Cleaning Up. Leadership in an Age of Climate Change

Bryony Worthington

Bryony Worthington Profile Photo

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

Aug. 7, 2024

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.

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July 24, 2024

'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, …

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July 3, 2024

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...

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June 26, 2024

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 ...

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June 12, 2024

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, …

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May 22, 2024

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 …

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May 8, 2024

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 …

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May 1, 2024

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.

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