50 Shades of Green: A Climate Group Podcast

Adam and Katie are joined by John Higginson, CEO of Eco Age, moving the needle of sustainable fashion.

Eco Age operates on two fronts. They educate consumers on positive, non-guilt-inducing choices. Separately, the organization funds independent investigative journalism into fashion’s supply chains—work traditional fashion media often avoids due to advertising dependence—while generating revenue as a consultancy for brands, material innovators, and organizations pursuing genuine sustainability.

The conversation highlights fashion’s outsized footprint: roughly 2% of global GDP yet about 10% of climate emissions, plus water pollution from dyeing and widespread labor abuses, often in developing countries where some of the best progressive work is also happening.

Show notes:

Find out more at https://eco-age.com/

Check out their Climate Week NYC event at https://www.climateweeknyc.org/event-search/convening-the-next-gen-materials-transition

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Is it time to bring back Smokey the Bear?

In this episode of 50 Shades of Green, hosts Adam Lake and Katie Lanegran are joined by meteorologist Stephanie Abrams from The Weather Channel to find out just what IS happening with the weather right now.

From heatwaves to wildfires, Katie and Stephanie talk through the reasons why the weather has been so extreme this year and the role that human made emissions have played in making it worse. They also explore what actions people should take to cope with extreme weather and what we can all do to be more resilient in the face of more frequent events.

Asking the big question, what can people do to prevent climate change, Stephanie talks about the small things individuals can do to make a difference, as well as the major systemic changes which need to happen.

Follow Stephanie at https://x.com/StephanieAbrams and https://www.weathergroup.com/shows/amhq

This episode is brought to you by Climate Week NYC.

Climate Week NYC brings together over 1000 events and hundreds of thousands of people for the biggest climate event on the planet.

If you are a non-profit, organization or company doing the right thing who has a story to tell, find out more about how you can be a part of the week.

Find out more at climateweeknyc.org
Partner with us: Partner with us at Climate Week NYC
Delegate tickets for The Hub Live: https://www.climateweeknyc.org/attend-climate-week-nyc
Submit your event here: Host a Climate Week NYC Event 2026 | Register Now

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In this episode of 50 Shades of Green from Climate Group, hosts Adam Lake and Katie Lanegran welcome back transport correspondent Ricky (Richard Parker) by popular demand for a deep dive into corporate fleet electrification. Fresh off the release of EV100’s annual Electric Realities Report, the conversation moves from high-level commitments to the practical realities of getting battery-electric vehicles on the road at scale.

The episode features two rich interviews that map the full electrification journey. First, Ricky sits down with Brandon Jones from Ceres and Santeri Palomäki from the We Mean Business Coalition. They unpack complementary resources designed for companies at different stages. Ceres’ Driving Growth: Managing Transition Risks in Transportation report makes the financial and risk-management case for electrification—covering physical, market, and transition risks tied to fossil-fuel dependence, capital reallocation, and regulatory shifts. It stresses accounting for transport emissions across operations and value chains, securing leadership buy-in for science-aligned targets, developing time-bound EV strategies, and joining collaborative platforms such as Ceres’ Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance (CEVA) and Climate Group’s EV100. Santeri walks through We Mean Business’s freely available Business Action Checklists (including a dedicated India edition).

The second interview features Adam Orth, Head of US Fleet at Siemens. Siemens has electrified 50% of its roughly 8,000 US vehicles—spanning light-duty sedans, SUVs, pickups, medium-duty assets, and even early heavy-duty tractor trailers and yard spotters across every climate and geography. Adam shares how the company shifted from asking “which EV should we buy?” to “what does the job actually require?” That mindset unlocked operational redesigns: many small vans were carrying far less payload than assumed (or mostly air), leading to right-sizing into more suitable models (including a phased transition via ICE Equinoxes that prepared teams for the EV versions). Drivers now operate smart vehicles with one-pedal driving, advanced safety features, and 300–400+ mile ranges that meet real duty cycles.Adam is candid about remaining gaps—especially medium-duty vans with high payload needs—and the value of peer networks (EV100 and CEVA) in aggregating demand so OEMs can close those gaps. Change management has been continuous: custom training videos, ongoing education even after a year of driving, and treating electrification as an opportunity to improve efficiency rather than a one-for-one fuel swap. His three pieces of advice for companies just starting: begin with the work (not the vehicle), don’t wait for perfect (electrify the easy routes first and learn), and don’t go it alone.

Throughout, the hosts and guests emphasize that electrification is operational systems change—not merely swapping powertrains. It forces companies to re-examine payload, routing, gear, employee behavior, and fuel-price risk. The consistent message across NGO guidance and corporate practice is clear: start now, share lessons, and scale what works. Listeners leave with concrete entry points—whether they still need to win the internal business case, need a step-by-step checklist, or are ready to move from pilots to majority electrification.Resources mentioned include the EV100 Electric Realities Report (climategroup.org), Ceres’ Driving Growth report and CEVA, and We Mean Business Business Action Checklists.

The episode closes with a look ahead to Climate Week NYC transport conversations (charging access, power availability, and vehicle affordability) and a preview of next week’s guest.Tune in for actionable insights from the companies and coalitions already proving that large-scale fleet electrification is not only possible—it’s underway.
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In this episode of Fifty Shades of Green, hosts Adam Lake and Katie Lanegran sit down with Lisa Sachs, Director of the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment and lead of Columbia’s M.S. in Climate Finance at Columbia Climate School, for a candid, wide-ranging conversation about net zero, carbon markets, and what it will actually take to decarbonize the global economy. Against a backdrop of record heat, wildfires, storms and smoky skies, the trio wrestles with a central question: has the language and practice of “net zero” helped — or distracted — the climate movement?

Lisa opens by clarifying what net zero really means: an atmospheric goal to balance emissions and sinks. She argues that the way net zero has been popularized — as an entity-level target for companies, cities or countries — is misleading and often counterproductive. Rather than driving systemic decarbonization, entity-level promises too frequently rely on offsets and voluntary carbon markets, allowing emitters to claim neutrality without changing underlying systems. Lisa worries voluntary markets are largely driven by methodological flaws and middlemen profit, and that offsets cannot substitute for actual decarbonization everywhere. Adam and Katie push back and probe implications, including whether the net zero framing could be a cynical distraction — Lisa admits that while conspiracy is tempting, institutional inertia and misunderstanding of systems are more likely culprits.

The conversation pivots to solutions-oriented thinking. Lisa is optimistic about the present moment: decarbonized systems for energy, transport, buildings and industry are now often cheaper, more resilient, and superior on performance — they are “better systems.” The barrier is not technology but coordination, planning, policy enablers and financing structures, especially in emerging markets. She emphasizes that while private capital can and should drive many transitions, nature and resilience must be treated as public goods requiring public finance.

Rather than obsessing over terminology or expecting COP negotiations to design and implement systems, Lisa urges practical, sectoral, regionally tailored solutions developed in the year between COPs and then brought to the global stage for political validation and scale.
Adam and Katie reflect on messaging and politics: why “net zero” has become a loaded phrase and how consumer-focused narratives (you must sacrifice) have undermined public support. They highlight the need to shift discourse toward the tangible, everyday benefits of better systems — cheaper energy, reliable grids, improved appliances, and jobs — drawing parallels with how LEDs and EVs moved from niche statements to mainstream, nonpartisan technologies. The hosts also discuss the role of fossil fuels in emerging economies and the unfair financing barriers that make leapfrogging to clean systems difficult; Lisa insists we should enable scalable, financeable clean infrastructure rather than concede fossil dependence.

Throughout, the tone balances critique and constructive optimism: the net zero construct may be flawed, but the transition to a cleaner, fairer, more prosperous world is feasible and economically compelling. The episode closes with a call to reframe the work: focus on building the better systems we need, redesign financing and policy levers to unlock them globally — especially in fast-growing emerging markets — and use forums like COP to scale proven solutions rather than invent them.

Listeners will come away with a sharper understanding of the limits of carbon offsets, a clearer picture of what “net zero” should mean, and practical hope: we know what systems to build, the barriers we must remove, and how collective, cross-disciplinary action can make a decarbonized future both attainable and beneficial for everyone.
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In this episode of 50 Shades of Green, hosts Adam Lake and Katie Lanegran sit down with Naftali Honig, Regional Operations Manager for Africa Parks’ Congo's region, for a deep, hopeful conversation about the Congo Basin — its global climate importance, the wildlife it supports, and the practical work and challenges of protecting and restoring these critical ecosystems. The show opens with light banter about the World Cup, then quickly pivots to the episode’s focus: why the Congo Basin matters and how on-the-ground conservation is being done differently and successfully.

Naftali explains the basin’s role as a global “lung” — not only in gas exchange and carbon storage but as a vast hydrological system that moves freshwater across Central Africa. He outlines the geography of the region, centered on the Democratic Republic of Congo but stretching into neighboring countries, and describes the remarkable biodiversity: forest elephants, gorillas, chimpanzees, myriad less-known species, and savanna-edge animals historically including cheetah. The conversation emphasizes that these ecosystems are interconnected and underpin global climate stability, water security, food systems, and local livelihoods.

A major thread is African Parks’ approach: protected areas as anchors for a nature-based, sustainable economy that benefits both people and nature. Naftali debunks the myth that conservation in Africa is only about tourism, explaining how protected lands support sustainable fisheries, forestry, cultural heritage, and community wellbeing. He stresses local stewardship — most park staff are from surrounding communities — and argues that conservation succeeds when it empowers people economically and culturally, not when it excludes them.

The episode highlights inspiring restoration work, notably the reintroduction of white rhinos to Garamba National Park in northeastern DRC. Naftali describes the complex logistics and long-term monitoring required for translocations, and how returning “ecosystem engineers” like rhinos can transform landscapes and accelerate ecological recovery. They also discuss plans to restore prey populations, antelopes, zebras, and potentially cheetah, illustrating how recovery must follow ecological sequencing and sustained management.

Naftali outlines the principal challenges: ecological logistics and anti-poaching work, socio-political complexities, and, critically, finances. Tourism can help, but crises like Ebola and limited national budgets mean conservation needs diversified funding and innovative financial tools. He also points to technological advances — satellite imagery, tracking collars, and environmental DNA (eDNA) — that revolutionize how scientists monitor biodiversity and ecosystem health, offering richer, networked insights into species interactions and food webs.

Practical takeaways for listeners include how to support the work: visit and respect rules as responsible tourists, donate to credible organizations like African Parks, and amplify the stories and science of conservation. The hosts reflect on misconceptions — especially the condescending “white savior” narrative — and celebrate the leadership and expertise originating in Africa. The episode closes on an optimistic note: real, measurable conservation successes prove that “nothing is impossible” when communities, governments, science, and sustained funding come together.

Warm, informative, and grounded in field experience, this episode reframes conservation as a complex, people-centered enterprise with global stakes. It’s essential listening for anyone curious about how large-scale restoration works in practice, why the Congo Basin matters to all of us, and how targeted, locally driven efforts can yield dramatic ecological returns — from rhinos roaming again to forests stabilizing climate and water for generations to come.
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