Greenwashing, Greenhushing & Climate Accountability – What’s Really Going On? Artwork

Climate Confident - Practical Climate Solutions That Cut Emissions

Climate Confident is for business leaders, climate professionals and policymakers who need to understand what is actually cutting emissions—and what it takes to make those solutions work at scale.

Each Wednesday, I speak with the executives, engineers, scientists, founders and policymakers turning climate ambition into measurable progress. Together, we examine the technologies, business models, policies and implementation strategies reshaping energy, transport, industry, supply chains, food and finance.

These are not conversations about distant targets, vague pledges or greenwash. They are candid discussions about what is working, what is failing, where the real bottlenecks lie, and how leaders can make better decisions about decarbonisation, resilience, investment and risk.

You will hear:

Proven approaches to reducing emissions
Hard-earned lessons from real-world implementation
Analysis of the markets, technologies and policies driving the transition
Honest examination of costs, trade-offs, setbacks and unintended consequences
Practical ideas for turning climate commitments into action

New episodes are published every Wednesday at 7am CET. Subscribers also receive bonus episodes featuring highlights, analysis and emerging themes from across the series.

Follow Climate Confident for practical climate solutions, informed debate and the insights you need to turn ambition into measurable progress.

Guest suggestions and feedback are welcome at Tom@tomraftery.com.

All Episodes

Climate Confident - Practical Climate Solutions That Cut Emissions

Greenwashing, Greenhushing & Climate Accountability – What’s Really Going On?

March 12, 2025 • Tom Raftery / Jenny Morgan • Season 1 • Episode 211

0:00 | 37:10

Get in touch - leave me a message

In this episode of Climate Confident, I sit down with Jenny Morgan, author of Cancel Culture in Climate, to explore how public shaming and polarisation are holding back real progress on climate solutions.

We already have the tools and technologies needed to reduce emissions, yet fear of criticism—whether from activists, media, or the public—often paralyses businesses and leaders. Jenny explains how cancel culture leads to three major pitfalls:

Greenwashing – Overstating sustainability efforts to avoid backlash.
Greenhushing – Staying silent about genuine climate initiatives to escape scrutiny.
Green recanting – Companies reversing climate commitments due to heightened pressure.

Rather than tearing down imperfect efforts, Jenny advocates for empathetic accountability—holding organisations to account while keeping the door open for progress. We discuss how companies like Patagonia and Allbirds have embraced transparency over perfection, and how social media can be both a force for good and a major obstacle to climate communication.

Key takeaways:
✔ Why fear of being “called out” prevents meaningful climate action.
✔ How businesses can regain trust after sustainability missteps.
✔ Practical strategies to foster productive climate conversations.

Tune in to rethink how we approach climate accountability—and why working with people is more effective than working against them.

🔗 Listen now and subscribe in your favourite podcast app.

Support the show

Podcast subscribers
I'd like to sincerely thank this podcast's amazing subscribers:

Anita Krajnc
Cecilia Skarupa
Ben Gross
Jerry Sweeney
Andreas Werner
Stephen Carroll
Roger Arnold

And remember you too can Subscribe to the Podcast - it is really easy and hugely important as it will enable me to continue to create more excellent Climate Confident episodes like this one, as well as give you access to the entire back catalog of Climate Confident episodes.

🎤 Looking for a keynote speaker on climate, energy, AI, or sustainability?

I help executive audiences understand the technologies, trends, and decisions shaping the low-carbon transition.

Download my Speaker Pack: https://tinyurl.com/spkrpck

And a quick note before you go: I’ve started a new Reddit community for serious, evidence-led discussion on climate solutions, clean energy, decarbonisation, policy, technology, and what actually works in practice.

If you’d like to suggest future guests, challenge ideas from the show, or share climate reports and solutions worth discussing, join us at r/ClimateConfident