Initially I found this a surprisingly reasonable conversation, bearing in mind the polar opposites being represented, but then a few things started to niggle me.
“The world has always been in crisis”, sounds very much like “The climate has always changed”. Surely the scale and momentum of the Climate and Biodiversity crises, not to mention all the others that listeners to this podcast are painfully aware of, is a different order of magnitude than humanity has seen before, or am I just catastrophising?
John Browne mentioned the 1953 Iran coup but omitted the role of Britain and the CIA in removing the democratically elected government and how BP emerged from the Anglo-Iranian oil company.
I’d be interested to hear whether in his opinion BP were funding Climate misinformation, directly or indirectly during his tenure.
After BP, John Browne was Chairman of the fracking company Cuadrilla. I’d be interested to hear how he squares that post with the Climate credentials he is trying to cultivate with Beyond Net Zero.
Quite a lot of apologist waffle. Admittedly I struggled to listen and only got about halfway. To my ear he is an expert in misdirection and elite-narrative. Another obtuse plutocratic shrug at the systemic basis of the issues so the hyper-capitalists can get on with becoming richer still off a privatised green transition while happily blaming inescapable human nature for all the externalities. I don’t think this is the hero we’re looking for.
This must have been SO frustrating for you as an interviewer. I’m guessing you were hoping for insights on how to act urgently from an oil industry and establishment insider. But al you got was self justifying bullshit. Its great to hear from people outside our usual echo chamber. But I feel only if they have some useful insights on how to bring about change and can be kept focused on that. I felt your interview with Alastair Campbell was great like this. He had real insights from his professional expertise in communications. But John Browne- ughhh! Ps thanks so much for your excellent podcasts!
Rachel, I am an alternative energy research scientist.
I am working to build a demonstration site in Davao Philippines.
The system design will move wind into a base load performance. There is nowhere on the planet today where wind works as a base load source. This changes everything in the renewable industry. It means a city in the Philippines can supply all the electricity a large city needs at a 100% local wind supplied source.
I have just reached out this week to Davao city to present the research. I am hoping this meeting will occur soon.
One of the most important aspects of this is what the price of electricity would be once the machine is built. Because the city would be building and servicing the machine, they can not profit in the sale of electricity. Just like drinking water manufacture. As a result the end user price for electricity would drop 90%. Because the local community would have a massive cash injection into the community, massive changes in local communities will gain greatly in quality of life.
I would be willing to have an online conversation answering any questions. I have not and do not intend to apply for any patents. dragmit5000@gmail.com
Initially I found this a surprisingly reasonable conversation, bearing in mind the polar opposites being represented, but then a few things started to niggle me.
“The world has always been in crisis”, sounds very much like “The climate has always changed”. Surely the scale and momentum of the Climate and Biodiversity crises, not to mention all the others that listeners to this podcast are painfully aware of, is a different order of magnitude than humanity has seen before, or am I just catastrophising?
John Browne mentioned the 1953 Iran coup but omitted the role of Britain and the CIA in removing the democratically elected government and how BP emerged from the Anglo-Iranian oil company.
I’d be interested to hear whether in his opinion BP were funding Climate misinformation, directly or indirectly during his tenure.
After BP, John Browne was Chairman of the fracking company Cuadrilla. I’d be interested to hear how he squares that post with the Climate credentials he is trying to cultivate with Beyond Net Zero.
In short, not convinced.
Quite a lot of apologist waffle. Admittedly I struggled to listen and only got about halfway. To my ear he is an expert in misdirection and elite-narrative. Another obtuse plutocratic shrug at the systemic basis of the issues so the hyper-capitalists can get on with becoming richer still off a privatised green transition while happily blaming inescapable human nature for all the externalities. I don’t think this is the hero we’re looking for.
This must have been SO frustrating for you as an interviewer. I’m guessing you were hoping for insights on how to act urgently from an oil industry and establishment insider. But al you got was self justifying bullshit. Its great to hear from people outside our usual echo chamber. But I feel only if they have some useful insights on how to bring about change and can be kept focused on that. I felt your interview with Alastair Campbell was great like this. He had real insights from his professional expertise in communications. But John Browne- ughhh! Ps thanks so much for your excellent podcasts!
Rachel, I am an alternative energy research scientist.
I am working to build a demonstration site in Davao Philippines.
The system design will move wind into a base load performance. There is nowhere on the planet today where wind works as a base load source. This changes everything in the renewable industry. It means a city in the Philippines can supply all the electricity a large city needs at a 100% local wind supplied source.
I have just reached out this week to Davao city to present the research. I am hoping this meeting will occur soon.
One of the most important aspects of this is what the price of electricity would be once the machine is built. Because the city would be building and servicing the machine, they can not profit in the sale of electricity. Just like drinking water manufacture. As a result the end user price for electricity would drop 90%. Because the local community would have a massive cash injection into the community, massive changes in local communities will gain greatly in quality of life.
I would be willing to have an online conversation answering any questions. I have not and do not intend to apply for any patents. dragmit5000@gmail.com