Episodes

Series Begins Tues, 8th Nov

DR LISA SCHIPPER

Professor and Researcher,
Adaptation and Vulnerability to Climate Change. IPCC Contributor. Environment and Development PhD

Lisa Schipper is a researcher who examines fairness in development in the context of climate change. Her focus is adaptation and vulnerability to climate change in the Global South. She is especially interested in the socio-cultural drivers of vulnerability including gender, culture and, in particular, religion. From 1 January 2023, Lisa is Professor in Development Geography at the University of Bonn. Until recently, she was a Research Fellow at the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford and a Co-ordinating Lead Author of the IPCC’s Working Group II report for the 6th Assessment Report.

DAMON GAMEAU

Director, Writer, Producer, Presenter
Documentaries: 2040 and Regenerating Australia As a director Damon wrote, directed and performed vocals for the 2011 winning Tropfest short film, ANIMAL BEATBOX. THAT SUGAR FILM was Damon’s first feature length film as a director and won Best Documentary at the Australian AACTA awards and became the highest grossing Australian documentary of all time at the cinema. THAT SUGAR BOOK is his first published book and was published in 9 languages. Damon’s next film, 2040, is an innovative feature documentary that explores what the future would look like by the year 2040 if we embraced the best solutions already available to us to improve our planet. It was released in April 2019 and now sits in the top 4 highest grossing documentaries of all time in Australia at the cinema. Regenerating Australia is his most recent project which launched in March 2022, with a national tour of Australia. The film is accompanied with an impact campaign that includes a significant financial fund to develop and scale community solutions Damon is a sought-after speaker and spoke at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit in New York. Damon has also addressed numerous Governments around the world and spoken at organisations such as GOOGLE, BP, PWC, ANZ, ZURICH, ATLASSIAN, UTAH CLEAN ENERGY, MASTERCARD, CREDIT SUISSE, CBA, HESTA and many more. He was a nomination for NSW for Australian of the Year in 2020.

MEGAN ROWLING

Journalist, Climate Correspondent, Thomson Reuters Foundation Megan is a climate correspondent and editor for (TRF), based in Barcelona but with an international beat. She runs a small team of reporters covering the ins and outs of securing a green and just transition to a decarbonised world, especially in developing countries. She has worked on topics ranging from finance to humanitarian news throughout her career as a journalist, with stints at Reuters and the BBC. She started TRF's climate change file more than 15 years ago and is always seeking ways to highlight the injustices of the climate crisis, and make a tough topic relevant to ordinary folk.

CRAIG WELCH

Senior Staff Writer/National Geographic Prior to joining National Geographic, he was the environmental reporter for The Seattle Times, where he worked for more than 14 years. A journalist for two decades, his work has appeared in Smithsonian magazine, the Washington Post, and Newsweek. He spent a year as a fellow at the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, and the Society of Environmental Journalists has twice named him Outstanding Beat Reporter of the Year, mostly recently in 2010. That same year, HarperCollins published his book, "Shell Games: A True Story of Cops, Con Men, and the Smuggling of America's Strangest Wildlife," a nonfiction detective story about wildlife thieves. It won the national Rachel Carson Environment Book Award in 2011 and was a finalist for the Pacific Northwest Booksellers Association award and the Washington State Book award. Welch and photographer Steve Ringman's Pulitzer Center-supported five-part series on ocean acidification "Sea Change: The Pacific's Perilous Turn" for The Seattle Times has won numerous including the Online Communication Award from the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine, the Overseas Press Club Whitman Bassow Award, the ONA Online Journalism Award for Explanatory Reporting, and an Emmy Nomination for New Approaches to News & Documentary Programming.

DR ANIKA MOLESWORTH

Agriculture Science, PhD, Farmer and Storyteller Dr Anika Molesworth is a farmer, scientist and storyteller. She is widely recognised for her work in agriculture and food systems and generating climate change awareness, and is author of Our Sunburnt Country. Awards include Young Farmer of the Year (2015) and Young Australian of the Year, New South Wales Finalist (2017). Anika is passionate about ensuring the best possible future for the planet, people and the food on our plates.

KRISTIN OHLSON

Author, Freelance Writer, Editor, Speaker Kristin Ohlson is a writer living in Portland, Oregon. Her newest book is Sweet in Tooth and Claw: Stories of Generosity and Cooperation in the Natural World. Her last book was The Soil Will Save Us: How Scientists, Farmers and Foodies are Healing the Soil to Save the Planet, which the Los Angeles Times calls “a hopeful book and a necessary one…. a fast-paced and entertaining shot across the bow of mainstream thinking about land use.” She appears in the award-winning documentary film, Kiss the Ground, speaking about the connection between soil and climate health. Shorter pieces have appeared in The New York Times, Smithsonian, Discover, New Scientist, Orion, Aeon, Ms., Oprah, Gourmet, Salon, American Archaeology, and more. Her work has been anthologized in Best American Science Writing and Best American Food Writing.

DR ROGER PULWARTY

Senior Scientist in the NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory at the NOAA Office of Oceans and Atmospheric Research. IPCC Contributor
Dr. Roger S. Pulwarty is the Senior Scientist in the NOAA Physical Sciences Laboratory at the NOAA Office of Oceans and Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. He was previously the Senior Science Advisor for Climate, and the Director of the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) in the NOAA Climate Program Office. His over one hundred articles, book chapters, and technical reports, focus on climate science, risk management and information services in the U.S., Latin America and the Caribbean. Roger has designed and led widely-recognized programs dealing with climate science and services, including the Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments, NIDIS, the GEF Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change project in the Caribbean, and the InterAmerican Institute Collaborative Research Network on Eastern Pacific Boundary Currents. Roger is a lead author on the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction Global Assessment Reports, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Reports on Water Resources and on Extremes, and convening lead author on the IPCC Working Group II Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, and the US National Climate Assessment.

DR SHANNA MCCLAIN

As the Program Manager for NASA’s Earth Applied Sciences Disasters program area, Dr. Shanna N. McClain and her team work to advance science and build tools to help communities make smarter decisions for disaster planning. The NASA Disasters program promotes the use of Earth observations to support decisions made across the disaster cycle and at the intersection of human-environment-climate dimensions, and endeavors to develop innovative opportunities for applying Earth science information through partnerships and projects in crisis-affected communities in order to build a more risk-informed global society. McClain is also the Global Partnerships Coordinator for NASA’s Earth Science Division, where she manages private sector engagement with partners such as Mercy Corps, Google, Conservation International, and Microsoft. In addition, McClain serves as the Manager of Socioeconomic Assessments for NASA Applied Sciences, where she manages the assessment of the value of Earth science information for the benefit of society and the economy. Learn more about the NASA Disasters program: https://disasters.nasa.gov Explore NASA Disasters program maps and data: https://maps.disasters.nasa.gov Sign up for the NASA Disasters Community Newsletter: https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/su/tn3iEZN

SIMON HILL

Physiotherapist, nutritionist, Podcaster, Entrepreneur Bio: Simon Hill is the host and founder of the hugely popular The Proof podcast and blog of the same name, and a nutritionist and qualified physiotherapist. On top of his formal education, Simon spends hours and hours deciphering scientific studies so he can break down how to fuel your body to promote longevity and reduce the chance of developing disease while simultaneously achieving whatever health and fitness goals you may have. He is the plant-based food contributor to Chris Hemsworth’s fitness app, Centr, and in 2019 Simon opened a plant-based restaurant, Eden, in his Sydney neighbourhood of Bondi. In 2021 he published his book The Proof is in the Plants, with Penguin Australia, which shot to the #1 non-fiction book Australia-wide in it's debut week.

Michelle Li

CEO - Clever Carbon. SXSW & TEDx Speaker on Carbon Literacy | Carbon Footprint Corporate Workshops Michelle is the founder of clever carbon. She launched her career in Silicon Valley where she worked for some of the biggest names in tech including Salesforce and DocuSign. A proponent for making sustainability the new norm, Michelle founded clever carbon to help teach people about carbon footprint in a hip, fun, and relatable way because what gets measured gets changed. She is a TEDx and SXSW 2022 speaker on the topic of carbon literacy and believes that a carbon literate society is one where transparency and accountability will flourish and one worth striving for. Michelle is also the founder of Women and Climate, a non-profit organization that inspires climate action by creating a joyful and safe space for more women to learn and talk about climate.

MARK WATTS

Executive Director at C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group Mark’s aim as Executive Director is to ensure that C40 Cities is equally focused on science-based climate action and political leadership for climate justice. C40 has grown dramatically in scope and ambition under Mark’s tenure and its 300 staff now support nearly 100 of the world’s leading cities, representing around 700 million residents. Prior to joining C40 Cities, Mark was a director at pioneering engineering and design firm, Arup; and previous to that role he was a senior adviser to the Mayor of London. Outside of work he can usually be found either up a mountain or proclaiming the discovery of a great new band.

PENNY URQUHART

Environmental Scientist, Independent climate resilient development specialist and author. IPCC Contributor Penny Urquhart is an experienced independent climate resilient development specialist, strategic adviser, policy analyst and writer. She was a Lead Author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report and a Contributing Author to the IPCC Special Report on 1.5 degrees Global Warming. Penny works internationally with UN, NGO and other organisations on climate resilient development and adaptation, building on previous experience in sustainable development governance, water, environment, ecotourism, and rural development. She is interdisciplinary by training, with degrees in evolutionary biology, the arts (philosophy, English and Russian), and a Masters’ degree in Environmental Science. Her blog is ‘Conversations on Climate’ and she is writing a book that explores, in a creative narrative fashion, the range of personal responses to the climate crisis from people in different circumstances, interwoven with her personal journey as she navigates the rapids of climate change in her day job and her creative life. She is inspired by the power of the arts to help us make meaning and nurture the green shoots of hope in challenging times.

DANIEL GLICK

Journalist, Co-founder of The Story Group, an independent multimedia Over his 30-year career, Daniel has worked in almost every niche of the media ecosystem: cub reporter for a small-town California newspaper; Washington correspondent and roving Rocky Mountain special correspondent for Newsweek; freelance writer for more than four dozen local, national and international publications; radio producer; television producer; on-air television “talent”; multimedia producer; and as an author. He has studied journalism, practiced journalism, taught journalism, and continue to believe in the power and necessity of journalism, albeit in new and different forms that are changing all the time.

DR CATHERINE DAVIS

Assistant Professor Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences North Carolina State University. Marine Biologist, PhD
Dr Catherine is a oceanographer, interested in drawing connections between ongoing and past climate change in the oceans. She research uses a combination of laboratory experimentation, modern field research, and marine microfossils, along with the sedimentary record to understand the consequences of climate change in the ocean beyond the instrumental record. Dr Catherine especially interested in the problems of changing carbonate chemistry (‘ocean acidification’), and deoxygenation and the consequences for life in the open ocean.

DR DANIEL NEPSTAD

Forest and plant ecologist PhD, President and Exec Director at Earth Innovation Institute

Daniel Nepstad works to empower the civil society of Amazonia to understand, defend, and sustainably manage their natural resources. His long-term goal is to build a collaborative program with Amazonian institutions to help organizations of farmers and forest residents implement sustainable forest utilization and management. Nepstad is assessing the ecological impacts of land use in the Brazilian Amazon and developing strategies for reversing these impacts through restoration of forest cover and agricultural productivity on degraded land. He is also analyzing the importance of deep-rooting in Amazonian forests and the changes in deep-soil processes, such as carbon storage and water uptake, that accompany different land uses. Prior to joining the Woods Hole Research Center, Nepstad worked with the National Wildlife Federation's International Program in Washington, D.C.

DR Danae Maniatis

Senior Policy and Technical Advisor the Climate and Fores UNDP, Geographer PhD, Environmental Science Consultant Danae is an independent consultant. She is an environment and development specialist with 14 years of wide-ranging experience in: tropical forestry, climate change, climate finance, carbon markets, biodiversity, nature-based solutions, remote-sensing, partnership development (including with the private sector), project management and evaluation and international policy development. Before this she was a senior policy and technical advisor for the Climate and Forest Team for Asia-Pacific in Bangkok and a policy and technical advisor in New York with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Prior to joining UNDP, she was an independent consultant working on climate change, REDD+, forest and biodiversity issues with different clients (IGOs, World Bank, NGOs and private sector). Prior to that, she worked for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations focusing on REDD+. Danae has work experience in Asia, Africa, South and Central America and has provided support to countries to develop investment frameworks to leverage climate finance, develop partnerships and private sector engagement and build capacity on technical issues related to national forest monitoring. She has supported the UNFCCC negotiations in technical support functions for various governments. Furthermore, she is a fellow of the Royal Geographic Society and holds an MSc and PhD from the University of Oxford. She is also a public speaker and meeting facilitator.

KEN THOMPSON

Retired Deputy Commissioner at NSW Fire Brigade Ken Thompson is the former Deputy Commissioner of Fire and Rescue NSW, a member of Emergency Leaders for Climate Action and an expert on risk and emergency management and strategic planning. As a firefighter for 38 years, Ken witnessed the changes to the frequency, magnitude and intensity of extreme weather nationally and internationally. Witnessing the increase in extreme weather and the impact it has on fire and emergency services and native flora and fauna is what inspires Ken to call on Federal Governments for immediate climate action. Ken is the CEO of Thompson Consulting, where he provides strategic, operational and tactical advice on emergency and disaster management plans for the public and private sector.

KATIUSCIA FARA

Senior Climate and DRR Advisor, Environmental management and physical geographer

Katiuscia Fara is a geographer with over 20 years of experience on climate change adaptation and disaster risk management, working at the interplay of the humanitarian, sustainable development and environmental fields. Her work has increasingly focused bridging the divide between scientific and local knowledge to support informed decision making and greater resilience, informing policy, investments and activities at community level. She strongly believes in the importance of empowering people through knowledge that they can access, understand and use to make informed decisions about their lives and our planet

DR SAMANTHA MONTANO

Assistant Professor at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. Emergency managment PhD Dr. Samantha Montano became interested in disasters following a trip to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina and the Levee Failure. She worked with various nonprofits in New Orleans on recovery efforts related to both Katrina and the BP Oil Disaster in 2010. She has a Ph.D. in Emergency Management from North Dakota State University and is currently an assistant professor of emergency management at Massachusetts Maritime Academy. She is the author of Disasterology: Dispatches from The Frontlines of The Climate Crisis.

DR MARCELLO VICHI

Professor at University of Cape Town, Marine Ecologist, PhD
Marcello Vichi holds a PhD in Marine Biogeochemistry and has more than 15 years experience in marine ecosystem modelling in several regional seas (Adriatic, Baltic, North Sea), in the Mediterranean and in the global ocean. He participate(d) to several European and Italian research projects (BASYS, MFSTEP, PRISM, ENSEMBLES, VECTOR, SESAME, MedSeA, GreenSeas) dealing with ocean biogeochemical modelling. He is one of the developers of the Biogeochemical Flux Model (htpp://bfm.cmcc.it), and of the CMCC Earth System Model. His research interests embrace numerical modelling of coupled physical/biogeochemical processes in the global ocean, climate change impacts on marine ecosystems and process studies of biogeochemical interactions in coastal and shelf seas.

ERIK ANDERSON

CEO and co-founder of European Energy Erik founded European Energy in 2004, where the vision was simple: to inspire and be part of a global journey toward a world powered by 100% renewable energy. Erik saw massive potential to disrupt the energy sector, which at the time consisted mostly of state-owned utilities, none of which seriously considered renewable energy as a main business area. His dedication to this progressive sector would separate European Energy from competitors, as well as support his home continent’s energy use with locally generated energy from entirely renewable resources. Throughout the years, European Energy has expanded its green energy portfolio across a host of additional European countries as well as overseas markets including Brazil, Australia, and the USA. Erik’s passion and commitment has taken European Energy to continually greater heights, yet he is by no means satisfied.

ROBERTA BOSCOLO

Lead of Climate & Energy at UN World Meteorological Organization | Climate Finance Expert | Advocacy for Clean and Sustainable Energy | top 10 sustainability influencer Roberta is an experienced, dedicated and successful leader in the World Meteorological Organization with a passion for climate science to add value to transformative solutions for a resilient, low-carbon energy for all. Her main work is to enhance the capacity of all countries to contrast climate change and enact a sustainable development agenda through scaling up science-based climate adaptation and mitigation measures, in alignment with the global landmark agreements. With a wide and deep knowledge of climate and sustainability-related issues, I build and manage transformative initiatives at the interface between climate science and socio-economic sectors, especially energy sector, through partnerships with United Nations agencies, public and private sectors, academia, civil society, media groups and associations. In 2022 Roberta was included in the list of top 10 Sustainability Influences by the Sustainability Magazine. Previously has served as science officer for the World Climate Research Programme, coordinating scientific efforts worldwide to fill the knowledge gaps in understanding Earth climate system. Such knowledge is assessed by the IPCC milestone reports. Roberta has launched and managed multi-stakeholders climate adaptation projects in 20+ countries funded by European Commission, Multilateral Funds, and National Development Agencies. Currently manages a portfolio of several multi-million projects (US$ 50M) in Africa, South America, South East Asia and Pacific.

EPISODES