Climate Solutions News

In this episode, Dominic Shales speaks with Freddie Ingleby, Managing Director of Caledonian Climate, about one of the most powerful and overlooked climate solutions, peatlands.

Peatlands store more carbon than all the world’s forests combined, yet when degraded they become major sources of emissions. Ingleby explains what peatlands are, why Scotland is globally significant, and how restoring damaged bogs can deliver long-term emissions reductions, biodiversity recovery, and improved water security.

The conversation explores how peatland restoration works on the ground, from re-wetting landscapes to reshaping eroded peat, and why these projects require de...

Duration: 00:29:21

Direct air capture took an unexpected step forward at COP30, even as the summit delivered few major breakthroughs. In this interview, Tom Rollason, Head of Policy and Partnerships at Mission Zero Technologies, explains why engineered carbon removals gained unprecedented attention in Brazil and how the sector is shifting from niche innovation to essential climate infrastructure.

We discuss Mission Zero’s electrochemical DAC system, the company’s pilot deployments in the UK and Canada, the challenges of scaling energy-efficient removal technologies and the evolving policy landscape across the US, UK and Canada. Rollason also reflects on market sign...

Duration: 00:28:57

OXCCU has raised $28 million to scale its technology that converts waste carbon and green hydrogen into sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). In this episode of the Climate Solutions News podcast, Andrew Symes, Co-founder and CEO of OXCCU, explains how their process works, what the new funding will support, and why scaling SAF is critical as airline emissions continue to rise.

We discuss:

The $28m Series B funding round and OXCCU’s investorsPlans for the next demonstration plant at Oxford AirportHow OXCCU’s catalyst turns waste carbon and hydrogen into jet fuelThe challenge of sust...

Duration: 00:21:38

How can philanthropy accelerate the growth of carbon removal? In this interview, Climate Solutions News publisher Dominic Shales speaks with Adam Fraser, Chief Executive of TerraSet, about the role of donors in scaling breakthrough technologies.

Fraser explains how TerraSet channels philanthropic capital into early stage carbon removal projects through strategic pre-purchases, supporting a diverse portfolio that includes Climeworks, Heirloom, Octavia Carbon, TerraFixing, and Carbon Run.

Key topics covered:

Why less than 0.1% of global philanthropy goes to carbon removalHow pre-purchases provide catalytic funding for startupsAddressing skepticism and raising awareness of...

Duration: 00:24:44

As Europe ramps up defence spending, what’s the hidden cost to the climate?

In this episode of the Climate Solutions News podcast, we speak with Alexis Normand, CEO of carbon accounting platform Greenly, about their new report Rearming Europe: Counting the Carbon Bootprint. The report reveals how NATO’s growing military budgets—and the EU’s €800 billion ReArm Europe initiative—could generate emissions rivaling the annual carbon footprint of the Netherlands, yet remain almost entirely unreported.

Alexis explains why military emissions are such a major blind spot in climate policy, how Greenly calculated t...

Duration: 00:22:46

Climate Solutions News speaks to Dr Mattia Romani, co-author of a groundbreaking new study published in npj Climate Action, which explores how artificial intelligence could dramatically cut global carbon emissions.

The report, produced by the Grantham Research Institute at LSE and Systemiq, finds that AI applications in power, transport and food systems could reduce emissions by 3.2 to 5.4 billion tonnes of CO₂ annually by 2035 — more than the current emissions of the entire EU.

Dr Romani breaks down the five key ways AI can support climate action:

Optimising complex systems (like energy grids and tran...

Duration: 00:23:01

What happens when governments cut the very data that helps us forecast extreme weather, respond to climate risks, and power clean tech innovation?

In this Climate Solutions News interview, host Dominic Shales speaks with Kelly Wanser, Executive Director of SilverLining, about the critical loss of atmospheric monitoring capabilities in both the US and UK. From NOAA’s potential lab closures to the UK Met Office dropping key aerosol programmes, these decisions are creating dangerous blind spots at the worst possible time.

Kelly explains why this data matters—not just for weather forecasts, but for...

Duration: 00:25:49

Arctic sea ice has reached alarming new lows, melting faster than ever and threatening global climate stability. In this in-depth interview, Climate Solutions News publisher Dominic Shales talks exclusively with Dr Joshua Elliott, Chief Scientist at Renaissance Philanthropy, about innovative technologies that could halt or even reverse this crisis.

Dr Elliott discusses promising approaches like cloud-seeding and sea ice thickening, their feasibility, scalability, and potential to make a meaningful difference. He also examines more controversial geoengineering methods, including stratospheric aerosol injection, weighing their benefits against critical environmental and geopolitical risks.

Listen now to...

Duration: 00:22:45

Nuclear power is back in the spotlight as countries look for reliable, low-carbon energy sources - but the question of what to do with radioactive waste still looms large.

In this episode, we explore three practical, science-backed approaches to managing nuclear waste around the world. We begin in Finland, where engineers are preparing to open the world’s first deep geological repository, a facility designed to keep spent fuel isolated for 100,000 years. Then we look at how the U.S. is funding a new wave of companies aiming to make nuclear waste treatment safer, faster, and mo...

Duration: 00:16:51

How Can Retailers Drive Health & Sustainability?

In this insightful conversation, Mike Barry, former Head of Sustainability at M&S and co-founder of The Planeatry Alliance, discusses how retailers and food companies can align human and planetary health. He breaks down the complexities of the food system, explains why retailers hold the key to large-scale change, and explores the role of technology, data, and AI in making sustainable shopping effortless.

Barry also highlights the biggest challenges facing the food industry, the importance of government intervention, and why businesses need to move beyond ESG targets to deliver...

Duration: 00:20:37

In this insightful interview, Charlie Stewart, content strategist at Exceptional, discusses the often-overlooked environmental impact of digital marketing and PR activities. Digital campaigns, powered by energy-intensive data centers, now contribute 2.5-3% of global carbon emissions—surpassing the aviation industry.

Charlie highlights key findings from the report From Words to Actions: Reducing the Climate Impact of Your PR and Digital Marketing Activity, co-authored by Exceptional and Thinking Hat Media. He emphasizes the need for marketers to rethink strategies, focusing on efficiency and sustainability. Key topics include:

•The environmental cost of data centers in digital camp...

Duration: 00:17:48

Europe’s Critical Raw Material Challenge: Can Innovation Lead the Way?

Europe’s transition to clean energy faces a major obstacle: dependence on imported critical raw materials (CRMs) like lithium, copper, and graphite. A new report, A Critical Raw Material Supply-Side Innovation Roadmap for the EU Energy Transition, highlights how Europe’s share of global mineral production has dropped from 25% to under 7% over 40 years, intensifying the need for domestic supply.

The EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) sets ambitious targets: 10% of mining, 40% of refining, and 25% of recycling to be met domestically by 2030. However...

Duration: 00:16:55

Mike Scott, Editor of Climate Solutions News, talks to Ita Kettleborough, Director of the Energy Transitions Commission about the outcomes of COP29 in Baku. Ita shares her insights into the summit’s mixed results, highlighting significant progress in clean energy deployment worldwide, such as Indonesia’s coal phase-out commitment and China’s accelerated emission goals. However, she also emphasizes the challenges in negotiations, particularly around climate finance and Article 6. Looking ahead to COP30 in Brazil, Ita discusses the critical steps needed to align international commitments with rapid technological advancements, including more detailed NDCs, clarified financial frameworks, and renewed efforts to transi...

Duration: 00:31:13

Mike Scott, Editor of Climate Solutions News, speaks to Elizabeth Kleinveld, Head of Acceleration at Startupbootcamp.

Hitting the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals will require investment in over 100,000 startups, according to Elizabeth Kleinveld, Head of Acceleration at Startupbootcamp. The organisation is the largest accelerator in Europe. It has run more than 150 accelerators in 20 countries since 2010 and has worked with a portfolio of over 1700 companies so far.

Visit www.climatesolutions.news/spotlight for more interviews and climate tech innovator overviews.

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Duration: 00:21:34

For centuries, the Dutch have been pioneers in innovative solutions, especially when it comes to managing the constant threat of rising water levels. As a low-lying country, the Netherlands has been at the forefront of engineering feats like dikes and canals that have safeguarded its lands from the encroaching sea.

Today, with climate change accelerating and the world grappling with the consequences of rising sea levels, the Dutch are once again stepping up. Their long history of battling water has made them natural leaders in climate tech innovation, creating a vibrant ecosystem where startups can develop...

Duration: 00:14:34

In this episode, we explore how Big Tech players like Google, Microsoft and Amazon are turning to nuclear power generation for their data centres.

The rise of AI, in particular the power-hungry generative AI technologies, is driving a demand for more and more energy, producing increasing emissions. In fact, data centres are already responsible for around 3% of global emissions.

We dig into the companies' decisions to invest in Small Modular Reactors (SMRs). We also hear about Microsoft's plan to restart generation at Three Mile Island nuclear plant.

For more information...

Duration: 00:14:24