The Earth Set Podcast

This week’s episode takes a step back from individual topics to look at the bigger picture: a Q1 2026 review of the climate and energy stories that have defined the year so far — and what they mean for what comes next.
Hosted by Amy Rennison, the conversation brings together three returning perspectives spanning analysis, politics and capital. Lucy Shaw, energy analyst and advisor, breaks down the system-level dynamics shaping energy markets and infrastructure. Luke Shore, from Project Tempo, explores how these shifts are landing politically, and how voters are responding. And Max Bray, partner at Kindred Capital, offers a view from the investment side, tracking where capital is flowing and where confidence is changing.
Across five fast-moving topics, from AI-driven energy demand to US climate policy, capital flows, the Iran crisis, and UK energy strategy, the discussion builds a picture of a system under pressure from multiple directions at once.
What emerges is a transition no longer defined by a single narrative. Instead, it’s shaped by competing forces: rapid demand growth, geopolitical instability, political backlash, and uneven progress across technologies and regions.
At the centre is a familiar tension, now more visible than ever: the need to move quickly, and the growing risk that rising costs, infrastructure constraints, and political resistance could slow things down.
If the transition is no longer just about decarbonisation, but about affordability, security and public consent, the question becomes: can the system adapt fast enough to hold all three together?

In this episode you’ll learn:
Why AI has rapidly shifted from a tech story to an energy and infrastructure story

How Europe’s economic fundamentals are affecting its ability to scale climate technologies

Whether we are actually on track for net zero — and how that depends on how you define “on track”

Why electrification — not just clean power — is now the critical missing piece

How the Iran crisis is affecting global energy markets, supply chains and pricing

How high energy prices are affecting UK industry — from steel to ceramics

Why delivery — not just policy — is now the key challenge for governments

How crises like today’s energy shock compare to historical moments like the 1970s oil crisis

Why moments of disruption can either accelerate change — or be missed entirely

Resources & Links
Project Tempo – Research on public attitudes to climate and energy policyKindred Capital – Early-stage investment across deep tech and energyCornish Lithium – UK-based lithium extraction and geothermal developmentGridserve – UK EV charging and renewable energy infrastructureFuse Energy – Vertically integrated energy company model

🎟️ Join Earth Set LiveWe host monthly live events in London featuring founders, investors and policy leaders shaping the transition to a resilient, regenerative economy. First Tuesday of every month.
Grab tickets here:👉 earthset.co

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This week’s episode comes from Octopus Energy HQ, where Amy Rennison hosts a live Earth Set conversation on one of the most contested — and least clearly defined — ideas in the transition: the “just transition”.
She’s joined by three perspectives spanning community, policy and capital. David Powell from the Local Storytelling Exchange brings a grounded view from communities across the UK, exploring how people actually experience change — often in ways that never show up in policy. Grace Millman, working on just transitions and community energy at Regen, looks at how fairness, participation and regional inequality shape the way net zero lands in real places. And Jordan Fletcher, investor at Future Impact Ventures, shares how capital can be deployed not just to decarbonise, but to create broader social and economic value from the start.
The conversation moves beyond theory into the lived reality of the transition: rising energy bills, contested infrastructure, uneven access to new technologies, and the growing sense among many communities that change is happening to them, not with them.
Together, they unpack a central tension: the need to move fast — and the risk that moving fast without fairness ultimately slows everything down.
If the transition is as much about trust, perception and lived experience as it is about technology, the question becomes this: how do we design a system that people actually feel is working for them?
In this episode you’ll learn:
Why the “just transition” means different things to different people — and why that ambiguity matters

How feelings of fairness, pride and dignity shape public support for climate action

Why most people don’t talk about “climate” — but do care about their homes, bills and communities

How storytelling reveals the gap between policy design and lived experience

The role of trust — and why people are more likely to act on advice from someone they know than from institutions

Why speed vs fairness is a false trade-off — and how unfair transitions often stal

How infrastructure projects like grid expansion are creating tension in local communities

Why energy bills remain the dominant lens through which people experience the transition

Resources & Links
Local Storytelling Exchange – Community-led climate storytelling across the UK

Check out the video mentioned at the start of the episode from the Local Storytelling Exchange that gives the real stories of the green transition

Future Impact Ventures – Investment in the just transition at the intersection of climate, community and capital

Community Energy England – Network supporting local energy projects and ownership models

🎟️ Join Earth Set Live
We host monthly live events in London featuring founders, investors and policy leaders shaping the transition to a resilient, regenerative economy.First Tuesday of every month.Grab tickets here: 👉 earthset.co⁠
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This week’s episode comes from the Eden Project in Cornwall, where Amy Rennison and Fiona Howarth speak to two very different — but equally important — voices in the transition.
First, Augusta Grand, CEO of Eden Geothermal, shares the story of bringing geothermal energy to the UK — from early resistance to wind power through to the realities of drilling, financing and scaling a new energy source. The conversation explores why geothermal has long been overlooked, how rapidly the technology is advancing, and why it could play a critical role in both electricity and heat.
Then, Amy speaks with Jane Davidson, former Welsh minister and architect of the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act — one of the most ambitious pieces of sustainability legislation in the world. They discuss how the Act came to life, what it has changed, and how it is now shaping Wales’ approach to long-term decision making and net zero.
Together, these conversations explore two sides of the same challenge: how we move from ambition to delivery — whether that’s building new energy infrastructure or redesigning the systems that govern it.
If the transition depends on both technology and institutions, the real question becomes this: how do we align innovation, policy and people to actually deliver change at scale?

In this episode you’ll learn:
What geothermal energy is and why it has been underutilised in the UK

How advances in drilling technology are rapidly improving the economics of geothermal

The difference between geothermal for electricity and geothermal for heat — and why heat matters most

Why countries like France, Germany and the Netherlands are ahead on geothermal deployment

The role of government policy, funding and market design in unlocking new energy technologies

How local energy systems, data centres and grid constraints are shaping future infrastructure decisions

What the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act is and why it is unique globally

The shift from a “duty to promote” to a “duty to deliver” in public policy

How long-term thinking is embedded into Welsh governance across all public institutions

Real-world examples of how the Act has influenced procurement, planning and community outcomes

Why political systems struggle with long-term decision making — and how this can change

How Wales is approaching net zero through a delivery-focused, system-wide plan

The importance of making climate policy tangible, practical and accessible to the public

Resources & Links
Eden Geothermal – Project and research on geothermal energy in the UK
Wellbeing of Future Generations Act (Wales) – Framework for long-term, sustainable governance.

🎟️ Join Earth Set Live
We host monthly live events in London featuring founders, investors and policy leaders shaping the transition to a resilient, regenerative economy.
First Tuesday of every month.
Grab tickets here: 👉 earthset.co⁠

If you enjoyed this episode please take a moment to:
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Behind every climate solution lies a human challenge.
A challenge not just of technology or capital, but of people — the skills, training and pathways needed to turn ambition into reality.
In this episode, Fiona Howarth sits down with Rich Tyrie, CEO of GoodPeople, to explore the growing green skills gap and what it will take to close it.
From building talent pipelines to connecting local communities with meaningful work, Rich shares insights from over a decade of experience working at the intersection of employment, social impact and the energy transition.
The conversation explores why millions of workers will need to be reskilled, why the current system struggles to keep up, and why solving the skills gap is as much about coordination and collaboration as it is about education.
If the transition to net zero depends on people, the real question becomes this: how do we build a workforce ready to deliver it?
Why the UK needs millions of workers to be reskilled for the energy transition

What the “green skills gap” actually means — and why it’s bigger than most people think

How labour market fragmentation makes it harder to match people with opportunities

Why many “green jobs” aren’t obvious — from scaffolders to finance roles

The difference between “dark green” and “light green” skills

Why education systems struggle to keep pace with changing workforce demands

The role of employers in shaping future talent pipelines

How social value and procurement are influencing business behaviour

Why early engagement with schools and young people is critical

How place-based approaches can unlock more inclusive access to jobs

What’s driving collaboration in regions like Greater Manchester

Practical ways individuals can explore and access green careers today

Net Zero Careers – Explore green jobs, training pathways and opportunities across the UK
🎟️ Join Earth Set Live
We host monthly live events in London featuring founders, investors and policy leaders shaping the transition to a resilient, regenerative economy.
First Tuesday of every month.
Grab tickets here: 👉 earthset.co⁠
Please take a moment to:
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Share the episode with someone interested in climate technology, innovation or industrial strategy

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In this episode you’ll learn:
Resources & Links
If you enjoyed this episode

Behind every breakthrough climate technology lies a quieter, more fragile moment. The point where innovation has been proven, but scaling it into the real world becomes uncertain, expensive and deeply complex.
In this episode, Amy Rennison sits down with Sarah Macintosh of Cleantech for UK and Jim Totty of Virdis Capital to explore one of the most critical — and least understood — challenges in the climate transition: the “first-of-a-kind” gap, often referred to as the valley of death.
Drawing on their recent research with Cleantech for UK, the conversation unpacks why so many promising climate technologies struggle to reach commercial scale, despite strong early innovation and growing global demand.
From funding gaps and capability challenges to risk perception and policy design, this episode explores the systemic barriers holding back the next generation of industrial climate solutions — and what it will take to unlock them.
If the technologies to decarbonise already exist, the real question becomes this: why are so few of them making it to full-scale deployment?

In this episode you’ll learn:
What “first-of-a-kind” projects are and why they sit at the hardest stage of climate innovation

Why the transition from pilot to commercial scale is so difficult for climate tech companies

The funding gap between venture capital and infrastructure finance — and why it persists

How founders must shift their narrative from “innovative and unique” to “bankable and low-risk”

The critical role of offtake agreements, supply contracts and project finance structures

Why internal capabilities — from leadership teams to technical validation — can make or break scaling

How the UK compares to the US, Europe and Asia in supporting climate technology deployment

The impact of energy prices and market structures on where projects get built

What policy tools (like contracts for difference, procurement and guarantees) can unlock progress

Why ecosystem fragmentation — across investors, corporates, government and service providers — remains a major barrier

The scale of the UK’s pipeline of climate projects and where the biggest opportunities lie

Why this is not just a capital problem, but a systems and coordination challenge

Resources & Links
Cleantech for UK – Research on first-of-a-kind climate projects and scaling challenges

🎟️ Join Earth Set Live
We host monthly live events in London featuring founders, investors and policy leaders shaping the transition to a resilient, regenerative economy.
First Tuesday of every month.
Grab tickets here: 👉 earthset.co⁠

If you enjoyed this episode
Please take a moment to:
Leave 5 stars

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Share the episode with someone interested in climate technology, innovation or industrial strategy

It helps more people discover the show.
Thanks for listening — see you at the next live event or in your feed soon.