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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.

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Climate Confident - Practical Climate Solutions That Cut Emissions

The Regeneration Mindset for Climate Action

November 19, 2025 • Tom Raftery • Season 1 • Episode 247

0:00 | 48:55

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What if cutting emissions isn’t enough, and never was?

And what if the real lever we’ve been ignoring is regeneration, not reduction?

This week I’m joined by Chad Frischmann, co-creator of Project Drawdown and founder of Regenerative Intelligence, for a conversation that goes right to the core of what the climate movement keeps getting wrong. We dig into why stopping global warming requires more than technology, pledges, or net-zero spreadsheets. It demands a full systems shift that places life, human and non-human, at the centre of every decision.

You’ll hear how Chad went from studying the history of propaganda at Oxford to mapping the most comprehensive catalogue of climate solutions ever assembled. We uncover why today’s climate discourse has become strangely timid, how a tiny group of entrenched interests is still steering the global response, and why he believes we’re entering the “death throes” of the old extractive economy.

You might be surprised to learn that regeneration isn’t just about soils or forests. Chad makes the case for regenerative energy systems, regenerative supply chains, regenerative finance, and explains how each one creates cascading benefits that ripple far beyond emissions. We explore food systems, supergrids, biodiversity, justice, and the uncomfortable truth that climate “risk” is no longer risk at all… it’s reality.

If you want a fresh, hopeful, deeply practical frame for the climate transition, this episode delivers it.

🎙️ Listen now to hear how Chad Frischmann is reimagining the future of climate action through regeneration, not simply reduction.

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