The Earth Set Collection

With Julia Shaw and her book Green Crime, we roamed widely: from Volkswagen engines and illegal fishing in the Antarctic to zama zama miners in South Africa and ivory poachers. We ended in a deep discussion about prison, punishment, incentives - and how all of that shapes the world of green crime, not just the headline offences but the grey areas where law, behaviour and environmental harm intertwine.

We step behind the headlines of the latest UN climate talks with writer, editor, and climate activist Grace Pengelly — collaborator on the late Peter Betts’ remarkable book The Climate Diplomat: A Personal History of the COP Conferences. If you’ve ever wondered whether the COP system is still fit for purpose — or why anyone keeps turning up — this is a thoughtful, human, and deeply grounded look inside the world of climate diplomacy.

What does US–China rivalry mean for chips, minerals, EVs — and the pace of the energy transition? Neil makes the case that we’re moving from integration to fracturing: “small yard, high fence,” rewired supply chains, and new winners (think India/Vietnam/Mexico). We talk rare earths, tariffs, Taiwan risk, and whether Europe/UK can hit climate goals while leaning on Chinese green tech — plus what a sensible industrial strategy looks like here at home.

A conversation that felt half-future, half-manifesto. Stellar imagines a post-extractive world where abundance replaces scarcity, technology serves humanity, and local resilience outgrows global dependence. The discussion lit up the room with lots of big ideas, but all grounded in possibility.

Ed revealed the hidden drama behind the materials that built modern life: sand, salt, iron, copper, oil and lithium. It was a masterclass in perspective: the physical world beneath our digital dreams, and the mineral foundations of the green transition. We just wish we’d had more time!

Marco offered the perspective no one expects at a climate gathering: calm, evidence-based enthusiasm for nuclear. He dismantled the myths, explored our cultural unease, and made the case for seeing atoms not as threats, but as allies in the energy transition.

Helen kindly chaired an Earth Set event on innovation in the maritime industry, but we also had time to feature her book, Blue Machine. She reminded us that the ocean isn’t scenery, it’s the engine of our planet, quietly powering everything we depend on.

Our first ever author event was a banger! Rathi’s pragmatic optimism cut through the noise: if you want to change capitalism, don’t burn it down, but energise and rewire it. From India to Indonesia, his stories show how business, policy and stubborn optimism can make markets part of the solution rather than the problem.