The Fifth Estate
View all episodes in this series
Atmosphere of Hope
See also
Ten years after his internationally bestselling book, The Weather Makers, author and scientist Tim Flannery argues in Atmosphere of Hope that the global climate system is close to crisis.
Following the recent announcement of Obama’s Clean Power Plan, and in the lead-up to the United Nations Climate Change Conference (to be held in Paris in December 2015), Fifth Estate host Sally Warhaft is joined by Tim Flannery alongside Australian Solar Council CEO John Grimes and futurist Katherine Teh-White to provide both a snapshot of the trouble we’re already in – and a discussion of the emerging technologies that give us hope for the future of our planet.
From atmospheric carbon capture to seaweed farming to carbon dioxide snow production in Antarctica and the manufacture of carbon-rich biochar, our guests will discuss not only the depths of the climate change crisis – but the transformative models that might mitigate its effects.
Who?
Sally Warhaft
Sally Warhaft is a Melbourne broadcaster, anthropologist and writer. She hosts the Fifth Estate, the Wheeler Centre’s live series focusing on journalism, politics, media, and international relations, now in its ninth year. She is a former editor of the Monthly magazine and the author of the bestselling book Well May We Say: The Speeches that Made Australia.
Sally is a regular host and commentator on ABC radio and has a PhD in anthropology. She did her fieldwork in Mumbai, India, living by the seashore with the local fishing community.
Tim Flannery
Tim Flannery has published over thirty books including the award-winning The Future Eaters, The Weather Makers, Atmosphere of Hope and Here on Earth and the novel The Mystery of the Venus Island Fetish. In 2005 he was named Australian Humanist of the Year, and in 2007, Australian of the Year.
In 2007 he co-founded and was appointed Chair of the Copenhagen Climate Council. In 2011 he became Australia’s Chief Climate Commissioner, and in 2013 he founded the Australian Climate Council. His current book is Sunlight and Seaweed.
Katherine Teh-White
Katherine Teh-White is the managing director and founder of Futureye – a firm which provides market research, public policy, public affairs, risk communication, foresight and strategy and change management. Futureye operates in Australia, Asia and Europe and is currently expanding in the Americas. In the past three years, she has also founded WikiCurve – a two-way engagement platform tracking the progress of societal expectations.
She has won a number of awards including the Golden Target award from the Public Relations Institute of Australia (1994), Telstra Business Woman of the Year private sector awardee (2001) and Victorian Women’s Honour Roll (2003). She has been listed in Who’s Who of Australian Women from 2007. She worked actively for a decade to engage Australian companies to sign on to the UN Global Compact, participated in the leaders group with Kofi Annan UN Secretary General at UN Global Compact conference in New York USA (2004) and was provided an opportunity to speak to the leaders group at the 10 year anniversary in New York USA (2010).
John Grimes
John Grimes is the chief executive of the Australian Solar Council and the Energy Storage Council; both are not-for-profit organisations.
In his role as CEO of the Australian Solar Council, he has grown the profile and influence of the organisation as it has become the national voice of solar. The Energy Storage Council provides an independent forum for the energy storage industry, by networking and information sharing in this growing industry.
The Fifth Estate
The important stories of the day – off the front pages.
Sally Warhaft hosts a dizzying array of guests from the worlds of politics, culture, international relations and beyond, in a witty and revealing analysis of current affairs.