The Modernisation of the Australian Economy, a COP30 debrief with Beth Dowe, Climate Leaders Coalition

Heat, forests, and hard choices: COP30 in Belém turned climate ambition into a street‑level experience. We have our first return guest, as Beth Dowe, Executive Director of the Climate Leaders Coalition, comes back to the Green Fix to unpack what truly moved the needle at COP: a global push to triple adaptation finance by 2035, Brazil’s big bet on the Tropical Forest Facility, and the fierce debate that stripped fossil fuel roadmap language from the final text while igniting new conversations at home in Australia.Listen in to hear about the real action inside the pavilions where governments, business and civil society intertwined, and why that proximity matters for turning high-level pledges into projects. Beth shares how Australia’s signature on the Belém Declaration creates pressure to refine the Safeguard Mechanism and rethink diesel rebates, even as our COP31 hosting bid fell short. With Minister Bowen confirmed to preside over negotiations, we dig into how Australia can still raise ambition, shape rules and attract global capital to clean energy, critical minerals and value‑chain innovation across the region.Beth shares that it was Nature that took centre stage in the Amazon. We explore how net zero strategies actually depend on halting deforestation, why more than half of global GDP is tied to nature and how the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) is evolving from disclosure to design through pilots that reimagine products, sourcing and end‑of‑life. We also spotlight Indigenous leadership across COP. From the Great Peoples’ March to calls for early engagement and Indigenous‑informed governance to include pathways to co‑ownership in minerals and nature markets, this legitimacy is a prerequisite to investment. Finally, we talk about language that lands: swapping 'decarbonisation' for 'modernisation', treating efficiency as the silent moneymaker and scaling what works through trusted business coalitions and pre‑competitive collaboration for at-scale positive impact.Subscribe, share with a colleague who cares about climate and nature strategy and leave a review to help others discover the show. What’s the one change you want Australia to lead next?Connect with us! Support the showYour Hosts:Dan LeveringtonLoreto GutierrezLiked this episode? Subscribe to our podcast to get the latest Sustainability insights every two weeks. And follow us on Linkedin and Instagram.Email us your ideas, feedback and interviewee suggestions at [email protected]