Environmentality 29 October 2014, Dr Stephen Bygrave, CEO, Beyond Zero Emissions

Well what can be said about this week’s show… Brilliant, informative, intelligent, inspiring and at the same time, devastating. Here’s why:

This week we were fortunate enough to be speaking with Beyond Zero Emissions CEO, Dr Stephen Bygrave. For those unaware of or unfamiliar with Beyond Zero Emission (BZE), they are a not-for-profit research and education organisation doing fantastic work designing and implementing a zero emissions economy for Australia. The organisation oozes ambition but it is more than just their vision that makes this organisation stand out. Their ongoing partnership with the University of Melbourne Energy Research Institute has produced a number of high quality plans, reports and publications provided free of charge through their website bze.org.au.

On the show this week we had a good discussion with Stephen about BZE’s most recent release Land Use: Agriculture and Forestry which details how emissions from agriculture and forestry can be reduced to zero net emissions. Following this discussion, we moved onto the Stationary Energy Plan detailing how 100% renewable energy is both achievable and affordable and can be done within 10 years. We finished the show discussing the High Speed Rail report which is a fully detailed feasibility study into a high speed rail service between Melbourne-Canberra-Sydney-Brisbane.

All this discussion was “brilliant, informative, intelligent, inspiring” and those who were listening live I’m sure would agree. Now the “devastating” part of this week’s show is that the recoding has been lost, and by lost I mean it was never recorded due to a problem with the radio stations data logger which we discovered during our post show high fives and back patting. After some tears, we managed to pull ourselves together and be grateful for the opportunity to speak with Dr Stephen Bygrave and the benefits that brought to the live audience. Unfortunately our blog subscribers and podcast downloaders will miss this gem UNLESS someone out there in the wide world who reads this blog managed to record the show? Please let us know.

All I can suggest is that you get onto the BZE website, have a look through the work they have already produced, follow BZE on twitter and Facebook and spread the word about this organisation as they will be in the headlines more and more over the coming months and years.

Some links worth having a look through:

Agriculture and Forestry: hidden emissions, solutions in plain sight. An article by our guest Stephen published in RenewEconomy last week.

High-speed rail: Australia could build network for more than $30 billion less, according to Beyond Zero Emissions. A great article appearing on news.com.au summarising the report and all the latest developments when it comes to potential implementation.

The freedom revolution to kill power bill confusion. Another piece by our guest Stephen published in Climate Spectator in July. This article provides the background to an initiative of BZE called Energy Freedom, check it out!

Next week on the show we will be having a chat with Greens candidate for Broadmeadows, Jaime De Loma.

Music Tracks from this week:

Heart Out by The 1975

You Give Me Something by Jamiroquai