Bryony Worthington
Co-Director / Quadrature Climate Foundation
Baroness Bryony Worthington is a Crossbench member of the House of Lords, who has spent her career working on conservation, energy and climate change issues.
Bryony was appointed as a Life Peer in 2011. Her current roles include co-chairing the cross-party caucus Peers for the Planet in the House of Lords and Co-Director of the Quadrature Climate Foundation.
Her opus magnum is the 2008 Climate Change Act which she wrote as the lead author. She piloted the efforts on this landmark legislation – from the Friends of the Earth’s ‘Big Ask’ campaign all the way through to the parliamentary works. This crucial legislation requires the UK to reduce its carbon emissions to a level of 80% lower than its 1990 emissions.
She founded the NGO Sandbag in 2008, now called Ember. It uses data insights to advocate for a swift transition to clean energy. Between 2016 and 2019 she was the executive director for Europe of the Environmental Defence. Prior to that she worked with numerous environmental NGOs.
Baroness Bryony Worthington read English Literature at Cambridge University
How Climate Philanthropy Spends Its Billions | Ep189: Greg De Temmerm…
Climate philanthropies are playing an increasingly important role in funding climate action. In 2023, an estimated $9-16 billion was spent by philanthropies on programs to mitigate climate change. But how do they choose how t...
Is Trump's Victory A Win For China? Ep185: Professor Qi Ye
Is China's lead in clean technologies insurmountable? How will the Trump presidency shape relations with China? And when will China's emissions peak? Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, has said that 'almost...
How Trump & Musk Will Reshape US Climate Action — Michael Liebreich &…
How will the Trump administration's policies impact the clean energy transition in the United States? What will be Elon Musk's role in shaping climate policy? And what are the geopolitical implications of the US withdrawing f...
Who Will Be the Tesla of the Waves? Ep183: Ben Sorkin
How difficult is it to power a boat just with electricity? Is an electric outboard as reliable as a fossil-fuel one when taken out to sea? And just how much better is an electric engine for reducing pollution and noise? …
Can Half a Trillion Dollars Help the US Catch China? Ep181: Ethan Zi…
China has taken a commanding lead in manufacturing solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles and batteries, and is central to the green energy transition. Now, the US is hoping to catch up, and has spent almost $500 bill...
Is it Time for Climate Interventions? | Ep177: Kelly Wanser
As climate impacts mount, pressure is building on policymakers to find ways to alleviate the crisis. One controversial option being explored is geoengineering - direct human interventions to cool the planet. But can we safely...
The Future of Chinese Solar, Battery Myths & Climate Politics | Ep174…
In the final episode of Season 12, hosts Michael Liebreich and Bryony Worthington reflect on the key conversations and developments in the net-zero transition over the past three months.
'This Is A Narrative War' - How To Win The Climate Argument | Ep172: …
Who are the merchants of doubt and how can their narrative be countered? How much money does it cost to get someone to take action on climate change? This week on Cleaning Up, Bryony Worthington is joined by John Marshall, …
Sunak vs Starmer: What the UK Election Means for Climate and Energy -…
With the UK general election tomorrow, the Cleaning Up team sits down with Dr Simon Evans of Carbon Brief to run through each party's manifesto, and what they say about UK climate and energy policy. With Labour widely predict...
Hot Rocks in a Box: The Rise of Thermal Batteries - ep168: Anand Gopal
As the world transitions away from fossil fuels, one of the biggest challenges is decarbonizing industrial processes that require consistent, reliable sources of energy to produce high-temperatures. Typically these processes ...
Fake Meat, What’s The Beef? Ep166: Bruce Friedrich
Has science cracked the code on mass producing realistic meat substitutes? Or are lab-gown alternative proteins an impossible dream? In this week's episode of Cleaning Up, Baroness Bryony Worthington sits down with president of the Good Food Institute, Bruce Friedrich, …
Can Nuclear Repower China's Coal Fleet? - Ep163: Staffan Qvist & Dr. …
China's policies that direct capital towards cleaner industries have been game changing, and this week we're continuing the China theme, sharing two conversations Bryony had earlier this month at a conference at Xiamen University in Fujian Province. China's role in …
Australia's Political Trim Tab - Ep162: Simon Holmes à Court
Up this week is Simon Holmes à Court, the Australian investor and philanthropist with a passion for using data to change the world. In 2022, the federal elections in Australia delivered an upset, as around a third of the electorate …
How to Model Climate Solutions - Ep161: Lily Cole
How can we build a more united climate movement? What should be the role of geoengineering? And how can indigenous voices be brought into the climate conversation? Bryony puts these questions to model, actor, director, ambassador and businesswoman, Lily Cole.