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Climate Confident - Practical Climate Solutions That Cut Emissions

Climate Confident is for business leaders, climate professionals and policymakers who need to understand what is actually cutting emissions—and what it takes to make those solutions work at scale.

Each Wednesday, technology and sustainability analyst, keynote speaker and former SAP Global VP Tom Raftery speaks with the executives, engineers, scientists, founders and policymakers turning climate ambition into measurable progress. Together, they examine the technologies, business models, policies and implementation strategies reshaping energy, transport, industry, supply chains, food and finance.

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Climate Confident - Practical Climate Solutions That Cut Emissions

What the Energy Transition Is Still Getting Wrong

August 20, 2025 • Season 1 • Episode 234

0:00 | 42:12

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In this week’s replay episode of the Climate Confident Podcast, I bring back one of my favourite conversations from earlier this year - my discussion with Jarand Rystad, founder and CEO of Rystad Energy, about the global energy transition and whether we’re truly moving fast enough to meet climate targets.

Jarand makes a compelling case that the shift to renewables isn’t just about climate, it’s driven by the simple economics of cheaper, better technologies. Solar, wind, and batteries are already beating fossil fuels on cost, and countries like China are proving just how fast this transition can accelerate. In fact, they’ve already hit their 2030 renewable targets six years early, while the US risks ceding leadership in the technologies of the future.

We explore the three pillars of decarbonisation - clean electricity, widespread electrification, and tackling the “last 20%” of hard-to-abate emissions through hydrogen, CCS, and sustainable fuels. Jarand also dives into the overlooked challenges: from aviation’s limited options to land-use pressures, long-duration storage, and the politics that can either speed us up or hold us back.

One of my favourite takeaways? The transition isn’t a question of if, but how fast. Policy choices, investment in disruptive technologies, and global competition will decide whether we land closer to 2°C or push down towards 1.5°C of warming.

If you missed this episode the first time round, now’s the time to catch up. And if you did hear it before, I promise - it’s well worth a second listen.

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