Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change Audioblog 16: The Pragmatic Climate Reset, Part II — A Provocation
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Sep 22, 2025 The podcast tackles the shifting climate action landscape post-Trump's election. It proposes a Pragmatic Climate Reset, urging a focus on practical climate goals that are politically viable. There's a push for rapid decarbonization, emphasizing electrification and flexible gas. A critical look at hydrogen economics suggests prioritizing blue hydrogen. The discussion calls for reforming climate diplomacy, making COP meetings more effective, and recalibrating finance strategies while ensuring value for climate investments.
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Prioritize The First 90%
- Focus on decarbonizing the first 90% quickly by electrifying where feasible and expanding renewables and storage.
- The last few percent are costly and can be deferred until cheaper options or wealth enables them.
Use Flexible Gas Strategically
- Use flexible gas to replace inflexible coal where it avoids lock-in and aids grid stability while renewables scale.
- Design regulation to keep gas owners indifferent to operating hours so gas can retreat as clean supply grows.
Reset Hydrogen Expectations
- Admit green hydrogen will be niche and stop over-subsidising it; prioritise direct electricity use instead.
- Decarbonize existing hydrogen demand with gas-plus-CCS meeting strict methane and capture targets.
