Eight Minutes
Quick and concise, Eight Minutes covers everything that's happening in climate action and the energy transition. We tackle the complexity of the changes happening in our world and make it easy, and quick, for anyone to understand.
Our sister podcast, More Than Eight Minutes, includes the extended versions with our guests for anyone who wants to go a level deeper into these issues.
Episodes
95 episodes
Project 2025 (Part 2) - Episode 96
In this follow-up episode to last week's overview of Project 2025's climate related suggestions, Paul digs deeper into some other recommendations of the conservative roadmap, including its emphasis of national security as well as its animosity ...
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Season 2
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Episode 96
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10:59
Project 2025 (Part 1) - Episode 95
In this first of two parts, Paul takes a deeper dive into the climate implications of the conservative policy playbook, Project 2025. Paul unpacks how the document lays out a vision for a smaller federal government, and how doing so may impact ...
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Season 2
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Episode 95
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9:55
VPPs and Commercial Buildings as Grid Assets (Courtney Blodgett - Edo) - Episode 94
The demand for electricity continues to go up. But instead of relying upon utilities to build more dirtier gas and oil fired power plants, a more novel approach is emerging. These Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) aggregate together a number of resid...
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Season 2
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Episode 94
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8:09
Tax Credit Transferability - Episode 93
In order for the IRA to realize all of the benefits from the subsidies it allocated to renewable energy and advanced manufacturing, the legislation needed to revise how tax credits were going to work. The traditional form of tax equity financin...
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Season 2
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Episode 93
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7:50
Ocean Based Carbon Removal Solutions - Episode 92
The ocean is already a huge carbon sink - and it could do even more. A burgeoning industry of carbon removal solutions, looking to leverage the enormous potential of our marine system, is starting to emerge.Paul looks at how our oceans ...
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Season 2
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Episode 92
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7:14
The Nuclear ADVANCE Act - Episode 91
The nuclear industry achieved something remarkable in July - full bipartisan support of new legislation aimed at supercharging growth of this clean energy technology.Paul digs into the specifics of the ADVANCE act, why it makes sense fo...
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Season 2
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Episode 91
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7:41
Market Based vs Location Based Emissions Accounting Rules - Episode 90
Let's get into the wonky world of emissions accounting, where the corporate standard for reporting is in the process of being refined. The GHG Protocol Corporate Standard has solicited input into whether a market-based or location-based approac...
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Season 2
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Episode 90
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8:18
Where the Energy Transition is Succeeding - Episode 89
While we talk a lot about the energy "transition", some countries have already fully pivoted to renewable power. In this episode, Paul takes a look at how these countries were able to successfully make the change, while outlining a few common l...
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Season 2
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Episode 89
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7:07
The Interconnection Queue is Broken - Episode 88
The US has enough renewable energy stuck in the permitting process to fully replace every single gas and coal facility on the current power grid. But the interconnection process, a convoluted analysis of impact, costs, siting and permitting req...
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Season 2
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Episode 88
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7:42
Embodied Carbon - Episode 87
In this episode, Paul discusses why the up-front emissions of new products and new construction can be so important in climate activity. These locked-in, embedded emissions could account for up to a quarter of the globe's total carbon - and ove...
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Season 2
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Episode 87
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7:33
Interpreting Media Coverage of Climate Action - Episode 86
It seems that every day we see another media article about the growth (or demise) of climate action. So - what's really going on? In this episode, Paul provides some perspective and critical analysis of recent media headlines in order to fully ...
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Season 2
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Episode 86
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9:01
California's Changing Net Metering Structures (Stephanie Doyle - SEIA) - Episode 85
In this episode, Paul sits with Stephanie Doyle, the California State Affairs Director for the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), to discuss the changes that California has implemented to their net metering tariff for rooftop solar.
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Season 2
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Episode 85
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9:36
The Maturing Battery Recycling Market - Episode 84
With all of the success of the global EV car market comes a looming question in a few years - what do we do with all of those batteries at a car's end-of-life?While it may be a small industry today, the EV battery recycling market is po...
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Season 2
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Episode 84
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7:49
What's Going On With ESG? - Episode 83
ESG investing may be going through a bit of a rocky patch, these days, but the investment tool is hardly dead. Rather, the importance of ESG non-financial reporting is more important than ever as stakeholders are looking for the potentially cri...
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Season 2
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Episode 83
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8:26
The Emerging Battery Belt of the US - Episode 82
Spurred by investment incentives from the IRA, a manufacturing renaissance is emerging along the I-75 corridor between Michigan and Georgia. Huge investments into battery manufacturing facilities are tapping into existing automotive infrastruct...
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Season 2
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Episode 82
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7:52
China's Dominance in Clean Tech Supply - Episode 81
China is not only the global leader in developing renewable energy, but they maintain a huge competitive advantage in clean tech manufacturing and supply. From solar panels to wind turbines to raw minerals and EVs, China supplies the globe with...
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Season 2
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Episode 81
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8:37
The Rise of the Lowly Electric Meter (AMI) - Episode 80
The electric meter is one of the foundational backbones of the energy transition. And today's meters do so much more than simply measure and report on the amount of energy being consumed at a site. Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) provide...
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Season 2
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Episode 80
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7:39
Building Climate Resiliency into an Organization - Episode 79
In this episode, Paul discusses some examples of how companies, cities, farms and other entities are adapting their strategies to cope with climate change. As the threat from extreme weather events increases, ensuring that an organization is re...
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Season 2
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Episode 79
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7:29
New York's Cap & Invest Program (Karsten Barde - National Grid) - Episode 78
In order to meet the ambitious climate goals as enshrined in New York's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act (CLCPA), the state is about to embark upon a far reaching program to ratchet down emissions from heavy emitters. The Cap and...
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Season 2
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Episode 78
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9:22
Headwinds for the Offshore Wind Industry - Episode 77
There's a lot going on in the offshore wind market in the US these days. Multiple projects have had to renegotiate or even outright cancel their power purchase agreements.In today's episode, Paul takes a closer look at the reasons behin...
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Season 2
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Episode 77
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7:18
How Climate Change is Affecting Renewable Generator Production - Episode 76
The amount of renewable generation that is forecasted to come online over the next few years is staggering. But renewable assets face risks - risks associated with the changing climate in the first place. As weather patterns change, affecting c...
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Season 2
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Episode 76
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7:31
How Green Bank Financing Bridges the Risk Gap for Clean Energy Projects - Episode 75
There are over 20 Green Banks spread across the US, designed to deploy clean energy technologies and ensure equitable access to the clean energy economy. These quasi-public institutions play an important role in bridging a risk gap between what...
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Season 2
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Episode 75
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7:47
Science Based Targets - Episode 74
If there is a gold standard for setting corporate climate goals, it's a science based target. These commitments are a rigorous, methodical approach toward ensuring that we stay below the 2 degree warming threshold.In today's episode, Pa...
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Season 2
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Episode 74
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9:07
The Role and Need for Philanthropy in Climate Action (Randall Kempner - The Aspen Institute) - Episode 73
Philanthropic giving to climate related causes is woefully small. But charitable dollars have a really important role to play because of their flexibility and different motivations. They can catalyze investment in areas where private or governm...
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Season 2
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Episode 73
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8:16
Decarbonizing Freight & Trucking (Mike Roeth - NACFE) - Episode 72
Paul sits with Mike Roeth of the North American Council for Freight Efficiency (NACFE) to discuss the current state of trucking and how that industry is decarbonizing. Although trucks only account for 5-10% of the vehicles on the road, they con...
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Season 2
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Episode 72
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9:19