Planet A - Talks on Climate Change – Details, episodes & analysis

In this episode of Planet A, Professor Michael E. Mann – a leading figure in climate research and a vocal participant in public discourse on global warming – brings his insights into what he describes as the “New Climate War”.
 
He outlines how powerful interests, including fossil fuel industries and certain political forces, have long obstructed substantial climate action to safeguard their profits. These actors have mastered the art of polluting public discourse with misinformation. 

Mann paints a dystopian picture of what the United States—and by extension, the planet—could face if the forces opposing climate action succeed in their agendas. 
 
In spite of this, Mann maintains his stance as a stubborn optimist. He calls on listeners to reject apathy and engage in collective actions that push for substantial and systemic changes in environmental policy and practice. 

In this episode of Planet A, the ‘father’ of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, Cary Fowler, takes us on an extraordinary journey through his mission to safeguard the world’s agricultural heritage. Placed deep in the Arctic, the Seed Vault stands as a global insurance, protecting millions of seed samples from the growing threats of climate change. 

Dr. Fowler shares his thoughts on the connection between food security and climate change, highlighting the importance of increasing diversity in crops to ensure their resilience against the changing climate. A problem which might be eased by what Dr. Fowler calls ‘Adapted Crops and Soils’.

Dive into his perspective, including both optimism and caution, as he acknowledges the gravity of our planetary crisis yet reveals promising advancements that could pave the way to a hopeful, food-secure future.

In this episode of Planet A, Dan Jørgensen is joined by Mafalda Duarte, the executive director of the world’s largest climate fund – the Green Climate Fund. 

Mafalda Duarte sheds light on how the fund is at the forefront of aiding developing countries on their path to development that is both low in emissions and resilient to the climate. 

She explains the fund’s projects which span billions of dollars and how to balance this with the needs of developing countries: “We have to put ourselves in the shoes of these people in developing countries.” 

What concrete investments lead to sustainable development? How can developed and developing countries better work together to achieve climate goals? 

Join us as Mafalda Duarte and Dan Jørgensen tackle these questions and discuss the potential of climate finance in the quest for sustainable development. 

In this episode of Planet A, Dan Jørgensen sits down with The European "Mr. Energy", Claude Turmes, for a conversation that spans personal anecdotes, political experiences, and urgent climate challenges.

Claude Turmes has served as the Minister for Energy in Luxembourg for almost five years, and has been a tireless and prominent advocate for green energy and sustainability for decades both within Luxembourg and the European Union. 

He was Vice President of the parliamentary group of the Green Party in the EU and has represented the European Parliament at numerous UN Climate Change Conferences.

Turmes thus has years of experience with energy politics and the fight for sustainable development and international cooperation. 

The episode kicks off with Turmes explaining what got him started being invested in the politics of energy and his time as a member of the European Parliament. 

As the dialogue continues, they discuss the challenge of transitioning from fossil fuels to renewables, especially in areas like heating. Turmes explains Luxembourg's approach, emphasizing the need for comprehensive politics, given the vast implications on households across the nation.

Rounding off the episode, Turmes then sheds light on the massive changes happening in energy intensive sectors and the promising potential of green technologies, including green hydrogen and e-fuels.

In this episode of Planet A, Dan Jørgensen talks to a true pioneer within the field of wind energy, the father of the modern Danish wind turbine and the world's first offshore wind farm, Henrik Stiesdal, former Chief Technology Officer of Siemens Wind Power.

 Stiesdal shares his personal story, recounting how, as a young farmer boy during the 1973 oil crisis, he built his first wind turbine to harness affordable wind power for his family. He also tells the story of how the world's wind turbines have ended up rotating clockwise and how they built the first offshore wind farm in the world, Vindeby Offshore Wind Farm.

 Aside from the fascinating stories from a whole life in the business he also describes the special conditions that made the Danish offshore wind adventure possible and explains key factors to the success – among others when Danish pensions funds started to invest in the wind farms before they were even built.

 They also discuss the low cost and other merits of offshore wind, even when the wind doesn’t blow. As well as the future of offshore wind, which could potentially meet global electricity consumption needs tenfold.

 Stiesdal finishes off with an insight into his latest projects – the floating offshore wind farm and the technology of pyrolysis, that he is now working on. 

 You can watch the TED-talk mentioned in the podcast, where Dan Jørgensen brought Stiesdal first small rotor to the international scene, here:

 https://youtu.be/adJnm7Yopdo?si=PuM9oEd_RAgpgu5u

In this episode of Planet A Dan Jørgensen talks to Chris Bowen, Australian Minister for Climate Change and Energy. 

This July was the hottest month ever recorded. Just another fact that underlines that humanity has to live with the devastating consequenses of climate change such as natural disasters.  

“No country is being spared, and they're increasingly frequent, increasingly severe, and increasingly unnatural.  They're not natural disasters anymore, because they're caused by human activity” says Chris Bowen. 

But what can governments such as the Australian and the Danish do to tackle the climate crisis? How do you ensure green transition of an economy that used to build on fossil fuels? And what do we need to get out of COP28 in Dubai?  

That’s being discussed in this episode where Chris Bowen shares his experience with setting a new and ambitious course for Australian climate policy, passing Australia’s Climate Act and increasing the national climate targets.

In this episode of Planet A Dan Jørgensen talks to Achim Steiner, head of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). 

They discuss the threats climate change poses to global development and the fight against poverty, the urgent need for financial markets to support the green transition and climate adaptation in developing countries, as well as their  expectations for COP28.

Steiner brings almost thirty years of experience in sustainable development, climate resilience, and international cooperation to the table. 

Previously, he served as the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) from 2006 to 2016. Steiner has also held positions such as the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi and the Director-General of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Steiner’s expertise lies in understanding the connection between climate and development, and he emphasizes the importance of integrating climate action into development initiatives for sustainable outcomes.

In this episode of Planet A Dan Jørgensen talks to Graham Hill who is a dedicated climate change advocate and sustainability pioneer.

Graham Hill explains how he works to change the mindset on climate change within a corporation, what it takes to change a culture and how to reduce your carbon footprint by following “The Big Six”.

In the discussion Hill quotes the legendary management consultant and writer Peter Drucker stating that “Culture eats strategy for breakfast”, which is a key point in the talk.

Graham Hill is probably best known for shaping platforms like TreeHugger.com and LifeEdited as well as GreenRoots and the more recent Carbonauts. Through these platforms, he has worked professionally with what it takes to encourage people to adopt sustainable practices and conscious living for more than two decades. He has been ranked among the "100 Most Creative People in Business" by Fast Company.

In this episode Dan Jørgensen talks to American actor and comedian Rainn Wilson. He is perhaps best known for playing Dwight Schrute on the NBC sitcom “The Office” which has earned him three consecutive Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. But Rainn Wilson is also strongly engaged in climate activism, and he works tirelessly to raise awareness of global warming.

Wilson and Jørgensen crack a couple of jokes and discuss how humor can be used in the fight against climate change and what people can do to make a difference – whatever their trade or profession. They also discuss why Rainn Wilson changed his name to “Rainfall Heat Wave Rising Sea Levels Wilson” before the international climate negotiations last year at COP27 in Sharm-El-Sheik.

They talk about the different climate initiatives that Wilson is advocating. Wilson is an advisory board member of the Arctic Basecamp, created by Professor Gail Whiteman, whom Wilson mentions in the podcast. They attended the annual World Economic Forum in Davos to speak “science to power” and launched the Arctic Risk Platform to create awareness of the disturbing effects of rising temperatures and climate change already evident on the Arctic ice sheet in Greenland.

Wilson has been engaged in a sweeping range of projects, from hosting the Saturday Night Live show to founding SoulPancake, a digital media company that explores life’s big questions as part of his search for clarity.

Wilson also hosts the Youtube Series: An Idiots Guide to Climate Change.

He was also part of the TED Countdown for COP26 in Glasgow where he asked other comedians: “Can climate change ever be funny?”.

In this 4th episode of the 6th season of Planet A, Dan Jørgensen talks to Dr. Angela Carter, who is a leading expert on phasing out fossil fuels.

They discuss the risks of fossil fuel dependency, especially for the least developed countries, the need to align fossil fuel production with our climate imperative, and the importance of global commitments to keep fossil fuels in the ground. These international efforts include the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance (BOGA) and the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty.

They also touch on the closely related subject of a people-centered clean energy transition and how to support workers and communities in moving away from the fossil fuel industry and into green energy jobs.

Angela Carter is an associate professor at the Department of Political Science and Balsillie School of International Affairs at the University of Waterloo. Carter is also an energy transitions specialist at the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD). 

She is known for her interdisciplinary research on environmental policies and politics surrounding Canadian fossil fuel development and the ecological and political-economic risks of fossil fuel dependence. She recently published the award-winning book FOSSILIZED: Environmental Policy in Canada's Petro-Provinces.

Carter is engaged in public debate on climate politics and has served as a member of the Net-Zero Advisory Council, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.