181. “Hot Air” from Tony Blair - May25
Redefining Energy26 Touko 2025

181. “Hot Air” from Tony Blair - May25

The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) recently released a widely publicized report titled “The Climate Paradox”, which has garnered significant positive attention from outlets such as the Guardian, the BBC, the Financial Times, Bloomberg, and much of the European press.

Beginning with the statement, “Climate action has reached an impasse,” the report, authored by Lindy Fursman (who holds a PhD in Sociology from UC Berkeley), outlines several key “facts” that have been effectively debunked by experts like Michael Liebreich in his Substack and Michael Barnard in Cleantechnica.

The TBI concludes with a series of recommendations, the most prominent being the call to “accelerate and scale technologies that capture carbon, alongside significant investments in engineered carbon-dioxide removal technologies, including direct air capture (DAC) solutions”. To emphasize this message, the cover of TBI’s report features an image of Climeworks’ plant in Iceland. Climeworks, a Swiss engineering company with 500 employees, has received $800 million in equity and subsidies from major players such as Partners Group, the GIC (Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund), Baillie Gifford (an early investor in Tesla), Swiss Re, and Microsoft.

However, last week, Climeworks faced a major setback when it was revealed that despite receiving substantial funding, the company had only captured 105 tonnes of CO2—not 105,000, but just 105 tonnes (less than a single flight London – New York) —despite the strong backing of tech giants like Stripe, Microsoft and Shopify.

This revelation has sparked widespread concern and warranted a prompt discussion with Laurent Segalen, Gerard Reid and Michael Barnard to assess the implications. The conversation will explore the credibility of the TBI’s stance on energy, the broader potential of DAC, and whether this technology is, in fact, a case of "Deception, Amateurism, and Con."

Links:
Michael Liebreich substack:
https://mliebreich.substack.com/p/why-tony-blair-needs-to-reset-his
Michael Barnard Cleantechnica
https://cleantechnica.com/2025/05/05/tony-blairs-new-climate-reset-report-promotes-delay-not-action/
https://cleantechnica.com/2025/05/15/climeworks-dac-fiscal-collapse-the-brutal-reality-of-pulling-carbon-from-the-sky/

Jaksot(174)

127. Live from Berlin – “Are Renewables still an Infrastructure Play” with Markus Wandt, CIO Aquila Capital

127. Live from Berlin – “Are Renewables still an Infrastructure Play” with Markus Wandt, CIO Aquila Capital

This week, Gerard and Laurent have been invited to a private event organized by Aquila Capital in March 2024, during the Global Infrastructure Conference, where they debate with Markus Wandt, CIO Aqui...

8 Huhti 202421min

126. Grid-Enhancing Technologies - Apr24

126. Grid-Enhancing Technologies - Apr24

The main hindrance to the development of renewables is the connection queue. Basically, grid operators tell developers “Sorry guys, we’re full”. A recent study by RMI has proven that this is simply no...

1 Huhti 202430min

125. From Houston to Berlin (via Bilbao), Better Days!

125. From Houston to Berlin (via Bilbao), Better Days!

This week, Gerard and Laurent talk about the 3 big energy gatherings that happened this week. Houston (CERAweek), Bilbao (WindEurope) and Berlin (Global Infrastructure Summit). Laurent and Gerard were...

25 Maalis 202411min

124. The challenging Energy Transition of Japan - Mar24

124. The challenging Energy Transition of Japan - Mar24

“It’s hard to play a good game when you have been served weak cards”. This is the perennial challenge of Japan when it comes to the Energy Transition. And the game is getting harder when your two main...

18 Maalis 202429min

123. Conferences and Exhibitions

123. Conferences and Exhibitions

This week, Gerard and Laurent talk about Conferences / Exhibition that they recently attended and what they have learned there. Gerard was in Germany’s E-World while Laurent was in London’s Energy Sto...

11 Maalis 20249min

122. The EV fast-charging revolution - Mar24

122. The EV fast-charging revolution - Mar24

The two limiting factors for a faster deployment of EVs are the price of vehicles and “range anxiety”. While the former is being addressed by an ever-growing number of cheaper models available on the ...

4 Maalis 202430min

121. Data, data and data

121. Data, data and data

This week, Gerard and Laurent talk about three great reports that have recently been published and deliver some world-class data about past achievements, current status and the direction of travel. As...

26 Helmi 20249min

120. The new value of green power and PPAs - Feb24

120. The new value of green power and PPAs - Feb24

To discuss everything that’s going on in the PPA market (and a lot of things are happening), Gerard and Laurent bring back the excellent Luca Pedretti, CEO and co-founder Pexapark. Pexapark is the lea...

19 Helmi 202431min

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