The urgency of decarbonising our economies to tackle the climate crisis cannot be overstated. Innovation is the game-changer we need.
That's exactly what we are diving into in the Carbon Trust's first-ever podcast series, ‘Net Zero: What’s innovation got to do with it?’
Over the course of four engaging episodes, Simon Retallack and Nina Foster from our Net Zero Intelligence Unit will be in conversation with innovators at the forefront of driving the Net Zero transition.
Episode 1: 7 lessons from the Covid crisis with Sir Patrick Vallance
What can our approach to tackling the Covid pandemic teach us about how we should address the climate crisis? It normally takes over a decade to create a vaccine, but during the Covid-19 pandemic, multiple vaccines were available in a matter of months. How did this remarkable achievement happen? In this first episode, we discuss how innovation can be catalysed in the face of an urgent, global problem, with Sir Patrick Vallance, former Chief Scientific Adviser to the UK Government.
Episode 2: Scaling existing solutions: How can we take offshore wind to the next level
To achieve Net Zero, we don’t just need brand new technologies, we also need vast amounts more of the ones we’ve already created, such offshore wind, electric vehicles and solar power. This isn’t just a case of doing more of the same; deploying these huge volumes, and quickly, demands a new approach. In this episode, we explore how innovation can help to scale existing solutions, focus on offshore wind, with three expert guests.
Episode 3: Binning business as usual: The circular economy revolution
Many business models rely on patterns of production and consumption which are fundamentally incompatible with a Net Zero world. To reach Net Zero, we need innovative business models that embrace novel ways of designing, producing, and using products and services. In this episode, we explore the exciting possibilities of the circular economy with Andrew Morlet, Chief Executive Officer at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and Aleyn Smith-Gillespie, who leads the Carbon Trust’s work on the circular economy and business model innovation.
Episode 4: Cleantech’s second coming: is salvation in sight for hard to decarbonise sectors?
Can the aviation industry ever reach Net Zero? Are we on the brink of a green steel revolution? In the final episode of our series, Nina and Simon explore emerging solutions to the hardest decarbonisation challenges, with Faustine Delasalle, CEO of Mission Possible Partnership, Rob Trezona, Co-founder of Kiko Ventures, and Ross Bruton, Head of Ventures at the Carbon Trust.
