Snake oil or substance? Tech companies talk climate at COP26

Author: Alina Utrata
Published: Fri 29 Oct 2021
Episode Link: https://shows.acast.com/the-anti-dystopians/episodes/snake-oil-or-substance-tech-companies-talk-climate-at-cop26

This week Josh Lappen, an environmental historian studying at Oxford University, returns to discuss the climate crisis and tech companies ahead of COP26. Are tech companies’ promises of technological innovation really going to save Earth? Do we need AI for the environment? What does the German government have to do with the adoption of solar panels? And who really are the biggest impediments to stopping climate change? (Hint: it’s not China.) Josh discusses the snake oil and substance at COP26, and how tech companies use the promise of the future to influence the politics of the present.

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Articles Mentioned:

Past Anti Dystopians episode with Josh—Nationalize Gmail! https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Aayx7p8uYdKcDeyEvwuzJ?si=48fF-8p7R2KgVPHZ2O-7Rw

Do Carbon Offsets Offset Carbon? https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp9368.pdf

Biden’s First Climate Actions Are Missing Coal’s Long Tail https://www.thenation.com/article/environment/biden-climate-executive-orders-coal/

How Germany helped bring down the cost of PV https://energytransition.org/2016/01/how-germany-helped-bring-down-the-cost-of-pv/

The Dream of Scooping Plastic From the Ocean Is Still Alive—and Problematic https://gizmodo.com/the-dream-of-scooping-plastic-from-the-ocean-is-still-a-1847890573