Climate Positive

Latest Episodes:

Markets for valuing biodiversity | Tim Male and Ryan Sarsfield, Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC) Jan 17, 2024

Show notes

At the end of 2022, 200 countries signed the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework – what some have called the “Paris Agreement for Nature”. It calls on signatories to work together to enhance the resilience of natural ecosystems and to turn the tide on species extinction rates through the setting of national targets, the establishment of disclosure regimes and the creation of innovative financing mechanisms – such as biodiversity credits. While there has been some subsequent positive international progress on this front driven by the UK and others, most biodiversity credit markets remain in very nascent stages.

In this episode, HASI’s investment team lead for nature-based solutions Tim Mooradd speaks with Tim Male and Ryan Sarsfield of the Environmental Policy Innovation Center (EPIC). They discuss the imperative of protecting and valuing biodiversity, the existing and potential buyers for biodiversity credits, lessons learned from other environmental markets and much more.

Note also that the HASI Foundation recently provided a grant to EPIC for its work at the intersection of climate action and social justice.

Links:

Environmental Policy Innovation Center

Biodiversity Credits Gain Traction but Questions Persist

Nature’s Metropolis: Chicago and the Great West by William Cronon

Episode recorded January 10, 2024

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

Email your feedback to Gil, Guy, Hilary, and Kenny at climatepositive@hasi.com.

Speeding GETs for a clean and reliable grid | Julia Selker, WATT Coalition Jan 03, 2024

Show notes

America’s dramatic shift towards renewable energy generation in remote areas will require a substantial transmission build-out in the years ahead, potentially doubling or tripling the current grid. In other words, there is no transition without transmission. While it's crucial that we expedite the construction of large power lines at a much faster clip, there's another technology solution that demands equal attention. This parallel approach involves the use of Grid-Enhancing Technologies (GETs). GETs offer a modular, cost-effective path to enhancing our existing infrastructure while also significantly amplifying the efficacy of new transmission investments. To gain deeper insights into how GETs can help us meet the needs of the 21st-century electric grid, accelerate the clean energy transition, and lower energy costs, Gil Jenkins and Manish Chaturvedi spoke with Julia Selker, Executive Director of WATT Coalition.

Links:

WATT Coalition

More on Dan

Nextracker, Inc.

Episode recorded December 8, 2023.

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

Email your feedback to Gil, Guy, Hilary, and Kenny at climatepositive@hasi.com.

Applied hope and the ZEROgrid Initiative | Mark Dyson, RMI Nov 30, 2023

Show notes

The private sector has been a critical driver of increasing clean energy on the grid. Since 2008, corporate renewable purchases have helped bring online nearly 150 GW of new renewable energy capacity globally — more than the total power-generating capacity of France. Despite these purchase commitments, overall global emissions from the power sector have remained flat at a time when we need to see a sharp decline. At the same time, extreme weather events have exposed vulnerabilities in the reliability of the current fossil-fuel powered grid that aren’t yet being addressed at sufficient scale.

Earlier this year, a group of leading companies focused on accelerating decarbonization while also bolstering grid reliability partnered with RMI, a leading climate NGO, to launch the Zero-Emissions | Reliability Optimized Grid Initiative, or ZEROgrid, with the objective of developing a comprehensive roadmap to accelerate the transition to a zero-emissions grid.

In this episode, Chad Reed chats with Mark Dyson, Managing Director at RMI, about the challenges ZEROgrid aims to address, the objectives it seeks to achieve as well as the concept of applied hope.

Links:

ZEROgrid

Corporate Action Playbook

Amory Lovins (RMI): Applied Hope (May 2019)

Episode recorded November 28, 2023
Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

Email your feedback to Gil, Guy, Hilary, and Kenny at climatepositive@hasi.com.

(Ep. 50 replay) Outsmarting waste with the Mill kitchen bin | Matt Rogers, CEO of Mill Nov 16, 2023

Show notes

In this week's episode, Gil speaks with Matt Rogers, the founder and CEO of Mill, a startup revolutionizing how we tackle food waste. They delve into the inspiration behind Mill, discussing how the idea came about and the parallels to Matt's previous work as the co-founder of Nest, the company behind the iconic learning thermostat and other smart home products. Matt discusses the functionality of Mill's kitchen bin, which transforms food scraps into nutrient-rich animal feed, and how the company is bringing this groundbreaking product to the market. He explains the emissions profile of Mill's appliance and the positive impact it can have on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Also, Matt shares his insights on the crucial role of technology and innovation in driving sustainable solutions.

Links:

The episode originally aired on June 15, 2023.

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

Email your feedback to Gil, Guy, Hilary, and Kenny at climatepositive@hasi.com.

Rising risks facing solar projects | Jason Kaminsky, CEO of kWh Analytics Nov 03, 2023

Show notes

According to the International Energy Agency, the world is expected to build more renewable projects in the next five years as we have in the past 20. But this rapid and massive growth in the renewable energy space has proven increasingly challenging for insurers of these assets, who are struggling to deal with mounting losses from natural disasters (which themselves are often driven by climate change) as well as growing demand for new products that insure against other emerging risks such as production and revenue variability.

In this episode, Chad Reed sits down Jason Kaminsky, CEO and co-founder of kWh Analytics, perhaps the leader in delivering data-enabled Climate Insurance for zero-carbon assets. In the discussion, Chad and Jason get into the weeds on the recent evolution of the Climate Insurance industry, kWh’s Fifth Annual Solar Risk Assessment as well as data-enabled solutions to address the most pressing risks facing the U.S. solar industry today.

Links:

2023 Solar Risk Assessment

Solar Revenue Put

From Niche to Necessity: Insuring Renewable Energy

Episode recorded October 31, 2023
Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

Email your feedback to Gil, Guy, Hilary, and Kenny at climatepositive@hasi.com.

Generating and reporting sustainable impact | Mandi McReynolds, Workiva Oct 19, 2023

Show notes

With the recent proliferation of sometimes conflicting standards around sustainability and impact reporting, companies across the globe are seeking trusted partners to help them determine and measure sustainability metrics that are truly material to the business and its stakeholders and also generate real value. To this end, Workiva – a global software-as-a-service company – has developed a suite of products to help companies make real progress on their sustainability journeys.

In this episode, Chad Reed sits down with Mandi McReynolds, VP of Global Environment, Social and Governance at Workiva and the host of the ESG Talk podcast. Chad and Mandi discuss the at times differing perceptions of company executives and sustainability practitioners, the emerging role of AI in sustainability reporting and the evolving nomenclature surrounding efforts to generate and report sustainable impact.

Links:

Workiva ESG

Workiva 2023 Global ESG Practitioner Survey

Episode recorded October 4, 2023

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

Email your feedback to Gil, Guy, Hilary, and Kenny at climatepositive@hasi.com.

Deploying a safer cold chain for vaccines, food, and planet | Manik Suri, CEO of Therma Oct 05, 2023

Show notes

We all depend on the cold chain to keep our foods, vaccines, and medical equipment safely chilled from production to use. This energy intensive process requires constant monitoring. As CEO of Therma, Manik Suri deploys small mobile sensors that monitor conditions to optimize energy efficiency and quality along the cold chain. His work is infused with his family’s legacy of service to others, and his team is dedicated to leveraging technology to improve the well-being of both people and planet.

In this episode, Hilary Langer is joined by Therma CEO Manik Suri to discuss the impact of the cold chain on human health, food waste and the planet.

Links:

Therma

The Role Of Businesses In Creating More Environmentally Friendly Cooling Systems (forbes.com)

Manik Suri on LinkedIn

Beth Simone Noveck

Episode recorded September 13, 2023

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

Email your feedback to Gil, Guy, Hilary, and Kenny at climatepositive@hasi.com.

Credibly removing carbon at scale | Andreas Aepli, Climeworks Sep 20, 2023

Show notes

At this point, the science is very clear. If we want to limit global warming to 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels, we must not only reduce existing emissions, we must also at some point become net negative – meaning that we are removing more carbon from the atmosphere than we are putting into it.

In this episode, Chad Reed sits down with Climeworks CFO Andreas Aepli to discuss the promise of Direct Air Capture (DAC) to provide a scalable, measurable and permanent solution for carbon removal. In addition to discussing how DAC works and both the DAC facilities Climeworks already has in operation and the DAC hubs in United States they are now developing, they delve into the viability of the business model for carbon removal, the need for supportive policy incentives and the imperative to establish transparency and trust for a truly scalable and tradable carbon removal credit market.

Links:

Episode recorded August 22, 2023

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

Email your feedback to Gil, Guy, Hilary, and Kenny at climatepositive@hasi.com.

Investing to create a more equitable and sustainable world | Jennifer Pryce & Beth Bafford, Calvert Impact Sep 06, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, Chad Reed speaks with Calvert Impact's President and CEO, Jennifer "Jenn" Pryce, and Beth Bafford, Calvert Impact's Vice President of Syndications and Strategy. Calvert Impact is a global nonprofit investment firm that helps investors and financial professionals invest in solutions that people and the planet need. During its 28-year history, Calvert Impact has mobilized approximately $5 billion to build and grow local community and green finance organizations.

Jenn and Beth discuss Calvert Impact’s history, evolution, and core mission. They also delve into Calvert Impact's unique nonprofit model, financial self-sufficiency, and structure. Chad, Jenn, and Beth explore the impact investing space overall and highlight the distinctions from ESG investing. Finally, Jenn and Beth share stories about what drew them into the impact investing field before closing with a discussion around Calvert Impact's work spearheading the Climate United coalition, which is participating in the EPA's National Clean Investment Fund $14 billion grant competition announced earlier this summer.

Links:

Episode recorded August 15, 2023

Email your feedback to Chad, Gil, and Hilary at climatepositive@hasi.com or tweet them to @ClimatePosiPod.

Email your feedback to Gil, Guy, Hilary, and Kenny at climatepositive@hasi.com.

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