Venezuela, Fossil Fuels, and the Year Ahead
Outrage + Optimism: The Climate Podcast
Persephonica
4.7 • 1.1K Ratings
🗓️ 8 January 2026
⏱️ 43 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The year has barely begun, and already the fault lines of global power are on full display.
Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson take stock of a moment that feels both shocking and revealing. The US abduction of Venezuela’s president raises urgent questions about sovereignty, international law, and the enduring grip of fossil fuels on geopolitics - even as the energy transition accelerates. But what’s really driving events in Venezuela? And how can we tease apart the political theatre from the realities of oil markets, military power, and domestic US politics.
Later, we ask: what are the big themes, underlying trends and climate stories already shaping the new year? From the possible rise of left-wing populism, to the intensifying battle over who will become the next UN Secretary-General.
As 2026 begins, the question is not just what kind of year lies ahead for climate action, but what kind of global order will shape it.
Learn more:
🛢️ Deep dive into the stats from the US Energy Information Administration on Venezuelan oil production
🌐 Read more about the appointment process of the UN Secretary-General.
🎧 Listen back to our holiday episodes, Why Beauty Matters in the Climate Crisis and Beginning the Year with Ancestral Wisdom
🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe
Join the conversation:
Instagram @outrageoptimism
LinkedIn @outrageoptimism
Or get in touch with us via this form.
Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks
Planning: Caitlin Hanrahan
Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford
This is a Persephonica production for Global Optimism and is part of the Acast Creator Network.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | I think I'll be as ready as I ever am. Don't know about you, Cristiana? I think I'm ready. Yeah, I am ready. Not think I am. Is everyone ready? I think Christiana thinks she's ready. Hello and welcome to outrage and optimism. I'm Tom Rufikarnik. Even in the year 26, I am still Cristiana Figuez. Baldikinson also in in the year, 2026. Happy New Year, Tom and Christiana. Happy New Year to everyone, to all listeners. In the world. Happy New Year, everyone. Lovely to be back. Great to see you both. And today we're going to throw forward to the year. What are our predictions? What are the trends that are going to shape the year and our attempts to deal with the climate crisis? |
| 0:40.5 | And we're going to start off by talking about some recent going to goings on in Venezuela. |
| 0:44.7 | Thanks for being here. |
| 0:48.2 | Okay, so we're going to get into some trends that we've been looking into that we think are going to shape the year ahead. |
| 0:54.0 | These are not predictions. These are assessments of underlying transformations that we think |
| 0:58.8 | will change a great deal in the coming year. And a lot is changing already. We are only now, |
| 1:03.8 | we're recording this on the 5th of January, and it's already been a pretty momentous year, |
| 1:07.3 | with news that the US went and deposed the leader of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro. |
| 1:13.7 | Deposed? |
| 1:14.5 | Kidnapped. |
| 1:15.7 | Kidnapped, yeah. |
| 1:18.0 | Kidnapped. |
| 1:18.8 | That's a better name. |
| 1:20.5 | The people of Venezuela did not depose their leader. |
| 1:23.8 | Helicopters came and took their leader. |
| 1:25.8 | Kidnapped, abducted, quite right, quite right, very, very true. And he's now in New York awaiting trials. So obviously, listeners are getting this news from many different places. We don't need to break the news for anybody, but there are various implications that are going to have a big impact on climate. So let's just start there. Well, let's start anything you want to say to kick off the year and then let's go to Venezuela before we pivot to our predictions. |
| 1:46.6 | Well, I would like to say before we go into Venezuela, if any listener has not been able to, because they have been so busy with family and friends, listen to our Christmas and New Year's episodes. Highly recommend that you do |
| 2:04.1 | both really beautiful topics. I would say countercultural topics for the days in which they were |
| 2:12.7 | released. So if you haven't, do go back and listen to both of those beautiful episodes. |
| 2:18.9 | Indeed, that's great advice. |
| 2:20.3 | And I learned a lot about the concept of ancestry in the one on New Year's Day. |
| 2:25.6 | And I also concluded the episode by saying, change is always good. |
... |
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