Fossil vs Future

By: James Cameron and Daisy Nicholls
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  • Summary

  • This is Fossil vs Future, a warm conversation between generations on climate change. - Each podcast episode will be focusing on a different climate-related challenge, as godfather and goddaughter, James and Daisy, share their individual experiences and perspectives, with the hope of fostering understanding between generations. - James is at the later stage of his working life dedicated to dealing with climate change, through law, finance, and social entrepreneurship, and Daisy is at an earlier stage of her career, equally focused on the climate and how to drive systemic change through her experience in the finance, business, and non-profit sectors. - We want to use intergenerational dialogue as a tool to learn, inspire, and get stuff done! - LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/company/fossil-vs-future Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/fossil_vs_future TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@fossil_vs_future
    © 2025 James Cameron and Daisy Nicholls
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Biological Sciences Earth Sciences Science
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Episodes
  • WHAT ABOUT POPULISM? A reason to stall climate action or a chance to reframe the narrative?

    WHAT ABOUT POPULISM? A reason to stall climate action or a chance to reframe the narrative?
    May 6 2025
    Populism is a political approach that claims to speak for “ordinary people” – those who feel ignored or left behind established elite groups. Around the world, populist movements frequently frame environmental action as elitist, out of touch with the priorities of “real people.” In this episode, James and Daisy discuss the rise of populism. What exactly is populism? How is it shaping public attitudes towards climate action? How must the climate movement adapt? SOME RECOMMENDATIONS: · The New Statesman (2025) – “It’s time for climate populism” – an interesting article by Caroline Lucas and Rupert Ready. Caroline Lucas, the former MP and Green Party leader, has warned that the rise of populism and the acceleration of the nature and climate emergences are becoming increasingly interlinked. · Yale Program on Climate Communication conducts scientific research on public climate change knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour, and the underlying factors that influence them. OTHER ADVOCATES, FACTS, AND RESOURCES:· Greg Jackson – The founder of Octopus Energy has said "British people support net zero, but not if bills rise. We need to reform the market urgently to maintain public backing for cutting emissions. Clean energy can be cheaper to generate, but our outdated market means consumers don’t benefit. Billpayers are forking out billions to switch off wind farms on windy days while households and industry struggle with high bills - instead of enjoying cheaper energy. A modern market could save tens of billions over the next 15 years."· The Guardian (2025) – A Channel 4 study, Gen Z: Trends, Truth and Trust, found 52% of Gen Zers thought “the UK would be a better place if a strong leader was in charge who does not have to bother with parliament and elections”. 33% of those aged 13-27 agreed that the UK would be better off “if the army was in charge”, and 47% agreed that “the entire way our society is organised must be radically changed through revolution”.· The Order of the Day – A book by Éric Vuillard telling the story of the pivotal meetings which took place in Germany in the run-up to World War Two. · The MIT Press Reader (2021) – “Populism is on the rise. From 1990 to 2018, the number of countries with populist leaders increased from four to 20.”· Sky News (February 2025) – A YouGov poll showed Reform UK leading for the first time, topping the poll at 25%, ahead of Labour at 24% and the Conservatives at 21%. · E3G (2024) – This article provides a clear overview of the politics of populism and climate action. · Sabin Center for Climate Change Law – This Climate Backtracker identifies steps taken by the Trump-Vance administration to scale back or wholly eliminate federal climate mitigation and adaptation measures. Thank you for listening! Please follow us on social media to join the conversation: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTok You can also now watch us on YouTube. Music: “Just Because Some Bad Wind Blows” by Nick Nuttall, Reptiphon Records. Available at https://nicknuttallmusic.bandcamp.com/album/just-because-some-bad-wind-blows-3 Producer: Podshop Studios Huge thanks to Siobhán Foster, a vital member of the team offering design advice, critical review and organisation that we depend upon. Stay tuned for more insightful discussions on navigating the transition away from fossil fuels to a sustainable future.
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    37 mins
  • WHAT ABOUT WAR? Essential for security or a dangerous distraction from climate action?

    WHAT ABOUT WAR? Essential for security or a dangerous distraction from climate action?
    Apr 22 2025
    War engages our fight or flight instincts. When immediate threats like conflict arise, they often overshadow slower-burning, long-term crises like climate change.In this episode, James and Daisy talk about war. How does climate change fuel conflict? How does war, in turn, hinder efforts to combat the climate crisis? How do we avoid trading one existential threat for another?SOME RECOMMENDATIONS: Conflict and Environment Observatory – CEOBS was launched in 2018 with the primary goal of increasing awareness and understanding of the environmental and derived humanitarian consequences of conflicts and military activities.The Military Emissions Gap – This site is dedicated to tracking, analysing and closing the military emissions gap, bringing together the data that governments report into one place.OTHER ADVOCATES, FACTS, AND RESOURCES:NATO (2023) – Here are some remarks by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg from the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai.ND-GAIN Country Index – Summarizes a country's vulnerability to climate change and other global challenges in combination with its readiness to improve resilience.United Nations – Today, of the 15 countries most vulnerable to climate change, 13 are struggling with violent conflicts.Sir Christopher John Greenwood - After being called to the Bar by Middle Temple, he became a Fellow of Magdalene in 1978 and later Professor of International Law at the London School of Economics, specialising in international humanitarian law. He was appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1999 and elected by the United Nations as a Judge of the International Court of Justice in 2008. That same year, Magdalene named him an Honorary Fellow.The Third Man –A classic thriller written by Graham Greene and starring Orson Welles in which a writer sets about investigating the death of a friend in post-World War II Vienna.Stop Ecocide International – Ecocide law provides a route to justice for the worst harms inflicted upon the living world in times of both peace and conflict, whenever and wherever they are committed.CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) – CND campaigns to rid the world of nuclear weapons - the most powerful and toxic weapons ever created, threatening all forms of life.Stop the War Coalition – Stop the War was founded in September 2001 in the weeks following 9/11, when George W. Bush announced the “war on terror”. Stop the War has since been dedicated to preventing and ending the wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and elsewhere.UK Parliament (2024) – In the 2023/24 financial year, the UK spent £53.9 billion on defence.UK Parliament (2025) – The Prime Minister has committed to spend 2.5% of the UK’s gross domestic product (GDP) on defence by 2027. UK Parliament (2025) - The Prime Minister said the government would “fully fund our increased investment in defence” by reducing aid spending from 0.5% of gross national income (GNI) to 0.3% in 2027.Ministry of Defence (2024) – In 2022, total military expenditure of NATO members was $1,195bn and total worldwide military expenditure was $2,240bn, as estimated by SIPRI. The USA was the world’s largest spender, accounting for 39% of the total global spending.The Week (2025) – Only 11% of people aged 18-27 say they would fight for the UK.Reuters (2025) - Poland wants to spend 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on defence in 2026. Poland now spends a higher proportion of GDP on defence than any other NATO member, including the United States. It plans for this year's spending to hit 4.7% of GDP. Institute for Security Studies – The global military carbon footprint currently accounts for around 5.5% of global emissions – more than Africa’s entire footprint.Listen to War by Edwin Starr here!Thank you for listening! Please follow us on social media to join the conversation: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokYou can also now watch us on YouTube.Music: “Just Because Some Bad Wind Blows” by Nick Nuttall, Reptiphon Records. Available at https://nicknuttallmusic.bandcamp.com/album/just-because-some-bad-wind-blows-3Producer: Podshop StudiosHuge thanks to Siobhán Foster, a vital member of the team offering design advice, critical review and organisation that we depend upon.Stay tuned for more insightful discussions on navigating the transition away from fossil fuels to a sustainable future.
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    38 mins
  • WHAT ABOUT ESG? A path to a better world or a threat to returns?

    WHAT ABOUT ESG? A path to a better world or a threat to returns?
    Apr 10 2025
    ESG – short for Environmental, Social, and Governance – is a framework for evaluating how companies manage sustainability-related risks and opportunities. In ESG investing, environmental, social, and governance factors are integrated into investment decisions, alongside traditional financial metrics. In this episode, James and Daisy discuss ESG. How has sustainable investing evolved? Why is there a growing backlash against ESG? What is greenhushing? SOME RECOMMENDATIONS: John Elkington, a world authority on corporate responsibility and sustainable capitalism, coined the phrase “people, planet, profit” in 1994 to describe the Triple Bottom Line. Originally intended as a tool to drive systems change and transform capitalism – not just as an accounting framework – Elkington later called for a "product recall" of the concept.21st Century Investing: Redirecting Financial Strategies to Drive Systems Change by William Burckart and Steve Lydenberg – This book explores the evolution of investing from traditional models to sustainable approaches that consider environmental and social factors. The authors advocate for a third stage: system-level investing, where investors actively support and enhance the stability and health of the social, financial, and environmental systems on which they depend for long-term returns. Aniket Shah is Managing Director and Global Head of Sustainability, Transition and Washington DC Strategy at Jefferies, a top global investment bank. We enjoyed this 10-minute video where he speaks about ESG and Impact Investing. SYSTEMIQ (2025) – This essay “Shock Therapy” explores what a deep reset of the sustainability movement might look like. Part of The Blue Whale Inquiry, it draws on insights from interviews with over 50 leaders across business, finance, government, politics, and civil society to understand what it takes to shift stubborn economic systems. OTHER ADVOCATES, FACTS, AND RESOURCES:United Nations (2004) – ESG first appeared in the UN Global Compact report “Who Cares Wins”, developed with twenty financial institutions. It encouraged the financial sector to integrate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors into analysis, asset management, and brokerage.EU Taxonomy – allows financial and non-financial companies to share a common definition of economic activities that can be considered environmentally sustainable.IEA (2024) – “Global energy investment is set to exceed USD 3 trillion for the first time in 2024, with USD 2 trillion going to clean energy technologies and infrastructure. Investment in clean energy has accelerated since 2020, and spending on renewable power, grids and storage is now higher than total spending on oil, gas, and coal.”CDP – a global non-profit that runs the world’s only independent environmental disclosure system. The Taskforce on Inequality and Social-related Financial Disclosures (TISFD) – a global initiative to develop guidance for businesses and financial institutions to understand and report on impacts, dependencies, risks, and opportunities related to people. Growing inequality is recognized as a systemic risk with economic and political implications for global markets.Brundtland Report (1987) – Our Common Future, published by the UN, defined ‘sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs".Morningstar (2025) – “Despite reduced fund flows, global sustainable fund assets reached an all-time high of USD 3.2 trillion at the end of 2024, an 8% increase from the previous year and more than quadruple the size in 2018. Europe remains the leading market, housing 84% of the assets.”Generation Investment Management – “Generation is a pure-play sustainable investment manager. It is all we do. It is all we will ever do.” – Founded in 2004 by Al Gore and David Blood, Generation is a dedicated sustainable investment firm focused on long-term value, integrated sustainability research, and strong client alignment. It has demonstrated that mission-driven investing can deliver superior returns.Octopus (2024) – The Future Generations Report 2024 – “Celebrating the impact that you, as an Octopus shareholder, employee or customer, have on the world.”Dame Julia Anne Hoggett DBE, a British banker and risk manager, became CEO of the London Stock Exchange in April 2021. With a background in development economics focused on Sub-Saharan Africa, she believes the job of the capital markets is “to facilitate the investment that creates the invention, production, jobs and productivity that drives the economy, improves real incomes and peoples’ lives”. As noted in the episode, some state funds have been withdrawn from investors applying ESG policies. For example, in March 2022, West Virginia pulled assets from a fund managed by BlackRock, citing the firm’s “net-zero investment ...
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    43 mins

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