by Michael Liebreich, Bryony Worthington
Once a week, Michael Liebreich and Bryony Worthington have a conversation with a leader in clean energy, mobility, climate finance or sustainable development. Informative, inspiring and fun!
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Publishing Since
7/22/2020
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April 9, 2025
Michael Liebreich interviews industry experts about Project Bo's solar system that is saving newborn lives in Sierra Leone's Bo Government Hospital.
April 2, 2025
<p>Google has one of the most ambitious climate targets in the tech world, but what happens if it falls short of its goals? How does the company balance innovation with environmental responsibility? And can AI really help reduce emissions? </p><p>This week on Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington sits down with Kate Brandt, Google's Chief Sustainability Officer, to unpack these critical questions. Brandt offers an insider's view of how one of the world's most influential companies is tackling the climate crisis, from tackling its own emissions to the impact of misinformation on its platform. Brandt has a fascinating background, having spent time in both the Pentagon, and advising President Obama on energy security and sustainability issues. In her current role, she oversees the team working to reduce Google's environmental impact. </p><p>Google has set itself an ambitious company-wide climate goal of halving their 2019 emissions by 2030 but their latest sustainability report showed that they were off track, as the company has grown and increased their investment in energy-hungry artificial intelligence. As providers of curated information at a global scale, Google has a unique intersection with the climate problem. Primarily, their impact comes from the electricity they buy, but they're also able to guide customers' decisions through the provision of information and through their parent company Alphabet. </p><p>They've made some pretty bold investments in innovative, disruptive companies, so measuring their impact is arguably more than the sum of their Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions. Nevertheless, missing a clear target can't be very comfortable. Brandt discusses the company’s ambitious yet challenging emissions reduction targets, the transformative potential of AI in environmental solutions, and the innovative clean technologies that might just help us reimagine our energy future. </p><p>From predicting floods and reducing aircraft emissions, to molten salt batteries and grid optimization technologies, this conversation reveals how Google thinks about innovation and the climate.</p><p><strong>Leadership Circle:</strong></p><p>Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. </p><p><strong>Go deeper:</strong></p><ul><li><a href="https://sustainability.google/reports/google-2024-environmental-report/">2024 Environmental Report - Google Sustainability</a></li><li><a href="https://x.company/">Google X</a></li><li><a href="https://www.bcg.com/publications/2023/how-ai-can-speedup-climate-action">How AI Can Speed-Up Climate Action | BCG</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwZ2iNh133A">The Year Energy Woke Up To AI — Audioblog 14: Generative AI – The Power and the Glory</a></li><li><a href="https://www.maltainc.com/">Malta Inc.</a></li></ul>
March 26, 2025
<p>The UK is an extraordinary case study in how to cut greenhouse gas pollution successfully. Since 1990, the country has more than halved its greenhouse gas emissions, while the economy has grown by over 80%. </p><p>The Climate Change Act, passed in 2008, has helped steer the UK towards its net-zero goals, setting five yearly carbon budgets that are specifically designed to be ambitious but flexible, with lots of options available to the government to meet the targets. </p><p>Joining this week’s episode of Cleaning Up is Emma Pinchbeck, the new CEO of the Climate Change Committee (CCC), the organisation which advises the government on the route it should take to net zero. </p><p>Emma spent close to a decade leading the UK’s energy sector trade association, and is now responsible for producing advice on the UK's final three carbon budgets. In February, the CCC published the seventh carbon budget, which covers the period centred around the year 2040. </p><p>Emma joins Bryony Worthington to talk about the progress the UK is making in meeting its carbon targets, the challenges ahead, and why it's so important the UK holds the course, even if others have chosen to abandon their climate ambitions.</p><p><strong>Leadership Circle</strong>:</p><p>Cleaning Up is supported by the Leadership Circle, and its founding members: Actis, Alcazar Energy, Davidson Kempner, EcoPragma Capital, EDP of Portugal, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information on the Leadership Circle, please visit https://www.cleaningup.live. </p><p><strong>Links</strong>:</p><ul><li>The 7th Carbon Budget: <a href="https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/the-seventh-carbon-budget/">https://www.theccc.org.uk/publication/the-seventh-carbon-budget/</a></li><li>Emma’s previous appearance on Cleaning Up: <a href="https://youtu.be/66flrmMEmso">https://youtu.be/66flrmMEmso</a></li></ul>
Laurent Segalen and Gerard Reid
Bloomberg
Latitude Media
Bloomberg
Columbia University
David Roberts
Wood Mackenzie
Latitude Media
Wood Mackenzie
XE Network
Heatmap News
Harvard Business School Business & Environment Initiative
Paul Chapman, HC Group
RenewEconomy
an MCJ podcast
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