Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change

Australia is navigating an extraordinarily complex energy transition. It is both a major exporter of fossil fuels and a global leader in rooftop solar, while recent disruption to fuel supplies has reinforced the importance of energy security alongside decarbonisation. As the country prepares to co-host COP31 alongside Türkiye, the choices it makes will have implications well beyond its borders.

This week on Cleaning Up, Michael Liebreich sits down with Chris Bowen, Australia's Minister for Climate Change and Energy. Chris explains how Australia responded to the recent fuel crisis, why he believes the road to net-zero starts with households, and how the government is balancing affordability, reliability and emissions reduction.

Chris and Michael explore Australia's rapid growth in rooftop solar and home batteries, why electric vehicles have been slower to take off, the challenges of expanding the electricity grid, and what Australia's joint leadership of COP31 means for its role on the global stage. Throughout, Chris explains how he sees the challenge of making the energy transition practical, affordable and politically achievable.

Topics include:

How Australia avoided fuel shortages during the global energy crisis

Why Minister Bowen believes the path to net zero starts with households

How to make rooftop solar and home batteries work at scale

The challenge of electrifying transport in Australia

Building the grid needed for a renewable energy future

Balancing climate ambition with political and community support

What Australia's energy transition can teach the rest of the world

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is proud to be supported by its Leadership Circle. The members are Actis, Alcazar Energy, Arup, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Cygnum Capital, Davidson Kempner, Ecopragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schneider Electric, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information about the Leadership Circle, visit cleaningup.live

Links:

Chris Bowen’s bio: https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/bowen/biography

Fatih Birol on Cleaning Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmHIrtBZIAg

Bill McKibben on Cleaning Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W9uR6eTe94

Acronyms:

IPCC - The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

UNFCCC - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

SRES - Small Scale Renewable Energy Scheme

DNSP - Distribution Network Service Provide

AER - Australian Energy Regulator

DMO - Default Market Offer

CIS - Capacity Investment Scheme

EMO - Energy Market Operator

ISP - Integrated Systems Plan

Singapore is one of the smallest countries in the world, yet plays a unique role as one of Asia’s main financial and oil refining hubs. So how is it using its influence to help or hinder the transition?

Ravi Menon has spent his career at the heart of Singapore’s economic and financial strategy, serving as Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (the country’s central bank) before becoming the country’s Ambassador for Climate Action.

In this conversation with Michael Liebreich, Menon explains why Asia’s energy transition will follow a different path from the West. With growing energy demand, dependence on coal and the need for affordable and reliable power, the challenge is not just building clean energy but replacing the systems already in place.

They discuss Singapore’s role in shaping Asia’s future energy system, from cross-border electricity trade and new financing models to carbon markets, electric vehicles and the growing link between energy security and the move away from fossil fuels.

Topics include:

Why Asia’s path to net zero will look different from the West

Singapore's unique challenges with decarbonization

How growing economies can move past coal

How to fund Asia’s enormous climate transition

The future role of carbon markets in climate action

The link between energy security and the shift to clean energy

Singapore’s role as a catalyst for regional decarbonisation

Newsletter:

Sign up to the Cleaning Up newsletter at cleaninguppod.substack.com, for all the latest from the show, including new episodes of our Deep Dive Australia series. 

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is proud to be supported by its Leadership Circle. The members are Actis, Alcazar Energy, Arup, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Cygnum Capital, Davidson Kempner, Ecopragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schneider Electric, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information about the Leadership Circle, visit cleaningup.live

Links:

Ravi Menon’s bio: https://www.impactsg.org/board/ravi-menon

Fast-P Fund: https://www.fast-partnership.com/

Dr Ma Jun on Cleaning Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fu6giWzTxAY

Mark Carney on Cleaning Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtA5ufMzKAU

Pierre Wunsch on Cleaning Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2xS5e5EGEg

Rachel Kyte on Cleaning Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1m2lm2n_EE

The Asian Development Bank: https://www.adb.org/what-we-do/topics/climate-change/overview

CDM - Clean Development Mechanism: https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-kyoto-protocol/mechanisms-under-the-kyoto-protocol/the-clean-development-mechanism

•GFANZ - Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero https://www.gfanzero.com/

Today, Cleaning Up launches its Deep Dive Australia series. Featuring conversations with nine leaders of the climate and clean energy scene, the series explores where Australia is leading the world, where it is not, and how it got there.

This is an important moment for Australia. The country was extraordinarily exposed to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, being the largest per capita importer of diesel in the world. It's also uniquely dependent on China as the destination of its mineral exports and the source of a lot of its technology imports. And in November, Australia will be co-president with Turkiye of the COP Climate Summit in Antalya. 

In the first of Cleaning Up’s Deep Dive Australia series, Michael Liebreich speaks with Darren Miller, the CEO of ARENA (the Australian Renewable Energy Agency), the federal body responsible for deploying over $14 billion AUD in grants to clean energy projects across Australia. Michael Liebreich speaks with Darren about where Australia is leading the world, and where it still has ground to make up.

They explore how ARENA funds innovation into pioneering clean tech, why Australia has quietly become the world's third largest battery market, and what it will take to turn the Pilbara's iron ore into green steel. They also discuss the Hydrogen Headstart Fund, the slow uptake of EVs, vehicle-to-grid, community batteries, and the moment the Hormuz crisis exposed Australia as the world's largest per capita importer of diesel.

Topics include:

How ARENA's funding model works and what makes it different from a typical government agency

Australia's green iron and steel opportunity

The Pilbara ore challenge

Where Australia could achieve solar at $20 per megawatt hour

How Australia became the world's third largest consumer battery market

Transport electrification: vehicle-to-grid, EV charging, and the plug-in hybrid problem

Sustainable Aviation Fuel: ARENA's newest frontier and the cost challenge ahead

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is proud to be supported by its Leadership Circle. The members are Actis, Alcazar Energy, Arup, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Cygnum Capital, Davidson Kempner, Ecopragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schneider Electric, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information about the Leadership Circle, visit cleaningup.live

Newsletter:

Sign up to the Cleaning Up newsletter at cleaninguppod.substack.com, for all the latest from the show, including new episodes of our Deep Dive Australia series. 

Links:

Darren Miller’s bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/darrenhmiller/

ARENA https://arena.gov.au/

Liebreich: The Pragmatic Climate Reset - Part I | BloombergNEF

Mariana Mazzucato on Cleaning Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nX7mhh53GOw

Acronyms:

AMGC - Australian Manufacturing Growth Centre

ACAP - Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics

DNSP - Distribution Network Service Provider

OEM -  Original Equipment Manufacturer

UNSW - University of New South Wales

SAF - Sustainable Aviation Fuel

DRI - Direct Reduced Iron

CEFC - Clean Energy Finance Corporation

PERC - Passivated Emitter Rear Conductor Cell,

HEFA - Hydroprocessed Esters and Fatty Acids

Since Donald Trump returned to the Presidency in 2025, the US has become increasingly isolationist. It has pulled out of the Paris climate agreement and the IPCC, left the World Health Organisation, as well as a whole host of other international organisations and agencies. So, when President Trump leaves the White House, will the US be able to rebuild trust on the international stage?

This week on Cleaning Up, former US Secretary of State and Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry sits down with Michael Liebreich and reflects on some of the defining diplomatic efforts of his career, from negotiating the Iran nuclear deal to helping secure the Paris Climate Agreement.

Secretary Kerry explains how years of relationship-building and behind the scenes diplomacy helped bring Iran to the negotiating table and why he believes the original nuclear agreement succeeded in limiting Iran's nuclear programme. He also shares his frustration at what he sees as the dismantling of agreements and relationships that took years to build, and the challenge of restoring trust in US leadership on the global stage. 

Secretary Kerry also shares his perspective on working with China, the importance of international cooperation, and the role diplomacy still has to play. They also discuss rebuilding trust in US leadership, and the shifting balance between the US and China in clean energy.

Topics Include:

How the Obama administration negotiated limits on Iran's nuclear programme

The diplomacy behind the Paris Climate Agreement

The meaning of "common but differentiated" in climate diplomacy

Lessons from Kyoto, Paris and Dubai on international climate agreements

Why engaging adversaries matters more than isolating them

How can the U.S. rebuild trust on a global stage?

Petrostate vs electrostate: the shifting US-China dynamic

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is proud to be supported by its Leadership Circle. The members are Actis, Alcazar Energy, Arup, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Cygnum Capital, Davidson Kempner, Ecopragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schneider Electric, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information about the Leadership Circle, visit cleaningup.live

Links:

John Kerry’s bio: https://galvanizeclimate.com/team/secretary-john-kerry

Galvanize https://galvanizeclimate.com/

Our Ocean Conference https://www.ouroceanconference.org/

Todd Stern on Cleaning Up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffnZzO6CMI8

Ernie Moniz on Cleaning Up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0shzlRv4MTY

Acronyms:

ADNOC - Abu Dhabi National Oil Company

LNG - Liquified Natural Gas

OPCW - Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons

ESG - Environment, Social and Governance

IRGC - Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Professor Ning Li has spent decades at the intersection of energy, technology and industrial strategy. A nuclear engineer, complexity scientist and founding Dean of the School of Energy at Xiamen University, he is also credited with coining the term "Small Modular Reactor" nearly 20 years ago.

In this wide-ranging conversation with Bryony Worthington, Ning Li explains why China has weathered recent global energy shocks better than many expected, how electrification is transforming economic resilience, and why solar panels, batteries and electric vehicles have become China's most important exports.

They explore whether the world is really swapping dependence on fossil fuels for dependence on Chinese electrotech, why modularity has become the defining feature of successful modern technologies, and what lessons other countries can learn from China's rapid industrial scaling.

The discussion also covers the future of nuclear power, the role of coal in supporting China's grid, the untapped potential of heat pumps, and why the energy transition should be framed not as a burden, but as an opportunity for growth.

Topics include:

Why China has been relatively resilient to oil and gas disruptions

The rise of the "electrostate"

China's new energy exports: EVs, batteries and solar

Why modular technologies scale faster

The origins of the Small Modular Reactor concept

The changing role of coal in China's power system

Heat pumps and industrial electrification

Nuclear power's future in China

Climate action as economic development

Leadership Circle:

Cleaning Up is proud to be supported by its Leadership Circle. The members are Actis, Alcazar Energy, Arup, Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Cygnum Capital, Davidson Kempner, Ecopragma Capital, EDP, Eurelectric, the Gilardini Foundation, KKR, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, National Grid, Octopus Energy, Quadrature Climate Foundation, Schneider Electric, SDCL and Wärtsilä. For more information about the Leadership Circle, visit cleaningup.live

Links:

Ning Li bio: https://thebreakthrough.org/people/ning-li

Octopus’ Fiona Howarth on the EV partnership with BYD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL64XW5ZRBA