The Roadblocks Aren't Technical. They're Political.

Of all the different ways we can act to help mitigate climate change, with what we eat, how we build and what we buy, nothing is more critical to climate change than the urgent need to transition away from carbon-intensive fossil fuels. That is why our third series of conversations on Climate360º focuses squarely on clean energy and the end of coal, oil and gas.

Our first guest is a powerful and uncompromising voice for that transition. Saul Griffith is an MIT-trained engineer, founder of Rewiring Australia and Rewiring America, recipient of the MacArthur “Genius Grant”, and the author of The Big Switch — a blueprint for electrifying Australia from the power grid to the family car. He is, in short, a force of nature.

Interestingly, Griffith now spends less time in the lab than he once did. While there is still important work to be done, improving clean energy technologies, driving down costs, expanding their reach, Griffith argues that the big challenges are no longer primarily technical. Policy is the battleground now, not the lab.

This may be a good thing. After all, politicians are answerable to the electorate. You.

Without underestimating the scale of change that is needed, and without letting the big polluters off the hook, Griffith emphasises how much agency ordinary people hold. How we spend our money, who we vote for, what products we support, and what we choose to be informed by — all of it has the potential to move the dial on climate action, and on the speed with which we can complete the transition to clean energy.

Learn more about Saul’s work by subscribing to his podcast The Shameless Plug, visiting his website rewiringaustralia.org or subscribing to his blog on Substack!

Saul Griffith Andrew Mackenzie