Baba, who is heading up WWF Australia's delegation to the COP, and Mark Tilly, Asia Pacific editor of Carbon Pulse. There's excellent comments and insights from both. Yes, Trump's election win has damaged the mood of the COP, and the damage might extend beyond the atmospherics to some key issues that are the focus of the negotiations, as Mark explains. But not everything is about Trump. Progress can still be made. Others could step up. And, as Kesaya says, limiting temperature rise to 1.5 degrees is not a lost cause. Oh, and thanks to podcasting news service PodNews for listing Track Changes as a new and noteworthy podcast!
Trailer · Mon, November 04, 2024
Can 29 = 1.5?
Track Changes COP29 trailer. The 29th UN climate change summit in Azerbaijan, running from November 11 to 22, will be a crucial event, as the world attempts to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees. Track Changes will be doing special COP29 episodes. Tune in!
Tue, October 29, 2024
Good, but not great?
Australia's big emitters must play their part in the push to net zero. But how effective is the national policy designed to rein in their emissions, known as the reformed Safeguard Mechanism? Safeguard experts Thomas Hodgson and Dr Franziska Curran of sustainability consultancy Anthesis Group score and dissect the scheme, and suggest ways it could be improved. Find out where the "magic" lies in the Safeguard, which bits are almost flawless, and what might make it better. Plus, Mark Tilly, Asia Pacific editor of Carbon Pulse and Biodiversity Pulse, gives an overview of the state of play in Australia's carbon credit market, and uses a rather magnificent locomotive-and-railtracks analogy. Want to know more? Find out about the Safeguard here https://cer.gov.au/schemes/safeguard-mechanism Find out about Anthesis Group here https://www.anthesisgroup.com/au/ Find out about Carbon Pulse here https://carbon-pulse.com It's an almost jargon free episode! But there are a few terms that you might not be familiar with, which get a very brief mention: NGER - Australia's government-run emissions and energy reporting scheme, which applies to all large emitters. ACCU scheme - the Australian Carbon Credit Unit scheme, formerly known as the Emissions Reduction Fund, or ERF. TEBA - trade-exposed baseline adjusted. (The term for a less onerous emissions reduction requirement that is granted to a facility to protect its international competitiveness - it's the scariest bit of jargon in the episode, but is only used once to make an important point!)
S1 E2 · Tue, October 22, 2024
Food's $1 billion man
Coverage of the AltProteins 24 conference, hosted by the Australian/NZ Food Frontier think-tank. Includes comments from food's $1 billion man - Dr Andy Jarvis, director of the Bezos Earth Fund's 'Future of Food' program, which has committed $1 billion to help transform food and agricultural systems to support healthy lives, without degrading the planet. Plus vox pops from conference delegates, and an interview with Food Frontier founder and Chair Thomas King. Episode mentions: Find out more about Food Frontier here https://www.foodfrontier.org . Learn about the Bezos Earth Fund 'Future of Food' program here https://www.bezosearthfund.org/our-programs/future-of-food .
S1 E1 · Mon, October 14, 2024
Susan Brown: How international sustainability negotiations are evolving
An interview with international advocacy and diplomacy expert Susan Brown, who is shortly taking up the post of UNDP Assistant Administrator, and Director of its External Affairs and Advocacy Bureau. Speaking in a personal capacity, Susan describes how international sustainability/sustainable development negotiations are evolving, and discusses what it takes to have a positive impact on negotiating processes. Susan provides some great insights into negotiation dynamics, and into the changing expectations of ministers and diplomats. An unmissable interview for anyone interested in understanding what it takes to develop and deliver ambitious and effective international sustainability/sustainable development treaties that are fit-for-purpose to deal with multiple, complex global challenges. (You can read about Susan's UNDP appointment here https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/personnel-appointments/2024-09-18/ms-susan-brown-of-switzerland-assistant-administrator-and-director-bureau-for-external-relations-and-advocacy-of-the-united-nations-development-programme- )
Fri, October 11, 2024
Trailer
We're all on the same planet, but we're not all on the same page. In fact, really, I think this is the critical decade in more than one way. Yes, it's definitely the critical decade in terms of being the last chance to rescue our climate, our natural environment, and our wellbeing. But it's the critical decade in another way, too. Many people working in climate change and sustainability operate within a soup of criticism - mostly coming from people who blatantly ignore the great challenges that we face. Amidst all the noise, it can sometimes be hard to hear what people are actually saying, and to understand what they're doing. That's a problem. Because there's some amazing people out there, working to make the world cleaner, greener, and better. I'm inspired by them, and they give me hope for the future. They've all got important insights to share, insights that can help us have more of an impact in our own working lives. In this podcast series called Track Changes I talk to some of those people. Some working in decarbonisation, some in nature repair, and some fighting pollution and waste. I also chat regularly with Mark Tilly, the AsIa Pacific senior editor for international news services Carbon Pulse and Biodiversity Pulse. My name's Murray Griffin from climate and sustainability communications and content consultancy Earthed, and I like to listen to and learn from people who are making changes for the better. I hope you'll follow Track Changes to hear what these people have got to say. And if you've got any questions, or interview suggestions, you can reach me at my day job email address, which is murray@earthed.au .
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