Inconvenient Chats

IC29: Will our dependency on oil ever end?

Last episode for now! Have you ever wondered how much our society is built on oil and gas besides electricity? Will we actually ever manage to transition away from it? Is it possible for all our consumption of plastic, polyester, nylon, helium, and so much more that one does not think of immediately? It feels like an impossible mountain to climb. But we're here for the conversation, with a little bit of hope and a little bit of fear. If you want to give feedback you can write to kaisa@inconvenientchats.com or jan@inconvenientchats.com. If you have a topic on your mind that you have always wondered about, send us an e-mail with your topic recommendation and we’ll make it less inconvenient for all of you. Sources * Bruegel (March 2026), How will the Iran conflict hit European energy markets? (https://www.bruegel.org/first-glance/how-will-iran-conflict-hit-european-energy-markets#:~:text=The%20immediate%20impact%20on%20energy,through%20the%20Strait%20of%20Hormuz) * UNTD (March 2026), From gas to grain: Fertilizer disruptions raise risks for food security and trade (https://unctad.org/news/gas-grain-fertilizer-disruptions-raise-risks-food-security-and-trade#:~:text=+27%25-,Source:%20UN%20Trade%20and%20Development%20(UNCTAD)%2C%20based%20on,costs%20increase%2C%20pushing%20prices%20higher.) * Business Insider (March 2026), It's not just oil: 3 critical supply chains being upended by the war in Iran (https://www.businessinsider.com/oil-prices-supply-chains-iran-war-ai-helium-food-inflation-2026-3#:~:text=by%20the%20war.-,Helium,if%20the%20disruptions%20are%20prolonged.) * UNric (December 2024), From petroleum to pollution: the cost of polyester (https://unric.org/en/from-petroleum-to-pollution-the-cost-of-polyester/#:~:text=Polyester%20is%20a%20synthetic%20fiber,biodegradable%2C%20and%20it%20emits%20microplastics) * University College London, How much of the world's fossil fuel reserves can we afford to burn? (https://www.ucl.ac.uk/bartlett/how-much-worlds-fossil-fuel-reserves-we-afford-burn#:~:text=Such%20fears%20preserve%20policies%20of,to%20keep%20fossil%20fuels%20coming.)

IC28: What are climate change attribution studies?

Unfortunately, this week the audio quality is a little wonky. Better next week! This week, we dive into one of the key scientific topics in climate change: attribution science. So basically, the science that helps us make statements such as "this flood has been made X times more likely and Y times more severe because of climate change". That's event attribution. But then, there's also trend attribution, source attribution and impact attribution. We get into all of this, how it works, and more. If you want to give feedback you can write to kaisa@inconvenientchats.com [**kaisa@inconvenientchats.com**] or jan@inconvenientchats.com [**jan@inconvenientchats.com**]. If you have a topic on your mind that you have always wondered about, send us an e-mail with your topic recommendation and we’ll make it less inconvenient for all of you. Sources * Carbon Brief (November 2024), Q&A: The evolving science of ‘extreme weather attribution' (https://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-the-evolving-science-of-extreme-weather-attribution/) [https://www.carbonbrief.org/qa-the-evolving-science-of-extreme-weather-attribution/]) * Carbon Brief (last update March 2026), Mapped: How climate change affects extreme weather around the world (https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/attribution-studies/index.html) [https://interactive.carbonbrief.org/attribution-studies/index.html]) * Union of Concerned Scientists (March 2025), What Is Attribution Science? (https://www.ucs.org/resources/attribution-science) [https://www.ucs.org/resources/attribution-science]) * Ettinger et al. (April 2021), “What’s Up with the Weather?” Public Engagement with Extreme Event Attribution in the United Kingdom (https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/wcas/13/2/WCAS-D-20-0155.1.xml) [https://journals.ametsoc.org/view/journals/wcas/13/2/WCAS-D-20-0155.1.xml]) * State of Vermont (accessed April 2026), Climate Superfund Act (https://climatechange.vermont.gov/climate-superfund) [https://climatechange.vermont.gov/climate-superfund])

IC27: What are the selfish arguments for climate action?

If the moral argument of ‘doing the right thing’ is outdated, should we switch to differently appealing argumentation in the way we talk about climate change with some audiences? In this episode, we discuss ‘selfish’ arguments for climate action, i.e. effects on health and money. If you want to give feedback you can write to kaisa@inconvenientchats.com or jan@inconvenientchats.com. If you have a topic on your mind that you have always wondered about, send us an e-mail with your topic recommendation and we’ll make it less inconvenient for all of you. Sources * Barnes et al.: Summer heat deaths in 854 European cities more than tripled due to climate change (2025). https://spiral.imperial.ac.uk/server/api/core/bitstreams/4d5b1a8a-c5ed-47fd-894c-f05ae31ae69d/content * Health and Environment Alliance: False fix: the hidden health impacts of Europe’s fossil gas dependency (2022) https://www.env-health.org/false-fix/#:~:text=The%20briefing's%20authors%20note%20that:%20*%20The,the%20UK%2C%20France%2C%20the%20Netherlands%2C%20and%20Spain * Carbon Brief: Five charts: How climate change is driving up food prices around the world (2024). https://www.carbonbrief.org/five-charts-how-climate-change-is-driving-up-food-prices-around-the-world/ * Kotz et al.: Global warming and heat extremes to enhance inflationary pressures (2024). https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-023-01173-x * European Economic and Social Committee: The cost of climate change on households and families in the EU (2023). https://www.eesc.europa.eu/sites/default/files/files/qe-04-23-897-en-n.pdf * European Energy Agency: Climate Risks to the Economy (Sept 2025) https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/europe-environment-2025/thematic-briefings/climate-change/climate-risks-to-the-economy * UNDP (2022) https://www.undp.org/eurasia/blog/climate-security#:~:text=Globally%2C%20and%20in%20the%20Europe,water%2C%20food%20and%20energy%20security. * Time: 143 Million People Could Soon Be Displaced Because of Climate Change, World Bank Says (2018). https://time.com/5206716/world-bank-climate-change-internal-migration/ * Concern Worldwide (2024)https://www.concern.net/news/climate-refugees-explained * Choi et al.: Temperature, Crime, and Violence: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis(2024). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11477092/#:~:text=We%20screened%2016%2C634%20studies%20with,4–6

IC26: What is an individual's role in fighting climate change? (with Christian Sparrevohn)

This week is special. We say hello to our first (of hopefully many) interview guests. And it’s a privilege that it’s Christian Sparrevohn. Christian lives and breathes sustainability. Having made it his life’s work not least by founding a leading sustainability consultancy in the Nordics. But also apart from that he is outspoken and listened to on the topics of sustainability, chairing the non-profit Rådet for Grøn Omstilling in Denmark So who better to talk to about ‘individual responsibilities in fighting climate change’ also known as ‘what can I even affect when it comes to climate change?’ We talk about all the facets of life where the answer to that question might differ: as a private person, a professional, a citizen. Sources * WRI (2025), The Most Impactful Things You Can Do for the Climate Aren’t What You’ve Been Told (https://www.wri.org/insights/climate-impact-behavior-shifts)

IC25: What are the carbon emissions from wars?

Firstly, wars are horrible for countless reasons, carbon emissions are certainly not on top of the list of the terrible things that result from armed conflicts. Today, we try to zoom into the carbon emissions that come out of wars and leave the humanitarian aspects of them to proper experts in that field to discuss. Did you know that emissions from the military are exempted from reporting? That leaves a huge gap in emission transparency that we do not even know about properly. So join us this week as we try to uncover the emissions coming from 1st order, 2nd order, and 3rd order effects of armed conflicts. It will be as inconvenient as you can imagine. But there is a small silver lining in the very end, we promise. If you want to give feedback you can write to kaisa@inconvenientchats.com [**kaisa@inconvenientchats.com**] or jan@inconvenientchats.com [**jan@inconvenientchats.com**]. If you have a topic on your mind that you have always wondered about, send us an e-mail with your topic recommendation and we’ll make it less inconvenient for all of you. Sources * Conflict and Environment Observatory (November 2024), Guest Article: CCPI x Military Emissions Gap – How Military Emissions Impact Global Warming (https://ccpi.org/guest-article-ccpi-x-military-emissions-gap-how-military-emissions-impact-global-warming/) [https://ccpi.org/guest-article-ccpi-x-military-emissions-gap-how-military-emissions-impact-global-warming/]) * Scientific American (June 2024), Warfare’s Climate Emissions Are Huge but Uncounted (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/warfares-climate-emissions-are-huge-but-uncounted/) [https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/warfares-climate-emissions-are-huge-but-uncounted/]) * Remarks by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai (01 December 2023) (https://www.nato.int/en/news-and-events/events/transcripts/2023/12/01/remarks) [https://www.nato.int/en/news-and-events/events/transcripts/2023/12/01/remarks]) * Planetary Security Initiative (February 2025), Climate damage caused by Russian War in Ukraine in three years: The key numbers (https://www.planetarysecurityinitiative.org/news/climate-damage-caused-russian-war-ukraine-three-years-key-numbers) [https://www.planetarysecurityinitiative.org/news/climate-damage-caused-russian-war-ukraine-three-years-key-numbers]) * The Conversation (February 2025), How the war in Ukraine has made flying worse for the climate (https://theconversation.com/how-the-war-in-ukraine-has-made-flying-worse-for-the-climate-249039) [https://theconversation.com/how-the-war-in-ukraine-has-made-flying-worse-for-the-climate-249039]) * UNDP (September 2025), Record military spending threatens global peace and development, new UN report warns (https://www.undp.org/press-releases/record-military-spending-threatens-global-peace-and-development-new-un-report-warns) [https://www.undp.org/press-releases/record-military-spending-threatens-global-peace-and-development-new-un-report-warns]) * Balázs Markó (January 2025), The Green Peace Dividend: the Effects of Militarization on Emissions and the Green Transition (https://arxiv.org/html/2408.16419) [https://arxiv.org/html/2408.16419]) * Bruegel (April 2025), Defence and climate: seven points for a common agenda (https://www.bruegel.org/analysis/defence-and-climate-seven-points-common-agenda) [https://www.bruegel.org/analysis/defence-and-climate-seven-points-common-agenda])