Outrage + Optimism: The Climate Podcast

*This episode is best enjoyed on a pair of headphones or quality speaker system   Welcome to Season 5! We have a special season opener for you- An immersive sound journey through the history of Gaia, as told by Dr. Stephan Harding. Normally on the podcast we engage full-heartedly in the political, social, and economic debate surrounding everything climate, but today we set aside the time to sit co...

There’s no pathway to capping our global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius without protecting and restoring nature. That’s the lay of the land according to The Rt Hon Lord Goldsmith, Minister for the Pacific and the International Environment - our final guest for 2021. At the close of a year that’s seen enormous momentum to incorporate forests and land use well and truly into the climate age...

In this week’s episode we continue our series debriefing COP26 and take a look at the climate movement for their perspective on the outcomes of the Glasgow Climate Pact. Staying optimistic and fighting for climate justice - because indeed our lives depend on it - is a rightful approach to the conversation. And yet, the clock is ticking. What’s the reality behind fast-tracking our path to only a 1....

COP26 saw announcement after announcement from the financial sector, but we have questions. First off, why the sudden wake-up? What will follow? And, critically, will it be enough to address the climate crisis? Here to help us make sense of the fast-moving developments is Hiro Mizuno, Special Envoy of U.N Secretary-General on Innovative Finance and Sustainable Investments. Hiro shares his deep ins...

Countries have stepped up. Projected emission trajectories have come down. But let’s be real for a moment- We are still not doing enough, fast enough. So what did this year's host of the COP26 get right, and what is still in play as we prepare for COP27? Today we talk with Alok Sharma, President of COP26 and the man in the spotlight of the Glasgow negotiations just a few weeks back. As Alok takes...

¡Feliz Día de la Abolición del Ejército en Costa Rica! Happy Military Abolition Day in Costa Rica! Every year on December 1st, the country of Costa Rica celebrates the day that Christiana’s father and former Costa Rican president, José Figueres Ferrer, abolished their national army and redirected that part of the national budget to biodiversity and education. This year marks the 73rd anniversary! ...

With the ink still drying on The Glasgow Pact, we’re already hearing the results from Glasgow being labeled in binary terms like “Success” and “Failure” While we know that some stunning pledges and progressive language in the Pact came from some of the negotiations, it is also true that historically these pledges have not been met completely, or have been missed entirely. Full stop. So with millio...

Yesterday, nearly 200 countries agreed to adopt The Glasgow Climate Pact after a roller coaster of a COP26...and this is a really big deal. From agreeing to reduce global dependence on coal, to speeding up the end of fossil fuel subsidies, this is progress on paper. But how far does it go to keep our 1.5C target front and center? This week, our hosts dig through a few key details of the agreement,...

It's the halfway point of the COP26 climate discussions in Glasgow, UK! Pledges over the past week from world leaders could be transformational, keeping the Paris Agreement's ambition in reach. The devil is in the detail of delivery and, As we head into the second week of the negotiations, government Ministers and negotiators get down to business, with final agreements due to land on Saturday this...

Coming to you LIVE from Energy Day at COP26! So, energy and climate change. Where should we start? With both the IEA World Energy Outlook and the IPCC AR6 Scientific assessment that came out this year declaring that coal has peaked, we also know that gas and then oil must also peak and see their way to the museums, as Christiana would say. 1.5C has been the only north star at COP26 to doing things...

The World Leaders Summit at COP26 has happened...So what happened, exactly? A LOT. This week, we cover it all in a laid-back-waiting-for-takeaway-to-arrive style conversation with our hosts. We’ll cover updated pledges and commitments on: An End to Deforestation by 2030 Methane reductions India’s Net Zero 2070 target We also get into inclusion and representation of the Global South, and how we wen...

The way to Net Zero is through the bank. One of the major questions at COP26 is, “How are we going to finance the transition to Net Zero?” From shifting investments away from fossil fuels, to boosting the speed and scale of green companies bringing forward the necessary solutions to creating a sustainable future for people and planet. ...And profit.   This week, we’re joined by Group Chief Executi...

China.  On one hand, the country is the world’s largest source of carbon emissions, an economic and political powerhouse resting on a thick cloud of hydrocarbon pollution, contrary to the goals of the Paris Agreement. On the other hand, President Xi Jinping has set the stage for China to emerge as an environmental leader, with the highest reforestation rate in the world; it makes and buys more ele...

If you haven’t heard, COP26 is about to happen. This week we embrace the complexity that is a COP (Conference of the Parties), and try to frame what is going to happen in the next 2 weeks so we don’t lose focus on limiting global heating to 1.5C. We’re joined by Communications Director of COP25 & COP26 Climate Champions, Matthew Phillips. Matthew is inextricably linked with the process of COP26 an...

Tom Hale is BACK and here to announce the official Launch of the Net Zero Tracker! So yes - this week we have Associate Professor in Global Public Policy at Oxford University, Tom Hale, who joined us back in March of this year discussing the launch of a report “ Taking Stock of commitments to Net Zero ”. That report put a spotlight on the credibility of a wave of government and business net zero c...

*inhales deeply* Fresh off the TED Countdown Stage and moments after the ‘Green Carpet’ at The Earthshot Prize Awards 2021 AND a week and a half away from COP26 - Has there ever been a more exciting moment? This week we give our first-hand experience at TED Countdown, discussing ‘the moment’ and what followed when Christiana was moderating a discussion on the TED stage about our theories of change...

For the first time ever, we are all in-person bringing you this episode from the TED Countdown Summit in Edinburgh! TED Countdown is an event that officially kicked off on 12th October and encompasses four days of inspiring talks, collaboration, connections and commitments to meaningful action for a better world ahead of COP26. Our guest today is Paul Polman, return Outrage + Optimism guest and a...

With only 99 months left until 2030, and COP26 in less than 1, time is ticking on 1.5. And young people know it. So today, a timely and relevant conversation with Climate Activist, and return guest to Outrage + Optimism, Luisa Neubauer. This time, focusing on climate change and its impact on the mental health and outlook on the future of young people everywhere. The backdrop to the conversation wi...

You probably heard last week was Climate Week and UNGA. But, what actually happened? To cover it all, we get into the cornucopia of methane reduction announcements from countries across the world, a quick update on China, and a special focus this week on the announcement of the ‘Protecting Our Planet Challenge’, an announcement that saw 9 philanthropic organisations, including the Bezos Earth Fund...

Following the success of UN Food Systems Summit, or as it’s also known- “The People’s Summit” we get a chance to speak to the driving force behind it, UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for the Food Systems Summit, Agnes Kalibata. Formerly Rwanda’s Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources (MINAGRI) from 2008 to 2014, she drove programs that moved her country to food security helping to lift...

Welcome to the first episode in a brand new series on The Future of Food!   Today, this episode coincides with a very important international gathering, the first of its kind at the United Nations. Known as the UN Food Systems Summit, formally, it is also called The People’s Summit. During this ongoing series we will seek to unlock the many changes needed to enable each sector – government, corpor...

Our struggle with the Climate Crisis begins with naming it, facing it, and engaging it. Last week, the latest NDC Synthesis Report published showed that global emissions are on track to rise by 16% by 2030. With science screaming at the top of its lungs to get us to cut emissions 50% by 2030 to avoid catastrophic warming and climate tipping points, this 16% number says unequivocally, “we are heade...

Today, only 15 percent of land and 7 percent of our ocean are protected. Nature needs more. The science is very clear – to prevent a mass extinction crisis, support a growing global population, and address climate change, we must conserve at least 30% of the planet by 2030. ...So why now? The science is very, very clear - If we act now we can limit the disaster, and we could even reverse the trend...

Season 4 is here! The past few months have been astonishing. It’s no news to anyone that climate change is here, right now. In fact, it’s reported by the Washington Post that in the US, nearly 1 in 3 people live in a county hit by a weather disaster in the past three months, and even more terrifying, 2 out of 3 live in a place that experienced a multi-day heatwave. Time is up. We can’t squabble an...

We’re back in your ears for a quick bonus episode on the latest IPCC Report. The heavily anticipated and undeniably influential release of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report’s Working Group 1 findings came out on Monday. In it, they provide an extraordinarily thorough examination into and warning of the physical science basis of climate change. Christiana and the guys give their gut reactions to t...