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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, technology and sustainability analyst, keynote speaker and former SAP Global VP Tom Raftery speaks with the executives, engineers, scientists, founders and policymakers turning climate ambition into measurable progress. Together, they 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

Microgrids, Hydrogen, and the End of Fossil Fuels

November 05, 2025 • Tom Raftery • Season 1 • Episode 245

0:00 | 59:48

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What if business, not politics, held the real key to ending the climate crisis?

In this week’s episode, I sit down with Rinaldo Brutoco, founder and CEO of the World Business Academy, to explore a radical but beautifully simple idea: that stakeholder capitalism - where companies serve people and planet, not just shareholders, can actually outperform the old profit-only model. Rinaldo’s been proving it for decades, from helping shut down a dangerous nuclear plant in California to showing how responsible companies consistently beat the market.

You’ll hear how he believes we can replace 100% of fossil fuels in California within ten years, at lower cost than maintaining the current grid. We unpack why distributed microgrids could end blackouts and wildfires, how geothermal energy is finally having its moment, and why green hydrogen, done right, could power the next industrial era. You might be surprised by Rinaldo’s blunt take on corporate inertia, his optimism about AI as a tool for truth (not hype), and his warning that business must act now or face a market collapse of its own making.

This is one of those wide-ranging, perspective-shifting conversations that’ll make you rethink who’s really steering the energy transition, and why it has to be the private sector leading the charge.

🎙️ Listen now to hear how Rinaldo Brutoco and the World Business Academy are redefining what profitable climate leadership looks like.

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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