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Fossil vs Future

Fossil vs Future

By: James Cameron and Daisy Nicholls
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 This is Fossil vs Future, a warm conversation between generations on climate change. - Each podcast episode will be focusing on a different climate-related challenge, as godfather and goddaughter, James and Daisy, share their individual experiences and perspectives, with the hope of fostering understanding between generations. - James is at the later stage of his working life dedicated to dealing with climate change, through law, finance, and social entrepreneurship, and Daisy is at an earlier stage of her career, equally focused on the climate and how to drive systemic change through her experience in the finance, business, and non-profit sectors. - We want to use intergenerational dialogue as a tool to learn, inspire, and get stuff done! - LinkedIn | https://www.linkedin.com/company/fossil-vs-future Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/fossil_vs_future TikTok | https://www.tiktok.com/@fossil_vs_future© 2026 James Cameron and Daisy Nicholls Biological Sciences Earth Sciences Science
Episodes
  • WHAT ABOUT COP31? FT. BULA COP31! (PART TWO)

    WHAT ABOUT COP31? FT. BULA COP31! (PART TWO)
    Apr 14 2026
    This is part two of our collaboration with Bula COP31! We recommend listening to part one first. This November, Türkiye hosts COP31 with Australia leading the negotiations. In this cross-continental episode, James and Daisy are joined by Jack Whelan and Heidi Dumesich (hosts of Bula COP31!) for an intergenerational conversation on what we hope to see from this year’s conference. What will make it onto the Action Agenda? What is the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty? And what should the COP31 closing speech say? SOME RECOMMENDATIONS: BulaCOP31! – To learn more about what it means for Australia and Türkiye to co-host COP31, listen to Jack and Heidi’s podcast.OTHER ADVOCATES AND RESOURCES:COP31 – Türkiye will be the formal COP31 President while Australia will serve as the President of Negotiations.COP30 (2026) – The Action Agenda is the space for actors who do not negotiate, but who are essential for implementation. The COP30 Action Agenda was organized around six thematic pillars and the “Five Year Vision” established a framework to guide the acceleration of Paris Agreement implementation between 2026 and 2030. Climate Watch – 62 countries have yet to submit updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).Pacific Resilience Facility – The first Pacific-led, member-owned and managed regional financing facility. The Guardian (2026) – A leaked draft of the COP31 Action Agenda includes 14 items but omits mention of fossil fuel phaseout, prioritising “zero waste” and “tourism and cultural heritage” instead.Dialogue Earth (2025) – Türkiye is one of the world’s largest electric arc furnace steel producers and Australia is the world’s biggest iron ore exporter.Ember – In 2024, Türkiye’s renewable electricity generation (156 TWh) outpaced Australia’s (98.8 TWh).The Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative – An alliance of nation-states and civil society working to secure a global just transition from coal, oil and gas. 18 nations have already joined. UN – The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament.Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels – Colombia and the Netherlands will co-host this conference in Santa Marta (24-29 April 2026) as a space for countries, subnational governments and other stakeholders that recognize the need to implement a transition away from fossil fuels in a just, orderly and equitable manner, in line with climate goals and the best available science.IEA (2025) – Fossil fuels still comprised 10% of Colombia’s GDP and 45% of total exports in 2024. The Belém Declaration – An agreement supported by 35+ countries aiming to accelerate green industrialization.Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) – The flagship publication of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) on UN environment and development negotiations. UNFCCC – Article 6 of the Paris Agreement enables international cooperation to tackle climate change and to unlock financial support for developing countries.COP30 (2026) – In this letter, COP30 President Corrêa do Lago proposes a “two-tier” model for multilateralism: one anchored in consensus, and one focused on implementation.WEF (2026) – Prime Minister of Canada, Mark Carney, made a special address at Davos: “We know the old order is not coming back. We shouldn't mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy, but we believe that from the fracture, we can build something bigger, better, stronger, more just.”Thank you for listening! Please follow us on social media to join the conversation: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokYou can also now watch us on YouTube.Music: “Just Because Some Bad Wind Blows” by Nick Nuttall, Reptiphon Records. Available at https://nicknuttallmusic.bandcamp.com/album/just-because-some-bad-wind-blows-3Producer: Podshop StudiosHuge thanks to Siobhán Foster, a vital member of the team offering design advice, critical review and organisation that we depend upon.Stay tuned for more insightful discussions on navigating the transition away from fossil fuels to a sustainable future.
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    52 mins
  • WHAT ABOUT COP31? FT. BULA COP31! (PART ONE)

    WHAT ABOUT COP31? FT. BULA COP31! (PART ONE)
    Mar 31 2026
    COP 31 will be held in Antalya, Türkiye, from 9 to 20 November 2026. While Türkiye will serve as host country, taking responsibility for the logistics and operations of the conference, Australia will lead the negotiations. To ensure Pacific interests remain at the heart of the summit, the Pre-COP will be hosted in Fiji, supported by the Government of Australia. This represents an unprecedented opportunity to bring the world to the Pacific to experience climate impacts and solutions firsthand.In this collaborative, cross-continental episode, James and Daisy are joined by Jack Whelan and Heidi Dumesich, hosts of Bula COP31!, for an intergenerational conversation about the COP process. For this first instalment, James is in the hot seat to share his learnings from what he’s seen on the ground at previous COPs. How can the COP presidency influence outcomes? How does geopolitics shape climate diplomacy? Is it time for structural reform of the process? SOME RECOMMENDATIONS: BulaCOP31! – To learn more about what it means for Australia and Türkiye to co-host COP31, listen to Jack and Heidi’s podcast.OTHER ADVOCATES AND RESOURCES:COP31 – Türkiye will be the formal COP31 President, handling all operational and logistical requirements, and the conference and the World Leaders Summit will be physically hosted by Türkiye in the city of Antalya. However, Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy, Chris Bowen, will serve as the President of Negotiations. This role is vested with "exclusive authority in relation to the negotiations," covering the agenda, draft texts, and appointment of co-facilitators. This arrangement was devised to avoid a prolonged diplomatic impasse, which would have automatically defaulted the conference to Bonn, Germany, risking a year without focused political negotiation leadership.Alliance of Small Islands States (AOSIS) – An intergovernmental organization representing small island nations on climate issues.BINGO (Business and Industry Non-Governmental Organizations) represents a formal constituency of business and industry observers at the UNFCCC. The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) – Founded in 1971 as the South Pacific Forum (SPF), PIF is an 18-member inter-governmental organisation which brings the region together to address pressing issues and challenges. The Carbon War by Jeremy Leggett – This book is an eyewitness account of the climate talks, and the way the fossil-fuel vested-interests (the “carbon club”) tried to derail them.The Precautionary Principle – A decision-making approach that emphasizes taking preventative measures when there's a reasonable possibility of harm, even if scientific evidence is not fully conclusive.UNFCCC (2017) – Just weeks before it hosted COP23, Fiji announced the issuance of a sovereign green bond, raising FDJ 100m (USD 50m) to support climate change mitigation and adaption.UNFCCC (2018) – Talanoa is a traditional word used in Fiji and across the Pacific to reflect a process of inclusive, participatory and transparent dialogue. At COP23 (2017) under Fiji’s Presidency, the Talanoa Dialogue was launched, inviting everyone to engage in finding a solution. Thank you for listening! Please follow us on social media to join the conversation: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokYou can also now watch us on YouTube.Music: “Just Because Some Bad Wind Blows” by Nick Nuttall, Reptiphon Records. Available at https://nicknuttallmusic.bandcamp.com/album/just-because-some-bad-wind-blows-3Producer: Podshop StudiosHuge thanks to Siobhán Foster, a vital member of the team offering design advice, critical review and organisation that we depend upon.Stay tuned for more insightful discussions on navigating the transition away from fossil fuels to a sustainable future.
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    39 mins
  • WHAT ABOUT SUPER POLLUTANTS? A quick fix or an overlooked threat?

    WHAT ABOUT SUPER POLLUTANTS? A quick fix or an overlooked threat?
    Mar 17 2026
    Although we often focus on carbon dioxide, a group of powerful pollutants is also driving a large share of today’s warming… In this episode, James and Daisy talk about super pollutants. Why are they important? Why are they worse for the climate? How can we reduce their use? SOME RECOMMENDATIONS: The Global Methane Pledge (GMP) – Launched at COP26 by the EU and the US, the GMP now has 160 participants who agree to take voluntary actions to reduce global methane emissions by at least 30% from 2020 levels by 2030, potentially eliminating over 0.2ºC warming by 2050. Methane has caused 30% of warming since the Industrial Revolution.The Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) – A voluntary partnership of over 200 governments, intergovernmental organizations, businesses, scientific institutions and civil society organizations committed to protecting the climate and improving air quality by reducing short-lived super pollutants (methane, black carbon, tropospheric ozone and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)). The CCAC drives efforts to implement known practices and existing technologies that can achieve global reductions of at least 40% of methane by 2030 (vs 2010); 70% of black carbon by 2030 (vs 2010); and 99.5% of HFCs by 2050 (vs 2010).OTHER ADVOCATES AND RESOURCES:UNEP (2024) – Interactive cartoons explaining the science of super pollutants. UNEP – Parties to the Montreal Protocol (2016 Kigali Amendment) agreed to phase down HFCs by 80-85% by the late 2040s.CCAC (2024) – Super pollutants are a “flow” problem (controlling how fast the planet warms) whereas carbon dioxide is a “stock” problem (controlling the maximum extent of warming).CCAC – Methane has an atmospheric lifetime of 12 years (much shorter than CO2) but per unit of mass, has a warming effect 86x stronger than CO2 over 20 years and 28x over 100 years.UNEP – The International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) launched the Methane Alert and Response System (MARS) at COP27– the first public global satellite detection system providing actionable methane emissions data.PR Newswire (2026) – A group of companies including Amazon, Autodesk, Figma, Google, JPMorganChase, Salesforce, and Workday announced a $100 million Superpollutant Action Initiative.Carbon Brief (2025) – Super pollutants are responsible for around 45% of global warming to date, as well as millions of premature deaths each year. Human-caused methane emissions come from: (1) Agriculture (~40%), such as from livestock and rice production; (2) Fossil fuels (~35%), as a by-product of fossil fuel extraction, storage and distribution; and (3) Waste (~20%), from food and other organic materials decaying in landfills and wastewater.UK Government (2025) – The UK’s Methane Action Plan notes that UK methane emissions have reduced by 62% between 1990 and 2023. IPCC (2023) – “Global Warming Potential (GWP) is an index measuring the radiative forcing following an emission of a unit mass of a given substance, accumulated over a chosen time horizon, relative to that of the reference substance, CO2.” National Grid (2025) – Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) has a GWP of 24,300 and an atmospheric lifetime of 3,200 years. 80% of the SF6 used globally is in electricity transmission and distribution.European Commission – The EU Methane Regulation (EU/2024/1787) entered into force on 4 August 2024. It aims to reduce methane emissions into the atmosphere, both in the EU and in global supply chains, and to minimise leaks of methane by fossil energy companies operating in the EU.EMSA – From 1 January 2026, the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS) has incorporated methane and nitrous oxide for maritime transport.Thank you for listening! Please follow us on social media to join the conversation: LinkedIn | Instagram | TikTokYou can also now watch us on YouTube.Music: “Just Because Some Bad Wind Blows” by Nick Nuttall, Reptiphon Records. Available at https://nicknuttallmusic.bandcamp.com/album/just-because-some-bad-wind-blows-3Producer: Podshop StudiosHuge thanks to Siobhán Foster, a vital member of the team offering design advice, critical review and organisation that we depend upon.Stay tuned for more insightful discussions on navigating the transition away from fossil fuels to a sustainable future.
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    39 mins
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