Today's guest is Ketan Joshi, a writer, data analyst and communications consultant working on climate and energy.
Ketan Joshi has been at the forefront of clean energy for eight years, starting out as a data analyst working in wind energy, and expanding his knowledge base to community engagement, climate science and new energy technology. He’s written for the Guardian, The Monthly, ABC News and has penned several hundred blog posts digging into climate and energy issues, building a position as a respected and analytical energy commentator in Australia. Ketan is also the author of Windfall: Unlocking a Fossil Free Future, and has a large following on social media.
Before coming on the show, Ketan and Jason had a few heated exchanges on Twitter. Despite what appeared to be opposing views around climate, this conversation shed light on an important lesson about the polarization of social media platforms. When we actually take the time to meet and discuss these topics live, we might find out that we’re in agreement more than we think.
Enjoy!
In today’s episode, we cover:
Ketan's background and personal climate journey
His experience working in data science, communications, community engagement, and climate policy within organizations
How his feelings about climate and theory of change have evolved over time
The level of urgency of the climate crisis and the level of disruption we should expect in order to adequately address it
Our dependence on fossil fuels
The rate of change in emissions reductions and some of the impacts associated with doing it too quickly/slowly
Benefits of engaging community members in climate solutions
The role of corporate decision making in fossil reliant companies
How society impacts individual decision making
Benefits of reducing carbon emissions and examples where it's not easy to do
The role of natural gas in the clean energy transition
Ketan's thoughts about carbon removal and its role in the transition
Transforming carbon offsets
Ketan's thoughts on nuclear and if we should be deploying it at scale
Who he'd like to hear from