Energy vs Climate: How climate is changing our energy systems

Energy vs Climate | Produced by Amit Tandon & Bespoke Podcasts

Energy vs Climate is a live, interactive webinar and podcast where energy experts David Keith, Sara Hastings-Simon and Ed Whittingham break down the trade-offs and hard truths of the energy transition in Alberta, Canada, and beyond.  Guests include scientists, policy experts, and industry leaders discussing the forces reshaping our energy future—from breakthrough renewable technologies to the real-world impact of climate change. www.energyvsclimate.com Produced by Amit Tandon & Bespoke Podcasts

  1. FEB 19

    Understanding China's Energy Transition: Experts Weigh In | Andrew Light, Jeremy Wallace, Christina Pan, and Hong Li

    This episode is different. We're tackling China's energy transition, and instead of David, Sara, and Ed just talking about it, they went out and interviewed different experts on the subject. Why China? Because it's arguably the most important energy story on the planet right now. China is the world's largest emitter. It's also the world's largest investor in clean energy. It manufactures the lion's share of solar panels, batteries, and now electric vehicles in the world. Functionally, what happens there determines whether the world has any real shot at meeting long-term climate targets.  David spoke with Andrew Light, distinguished professor at George Mason University and former Senior Climate Official in the Biden administration. Sara talked with Jeremy Wallace, professor of China Studies at John Hopkins and Christina Pan, a PhD candidate at Cornell researching renewable energy in China.  And Ed interviewed Hong Li, a professor at the Institute of Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and an expert on battery chemistry. Three different perspectives followed by David, Sara, and Ed trying to make sense of it all. 🎙️ TIMESTAMPS 00:13 - Intro: The scale of China's ambition 01:44 - David Keith interviews Andrew Light 03:33 - How China took over the Solar industry 04:55 - The massive Nuclear build-out: "Too small?" 11:08 - US vs. China: The clean energy arms race 15:30 - Sara Hastings-Simon interviews Jeremy Wallace & Christina Pan 24:48 - Will China's emissions peak before 2030? 29:48 - State Control vs. Ruthless Competition: What drives the growth? 40:11 - Ed Whittingham interviews Hong Li: The view from inside China 48:34 - EvC Roundtable: What can the West learn from China's speed? Show notes & references on episode page. Send us a text (if you'd like a response, please include your email) Follow us on: LinkedIn Bluesky X/Twitter Instagram Energy vs Climate relies on the support of our generous listeners Donate to keep Energy vs Climate going Produced by Bespoke Podcasts

    1h 19m

  2. FEB 5

    Alberta’s Energy Transition: Economics, Emissions, and the Hard Trade-Offs (LIVE)

    Recorded live at the Energy Transition Centre in Calgary, David, Sara, and Ed took on one of the toughest questions in Canadian climate politics: what does energy transition actually look like for Alberta?  They dug into emissions, economics, diversification, and the uncomfortable trade-offs that tend to get glossed over in public debate.  It's a fun conversation with an extended Q&A from the live audience.  Just a note, unfortunately we had some mic issues so apologies for any audio hiccups you might notice.  🎙️ TIMESTAMPS 00:00:00 - Introduction & Welcome to Calgary 00:04:00 - Alberta's Hard Truths: Oil Dependence & Petro State Reality 00:10:00 - EV Growth & Peak Oil Demand by 2030 00:19:00 - China's Energy Bet: Lucky or Strategic? 00:22:00 - Alberta's Path Forward: What Should We Bet On? 00:25:00 - Can We Bend Emissions Without Breaking the Economy? 00:33:00 - Economic Diversification: Beyond Oil & Gas 00:42:00 - Oil Sands Resilience in a Disordered World 00:49:00 - Audience Q&A: Heavy Oil & Emissions Intensity 00:59:00 - Q&A: China and Climate Politics 01:11:00 - Q&A: Should Climate Be on Alberta's Election Agenda? 01:16:00 - Rapid Fire Q&A: TMX, Renewables vs Fossil Fuels, Carbon Tax 01:22:00 - Closing & Credits Thanks as always to Avatar Innovations for being such gracious hosts. 🔗 LINKS Full show notes Send us a text (if you'd like a response, please include your email) Follow us on: LinkedIn Bluesky X/Twitter Instagram Energy vs Climate relies on the support of our generous listeners Donate to keep Energy vs Climate going Produced by Bespoke Podcasts

    1h 23m

  3. JAN 22

    Aviation vs Climate: Can Sustainable Flight Take Off? with Sebastian Eastham

    Can we have guilt-free flying? David, Sara, and Ed chat with Sebastian Eastham, associate professor of sustainable aviation at Imperial College London, about the climate impacts of aviation and what we can actually do about it. The conversation covers immediate levers like contrail avoidance and operational changes that don't require waiting decades for new tech—plus the real potential (and limitations) of sustainable aviation fuels. It's a lively and at times blunt conversation, with sharp audience questions and limited patience for climate cosplay. You'll get the cosplay bit once you listen... 🎙️ TIMESTAMPS 00:18 - Introduction 01:15 - Webinar Start 46:00 - Audience Q&A 🔗 LINKS Full show notes Subscribe to our newsletter About Our Guest Seb Eastham is the Associate Professor for Sustainable Aviation at Imperial College London. An atmospheric scientist and aeronautical engineer, he seeks to understand what the true environmental impacts of aerospace activity are and what we can do about them. He develops and applies novel numerical models of the atmosphere, ranging from the scale of a single exhaust plume up to the global Earth system, to provide new understanding of those impacts and guide the development of new solutions to support a growing and sustainable aerospace sector. One of his current focus areas is to find robust strategies to reduce (or eliminate) the climate impacts of condensation trails, currently thought to be responsible for up to half of aviation's contributions to climate change. Send us a text (if you'd like a response, please include your email) Follow us on: LinkedIn Bluesky X/Twitter Instagram Energy vs Climate relies on the support of our generous listeners Donate to keep Energy vs Climate going Produced by Bespoke Podcasts

    1 hr

  4. 2025-12-31

    Ask EvC Anything 2025 | David Keith, Sara Hastings-Simon, and Ed Whittingham

    You asked — David, Sara, and Ed answered. We're wrapping up the year with our annual Ask EvC Anything episode, touching on topics that pair well with New Year's bubbly: We talk about whether Canada’s climate targets are quietly slipping out of reach, the practicalities and prospects of direct air capture, what a net zero electricity grid in Alberta might actually look like by 2050, whether shiny new materials like metal organic frameworks are breakthrough solutions or just the latest carbon hype cycle, and why we call the show Energy vs Climate.  References & Show Notes available on episode page. About Your Co-Hosts: David Keith is Professor and Founding Faculty Director, Climate Systems Engineering Initiative at the University of Chicago. He is the founder of Carbon Engineering and was formerly a professor at Harvard University and the University of Calgary. He splits his time between Canmore and Chicago. Sara Hastings-Simon studies energy transitions at the intersection of policy, business, and technology. She’s a policy wonk, a physicist turned management consultant, and a professor at the University of Calgary where she teaches in the Energy Science program, and co-leads the Net Zero Electricity Research Initiative. She has a particular interest in the mid-transition. Ed Whittingham isn’t a physicist but is a passionate environmental professional. He is the founder of Advance Carbon Removal, a coalition advancing demand side solutions for carbon removal in Canada. He is also the former CEO of the Pembina Institute, Canada’s widely respected energy/environment NGO. His op-eds have been published in newspapers and magazines across Canada and internationally. Send us a text (if you'd like a response, please include your email) Follow us on: LinkedIn Bluesky X/Twitter Instagram Energy vs Climate relies on the support of our generous listeners Donate to keep Energy vs Climate going Produced by Bespoke Podcasts

    48 min

  5. 2025-12-11

    Energy Past vs Energy Future with Energy Innovation's Robbie Orvis

    A look back at the biggest energy stories of 2025 and some crystal ball gazing about what to watch for in 2026. David, Sara and Ed chat with Robbie Orvis, Senior Director of Modeling & Analysis at Energy Innovation, an American Think Tank.  The show was set up to do two things: First, to sort out what genuinely shifted in 2025 and what didn't. Second, to build a 2026 energy and climate watch list that helps separate real transition signals from the noise and the hype. It's a lively conversation with great audience questions - a sign that people are trying to make sense of a confusing year. References & notes available on episode page. About Our Guest: Robbie Orvis is Senior Director, Modeling & Analysis at Energy Innovation. As a specialist in energy and climate policy, Robbie routinely works with federal and state policymakers in the U.S. as well as international policymakers to analyze legislation and regulation and to provide insights on how to achieve climate goals. He has helped develop and deploy Energy Policy Simulator models in more than a dozen countries, including Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, and to analyze decarbonization pathways in each region. Robbie is the lead author of Designing Climate Solutions: A Policy Guide for Low-Carbon Energy and frequently provides insights to decision-makers on how to design policies to achieve deep decarbonization. His research is regularly cited in the nation’s top news outlets, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, Politico, Bloomberg, and the Los Angeles Times, and he is a regular contributor to Forbes. Send us a text (if you'd like a response, please include your email) Follow us on: LinkedIn Bluesky X/Twitter Instagram Energy vs Climate relies on the support of our generous listeners Donate to keep Energy vs Climate going Produced by Bespoke Podcasts

    59 min

  6. 2025-12-02 · BONUS

    Canada-Alberta Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) Energy Agreement | Hot Take

    There are many takes on the big Carney-Smith energy agreement – we thought you could use one more. The new Canada–Alberta MOU unveiled last Thursday is already generating more chatter than a pipeline hearing, and has set off a fresh round of debate about economy, emissions, and where the country is headed on energy. The hot takes have been flying. Naturally, we couldn’t resist adding our own, so we grabbed the mics the next day to sort through what it all means. And because we weren’t the only ones buzzing after the news dropped, we’re also bringing you five on-the-ground reactions from attendees at EvC Calgary pop-up event the day the announcement landed. You’ll hear those right after ours — a kind of post-MOU tasting flight, if you will. Send us a text (if you'd like a response, please include your email) Follow us on: LinkedIn Bluesky X/Twitter Instagram Energy vs Climate relies on the support of our generous listeners Donate to keep Energy vs Climate going Produced by Bespoke Podcasts

    43 min

  7. SEASON 7 TRAILER

    Sara & Ed - Help Us Reach Our Annual Listener Fundraising Goal

    For us, delivering content about energy and climate is a labour of love – we put our time towards Energy vs Climate because we feel strongly about the public service benefit of the project.  But there are costs for our producer, website, Ed’s manicures, and more. (OK one of those isn’t true.) That's why this show relies on the support of generous donors, like our listeners. Please consider making a one-time or monthly donation to our annual donation campaign.  Your generosity directly pays for our production hard costs, and not Ed’s manicures. Further, as a project of the Academy for Sustainable Innovation (Charitable Business Registration Number 789760675R R0001), Energy vs Climate provides a charitable tax receipt for all donations over $10.  Many thanks and be well, David, Sara, and Ed Send us a text (if you'd like a response, please include your email) Follow us on: LinkedIn Bluesky X/Twitter Instagram Energy vs Climate relies on the support of our generous listeners Donate to keep Energy vs Climate going Produced by Bespoke Podcasts

    2 min

  8. 2025-11-19

    Rewiring a Nation of 1.4 Billion: India’s Energy Transition with Dr. Jai Asundi

    David, Sara, and Ed chat with Dr. Jai Asundi, Executive Director of the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP), an independent Indian think tank.  Dr. Asundi has been leading CSTEP since 2009, connecting data, modeling, and policy to tackle India's energy and climate challenges. They dive into India's electricity grid, the EV revolution, oil and gas dependency, and where energy meets geopolitics. About Our Guest Dr Jai Asundi is the Executive Director at the Center for Study of Science, Technology and Policy (CSTEP) in Bangalore, India. In the past decade he has been working on variety of problems where science and technology play a dominant role. He is a senior member of the IEEE and holds M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh where he is currently Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Engineering and Public Policy. References available on episode page Send us a text (if you'd like a response, please include your email) Follow us on: LinkedIn Bluesky X/Twitter Instagram Energy vs Climate relies on the support of our generous listeners Donate to keep Energy vs Climate going Produced by Bespoke Podcasts

    46 min
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Energy vs Climate is a live, interactive webinar and podcast where energy experts David Keith, Sara Hastings-Simon and Ed Whittingham break down the trade-offs and hard truths of the energy transition in Alberta, Canada, and beyond.  Guests include scientists, policy experts, and industry leaders discussing the forces reshaping our energy future—from breakthrough renewable technologies to the real-world impact of climate change. www.energyvsclimate.com Produced by Amit Tandon & Bespoke Podcasts

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