This Climate Business
Podcasts NZ / Vincent Heeringa
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This Climate Business is the Kiwi podcast about turning the climate crisis into an opportunity. Every week host Vincent Heeringa talks to entrepreneurs, investors and experts about what they're doing to solve the climate crisis and get NZ down to zero emissions by 2050 – or sooner.
Available episodes
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2 days ago
Getting rid of cling film: Jon Reed, Compostic
You will know about cling film. Perhaps you wrapped your lunch in it this morning. Or you’ve seen swaths of it used to wrap suitcases at the airport. It’s ubiquitous and it’s pernicious. Jon Reed certainly thinks so and has created Compostic, a plant-based alternative that as the label says decomposes faster than an orange peel. He was joined by Vincent Heeringa.
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May 28, 2023
Comvita - David Banfield
Comvita is a publicly listed mānuka honey specialist – the OG of mānuka money if you like. For a moment it was a sharemarket darling peaking in 2015 but since then languishing as it posted losses and a stockpile of product it couldn’t shift. Enter David Banfield in 2020. A spectacular financial result in February this year signal perhaps a reversal in fortunes. With success in China and the USA, the company has posted record sales and profitability. It’s also written a bold sustainability
plan called Harmony promising to be climate and sustainability leader. Vincent was joined by the CEO David Banfield.
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May 22, 2023
Carbon, trees and seaweed - Finn Ross, CarbonZ
Finn Ross is a young guy on a mission. He’s completing a PhD on seaweed carbon sequestration, he’s also co-founder of CarbonZ, a company offering voluntary carbon credits based on the restoration and planting of native trees on New Zealand farmland. He’s the son of entrepreneurs Geoff and Justine Ross, owners of Lake Hawea Station, New Zealand’s first carbon positive farm. As a worker on the farm Finn has seen first-hand how Kiwi landowners must foot the bill for native afforestation – a problem he’d like to overcome.
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May 14, 2023
The Big Business Alternative to Landfill: Joe Youssef - All Heart NZ
A framework for any corporate, anywhere, to divert anything from landfill. That’s the promise from Auckland-based social enterprise All Heart NZ. Ross Inglis asked the irrepressible Joe Youssef, the company’s founder and Chief Encourager, how it does it.
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Apr 30, 2023
Taking on the Plastic Building Wrap Challenge
What happens to all those acres of white plastic wrap that protect building sites? Ross Inglis talks with two people who know: Too much of it goes to landfill, and they’re doing something about it.
In this episode: Tina Wieczorek (right) is the CEO of the industry organisation Scaffolding, Access and Rigging New Zealand, or SARNZ, and Penny Thomson, a research manager and designer with the Environmental Solutions Research Centre, part of Auckland’s Unitec Institute of Technology.
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Apr 22, 2023
Yes, there’s a better way to Recycle Plastics: Rui Peng, Critical
Conventional plastics recycling is fussy: it can handle only four of the 24 types of plastic, and even those have to be clean. Here’s the story of Auckland-based social enterprise Critical, which uses proprietary technology to turn a wide range of waste plastics, including more contaminated ones, into construction boards and countertops.
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Apr 5, 2023
A second life for our throw-away clothing: Jeff Vollebregt, Upparel
New Zealanders on average throw out textiles equivalent to 200 t-shirts every year. Finding a new home for all those garments is the mission of Australasian textiles recycler Upparel. Jeff Vollebregt, director of Upparel’s New Zealand operation talked Ross Inglis through the business of circular clothing.
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Apr 3, 2023
Harbour bridges! Potholes! Light Rail! – with Paul Winton
The transport sector has experienced its share of drama this year, starting with Cyclone Gabrielle wiping out so many roads and bridges across the north island.
The cyclone was blamed for a sudden change in the direction in government policy. Back in February, Minister Michael Woods announced a climate-friendly plan, in its three-year transport plan, the Government Policy Statement. For the first time it prioritised the emissions impact of transport. But just days later, he reversed many of those priorities to focus on rebuilding damaged roads.
Last week the government also announced five options for a second harbour crossing and reiterated its commitment to the tunnelled version of a light rail network.
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Mar 26, 2023
What the heck just happened to the carbon market? Dr Christina Hood
Last week the quarterly auction for carbon credits hit a remarkable snag: it failed to meet the clearing price. This means none of the 4.5 million carbon permits on offer were sold. The failed auction was attributed to Cabinet’s decision to allow more credits to be issued, in an attempt to keep the carbon cost low. And it worked! The carbon price slumped from $90/tonne to $65/tonne. Cost of living crisis averted. The upshot is that the government just issued 40m tonnes of additional emissions – taking us even further away from our climate targets.
To explain all these shenanigans, I’m joined by Dr. Christina Hood, a policy expert in climate change, energy, and carbon pricing. She has over 16 years of experience providing analysis and advice to developed and developing countries, including a former role as head of the International Energy Agency Climate Change Unit.
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Mar 17, 2023
A decade of B-Corp. Now what? Qiulae Wong, NZ manager of B Lab
It's 10 years since the first companies were certified as B-Corp in New Zealand and since then the movement of ethical and environmentally responsible businesses has grown to over 500 in NZ and Australia and more than 6000 worldwide. But growing pains are emerging as the movement shifts from cutting-edge to mainstream. Last year a group of 30 B-Corps were horrified when Nespresso was certified despite, as they say, ‘Nespresso’s abysmal track record on human rights from child labour and wage theft to abuse of factory workers’.
Can any company be certified as B-Corp? Can the movement maintain its standards? Qiulae Wong is the first country manager for B Lab joins Vincent now to answer all this and more.
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Mar 2, 2023
How food growers can think about climate change: Brent Clothier
If the rain that deluged the North Island is the ‘new normal’, how are hard-hit growers
meant to think about the future – and growing anything in the ‘normal’ way?
Vincent Heeringa spoke to Brent Clothier, chief scientist with Plant &
Food, about four ways to think about growing food in a warmer and (ironically)
drier New Zealand.
Note: this was recorded before Cyclone Gabrielle devastated Hawkes bay and Tairawhiti.
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Feb 20, 2023
Making sense of Auckland’s floods – Kevin Trenberth, Climate Scientist
How can we make sense of the Biblical deluge that soaked Auckland, Northland, and the Coromandel in late January – and by the time this is being recorded is about to happen again. If only there was an articulate, slow-talking climate scientist who could explain what hell just happened.
Oh, wait! Vincent just spoke with Kevin Trenberth a Distinguished Scholar at the National Center of Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder Colorado and an Honorary Academic in the Department of Physics, Auckland University. Kevin is a kiwi who left New Zealand, to obtain his doctorate in meteorology in 1972 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. And has continued with climate research including being a lead author on the IPCC.
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Feb 14, 2023
A Constructive Use for Building Waste – With Nigel Benton and Terri-Ann Berry
Building a new house in New Zealand produces on average two skips of construction debris. If a demolition is involved, added another 13 skips. As a nation, we’re really bad at diverting all that waste from landfill.
Ross Inglis spoke with two people with a solution: property developer Nigel Benton and Doctor Terri-Ann Berry from Unitec Institute of Technology.
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Feb 6, 2023
What’s in store for 2023? Investment with Rohan MacMahon
Part Three: Rohan MacMahon on investment and technology
Is 2023 the year that New Zealand seizes the nettle on climate action? Or is it another year of incrementalism? And what effect will the election, with a potential change of government, have on the direction and speed of climate policy? To shed some light Vincent dusted off the crystal ball and spoke to three experts about the year ahead: Marc Daalder Newsroom’s climate reporter; Dr Victoria Hatton, director of sustainability and climate change at PWC; Rohan MacMahon, partner at the Climate Venture Capital Fund.
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Feb 3, 2023
What’s in store for 2023? Corporate strategy with Dr Victoria Hatton
Part two: Victoria Hatton on corporate strategy
Is 2023 the year that New Zealand seizes the nettle on climate action? Or is it another year of incrementalism? And what effect will the election, with a potential change of government, have on the direction and speed of climate policy? To shed some light Vincent dusted off the crystal ball and spoke to three experts about the year ahead: Marc Daalder Newsroom’s climate reporter; Dr Victoria Hatton, director of sustainability and climate change at PWC; Rohan MacMahon, partner at the Climate Venture Capital Fund.
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Feb 1, 2023
What’s in store for 2023? Climate politics with Marc Daalder
Part One: Marc Daalder starts with the year ahead in politics.
Is 2023 the year that New Zealand seizes the nettle on climate action? Or is it another year of incrementalism? And what effect will the election, with a potential change of government, have on the direction and speed of climate policy? To shed some light Vincent dusted off the crystal ball and spoke to three experts about the year ahead: Marc Daalder Newsroom’s climate reporter; Dr Victoria Hatton, director of sustainability and climate change at PWC; Rohan MacMahon, partner at the Climate Venture Capital Fund.
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Dec 6, 2022
A climate action accelerator for Auckland - Climate Connect Aotearoa
Auckland’s climate plan Te-Tāruke-ā-Tāwhiri is an impressive and ambitious document that sets out a response to climate change that’s not just about mitigation (that is, emissions reductions) but also adaptation and developing a future that’s unique to Tāmaki Makaurau. Sarah Anderson and Parin Rafiei-Thompson have been instrumental in the plan and now are the driving forces behind Climate Connect Aotearoa, an innovation hub funded by Council to accelerate Auckland’s climate response.
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Nov 12, 2022
Growing food in a hotter NZ – Jenny Cameron, Fit for a Better World
The primary sector has been in the gun lately for its reluctance to resolve its emissions profile. You’d almost think there’s some denial going on. Well, that might be true of some, but not all. In 2021 a broad industry effort went into a primary sector document called Fit for a Better World. The strategy lays down the challenge to be sustainable, inclusive and profitable, with specific targets for 2030 and beyond. I spoke to Jenny Cameron, the Chief Transformation Officier at MPI, and the leader of Fit a Better World programme.
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Oct 25, 2022
Follow the climate money – Climate VC Fund
Rohan MacMahon and Jez Weston are co-founders of the Climate VC Fund – a fund that invest in emission reductions technologies in NZ and Australia. They were on the show to announce their ambitions but a year on, what’s happened? Did they raise the money require? Have they invested in anything? What new tech or ideas are on their radar? And what’s the state of change?
Full dsiclousre Vincent is an investor and a contractor to the fund.
www.Climatevcfund.com
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Oct 17, 2022
The End of Smoke on the Water? Michael Eaglen, EV Maritime
Auckland’s ferries, which burn 13 million litres of diesel every year and produce 20 percent of the city’s public transport emissions, are about to clean up their act. Two electric ferries are being built right now for the Waitematā, with design and engineering in the hands of ambitious zero-emissions boatbuilder EV Maritime. CEO Michael Eaglen told Ross Inglis that the two new boats are just the beginning.
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Oct 10, 2022
Super Clean, Super Green – Cleanery’s Mark and Ellie Sorenson
In 1993, school boy Mark Sorenson got 20/20 for an essay about the dangers of plastic packaging. 29 years later Mark and his business partner and wife, Ellie, have established Cleanery, a kiwi start-up that’s attracted millions in venture capital and now has products ranged across NZ and Australian supermarkets.
Cleanery removes the water and the plastic bottle from household cleaners, offering
instead a sachet of cleaning powder. Simply tip the powder into any bottle, add warm water, and presto, you’ve got the beginnings of a sparkling clean bathroom or kitchen.
Declaration of interest: Vincent does some consulting work for Cleanery and has invested a
tiny fraction via the Climate Venture Capital Fund.
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Sep 30, 2022
Why, what and who of Auckland Climate Festival - Michelle Kennedy
Michelle Kennedy is the co-founder of the Auckland Climate Festival, a celebration of all things climate change, ranging from bike tours to investor meetings, beach clean-up, a transport tech conference, film screenings, and the O Tatou Ngahere native trees conference – and so much more. Michelle speaks to Vincent about why she started the festival and how it’s going in the second year.
https://aucklandclimatefestival.co.nz/
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Sep 25, 2022
Going nuts for bananas: Simon Coley of All Good and Karma Drinks
Simon Coley is the co-founder of All Good Organics, the pioneering importer of ethical bananas, and also of Karma Drinks, famous for its Karma Cola.
Karma just celebrated 10 years, a notable achievement for any brand, but especially noteworthy because 1% of total revenues goes back to the Karma Foundation, which funds health and development in Boma, Sierra Leone, the source of the Karma cola nut.
All Good Bananas also operates in an unethical industry and tries to return as much as possible to growers in Ecuador. Vincent talks with Simon about the journey to the triple bottom line.
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Sep 14, 2022
Climate and Business Conference: Mike Burrell, Sustainable Business Council
Next week sees the return of the Climate and Business conference, New Zealand’s most important get-together for government, business, and community leaders about climate policy and action.
This Climate Business is pleased to be invited to the conference and to talk about it - Vincent was joined by Mike Burrell, Executive Director of the Sustainable Business Council.
There are still online tickets available: https://tcc.eventsair.com/ccbc/
Visit the conference website here: Climate Change & Business Conference - Sustainable Business Network
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Sep 12, 2022
Facing the food challenge: Peter Wren-Hilton, 2035 Oceania Summit
2035 Oceania Summit is an ambitious event combining the food, agriculture, and tech sectors to address the impact of climate change on food. Held in Auckland 10-11 October
the summit will feature delegations from the US, Australia, and the Pacific Islands and includes a keynote address from Karen Ross, the secretary for the California Department of Food and Agriculture.
Peter Wren-Hilton is the convenor and key driver behind this event and the co-founder of Agritech NZ. Vincent asked Peter how tech is addressing the key challenges of climate change.
Declaration: Vincent is part of the marketing team promoting this event
>> 2035 Oceania Summit https://www.2035.ag/programme/
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Aug 22, 2022
A Greener kind of Grass: The Lawnmowing Franchise Operator that went Electric
If Waikato-based lawnmowing franchise LawnRite has anything to do with it, petrol-powered garden equipment is on the way out. It has replaced its mowers, trimmers, and even a concrete mixer with battery-powered versions, and it charges those batteries with solar panels fixed to its trailers. LawnRite managing director Troy Hillard (on the left in the photo) explained the transition to Ross Inglis on This Climate Business.
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Jul 25, 2022
Steve Bonnici: Urgent Courier Cargo Bikes
Auckland-based Urgent Couriers was the country’s first carbon-neutral transport company; if you were in Auckland in the 90’s you’ll likely remember its fleet of courier bicycles.
The bikes were mostly displaced by electronic messaging, but now they’re back. Late last year managing director Steve Bonnici bought five electric cargo bikes and set them loose on the streets of Auckland. Steve told Ross Inglis how the new cargo bikes make sense environmentally and commercially.
thisclimatebusiness.com
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Jul 3, 2022
A new shoe for you? Why not. Jeremy Bank, YY Nation
Fast fashion is responsible for packaging, energy use, waste and consumerism at their worst. If there was ever an industry ready for a make over, it would be fashion. How about a very fashionable shoe made of wool, pineapple, bamboo, algae and sugarcane? That’s right it could be delicious, if a little fibrous. YY Nation is taking a circular economy approach to shoes that makes your All Birds look like so 2021. To explain the vision and the mission, I’m joined by CEO and founder Jeremy Bank.
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Jun 19, 2022
Building a Circular Economy – Louise Nash, Circularity
What goes around comes around. The toxins we build into products come back to poison us sooner or later. It’s the circular economy at work. So imagine if we could
design systems to remove those toxins in the first place, or at least capture
them and return them to the process. Building a cradle-to-cradle economy is a
mammoth task, and it’s the mission of Louise Nash, the CEO of Circularity, a
consultancy that helps companies build circular systems. She’s also the founder
of X-Labs, a workshop series that kickstarts the journey for companies as big as
Lion Breweries and as tiny as EV Maritime.
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Jun 6, 2022
Potatoes to the Rescue! Hamish Dodd about his Plastic Alternative
We are drowning in plastics, in our soil, our oceans, our food
chain, and recently discovered as nanoparticles in our gut. Mmmmm nanoplastics.
The government banned single-use plastics in 2019, and is phasing out
hard-to-recycle plastics such as meat and vegetable packaging later this year,
but what to replace them with? Well, Earthpac is a New Zealand business turning
to the humble spud for a solution. It’s a potato starch tray that can be frozen
and microwave composted, and it's free from nasty toxins. Well, that sounds
good.
So why aren't we using it yet? And when will we see it at our local Four Square?
To hear more about the long journey to this fantastic solution Vincent was
joined by spokesperson Hamish Dodd.
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May 23, 2022
No, it won't destroy your Business: Why Removing Parking is a Good Idea
Few public debates get heated more quickly than the one around replacing kerbside parking with transit lanes or bike paths.
How do we make the conversation about parking less polarising and more productive?
For the answers, Ross Inglis spoke to Dr. Tim Welch, a Senior Lecturer at Auckland University’s School of Architecture and Planning. Tim, a very public advocate around cycling infrastructure, parking, and other urbanist touchpoints, unwraps the issues and offers pointers for winning the barbecue debate about parking.
http://thisclimatebusiness.com/
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May 2, 2022
Behind The Plug: Electric Vehicle Smart Charging
Electric vehicles are on their way, but is New Zealand’s grid ready for them? Christchurch-based Evnex makes clever chargers that refuel your car and let your lines company dynamically manage the load on its network.
Evnex CEO and founder Ed Harvey told Ross Inglis about the magic behind the plug.
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Apr 20, 2022
Carbon Farming on Māori Land - Blair Jamieson, Tāmata Hauhā
So much farmland – a million hectares according to one estimate – is mostly unfarmable because its erosion-prone, too steep, or inaccessible. In decades past that land might be destinated for forestry or just abandoned to return to scrub. Either way, the return on investment was poor. But now, thanks to the Emissions Trading Scheme, some of that land is destined to become permanent forest, with emission credits earned by the landowner.
This so-called carbon-farming could be a lifesaver for some though it’s a worry for others, who point out that these permanent forests are always exotic trees, especially pines – colonisation here we go again.
What we need is more native ngahere not more foreign pests. Negotiating a way through this is Tāmata Hauhā, a Māori owned carbon farming business dedicated to help Māori landowners make the most of the ETS to earn income for their marginal lands. To explain how the scheme works, Vincent spoke to founder and CEO Blair Jamieson.
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Apr 11, 2022
How to sell climate change: Jo Bye, EECA
Most of the population accepts that climate change is real. Most want to do something about it. But what shall we ask them to do? And what’s the best way to elicit a response? Recently the EECA, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority, released an updated version of their survey into attitudes towards climate change.
The results show that who you are, where you live, and what you earn dictate what you believe and how much you’re prepared to do support climate action. Vincent is joined by Jo Bye, GM of marketing and communications at EECA.
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Mar 31, 2022
A Circular Economy Turnaround Story: Comvita
Comvita is much loved for its honey products - who doesn’t love bees and their fluffy bums. But a renewed focus on sustainability has seen the company present a robust strategic plan based on circular economy thinking. The plan, called Harmony, is a comprehensive relook at the entire operation and arrives at a time of restructuring and repositioning the company after a few tough years. To explain the thinking behind the plan, Vincent met with Holly Brown, chief transformation officer, and Heather Johnston head of safety and sustainability.thisclimatebusiness.com
Comvita - Mānuka Honey, Olive Leaf & Propolis | Comvita™ NZ
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Mar 21, 2022
What will farmers commit to on GHGs? Kelly Forster, He Waka Eke Noa
This month farmers are discussing their approach to managing GHG emissions - as the road show for He Waka Eke Noa comes to an end. He Waka Eke Noa is a joint industry-government-Māori initiative that’s investigating an alternative emissions programme for agriculture that’s outside the Emission Trading Scheme. If He Waka Eke Noa cannot come up with a suitable plan the Government may just fold the primary sector into the ETS anyway.
The stakes are high. The majority of NZ’s GHG emissions come from agriculture and for 15 years the sector has been allowed to operate outside of the ETS. The result is a steady rise in emissions in line with increasing herd numbers. Critics say the sector has no plan, and that it’s getting a free ride. They say it's high time agriculture is brought into the same scheme as every other industry.
Farmer groups say there is a plan (He Waka Eke Noa) and that the ETS is the wrong tool for managing biological emissions, especially methane. They warn that…
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Mar 10, 2022
Making a Big Beast Change Direction Quickly: Moving NZ's Transport and Heating Systems to Net-Zero. With Dr. Richard Meade
New Zealand’s transport system relies on fossil fuels. The technologies that heat our homes and businesses aren’t much better. What will it take to transition them towards zero-carbon alternatives? Dr. Richard Meade from Cognitus Economic Insight has tackled the question of Achieving a Timely, Efficient, Equitable and Orderly Transition to Net-Zero Emissions for Transport and Heating in New Zealand, a discussion document commissioned by Vector, Powerco, and First Gas.
A teaser: There are roles in this transition for fossil fuel incumbents and for infrastructure monopolies. Dr. Meade speaks with Ross Inglis on ThisClimate Business.
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Feb 17, 2022
A plant-based future for NZ: Jade Gray, Off-Piste Provisions
The job of transitioning the primary sector from cows to plants will be a long but necessary journey. So if you were looking for someone to show the way, you’d do worse than Jade Grey. He’s managed a farm and a supermarket butchery ran a meat processing plant in China, and launched a chain of pizza stores in Beijing called Gung Ho! Pizza, which was China's first B Corp certified Food and Beverage company.
Now Jade and his family are back in New Zealand to launch Off-Piste Provisions, a plant-based food start-up dedicated to making Aotearoa as famous for its plant-protein as it is for meat. His first product is plant-based beef jerky and he joins me now to chew the um, fat. This interview first appeared on Vincent’s other podcast The Feed NZ – a podcast all about the future of food.
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Feb 3, 2022
How we can transition to an equitable and low-carbon transport system with
Every year, New Zealanders drive 35 billion kilometres by car – the equivalent of Earth to Mars and back 325 times. Māori and Pasifika miss out far more than other groups on visiting GPs because of lack of transport.
Transport accounts for 43% of New Zealand's carbon dioxide emissions, and more than half of these come from private vehicles. This country’s transport system has problems. Finding solutions to them was the task of Te Ara Matatika, or The Fair Path, a report released in November by the Helen Clark Foundation and consultancy WSP.
We asked author Holly Walker to explain how we can transition to an equitable and low-carbon transport system.
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Jan 21, 2022
Bees to Bioplastic – Veronica Harwood Stevenson, Humblebee
There’s a thing called the SIN List. Standing for Substitute It Now, the list identifies the chemicals in our textiles, furniture, food, and daily life that are slowly poisoning us, killing our bodies and environment.
Replacing that list with nature-based alternatives is the mission of Humblebee, the ambitious biotech startup of Veronica Harwood Stevenson. You may have heard of Humblebee, sometimes described as one of NZ’s hottest biotech start-ups. Now fives years into the journey the Wellington company is trying to replicate a cellophane-like substance found in bees' nests to create a harmless bioplastic.
Humblebee has scored some wins. It’s sequenced the protein in question, poised to manufacture its synthetic alternative, and in the throes of a $13m capital raise. Vincent caught up with Veronica to discuss biology, bees bums, and babies.
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Dec 8, 2021
Tackling building waste – Dr Teri-Ann Berry
I speak with Dr Terri-Ann Berry, Associate Professor at Auckland’s Unitec and the co-founder of the Environmental Solutions Research Centre and the aptly named Sustainable Construction Avengers.
Each year, the construction and demolition industry creates 1.7 million tonnes of waste – making up 60% of total landfill. So much of that waste is recoverable, recyclable, and unnecessary. No one cares more about solving that problem than Dr Terri-Ann Berry, Associate Professor at Auckland’s Unitec and the co-founder of the Environmental Solutions Research Centre and the aptly named Sustainable Construction Avengers. The centre works with students, industry, and scientists to tackle waste at its source and solve intractable problems such as the mounting pile of plastic that comes from construction sites.
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Nov 29, 2021
IPCC Report Part 3 – The insider’s guide, with Prof Dave Frame
This week Vincent is joined by Professor Dave Frame, Director of the New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute (CCRI) at Victoria University and a lead author on the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This is the third part of our series on IPCC report, so Vincent asked if Dave could give us an insider’s view of how the IPCC works, on the science of warming and the role of methane in global heating a topic of huge importance to NZ.
We’d be hard-pressed to find someone more qualified. Dave has a background in physics, philosophy, and policy. Previous posts have included research positions at the University of Oxford's Departments of Physics and Geography, and as Deputy Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. He has also worked at the New Zealand Treasury, and served on secondment at the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change.
Dave Frame Profile | Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington (wgtn.ac.nz…
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Nov 22, 2021
Streetscape reallocation with Dr Kirsty Wild
In more than 150 cities around the world, Covid 19 has been what you might call a shot in the arm for walking and cycling. To encourage social distancing, they added cycleways, extended footpaths and replaced parking spots with outdoor seating. What did New Zealand do? For the answer, we spoke to researcher Dr Kirsty Wild, co-author of a Waka Kotahi report into streetscape reallocation in this country as a response to the pandemic.
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Nov 15, 2021
Building for Zero - Andrew Eagles, Green Building Council
Buildings are responsible for around 20 percent of New Zealand’s carbon footprint. Which makes the building sector a critical part of the ambition to be net-zero by 2050. And yet our homes are notoriously damp, cold, and energy inefficient. And get this, the construction sector emits the equivalent of one million cars on the road every year. Who knew? Andrew Eagles does. The chief executive of the NZ Green Building Council spoke to Vincent about what’s going wrong and what’s right in the built environment.
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Nov 7, 2021
Live from COP26 - Olivia Wannan, Stuff
Olivia Wannan is one of a handful of New Zealand journalists to attend COP26 in Glasgow, rubbing shoulders with the rich and powerful to watch as the world’s climate policy is argued and hopefully agreed to. Oliva is a climate reporter for Stuff.co.nz and she joined Vincent on the close of day five to talk about protestors, methane, and Indonesian reticence.
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Nov 3, 2021
E-Biking On a Roll – Mike Tritt, Electrify NZ
If you think you're seeing more e-bikes on the roads, you're not wrong. In New Zealand, their sales are soaring. But it wasn't always this way; the e-bike revolution started with motivated people and, in this country, one of the early movers was Mike Tritt, a former Greenpeace staffer who founded the retail chain Electrify NZ. Mike talked with co-host Ross Inglis about the business of e-bikes and what needs to happen next in terms of policy and infrastructure.
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Oct 25, 2021
James Shaw’s Rotten Week – with Dr David Hall and Dr Victoria Hatton
Last week Climate Change Minister James Shaw’s announcement was met with stinging criticism. Generation Zero said it was a ‘disgrace’. Forest&Bird described it as a ‘clear lack of policy. Newsroom Marc Daalder called it ‘disappointment’. So what’s all this then? The criticism was a response to the just-announced Emissions Reduction Plan Discussion Document, which is neither a plan, nor a draft of a plan, but a discussion document about what could go into the plan. Vincent discussed the fuss with Dr. David Hall, climate policy specialist at AUT University, and Dr. Victoria Hatton, climate change and sustainability director at PWC.
See the document in question here.
And an excellent summary by Stuff
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Oct 18, 2021
Hydrogen at the Docks - Rosie Mercer, Ports of Auckland
How do you kickstart New Zealand’s hydrogen fuel network? Enter Ports of Auckland. It is one of the world’s first ports to open a hydrogen refuelling facility, the first stage in an ambitious plan that will eventually see the ports running on green hydrogen manufactured on-site. With a green hydrogen plant in the South Island now in scope and a fleet of hydrogen-fueled trucks already plying the main arterials, hydrogen infrastructure is on a roll.
Our new co-host, Ross Inglis, talked to sustainability general manager Rosie Mercer about the new direction for the Ports of Auckland.
Introducing Ross!
This week, Vincent is joined by new co-host Ross Inglis, a Kiwi comms executive who has spent many years in Asia working in telecommunications and tech sectors. Returning to NuZild four years ago, Ross has doubled down on his passion for bikes, ditched his car and thrown his wait behind causes such as Bike Auckland.
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Oct 10, 2021
Rethinking suburbia with Eloise Gibson, Stuff
Suburbs are the invention of another era. Far flung from the city centre, removed from places of work and largely made of stand-alone houses, suburbs could only have happened thanks to the motorcar. But with transport our second largest GHG emitter, it’s time to rethink the way we move – and it all starts with where we live. A clutch of new approaches are emerging, from intensification to careless neighbourhoods and placing housing around public transport nodes. But not everyone likes the new approach. To discuss how are suburbs changing I’m joined by Eloise Gisbon, climate change editor at Stuff.
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Oct 3, 2021
Remodelling Meal Kits - MenuAid’s Toby Skilton
If your family is like Vincent’s, then you’ll love meal kits but hate the packaging –polystyrene meat trays, foil bags and more plastic wrap than a Grey Lynn building site. Is there a way to get the convenience of a meal kit with the discernment of a sustainable shopper? Toby Skilton reckons there is. He and partner Elise Hilliam have launched MenuAid, a meal kit for the conscious consumer.
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Sep 28, 2021
The Love Oat - Morgan Maw, Boring Oat Milk
New Zealand grows great oats and makes excellent oat milk, in Sweden. Yes NZ oats are shipped to Sweden where they are processed and returned to our shores to be bottled and sold as NZ-made. That hardly seems the sustainable alternative we all hope for. The madness of that scenario is finally being redressed by a new player - the Boring Oat Milk. Vincent speaks to Boring founder Morgan Maw.
Boring® Oat Milk (boringmilk.com)
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Sep 19, 2021
Vote Climate! The Team aiming for the Vector Board, via Entrust
Coming up: an election you probably won’t vote in for an entity you’ve probably not heard of. That’s right, it’s the tri-annual vote for the Entrust board, the majority shareholder of Vector Energy, Auckland’s electrical lines company. But wait, before you turn over and go to sleep, this time around it’s different.
A consortium of climate campaigners and motivated professionals is challenging the comfortable incumbent alliance of C&R, formerly known as Citizens and Ratepayers, which have dominated the Entrust board for the last 500 years. To explain what they’re up and what it all means for the climate, I’m joined by Rohan MacMahon and Dewy Sacayan, candidates in the new party which is called More For You Better for Climate.
See the More For You, Better For Climate website: https://www.moreforyoubetterforclimate.nz/
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Sep 13, 2021
IPCC Report Part 3 – The Insider’s Guide, with Professor Dave Frame
This week Vincent is joined by Professor Dave Frame, Director of the New Zealand Climate Change Research Institute (CCRI) at Victoria University and a lead author on the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This is the third part of our series on IPCC report, so Vincent asked if Dave could give us an insider’s view of how the IPCC works, on the science of warming and the role of methane in global heating a topic of huge importance to NZ.
We’d be hard-pressed to find someone more qualified. Dave has a background in physics, philosophy and policy. Previous posts have included research positions at the University of Oxford's Departments of Physics and Geography, and as Deputy Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment. He has also worked at the New Zealand Treasury, and served on secondment at the UK Department of Energy and Climate Change.
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Sep 5, 2021
IPCC Report: Rod Oram on Business Laggards and Leaders
This week, Vincent asks Rod Oram to explain the implications of the latest IPCC for business. Does the stark reality set out in the report change what’s required of the business sector? Or does it simply reinforce what’s already happening. How exactly is business, here and overseas, responding to the need to decarbonise? And who are the leaders and laggards in this journey? Rod Oram, is a climate and business journalist and columnist at Newsroom.
See Rod’s articles on Z Energy and the MSCI report here.
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Aug 30, 2021
Unpacking the IPCC with Dr Victoria Hatton, Marc Daalder
Why has the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) –said human influence on climate is now unequivocable? Didn’t we already know that? And what impact will this report have in the run up to COP26? Vincent was joined by Marc Daalder, climate change reporter for Newsroom and Dr Victoria Hatton, Director for Sustainability and Climate Change for PWC.
See Marc’s IPCC story for Newsroom
See Victoria’s profile
Read the Report here
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Aug 22, 2021
The new era of farming with Melissa Clark-Reynolds
What future does sheep and beef farming have in a climate changed world? Serial entrepreneur and relentless optimist, Melissa Clark-Reynolds sits on the board of Beef & Lamb and sees a bright future for New Zealand farmers if the sector and government can get the settings right. Hint: it doesn’t involve pine trees. In a wide-ranging interview covering turtles, synthetic meat, Al Gore and of course Covid-19, Melissa shares her vision for a low-emissions, high-equity future.
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Aug 8, 2021
Investing in Climate Ventures - Rohan MacMahon and Dr Jez Weston
Climate Venture Capital Fund is a new venture investment fund that invests in, you guessed it, climate ventures. It’s the first of its kind in New Zealand and has just made its maiden investment, in Australian energy company MGA Thermal. Vincent is joined by two of the founders of the fund, Rohan MacMahon and Dr Jez Weston. Disclosure: Vincent works for this very fund as an advisor.
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Jul 29, 2021
Live at Spark Innovation Studio: Annabell Chartres and Vincent Heeringa
This week Vincent spoke alongside PWC’s Annabell Chartres at Spark Innovation Studio about Sustainability in Tech, one in a series put on by the Spark IoT team. Hosted by Randall Miekle, agile coach at Spark the session started with the key question: what does sustainability mean to you?
About Annabell Chartres
As the ESG Co-Leader at PwC New Zealand, Annabell is driven by finding innovative business solutions to address sustainability and climate change challenges. She is focused on supporting public and private sector organisations to incorporate a sustainability lens into their business strategies, and consider and respond to the implications of climate change. https://www.pwc.co.nz/contacts/a/annabell-chartres.html
About Spark Innovation
At Spark’s Innovation Studio you can explore and learn about emerging technologies such as IoT, 5G, mobile edge compute and mixed reality, and how they can help your business get ahead.
The space is available for businesses to ideate, crea…
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Jul 11, 2021
Organic Fantastic: Chris Morrison, Founder All Good Organics and Karma Drinks
Chris Morrison does not stop. He’s the founder of Phoenix Drinks, All Good Organics and Karma Drinks (makers of Karma Cola). He co-founded the Sustainable Business Network, has been a director of the country’s main organic certifier BioGro, and chairs Organics Aotearoa New Zealand. This year he received an NZOM for services to fair trade and sustainable business and, along with his wife Deb, has four children and various other voluntary projects on the side. Will the real Chris Morrison, please lie down?
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Jul 1, 2021
The insider: Pippa Coom on the gap between Auckland’s climate words and actions
Pippa Coom is a rare Auckland Councillor who is championing climate change action and a faster shift to active transport. So how does she rate the council’s actions on transport, buildings and climate justice? And what’s it like to be an activist on the city’s front bench? Pippa is deputy chair of the Auckland Sustainability and Climate Change Committee and co-chair of the Hauraki Gulf Forum.
Before entering politics, she was a lawyer with Vector Energy and a community organiser of sustainability events, including Frocks on Bikes.
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Jun 23, 2021
Green, keen and clean: EcoStore’s Tony Morpeth
EcoStore’s Tony Morpeth has been making environmentally friendly household cleaners for more than 20 years. Back then he was a pioneer, working for Stephen Tindall and then Malcolm Rands. Now his products are in pretty much every supermarket, from here to New York. So what goes into an eco-cleaner, and what stays out? And how can EcoStore can stay ahead of the competition and keep driving to green, but very clean world?
Plant & Mineral-Based Home, Body and Baby Care | ecostore NZ
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Jun 18, 2021
The Sanctuary Mahi Whenua Community Garden
In the heart of Mt Albert, Auckland, is one of the oldest gardens in NZ. The Sanctuary Mahi Whenua Community Garden was first planted by Maori in pre-European times and hasn’t been built on since. The vege gardens and food forest have been lovingly cared for over the years and flourished under the ownership of Carrington tech, now Unitec. But they face an uncertain future following the sale of the lands to Housing NZ. Despite assurances, the gardens remain zoned for residential development. Vincent is on a break this week so handed the reigns to writer and sustainability advisor Sarah Heeringa to interview gardens curator Trevor Crosby.
This podcast first appeared at The Feed Weekly.
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Jun 10, 2021
NZ food done like it should be: The Chia Sisters
The Chia Sisters is the kind of food company we dream of in New Zealand. Lovingly created by a family business and bottled in a solar-powered factory, this healthy energy drink is delicious, premium, and wholly sourced from local ingredients. The company is certified carbon positive, pays its workers a living wage, and is a founding member of Future Foods Aotearoa, a network of pioneering food companies that’s making the ‘volume to value’ story a reality. Is it too good to be true? Vincent spoke to founders, sisters Florence and Chloe van Dyke, about their vision for a different kind of food company and just how ambitious a sustainable operation like this can be.
https://www.chia.co.nz/
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Jun 2, 2021
#Liberatethelane! The Auckland Harbour Bridge Protest
Last Sunday a remarkable thing happened. Along with 2000 of my best friends I rode over the Auckland harbour bridge on my bicycle. I was surpirsed how gentle the gradient was and how pitted the tar-seal surface is. The views are some of the best in Auckland. The really surprising thing though is that were doing it all. The last time someone rode over the bridge is 12 years ago – also a protest at the lack of cycling access to the shore. 12 years later we still have nothing on offer excpet crowded ferries. The situation so riled my next guests that they decided to act, creating - along with BikeAuckland - the Reclaimthelane rally and protest. I’m joined by Mary-Margaret Slack, a comms manager at BikeAuckland and her dad, David Slack, writer and inveterate cycling enthusiast.
See more about LiberateTheLane here
See the lovely picture of Mary-Margaret at the 2009 protest in David’s superb article here
Check out here this amazing climb-down from anti-cycling objectors in Vancouver…
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May 23, 2021
Transport Policy just went off the Rails. WTF? Paul Winton, 1point5
Transport represents almost half of CO2 emisisons in NZ. In Auckland, its higher, at 67%. After agriculture with our burbing cows, transport is the most imporant sector to decarbonise. Yet the just published 10-year plan for Auckland predicts a 6% increase in emissions by 2031. Critics have called the plan ‘baffling’ – at odds with the council’s commitment to halve emissions by 2030. The report is one of many transport policy documents up for discussion, all promising to lower emissions and shift us out of cars and trucks. To explain what’s going on, why transport planning seems so contradictory and what still needs to be done, Vincent talked to emissions expert Paul Winton, from 1Point5.org.nz
Read the Regional Land Transport Plan Here
Read Hīkina te Kohupara here
Visit 1point5 here
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May 16, 2021
Will Carbon Farming get us to Net Zero? Dr Sean Weaver, Ekos
Dr Sean Weaver, CEO and founder of Ekos, is a pioneer in using carbon credits to fund indigenous forests, at scale. Which is handy, because we need them. The Climate Change Commission says we need fewer cows and many thousands of hectares of trees, exotic and native. Carbon farming appears to provide an effective mechanism to get there. Landowners plant trees on what was once pasture and sell carbon credits through the emission trading scheme or to involuntary markets. Lovely. But should we be careful what we wish for? Are we creating a perverse incentive to simply carpet New Zealand in fast growing, cheap pine forests that later become homes to pests, pose fire risks and smother native regeneration? Could carbon farming as we know it now, create a new set of problems down the line?
Check out Sean Weaver and Ekos here
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May 9, 2021
Do Happy Cows Burp Funny Gas? Glen Herud, Happy Cow Milk Company
This week Vincent talks to the indefatigable Glen Herud, dairy pioneer and founder of the Happy Cow Milk Company – where cows keep their young, the calves are not sent to slaughter and the milking shed is mobile, that is, it goes to cows rather than cows coming to the shed. Hard at it since 2006, Glen faced technical, political and financial hurdles to get Happy Cow launched. Now on the cusp of its launch, Glen joins us to answer questions about methane, milk, money and starting a moovement.
https://happycowmilk.co.nz/
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Apr 28, 2021
Making Waste Pay: Toby Skilton of Mutu and Oliver Hunt of MedSalv
Where there’s muck there’s brass. In this episode Vincent talk to two entrepreneurs using technology to address waste problems at source. Oliver Hunt is co-founder of Medsalv, which cleans and refurbishes single-use hospital equipment. And Toby Skilton is co-founder of Mutu, an online exchange for sharing and hiring household gear. Especially trailers! Both are recent startups, both deploy tech to solve seemingly impossible problems and both share a vision for a world with less toxic crap in the ground.
Check out the two businesses profiled:
Mutu and Medsalv – both Christchurch-based circular businesses winning by doing good!
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Mar 29, 2021
The advantage of native forests: Sir Stephen Tindall, Dame Anne Salmond and more!
This week Vincent attended the launch of O Tātou Ngāhere, a joint venture between Tāne’s Tree Trust and business lobby group Pure Advantage. They’re calling for a major shift in thinking about native forests, arguing that it’s not just the job of government but of farmers, landowners and all New Zealanders to plant and nurture native trees. They have a target of 2 million hectares of new native forests – many times more ambitious than the 300,000 hectares proposed by the Climate Change Commission.
Vincent grabbed a few minutes with some of the key contributors to ask why does this matter and what would look like if you succeeded? He started with Sir Stephen Tindall, followed by Dame Anne Salmond and then Peter Berg, chairman of Tāne’s Tree Trust, and Sheridan Ashford and Adrian Loo, of Future Foresters.
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Mar 15, 2021
The Future of Transport is Small – Micromobility Co-Founder Oliver Bruce
Climate change sucks, but there are some upsides. Electric skateboards being one. E-scooters being the other. In fact the whole micromobility revolution is so much fun. And no one is having more fun than Oliver Bruce, the ex-Uber exec who has returned to NZ to become an angel investor and agitator for micromobility in our cities. Oliver is the co-founder of the Micromobility.io – a conference, podcast and research group focused on the future of short-run, urban transport solutions that don’t kill the planet. Micromobility.io is in itself a new breed of digital companies with the founders living in Helsinki, Wellington, New York and San Francisco. Why the hell not? The earth is flat, especially when you on an e-bike right?
Visit Micromobility here
About Oliver
Oliver Bruce is an angel investor and co-host of the Micromobility Podcast with Horace Dediu. Previously, he was with Uber in Australia and New Zealand working on strategic projects and business development. He lives in Wel…
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Mar 7, 2021
Is He Happy Now? James Shaw on the Climate Change Commission and COP26
As the co-leader of the NZ Greens and the minister for Climate Change, James Shaw has defied his critics to get climate change on the government agenda with the overhaul of the Emissions Trading Scheme, cross-party support for the Zero Carbon Act, and the creation of the Climate Change Commission who’s daft report has just been published. All wins for sure but wins that feel about a decade too old and still too early to change NZ’s love affair with V8 utes, motorways and dairy herds. Is he satistifed with the Comission’s report? What will he bring to the table at the COP26 in Glasgow this year and has he overcome his mother’s threat to throw himout of the house if he ever got into politics?
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Feb 14, 2021
Is the Climate Change Commission ambitious enough? Rod Oram and Marc Daalder
The NZ Climate Change Commission released its landmark report late January. The 650-page discussion document sets an agenda for how New Zealand could achieve GHG emissions reductions to align with our international obligations, such as the Paris Agreement, and achieve the goal of being carbon neutral by 2050. It’s a big document, with lots to say and implications that some say are as radical as the Rogernomics revolution of the 1980s. But is it radical enough? And what does it _not_ say about the need for change? To explain the document and early reactions to it, Vincent is joined by the two of the climate change team from Newsroom.co.nz, Marc Daalder and Rod Oram.
Visit Newsroom’s coverage here
Visit the Climate Change Commission here
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Jan 17, 2021
What is Project Drawdown? With Rohan MacMahon
Welcome to Climate Briefs, the summer series for This Climate Business. I ask a simple question, our experts give a succinct answer. Because in the end everyone likes a tight brief, right?
This week I ask Rohan MacMahon about Project Drawdown, most comprehensive list of greenhouse gas reductions projects, from peat farming and poo fuel to photosynthetic paint and synthetic cows.
>> The World's Leading Resource for Climate Solutions: https://www.drawdown.org/
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Jan 10, 2021
What is Climate Justice? With Jo Spratt, Director with Oxfam NZ
Welcome to Climate Briefs, the summer series for This Climate Business. I ask a simple question, our experts give a succinct answer. Because in the end everyone likes a tight brief, right?
This week I ask Jo Spratt of Oxfam NZ to explain climate justice. Not everyone will experience the consequences of climate crisis in equal measure. The most vulnerable are typically the already most disadvantaged. So how do we ensure just outcomes for the poor and the most climate-affected?
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Jan 3, 2021
Who Cares About Methane? With Eloise Gibson, Stuff.co.nz
Welcome to Climate Briefs, the summer series for This Climate Business. I ask a simple question, our experts give a succinct answer. Because in the end everyone likes a tight brief, right?
This week I ask Eloise Gibson, climate change editor of Stuff, to explain the role of methane in global heating, why it’s such a contended topic and whether emitting gas through mammalian orifices will ever be acceptable in polite company.
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Dec 27, 2020
What is Climate Finance? With Alex Jonston, Oxfam NZ
Welcome to Climate Briefs, the summer series for This Climate Business. I ask a simple question, our experts give a succinct answer. Because in the end everyone likes a tight brief, right?
This week I ask Alex Johnston of Oxfam NZ to explain climate finance – the arcane world of country-by-country commitments to fund the transition to a low-carbon world. Who sets these sums, who pays and who ensures that promises are fulfilled?
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Dec 20, 2020
What is shareholder activism? By Barry Coates, Mindful Money
Welcome to Climate Briefs, the summer series for This Climate Business. I ask a simple question, our experts give a succinct answer. Because in the end everyone likes a tight brief, right?
This week I ask Barry Coates of Mindful Money to explain shareholder activism and how it is checking the behaviour of polluting and unethical companies.
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Dec 14, 2020
Auckland’s Transport Emissions Challenge: Shane Ellison, CEO, Auckland Transport
The Auckland Climate Plan sets a target of reducing GHG emissions by half by 2030. Now, we know that largest single chunk of Auckland’s emissions – that’s 37% - comes from land transport. So to achieve that bold target, transport emissions need to fall by a massive 64% - in just 10 years. That puts Shane Ellison in the hot seat. Shane is the chief executive of Auckland Transport, the council-owned company that manages Auckland transport network, from trains and busses, to roads, tunnels, footpaths and cycleways. Shane recently wrote a piece in the NZ Herald setting out the scale of the challenge. Vincent asked him how serious this challenge is, what needs to be done and why cycling in Auckland still sucks, big time.
Full disclosure: Vincent helped Shane write the NZ Herald article in his capacity as a public relations consultant. But the data and the opinions are all Shane’s – and this interview was not paid for.
Read Shane’s article here
Read the Climate Plan here
Read…
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Dec 7, 2020
Jacinda declares climate emergency! So what does that actually mean?
Last week Prime Minister Jacinda Adern declared a Climate Emergency. In Parliament she said: “This declaration is an acknowledgement of the next generation … of the burden that they will carry if we do not get this right and do not take action now.”
The declaration has been a long time coming and follows the example of many other countries and cities, including some in NZ. So what is a climate emergency? What difference will it make? And what other ‘emergencies’ get bumped off the agenda as a result? With me to discuss this move are two climate campaigners and rational optimists: Melissa Clark-Reynolds, a professional director and futurist who was the first New Zealander to train with Al Gore, when he was still a thing and Rohan MacMahon, a technology investor and adviser with the Punakaiki Fund.
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Nov 29, 2020
Replace the plastic bag with a better bag! Kate Bezar, The Better Packaging Company
Starting with replacing those awful one-use plastic courier bags, the company now offers alternatives to plastic gloves, gift wrap, sticky labels and bags of all sort and is exporting its plant-based products in Australia, Europe, China and USA. But what does compostable mean, is it the same as biodegradable what happens when you don’t have a compost bin – and does plant-based plastic just replace one set of problems with another? Vincent is joined by co-founder The Better Packaging Company, Kate Bezar, which recently was named a finalist in the Sustainable Business Awards.
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-better-packaging-co/?originalSubdomain=nz
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Nov 23, 2020
Why do more women (than men) choose ethical investment?
More women than men choose ethical investments. Why? John Berry is the founder and CEO of Pathfinder Asset Management, an investment fund and manager of Caresaver, an ethical Kiwsaver plan launched last year. Pathfinder believes that doing good pays better bucks. That is, investors who consider the environmental, social and governance impact of their investments can improve returns not just for the planet but also for investors. So does it? And what makes a banker become such an ethical campaigner? And how come women get this better than men?
Visit Pathfinder here: https://www.path.co.nz/
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Nov 16, 2020
Hey Jacinda: it’s time to walk your talk on climate action. Russel Norman, Greenpeace
With a mandate to rule and all the tools in place, this Labour government has everything it needs reduce New Zealand’s emissions. So, what’s the hold up? Patience child warns Russel executive director of Greenpeace Aotearoa, a former Green party co-leader and two term MP. The seasoned campaigner says we need to give Team Ardern six months to demonstrate how it will turn NZ’s emissions around -- that is, six months before the gloves come off. Russel spoke to Vincent about what to expect, how to protest and what keeps him engaged in the task.
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Nov 9, 2020
The Outrageous Waste of Food: Deborah Manning, Kiwi Harvest
Every year New Zealand food industry sends 103,000 tonnes of food waste to landfill. Some 60% of that food going to landfill is edible. Burying food (often in its plastic and foil packaging) is an environmental disaster. It needlessly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions – and squanders the resources used to produce and transport that food, including water, land, energy, labour, and capital. If that sound outrageous to you, then thank goodness Deborah Manning is doing something about it. Deborah is a qualified lawyer and physiotherapist, who founded KiwiHarvest in 2012. The charity collects edible food destined for landfill and distributes it to food banks and social agencies to share with those who need it most. She spoke to Vincent about the need to redesign the food system.
About Deborah and Kiwi Harvest
Deborah has worked in the public health system, various law firms and is an invited lecturer at the University of Otago as well as a member of the Board of Advisors of the Un…
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Nov 1, 2020
How to Stop Owning a Stupid Metal Box: Erik Zyderfelt, Mevo
Are you sick of owning an expensive, polluting metal box called a car? Me too. Mine sits in the garage taking up real estate and costing me bomb in maintenance and registeration. Is car sharing a better alternative? The idea is simple: use an app to pick up one of the share cars dotted around your city, do your thing, park it and walk away. Voila! Maybe. Car-sharing has a long and painful history. The first scheme was started in 1948, and since the 2000s there have been dozens of start-ups around the world. Mevo, a car sharing scheme based in Wellington, is the latest to give it a crack. Vincent was joined by co-founder Erik Zyderfelt to explain his vision for reducing emissions, solving gridlock and why this time car-sharing will finally succeed.
https://mevo.co.nz/
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Oct 26, 2020
Labour’s Big Mandate: here’s how they should use it. Gary Taylor, Environmental Defence Society
Few names have been associated longer with conservation and environmental protest than Gary Taylor. The executive director of the Environmental Defence Society has taken on mining companies, property tycoons, governments and even fellow conservationists with the cool-headed grit of a long-haul trucker. So what does he make of Labour’s extraordinary mandate to rule? What’s on his wishlist for action? What does he think will actually happen? And why, after so many decades of seeing environmental degradation and climate inaction, does he remain so charmingly optimistic?
Join Vincent and Gary as they traverse the Waitakere Ranges, the Hauraki Gulf, the McKenzie Country and a mercifully brief summary of the RMA reforms.
About Gary Taylor CNZM, QSO
Gary is the executive director and chairman of EDS and has extensive experience in corporate governance, having been the Chairman of the Auckland Area Health Board, the Climate Change and Business Centre (Australia) and the Peoples Centre H…
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Oct 18, 2020
Is Sheep and Beef Farming already Carbon Neutral? Possibly, Dr Brad Case, AUT
Here’s a surprise for you. It’s possible that sheep and beef farms could already be net carbon neutral in NZ. According to a new report, sheep and beef farms hold 17% of NZ’s forests - or more technically 17% of NZ’s woody vegetation. On the most generous estimates, that vegetation could be sequestering more GHGs than what all our dry-stock herds are emitting. Even at the least generous estimate the gap is small, meaning an increase in planting or a small decrease in stock numbers could result in a net zero or, even better, net-positive position. That’s great news. Or is it? The study, while conducted by AUT was funded by the farming body Beef & Lamb - and I guess they would say that. Even if it is true, it says nothing about the bigger bovine in the room, dairy industry, of which many of those sheep and beef farms have been converted into. Plus there’s still the issues of nitrate run off, winter grazing, excess water use and so on.
Anyway, with me to discuss the study and…
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Oct 11, 2020
Farming sustainably, at scale. Can it be done? Forbes Elworthy, co-founder of Craigmore Sustainables
Craigmore Sustainables is the only New Zealand land manager that operates at scale in each of New Zealand’s three core primary sectors: horticulture, dairy farming and forestry. It also claims to be a leader in sustainable practices, seeking to become carbon neutral in some of its dairy and kiwifruit operations, employing local owner/operators and finding innovative ways to reduce environmental impact.
Co-founder Forbes Elworthy is the fourth generation of Elworthys to own Craigmore Station, one of Canterbury’s largest sheep and beef farms. He has big shoes to fill: his father, Sir Peter Elworthy, led Federated Farmers during the turbulent economic reforms of the 1980s and was on the board of the Reserve Bank. He was also a founder of the Sustainability Council which successfully opposed the release of genetically modified organisms in New Zealand. Farming and a love for the land are clearly in Forbes's blood, but what does that mean in the 21st century? And how are New Zealand fa…
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Oct 4, 2020
Creating a 1000m water spout for renewable electricity? Yes, says tech investor Brent Ogilvie
Could a water spout almost a kilometre high be harnessed to create electricity from waste industrial heat? Yes, says tech investor Brent Ogilvie. Brent is a rare type: a venture investor with a passion for sustainability. A former trade commissioner to New York, Brent was a trustee of the Urban Ecoliving Trust, founded a biodiesel company (sold to Z) and is a founding director of Pacific Channel, an investment company that backs tech companies which create positive impact and value by solving worthwhile problems. His latest ventures include Orbis, a Covid detection tool for airports and Vortex Systems, an early stage company that uses wasted industrial heat to generate electricity. In a fascinating conversation with Vincent, Brent revealed how his passion for science and sustainability is creating a breakthrough product and making money along the way.
About Brent
Brent Ogilvie is co-founder and Managing Director of Pacific Channel. You can see some of the Pacific Channel’s companie…
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Sep 27, 2020
Auckland’s Bold Climate Plan: Can it halve Emissions in just 9 Years?
The Auckland Climate Action Plan sets out a bold agenda to halve greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The changes required are profound. If you think fixing the harbour bridge is messy, wait till you try converting the majority of our cars to EVs and getting out of the gas heating business. Richard Hills is chair of the council’s Environment and Climate Change Committee. The youngest sitting councillor, Hills helped the plan get unanimous support and remains optimistic, if daunted, by the challenge and excitement of the changes ahead. He spoke to Vincent on the other side of the broken bridge.
Read the plan here:
Read a good summary by Todd Niall here
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Sep 20, 2020
Lakes, tomatoes and seaweed: what are the 70 best Kiwi climate tech ideas?
Jez Weston and Rohan MacMahon are technologists scouring New Zealand to find the best and brightest projects to address climate change. Or more specifically, to find technologies that offer the greatest emissions reductions, for the lowest cost, in the least amount of time. They have identified 70 projects that fit the bill – from renewable energy and carbon capture to electric bikes and algae. Vincent asked them what’s the best, the worst, and what they’re still looking for.
About Jez Weston
Jez has 15 years’ experience in policy and climate advice including translating climate science into mitigation and adaptation policy advice. He has more recently been involved in research investment and commercialisation. His background is in physical science, engineering, and economics. He has a PhD from Cambridge University.
@happyinmotion
About Rohan McMahon
Rohan has 25 years’ experience as a management consultant, strategic planner and corporate executive first with Accenture…
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Sep 13, 2020
Labour’s promise for 100% renewable by 2030: smart or cynical?
Last week, the Labour Party unveiled an election promise to bring forward by five years the goal of 100 percent renewable electricity generation to 2030. It means NZ would join nations such as Iceland and Norway in leading the world in renewables and reinforce Jacinda Adern’s commitment to addressing climate change. It is after all, her generation’s nuclear free moment. But not everyone is impressed. Greenpeace has called policy ‘stingy’ and climate change journalist Marc Daalder describes it as a ‘red herring’. So is going 100% renewable by 2030 a bold plan for emissions reduction, or it is an expensive distraction while the rest of the country burns.
I was joined by Newsroom journalist Marc Daalder and by Greenpeace energy spokesperson Amanda Larsson to discuss the policy.
Read Marc’s excellent article about the policy here
Read Greenpeace’s statement about the policy here
Read the Labour Party policy statement here
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Sep 6, 2020
The Native Trees Conundrum: Adele Fitzpatrick of Trees That Count
Should native forests be harvested? Can they compete with pine as carbon sinks? And is biodiversity a better measure than carbon? Adele is the CEO of Trees that Count, an ambitious programme to plant 200 million native trees across NZ in the next decade. With 32 million planted since 2016, it has still got a long way to go but momentum is building with the business, community and government increasingly motivated to use native forests as carbon sinks and conversation projects. Native forests are under, from pests and disease and an emissions trading scheme that actively rewards pine plantations and punishes natives. How hopeful is Adele Fitzpatrick of Trees that Count of meeting that ambitious target and what needs to change?
Visit Trees that Count here
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Aug 30, 2020
How to get 250K electric vehicles by 2025: Mark Gilbert of DriveElectric
What if I told you that former head of BMW in NZ now wants gas-guzzling, polluting cars off the road and replaced with low-emissions electric vehicles like the mild-mannered Nissan Leaf? A few years ago, I wouldn’t have believed it myself but Mark is now the chairman of Drive Electric, a consortium of interests from across the transport sector. They say electrifying the vehicle fleet is one of the most effective ways to achieve our goal of being carbon neutral by 2050. Their ambition is to make electric vehicle ownership mainstream and have 250000 EVs on the road by 2025.
About DriveElectric
Drive Electric is a not-for-profit with one goal – making electric vehicle ownership in New Zealand mainstream. Its members represent the full e-mobility ecosystem: finance, automotive, infrastructure, energy and government.
https://driveelectric.org.nz/
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Aug 23, 2020
Hyrdrogen: hype, hope or happening?
Hydrogen is a fantastic energy source: abundant, clean, light and highly flammable. But can it overcome its biggest hurdle: cost of production? Andrew Clennett, founder of Hiringa Energy, says an emphatic _yes_. Hiringa already has a green-hydrogen pilot plant in Taranaki (a JV with Balance Agri-Nutrients) and is rolling out truck fuelling sites across the country. And with trucking firms, vehicle manufacturers and the government (in part) already on board, Andrew says the biggest hurdle for hydrogen is not cost but Kiwi inertia. So we asked Andrew to explain the science, economics and his own journey from an oil man to a hydrogen hopeful.
About Andrew
Andrew is a Tasmanian and experienced energy executive, having spent 23 years as a drilling engineering and senior executive for Todd Energy, Woodside Energy and Maersk Oil. In 2017, he co-founded Hiringa along with finance executive (and his wife) Cathy and business partner and hydrogen expert Dan Kahn.
See Andrew, Cathy and Dan’s…
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Aug 16, 2020
Sun, Power and the Todd Corp: The Story of Sunergise
The sun is the greatest source of free energy for the Earth – so why don’t we tap into it more? The team at Sunergise are changing that on an industrial scale. Sunergise is a Kiwi solar energy company that got its start in 2012 by building the world’s largest solar installation for a marina at Port Denarau in Fiji. Since then it has expanded across the Pacific and NZ and has just welcomed a major investment by Todd Generation, a subsidiary of Todd Corp, one NZ’s largest investment companies, famous for its oil and gas business. To talk about Todd, the journey to get here and the future of solar I was joined by directors Paul Makumbe, Lachlan McPherson and Nick Worthington. I started by asking Paul just how the company began.
Founded in 2012 as the first pan-Pacific solar power utility by a group of entrepreneurs and veteran investors including ANZ Oceania CEO Bob Lyon.
Our mission is to secure a brighter, more productive future for the people of New Zealand and the Pacific Is…
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Aug 9, 2020
Ireland’s sensational climate change plan: Prof Robert McLachlan
The Republic of Ireland just passed the most ambitious climate change plan of any developed country. With a commitment to halve emissions by 2030 and be net neutral by 2050, the home of River Dancing makes New Zealand look positively flat-footed, says Professor Robert McLachlan. The Massey University mathematician and author of climate change blog Planetary Ecology says Ireland is one the few countries to take the Paris Agreement proper serious. We talked to Robert about Ireland, Antarctica, renewables, maths and cats.
About Robert
Professor Robert McLachlan is a mathematician at Massey University. He’s also co-author of one of NZ’s most popular climate change blogs Planetary Ecology. A recent post about cats drew worldwide following, confirming everything we suspected about the Internet.
You can visit Planetary Ecology here
Read Robert’s blog about Ireland here
Learn more about Ireland’s Climate Action Plan here
See some videos of cats here
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Aug 2, 2020
King of the Roads: meet Scott Simpson, National’s spokesperson on Climate Change
In the second of our meet-your-next-prospective6-climate-minister series we are joined by Scott Simpson, National Party’s spokesperson on Environment, Climate Change and RMA reform. The Nats have not been natural bedfellows with climate change action, but Scott has been an effective voice, especially as co-chair of the internal ginger group, the Blue Greens. But under the new leadership of Judith Collins, how committed is the party to meeting New Zealand Paris obligations? Does it support Auckland’s Climate Action Plan? Will it allow fracking on conservation land? And bring back oil and gas exploration? And how about those roads, roads, roads?
About Scott
Scott is the MP for Coromandel since 2011 and previously held roles in business including being CEO of children's charity Make-A-Wish New Zealand. He is also co-chair of the Blue-Greens, the National Party’s environmental think tank.
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Jul 26, 2020
Auckland’s bold new climate action plan: Can it do this? Really?
Last week Auckland City passed the Auckland Climate Action plan – a bold commitment to halve emissions by 2030. The plan puts into action Auckland’s City’s declaration of a climate emergency and sets it on a path to zero emissions by 2050.
So how will it get there? What’s got to start? And stop? And what does it mean for business and the citizens? For answers, Vincent was joined Dr David Hall co-chair of the independent advisory group of the ACAP and by Jenny Cooper QC the president of Lawyers for Climate Action NZ.
Read more about the Auckland Climate Action here:
Useful summary: from Our Auckland
Transport implications: Todd Niall in Stuff
Budget implications: Simon Wilson in NZ Herald
The Action Plan itself: Read it and whoop
About our guests
Jenny Cooper QC is the president of Lawyers for Climate Action NZ.
Dr David Hall is a senior lecturer at AUT and at the Policy Observatory. He was the co-chair of the independent advisory group of the ACAP.
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Jul 19, 2020
Have you invested in big oil today? Barry Coates can tell you, now
Is your KiwiSaver invested in porn, weapons and ciggies? Does it have a stake in fossil fuels and palm oil plantations? How would you know? And what can you do? Barry Coates founded Mindful Money to dig into such investment conundrums, reveal where the money flows and provide ethical alternatives. The former Greens MP and Oxfam CEO talked to Vincent about radical transparency, the power of investors, the excitement of ideas and his own Damascus Road conversation to a greener, sustainable world.
About Mindful Money
Mindful Money provides free insights into the investments of KiwiSaver funds. Only 1% of current KiwiSaver funds exclude investments in porn, gambling and animal cruelty. Only 2% exclude fossil fuels. Mindful Money allows you to choose your ethical criteria and recommends the funds that match. It gets paid a small fee when you switch funds. Check it out.
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Jul 12, 2020
Climate and Vote 2020: Geoff Simmons of The Opportunities Party
TOP rocketed to fame in the last election off the back of its former leader Gareth Morgan attacking pretty much everything: government, the opposition, the wealthy, the tax system the welfare system and even cats. This time around it’s Geoff Simmons at the helm. The former economist talks to Vincent about prospects for success, climate action, upending the tax system and the future of a value, not volume driven New Zealand.
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Jul 12, 2020
Can capitalism save the planet? A review of ‘More From Less’
Taking a break from interviews this week, Vincent reviews the breakthrough book More From Less, by Andrew McAfee. Describing green growth as ‘Humanity’s Big Surprise’, McAfee argues that we can not only grow our economy through conventional capitalism but that we can simultaneously reduce our impact on the natural world. It’s the miracle of dematerialisation – and it’s happening faster than ever. Is he correct? Can capitalism save the planet? Vincent goes digging.
Amazon reviews of More from Less
Critical review by Foreign Affairs magazine
Andrew McAfee’s Ted Talk about More from Less
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Jun 28, 2020
The climate front-line: Eloise Gibson, climate change editor
Eloise Gibson is New Zealand’s first reporter to be appointed a climate change editor in a mainstream media outlet. The award-winning business journalist joined Stuff.co.nz earlier this year and was pleasantly surprised by the warm reception from the science and business community. But did readers do the same? I spoke to Eloise about her fans and critics, Stuff’s commitment to science and keeping her spirits up on the front line of climate news.
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Jun 21, 2020
EV Conversion Man: Theo Gibson of the EV Podcast
In this episode I had a great chat with EV converter and enthusiast Theo Gibson (EV Podcast host) about his own car conversion and the direction of EV transport locally and globally. Enjoy!
EV Podcast: https://evpodcast.com
This Climate Business: https://www.podcasts.nz/this-climate-business/
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Jun 14, 2020
The Gulf War: James Frankham’s crusade for the Hauraki Gulf
James Frankham is on a war path. The publisher of New Zealand Geographic and outdoor adventurer is outraged by the decline of the Hauraki Gulf, the so-called jewel in Auckland’s crown. The State of the Gulf 2020 report reveals that overfishing, sedimentation, pollution, political failures and ignorance have combined to push this precious habitat to near collapse. We spoke to James about what can be done, how long the Gulf has got, his work with NZ Geo, virtual reality and his hopes that his children, like he did, will see rays feeding in Waiheke’s rockpools.
About James
James is the publisher of the multi-award-winning New Zealand Geographic, an adventurer and advocate for the great outdoors. In 2019 he was a named a Blake Leader by the Sir Peter Blake Trust for his work in using virtual reality to showcase undersea habitats.
Visit NZ Geo
See the VR work
And read the State of the Gulf report
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Jun 7, 2020
Chair up! A good news story about us and the USA. Richard Shirtcliffe of Noho
Noho is a Kiwi furniture start-up taking Kiwi sustainability to the USA. Noho’s chairs are made of recycled fishing nets and the first of a line of products that CEO, Richard Shirtcliffe, says are rethinking what wellbeing means for home and for the planet. Now based in chilly burbs of Boulder Colorado, the former boss of Tuatara Beer and Coffee Supreme is leading the charge to take Noho to the USA. We spoke to him about riots, rubbish, recycling and reclining his way into success.
About Noho
Noho – meaning to sit or to dwell in te reo – is a Wellington-based sustainable furniture maker with strong connections to Formway Furniture – the company that brought us the amazing Life Chair.
https://nz.noho.co/
About Richard
Richard Shirtcliffe is the founding CEO of Noho, and former boss of much-loved Kiwi brands Phil&Teds, Tuatara Beer and Coffee Supreme.
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May 31, 2020
Time for a sustainability commissioner? Sir Peter Gluckman and Anne Bardsley
Sir Peter Gluckman says New Zealand is woeful at long-term planning – and the environment suffers as a result. In the latest paper from Koi Tū: The Centre of Informed Futures, Sir Peter and Anne Bardsley argue for a new Sustainability Commissioner to be charged with implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals and pressure government, business and councils to factor the biosphere in all decision-making. We ask why, and how, this could happen.
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May 24, 2020
One billion trees is only half the answer - Marty Verry of Red Stag Timber
Forests are only part of the answer to dealing with climate change, warns Marty Verry, CEO of Red Stag Timber, NZ’s largest timber mill. He says the government’s One Billion Trees Programme could lead to a dangerous glut unless there’s a wholesale adoption of wood for construction, fuel and other downstream products. Could a ‘Wood First’ policy displace concrete and steel? How reliable are forests for carbon sink? And as a source of credits? And what about all that lost farmland? These questions and more on This Climate Business!
About Marty
Marty Verry is the CEO of Red Stag Timber, NZ’s largest and most advanced timber mill, based in Rotorua. A surfer, dad and convert to climate action, Marty started his sustainability journey after seeing the human impact on the ocean and the opportunity forestry can play in solving our emissions problem – if done right.
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May 17, 2020
Budget 2020: The Missed Opportunity
How green was the Budget? Billed as transformational it contains big dollops of cash for the environment, rail, ferries, housing and insulation. So you’d think that climate campaigners would be happy. Errr, nope. The Budget is a missed opportunity to reshape New Zealand to a low-emissions, high-margin economy and leaves us exposed to that other imminent threat, climate change. I spoke to three experts to unpack the good, the bad and tragically missing from this epic spending spree.
Rod Oram is a business journalist specialising in sustainable development, writing for Newsroom.
Amanda Larsson is the Climate and Energy Campaigner for Greenpeace NZ and an author of the Green New Deal, a plan to accelerate NZ’s progress to a low-emissions future.
Jenny Cooper QC is the president of Lawyers for Climate Action NZ.
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May 10, 2020
Vaughan Fergusson – Kids, climate change, billionaires and school camps
Vaughan Fergusson (formerly Rowsell) is the founder of Vend, the Kiwi tech success. Last year he started the Institute of Awesome, based on a rambling 100-acre section and lodge overlooking the Tasman sea in Raglan. From here, Vaughan and partner Zoe Timbrell planned to run school camps that combine tech with sustainability and outdoor adventures. Covid has put all that on ice for now. But we know Vaughan has a plan. He does and it doesn’t involve billionaires.
Institure of Awesome: https://inawe.nz/
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May 3, 2020
Julie Anne Genter – On bikes, trains and automobiles
The Covid-19 ‘rebound’ is the perfect opportunity to create a low-emissions transport system, right? Julie Anne Genter thinks so. The Green MP and Associate Minister of Transport has high hopes for extending bikes lanes, revamping the feebate scheme, introducing high-speed rail and (politely) putting a rocket up Auckland Transport. I caught up with her in her Wellington bubble.
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Apr 26, 2020
Rod Drury and Roger Dennis: a post-Covid-19 plan for NZ
What if there was a plan for a post-Covid-19 recovery – and not just a plan but an ambition? Rod Drury and Roger Dennis want to create a cross-sector, bi-partisan group to use this moment to achieve some big wins, such as 100% renewable energy, nationwide 5G roll-out and an immigration scheme that lures the rich and powerful down under.
The pair have had success before. They convinced the government to create the role of chief technology officer, which had a few wobbles but finally occurred in 2019. This latest idea is gaining momentum. I asked if it’s wishful thinking for New Zealand to plan long term.
About Rod and Roger
Rod Drury is the founder of Xero. He stepped down as CEO in 2018 but remains on the board and is involved in start-ups. Roger Dennis is an analyst and innovation consultant with a speciality in scenario planning for large companies and government agencies.
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Apr 19, 2020
The new era of farming with Melissa Clark-Reynolds
What future does sheep and beef farming have in a climate changed world? Serial entrepreneur and relentless optimist, Melissa Clark-Reynolds sits on the board of Beef&Lamb and sees a bright future for New Zealand farmers if the sector and government can get the settings right. Hint: it doesn’t involve pine trees. In a wide-ranging interview covering turtles, synthetic meat, Al Gore and of course Covid-19, Melissa shares her vision for a low-emissions, high-equity future.
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Apr 12, 2020
The Offset Business with Jan Czaplicki of CarbonClick
JanCzaplicki was one of the guys behind Air New Zealand’s carbon offsetting technology. But Jan and his business partner Paul Brady experienced an explosion of entrepreneurial zeal and took their experience (and the blessing of their former employer) to develop CarbonClick, an off-the-shelf platform that claims to offer the 'easiest way to offset the carbon emissions in your life and business'. The idea is to make carbon offsetting as simple as pressing a button, whether you're a V8-driving bogan from Henderson, a small cafe owner in Timaru or a big business with major greenhouse gas emissions. To save the planet, just click here.
https://carbonclick.com/
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Apr 5, 2020
Vehicles are the low-hanging fruit: Dr Paul Winton
To rebuild a post-Covid economy _and_ meet our zero emissions targets, where do we start? After trees and agriculture, there’s one sector that would make the biggest impact: transport. So says Dr Paul Winton of the 1point5 Project: a campaign to radically reduce NZ’s emissions by 2030 by decarbonising transport. “People say ‘every little bit count’s but that won’t make the scale of reductions we need. It must be bigger. This is our moment.”
Paul says we need to stop building roads – we have enough. In urban areas we need to shift people into bikes, scooters and public transport. Nationally, we must replace ICE cars and trucks with EVs and build a country-wide charging infrastructure similar in scale to the ultra-fast broadband rollout.
“The good news is that all these technologies exist and are commercially viable. And people want to make the change. The missing piece now is political action.”
About Dr Paul Winton:
Paul Winton has a PhD in engineering, is a form…
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Mar 29, 2020
Inside the mind of denial: Dr David Hall
Why do some people deny facts that are plain to everyone else? Whether it’s about Covid-19, climate change or vaccines, some will defy the scientific consensus and cling defiantly to alternatives, even when they're demonstrably wrong. Why? Dr David Hall has studied denial so you don’t have to. I spoke to him in two interviews, pre and post-lockdown, about the similarities between Covid and climate change denial and learned denial is not unusual nor a recent phenomenon: it was first noted in reactions to the atrocities of World War Two and is a normal human reaction to paradigm-changing facts.
It turns out, some things are too hot to handle, even for the grown-ups.
Note, we’re not talking about healthy scepticism, which is to be encouraged. Argument is good! Denial is a commitment to opposition that is defiantly irrational. So where does denial come from and how can it be adddressed?
Also, please note, the first part of the interview was done in our respective lounges during lo…
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Mar 23, 2020
Fossil fuels' funeral: Sir Jonathon Porritt
As if the collapse in the oil price isn't enough, the fossil fuel industry is about to get one massive spanking, says Sir Jonathon Porritt, leading environmentalist and sustainability advisor to Air New Zealand. Financial markets, once the great friends of oil, cars and coal, are shifting focus to renewables, recyclables and electric everything - meaning the fossil fuel industry is in danger of becoming as popular as a French kiss at the family reunion.
"I hope that this transition can be done smoothly. But we're running out of time. I fear it will be far more disruptive than 2008 and 1987. It will involve the loss of trillions. But it will happen, if it hasn't started already," he says.
I spoke to Sir Jonathon in early March when he delivered a stunning address to the Institute of Directors in which he pointed to three early warning signs that the fossil fuel funeral is imminent. You can read my blog about that talk here - or just listen to the man himself.
The podcast also feature…
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Mar 15, 2020
Electric Ferries with Michael Eaglen of EV Maritime
When he’s not working every hour that he’s been given, you’ll find Michael Eaglen out on the Hauraki Gulf with his wife and two sons, in a keeler he’s recently restored. Previously he was CEO at McMullen & Wing one of NZ’s most prestigious boat builders, famous for their works on super yachts, Team NZ’s America’s Cup yachts and more recently commercial and fishing boats. But it’s sustainability that’s really got Michael worked up. Late last year Michael quit as CEO of McMullen&Wing to found a start-up called EV Maritime which is building 100% electric ferries, first destined for the Hauraki Gulf, then for the harbour cities of the world. Electric ferries for the world from New Zealand, sounds pretty cool.
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