Climate Vision 2050

Controlled-environment agriculture allows farmers to grow fruits and vegetables indoors all over the world and even on Mars.  Vertical farms are interwoven into the fabric of our cities, and produce is grown in greenhouses in less densely populated areas.  Farmer Louisette Thibault must contain a pest outbreak at indoor farming facilities in and around Montreal, Canada. Climate challenges have put massive pressure on agricultural production in recent decades.  Controlled-environment agriculture has brought the production of fruits and vegetables closer to the point of consumption regardless of weather, heat, or drought. Problems around food equity and access, high-volume grain production and protein shortages remain, but these new farms are helping to reduce water consumption and carbon emissions.We hear from Evan Fraser imagining himself as the head of composting and recycling at a farm on Mars.  He is the director of the Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph and author of Dinner on Mars.  Matt Westerlund, a BCG managing director and partner, goes deep on controlled-environment agriculture. Climate Vision 2050 is a podcast from BCG, a global consulting firm committed to climate and sustainability action.  Join us every episode as we explore how the world radically reduced carbon emissions and stepped back from the brink of climate catastrophe.  This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

Shipping is propelled into the future by a force that has moved vessels since antiquity: the wind.  Ships powered with sails, kites, flettner rotors, and more sustainable fuels have aided decarbonization.  Captain Karan Sharma battles a hurricane as he competes in a company-wide efficiency rating game called GreenShip50. Digital tools and increased automation have transformed the shipping industry.  Today, most of our vessels and ports operate with minimal human intervention–except in emergencies. The industry also began to share data, and nations began to collaborate; critical steps to ensuring the sustainability of this industry. Peter Jameson, a BCG partner and sustainable shipping expert, explains how the shipping industry has evolved in recent decades. Faïg Abbasov, director of the shipping program at Transport & Environment, Europe’s leading clean transport campaign group, is also a guest Climate Vision 2050 is a podcast from BCG, a global consulting firm committed to climate and sustainability action.  Join us every episode as we explore how the world radically reduced carbon emissions and stepped back from the brink of climate catastrophe.  This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

The path to decarbonize aviation seemed insurmountable. Through new aircraft design, alternative fuels, and infrastructure improvements flying is greener than ever.  In a rush to get to the delivery room of his new baby, electric supercharging technician Paul Harper travels home on a supersonic jet run on sustainable aviation fuel. Since the Wright Brothers’ first flight in the early 1900s, the aviation industry has depended on fossil fuels to power planes.  Today in 2050, the industry relies on liquid hydrogen, sustainable aviation fuels, electric aircraft, and blended-wing body planes.  Gökçin Çinar, assistant professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan and principal investigator of the Integrated Design of Environmentally-Friendly Aerospace Systems (IDEAS) Lab, explains the changes, as does Ryah Whalen, executive director of innovations at BCG Innovations. Climate Vision 2050 is a podcast from BCG, a global consulting firm committed to climate and sustainability action.  Join us every episode as we explore how the world radically reduced carbon emissions and stepped back from the brink of climate catastrophe.  This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

Nairobi’s green tech and innovation boom make it a 2050 powerhouse. That success comes with climate challenges that the city is addressing.  Urban planner Bailey Muthoni lives in housing built from plastic waste and gets around on an electric motorbike.  She stages a tactical urbanism intervention advocating for improved walkability at the city's parliament.The city’s population has quadrupled since the 2020s, forcing it to find creative ways to house new and longtime residents while addressing poverty and inequality.  At the same time, the city had to transition to an electrified bus rapid transit system and charging infrastructure for electric motorbikes.  The city is fully powered by renewable energy.We hear from John Kidenda imagining himself as the founder of the Nairobi Tactical startup.  He is the chief of utility operations at PowerGen Renewable Energy.  We also hear from Katie Hill, an expert leader in climate and energy technology and BCG partner. Climate Vision 2050 is a podcast from BCG, a global consulting firm committed to climate and sustainability action.  Join us every episode as we explore how the world radically reduced carbon emissions and stepped back from the brink of climate catastrophe.  This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

In 2050 dozens of energy islands exist around the world to power our societies with hundreds of offshore wind turbines, each about three times the height of the Statue of Liberty.  In this episode, we travel alongside offshore technician Sofia Rojas to the North Sea energy island, which is nearly the size of 20 football pitches. It is one of the oldest.  Sofia must investigate and fix an anomaly detected through the island's AI interface known as SAILOR. The North Sea energy island creates renewable energy from its massive wind turbines and mines CO2 directly from the atmosphere through direct air capture units. The island produces low-carbon fuels that power energy-intensive vessels like cargo ships, airplanes, and space shuttles  The project was a mission to Mars for the energy system powering over 10 million European homes and reducing carbon emissions substantially.  We’ll hear from Jacob Østergaard, a professor at Denmark Technical University and BCG’s Mogens Holm about the challenges in building these islands while protecting the environment; storing surplus energy, transporting hydrogen safely, and protecting against  cyberattacks. Climate Vision 2050 is a podcast from BCG, a global consulting firm committed to climate and sustainability action.  Join us every episode as we explore how the world radically reduced carbon emissions and stepped back from the brink of climate catastrophe.  This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy

It’s 2050 and we’re exploring how the world radically reduced carbon emissions and saved itself from climate catastrophe. In this podcast, we transport you across the world to hear stories about overcoming inertia and mistrust, unleashing creativity and collaboration, and making meaningful and sustainable progress against an existential threat.How do we power our world with renewable energy?  What have our cities done to accommodate massive population growth?  And how do businesses, governments, researchers and everyday people work together to build sustainable supply chains, agricultural practices and transportation infrastructure?  Join us as we unpack the challenges we’ve faced, the technology that made it possible and the crucial steps that still need to be taken.  Climate Vision 2050 is a podcast from BCG, a global consulting firm committed to climate and sustainability action. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: Chartable - https://chartable.com/privacy