Climate Confident

Tom Raftery

Climate Confident is the podcast for business leaders, policy-makers, and climate tech professionals who want real, practical strategies for slashing emissions, fast. Every Wednesday at 7am CET, I sit down with the people doing the work, executives, engineers, scientists, innovators, to unpack how they’re driving measurable climate action across industries, from energy and transport to supply chains, agriculture, and beyond. This isn’t about vague pledges or greenwashing. It’s about what’s working, and what isn’t, so you can make smarter decisions, faster. We cover: Scalable solutions in energy, mobility, food, and financeThe politics and policies shaping the energy transitionTools and tech transforming climate accountability and riskHard truths, bold ideas, and real-world success stories 👉 Climate Confident+ subscribers get full access to the complete archive, 230+ episodes of deep, data-driven insights. 🎧 Not ready to subscribe? No worries, you’ll still get the most recent 30 days of episodes for free. Want to shape the conversation? I’d love to hear from you. Drop me a line anytime at Tom@tomraftery.com - whether it’s feedback, a guest suggestion, or just a hello. Ready to stop doomscrolling and start climate-doing? Hit follow and let’s get to work.

Episodes

  1. Decarbonising Heat: Why Half of Industrial Energy Is Ripe for Reinvention

    3D AGO

    Decarbonising Heat: Why Half of Industrial Energy Is Ripe for Reinvention

    Send me a message Most people never think about industrial heat. Yet half of all manufacturing emissions come from it. My guest this week, Addison Stark, CEO and co-founder of AtmosZero, is on a mission to electrify one of the dirtiest, most overlooked pieces of infrastructure on Earth: the steam boiler. In this episode, Addison and I uncover how a technology unchanged since the 1860s can finally go clean. We talk about the hidden carbon footprint of steam, why “waste heat recovery” can actually slow progress, and how heat-pump boilers can cut industrial energy use in half while delivering zero-emission steam. You’ll hear how his team’s first installation at a Colorado brewery is already brewing beer with carbon-free heat, proof that decarbonisation doesn’t have to mean disruption. We also explore the bigger picture: how electrified heat could transform everything from food and pharma to chemicals and cosmetics, why Europe’s gas crisis is accelerating the shift, and what policy tweaks could make clean steam the default everywhere. If you’ve ever wondered how to decarbonise the “hard-to-abate” sectors, this is the episode you’ve been waiting for. 🎙️ Listen now to hear how AtmosZero is re-engineering industrial heat for a zero-carbon future. Podcast supporters I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Cecilia Skarupa Ben Gross Jerry Sweeney Andreas Werner Stephen Carroll Roger Arnold And remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. Contact If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - get in touch via direct message on Twitter/LinkedIn. If you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show. Credits Music credits - Intro by Joseph McDade, and Outro music for this podcast was composed, played, and produced by my daughter Luna Juniper

    49 min
  2. Microgrids, Hydrogen, and the End of Fossil Fuels

    NOV 5

    Microgrids, Hydrogen, and the End of Fossil Fuels

    Send me a message What if business, not politics, held the real key to ending the climate crisis? In this week’s episode, I sit down with Rinaldo Brutoco, founder and CEO of the World Business Academy, to explore a radical but beautifully simple idea: that stakeholder capitalism - where companies serve people and planet, not just shareholders, can actually outperform the old profit-only model. Rinaldo’s been proving it for decades, from helping shut down a dangerous nuclear plant in California to showing how responsible companies consistently beat the market. You’ll hear how he believes we can replace 100% of fossil fuels in California within ten years, at lower cost than maintaining the current grid. We unpack why distributed microgrids could end blackouts and wildfires, how geothermal energy is finally having its moment, and why green hydrogen, done right, could power the next industrial era. You might be surprised by Rinaldo’s blunt take on corporate inertia, his optimism about AI as a tool for truth (not hype), and his warning that business must act now or face a market collapse of its own making. This is one of those wide-ranging, perspective-shifting conversations that’ll make you rethink who’s really steering the energy transition, and why it has to be the private sector leading the charge. 🎙️ Listen now to hear how Rinaldo Brutoco and the World Business Academy are redefining what profitable climate leadership looks like. Podcast supporters I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Cecilia Skarupa Ben Gross Jerry Sweeney Andreas Werner Stephen Carroll Roger Arnold And remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. Contact If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - get in touch via direct message on Twitter/LinkedIn. If you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show. Credits Music credits - Intro by Joseph McDade, and Outro music for this podcast was composed, played, and produced by my daughter Luna Juniper

    1h 1m
  3. The 60 Million Home Challenge: Inside Zero Homes’ Plan to Electrify America

    OCT 29

    The 60 Million Home Challenge: Inside Zero Homes’ Plan to Electrify America

    Send me a message What if upgrading your home to be climate-friendly was as simple as scanning it with your phone? In this week’s episode of the Climate Confident Podcast, I talk with Grant Gunnison, founder and CEO of Zero Homes - a former NASA and MIT engineer who’s now tackling one of climate tech’s toughest challenges: decarbonising existing homes. His company uses smartphone scans and digital twins to design fully-scoped, permit-ready electrification plans - no site visit, no clipboard, no chaos. You’ll hear how Grant’s team is cutting out the “truck rolls” that make home upgrades expensive and slow, saving homeowners money while helping contractors stay profitable. We dig into why electrifying 60 million U.S. homes is both an engineering nightmare and a golden opportunity, and how technology, not policy alone, can finally make it scale. We also unpack the human side: what really motivates homeowners to switch to heat pumps, why induction cooking is a secret health win, and how removing the awkwardness of having strangers poke around your home can actually accelerate climate action. 🎙️ Listen now to hear how Zero Homes is reshaping the future of home electrification - making sustainable living smarter, faster, and far more comfortable. Podcast supporters I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Cecilia Skarupa Ben Gross Jerry Sweeney Andreas Werner Stephen Carroll Roger Arnold And remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. Contact If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - get in touch via direct message on Twitter/LinkedIn. If you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show. Credits Music credits - Intro by Joseph McDade, and Outro music for this podcast was composed, played, and produced by my daughter Luna Juniper

    44 min
  4. Why Traditional VC Is Failing the Climate, and What Comes Next

    OCT 22

    Why Traditional VC Is Failing the Climate, and What Comes Next

    Send me a message In this week’s episode of Climate Confident, I sat down with Johanna Wolfson, co-founder and general partner at Azolla Ventures, to talk about how we can rethink climate-tech investing - not as a game of chasing returns, but as a mission to fund what truly matters. Johanna’s firm takes a bold approach using catalytic capital, money that embraces higher risk to bring breakthrough technologies from lab to market. We explored why that matters right now, as parts of the venture community hesitate just when the planet has, as she put it, “negative time to spare.” We dug into the uncomfortable truth: the pull of the “returns-first” mindset is still powerful, even in climate investing. But Johanna makes a compelling case for impact-first capital that can back ideas others won’t touch, from gigaton-scale carbon removal to early-stage innovations in shipping, geothermal, and bioplastics. She also flagged two blind spots investors urgently need to address: methane and nitrous oxide, gases far more potent than CO₂ yet largely ignored - and the coming wave of adaptation and resilience tech as climate impacts intensify. This conversation will make you think differently about where climate capital flows, who it serves, and what true impact investing looks like in a world that can’t afford to wait. 🎧 Listen now to hear how Azolla Ventures is rewriting the rules of climate finance, and why the next frontier may be investing in resilience itself. Keywords: climate tech investing, catalytic capital, climate finance, venture capital, methane reduction, resilience technology, impact investing, Azolla Ventures, gigaton-scale emissions reduction, Climate Confident podcast Podcast supporters I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers: Cecilia Skarupa Ben Gross Jerry Sweeney Andreas Werner Stephen Carroll Roger Arnold And remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes. Contact If you have any comments/suggestions or questions for the podcast - get in touch via direct message on Twitter/LinkedIn. If you liked this show, please don't forget to rate and/or review it. It makes a big difference to help new people discover the show. Credits Music credits - Intro by Joseph McDade, and Outro music for this podcast was composed, played, and produced by my daughter Luna Juniper

    43 min
  • 4 Episodes

5
out of 5
25 Ratings

About

Climate Confident is the podcast for business leaders, policy-makers, and climate tech professionals who want real, practical strategies for slashing emissions, fast. Every Wednesday at 7am CET, I sit down with the people doing the work, executives, engineers, scientists, innovators, to unpack how they’re driving measurable climate action across industries, from energy and transport to supply chains, agriculture, and beyond. This isn’t about vague pledges or greenwashing. It’s about what’s working, and what isn’t, so you can make smarter decisions, faster. We cover: Scalable solutions in energy, mobility, food, and financeThe politics and policies shaping the energy transitionTools and tech transforming climate accountability and riskHard truths, bold ideas, and real-world success stories 👉 Climate Confident+ subscribers get full access to the complete archive, 230+ episodes of deep, data-driven insights. 🎧 Not ready to subscribe? No worries, you’ll still get the most recent 30 days of episodes for free. Want to shape the conversation? I’d love to hear from you. Drop me a line anytime at Tom@tomraftery.com - whether it’s feedback, a guest suggestion, or just a hello. Ready to stop doomscrolling and start climate-doing? Hit follow and let’s get to work.

Information

  • Creator
    Tom Raftery
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2025
  • Episodes
    4
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025 Climate Confident
  • Show Website
    Climate Confident

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