LIVE from the Montreal's Climate Solutions Prize Festival 2025

Na'im Merchant, Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada and the host of The Carbon Curve podcast, and Grégoire Baillargeon, President of BMO Quebec and Vice Chair of BMO Capital Markets join Ed Whittingham for a panel discussion exploring how Canada can become a global leader in carbon removal.

With two podcast hosts and one Bank of Montreal president, Ed, Na'im and Greg pass the host's mic like a baton as they unpack the developer, buyer and policy dimensions of today’s CDR market in Canada and abroad.

About Our Guests:

Na’im Merchant is the Executive Director of Carbon Removal Canada. He is passionate about the potential for carbon removal to meet climate goals while driving economic and social change. He previously founded Carbon Curve, a consulting practice focused on equitably scaling up carbon removal. Na’im is an advisor to Terraset and the Carbon Removal Standards Initiative, and was previously an Elemental Impact Policy Fellow. He brings 10+ years of leadership experience in non-profits that expanded access to health innovations around the world.

Grégoire Baillargeon is President of BMO, Quebec and Vice Chair, BMO Capital Markets, in November 2022. Passionate about transition and fighting climate change, Mr. Baillargeon has also been acting as Vice Chair of the BMO Climate Institute since September 2024. He recently joined the advisory board of Volt-age: Electrifying Society, a research program at Concordia University, and also serves on Carbon Removal Canada’s advisory board. Under his leadership, BMO became the first bank to join the Montréal Climate Partnership, as well as the launch of conVERTgence, two movements aimed at accelerating decarbonization and integrating sustainable business practices in the city.

Produced by Amit Tandon & Bespoke Podcasts

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Energy vs Climate Podcast: How climate change is changing our energy systems
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David & Ed chat with Dr. Rose Mutiso about the tension between energy, climate, and economic development in Africa and the global south.

They touch on many topics to do with sub-Saharan Africa, including energy production & consumption, electricity and power grids, and the vast economic inequity that still exists between the global north & south.

About Our Guest:

Dr. Rose M. Mutiso is a Kenyan scientist, thought leader, and social entrepreneur. She is the Founder & Executive Director of the African Tech Futures Lab (ATFL), a new institute helping decision-makers across the continent navigate emerging science and technology in energy, climate, AI and digital systems—with clarity, agency, and long-term vision. Previously, she was Research Director at the global think tank Energy for Growth Hub. Rose is also the co-founder and former CEO of the Nairobi-based nonprofit Mawazo (“Ideas”) Institute, which supports early-career African women scientists through doctoral research funding and professional development. Prior to this, she served as a Senior Fellow on energy and innovation policy in the U.S. Department of Energy and Senate. She also writes Kibao, a Substack focused on energy, climate, tech, and Africa.

Show Notes:

(00:15) Dr. Mutiso, Energy for Growth Hub

(00:15) Office of International Climate & Clean Energy - US Department of Energy

(00:15) The Mawazo Institute

(02:17) High Energy Planet podcast co-hosted by Dr. Mutiso

(02:58) Kibao, Substack newsletter by Dr. Mutiso

(09:54) The Economist: Nigeria has more people without electricity than any other country

(15:04) D. Kammen, UC Berkeley professor, energy expert

(24:51) O. Okunbor, former Shell Nigeria country chair

(30:00) TED Talk: The energy Africa needs to develop - and fight climate change

(38:56) High Energy Planet Ep.31-Katie & Rose on the Future of Foreign Aid

(43:36) Degrees Forum (Conference on solar geoengineering)

Produced by

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Energy vs Climate Podcast: How climate change is changing our energy systems
www.energyvsclimate.com

Contact us at info@energyvsclimate.com

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Ed and David chat with special guest Andreas Malm, author of How the World Surrendered to Climate Breakdown and How to Blow Up a Pipeline: Learning to Fight in a World on Fire.

They discuss Malm’s critiques of climate inaction—how liberal democracies, fossil capital, and the Global North have collectively abandoned meaningful efforts to stop climate breakdown—and what comes next for movement strategy, the ethics and effectiveness of disruption, and what kind of climate action might actually work in the next crucial decade.

Full show notes & references

About Our Guest:

Andreas Malm is an associate professor of human ecology at Lund University. His latest book, with Wim Carton, is The Long Heat: Climate Politics When It's Too Late, forthcoming from Verso in October.

Produced by Amit Tandon & Bespoke Podcasts

Send us a text (if you'd like a response, please include your email)

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Energy vs Climate Podcast: How climate change is changing our energy systems
www.energyvsclimate.com

Contact us at info@energyvsclimate.com

Bluesky | YouTube | LinkedIn | X/Twitter