Cleaning Up: Leadership in an Age of Climate Change

Australia's electricity networks are entering a new era. As rooftop solar, battery storage and electric vehicles demand reshape the grid, the role of distribution networks is changing from simply delivering electricity to actively enabling a smarter, more resilient and affordable energy system. 

For the third episode of our Deep Dive Australia series, Michael sits down with Marc England, CEO of Ausgrid, one of Australia's largest electricity distribution businesses, to explore what that transformation looks like in practice. Ausgrid is responsible for supplying electricity to millions of customers across Sydney, the Central Coast and the Hunter Region in New South Wales.

Marc reflects on how networks have to become intelligent, flexible and community-focused while balancing commercial realities with public service. He shares how distribution companies like his are adapting to an increasingly decentralised electricity system, where balancing reliability, affordability and customer expectations has never been more complex. From the growing role of battery storage and managing unpredictable energy flows, to supporting the rapid rise of data centres and preparing for extreme weather events, he explains why networks will play a critical role in delivering a successful net zero future. 

Also, Michael travels inside the electricity tunnels beneath Sydney, to see how Ausgrid has built a resilient electricity system for Australia’s financial capital.

Topics Include:

The evolving role of electricity distribution networks

Balancing commercial success with community responsibility

Battery storage and building a more flexible grid

Managing the rise of rooftop solar and distributed energy resources

Preparing for growing electricity demand and data centres

Building resilience for extreme weather and changing energy patterns

Leading innovation through Australia's energy transition

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:

Watch our full Deep Dive Australia Series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc8cNKXCII70&si=GmXz-zQe3yK42V3o

Sign up to our newsletter: cleaninguppod.substack.com

Marc England’s bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marc-england-9147711/

Ausgrid: https://www.ausgrid.com.au/

Transgrid:  https://www.transgrid.com.au/

PLUS ES: https://www.pluses.com.au/

John Pettigrew on Cleaning Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7Lg1A958aA

Tim Meyerjürgens on Cleaning Up: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQgUuJ-dx78

Acronyms:

SES - State Emergency Service

CBD - Central Business District

DNSP - Distribution Network Service Provider

C&I - Commercial & Industrial

AEMO - the Australian Energy Market Operator

CIS - Capacity Investment Scheme

South and Southeast Asia face a different challenge to many developed economies. As the regions continue to grow, so too does demand for energy, transport and industry. The question is whether that growth can be powered by cleaner technologies from the start.

In the second of our episodes recorded from Singapore, Michael meets Marie Cheong, founding partner at 100x100, a climate tech venture builder and VC for South and Southeast Asia. Previously, Marie co-founded WaveMaker Impact, where she helped launch climate startups addressing some of the region's biggest opportunities for decarbonisation.

Marie explains why climate innovation in emerging South Asian markets requires a different approach. They discuss investing across the region, growing energy demand, using AI to decarbonise manufacturing, and why there are no "silver bullet" solutions to climate change.

Marie also takes Michael to the People Bee Hoon noodle factory, which makes rice vermicelli noodles to see how Desmond Goh, the factory’s director is using AI to improve his operations. Michael meets to Desmond and Muun AI founder Kathryn Knight about how better use of data can help cut emissions and waste.

And at the end of the episode, a very special announcement… stay tuned.

Topics Include

Building climate startups across South and Southeast Asia

Why climate investing needs more than "silver bullet" technologies

The biggest opportunities for climate innovation in emerging Asian markets

Solving regional pain points as the key to success

Can Southeast Asia grow without burning more coal?

Investing in emerging markets and navigating regional diversity

How AI can help manufacturers cut emissions, costs and energy use

The next generation of climate technology in Asia

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

Marie Cheong's bio: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marie-cheong-06141b36/

Wavemaker Impact https://wavemakerpartners.com/

100x100 https://www.100x100.com/

Muun AI https://muun-ai.com/

Watch our previous episode from Singapore, with Ravi Menon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xvhd34i6YMk

Harish Hande on Cleaning Up https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUxdaHFJI68

South Asia Includes: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan,and Sri Lanka.

South East Asia Includes:  Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Timor-Leste, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Acronyms

FESIA - Future Energy Storage and System Integration Alliance

ASEAN - Alliance for Southeast Asian Nations

CPTPP -  Comprehensive and Progressive agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership

MT - Megatonne

SAF - Sustainable Aviation Fuel

SME - Small/Medium-sized Enterprises

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