logo
episode-header-image
Nov 2022
1m 31s

Coming soon: Will climate tech save the ...

Financial Times
About this episode

The climate crisis threatens the future of the planet. But don’t worry, technology will save us. At least that’s the message from startups, innovators and investors. Are they right? In a new season of Tech Tonic FT columnist and climate journalist Pilita Clark discovers the tech scene’s latest moonshot efforts to fight climate change, from sucking carbon straight out of the air to the apparent energy miracle of nuclear fusion. Will these technologies be ready in time, or are they a dangerous waste of money and resource at this most critical moment for our planet?


Check out stories and up-to-the-minute news from the Technology team at ft.com/technology 


Tech Tonic is Presented by Pilita Clark. Edwin Lane is senior producer. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco, with original music from Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Today
Defence stocks drop despite US-Iran war
Meta said it would boost its spending on AI this year, and Jay Powell says he will stay on as a Federal Reserve governor once his term as chair ends. Plus, the special relationship between the UK and US held up under intense pressure, and defence stocks are struggling despite the ... Show More
12m 6s
Yesterday
Life under Iran’s digital blackout
Federal regulators launched a probe into all Disney-owned TV stations after a late-night comedian made a joke about First Lady Melania Trump, and emerging market stocks have recovered all of their losses from the early stages of the Iran war to hit an all-time high, and the Unite ... Show More
12m 12s
Apr 28
Private equity deals where the seller is also the buyer
The number of countries cutting energy taxes in response to the Iran war has doubled over the past month, and China blocked Meta’s $2bn purchase of the AI group Manus. Plus, big private equity backers have raised concerns that some firms may be waving through controversial deals. ... Show More
11m 28s
Recommended Episodes
Oct 2022
Coming soon: Will climate tech save the planet?
<p>The climate crisis threatens the future of the planet. But don’t worry, technology will save us. At least that’s the message from startups, innovators and investors. Are they right? FT columnist and climate journalist Pilita Clark discovers the tech scene’s latest moonshot eff ... Show More
1 m
Nov 2022
Climate tech to save the planet: Techno-optimism or greenwashing?
<p>Billions of dollars are being spent by tech companies and investors on new technology to fight climate change. In the final episode of this series of Tech Tonic, Eric Toone, from Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures fund, tells FT columnist and host Pilita Clark why he bel ... Show More
24m 22s
Oct 2022
Climate tech to save the planet: Out of thin air
<p>Direct air carbon capture - taking carbon dioxide straight out of the air around us - sounds like science fiction. In this episode Pilita Clark visits Iceland to meet the engineers and scientists at the forefront of this<em> </em>new<em> </em>tech. Can carbon capture scale up ... Show More
24m 21s
Nov 2022
Climate tech to save the planet: How to keep flying
<p>As more people fly, aviation is on track to becoming a much bigger problem for climate change. Host Pilita Clark, FT columnist and climate journalist, looks at the potential for a more sustainable aviation industry, a sector that’s struggled to come up with new technology to c ... Show More
24m 30s
Nov 2022
Climate tech to save the planet: Star power
<p>Nuclear fusion is the reaction that powers stars and scientists say replicating it on Earth could produce all the energy we’ll ever need without the CO2.&nbsp;But no one has yet made a fusion reactor that actually produces more energy than it uses. Fusion researchers say that’ ... Show More
24m 9s
Nov 2022
Introducing Tech Tonic, Season 5: Climate tech to save the planet
<p>Tech Tonic is back with a new season about climate tech.</p><br><p>As more people fly, aviation is on track to becoming a much bigger problem for climate change. Host Pilita Clark, FT columnist and climate journalist, looks at the potential for a more sustainable aviation indu ... Show More
25m 9s
Nov 2022
Climate tech to save the planet: Hype and hydrogen
<p>The joke about hydrogen is that it’s the fuel of the future, and always will be. But green hydrogen is made from renewable energy and emits only water vapour, so amidst the fight to reduce carbon emissions, has green hydrogen’s moment now finally arrived? In the latest episode ... Show More
24m 17s
Nov 2022
La technologie peut-elle nous sauver de la catastrophe climatique ?
<p>La fusion nucléaire, l'hydrogène ou une nouvelle invention miraculeuse : l'innovation technologique est-elle notre seule chance pour faire face à la crise climatique ? Le débat fait rage entre les "techno-solutionnistes" et les "techno-critiques". Une conversation qui renvoie ... Show More
45m 40s
Aug 2023
New Technology Is Here To Fight Climate Change. Will We Use It?
Despite global efforts to slow the effects of climate change, July was the hottest month on record in over 125,000 years. The good news is, powerful new technology not available just a few years ago can help turn things around, if we get serious about taking action. Bloomberg’s E ... Show More
27m 4s