WEBVTT - Neste U.S. President on Climate Change 0:00:01.040 --> 0:00:04.720 You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Messer on 0:00:04.880 --> 0:00:08.800 Bloomberg Radio. You are listening to Bloomberg Business Week Carol 0:00:08.880 --> 0:00:13.560 Masser along with Kaylee Lines. And uh, we are watching 0:00:13.600 --> 0:00:17.239 certainly a storm zeta, right? Is that how we say it? 0:00:17.280 --> 0:00:19.960 Seta zeta? Yeah? I don't know. It's at the end 0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:23.160 of the alphabet, which tells us just how many storms 0:00:23.239 --> 0:00:25.599 we have seen this year, and especially in the Gulf Coast. 0:00:25.640 --> 0:00:28.120 I mean, this one is almost a category three and 0:00:28.400 --> 0:00:31.720 lo and behold it's barreling towards Louisiana, which has already 0:00:31.720 --> 0:00:34.600 gotten hit by multiple storms this year, Carol, and impacting 0:00:34.640 --> 0:00:37.560 that coast and that environment. It all speaks to climate change, 0:00:37.600 --> 0:00:39.839 something we've been watching globally. We want to talk a 0:00:39.960 --> 0:00:43.000 bit about that. Our next guest doing some interesting work. 0:00:43.200 --> 0:00:46.440 They are very involved in renewable diesel, renewable jet fuel, 0:00:46.440 --> 0:00:50.040 renewable and recycled plastics. Jeffy Bains is president of nest 0:00:50.040 --> 0:00:54.120 to US. It's a division of the Finland based company Nesty. 0:00:54.200 --> 0:00:55.680 Their A d r s have been on quite a 0:00:55.800 --> 0:00:58.160 run this year, up more than fifty percent. He joins 0:00:58.240 --> 0:01:01.160 us on the phone in Houston, Texas, Jeremy, delighted to 0:01:01.200 --> 0:01:04.520 have you here with us. How are you, yes, thank 0:01:04.560 --> 0:01:08.399 you very well, staying at home, staying safe. Well, talk 0:01:08.400 --> 0:01:09.640 to us a little bit about that. We're gonna get 0:01:09.640 --> 0:01:11.360 into your business in just a moment. But what is 0:01:11.400 --> 0:01:15.960 your world like amid COVID and what has it been like? Well, 0:01:16.000 --> 0:01:18.840 it's been, it's been. It's been a very tough year, UM, 0:01:18.920 --> 0:01:25.399 not not only for nest Day but for business in general. UM. 0:01:25.440 --> 0:01:28.720 And we as a company, we have done We have 0:01:28.800 --> 0:01:33.160 done better than maybe others. The renewable space has remained 0:01:33.240 --> 0:01:37.920 very strong, UM. And all of our employees have now 0:01:38.000 --> 0:01:41.360 been working from home for at least since the end 0:01:41.360 --> 0:01:44.200 of March. So we've really had to adjust this new 0:01:44.240 --> 0:01:48.240 situation rights so many of us have as we come 0:01:48.240 --> 0:01:50.320 out of this, and obviously we are far from out 0:01:50.320 --> 0:01:51.720 of it. We still have a long way to go. 0:01:51.800 --> 0:01:55.600 But you make the case that the COVID nineteen recovery 0:01:55.680 --> 0:01:58.320 is really going to need climate change policy. Can you 0:01:58.440 --> 0:02:02.240 just talk me through that? Thank Well. If if we 0:02:02.280 --> 0:02:05.560 look at COVID nineteen, we look at California wildfires. You 0:02:05.600 --> 0:02:10.360 were mentioning Hurricane Zeta, So this Atlantic hurricane season, they've 0:02:10.400 --> 0:02:13.080 all been made so much worse by climate change, and 0:02:13.120 --> 0:02:17.040 it's it's really costing life, and it's causes massive economic damage. 0:02:17.600 --> 0:02:20.200 And if we think about it, at the root cause 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:23.400 of this climate change is really the burning of fossil fuels. 0:02:23.400 --> 0:02:26.280 So so now as we start thinking about coming out 0:02:26.320 --> 0:02:30.720 of this really massive economic downturn, we need to put 0:02:30.800 --> 0:02:34.920 sustainability at the heart of the recovery. And and if 0:02:34.960 --> 0:02:38.960 we talk about fossil fuels, one of the key areas 0:02:39.000 --> 0:02:42.920 where we see that importance is in transportation, and where 0:02:42.919 --> 0:02:46.320 it's especially critical is in those herds to abate vehicles, 0:02:46.360 --> 0:02:48.920 those those big wigs, those trucks on the roads, there's 0:02:48.960 --> 0:02:52.680 planes in the skies, those vessels on the seas. These 0:02:52.760 --> 0:02:57.560 are these are industries. These are sectors where the emissions 0:02:57.600 --> 0:03:01.960 are continued to grow and which is so difficult for 0:03:02.040 --> 0:03:04.560 us to reduce. So we need to be smart in 0:03:04.680 --> 0:03:07.320 terms of policy. We need to put a price on 0:03:07.440 --> 0:03:12.400 carbon that that in that is technology, technology and feats 0:03:12.440 --> 0:03:17.120 of neutral and have have policies in place that really 0:03:17.480 --> 0:03:22.120 encouraged the use of low carbon fuels. And I'm actually 0:03:22.200 --> 0:03:25.440 quite encouraged because it was about this time last year 0:03:25.919 --> 0:03:29.680 that Misty had the opportunity to testify in Congress, and 0:03:30.080 --> 0:03:33.160 we are now starting to see really much more talk 0:03:33.520 --> 0:03:36.560 about renewable fuels in DC and the world that it 0:03:36.680 --> 0:03:40.120 must play in the future for a sustainable recovery. Do 0:03:40.160 --> 0:03:42.840 you think that changes depending on who is in the 0:03:42.880 --> 0:03:47.360 White House, who is in Congress. Well, I think climate 0:03:47.440 --> 0:03:50.800 change is not going away. We really need to We 0:03:50.880 --> 0:03:54.120 really need to find this and it's it's not It's 0:03:54.160 --> 0:03:58.640 not only from what happens in Congress. We also see 0:03:58.640 --> 0:04:02.520 it from the industries. We see the CEOs of companies 0:04:03.040 --> 0:04:07.080 UM who are making these business decisions. They see which 0:04:07.160 --> 0:04:09.840 direction the market is going. If if we think about 0:04:09.960 --> 0:04:14.200 the millennials, the gen Z, they are now starting to 0:04:14.360 --> 0:04:18.239 enter the marketplace. They are starting to make those decisions 0:04:18.279 --> 0:04:22.159 and for them, the environment, social justice, and climate change 0:04:22.240 --> 0:04:25.200 are important issues. So if you if you're CEO of 0:04:25.200 --> 0:04:28.120 a company today, you really want to make these choices 0:04:28.640 --> 0:04:33.360 and regulated any DC is starting to see them. So 0:04:33.720 --> 0:04:37.080 I think regardless of who will be in the White 0:04:37.120 --> 0:04:40.720 House UM in the next couple of weeks, this becomes 0:04:40.760 --> 0:04:43.320 an important topic. But Jeremy, I think it does make 0:04:43.320 --> 0:04:47.039 a difference in that part of Biden's platform is clean 0:04:47.200 --> 0:04:50.599 energy investment and infrastructure. Couldn't that make a difference in 0:04:50.680 --> 0:04:55.920 demand for a business like yours? It would do. I 0:04:55.960 --> 0:04:58.720 think it's clear that that the pace of change would 0:04:58.720 --> 0:05:02.120 be difference depending on what political choice you make. But 0:05:02.160 --> 0:05:06.440 I think it's the question about making a policy choice 0:05:06.720 --> 0:05:09.880 has already been made, yes, so then it's just a 0:05:09.960 --> 0:05:14.360 speed of implementation and how quickly as a other country, 0:05:14.400 --> 0:05:17.919 as a society, we can actually start tackling climate change, 0:05:18.240 --> 0:05:22.279 but also how quickly we can build a new, better, 0:05:22.520 --> 0:05:26.919 more sustainable economy. With more sustainable it's more sustainable for 0:05:26.960 --> 0:05:30.040 the violence, but it's more sustainable for jobs, and it's 0:05:30.080 --> 0:05:34.039 more sustainable for the economy. You know, Jeremy, you you're 0:05:34.560 --> 0:05:36.520 I'm going to say, you're preaching to the choir, like 0:05:36.600 --> 0:05:38.880 I am all in on this and I agree with you, 0:05:38.920 --> 0:05:40.960 but I do feel like, you know, it's funny my 0:05:41.000 --> 0:05:43.960 seventeen year old said, you know, I think that your 0:05:44.040 --> 0:05:48.200 generation or even you know, older generations don't really care 0:05:48.279 --> 0:05:50.320 because they're not going to be around and they're not 0:05:50.320 --> 0:05:52.040 going to be in the world that I'm growing up in. 0:05:52.480 --> 0:05:54.840 And you know, just talked about climate change in terms 0:05:54.839 --> 0:05:58.000 of policies. We we talk about it a lot, and listen, 0:05:58.000 --> 0:06:00.919 there are a lot of companies doing great initiatives, uh 0:06:00.960 --> 0:06:04.200 and and so on. But I do think just look 0:06:04.240 --> 0:06:07.080 at the world, we're not moving fast enough. So I'm 0:06:07.160 --> 0:06:09.840 curious what hopes you have that we pick up the 0:06:09.920 --> 0:06:13.240 speed when it comes to these policies that take care 0:06:13.240 --> 0:06:17.240 of our environment. Yeah. Yeah, I think you raised an 0:06:17.240 --> 0:06:22.520 interesting point about children, asking it my children, they are 0:06:22.520 --> 0:06:25.560 they are going to live for decades in this world, 0:06:26.240 --> 0:06:30.440 So it's what what I do also impact their future, 0:06:31.320 --> 0:06:32.919 And it's from and it's I think it's from that 0:06:33.120 --> 0:06:36.680 perspective that we that we even even if we're not 0:06:36.720 --> 0:06:38.960 going to be around for that long, they will be 0:06:39.279 --> 0:06:41.560 what kind of world do we want to leave for 0:06:41.720 --> 0:06:47.039 future generation? Right? So, so, yes, you are correct that 0:06:47.040 --> 0:06:50.760 it is important who comes into the White House, but 0:06:50.880 --> 0:06:53.599 it's it's really the policy clarity at the end of 0:06:53.600 --> 0:06:56.280 the day that is going to drive to change, and 0:06:56.360 --> 0:06:58.960 the policy clarity is going to come from people who 0:06:59.120 --> 0:07:03.040 vote and people who it Jeremy, I'm wondering how sticky 0:07:03.400 --> 0:07:06.080 you think this is. People pay a lot of lip 0:07:06.120 --> 0:07:09.640 service to it now, but has covidentine really brought about 0:07:09.640 --> 0:07:16.920 a sustained, meaningful push toward better climate policy. I think so. 0:07:17.520 --> 0:07:20.640 And I think so because people people are at home, 0:07:21.080 --> 0:07:24.920 people are spending wartime speaking about all the times that 0:07:25.000 --> 0:07:28.920 they were stuck in traffic. People are looking at what's 0:07:28.920 --> 0:07:33.200 happening of environment a random much more closely than so. Yes, 0:07:33.280 --> 0:07:35.880 I do think this is going to be sticky. Um, 0:07:35.880 --> 0:07:40.040 it is. And they want something you they want They 0:07:40.040 --> 0:07:42.800 want to have some hope coming out of this crisis, 0:07:43.080 --> 0:07:45.960 and I think it's sustainable. The covy is that hope 0:07:45.960 --> 0:07:48.560 that we can bring. Jerry. One thing I want to 0:07:48.560 --> 0:07:51.320 get into for those who might not be excuse me 0:07:51.360 --> 0:07:53.160 familiar with what you guys do, I mean it is 0:07:53.160 --> 0:07:57.440 about renewable fuels. What specifically, tell me what the process 0:07:57.520 --> 0:08:00.200 or what what you do and how that reduced does 0:08:00.240 --> 0:08:05.040 the impact on climate? On the climate? Yes, unless say 0:08:05.240 --> 0:08:09.200 is there is the world's largest producer of renewable fuels, 0:08:09.240 --> 0:08:13.520 renewable diesels specifically, and what is it? It is a fuel? Um, 0:08:13.520 --> 0:08:16.320 it is a diesel fuel that you can drop into 0:08:16.480 --> 0:08:20.920 any diesel engine today using all the infrastructure that's available today. 0:08:21.040 --> 0:08:24.600 But rather than putting new carbon into the atmosphere, it's 0:08:24.680 --> 0:08:28.560 actually using carbon form the atmosphere. And how has that 0:08:28.600 --> 0:08:32.880 done well. We we use as feedstocks um use cooking oils, 0:08:33.160 --> 0:08:36.440 animal fats, vegetable oils. And when you think about it, 0:08:36.559 --> 0:08:41.679 these um the carbon in those fuels actually came from 0:08:41.679 --> 0:08:45.400 the atmosphere. It's the plants that were converting sunlight and 0:08:45.480 --> 0:08:49.200 C O two into oils in their sees. So we 0:08:49.280 --> 0:08:54.160 are recycling that carbon. And through the technology that we've developed, 0:08:54.600 --> 0:08:57.439 we can convert that into renewable diesel, but we can 0:08:57.480 --> 0:09:00.920 also use that to make sustainable aviation fuel. We can 0:09:01.000 --> 0:09:04.760 make that use that into into plastics and chemicals, so 0:09:04.800 --> 0:09:09.640 we can really create a circular economy of carbon um 0:09:09.720 --> 0:09:12.000 and and that's and that's something quite unique. So there's 0:09:12.040 --> 0:09:15.000 no impact on the environment in terms of the process. 0:09:16.240 --> 0:09:21.079 There is. So so today we can reduce the emissions 0:09:21.120 --> 0:09:25.040 by up to eight compared to fossil fuels. Why is 0:09:25.080 --> 0:09:27.280 it not a hundred percents because we still need to 0:09:27.320 --> 0:09:30.640 transport it, and the transportation today is still done with 0:09:30.800 --> 0:09:34.559 vehicles in large part running on fossil fuels. There's also 0:09:34.640 --> 0:09:39.040 some emissions that come from the process itself. But next 0:09:39.120 --> 0:09:42.520 Day's aim is to be production neutral by twenty thirty five, 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:45.080 so that is surtly going to reduce it. And as 0:09:45.160 --> 0:09:49.320 more and more renewables are used in transportation, our fuel 0:09:49.360 --> 0:09:52.760 becomes more efficient as well in its distribution. So the 0:09:52.800 --> 0:09:55.680 aim is really to drive that too, as close to 0:09:55.720 --> 0:09:58.840 a hundred percent reduction as possible. Jerry, I'm curious what 0:09:59.160 --> 0:10:01.840 the appetite for renewable diesel is like. Can you just 0:10:01.840 --> 0:10:05.840 give us a lens into that demand here in the US? Well, 0:10:06.440 --> 0:10:08.760 A lot of the demand for famethday in our in 0:10:08.800 --> 0:10:12.920 our competitors is on the West coast. California started the 0:10:13.040 --> 0:10:16.560 low carbon fuel standard Nellie Nelli a decade ago, and 0:10:16.760 --> 0:10:18.960 that that's what I meant early on in the conversation 0:10:19.000 --> 0:10:23.960 about politic choices. They put in place really clear program 0:10:24.880 --> 0:10:28.160 which which is which has been aiming to reduce the 0:10:28.200 --> 0:10:31.480 carbon going into the atmosphere. And it's technology neutral, it's 0:10:31.559 --> 0:10:35.200 vendor neutral, it's seedstock neutral, so everybody can compete in 0:10:35.240 --> 0:10:39.040 that space. Its electrification, it's renewable gass, renewable diesel. So 0:10:39.120 --> 0:10:42.679 that's where we see renewable diesel being the most successful 0:10:42.720 --> 0:10:46.200 in US today. Well, Jeremy, you mentioned California and electrification. 0:10:46.320 --> 0:10:48.040 We know California is one of the states that is 0:10:48.160 --> 0:10:50.960 making a big push towards e VS. I'm wondering, do 0:10:51.000 --> 0:10:55.120 you see renewable diesel kind of taking hold alongside electrification 0:10:55.200 --> 0:10:59.360 or is it eventually going to be a competitor. So 0:10:59.480 --> 0:11:01.920 can form is really at the forefront. And we saw 0:11:02.000 --> 0:11:05.080 recently that they're going to be banning the sale of 0:11:05.480 --> 0:11:11.360 light duty internal combustion engines five The thirty five for 0:11:11.760 --> 0:11:15.120 light duty and twenty forty five for heavy duty is 0:11:15.120 --> 0:11:18.959 still many decades away. And that's just California. And then 0:11:19.000 --> 0:11:21.319 those those those trucks on the roads, those cars on 0:11:21.400 --> 0:11:24.600 the roads, they will be around for another decade. So 0:11:24.720 --> 0:11:27.240 we've seen for years and years and years there is 0:11:27.280 --> 0:11:32.120 going to be demand for liquid renewable fuels, and and 0:11:32.360 --> 0:11:34.600 we are we convinced, and we already see it that 0:11:34.679 --> 0:11:37.480 what California has done is also spreading to other states. 0:11:37.640 --> 0:11:40.640 Were already active in oding that has a clean fuel program. 0:11:40.960 --> 0:11:44.200 Washington States merely passed from last year. We see the 0:11:44.240 --> 0:11:46.480 same thing happening in New York and in other states 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:50.319 across the country. So we really believe that renewable liquid 0:11:50.400 --> 0:11:54.880 fuels have a very long future still ahead of them. Yeah, 0:11:55.080 --> 0:11:58.280 really fascinating in terms of what's going on in this 0:11:58.360 --> 0:12:00.720 area and to hear about the all of your company 0:12:00.720 --> 0:12:02.679 and all of us. Jeremy, I hope you'll come back, 0:12:02.720 --> 0:12:06.079 because I do think this is certainly this is something 0:12:06.200 --> 0:12:08.880 we talk about a lot here at Bloomberg. Jeremy Bains, 0:12:08.880 --> 0:12:11.640 he's president of Nesta, and he joins us on the 0:12:11.679 --> 0:12:13.440 phone from Houston, Texas.