132. Getting Over The Line at COP26 with Alok Sharma
Outrage + Optimism: The Climate Podcast
Persephonica
4.7 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 9 December 2021
⏱️ 59 minutes
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Summary
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 us back through his experience at COP26 keeping 1.5°C front and center, the grounding truth of how The Glasgow Pact directly impacts the lives and livelihoods of millions of people becomes crystal clear. In this episode we hear from his perspective how fighting climate change must be both a personal experience and global effort, and how building trust was a precious commodity in the discussions, holding the key to all the parties mutually agreeing to get an agreement over the line.
But, how is this hard-earned political trust perceived outside the negotiation halls? It seems an increasingly challenging task to ensure that this is communicated in a digestible way to all the stakeholders working tirelessly for the phasing out of fossil fuels, climate justice, adaptation, as well as loss and damage.
Listen in to discover the presidency’s plans on how to ensure that no small piece of the process allows it all to tumble down like a big jenga tower.
And stick around after the conversation for a cinematic musical experience with Sarah Class!
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Mentioned links from the episode:
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Thank you to our guest this week, the Right Honorable Alok Sharma MP!
Rt Hon Alok Sharma MP
COP26 President
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Sarah Class is our musical guest this week!
Sarah Class
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to Outrageant Optimism. I'm Tom Riviccana. I'm Cristiana Piedes. And I'm Paul |
| 0:17.4 | Veganso. This week, in the latest of our series of episodes on what happened at COP26, we bring you |
| 0:22.8 | a special conversation with the right honourable Alok Sharma MP, President of COP26. Plus we have |
| 0:29.2 | music from Sarah Class. Thanks for being here. |
| 0:46.0 | So we've been digging in and getting under the skin of what happened at COP26. A few breaks here |
| 0:49.6 | in there, but this is the big one this week. We're bringing you a conversation with Alok Sharma, |
| 0:53.7 | the man who in Paul Dickinson's world was sitting in the global electric chair for just two weeks |
| 0:58.4 | during COP26 trying to steer the world towards the outcome that he ultimately was successful in |
| 1:04.1 | doing. And as we've talked about before, it was a city of two tales, but there was a lot to be |
| 1:08.6 | really optimistic and enthusiastic about in the outcome. And we will get into that. But first, |
| 1:13.9 | I wonder, this is going to be a short introduction. Then we'll take more of the time that we have |
| 1:17.7 | with you to do a bit of analysis afterwards when we talk about what Alok said. But Cristiana, |
| 1:22.3 | let's just start by making sure that people understand the role of the COP president. Could you |
| 1:26.6 | just give us a brief pricey of what the COP president does? Yeah, I'll be happy to do that. |
| 1:33.3 | But I have to warn you and everyone else that I have had to evacuate where I usually record and |
| 1:40.5 | come out into the open in a public space. So I hate to tell those of you who are in Northern |
| 1:46.8 | hemisphere winter, but we are starting our glorious dry season here. And there are pericles. Plus, |
| 1:52.3 | we're on video zooms. Yeah, yeah, yeah. There are. You're bound to hear parakeets and |
| 1:58.0 | sunshine and all that. So sorry about that. Right, the COP president. So the host country, |
| 2:05.8 | and as we know by now, the COP's occur in different countries every year. And the host country, |
| 2:14.2 | one of the responsibilities is to name a COP president. That is the political authority that |
| 2:23.5 | presides over the meetings. But not only at the meeting itself, as we will hear from Alok, |
... |
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