Climate Confident - Stories And Strategies That Cut Emissions

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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.
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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

Contact
If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - get in touch via direct message on LinkedIn. 
If you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show.

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What if the biggest greenwashing risk isn’t bad intent, but business-as-usual marketing?
In this episode of Climate Confident, I’m joined by Helen Neal, founder of HN Communications, to dig into one of the most under-discussed risks in decarbonisation: how companies talk about sustainability when regulation is tightening, public trust is fragile, and every net zero claim is being scrutinised. This matters because the energy transition will not be carried by technology alone. Climate tech, policy, capital, supply chains, and public confidence all depend on credible communication.
You’ll hear why traditional corporate messaging can push companies into unintentional greenwashing, why greenhushing is not a safe escape route, and why sustainability claims increasingly need the discipline of financial reporting: clear evidence, third-party verification, and language that can survive scrutiny.
We dig into how AI can help check sustainability language, but also why human judgement still has to own the beginning and end of the process. Helen also explains why supply chain data, board accountability, regulation, and executive incentives are becoming central to credible climate leadership. A vague 2050 net zero pledge without a roadmap? That is not strategy. That is a red flag wearing a nice suit.
If you care about emissions reduction, business resilience, decarbonisation, and the real-world mechanics of the energy transition, this one is worth your time.
🎙️ Listen now to hear Helen Neal explain how companies can communicate sustainability with confidence, evidence, and impact.
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

Contact
If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - get in touch via direct message on LinkedIn. 
If you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show.

Get in touch - leave me a message
Fake people. Fake comments. Real clean energy projects killed.
This is what climate delay looks like in the AI era.
In this episode of Climate Confident, I’m joined by Leah Qusba, CEO of GoodPower, an organisation working at the intersection of climate tech, culture, policy, and decarbonisation. We explore a hard truth about the energy transition: solar, wind, batteries, and electrification may be ready, but public trust, local permission, and disinformation are now decisive barriers to getting projects built.
You’ll hear why Leah believes fossil fuel dependence is becoming harder to defend as “secure energy”, especially when oil and gas volatility keeps spilling into bills, food prices, business costs, and household budgets. We dig into why clean energy should be framed less as sacrifice and more as protection: protection from price shocks, geopolitical risk, climate impacts, and the charming little habit fossil fuels have of making everything more expensive.
We also get into GoodPower’s research on what actually changes minds. Their storytelling work has reached tens of millions of people and, in tested campaigns, shifted audiences from NIMBY to YIMBY by 11%. Leah explains why the right messenger can matter more than the perfect message, why rural voices can unlock rural support, and why creators in food, fashion, gaming, cars, comedy, and culture may be more effective climate communicators than traditional climate voices.
And yes, we talk about AI-generated disinformation in permitting decisions, fake public pressure, and why pre-bunking false claims before they spread may become essential for emissions reduction, net zero delivery, and climate policy that survives contact with reality.
🎙️ Listen now to hear how Leah Qusba and GoodPower are helping accelerate 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

Contact
If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - get in touch via direct message on LinkedIn. 
If you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show.

Get in touch - leave me a message
Carbon data is no longer just something companies report. Increasingly, it may decide whether products can be sold at all.
In this episode of Climate Confident, I’m joined by Stephen Jamieson, Chief Marketing Officer for SAP Sustainability, to explore why sustainability is moving from the ESG report into the systems businesses use to run supply chains, finance, product compliance, and AI-enabled decisions. We get into what this means for climate tech, decarbonisation, policy, emissions reduction, net zero, and the wider energy transition.
You’ll hear why product carbon footprints, digital product passports, CBAM, ESPR, and Scope 3 reporting are pushing companies towards far more granular, decision-grade climate data. Stephen explains why relying on averages will not be enough when carbon insights start shaping market access, investor confidence, supply chain resilience, and commercial competitiveness.
We also dig into AI’s double edge. AI agents could change the economics of sustainability by scaling product-level analysis across thousands of items, but only if carbon, water, recycled content, and other sustainability factors are embedded in core business decisions. Otherwise, AI may simply optimise the wrong things faster. 
Listen now to hear how Stephen Jamieson and SAP Sustainability are helping move climate data from reporting theatre into real-world business 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

Contact
If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - get in touch via direct message on LinkedIn. 
If you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show.

Get in touch - leave me a message
Streetlights sound boring. Until the grid fails and they’re the only lights left on.
In this episode of Climate Confident, I’m joined by Liam Ryan, CEO of Streetleaf, a climate tech company rethinking one of the most overlooked pieces of public infrastructure: the streetlight. And yes, I know. Streetlights. Hardly the sexiest corner of the energy transition. But this conversation quickly becomes about something much bigger: resilience, decarbonisation, public safety, emissions reduction, and how we build communities that keep functioning as extreme weather puts more pressure on the grid.
You’ll hear why the real cost of streetlighting often isn’t the electricity at all. It’s trenching, wiring, maintenance, utility control, copper theft, repair delays, and infrastructure that can take far too long to fix. Liam explains how solar-plus-battery streetlights can avoid much of that mess while helping cities, developers, and communities move closer to net zero.
We dig into how Streetleaf’s lights performed during hurricanes, why three to five days of battery backup matters, how monitoring changes maintenance, and why policy can help but won’t replace cost and performance. You might be shocked to learn that in some cases, utilities can delay streetlight repairs for months while the customer keeps paying. Delightful system design, if your goal is public frustration.
This is a practical episode about climate tech that works in the real world: faster installs, fewer wires, lower emissions, better uptime, and infrastructure that earns its keep when conditions get ugly.
🎙️ Listen now to hear how Liam Ryan and Streetleaf are helping turn streetlights into part of the climate resilience toolkit.
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

Contact
If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - get in touch via direct message on LinkedIn. 
If you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show.