The Pragmatic Climate Reset with Michael Liebreich

In this episode of the Earth Set Podcast, Amy sits down with Michael Liebreich to explore his call for a Pragmatic Climate Reset — a clearer, more realistic path to accelerating the transition. Michael argues that climate progress is being held back not by technology, but by noise, politics and misallocated effort. He breaks down why electrification is inevitable, why the “hard 4 percent” distracts from the “easy 96 percent,” and why focusing on what already works will deliver faster, cheaper climate action. They take on COP, UK energy policy, grid bottlenecks, hydrogen hype, data centres, and the economics shaping the next decade of climate solutions. It’s one of the clearest explanations of where the transition stands today. In this episode: • What a Pragmatic Climate Reset really means • Why electrification beats hydrogen for most sectors • How political narratives distort climate progress • Why grid reform and pricing matter more than targets • What data centre growth means for energy demand • Why behaviour change now matters to the transition • What Michael is optimistic about heading into 2026 If you’re working in climate, energy, tech or policy, this conversation cuts through the noise and brings the transition back to what works.