Q&A with ‘reality checker’ Ketan Joshi

The truth is out there, but so are lies

… and that is what drives Australian-born Oslo resident Ketan Joshi who is an avid researcher and communicator on all things good, bad, bizarre or misrepresented in energy and climate change.

“I hope every climate denier I’ve encountered has left alienated and confused. They’re small in number… today many millions of people want to be part of climate action, but aren’t really sure how they can do it. Those are the people I want to talk to!”

“I am bullish not about a positive destiny, but about our unrealised power to change our destiny. No fate.”

@Ketanj0

Smart Energy: How does an Australian neuroscience/psychology graduate end up immersed in all things energy transition and living in Oslo?

I fumbled around after university, wanted a ‘sciency’ job and found one advertised for a wind farm company based in Sydney. Fumbled my way through an interview and somehow got it. It was terrifying, but once I understood the work, exhilarating.

We moved to Norway for my partner’s work, but like with many in my generation, we just go wherever work takes us. We’d probably prefer to be in one place! SE: What rattles you most about the energy transition trajectory and the influence of the fossil fuel industry? A big and structural slow-down in solar, wind or both due to community or political factors. We’re already seeing it in places like Germany and the UK for wind, and to a lesser extent solar in Australia (perhaps temporary, hopefully). Even if the building of the generators goes well, transmission lines, storage, funding, policy etc can all trip up. It really rattles me a lot. The people spearheading the transition must have resilience to extreme conditions for this to work. SE: To what extent has the invasion of Ukraine triggered a wake-up call over European energy supplies? I remain unconvinced that bloody conflict or disease will accelerate the clean energy transition. The power of incumbency, the greedy corruption of fossil fuel interests, the irrationality of those who want to rely MORE on the fuels that are causing this crisis (in both economic and political terms) are all stunningly powerful hurdles to overcome. Clean energy is powerful, but to clear those roadblocks and then some seems pretty unlikely. However, what we see, with wind and solar weathering this storm and still managing to keep up historical growth is nothing to sneeze at. I’m impressed! SE: We note ‘Norway has taken the lead from Russia in supplying natural gas to Europe and its gas production is set to rise 8% this year, on track for a record.’ Norway’s fossil fuels cause climate change, and they cause air pollution when they’re used in products in customer countries. They also lock in reliance on a fuel we know is wielded by a bloodthirsty warmonger as a tool to hold countries hostage. Gas, more so than oil these days, is nothing less than a deadly weapon mixed with a toxic hazard. SE: Norway leads the world in electric vehicle uptake, do you drive one? Only sometimes, I barely ever drive as Oslo is very walkable; we use public transport or bikes when we need to go longer distances, or car share as a last resort.

Norway’s high EV sales figures are often touted as positives, but that bleeds through only very slowly in actual emissions reductions in transport, which sit at only a few percent below 2005 baselines. Norway’s state ownership of its fossil fuel machine is also touted as a positive in Australia; of course that just means we as residents and citizens feel compelled to ignore the consequences of the money that feeds our welfare and government systems. Norway should be urgently exiting the fossil fuel age, but it’s clinging on, and the small, slow change to its transport emissions is expanded and over-sold as greenwashing. SE: Reading your recent lengthy exposé ‘Hello and welcome to the Offsets Hall of Shame’ I wonder about its reach and impact. I wrote the Offsets article during my parental leave period of three months (thank you Norwegian fossilfunded welfare state) but these days I’ve cooled down a bit on writing as I was on overload. Now, I do communications strategic consulting for European climate groups and organisations, though I do miss writing a bit.

My sphere of influence is limited, but I have sometimes had an actual impact. Mostly it comes down to just pushing as hard as possible where I know I can contribute, and not worrying about quantifying my impact in a direct way. It’s fuzzy, but I’ve learned not to stress about it. SE: Do you think you are in some way helping facilitate the shift to renewables, have you swayed many climate deniers? I think in my earlier career I did help facilitate the shift to renewables in Australia, in a very small way, by effortfully debunking misinformation about energy transformations. Today, I hope I focus more on enablement. It’s more about building good wind, and good solar, and good policies, and a focus on justice and equity. The tech has momentum now, but we still need to shape it so it’s fair and effective, and fast

enough. I hope every climate denier I’ve encountered has left alienated and confused. They’re small in number and I will never spend time on them when I could be talking to the open-minded but unsure. There are today many millions of people who want to be part of climate action, but aren’t really sure how they can do it. Those are the people I want to talk to! SE: What work are you most proud of? Definitely this is one of the ones: https://ketanjoshi.co/2021/04/10/ within-the-drumbeat-of-bad-decisions-impossible-is-toxic/ – arguing that defining anything as “impossible” is premature and somewhat ludicrous. The entire effort we’re in is a fight to change probability – to change the straight-line trajectory of our current destiny and make the impossible into the improbable, then the unlikely, then the middle-case, then likely, and finally, the unavoidable. We did that for renewables – now to do it for every single other sector, and to do it fast enough to

“I’m particularly obsessed with (you guessed it) offsetting, carbon removal, fossil fuel industry greenwashing and the deception of fake climate action.”

limit total cumulative emissions to a narrow budget. I am bullish, not about a positive destiny, but about our unrealised power to change our destiny. No fate. SE: What’s on your radar now? My focus, both on work and in my non-work interests, is in climate commitments, targets and the various gaps, roadblocks and setbacks in translating ambition into action. I’m particularly obsessed with (you guessed it) offsetting, carbon removal, fossil fuel industry greenwashing and the deception of fake climate action. I absolutely love the righteous joy of taking apart bad-faith climate delay. It is always sophisticated, hard to spot and incredibly effective, so it feels like you are doing something real and significant when you defuse that bomb.

Look out for Greta Thunberg’s ‘The Climate Book’, in which Ketan Joshi contributed an essay on carbon capture and storage.

“I absolutely love the righteous joy of taking apart bad-faith climate delay. It is always sophisticated, hard to spot and incredibly effective, so it feels like you are doing something real and significant when you defuse that bomb.”