This month, 196 parties are converging in Cali, Colombia for the 16th United Nations Conference on Biological Diversity (COP16). Less famous but no less significant than its climate-focused sibling (which will take place in Baku, Azerbaijan, a few weeks later), COP16 offers a chance to negotiate and assess strategies for protecting global biodiversity, with a focus on implementing the targets agreed upon at COP15 in Montreal two years ago. That’s critical, because as one of today’s guests points out, 100% of global economic activity is based to some degree on nature.

To preview COP16, Dana is joined by Hugh Bromley, BNEF’s Head of Food, Agriculture and Nature, and team member Alistair Purdie. Together they discuss BNEF’s outlook for this meeting, published in the research note Expectations for Biodiversity COP16: Cali Fauna Dreamin'.They also discuss the funding gap for the Global Biodiversity Framework, the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, and the contentious issue of profiting from genetic data.

Links to research notes from this episode:

Public Research on Climate and Nature - https://about.bnef.com/bnef-climate-action/

Expectations for Biodiversity COP16: Cali Fauna Dreamin' - https://www.bnef.com/insights/35001

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Lithium-ion batteries, hydrogen electrolyzers and transmission lines all require one fundamental ingredient: metals. In other words, there can be no energy transition without massive metal supplies. Lithium demand jumps 17-fold by 2050 in BloombergNEF’s Net Zero Scenario. Manganese demand jumps 15-fold, and copper needs rise 4.5-fold against 2023 levels. Yet as demand skyrockets, supply growth is facing headwinds as low metals prices jeopardize important capacity additions.

On today’s show, Dana is joined by Rosemary Katz and Kwasi Ampofo from BNEF’s metals and mining team to discuss the 2024 Transition Metals Outlook. Their conversation focuses on the 10 metals critical to the energy transition, the link between cooling electric vehicle demand and falling metals prices, and whether the world has enough known metals reserves to meet 2050 net-zero targets.

Complementary BNEF research on the trends driving the transition to a lower-carbon economy can be found at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal or on bnef.com

Links to research notes from this episode:

Transition Metals Outlook 2024 - https://www.bnef.com/flagships/transition-metals-outlook

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Innovative climate tech is a key weapon in the battle to halt global warming, but finding the most effective new technologies isn’t always easy. Enter the BloombergNEF Pioneers. This annual award program identifies new tools for tackling three critical challenges in the transition to a low-carbon economy. This year’s awards focused on relieving bottlenecks in the deployment of clean power, decarbonizing the construction and operation of buildings, and creating the next generation of net-zero fuels. They also highlighted an array of ‘wildcard’ entries that were too compelling to ignore.

On today’s show, Dana is joined by guest host Benjamin Kafri, Co-Chair of BNEF Pioneers, to interview two winners from the net-zero fuels challenge, XFuel and CoverCress, and wildcard winner NatureMetrics. More information regarding the upcoming 2025 BNEF Pioneers program, including the three key challenges and submission deadlines, can be found at www.about.bnef.com/bnefpioneers/.

Complementary BNEF research on the trends driving the transition to a lower-carbon economy can be found at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal or on bnef.com

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Agriculture is responsible for almost a third of global emissions. It’s also a leading driver of deforestation, water stress and plastic waste generation, and pressure is mounting on food companies to address their climate and nature impacts. The value chain that underpins the sector, however, is vast, involving millions of individuals and tens of thousands of companies, which makes identifying and addressing areas of concern a huge challenge.

On today’s show, Dana Perkins hosts two analysts from BNEF’s Food, Agriculture and Nature team, Helen Ramsbottom and Alistair Purdie. Together they discuss the structure of the agri-food system, the challenges faced by large food companies when it comes to quantifying their true environmental footprint, the rising field of regenerative agriculture, and whether the lack of existing mandates is harming its adoption.

Complementary BNEF research on the trends driving the transition to a lower-carbon economy can be found at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal or on bnef.com

Links to research notes from this episode:

Corporate Sustainability in the Agri-Food System - https://www.bnef.com/insights/34305/view

Sustainable and Regenerative Agriculture: Company Targets - https://www.bnef.com/insights/34809

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Methane might be the world’s simplest hydrocarbon, but its immense global warming potential makes it a complex problem in the battle to halt climate change. It’s also invisible to the human eye, which has made catching the methane plumes leaking from oil and gas assets a challenge. That’s now changing, as a growing network of satellites offers more accurate evidence of methane leaks around the globe.

On today’s show, Dana Perkins speaks with Maria-Olivia Torcea from BNEF’s Oil Team. They discuss the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0, new methods of detecting methane, and how data is being used by those responsible for leaks.

Complementary BNEF research on the trends driving the transition to a lower-carbon economy can be found at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal or on bnef.com

Links to research notes from this episode:

Oil and Gas Methane Monitor: Super-Emitters in the US - https://www.bnef.com/insights/34535

Oil and Gas Methane Fix More Likely With Growing UN Group - https://www.bnef.com/insights/33675

The Methane Bill Facing US Oil and Gas - https://www.bnef.com/insights/31081

Gas With Low Methane Footprint to Grow to 45% of US Market - https://www.bnef.com/insights/33811

Tracing Methane Emissions From Oil, Gas and US Small Wells - https://www.bnef.com/insights/32979

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Extending energy access to the world’s most populous nation will be a Herculean task. To do it while also achieving its 2030 clean energy goals, India must increase its wind and solar capacity installations fourfold, highlighting just how much of a feat this energy transition will be.

On today’s episode, Rohit Gadre, a BloombergNEF Specialist, moderates a discussion at the BNEF Summit New Delhi on what it will take to realize India’s clean energy revolution. He is joined by panelists Giorgio Fortunato, Head of Clean Energy and Power in Asia Pacific for Google; Kavita Saha, Managing Director, Head of Infrastructure and Sustainable Energies, India for CPP Investments; Amit Singh, Chief Executive Officer, Adani Green Energy; and Gurdeep Singh, Chairman and Managing Director, NTPC Limited. Together they discuss the ongoing issue of underperforming renewable energy assets, the role of nuclear power in India’s future and why AI’s energy demand means there is no time to waste.

Today’s episode was recorded live at BNEF's New Delhi Summit. To learn more about our Summits and to listen to more interviews, please visit https://about.bnef.com/summit/

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International oil companies have been divesting assets at a surprising rate. Between 2015 and 2023, nine of the world’s largest IOCs have sold a total of $290 billion of assets, with upstream oil assets accounting for half of the divestment deals. Yet this trend toward ditching dirty assets may now be changing, as divestment proceeds dropped 15% last year.

On today’s show, co-hosts Dana Perkins and Tom Rowlands-Rees are joined by David Doherty, BloombergNEF’s Head of Oil and Renewable Fuels Research, to discuss the key factors that inform these decisions. As they consider the investment and divestment strategies that major oil and gas companies are now pursuing, they also discuss how public and investor pressure to decarbonize is impacting the sector, how a spike in energy prices in 2022 changed the calculus, and why simply selling dirty assets won’t make for a cleaner world. This episode draws on BNEF research, including the note Oil and Gas Divestment Trends 2023: Divestment Slowed.

Complementary BNEF research on the trends driving the transition to a lower-carbon economy can be found at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal or on bnef.com

Links to research notes from this episode:

Oil and Gas Divestment Trends 2023: Divestment Slowed - https://www.bnef.com/insights/34457

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Carbon capture is on a roller coaster these days. Projects in the sector attracted more than $11 billion in 2023, almost double the investment figure from the year before, only to see growth stall in the first half of 2024. Fortunately, carbon removal technology reaches beyond the traditional ‘CCS’ model of carbon capture and storage (or ‘CCUS’ when a utilization component is involved). Coming from a small base, direct air capture, or DAC, is gaining momentum, and new technologies such as direct ocean removal are proving to be hubs of innovation.

On today’s show, Brenna Casey, a member of BloombergNEF’s Sustainable Materials team, joins Dana to discuss new directions in carbon sequestration, how tax credits and other policies are shaping CCS projects around the globe, and what whales have to do with capturing carbon. The episode draws on BNEF research including CCUS Market Outlook 1H 2024: Trough of Disillusionment and Direct Air Capture’s Technology Battle to Heat Up in 2030s.

Complementary BNEF research on the trends driving the transition to a lower-carbon economy can be found at BNEF on the Bloomberg Terminal or on bnef.com

Links to research notes from this episode:

Tech Radar: Direct Ocean Carbon Dioxide Removal - https://www.bnef.com/insights/34401

CCUS Market Outlook 1H 2024: Trough of Disillusionment - https://www.bnef.com/insights/34161

Direct Air Capture’s Technology Battle to Heat Up in 2030s - https://www.bnef.com/insights/33877

Direct Air Capture Technologies: Primer - https://www.bnef.com/insights/33877

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.