Climate Chat

The White House Scientist Scaling Climate Solutions feat. Phil Duffy

In this Climate Chat episode, host Dan Miller interviews Phil Duffy, Chief Scientist for Spark Climate Solutions and former Climate Science Advisor for President Biden. We will discuss Phil's White House experience as well as his current role at Spark Climate Solutions addressing unsolved climate challenges. Dr. Phil Duffy is a scientist who is dedicated to understanding and managing the human consequences of climate change, Phil most recently served in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he helped to inform and implement the President’s climate agenda. Prior to rejoining government, he was President and Executive Director of the Woodwell Climate Research Center (formerly Woods Hole Research Center), which helps to manage climate change through use-inspired research. In the Obama administration, Phil served as a Senior Policy Analyst in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and as a Senior Advisor in the US Global Change Research Program. Before joining the White House, Phil was Chief Scientist at Climate Central, a climate change communications organization. At Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Phil was a Senior Scientist and Deputy Division Leader, and led research on impacts of climate change in California and the US west. He holds a bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from Harvard in astronomy and astrophysics and a PhD in applied physics from Stanford. Phil enjoys cycling and playing with his dog, Rosie. Spark Climate Solutions website: https://www.sparkclimate.org Phil Duffy on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/philip-duffy-0996a11a0 Spark Climate Solutions on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/sparkclimate.bsky.social Please Like and Subscribe! Listen to Climate Chat on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/climate-chat/id1893162516 Listen to Climate Chat on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1m0OSLWRPPcyOddErvxJ1e Dan Miller has been giving talks around the world on the need for urgent climate action for over 20 years. He is co-founder of The Roda Group, a climate-tech venture capital group, and he serves as an advisor for other climate funds and climate-focused non-profit groups. He started Climate Chat in 2021 on Clubhouse and added YouTube in 2023. Follow Dan Miller on X/Twitter: @danmiller999 Follow Dan Miller on Bluesky: @danmiller999.bsky.social and @climatechat.bsky.social Leon Simons is a climate scientist based in the Netherlands. He was a co-author with James Hansen on the 2023 "Global Warming in the Pipeline" paper that discussed the recent acceleration in global warming. Leon's work has focused recently on changes in aerosol emissions from ships and the impact of those changes on climate change. You can access Leon's research writings here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Leon-Simons Follow Leon on X/Twitter: @LeonSimons8 and Bluesky: ‪@leonsimons.bsky.social‬ Follow Leon on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/LeonSimons/home Follow Stacey Randecker on X/Twitter: @DrivingMzStacey and Bluesky: @bikingmzstacey.bsky.social Follow Eli Rabani on X/Twitter: @radsci and Bluesky: @radsci.bsky.social You can leave a question in the YouTube Live chat. Please begin your question with "Question:" to make it easy for our mods to spot it. For more Climate Chat episodes, see our YouTube home page: https://www.youtube.com/@climatechat For recent YouTube Live Climate Chat programs: https://www.youtube.com/@climatechat/streams

New Global Emissions Projections: Scrapping the Highs & Lows with Detlef van Vuuren

In this Climate Chat episode, hosts Leon Simons and Dan Miller interview climate scientist Detlef van Vuuren about his recent paper where he lays our new "emissions scenarios" that will be used by the IPCC to predict future global warming. Since future temperatures depend on our future greenhouse gas emissions, scientists need to use emission scenarios to predict future temperatures. Past scenarios included what some scientists felt were beyond the possible worst case emissions, as well as scenarios that assumed much less emissions than currently seems feasible. Detlef and his colleagues has set forth a set of scenarios that fall in the middle of past approaches. Detlef van Vuuren is a senior researcher at PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and a professor in Integrated Assessment of Global Environmental Change at the Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University. Leading the IMAGE integrated assessment modelling team, his research concentrates on using model-based scenarios to identify response strategies to global environmental problems. He is a member of several international scientific commissions, including the Integrated Assessment Modelling Consortium, the Global Carbon Project and the Earth Commission. Detlef van Vuuren had a coordinating role in developing the Representative Concentration Pathways and Shared Socio-economic Pathways now used in the IPCC’s assessments. He has participated as (coordinating) lead author in various assessments such as the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, UNEP’s Global Environmental Outlook and various IPCC reports. Detlef van Vuuren has published more than 430 articles in refereed journals. Based on his work, Reuters listed him 2021 as the 4th most influential climate scientist worldwide. Detlef's article on the new CMIP7 emissions scenarios: https://gmd.copernicus.org/articles/19/2627/2026/ Please Like and Subscribe! Listen to Climate Chat on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/climate-chat/id1893162516 Listen to Climate Chat on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1m0OSLWRPPcyOddErvxJ1e Dan Miller has been giving talks around the world on the need for urgent climate action for over 20 years. He is co-founder of The Roda Group, a climate-tech venture capital group, and he serves as an advisor for other climate funds and climate-focused non-profit groups. He started Climate Chat in 2021 on Clubhouse and added YouTube in 2023. Follow Dan Miller on X/Twitter: @danmiller999 Follow Dan Miller on Bluesky: @danmiller999.bsky.social and @climatechat.bsky.social Leon Simons is a climate scientist based in the Netherlands. He was a co-author with James Hansen on the 2023 "Global Warming in the Pipeline" paper that discussed the recent acceleration in global warming. Leon's work has focused recently on changes in aerosol emissions from ships and the impact of those changes on climate change. You can access Leon's research writings here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Leon-Simons Follow Leon on X/Twitter: @LeonSimons8 and Bluesky: ‪@leonsimons.bsky.social‬ Follow Leon on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/LeonSimons/home Follow Stacey Randecker on X/Twitter: @DrivingMzStacey and Bluesky: @bikingmzstacey.bsky.social Follow Eli Rabani on X/Twitter: @radsci and Bluesky: @radsci.bsky.social You can leave a question in the YouTube Live chat. Please begin your question with "Question:" to make it easy for our mods to spot it. For more Climate Chat episodes, see our YouTube home page: https://www.youtube.com/@climatechat For recent YouTube Live Climate Chat programs: https://www.youtube.com/@climatechat/streams

Biochar Carbon Removal: Finally Ready for Primetime? with Alan Ransil

In this Climate Chat episode, host Dan Miller interview Devonian Systems co-founder and CEO Alan Ransil about their approach to producing biochar. Biochar is produced when biomass is burned without the presence of oxygen, a process know as pyrolysis. Wood treated this way is also known as charcoal. Biochar is a very stable form of carbon and, therefore, it is a way to sequester CO2 from the atmosphere. While biochar has been produced for thousands of years, it is yet to scale up to a major climate solution. Devonian systems hopes to change that. Dr. Alan Ransil is the co-founder and CEO of Devonian Systems. He studied energy storage materials at MIT where he received his PhD in 2018, and has worked on projects for the MIT Energy Initiative, ARPA-E, and DARPA. He started Filecoin Green, a sustainability initiative for the world’s largest decentralized storage network. He is an advisor to the Global Carbon Reward project, and for the Commons.Earth event series. Follow Alan on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/alan-ransil-53573873 Devonian Systems website: https://devonian.ai Follow Devonian Systems on Bluesky: @devoniansystems.bsky.social Please Like and Subscribe! Listen to Climate Chat on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/climate-chat/id1893162516 Listen to Climate Chat on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1m0OSLWRPPcyOddErvxJ1e Dan Miller has been giving talks around the world on the need for urgent climate action for over 20 years. He is co-founder of The Roda Group, a climate-tech venture capital group, and he serves as an advisor for other climate funds and climate-focused non-profit groups. He started Climate Chat in 2021 on Clubhouse and added YouTube in 2023. Follow Dan Miller on X/Twitter: @danmiller999 Follow Dan Miller on Bluesky: @danmiller999.bsky.social and @climatechat.bsky.social Leon Simons is a climate scientist based in the Netherlands. He was a co-author with James Hansen on the 2023 "Global Warming in the Pipeline" paper that discussed the recent acceleration in global warming. Leon's work has focused recently on changes in aerosol emissions from ships and the impact of those changes on climate change. You can access Leon's research writings here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Leon-Simons Follow Leon on X/Twitter: @LeonSimons8 and Bluesky: ‪@leonsimons.bsky.social‬ Follow Leon on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/LeonSimons/home Follow Stacey Randecker on X/Twitter: @DrivingMzStacey and Bluesky: @bikingmzstacey.bsky.social Follow Eli Rabani on X/Twitter: @radsci and Bluesky: @radsci.bsky.social You can leave a question in the YouTube Live chat. Please begin your question with "Question:" to make it easy for our mods to spot it. For more Climate Chat episodes, see our YouTube home page: https://www.youtube.com/@climatechat For recent YouTube Live Climate Chat programs: https://www.youtube.com/@climatechat/streams

Climate Blind Spots: Why SF Climate Week Worried Me

In this Climate Chat episode, host Dan Miller talks about what he learned at San Francisco Climate Week and what worried him about optimism bias and the lack of appreciation of accelerated warming and tipping points. He will also discuss some optimistic signs of awareness and solutions. Please Like and Subscribe! Listen to Climate Chat on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/climate-chat/id1893162516 Listen to Climate Chat on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1m0OSLWRPPcyOddErvxJ1e Dan Miller has been giving talks around the world on the need for urgent climate action for over 20 years. He is co-founder of The Roda Group, a climate-tech venture capital group, and he serves as an advisor for other climate funds and climate-focused non-profit groups. He started Climate Chat in 2021 on Clubhouse and added YouTube in 2023. Follow Dan Miller on X/Twitter: @danmiller999 Follow Dan Miller on Bluesky: @danmiller999.bsky.social and @climatechat.bsky.social Leon Simons is a climate scientist based in the Netherlands. He was a co-author with James Hansen on the 2023 "Global Warming in the Pipeline" paper that discussed the recent acceleration in global warming. Leon's work has focused recently on changes in aerosol emissions from ships and the impact of those changes on climate change. You can access Leon's research writings here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Leon-Simons Follow Leon on X/Twitter: @LeonSimons8 and Bluesky: ‪@leonsimons.bsky.social‬ Follow Leon on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/LeonSimons/home Follow Stacey Randecker on X/Twitter: @DrivingMzStacey and Bluesky: @bikingmzstacey.bsky.social Follow Eli Rabani on X/Twitter: @radsci and Bluesky: @radsci.bsky.social You can leave a question in the YouTube Live chat. Please begin your question with "Question:" to make it easy for our mods to spot it. For more Climate Chat episodes, see our YouTube home page: https://www.youtube.com/@climatechat For recent YouTube Live Climate Chat programs: https://www.youtube.com/@climatechat/streams

Current Events: Are We Hitting the AMOC Tipping Point? with AMOC Scientist René van Westen

In this Climate Chat episode, we interview returning guest René van Westen on his latest Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) research, including his research that shows the recent sudden shift of the Gulf Stream is an indication of pending AMOC collapse. Dr. Westen is a postdoctoral researcher at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. René is the author of a number of recent scientific papers on AMOC including the following: Abrupt Gulf Stream path changes are a precursor to a collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12945690/ Substantial Risk of 21st Century AMOC Tipping even under Moderate Climate Change: https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.19909 Collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation in a Strongly Eddying Ocean-Only Model https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2024GL114532 Deep Learning based reconstructions of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation confirm twenty-first century decline: https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/add7f0/meta Changing European Hydroclimate under a Collapsed AMOC in the Community Earth System Model (preprint): https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2025/egusphere-2025-1440/ View our previous Climate Chat interviews with Dr. Westen (highly recommended!): AMOC Collapse Research Update with René van Westen https://youtube.com/live/cBaRscaCBHU AMOC Collapse: Timing & Impacts, with Climate Scientist René van Westen https://youtube.com/live/xwcXF3TyWS8 René's home page: https://www.uu.nl/staff/RMvanWesten ----------------------------- Link to the Climate Chat Solar-Geoengineering Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLep9tQgCqjCoWPp-16Oxhjt9QPvtynzql Link to the Climate Chat AMOC Collapse Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLep9tQgCqjCofocBV9zwIX6DIsCGtYIzr Please Like and Subscribe! Listen to Climate Chat on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/climate-chat/id1893162516 Listen to Climate Chat on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1m0OSLWRPPcyOddErvxJ1e Dan Miller has been giving talks around the world on the need for urgent climate action for over 20 years. He is co-founder of The Roda Group, a climate-tech venture capital group, and he serves as an advisor for other climate funds and climate-focused non-profit groups. He started Climate Chat in 2021 on Clubhouse and added YouTube in 2023. Follow Dan Miller on X/Twitter: @danmiller999 Follow Dan Miller on Bluesky: @danmiller999.bsky.social and @climatechat.bsky.social Leon Simons is a climate scientist based in the Netherlands. He was a co-author with James Hansen on the 2023 "Global Warming in the Pipeline" paper that discussed the recent acceleration in global warming. Leon's work has focused recently on changes in aerosol emissions from ships and the impact of those changes on climate change. You can access Leon's research writings here: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Leon-Simons Follow Leon on X/Twitter: @LeonSimons8 and Bluesky: ‪@leonsimons.bsky.social‬ Follow Leon on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/LeonSimons/home Follow Stacey Randecker on X/Twitter: @DrivingMzStacey and Bluesky: @bikingmzstacey.bsky.social Follow Eli Rabani on X/Twitter: @radsci and Bluesky: @radsci.bsky.social You can leave a question in the YouTube Live chat. Please begin your question with "Question:" to make it easy for our mods to spot it. For more Climate Chat episodes, see our YouTube home page: https://www.youtube.com/@climatechat For recent YouTube Live Climate Chat programs: https://www.youtube.com/@climatechat/streams