Time to Shift - English Edition

Time to Shift - English Edition

Time to Shift is originally a French podcast, produced by the Shifters, volunteers supporting the Shift Project, a French think tank advocating the shift to a post-carbon economy. The Shift Project is dedicated to informing and influencing the debate  on the energy transition in Europe through scientific rigor. Our team decided to do an English spin-off of the French podcast series, to  share the valuable insights and recommendations prepared by this community to a broader, non-French speaking audience. After all, climate  change is a global crisis. Many (if not all) of the actions in the fight against climate change will be relevant whether you live in France, the US, Peru, Malaysia or elsewhere.  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information. read less
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Episodes

#9 Adapting to Climate Change Impacts: A Review of the IPCC’s Key Messages
Nov 15 2022
#9 Adapting to Climate Change Impacts: A Review of the IPCC’s Key Messages
The summer of 2022 was a painful reminder of the destructive impacts that climate change can have on our societies and ecosystems. While Europe saw many of its forests burn to the ground during the hottest summer ever recorded, the world shockingly witnessed how unprecedented floodings in Pakistan almost put the entire country under water.  In line with what climate scientists have been saying for years, the consequences of climate change are already happening today and will likely increase in frequency and intensity as we move towards 1,5o C global warming. So, if this is the grim future awaiting us, surely we must be doing something to prepare for it, right? This episode will review the key messages of the IPCC’s report on “Climate change 2022: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerabilities”. We will reflect on the impacts on both natural and human systems, such as the loss of biodiversity, food supply and wet-bulb temperature, and address how climate adaptation can make us more resilient – and the remaining homework for the international community to get there.   Links to sources: Sky News, “Pakistan’s ‘worst-ever’ floods explained” (02.09.2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdJlIWJx12k&ab_channel=SkyNews">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdJlIWJx12k&ab_channel=SkyNews  IPCC AR6 WG II “Climate change 2022: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerabilities” (February 2022) : https://podcast.ausha.co/time-to-shift-english-edition/7-wood-and-climate-the-carbolympic-flame">https://podcast.ausha.co/time-to-shift-english-edition/7-wood-and-climate-the-carbolympic-flame  IPCC maps on vulnerability, biodiversity, wet-bulb temperatures: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12R7VEVh10jxIwdACSOSmJg7z6yGPM6T1/view?usp=share_link Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.
#7 Wood and Climate: the Carbolympic Flame
Aug 28 2022
#7 Wood and Climate: the Carbolympic Flame
This episode takes a closer look at the role of wood, specifically when it is beneficial to use as a renewable energy source and material in our fight against climate change - and when it is not. Although wood is often perceived as an environmentally friendly alternative to fossil fuels - a preconception still widely present in political debates around Europe - there are significant negative impacts associated with burning wood for energy purposes, such as higher carbon emissions and deforestation. In order to better understand the complex synergies that the use of wood can have on the climate and the environment, we will look at a study by the Shift Project to identify the most climate-friendly applications of wood and which technological alternatives exist to help us reach carbon-neutrality without cutting down our green forests.   Sources: Draft report by European Parliament (ITRE, Markus Pieper) on the revision of the Renewable Energy Directive of the EU, 14 February 2021: https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/ITRE-PR-719550_EN.pdf">https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/ITRE-PR-719550_EN.pdf Letter regarding use of forests for bioenergy, 11 February 2021: https://www.wwf.eu/?2128466%2F500-scientists-tell-EU-to-end-tree-burning-for-energy">https://www.wwf.eu/?2128466%2F500-scientists-tell-EU-to-end-tree-burning-for-energy  Lallemand et Guérin (2017): Quel avenir pour la forêt européenne face au changement climatique et à l’objectif de neutralité carbone? (French only) http://documents.irevues.inist.fr/bitstream/handle/2042/65341/RFF_2017_69_3_259_271_lallemand.pdf?sequence=1">http://documents.irevues.inist.fr/bitstream/handle/2042/65341/RFF_2017_69_3_259_271_lallemand.pdf?sequence=1  Plan de transformation de l’économie française: Focus sur la forêt et le bois, The ShiftProject (French only): https://theshiftproject.org/plan-de-transformation-de-leconomie-francaise-focus-sur-la-foret-et-le-bois/">https://theshiftproject.org/plan-de-transformation-de-leconomie-francaise-focus-sur-la-foret-et-le-bois/  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.
#6 Mitigating Climate Change: The Last Sequel of the IPCC’s 6th Assessment Report
Jul 11 2022
#6 Mitigating Climate Change: The Last Sequel of the IPCC’s 6th Assessment Report
Have you heard about the latest IPCC report on climate change mitigation, but felt intimidated going through  a few thousand pages of scientific literature? We get it. If you want to get an idea of its key messages in less than 20 minutes, you’ve come to the right place! The IPCC Working Group 3’S contribution to the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) provides an updated assessment on how we - as a global society - are progressing with mitigating climate change and which technological solutions are available to bring worldwide emission reductions in line with the 1.5°C global warming target. It also sheds new light on some of the social aspects of climate mitigation, such as how our individual consumption drives emissions growth. If you feel that you need to freshen up your knowledge on what climate change is and its fundamental consequences for the environment and our society, we recommend listening to our previous episode on the first sequel of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6): https://smartlink.ausha.co/time-to-shift-english-edition/1-unders .   Here are some of the key findings from the report: If we phase out fossil fuels at a great pace - preferably already by the end of this decade - we still have a chance to meet the 1.5 °C target. The costs of several low-emission technologies, including for solar and wind energy and for batteries have fallen continuously since 2010, increasing the economic attractiveness of low-emission energy sector transitions through 2030. .Reducing emissions today will be less expensive and less damaging for the climate than relying on carbon removal technologies in the future.Demand-side measures and new ways of end-use service provision can reduce global GHG emissions in end use sectors by 40-70% by 2050 compared to baseline scenarios.By reducing and changing our personal consumption, we can become empowered citizens actively contributing to climate mitigation. For the full report: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3 .You can also find the Summary for Policymakers here: https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_SPM.pdf . Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.
#3 Greenwashing: why is it inevitable and how to spot it
Mar 11 2022
#3 Greenwashing: why is it inevitable and how to spot it
Is greenwashing a threat to sustainability? Yes, especially when well-concealed. In this episode, we start off by defining greenwashing as the advertisement of practices which would, according to the announcements of a company, allow us to respect the Paris Agreement (limiting global warming to 2°C) when reality indicates otherwise.     It really isn’t easy for a company to respect the Paris Agreement when it’s aim is to grow… Find out why greenwashing is everywhere, and how to spot it easily with a few rules of thumb!  This episode is based on work carried out by the Shifters. Thank you to Clément Boyer for his support and help along the way.  Sources:  Air France announcement: https://corporate.airfrance.com/en/press-release/air-france-proactively-offset-100-co2-emissions-its-domestic-flights-january-1st-2020  DPD claim (French version) https://www.dpd.com/fr/fr/drivingchange-nos-engagements-rse/engagement-neutralite-carbone/demarche-neutralite-carbone/  Porsche claim investigation (only available in French) https://www.carbone4.com/porsche-a-reduit-de-75-emissions-de-fabrication-voitures-2014  L’Oréal progress report: https://www.loreal-paris.co.uk/sustainability  Note: L’Oréal plans to reduce their emissions per product by 2030 compared to 2016, hence not making any claims regarding the future of its absolute emissions, and with it any claims to aim to respect the Paris Agreement  Carbon offsetting note: https://jancovici.com/en/climate-change/ghg-and-carbon-cycle/cant-we-just-grow-forests-to-compensate-for-our-co2-emissions/  Hosted by Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.