Fwd: New podcast...The Professor Who Helped Save Perth’s Rail Says Fossil Fuel Giants Won’t Survive the 2040s
Gabrielle Dean
Begin forwarded message:
From: Peter Newman <p.ne...@curtin.edu.au>
Date: 6 August 2026 at 10:51:09 pm AWST
To: Peter Newman <p.ne...@curtin.edu.au>
Subject: New podcast...The Professor Who Helped Save Perth’s Rail Says Fossil Fuel Giants Won’t Survive the 2040s
Climate Confident:
The Professor Who Helped Save Perth’s Rail Says Fossil Fuel Giants Won’t Survive the 2040s
This week on Climate Confident, I speak with Professor Peter Newman AO - Curtin University sustainability professor, author of 26 books and 440-plus papers, former IPCC coordinating lead author on transport, cities expert, government adviser and the 2018 Western Australian Scientist of the Year. His argument is bracingly optimistic: the transition is now being driven less by climate virtue than by brutal economics, and cities are where cheap renewables, batteries, electrification and better urban design will turn that momentum into everyday reality.
Peter explains why cities, rather than national governments, are the decisive engines of climate action, and why practical hope beats fear as a political strategy.
He traces the accelerating shift from solar and EVs to electric freight, machinery, aviation and shipping, predicting that many oil, gas and coal companies will disappear during the 2040s.
We discuss transit-oriented development, walkable neighbourhoods, renewable-powered precincts and why net zero should produce cities that are cleaner, cheaper and considerably more enjoyable to inhabit.
Why This Matters: Climate progress becomes far harder to reverse once clean technology is cheaper, cities are delivering it locally and citizens discover that the replacement is simply better than what came before.
Kismet: Peter’s academic work on car dependence began after he watched car-reliant San Francisco buckle during the 1973 oil crisis while bicycle-friendly Delft carried on almost serenely - one energy shock, two cities and a five-decade career born in the contrast. 🎧 Listen to the full episode