Miguel Veiga-Pestana

Miguel Veiga-Pestana is Chief Sustainability Officer at Reckitt, a consumer goods company whose brands include Dettol, Durex, Finish, and Nurofen. Miguel oversees the development and integration of Reckitt’s sustainability and purpose-led agenda.

Kumi Naidoo

Kumi Naidoo is a seasoned activist and has held leadership positions at Greenpeace International and Amnesty International.In this impassioned conversation with his compatriot Paul van Zyl, Kumi lays out four things he believes activists could do better at in order to more effectively lead a green revolution. He also speaks about the representation of marginalised voices, how consumer spending power can force greener supply chains, and he suggests radically rethinking the economic systems that have caused so much environmental damage to date.

Jackie Kimeu

Jackie Kimeu is the International Coordinator at ACCESS Coalition. They advocate for people living in poverty to have access to safe, reliable, and affordable energy. Jackie speaks to Paul van Zyl about the Coalition’s regional approach to capacity building, the challenges of storing surpluses of renewable energy, and of the large-scale behavioural change campaigns needed to shift mindsets.

Simon Mundy

Journalist and author Simon Mundy recently travelled across six continents to meet the people embroiled in a race to survive, adapt, and innovate as a response to climate change.Now that the climate emergency has moved from a fringe issue to a core one, he contemplates whether powerful business leaders and policymakers being ambitious enough in responding to the science and to the plights of climate-affected citizens around the world. He also questions whether the voices of those most vulnerable to climate change, like those he met on his travels, are being heard in spaces like COP conferences?Simon shares personal insights from the people he met – scientists, miners, entrepreneurs, farmers, and senior policymakers – in this rich and ranging discussion with Paul van Zyl on life on the front lines of the climate crisis.

The Policymaker Gap (EP#4)

In this episode, Paul talks to Apolitical co-founder and CEO, Robyn Scott; Climate Envoy for the Netherlands, H.R.H. Prince Jaime de Bourbon de Parme; and Former Minister for the Environment in Denmark, Ida Auken about the role of policy in a just transition.

Hydrogen and Carbon Capture Technology (Ep #3)

As the buzz around green hydrogen gathers steam, Andreas Gunst, Partner at DLA Piper, joins Lee Beck (Clean Air Task Force) to discuss its potential as a clean and renewable energy source, the latest developments in carbon capture, utilisation and storage technology, and the ways in which government and business must collaborate to accelerate the transition to a decarbonised energy sector.

Climate Litigation (Ep #2)

Increasingly the climate lobby is moving from the streets to the courtroom - but how can climate litigation accelerate government policies for a zero emissions future?In this episode, Paul van Zyl is joined by Alice Garton, Director of Global Legal Strategy at the Foundation for International Law for the Environment, to explore litigation and human rights law as a tool for climate action.

Just Transition & Human Rights (Ep #1)

What do we really mean by a just transition, what role does the law have to play, and how can we place indigenous knowledge at the forefront of climate decision making?In this episode, Paul van Zyl is joined by Yasmine Ahmed, UK Director of Human Rights Watch, and Tishiko King, a Torres Strait Islander and campaigner, to delve into these vital questions. They discuss what governments should be doing to protect the rights of at-risk populations, the Torres Strait islands ground-breaking court case against the Australian government, and why having a clean, healthy and sustainable environment is a human right

The Mainstreaming of Activism (Ep #6)

Are we, the average citizen, the most powerful trigger of tipping points? With the public fast acknowledging that climate change is a grave and imminent threat, can this awareness coupled with activism trigger rapid changes in government policy and to markets to the benefit of people and planet?19-year-old Jerome Foster II is an environmental activist, voting rights advocate, and emerging technology engineer. He sits on President Biden’s White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council and joins Paul van Zyl to talk about social justice, environmental justice, and creating movements.

Nature, Land Use, and Food (Ep #5)

Global transformation of food and land use systems is needed now more than ever to improve food security, ensure healthier diets, and safeguard biodiversity. Central to achieving this – and unlocking trillions in society returns each year – is protecting nature and addressing food and land use systems’ contribution to the climate crisis.Social entrepreneur and writer Jeremy Leggett is joined by Talia Smith (Co-Director of Knowledge Generation at the Food and Land Use Coalition) to tell us how food and land use systems can accelerate towards positive tipping points.