Finding Nature

Nathan Robertson-Ball

Find inspiration and guidance for the change you want to create and learn how others have achieved it in their life and work in pursuit of a more just, safe and healthier future. Nourishment for the change making class.

  1. A New Climate And Energy Dawn - Thom Woodroofe On The Path From The Paris Agreement To A Necessary Future

    13 HRS AGO

    A New Climate And Energy Dawn - Thom Woodroofe On The Path From The Paris Agreement To A Necessary Future

    Today’s guest is Thom Woodroofe. Thom is the author of the latest In the National Interest series titled ‘Power, Prosperity and Planet: Climate and Energy Policy For All’. For the best part of 20 years Thom has worked across diplomacy, global affairs and climate policy - from playing a key role in securing the Paris Agreement on climate change in 2015 and helping to establish the High Ambition Coalition of progressive nations. He’s worked as chief of staff to former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd in his role of Australian Ambassador to the US, forged a backchannel for US–China climate talks during his time at the Asia Society in New York, to go with being a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. Why did I want to chat to Thom? Well let me read you snippets of the recommendations for his book. Firstly, Kevin Rudd, “‘Thom Woodroofe is a rare talent. In Power, Prosperity & Planet, Woodroofe draws on his deep policy expertise, tempered by political insights from the front lines of the climate and energy debates raging around the globe. The result is a tour-de-force – a practical and informed white paper for all Australians, policymakers and citizens alike, who care about the future of their country and their planet.” Secondly, Malcolm Turnbull “Climate deniers obfuscate with ideology and idiocy, but as this book shows meeting the climate challenge requires engineering and economics and a practical blueprint that empowers all of us.” And last but certainly not least, Christiana Figueres, the architect of the Paris Agreement - “The Paris Agreement provides the global foundation, but it is up to every country now to walk the walk through the kinds of ideas contained in this book.” I really enjoyed this conversation with Thom, and we get through a considerable amount, which represents the breadth and depth of his experiences and knowledge. From his first job out of uni working with the Marshall Islands and advising on their global climate advocacy and diplomacy, to the COP process and part of the remarkable story he had a literal front row seat at in 2015, to his observations and insights from Europe, the UK, US and China that place Australia’s decarbonisation efforts in a broader context, to the pragmatic policy opportunities to drive further emissions reductions as quickly as possible. What I found valuable though speaking with Thom and reading his book is the necessity to ground all of this work and these conversations in what they mean for the average person - and as we’ve seen over the weekend with One Nation winning a lower house seat in parliament - being able to reach and communicate with disillusioned and disempowered people in every part of this country remains the number one challenge in driving the energy transition and broader climate policies. Thom’s work and this chat dives into both of our own reservations and uncertainties on how to best do this, but the necessity to do so. Support the organisations contributing to a healthier, safer and more just future.  Reposit Power - get $500 off your solar battery install, plus seven years no electricity bill.Planet Protein - tasty, convenient, plant-based, high protein food for all occasions. Ep.116 Send me a message Thanks for listening. Follow Finding Nature on Instagram

    1hr 43min
  2. Built To Create - Holly Rankin Is The Voice Of A Generation

    5 MAY

    Built To Create - Holly Rankin Is The Voice Of A Generation

    As for remarkable and impressive people - Holly Rankin is one of those. Born and raised in regional New South Wales, she experienced the worst form of loss and trauma during her teenage years and over the past two decades has built a life and career and accomplishment set that is as incredible as it is diverse. From being nominated as an ARIA breakthrough and best new pop release artist, to helping to form and establish David Pocock’s political career to her work more recently in advocating for some form of justice for content creators and creatives against big tech’s theft of all things human made. Holly is a writer, musician, activist, community builder, festival maker, business owner, political strategist and campaign director, to go with being a mother. I first heard of Holly nearly 12 months ago when the devastating mid north NSW floods occurred - she provided a rallying call to politicians and institutional systems and actors to play a role in a rain event that devastated entire communities and left thousands homeless, traumatised and uncertain. Later in the year she gave the 2025 Speaker’s Address to members of the federal parliament and press and it was an articulation of so much of what I have been curious about and seeking to better understand. From youth disenfranchisement to the growth of anti-science political parties to the lack of quality in reporting and media from mainstream businesses and a call to arms to model the type of society they want to govern. We chat about that speech and much of what she covered in far more detail, but that speech is one to dig out through the podcast annals. This was exactly the type of conversation I love having - from the meta and macro trends affecting our lives in visible and invisible ways to the experience of fear and fearlessness as an individual attempting to chart a course. We chat about the proposed text and data mining exception in the copyright act the productivity commission and big tech thought is a good idea, the reckoning already arriving from the climate crisis, activating and creating enduring communities and movements, as well as the personal - grief, growth and becoming a parent. Holly is already a leader. I know enough to know that she is someone whose going to make a big difference in the years to come. For $500 off your home renewable installation, head to Reposit Power for an exclusive Finding Nature offer.  Send me a message Thanks for listening. Follow Finding Nature on Instagram

    1hr 41min
  3. Climate Change, Human Rights And The Law - Gillian Moon On A State Of Denial

    28 APR

    Climate Change, Human Rights And The Law - Gillian Moon On A State Of Denial

    Gillian Moon is today’s guest. Gillian is a legal scholar who in recent years has been leading the Australian Climate Accountability Project within the Australian Human Rights Institute. Over the course of her career she’s worked in and specialised at the intersection of human rights law, climate change, international economic law and development policy. I first came across Gillian a few years ago when the Australian Climate Accountability Project was first established and started releasing some of its work which was looking at the specific risks and human harms climate change has, is and will continue to create, supplemented by an extensive analysis of Australia’s emissions profile when fossil fuel exports are accounted for. That work stood out as it started to indicate how rights are adversely affected by a changing climate, and over the past few years Gillian and her colleagues have continued to evolve and mature their analysis, commentary and documentation, including the seminal work last year; State of denial: Australia’s legal obligations for human rights harms within Australia from its fossil fuel exports. I worked in the corporate human rights space for a good chunk of my career and have always been surprised that the adverse harms to individual and collective rights that climate change is delivering aren’t better understood nor spoken about. As I’ve tried to do on this show in better understanding the legalities of accountability around climate change, I’m somewhere between convinced and hopeful that human rights and the law can be valuable levers for meaningful action and restorative justice. The International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion regarding the obligations of states in respect of climate change was a key moment in the recent history of the climate equity and justice struggle, but as we hear about from Gillian in this episode, much, much more is still required. We chat about Australia’s insincere and hypocritical fossil fuel and emissions story, the country’s haphazard and unhelpful human rights regulatory and legislative frameworks and structures, and the role of international obligations in all of this. We also get into how legal scholars, health practitioners and climate scientists are beginning to converge around a methodological understanding of how to match climate attribution science to health impacts and the legal consequences of new and expanding fossil fuel projects. As knowledge in these areas accelerate, the potential for rapid change is entirely plausible. This work, that Gillian played a key role in, found that Woodside’s Scarborough gas project off the coast of Western Australia would lead to 484 addition heath related deaths in Europe alone this century, and kill about 16 million additional corals on the Great Barrier Reef in the same time. This is fascinating, important and potentially material developments in surfacing real human rights harms that could and should be incorporated into approval decisions. Gillian is a wealth of knowledge and expertise, and in the battle to beat fossil fuels and intransigent politicians, what she and her colleagues are developing is likely going to become a major force in this next phase of action. Check out Reposit Power to get $500 off your solar battery system that will work.  Subscribe, rate & share. Ep.114 Send me a message Thanks for listening. Follow Finding Nature on Instagram

    1hr 40min
  4. Forging New Paths - Matt Kean On The Impending And All Encompassing Climate Transition

    21 APR

    Forging New Paths - Matt Kean On The Impending And All Encompassing Climate Transition

    Hello out there, welcome to or welcome back to the Finding Nature podcast. My name is Nathan Robertson-Ball and when I started this show in 2024 I could only have dreamt about having today’s guest on the show. Matt Kean needs no introductions, and it was a pleasure to have him on. Matt has developed a reputation as a maverick in the Australian energy and environment sphere - all because he’s favoured reality, science and economics. Besides being a radical truth seeker and truth speaker, Matt’s public life is defined by service, diligence and activating. From his maiden speech as a state politician advocating for and then delivering mental health service improvements, to his landmark energy reform package in 2022 as well as holding the treasurer’s pen as one of Australia’s most costly disaster events unfolded along the eastern seaboard of the country. I was keen to chat with Matt less so about his now very publicised work in the field of the energy transition and more about his views on whether the story of green growth is one Australians can rely upon. In a world where climate risk is increasingly imperilling communities, economies and insurance, what good is more solar panels and transmission lines if you can’t inhabit a community for parts of the year because of the heat or the transmission of disease makes avoiding serious illness difficult or you simply can’t access a loan because of the unavailability of insurance. Yes, the energy transition is an essential act. Is it enough to build a promise of prosperity to this nation and a world of eight billion, I’m not convinced. As chair of the Climate Change Authority I also wanted to talk about how to have the extremely difficult conversation with Australians regarding the realities of a changing, new and more volatile climate. In a country where the climate wars has been the result of whether to continue to operate antiquated, dirty, unsafe and unreliable technology or transitioning to an inevitable future of clean energy, it baffles and worries me how to have a mature and honest conversation about the changed and changing climate. From the impacts of agriculture and farm productivity to the loss of the Great Barrier Reef and the communities that rely upon it to how First Nations cultures are lost or unable to be accessed due to rising sea levels or unliveable temperatures. Real people are already experiencing the harms of a changed and changing climate. Loss and damage has arrived, yet the mis and disinformation continues. Vested interests, and captured political figures and media commentators continue to drum up discontent and disharmony over dealing in the reality of change that physics and the world’s largest economy are delivering to this part of the world. Matt Kean embodies a commitment to reality that I respect. Do I think science, economics and technology are all that is needed to transition to futures that are safer, healthier and more just, no. It’s a start, an important start, and I hope from this chat you appreciate just how difficult and consuming being a public figure in this effort like Matt has been, is. Considering energy and climate has largely ended political careers, that Matt not only found a path through that but grew as a result of it is a credit to his determination, capability and optimism. There is much we can all take from that. This episode is supported by reposit Power. Get $500 off your solar battery install.  Subscribe, rate & share. Ep.113 Send me a message Thanks for listening. Follow Finding Nature on Instagram

    1hr 3min
  5. Climate Apartheid - Beth Goldblatt On The Loss, Damage and Injustice Of The Status Quo

    14 APR

    Climate Apartheid - Beth Goldblatt On The Loss, Damage and Injustice Of The Status Quo

    Beth Goldblatt is today’s guest. Beth is a Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Technology Sydney where her research and teaching sits at the intersection of feminist legal theory, equality, discrimination law and human rights. In recent years her work has become increasingly oriented towards how climate change impinges on social security and equality, and what role laws currently could play in remediating some of these harms. Beyond that though, and a large part of why I wanted to speak with Beth, was her work on how our current regulatory and legislative frameworks are inadequate to deal with how climate change has and will continue to drive loss and damage into the lives of those already structurally vulnerable to shocks and stresses, and those least responsible for this crisis in the first time. Beth outlines that we not only need new laws, but new ways of understanding law itself. In my darkest existential moments I put my last remaining eggs of hope in the law bucket. Yes - a sweeping legislative and regulatory reform process will do it. Once that happens, everything will finally fall into place. Facts will no longer be able to be ignored or dismissed, BAU and reality-avoidant executives have to make changes. So much of this chat is Beth reminding me about not only the likelihood of that magic wand solution but also that this type of change is based on the people we elect. I’m reminded - again - that change, and with it, power, lies in the hands of those who show up. For our laws to change, we need to elect different types of politicians. For different types of politicians to be elected, we need to support those types of people in our communities. To support those types of people in our communities we need to spend time finding them, helping them, supporting them. It’s mundane, seemingly pretty boring on paper and also a gambit that it’d even work - but it’s not only possible but is increasingly the last meaningful option. So I do believe the law is what’s most vital in the coming decade of climate action, but that requires new social norms and behaviours from people like you and I. Regenerative equality, the reconceptualisation of law, a quest for equality through the law - they’re possible, but take work, effort, time and showing up. As Beth explains in this episode, her experience growing up in apartheid South Africa was fundamental in shaping her understanding of justice, of taking a stand, and knowing that by doing that with others, radical, unimaginable change is possible. Beth Goldblatt opened my eyes and mind to new frames and perspectives I’ve been oblivious to over the last 25 years. I hope this chat has the same effect on you. Head to Reposit Power for $500 off your solar and battery installation.  Send me a message Thanks for listening. Follow Finding Nature on Instagram

    1hr 31min
  6. Putting Responsibility Into Corporate Responsibility - Gerbrand Havercamp and Pauliina Murphy On The Myths of Trickle Down Sustainability

    7 APR

    Putting Responsibility Into Corporate Responsibility - Gerbrand Havercamp and Pauliina Murphy On The Myths of Trickle Down Sustainability

    Gerbrand Haverkamp and Pauliina Murphy from the World Benchmarking Alliance join the show today. The WBA exists to assess, test and make transparent the performance of the world’s 2,000 most influential and important companies. In a neoliberal capitalist economic system, business have been and remain one of if not the most significant actors if our human civilisation is going to reverse ecological calamity, social inequities and governance failures. Famed Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter, the co-creator of the notion of creating shared value, calls businesses the engine of change, and if that is indeed the case, they might need some new and different engines. But that’s why the WBA’s work is important. They shine a spotlight on the truth of these companies performance - not to look at what they say they’d do, but what they’re actually doing. And entirely unsurprisingly, it’s mostly grim and painful reading. Gerbrand and Pauliina were recently in Australia as part of a trip to present and share the results of an Australian-only benchmark they recently completed. 32 companies sit on that and the insights and takeaways are interesting, but again, not too surprising. No-one is a laggard, yet no-one is a leader. I was compelled by some work the WBA had published a couple of years ago called Corporate Accountability: Closing the Gap in Sustainable Development and reading it was a series of insights that I think explains why corporates here and abroad have not done the necessary heavy lifting to conserve and preserve ecosystems, communities and democracies. Seven succinct realities pick apart the delusion of corporate accountability in its current form - where responsibilities are not defined, actual performance remains hidden or obfuscated most of the time, while the consequences of either insufficient or poor action are not substantive enough to drive any change. We get through a lot of ground in this conversation - from this cycle of accountability to the mission of the WBA, the necessity to not just highlight best practice but reverse benchmark and platform the laggards, as well as transition of the sustainability sector from the feel good and pseudo innovation team of a decade ago to a mainstay of corporates, and accept the necessity of compliance, legal and risk management on a day to day basis. Support for today's episode comes from Reposit Power. Get $500 off your system.  Subscribe, rate & share.  Ep.111 Send me a message Thanks for listening. Follow Finding Nature on Instagram

    1hr 39min
  7. Transforming Capital - William Burckart And The Necessity For Systems-Level Investing

    31 MAR

    Transforming Capital - William Burckart And The Necessity For Systems-Level Investing

    William Burckart is today’s guest. Bill was recently in Sydney from New York where his list of credentials, accomplishments and titles is impressive - he’s the CEO of The Investment Integration Project, co-founder of Colourful Capital, an adjunct Professor of International and Public Affairs and the Brandmyere Fellow for Impact and Sustainable Investing at Colombia University, he’s published a couple of really informative books, the most recent being ‘The Handbook of System-level Investing: How Experts Worth Trillions of Dollars are Rethinking Investing.’ As well as all of that his writing has featured in The Guardian, Forbes and the Stanford Social Innovation Review. That’s a long but necessary way of saying that in the realm of systems-level investing, there are few anywhere in the world who are both as technically astute and practically experienced as Bill. What is systems-level investing you ask? Systems-level investing - as I’ve understood from reading Bill’s books, this chat and our supper club together is when financiers - be they banks, be they investors - deliberately elevate themselves above a conventional approach to asset and client focussed lending and financing and seek to use their funds as well as their influence and other assets to address issues that create systems-level risks for any and all of their more conventional activities. Think about it like this - how successful will one investment in a farmer be if the underlying volatility in crop and yield output worsens without also investing in rapid decarbonisation and broader adaptation measures? What good is funding one resilient home in a flood prone area if the majority of the rest in that area aren’t and you see localised market risk and asset depreciation? Systems-level investing is about re-framing how finance takes account of reality and the risks problems like climate change, disinformation, inequality, ocean acidification and many more and doing what the financial services industry is supposed to do anyway - appropriately price these to send market signals and drive new types of behaviours, actions and outcomes. It’s not straight forward stuff, and many in this community lament either the unwillingness or the inability for just about all financial institutions of every size and form to do this. In this chat we get into the what some of the tangible and intangible barriers are, the limitations of sustainable and responsible investing, how to better understand the tools of systems-level investing whether you’re in finance or not, advanced user or total beginner. Much is required of many of us at this moment - and understanding how finance can and must play a role is a critical component of shifting economies and cultural norms regarding practices in the real economy. This episode isn’t just for the finance bros though, you don’t need to don a puffer vest and be sitting in Ryan’s Bar to take insights and wisdom from Bill - this is applicable to all of us who are in the game of capital. And frankly, that’s everyone, whether you like it or not. Today's episode is delivered with Reposit Power. Get $500 off your solar battery installation here.  Send me a message Thanks for listening. Follow Finding Nature on Instagram

    1hr 33min
  8. Surrendering Attachment and Lessons from His Holiness The Dalai Lama - Geshe Lhakdor on What Ancient Spirituality Teaches Us About This Moment

    24 MAR

    Surrendering Attachment and Lessons from His Holiness The Dalai Lama - Geshe Lhakdor on What Ancient Spirituality Teaches Us About This Moment

    Today’s guest was the person I needed to speak with - Geshe Lhakdor. Geshe is a Tibetan Buddhist monk who fled his homeland of Tibet when he was six years old and has committed his life to spirituality, Buddhism and service. Geshe served His Holiness the Dalai Lama as his English translator and religious assistant from 1989 until 2005, and has co-translated and co-produced several books by the Dalai Lama. As Director of the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives in Dharamsala, Geshe facilitates the Science for Monks program and shares his own expertise as a scholar of science and philosophy. Geshe is also trustee of the Foundation for Universal Responsibility, established by His Holiness. I am very thankful to former pod guest Nadya Hutagalung for making possible this extraordinary experience as part of Geshe’s recent trip to Australia. Coincidentally meeting just five meetings from my place, spending time with him was a gift. When so much feels out of control - whether that’s global affairs through to what we can actually manage and influence on a day to day basis - spending this time with Geshe reminded me so much of the ills our world faces are the result of what he describes as the polluted mind. Fear, self centredness, greed, contempt - we all know where that leads us. I know I can’t help it myself sometimes - I want to hold a grudge, I want revenge when I feel crossed, I’d love to get exactly what I want in the maximum dosage as quickly as possible and for the least amount of effort. That’s not a recipe for living in harmony and with reciprocity with others though. Geshe Lhakdor reminded me of what works - progress over perfection, having the wisdom to know the difference between what I can and can’t control, to be as compassionate and loving as I possibly can be. It all sounds trite and soft and woo woo, but we know it intuitively. We want to belong, we want to feel connected, we want to feel safe. In this conversation we talk about the dangers of every form of attachment, the potential for liberation, what spirituality is and what ancient teachings offer us as a poignant reminders for living today. With this episode I need to offer a slight audio warning - the mysterious fizzing and splattering of the recording equipment appeared when I listened back. I’ve removed as much of it as possible while maintaining the majority of the episode, but I apologise for any listener discomfort as you go. I was really bummed to hear it myself, and as with every time this seems to suddenly occur without warning, I’ll be running a bunch of audio tests to rectify. It always sounds so simple to adopt and live by a set of spiritual principles found across all the major religions in the world. Doing it - and doing it consistently and regularly - isn’t so easy. Geshe Lhakdor is a reminder to do it today and to worry about tomorrow tomorrow. Send me a message Thanks for listening. Follow Finding Nature on Instagram

    1hr 9min
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About

Find inspiration and guidance for the change you want to create and learn how others have achieved it in their life and work in pursuit of a more just, safe and healthier future. Nourishment for the change making class.

Information

  • Creator
    Nathan Robertson-Ball
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    116
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Finding Nature
  • Show Website
    Finding Nature

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