PODCAST

Climate Conversations

Robert McLean

A continuous conversation about climate change - news, views and interviews.

society & culture philosophy

All Episodes

00:44:06

Climate Forward Conference: Interviews with...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/09/26

Australia's Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese (pictured), was among the guests interviewed during the "Climate Forward Conference" organised by The New York Times.Also among those interviewed was Andrew "Twiggy" Forrest, the boss of Fortescue.The New York Times hosted the Climate Forward Conference on Sept. 24, bringing together political leaders, activists, policymakers and business executives.Andrew Forrest, the executive chairman of Fortescue and one of the richest people

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00:38:09

Climate News: David Spratt warns of a troubling...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/09/25

David Spratt (pictured) was the keynote speaker at the webinar "Cooling or Collapse", sharing the microphone with activist and author Jane Morton.David is the lead researcher with The National Centre for Climate Restoration (Breakthrough). This independent think tank develops critical thought leadership to influence the climate debate and policy making. Also, in this episode, you will hear how a councillor from the City of Greater Shepparton wants officers to report on progress made on a 2020

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00:50:06

Climate News: Climate scientists say Australia has...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/09/24

Professor David Karoly (pictured) was among those critical of Australia's position on carbon emissions: "Climate scientists target Albanese as Turkey holds out on COP talks";"Call for more urgent climate action";"Drought resilience project focuses on orchards";"Water impacted in climate report";"On a progressive journey to their carbon-neutral future";"'Russian blood oil': Australia faces calls to ban oil products refined from

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00:42:34

Climate News: From the Great Teapot in the Sky to...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/09/22

Great Teapot in the Sky believers are mostly climate change deniers.The SBS show "Black Gold" illustrates how fossil fuel companies were aware decades ago of how, when, and why our climate was going to deteriorate."Europe splits on climate in ‘major embarrassment’ before UN summit""60 Best Climate Change Podcasts";"Albanese takes his usual each-way bet on climate change";"All Gassed Up, Part 1: The Carbon Coast";"Urban sprawl worsens as government struggles to meet density targets";"What will

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00:30:38

Climate News: Bowen damns the Nationals; Matt Kean...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/09/21

Australian mining billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest sharply criticised US President Donald Trump’s “gobsmackingly illogical” energy policies and accused him of kowtowing to oil and gas donors as he arrived in New York for a major United Nations summit - "‘Gobsmackingly illogical’: Twiggy lashes Trump on climate as Aussies hit New York";"Charlie Kirk and America’s political collapse";"Climate Minister Chris Bowen stops short of setting targets for renewables,

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01:14:45

Climate News: Some days Australia is a petrostate,...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/09/20

Some days, Australia presents as a petrostate; others, it's not that at all.Read the new book by Michael Mann and Peter Hotez, "Science Under Siege," to better understand Australia's Chameleon-like behaviour."Will the government's 2035 target avert a climate crisis?""Littleproud labels Labor's 2035 climate target a 'con job' ";"'Falls short': Vanuatu on Australia's 2035 climate target";"Bowen weighs in on climate target

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00:38:44

Climate News: Australia announces 2035 climate target...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/09/18

Australia has set a goal to cut emissions by between 62 per cent and 70 per cent by 2035 from 2005 levels, as the Albanese government continues its strategy of modestly ambitious climate action over the next decade.The 2035 target is an upgrade to the plan to cut greenhouse gases 43 per cent by 2030 and represents a major challenge to the government and the economy, given emissions have fallen 28 per cent in the two decades since 2005 and must fall a further 15 per cent in the next five

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00:31:45

Climate News: Events in Gaza City may have no...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/09/17

The present events in Gaza City are driven by one man's twisted thinking, with the subsequent death and destruction, undergirded by fossil fuels, not to mention the massive rebuild needed to repair the lives of millions, is climate change writ large.Here's a story from The New Times: "Israeli Ground Forces Move Into Gaza City, Sowing Chaos";"Coalition divisions erupt as more MPs urge leader to dump climate pledge";"Victoria’s renewables push suffers major blow as

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00:42:13

Climate Risk Assessment: Alarming, jump in death...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/09/16

Australia's news services were alive today with stories about the country's first Climate Risk Assessment Report."Catastrophic forecast pushes case for Australia to spend big and cut hard on emissions";"Climate Risk Assessment's 'high risk' warning for 1 million Australian homes";"Queensland among most at-risk from sea level rises by 2050";"‘Alarmist’ or ‘terrifying’? New climate report divides parliament";"‘Like a Mad Max movie’: How

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00:20:33

Interview: 'Spending now can save huge costs in the...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/09/04

Haoning Xi (pictured), from the Newcastle Business School at the University of Newcastle, has examined Australia's rail network in detail and sees investment now as it means of saving huge sums in the future. She has written about that on The Conversation: "Buckling rails and lines underwater: how Australia’s ageing train networks are crumbling as the climate changes".Haoning refers to the "Australasian Rail Network" as one source of information for her research.An advanced

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00:21:57

Climate News: Tatura native, Dr Linden Ashcroft,...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/09/01

Dr Linden Ashcroft (pictured) will explain the quickly evolving dynamics of climate change and what impacts we can expect in the Goulburn Valley when she appears as the keynote speaker at Tatura Transition Towns event - "Community to gather for a greener tomorrow at Transition Tatura event";"AI’s Massive Energy Demands" - Go behind the scenes with executive editor Vernon Loeb and clean energy reporter Dan Gearino as they discuss the mounting demand for electricity to power

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00:29:10

Webinar: Dr David McCoy discusses the importance of...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/08/27

Dr David McCoy (pictured) appears on a "Saving the World" webinar, emphasising the importance of good governance when it comes to global health.In this webinar, "Power, accountability and global health governance", Dr McCoy speaks about the principles of good global health governance, examining current and evolving power dynamics in global health and how accountability deficits need to be plugged to improve the quality and effectiveness of global health governance. In doing so,

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00:22:05

Interview: Ryan Batchelor chaired a Victorian State...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/08/26

Ryan Batchelor (pictured) is the member for Melbourne's Southern Metropolitan in Victoria's Legislative Council and is the chair of the Environment and Planning Committee.Mr Batchelor and his committee spent nearly two years considering and preparing a report of more than 450 pages about the state's "Climate Resilience".Sadly, the committee's terms of reference for the study didn't allow it to consider mitigation, but rather adaptation in reference to the state's

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00:56:37

Climate News: Late U.S. stand-up comedian, George...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/08/18

Late U.S. stand-up comedian, George Carlin, joked about plastic and the fate of the planet, and this human creation is on the international agenda."The lifecycle of plastics, a modern wonder that is choking the planet";"Deadlocked on Plastic Pollution";"Flash floods kill more than 360 in Pakistan, India";"Canada’s Wildfire Season Is One of Its Worst Ever, and It’s Not Over Yet";"Cost of state’s renewable energy transmission plan predicted to

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00:36:19

Interview: 'Unless we solve climate change, all these...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/08/17

Dr David Holmes (pictured) is an upbeat, friendly and co-operative fellow who is the Managing Director and founder of "Climate Communications Australia".CCA, as it is known, can be found in the Melbourne building of the Royal Society of Victoria in the city's La Trobe Street.This episode had a less-than-positive start when a pre-arranged phone call to record the interview fell apart because of unusable audio.We arranged to meet in Melbourne and we quickly ran into trouble again when a

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00:45:44

Climate News: State Government Committee of Inquiry...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/08/13

The Chair of the "Climate Resilience" report from the Legislative Council Environment and Planning Committee, Ryan Batchelor (pictured), said: "The impact of a changing climate on Victoria’s built environment is clear. Hotter summers leading to longer bushfire seasons, more intense rainfall events create new flooding patterns, coastal erosion continues apace, and we are experiencing more frequent high-intensity wind and storms.""56 million years ago, Earth underwent rapid

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00:43:34

Climate News: Economist Ross Garnaut among those...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/08/06

Ross Garnaut (pictured) is among those who have urged the Australian Government to use this month's roundtable discussions to boost Australia’s productivity and economy, and repair the budget as a platform to resurrect the carbon price - "Economists want a carbon price comeback – but does Australia have the political courage?";"Great Barrier Reef suffers sharp decline in coral coverage after 'unheard of' heat events";"Great Barrier Reef suffers biggest annual

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01:11:45

Conference: 'We are at an exponential state of change...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/07/31

Dubbo lawyer, Claire Booth (pictured), told the July 23 Bendigo "National Renewables in Agriculture Conference and Expo" that farmers and their counterparts were living through a time of exponential changeMs Booth was speaking at a session entitled "Large-scale energy transition - tax law, insurance, agrivoltaics and hosting transmission".With her on the panel were Billy Greenham from "Coagency", Andrew Bomm from "Progressive Agriculture", Yvette Lloyd from

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00:30:02

Keynote address:Tony Wood warns of different and...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/07/24

The Energy Program Director from the Melbourne-based Grattan Institute, Tony Wood (pictured), was the keynote speaker at the Wednesday, July 23, National Renewables in Agriculture Conference and Expo.The conference, the best-attended yet of the several already staged, was held in Bendigo's Capital Theatre.Nearly 400 people enjoyed the theatre's facilities and, particularly, the varied and powerful program laid out by event organiser, Karin Stark.Earlier conferences had been held in

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00:22:56

Interview: Phnxx will be one of many exhibitors at...

Climate Conversations ·

2025/07/19

The Chief Operating Officer, Wei-Chi Lee, (pictured) and one of the trio of founders of the Melbourne-based company, Phnxx, will be in Bendigo on Wednesday, July 23.We-Chi will be at the National Renewables in Agriculture Conference and Expo to be held at the city's View St Capital Theatre.Phnxx has a stand-alone solar/battery, containerised array of equipment that allows a farmer, regardless of what they are growing or producing, to quickly, easily, and relatively cheaply adopt renewable

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