In this episode, I'm chatting to Nick Oldridge, founder of Climate Science Breakthrough, and co-founder of the National Emergency Briefing. What Nick has done with both of those projects, as you will here, is incredible, but I'm also really fascinated in his back story and his journey to where he is now (side note, really think I need to do an episode on insurance as a lever for climate action!). I ummed and ahhed about whether to publish this episode so early in the re-launch, as (spoiler alert) some of it is pretty bleak, almost right out of the gate. I'm a big fan of focussing on action and the things that we can do, and I'm very aware that confronting the reality of where we are can be overwhelming and paralysing. However, as Nick says, I think it's important that we don't hide from that reality, and that we find a way to channel our anxiety into action, and use it as motivation to keep taking the next steps. The Climate Science Breakthrough videos are brilliant - I've linked to them all below. They're all just 4 or 5 minutes long, and do that really clever thing where they're delivering a pretty brutal message, but somehow making you laugh at the same time. The National Emergency Briefing videos are now all online - I'm working up the courage to watch them if I'm totally honest, and trying to figure out a way to maybe host a 'watch party' so we can all be in it together. If you're interested in that, let me know! I do think it's important that the videos are watched and shared and that we all understand quite what is at stake. But even more important I think, is that the Briefings result in action, ideally from the Government, but we 'ordinary people' will need to take action to make that happen. I've linked below to the Take Action page, the good news is that all of them can be done from the sofa! In the first episode of this podcast reboot, I dived in a little bit into the individual change vs system change debate. And as an individual, system change often feels like this nebulous thing that we agree needs to happen, but that we're not quite sure how that happens, or the role that we can play. The National Emergency Briefing is a route to system change, and gives us really clear ways that we as individuals can get involved. And as I said, they're not big asks, doing all of them would take less than 10 minutes and you don't even need to leave your house. And in the podcast, Nick shares that apparently once MPs receive around 20 emails (from different people!) on the same subject, it makes them start to sit up and pay a bit more attention. That number feels do-able - how many people do you know local to you, who you might be able to encourage to send your MP an email? Finally, a quick mention of the Crowdfunder, which at the time of this podcast dropping, is at over £70,000 and nearly halfway to the target. Frustratingly (but good news for the crowdfunder!) the cheaper rewards have all sold out, but that doesn't mean you still can't donate whatever amount you might feel able to. And as Nick says in the podcast, times are tight, and if you aren't able to donate, please do share it on your social feeds. Nick Oldridge LISTEN... USEFUL LINKS: Climate Science Breakthrough - Kiri Pritchard-McLean meets Prof Bill McGuire - Jonathon Pie meets Prof Joanna Haigh - Nish Kumar meets Prof Fredi Otto - Jo Brand meets Prof Mark Maslin - US version - David Cross meets Prof Michael OppenheimerNaturesaveHeat by George MonbiotThe Stern Review - the Economics of Climate ChangePlanet solvency: study by reseachers at the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries (IFoA) and the University of ExeterThe Utopia BureauAngus Rose podcastZero HourMP WatchNational Emergency Briefing - Take action - The videos on You TubeClimate OutreachLiquefied natural gas footprint is worse than coalThe People V Climate Change - doesn't seem to be currently available on iPlayer Your Brain on Climate - how to talk about the climate emergencyMPs underestimate support for climate policies - GuardianClimate Change: The Facts - David Attenborough documentaryRutger Bregman - Reith Lectures 2025 Have you watched any of the videos - either the Climate Science Breakthrough ones, or the National Emergency Briefing ones? What do you think of my idea of online watch parties. And most importantly, have you done any of the 5 things on the Take Action page of the National Emergency Briefing website? Do it now! […]
