The Climate Briefing

In December 2021, governments agreed on a new Global Biodiversity Framework to halt and reverse the alarming rate of biodiversity loss we are currently witnessing. But will the new framework make a difference? To find out, Antony speaks to Professor Andrew Gonzalez of McGill University.

In the first episode of the season, Anna speaks to Laurence Tubiana about the outcomes of the 2022 UN climate conference in Egypt, COP27, and the issues that will shape the international climate agenda in 2023. Tubiana was a key architect of the Paris Agreement in her previous role as France's Climate Change Ambassador and Special Representative for COP21, and currently serves as CEO of the Europe...

South Asia is home to one-quarter of the global population who reside in only 3.5 per cent of the world's land area, making it the most populous and most densely-populated region in the world. It is also one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change: a recent study found that Chittagong in Bangladesh and Ahmedabad in India are two of the fastest-sinking coastal cities, leaving millions of p...

Earlier this year, India and Pakistan witnessed a prolonged heatwave, starting in March months before usual hot weather. This was followed by, and was in part the cause of, major flooding in Pakistan, as well as in parts of India. The heatwave severely affected agriculture, while the flooding came with immense cost to property and infrastructure. Millions of people were affected. South Asia has ex...

Negotiators left COP26 in Glasgow with a relatively ambitious outcome. What progress has been made on the climate agenda since COP26, and what are some of the key issues to watch at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh? Mere days before COP27, Anna is joined by Bernice Lee (Hoffmann Distinguished Fellow at Chatham House) to discuss these important questions. Read the explainer: What are the key issues at COP2...

The crossover between water security and climate change is hugely important especially given that the next two COPs are taking place in Africa and the Middle East, both with a history of being water stressed. What should policymakers and negotiators from these regions working on water security focus on at COP27? What does it mean to achieve water security? What are the main barriers or challenges?...

The Climate Briefing podcast returns! The new season kicks off with an episode focusing on the next UN climate change conference (COP27), which takes place 7-18 November 2022 in Egypt. Anna speaks to Tom Evans from E3G about what the conference aims to achieve, what the main challenges are, and what needs to happen in the run-up to the summit to enable a good outcome.

Quamrul Chowdhury has been involved in the climate negotiations for almost three decades. He currently serves as a lead negotiator for the G77 and the least developed countries group, and is a member of Bangladesh's negotiating team. In this bonus episode of the Climate Briefing, Anna speaks to Mr. Chowdhury about the outcome of COP26. Find out more: COP26: What happened, what does this mean, and...

What was achieved at COP26? And what do different parties make of the outcome? In this episode, Anna speaks to a range of negotiators, advisers and experts about the results of the Glasgow conference. Interviewees include Camilla Born (policy adviser to the COP26 president), Farhana Yamin (deputy-chair of the expert advisory group of the climate vulnerable forum), Jacob Werksman (head of the EU de...

Due to gender inequalities, women are disproportionately affected by climate change, and Indigenous women and women in the Global South are on the front lines of these impacts. The UNFCCC has increasingly recognised these gender-differentiated impacts and the need to support the leadership of women and girls in addressing them. In this episode, Nina Jeffs (Schwarzman Academy Fellow in the Environm...

COP26 is finally upon us, and The Climate Briefing team are on the ground in Glasgow to bring you all of the latest updates and developments from the summit.  In this episode, Ben introduces a round-up of the first week of the negotiations. Antony Froggatt (Deputy Director, Environment & Society Programme at Chatham House) provides an overview of the key agenda items at COP26, including the update...

The crises of climate change and biodiversity destruction are closely linked. In this episode, Anna speaks to Sam Geall (CEO of China Dialogue, Associate Fellow at Chatham House, and Associate Faculty at the University of Sussex) about ongoing efforts within the UN to agree a new international biodiversity framework. The interview also zooms in on China's evolving role in international climate and...

A series of recent scientific studies have found that the world is on course for global warming far exceeding the 1.5 degree goal enshrined in the Paris Agreement. Meanwhile across the globe communities are grappling with extreme weather events and natural disasters related to the climate crisis. But beyond the obvious impacts of climate change, a whole host of further risks are emerging, exacerba...

September 2021 saw a series of significant diplomatic events which could be key to successful climate negotiations at COP26. Now with mere weeks to go before the main event, attention is increasing on the major actors in Glasgow. To find out the state of play, Anna speaks with Bernice Lee, Hoffmann Distinguished Fellow for Sustainability at Chatham House.  Read The World Today article: Ideology: S...

The G20 - an international gathering of leaders from 19 major states and the European Union - has a significant role to play in coordinating global action on climate change. Accounting for around two-thirds of the world's population and by some estimates 84% of global carbon emissions, agreeing on reforms within this forum could be a game-changer ahead of COP26.  In July 2021, G20 ministerial meet...

Ahead of the G7 Summit in June 2021, the Climate Briefing returns to the question of financing climate action. While the economic challenge of dealing with climate change was already well-established before the pandemic, the costs of responding to COVID-19 threaten to limit the fiscal capacity of governments to fund climate action.  In this episode, Anna and Ben speak to two experts about the rela...

In 2021 the UK is hosting COP26, but also presiding over the G7. How can it leverage its presidency of the G7 to accelerate climate action in the run-up to COP26? To discuss this, Anna is joined by Rachel Kyte , Dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University. They consider the key opportunities and debates that will emerge at the G7 Leaders Summit.  Read the Chatham House briefing: Kick-starting...

This week the Climate Briefing turns its attention to how societies are can deal with the real-time effects of climate change. While mitigation remains a central focus of the international climate negotiations, vulnerable states and communities are calling for greater cooperation on addressing the fallout from climate-related environmental devastation. To discuss this, Anna is joined by H.E. Saida...

More than five years have passed since the adoption of the Paris Agreement, and there are only nine months to go until COP26. To kick off its second season the Climate Briefing podcast focuses on how climate change politics have shifted since COP21 in Paris, and explores the roles of the three largest emitters – China, the United States and the EU – in global climate action. The episode also provi...

In the latest episode of the Climate Briefing the team explore the concept of carbon pricing, a set of mechanisms which incentivise businesses and consumers to reduce their carbon emissions, and consider the dynamics of the hotly contested Article 6 negotiations. Ben speaks to Stuart Evans from Vivid Economics about how carbon pricing works, how it can help reduce emissions and how these mechanism...

The media cycle in the US and across the world is consumed by the final weeks of the 2020 presidential election, with incumbent Donald Trump hoping to win a second term against the challenge of former Vice-President Joe Biden. Much of the debates around the election have focused on the response to COVID-19, and the candidates' positions on issues related to 'law and order'. But what will the elect...

The Climate Briefing returns from its summer break with a deepdive into the history of the international climate agenda. Professor Robert Falkner of the Grantham Institute speaks to Ben about the origins of the UN-led climate negotiations, and explains why some conferences have been more successful than others. Then Anna discusses the historic role developing countries have played in the climate a...

The Climate Briefing returns with two new interviews on the transition towards a renewable energy sector.  It is widely acknowledged that slowing climate change will be impossible without reducing the global reliance on fossil fuels as a source of energy. In this episode, Ben and Anna speak to Dr Daniel Quiggin from Chatham House, and Simon Sharpe from the UK Cabinet Office, to assess the recent p...

Industry accounts for approximately 24% of global energy-related emissions, and the decarbonisation of the sector is therefore essential to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. To date, however, the emissions from 'heavy' industries - like cement, steel and chemicals - have been considered particularly difficult to abate.   This episode focuses on the strategies that can be deployed to enab...

Finance plays a key role in enabling climate change mitigation and adaptation. It is also a contested issue in the UN climate negotiations. The UK Government has made climate finance one of its top thematic priorities for COP26 and 2020 constitutes the deadline for developed countries to mobilise USD 100 billion per year to support climate action in developing countries.  This week the Climate Bri...