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Climate Unf*cked: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Rob Cooper
"How can we unf*ck our climate and planet" is what I'm asking leaders, decision-makers, entrepreneurs, activists, policy-makers and doers taking action for our climate and planet.
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- 1 weeks ago1h 5m
How Much Europe’s Energy Dependence Costs You | Aurélie Maréchal, Postive Money Europe Director
Check out the UK's most trusted climate action platform, Ecologi at: https://tinyurl.com/kfswnxth Aurélie Maréchal is the Director of Positive Money Europe, an organisation working to reform the economic system so that it works for people and the planet. She's spent 15 years inside the European policy machine, watching the Green Deal go from a fringe idea to the headline of the European Commission, and then watching it disappear from political discourse entirely in just five years. She now spends her time showing policymakers, central banks, and businesses why the way we handle money, interest rates, and investment is one of the most powerful climate levers we're not using properly. This conversation unpacks the relationship between climate and economics that almost nobody explains clearly: why fossil fuels drive inflation, why raising interest rates to fight that inflation actually makes renewable energy harder to finance, and why the European Central Bank's standard playbook is accidentally locking us into the very system we're trying to escape. We talk about fossil inflation and climate inflation, why renewable energy projects are more sensitive to interest rate changes than fossil fuel infrastructure, and why the Green Deal went from mainstream policy to politically toxic in the space of two election cycles. Aurélie also shares what it's like working as an insider in Brussels, why lobbying isn't a dirty word but power imbalances make it dangerous, and why the arguments that work today aren't about saving the planet, they're about sovereignty, security, and competitiveness. —— This podcast is sponsored by Ecologi, the UK's most trusted climate action platform. They help businesses reduce their emissions, restore our planet and report their progress for every step of their climate journey. Check them out here: https://tinyurl.com/kfswnxth —— Find Positive Money at: https://positivemoney.org Follow Positive Money Europe on LinkedIn, Facebook, Bluesky, and TikTok Subscribe to the Climate Unf*cked podcast at https://climateunfucked.substack.com/ And connect with me on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-coop/ —— Chapters 00:00 Why are we talking about money? 06:30 What is monetary policy? 12:45 What is fossil inflation and climateflation? 18:20 Why raising interest rates makes renewables harder to finance 24:10 Evidence that renewables reduce electricity prices 29:40 The rise and fall of the Green Deal 35:50 Why climate arguments don't work anymore 41:15 The insider/outsider strategy 47:30 How lobbying actually works 54:00 What can you do after this episode?
- 3 weeks ago48 min
UN Advisor: How Al-Shabaab Is Weaponising Climate Change | Christophe Hodder
Check out the UK's most trusted climate action platform, Ecologi at: https://tinyurl.com/kfswnxth Christophe Hodder is the world's first UN-appointed Climate Peace and Security Advisor, working in Somalia, the 5th most climate-vulnerable country on Earth. He's spent six years on the frontlines of where climate breakdown meets armed conflict, helping communities navigate droughts, floods, displacement, and violence in a country that contributes just 0.08% of global emissions but bears some of the heaviest consequences. This conversation goes deep into what climate insecurity actually looks like on the ground: two goat herders fighting over shrinking grazing land, clans feuding over water access, young men with guns caught in cycles of violence made worse by collapsing ecosystems. Christophe explains why climate change doesn't directly cause conflict, but it intensifies every existing tension, and why restoring land, building trust between communities, and creating economic opportunities are all part of the same solution. We also talk about what climate finance pays for when it's done right, how Al-Shabab uses resource control as a weapon, and how the instability happening in Somalia can eventually show up on Britain's doorstep through migration, terrorism, and disrupted global trade. —— This podcast is sponsored by Ecologi, the UK's most trusted climate action platform. They help businesses reduce their emissions, restore our planet and report their progress for every step of their climate journey. Check them out here: https://tinyurl.com/kfswnxth —— Find out more about the UN Climate Security Mechanism and follow Chris on LinkedIn Subscribe to the Climate Unf*cked podcast at https://climateunfucked.substack.com/ And connect with me on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-coop/ —— Chapters 00:00 What is a Climate Peace and Security Advisor? 04:15 How climate impacts show up as violence on the ground 08:45 Somalia's conflict context and why it matters 13:20 How drought and flooding drive resource competition 18:10 The Mataban project: building trust between clans 24:30 Somalia's first £100 million in climate finance 29:50 How Al-Shabab exploits resource scarcity 35:15 Why half of Somalia's population is under 30 40:20 Kenya vs Somalia: stable ecosystems vs conflict spirals 46:10 What surprised Chris most in six years 51:30 Success stories: from small trials to big programs 56:45 Why this matters to someone in the UK 1:07:10 What Chris wishes more people would ask 1:10:30 Where to learn more and get involved
- Apr 27, 20262h 21m
The National Security Topic Britain Is Too Scared to Cover | General Richard Nugee CB CVO CBE
Check out the UK's most trusted climate action platform, Ecologi at: https://tinyurl.com/kfswnxth General Richard Nugee CB CVO CBE spent 35 years in the British military, rising to the executive committee of defence. He's now one of the most important voices connecting climate change to national security, arguing that the biggest threats to Britain aren't just missiles and tanks, but water scarcity, food system collapse, migration flows, and the geopolitical contests opening up in a melting Arctic. This conversation was recorded twice. The first time was on the day the Iran war started. Given that Richard's expertise sits at the intersection of conflict, energy security, and climate, we decided to re-record a few weeks later to capture how the war has changed the global energy landscape and what it means for the UK's climate and security strategy going forward. We talk about why national security is much more than defence spending, why the Straits of Hormuz closing should terrify anyone who cares about food or fuel, and why building renewable energy isn't just good for the planet, it's one of the smartest military strategies we could deploy. Richard also explains why electric tanks are a stupid idea, why biodiversity loss is the crisis nobody's talking about, and why pragmatic optimism is the only mindset that works when facing a problem this big. —— This podcast is sponsored by Ecologi, the UK's most trusted climate action platform. They help businesses reduce their emissions, restore our planet and report their progress for every step of their climate journey. Check them out here: https://tinyurl.com/kfswnxth —— Subscribe to the Climate Unf*cked podcast at https://climateunfucked.substack.com/ And connect with me on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-coop/ —— 00:59 Impact of Iran War 05:34 Will the war speed up renewables? 09:18 Africa's hidden fertilizer crisis 12:08 Defence spending vs the green transition 18:52 What national security actually means 20:49 Food, water and energy are already under threat 23:37 The 5 types of climate security 25:35 The Arctic: a new geopolitical battleground 26:58 Migration is where the rubber hits the road 43:49 Biodiversity: the dog that hasn't barked 50:00 Iraq, heat and a military turning point 56:15 How do you make the military care about climate? 1:02:46 The company that proved sustainability is cheaper 1:11:20 Why electric tanks is the wrong question 1:14:45 $250 a litre: fuel cost soldiers' lives 1:19:49 The UK port responsible for 25% of our energy 1:25:54 Pragmatic optimism: the military mindset 1:31:01 "UK is only 2%" — Richard's answer 1:39:20 Hope and opportunity: what to take away
- Apr 13, 20261h 29m
Climate YouTuber: Lies might be winning. But there's good news. | Dr Simon Clark (4K)
Check out the UK's most trusted climate action platform, Ecologi at: https://tinyurl.com/kfswnxth Dr Simon Clark is a climate YouTuber with 720,000+ subscribers who's spent 15 years translating climate science for audiences who didn't know they needed it. He's a physicist by training, a communicator by choice, and someone who's watched misinformation campaigns evolve from fringe conspiracy theories into sophisticated, well-funded operations that now shape how millions of people understand the climate crisis. This conversation goes deep into why lies are winning, why the truth resists simplicity, and why the platforms we rely on to spread information are fundamentally designed to reward the wrong things. We also talk about what's actually working when it comes to UK climate policy, why Ed Miliband might be the most underrated figure in British politics right now, and why Simon thinks the Iran crisis could be Asia's Ukraine moment for clean energy. We cover: Why climate misinformation is so successful: it's simple, it fits social media, and it tells people what they want to hear The fundamental shift from debunking to pre-bunking, and why signal-boosting bad arguments by responding to them is a trap Why food misinformation has escaped scrutiny in a way fossil fuels haven't, and how Big Tobacco's playbook was inherited by the food industry The conditions that created the misinformation crisis: a deficit in media literacy, platforms designed to reward sensationalism, and billionaires buying up media to control the algorithm Why democratic oversight of discovery algorithms is one of the most important climate conversations we're not having Trojan Horse videos: how Simon packages climate content to look like skeptic material, then pulls the rug two minutes in to reach people outside the choir Why the UK has reduced domestic emissions by over 50% since 1990, and why almost nobody knows that Simon's honest assessment of the UK government's climate policy: energy gets four stars out of five, nature and biodiversity gets two Why Ed Miliband knows his stuff, why carbon capture isn't as stupid as people think, and why the decision not to introduce zonal pricing was actually defensible The Iran crisis as a potential turning point: why this could be Asia's Ukraine moment for renewables, and why it's extraordinary good fortune that the world's largest emitter is also the country building all the clean technology Why Trump might go down in history as the president who accidentally accelerated the energy transition by creating an oil crisis The balance between hope and despair, why Simon hates being asked that question, and why the only way to guarantee we don't make it is by stopping —— This podcast is sponsored by Ecologi, the UK's most trusted climate action platform. They help businesses reduce their emissions, restore our planet and report their progress for every step of their climate journey. Check them out here: https://tinyurl.com/kfswnxth —— Find Simon's work at www.youtube.com/@SimonClark Subscribe to the Climate Unf*cked podcast at https://climateunfucked.substack.com/ And connect with me on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-coop/ —— Chapters 00:00 Why is climate misinformation so successful? 08:30 How do you tackle it? 15:42 Food misinformation and the Big Tobacco playbook 23:15 What conditions created the misinformation? 32:40 Should algorithms have oversight? 38:20 Using a Trojan Horse to break out the echo chamber 47:15 The UK’s climate wins most people don’t realise 54:30 How well is the UK gov. really doing? 1:06:20 Carbon capture, zonal pricing, and Ed Miliband 1:18:45 The Iran crisis as Asia's Ukraine moment 1:27:30 Why Trump might accidentally accelerate the transition 1:35:10 The hypothetical video with £100,000 1:42:50 Hope, despair, and why stopping guarantees failure
- Mar 31, 20261h 21m
The Formula For Making ANYONE Care About Climate | Phil Korbel, Carbon Literacy Project
Check out the UK's most trusted climate action platform, Ecologi at: https://tinyurl.com/kfswnxth This is a slightly different ep. The first ½ is a more traditional podcast chat. But the 2nd ½ is me putting Phil to the test by roleplaying as 4 different people: A secondary school teacher, a middle-class retiree, a young professional and a right-wing politician Phil Korbel is the co-founder of the Carbon Literacy Project, a Manchester-based charity that has trained over 153,000 people across 50 countries in climate action. Starting from a shared desk with no salary and a big idea, Phil and his co-founder Dave Coleman have built one of the most powerful climate education movements in the world - reaching everyone from security guards to IPCC scientists, wedding planners to funeral directors. We cover: Why recycling is near the bottom of the list, and what actually moves the needle The Carbon Literacy formula: how does acting on climate help you thrive in your specific role? Why polar bears are banned from Phil's training (and what that says about climate communication) The emotional structure of a carbon literacy day and why doom without agency is dangerous How 153,000 people got trained mostly through word of mouth Why professional advisors - lawyers, accountants, financial advisors - need to understand climate as a core competency The "Burt the security guard" story that perfectly captures what a culture shift actually looks like How to handle a denier in the room without letting them suck up all the oxygen What Phil says to a right-wing politician who thinks clean energy means living in caves Why anger about climate might be your most useful tool - if you channel it right —— This podcast is sponsored by Ecologi, the UK's most trusted climate action platform. They help businesses reduce their emissions, restore our planet and report their progress for every step of their climate journey. Check them out here: https://tinyurl.com/kfswnxth —— Find out more about the Carbon Literacy Project and get trained at carbonliteracy.com —— Chapters 00:00 Why Phil banned polar bears from carbon literacy training 03:30 What is the Carbon Literacy Project? 09:30 Why does ‘relevance’ matter? 12:40 From a shared desk with no salary to 153,000 people trained 15:42 Why they gave away the IP and became a charity 17:44 What caused the hockey stick growth 20:08 Do you work with high-emitting companies? 22:26 How to handle a denier in the room 25:50 Why doom without agency is dangerous 28:41 Phil’s approach to skeptics 37:02 Role-play 1: The secondary school teacher 46:15 Role-play 2: The middle-class retiree 1:00:26 Role-play 3: The young professional 1:09:32 Role-play 4: The right-wing politician 1:11:05 Energy sovereignty, batteries and the Reform mayor who quietly signed up 1:19:36 The 97 engineers on the bridge
- Mar 17, 20261h 24m
Climate Scientist: Why Net Zero 2050 is a Dangerous Delusion | Kevin Anderson
Check out the UK’s most trusted climate action platform, Ecologi at: https://tinyurl.com/kfswnxth Kevin Anderson is one of the world's leading climate scientists and Professor of Energy and Climate Change at the University of Manchester's Tyndall Centre. A former oil and gas engineer turned academic, he's advised governments across the UK and Wales, worked closely with Greta Thunberg, and spent three decades arguing that the gap between what climate science demands and what policymakers actually do isn't accidental — it's a choice. In this conversation, we get into the raw numbers behind our climate commitments, why the people who know the most tend to say the least, and why Kevin believes the real agents of change aren't the experts or politicians. They're us. We cover: The three numbers everyone needs to understand about climate change Why 1.5°C is almost certainly already gone Why net zero 2050 is a moving goalpost that nobody's updating The academic "delusion" — why experts say one thing on microphones and something very different over a pint Carbon capture, blue hydrogen and SAF How climate change is a continuation of colonialism Why we are absolutely not "all in this together" — and why pretending we are suits exactly the people it should embarrass What he learned fromGreta Thunberg Where hope actually lives (hint: it's not renewable energy stats) —— This podcast is sponsored by Ecologi, the UK's most trusted climate action platform. They help businesses reduce their emissions, restore our planet and report their progress for every step of their climate journey. Check them out here: https://tinyurl.com/kfswnxth —— Find Kevin's writing and talks at climateuncensored.com —— Chapters 00:00 3 things everyone needs to understand about climate 04:50 Why 1.5 degrees is gone 08:21 Should China’s declining emissions be celebrated? 11:11 Why we should talk about impacts, not temperature 13:41 Where is the communication breaking down? 17:06 Why Kevin believes his field has been deliberately dishonest 19:54 What climate models hide 24:24 How do you find the truth when the whole system is delusional? 29:09 What happens when you challenge academics off the record? 32:28 Why Kevin won't spin the cheery yarn 36:50 How does Kevin know Greta Thunberg? 42:19 How is our approach to climate colonial? 47:03 "We are not all in this together" — emissions inequality within the UK 52:56 Private luxury, public squalor — and who's really paying 57:37 The 4.5x gap between high and low income households 1:05:15 If we could start again, how would we talk about climate differently? 1:10:07 What actually gives Kevin hope? 1:16:36 The questions he wishes people would ask 1:17:42 The question he's tired of being asked 1:19:27 What he wants to leave you with 🎙️
- Mar 2, 20261h 10m
Can you eat meat AND care about the planet? | Frank Holleman, Founder of Fork Ranger
Check out the UK’s most trusted climate action platform, Ecologi at: https://tinyurl.com/kfswnxth Frank Holleman is the founder of Fork Ranger, an app and movement that's helping 150,000+ people to eat more sustainably. He's spent six years proving that the most effective climate action isn't perfection, it's making sustainable eating so ridiculously easy that it slips under people's resistance radar. His philosophy is simple: we don't need a few perfect environmentalists, we need millions of people taking imperfect action. This conversation unpacks why food is responsible for one third of global emissions, why beef is five times worse than chicken, and why replacing beef with literally anything else is the single easiest climate win most people aren't taking. We also talk about the psychology of behaviour change, why going from "never again" to "90% less" makes all the difference, and how eating seasonally became Fork Ranger's most popular product even though it only reduces 2% of food emissions. Frank also shares the framework that drives his entire approach: make the invitation to change small enough that it never triggers fight or flight, and why level three of sustainable eating isn't about cutting dairy, it's about inviting two friends to start level one. —— In this episode, we dive into: Why food causes one third of all global greenhouse gas emissions, and over half of that comes from meat (even though it contributes only 17% of calories but uses 83% of agricultural land) The carbon footprint gap: beef is five times worse than chicken, which means swapping beef for chicken is a bigger climate win than most people realize (and you don't even have to go vegetarian) Why there IS a role for animals in a sustainable food system, but only on marginal lands in small amounts, which means meat becomes a luxury, not a weekly staple The two hardest parts of eating sustainably: the unknown and behavior change itself (finding new recipes, imagining what it tastes like without meat), and then the social pressure of being the only one who cares at the dinner table Fork Ranger's three levels: Level 1 is replace beef with chicken or pork (not even vegetarian, just different meat). Level 2 is reduce food waste (one third of all food is wasted, mostly at home, and it's usually because we're too picky). Level 3 is invite two friends to start Level 1 and 2, because we don't need perfect environmentalists, we need millions taking action Why food waste is the second level, not cutting dairy: it's a huge environmental problem, and solving it reinforces the mindset that food is valuable, not a cheap commodity we can afford to throw away The 25% tipping point: if a quarter of people in a group do something against the norm, the rest become so uncertain about what's normal that they follow along and it suddenly flips (like fist bumps vs handshakes) Book recommendations: Kaizen: One Small Step to Change Your Life, Project Drawdown, Change: How to Make Big Things Happen, and You Are What You Love —— This podcast is sponsored by Ecologi, the UK's most trusted climate action platform. They help businesses reduce their emissions, restore our planet and report their progress for every step of their climate journey. Check them out here: https://tinyurl.com/kfswnxth —— Find Fork Ranger at: https://forkranger.com Subscribe to the Climate Unf*cked podcast at https://climateunfucked.substack.com/ And connect with me on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-coop/ —— 00:00 Why is eating sustainably hard? 06:41 Why we need to talk about meat 10:52 Why You Don't Have To Go Vegan 12:57 Food Causes 1/3 Of All Climate Change 14:32 The Important Truth For Meat Lovers 21:13 The Psychology Of Behaviour Change 26:49 The 3-Level System For Eating Sustainably 30:39 Why food waste is a huge problem 35:44 Is your app actually changing behaviour? 40:01 The 25% Tipping Point That Could Change Everything 43:28 Influential Books and Resources 47:51 Shopping Malls, Consumerism & Why Eating Is Political 52:04 Unexpected impact of eating seasonally 57:26 Individual Choices vs. Systemic Change
- Feb 17, 20261h 9m
Why Britain Can't Fix Its Energy Crisis | Good Energy Founder, Juliet Davonport
Check out Ecologi at https://tinyurl.com/kfswnxth. Juliet Davenport founded Good Energy and spent 20 years proving that a distributed renewable energy business could actually work driven by the philosophy that ordinary people, not governments or corporations, should drive the energy transition. This conversation goes deep into the parts of the energy debate that almost nobody explains clearly — why your energy bills are high, who's actually responsible for fixing the grid, and whether lower carbon and lower costs can genuinely happen at the same time. We talk about why wind and solar were designed to maximise output rather than serve customers, how the national grid went from managing 30 power stations to millions of generators overnight, and the uncomfortable truth about why fossil fuel lobbying works as well as it does. Juliet also shares the framework that shaped her entire approach to climate action — and why she thinks getting angry at bad actors is one of the least effective things you can do. —— This podcast is brought to you by Ecologi, the UK's most trusted climate action platform. They help businesses reduce their emissions, restore our planet and report their progress for every step of their climate journey. Check them out here: https://tinyurl.com/kfswnxth —— In this episode, we dive into: Why energy conversations should be about people, not power stations - and how we've spent decades designing renewables to maximise output instead of delivering what consumers actually need The engineering mistake that's costing us billions: wind turbines designed for maximum megawatt hours instead of smooth, predictable output that matches when people use power How the UK energy system went from managing 30 fossil fuel generators to millions of renewable sources - and why the data and software still aren't good enough to handle it Marginal pricing explained: why gas sometimes sets the energy price (and sometimes doesn't) - and why in summer we actually get too much renewable power, causing prices to go negative The price cap paradox: why the policy that protected consumers for 15 years might now be keeping energy bills higher than they need to be (because everyone buys power at the same time) Why decoupling energy prices from gas isn't the answer - it'll happen naturally as renewables grow, and there are bigger regulatory fixes that would cut bills faster The lobbying reality: fossil fuel companies will fight to protect their business model until they can't - so Juliet built Good Energy to prove a zero-carbon business could work commercially, not as a charity Why AI energy use is like "using precision laser tooling to cut bread" - we need quantum computing for low-accuracy tasks and smarter algorithms, not powering everything with coal-fired data centers The three forces needed for systemic change: activism (to open conversations), policy (to set direction), and business (to deliver) - and why anger between bad actors and activists can actually get stuck in a loop that prevents progress What Juliet would do with a billion pounds: grid reinforcement, European interconnectors, automatic meter readers in every UK home (not overcomplicated smart meters), an innovation fund for energy efficiency, and a democracy campaign so people understand energy beyond media filters Why households should run like mini power stations - using energy at the right time of day automatically, without expecting consumers to think about it The Finnish town heated entirely by waste heat from a data centre - and why tech companies aren't being smart enough about secondary energy use —— Subscribe to the Climate Unf*cked podcast at https://climateunfucked.substack.com/ And connect with me on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rob-coop/ —— 00:00 Energy Should Be About People, Not Power Stations 04:30 Why Renewables Were Designed Wrong From the Start 08:30 The 2030 Clean Power Plan & Fixing Government Contracts 12:00 Why the National Grid Is Struggling to Keep Up 16:30 Can We Have Lower Bills AND Lower Carbon? 20:30 How Energy Prices Are Actually Decided 27:00 Are Fossil Fuel Companies Actively Blocking Change? 33:00 Why Getting Angry at Bad Actors Doesn't Work 40:30 Why Activism, Policy & Business Are The Levers of Change 48:30 AI's Energy Problem & Why Big Tech Isn't Being Smart 56:00 Where Juliet Would Spend £1M, £1B & £100B 1:03:30 The Question Nobody Asks Her 1:06:30 How Do We Accelerate the UK's Clean Energy Transition?
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"How can we unf*ck our climate and planet" is what I'm asking leaders, decision-makers, entrepreneurs, activists, policy-makers and doers taking action for our climate and planet.
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