G'day COP31
Podcast Description
G'day COP31 is a podcast for those who want to know more about the ‘COP31’ (almost) being hosted in Australia in 2026. Your hosts are Heidi Dumesich and Jack Whelan. Jack is a boomer and started his career in sustainability before it was concerned 'cool'. His experience stretches from the earliest COPs - across business and industry, government, development agencies, NGOs, and the UN. He worked with the International Chamber of Commerce and World Business Council on Sustainable Development, in the AsiaPac region with the Pacific Region Infrastructure Facility and the major donor agencies like the Asian Development Bank and World Bank. Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade nominated him to the design team which established the IRIS initiative to promote climate and disaster resilient infrastructure in the Small Island Developing States.. Heidi Dumesich is a millennial with a degree in Environmental Science focusing on implementing practical solutions. Heidi is the seasoned podcaster with her sustainability focused podcast called Life on Planet A. She is currently working as a Sustainability Manager at Ventia, leading a road project’s Infrastructure Sustainability Council rating. The aim of this podcast is to dive into the ins and outs of what really happens at a COP — from all of the different stakeholders and planning to the politics, people, and purpose behind it all. Through candid conversations with stakeholders across government, industry, civil society, and community groups, we unpack how everyone is impacted, involved, and inspired by climate diplomacy at this scale.Whether you're a policymaker, business leader, activist, or just COP-curious, this is your space to learn how to get the most out of any COP — wherever it’s held.Tune in, get engaged, and say G’day COP !.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast explores various themes related to climate change and sustainability, including the logistics of hosting a COP, the roles of different stakeholders, and the socio-political context affecting climate negotiations. For instance, episodes cover topics like the importance of the Pacific region in climate discussions and the contributions of industries, such as LPG, towards clean energy solutions.
Bula COP31 is a podcast for anyone wanting to understand what it means for Australia and the Türkiye to co-host COP31 in 2026, and why this moment is influential in the UNFCCC process. Australia will be putting the Pacific Islands at the forefront of the climate negotiations to ensure adaptation and infrastructure investments flow to the region.
Your hosts are Heidi Dumesich and Jack Whelan.
Jack is a proud boomer who started his sustainability career long before it was considered ‘cool’. His experience spans the earliest COPs and reaches across business, industry, government, development agencies, NGOs, and the UN. He’s worked with the International Chamber of Commerce and the World Business Council on Sustainable Development; and across Asia-Pacific with the Pacific Region Infrastructure Facility, Asian Development Bank, and World Bank. Jack was nominated by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to the design team that established the IRIS initiative, supporting climate- and disaster-resilient infrastructure in Small Island Developing States — work that sits at the heart of Pacific climate priorities.
Heidi Dumesich is a millennial environmental scientist focused on implementing practical solutions. She’s the seasoned podcaster behind Life on Planet A, and currently a Sustainability Manager at Ventia, leading an Infrastructure Sustainability Council rating for a major road project. Heidi brings a fresh, grounded perspective on climate action and how sustainability plays out across communities and sectors.
Bula COP31 explores what really happens behind the scenes of a COP — with a special focus on how Pacific leadership, values, and voices shape the global climate agenda. Through candid conversations with stakeholders across Pacific governments, Australian agencies, industry, civil society, youth, and community groups, we unpack how climate diplomacy in our region is driven by relationships, resilience, and shared responsibility.
Whether you’re a policymaker, business leader, activist, Pacific climate champion, or simply COP-curious, this podcast is your guide to getting the most out of COP31 — and understanding how it can deliver for the Blue Pacific Continent.
Tune in, get engaged, and say Bula COP31!
Jon Jutsen returns to Bula COP31 to unpack the messier middle of the energy transition: where biofuels and biogas still have a role in hard-to-abate sectors like mining, farming and remote transport, and whether Australia's electricity grid is actually ready for the wave of EVs and heat pumps about to hit it. Jutsen makes the case that biodiesel is a short-term bridge at best, that biogas is underused in agriculture and rural industry, and that our networks — built for a world of dozens of new connection applications a year, not thousands — are racing to catch up. The conversation turns to a bigger question: are big centralised transmission networks becoming redundant as we shift toward local, distributed grids?
Jutsen thinks the answer is nuanced — networks aren't going away, but their role is changing fast. A must-listen ahead of COP31 for anyone tracking Australia and the Pacific's electrification journey.
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