Outrage + Optimism: The Climate Podcast

When climate wins happen, we often credit the market. Or the policy. But is philanthropy the most underappreciated force in the climate fight? And can less than 2% of global giving actually change anything? Behind the headlines, people like Jennifer Kitt of Climate Lead are identifying where finite resources can be spent in order to make a real difference, and helping to grow the pie. Tom Rivett-Carnac, Christiana Figueres, and Paul Dickinson sit down with her to ask: what does well-targeted philanthropic money actually unlock? Who decides where it goes? And why, when it works, do we so rarely notice? From the coalition that quietly accelerated the EV transition by decades, to the $30,000 grant that helped take climate responsibility all the way to the World's Court. The uncomfortable truth is that climate action is becoming reliant on the generosity of a wealthy few. The good news is that this money is growing; the bad news is that it needs to grow much, much more. So how much would it take to start solving some of tomorrow’s problems today? And are there risks in expecting a small and privileged group to fund a movement that belongs to everyone? Learn More:🌱 Learn more about Climate Lead and and their work advising philanthropists new to climate giving⚖️ Catch up on the ICJ advisory opinion on climate obligations of states⚡ Explore the Drive Electric Campaign, the global NGO coalition whose story Jennifer tells in the episode 🌍 Learn more about ClientEarth and the legal battles Tom references📊 Track progress on climate transitions with the Systems Change Lab, referenced by Jennifer in the episode📺 Read about the Trump AI video throwing Stephen Colbert in a dumpster, posted and reposted by the White House the day after the Late Show ended, via The Hill 🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe Join the conversation:Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr get in touch with us via this form. Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksEdited by: Miles Martignoni 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.

Transcribed - Published: 28 May 2026

An unprecedented government move to outrun the courts. A country racing to write AI into its constitution. And a global energy crisis that's already moved faster than any possible fix. Are our institutions and the rules they rest on still fit for the world they're supposed to protect? This week, Tom Rivett-Carnac, Christiana Figueres, and Paul Dickinson look at three stories the headlines may be missing. In New Zealand, the government has moved to retroactively kill a landmark climate lawsuit -  before it even reaches trial. Tom shares a voice note from ClientEarth CEO Laura Clarke who gives us the inside scoop on what is actually at stake. If this works, where does it end? Then Greece, which wants to write a legally binding obligation for human-centred AI into its constitution. But can a national document meaningfully govern a borderless technology? And as we increasingly rely on AI for our information, where do these large language models actually go for their climate science? Finally, the Strait of Hormuz. Financial markets think the situation is priced in. Geopolitical analysts disagree. We ask which sectors might unexpectedly accelerate the energy transition, why the climate movement seems frozen at exactly the moment it should be loudest, and whether this decade's decisive window is already starting to close. Learn More:⚖️ Learn more about ClientEarth and its work🌿 Read about New Zealand amending its climate law via Inside Climate News🌐 Catch up on the ICJ case on climate obligations of states🏛️ Discover more about Greece's constitutional AI proposal via the Washington Post🛢️ Dive into the Strait of Hormuz disruptions with analysis from UNCTAD 🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe Join the conversation:Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr get in touch with us via this form. Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksEdited by: Miles Martignoni 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.

Transcribed - Published: 21 May 2026

Are flights across the world about to be grounded? Is a terrible war about to create an unlikely good news story for the climate? As conflict in the Middle East threatens the Strait of Hormuz, jet fuel shortages are forcing aviation to confront a structural vulnerability it has spent decades avoiding. This week, Tom Rivett-Carnac, Christiana Figueres and Paul Dickinson examine what the shortage reveals: aviation's near-total dependence on fossil fuels, the structural reasons it has proved so hard to break, and whether it’s ever going to be possible to fix.  They speak with Karel Bockstael and Roxanne van Rijn, former aviation insiders who co-founded Call Aviation to Action, a movement designed to reach the industry’s senior leaders and push for much-needed change. They explain why kerosene remains the only viable option for long-haul flight, how thin margins trap airlines into opposing the very regulation they need, and why this fuel shock may be the scarcity event that finally forces the model to shift.  Could this crisis become aviation’s turning point? And in a world where up to 80% of people have never set foot on a plane - and 1% account for half of all aviation emissions - what would a truly fair future for flight actually look like? Learn More:✈️ Explore Call Aviation to Action - the movement co-founded by Karel and Roxanne and others, pushing for industry-wide transformation from within📊 Read the UK Climate Change Committee’s aviation analysis, and understand why aviation is on course to become the UK’s single largest emitting sector by 2040⛽ Get up to date on IEA data on global oil and jet fuel markets, including what the Strait of Hormuz disruption means for aviation fuel supply🌿 Learn more about Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) via IATA: what it is, why it currently accounts for less than 1% of aviation fuel use, and what scaling it would require💸 Pay the true price of your next flight via the Future Friendly Fund’s calculator, or check your CO₂ estimate on Google Flights. Check out Bumprints for practical tips or Travel Alternative, Roxanne’s recently launched platform highlighting alternatives to flying 🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe Join the conversation:Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr get in touch with us via this form. Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksEdited by: Miles Martignoni 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.

Transcribed - Published: 14 May 2026

Monarch butterflies crossing a continent. Peregrine falcons above Manhattan. A giant lemur most of the world had never heard of, until one man pointed a camera at it. For seventy years, Sir David Attenborough has been asking us to look - really look - at the world we share with three and a half billion years' worth of other life.  This week, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, and Paul Dickinson mark the 100th birthday of the world’s longest-serving television presenter. To celebrate, they're reaching into the archives to share the very first episode of the podcast - a conversation recorded in person with their friend Sir David himself, at the Attenborough Centre in Cambridge in 2019. They also take stock of seven years of Outrage + Optimism, and on a world that’s changed since that first episode dropped. What's moved faster than anyone expected, what's gone sideways, and what still keeps us at night? Then Sir David. On why young people's outrage is entirely justified. On what the natural world actually needs from us. On the rare moments in history when nations chose agreement over conflict. And on why understanding might be the thing that saves us. Learn More:🎂 Discover moments from Sir David Attenborough's life and career on the BBC🌿 Watch Secret Gardens, Sir David's recent series exploring the hidden natural world of the British urban garden, mentioned by Tom in this episode (UK login required)🐋 Explore the history of the International Whaling Commission moratorium, which Sir David cites as a rare model of nations choosing to act before it was too late🌍 Learn more about the global youth climate movement Fridays For Future, from the early days mentioned in this interview to its activity today 🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe Join the conversation:Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr get in touch with us via this form. Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksEdited by: Miles Martignoni 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.

Transcribed - Published: 7 May 2026

Europe plunged into a deep freeze. Life as we know it upended. The 2004 film ‘The Day After Tomorrow’ gave a generation of terrified journalists an impossible task: how do you communicate the counter intuitive threat of dramatically colder winters caused by global warming? David Shukman was one of them. This week, Tom Rivett-Carnac is joined by the veteran BBC Science Editor and author of the upcoming ‘The Response’, to explore the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, or AMOC: the vast system of currents that helps regulate weather, rainfall and temperature across the Atlantic and far beyond. Recent research suggests it may be weakening faster than previously understood - with potentially profound consequences for food systems, ecosystems and global stability. They speak with Dr Willem Huiskamp of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, who explains what AMOC does, and what a much weaker system could mean in practice. Then Tom and David reflect on the harder questions. How do we communicate a risk this vast and uncertain without paralysing people or losing them entirely? Are we socially and politically prepared for -50C winters in parts of Europe? And are we even capable of responding to a threat that may unfold over decades rather than across news cycles and political terms?  Learn More:🌊 Discover more about the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and why scientists are watching it closely 🔎 Read the latest paper referenced in this episode, which projects an approximate 50% weakening of AMOC by the end of the century📘 Check out David’s book, The Response, which will be published by Witness Books on 7th May 🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe Join the conversation:Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr get in touch with us via this form. Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksEdited by: Miles Martignoni 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.

Transcribed - Published: 30 April 2026

The Iran crisis continues to prove how dangerously dependent the global economy is on fossil fuels. But what will it actually take to move beyond them? In this episode, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson look at what the latest oil shock continues to reveal. And they turn to the upcoming First Conference on the Transition Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, where governments, campaigners and other actors are gathering to build new relationships and explore new routes towards a just transition in an age of geopolitical instability. Christiana speaks with former President of Ireland Mary Robinson and Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate, who lay out the big structural barriers still slowing the shift. From debt traps that make fossil fuel extraction a financial necessity, to vested interests, and subsidies flowing in the wrong direction. The evidence is clear: the transition is happening. The question is, will it be political machinations or economic urgency that determines how fast?  Learn More: 🌍 Explore the official page for the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels, including its aims, format and participants🛢️ Understand why the Strait of Hormuz matters so much through the IEA’s Oil Market Report hub📜 Read the UNFCCC summary of the 2023 COP28 agreement, which for the first time called for “transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy systems”⚡ See the figures behind the boom in renewables in BloombergNEF’s latest Energy Transition Investment Trends 🎤 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.

Transcribed - Published: 23 April 2026

There are chemicals in your blood that weren't there fifty years ago. They are in the products you use, the water you drink, the food you eat - and for years, almost nobody was told the full truth about the risk. This week, Christiana speaks to two women who found contamination in their communities and refused to accept it. Emily Donovan and Sarah Alexander have spent decades fighting for greater regulation of PFAS or ‘forever chemicals’. Through their work, and the work of many others, some progress has been made on regulation, and on supporting the communities most impacted. But this story is far from over. Because these chemicals don't break down. They move through soil, through water, through the food chain and through us. And the impacts on our health and on our ecosystems are only beginning to come to light.So, with environmental protection rollbacks at the US federal level, can progress endure? And can community action take on the big companies and the big money behind this scandal? This episode is about what happens when institutions fail, what accountability actually requires, and why the clean energy transition is incomplete if we trade one toxic system for another. 🔗Follow the work of Clean Cape Fear 🔗Learn more about the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association🎬 Watch Dark Waters (2019) - the film that brought the DuPont PFOA story to a wider audience 📋Read the Relief for Farmers Hit with PFAS Act  🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe Join the conversation:Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr 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.

Transcribed - Published: 16 April 2026

Sea-level rise is often spoken about in centimetres, forecasts and future scenarios. But what if we understood it as a health emergency that is already reshaping lives, harming bodies and minds, and displacing entire communities? This week, as a landmark Lancet Commission launches, Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac argue that sea-level rise must be understood not just as a climate threat, but as a health crisis currently unfolding. And, as co-chair of the Lancet Commission on Sea-Level Rise, Health and Justice, Christiana brings us inside the thinking behind this urgent new effort. Christiana speaks to commissioners ‘Ofa Kaisamy, Professor Anne Poelina and Dr Sandro Demaio, who paint a vivid picture of what happens before and as the water arrives. This is a story of food insecurity, damaged clinics and hospitals, disease, displacement, trauma, and the loss of ancestral knowledge and cultural continuity. But it also points to an opportunity to finally see sea-level rise in fully human terms, with those on the frontlines shaping the response. What changes when we stop treating rising seas as a distant environmental problem and start recognising them as a present health emergency? And what might become possible if the people most affected are no longer treated as victims, but as leaders? Learn More:🌊 Read The Lancet Commission launch paper on sea-level rise, health and justice.🩺 Read Christiana’s opinion piece on health and sea-level rise in the Guardian🏝️ Explore WHO Western Pacific’s work on climate change and health in the Pacific📈 Go deeper with the IPCC on sea-level rise and low-lying coasts and islands. 🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe Join the conversation:Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr 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.

Transcribed - Published: 9 April 2026

As headlines warn of a possible ‘super El Niño’ later this year, we ask: how do we respond to a warning before it becomes a catastrophe?  The last major El Niño brought record heat, crop failures, flooding and deepening food insecurity across large parts of the world. This time, the question is not only what may be coming, but whether we are any better prepared to act on the warning? Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson look at what the forecasts do and do not tell us about the climate ahead in 2026, and what it means to prepare for a crisis that is still uncertain, but increasingly hard to ignore.  And in a world of shrinking aid budgets and rising climate risk, they’re joined by Andrew Kruczkiewicz from the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre and Columbia Climate School - how do you justify spending on a crisis that hasn’t happened yet?  From anticipatory finance and early warning systems to the politics of aid cuts and the difficulty of communicating risk in real time, they explore what climate preparedness looks like when the stakes are already human and immediate. Learn More:🔴 Browse the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre’s work on linking climate science and action🩺 Read the WHO explainer on ENSO and health🌊 Get up to date on NOAA’s latest ENSO Diagnostic discussion for the clearest official snapshot of what forecasters are currently saying about the chances of El Niño emerging in 2026🛰️ Explore the World Food Programme’s work on anticipatory action and see their Bangladesh case study to see how it’s used in practice 🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe Join the conversation:Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr 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.

Transcribed - Published: 2 April 2026

We used to be shocked by this. Hundreds of thousands displaced, millions affected, whole communities washed out. But somewhere along the way, extreme weather events have become background noise. This week, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson explore what it means to live in a world where extreme rainfall, displacement and repeated flood damage are no longer rare shocks but part of a rapidly changing climate reality. Last year alone, Southern Africa, Pakistan, Brazil, South Sudan, and many other countries were devastated by catastrophic flooding. We reflect on the scale of the global crisis, the lives upended, and the huge economic losses that too often go uninsured. Then Paul speaks with Louis Ramirez, co-founder of Flooded People UK, about what happens when flooding stops being just a weather event and becomes a political force. They discuss the growing toll of flooding in the UK, from mental health impacts to rising insurance costs and falling property values, and ask what collective action looks like when communities are forced to confront climate damage on their own doorsteps. As the front lines of climate change move ever deeper into the Global North, will governments finally respond with the urgency this crisis demands? And can the devastation that flows from climate impacts help rally a social movement for change? Learn More: About flooding in the UK…🌧️ Explore Flooded People’s resources on the state of flooding in the UK🏠 Read about the government-backed Flood Re insurance programme mentioned in this episode📍 Check the long-term flood risk for your area (England only, with links to other UK nations) About flooding internationally…🌍 Read more about worldwide flood risk from the World Bank🔎 Explore how extreme weather events are being attributed to climate change at World Weather Attribution🚨 Understand how flooding is displacing people across the globe at the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre 🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe Join the conversation:Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr get in touch with us via this form. Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks Edited by: Miles Martignoni 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.

Transcribed - Published: 26 March 2026

War in Iran has triggered another global energy shock. Once again, conflict has exposed the deep instability built into the fossil fuel system. And once again, the world is reminded that these fuels are not only polluting, but precarious. In this episode, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson unpack why the threat to oil infrastructure and the Strait of Hormuz matters so much, and why these moments keep repeating. What does it mean to build an economy around fuels concentrated in a handful of volatile places, and transported through fragile choke points? And why are many responding to that insecurity by calling for more drilling? They’re joined by Bruce Douglas, CEO of the Global Renewables Alliance and Chief Growth Officer at the Global Wind Energy Council. Bruce argues that although this is not the first energy crisis of its kind, it may be the first in which the alternatives are ready at scale. Renewables are available now - and, in many cases, cheaper, faster and more secure than doubling down on fossil fuels. Together they explore the fork in the road now facing governments. In a moment of insecurity, do countries try to squeeze more out of declining oil and gas reserves? Or do they use this as the push they need to invest in a more resilient system? That decision may determine whether this will be remembered as just another oil crisis - or as the moment political leaders finally started to absorb the lesson. Learn More: ⚡ Read the Global Renewable Alliance’s Renewables Action Plan to break the energy crises cycle☀️ Learn more about Pakistan’s people-led solar revolution🌍 Understand why the Strait of Hormuz matters so much to global energy supply📈 Explore the IEA’s report on the status of renewables today and their forecasts to 2030 🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe Join the conversation:Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr get in touch with us via this form. Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks Edited by: Miles Martignoni 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.

Transcribed - Published: 19 March 2026

The climate crisis is not one problem. It is a crisis of water, food, energy, language, justice and power - all colliding at once. So how do we respond when climate solutions create new trade-offs of their own? And are we even using the right words to describe what is happening? In this episode, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson take on some of the knottiest questions in climate. From water stress and biodiversity loss, to geoengineering, public understanding, and the language of urgency itself. What gets overlooked? What gets simplified? And how do we navigate increasing complexity in the middle of a worsening crisis? We don’t have all the answers. But as our choices grow harder, these are some of the questions that demand our attention. Learn More: 💧 Dive into Why Water Matters from the UNFCCC🦅 Explore how solar and wind energy producers can mitigate impacts on biodiversity🎧 Listen back to last year’s episode unpacking some of climate’s most common acronyms☁️ … or return to our most recent episode on geoengineering with Politico’s Karl Mathiesen 🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe Join the conversation:Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr get in touch with us via this form. Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks Edited by: Miles Martignoni 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.

Transcribed - Published: 12 March 2026

This week we acknowledge the US strikes on Iran and the escalation that has followed. The immediate human cost is what matters most right now. But this crisis is unfolding within a global system still shaped by oil markets and fossil fuel dependence - a dependence that amplifies regional instability and turns into global vulnerability. The same structural tensions sit at the heart of this week’s conversation, recorded before these events. Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous country, one of its largest coal exporters, and a nation with every natural resource it needs to transition to clean energy. The problem isn't will, it’s money. Who it's available to, and on what terms. Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson are joined by Sri Mulyani Indrawati - Indonesia's former Finance Minister under three different presidents, former Managing Director of the World Bank, and one of the most credible voices in the world on exactly this set of challenges. She walks through what it actually costs to retire a single coal plant years ahead of schedule, why developing countries find themselves trapped by contracts they signed in good faith, and why the international finance system is making the transition harder, not easier. Countries like Indonesia borrow at far higher rates than wealthier economies, even as they face greater exposure to climate impacts. When that exposure feeds into credit ratings, the cost of capital rises, making clean energy investment more expensive precisely where it is needed most. In a system that makes decarbonisation harder for the countries most vulnerable to climate impacts, who pays? Learn More: 🏭 Explore Global Energy Monitor's coal plant tracker for Indonesia's existing and planned capacity🎧 Listen to our interview with Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados.🏦 Learn about the Bridgetown Agenda and its proposals to reform international development finance 🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe Join the conversation:Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr get in touch with us via this form. Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks Edited by: Miles Martignoni  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.

Transcribed - Published: 5 March 2026

Climate concern is not the problem. Most people have it. What's missing is everything that turns concern into action - and understanding that gap turns out to be a lot more complicated than it looks.This week, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson sit down with Lorraine Whitmarsh, Professor of Environmental Psychology and Director of the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations at the University of Bath. Together they dig into the psychology behind catastrophe apathy: why understanding an existential threat doesn't always lead to action, and what the research says actually moves people.Lorraine shares real-world evidence - including renewable energy tariffs that shifted 90% of customers onto green power simply by making it the default - and explains why trusted everyday messengers, from hairdressers to taxi drivers, employers to community figures, often have more influence than expert voices in reshaping what feels normal.The conversation also revisits an uncomfortable history: how the personal carbon footprint, popularised by BP in the early 2000s, reframed climate responsibility around individual choices rather than systemic change. A framing so powerful that even environmental organisations adopted it. Who benefited most from that shift is a question the movement is still grappling with. If systemic change requires public consent, and public consent requires political will, and political will requires behaviour change - how do you break the climate Catch-22? With thanks to the University of Bath. Learn More:🧠 Explore Lorraine Whitmarsh's research at the Centre for Climate Change and Social Transformations, University of Bath🔌 Read about the Swiss renewable energy default study — the experiment that moved 90% of customers to green energy by changing a default setting🗳️ Learn more about citizens' assemblies on climate and deliberative democracy in practice🌍 Read the IPCC's work on demand-side solutions and behavioural change in its Sixth Assessment Report 🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe Join the conversation:Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr get in touch with us via this form. Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksEdited by Miles MartignoniPlanning: Caitlin HanrahanExec 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.

Transcribed - Published: 26 February 2026

The Trump administration last week announced the repeal of the ‘endangerment finding’ - the 2009 determination that climate change threatens public health and welfare. It may sound arcane, but this piece of legislation empowered the US federal government to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. This decision weakens the regulatory backbone of American climate policy, and may reshape the country’s emissions trajectory for years to come. So what happens next? This week, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson consider the politics, the economics and the climate reality of this move. And Tom calls friend of the show Manish Bapna, President and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council, whose organisation is preparing to challenge the rollback in court. Speaking to us just as the case was filed, Manish explains why the endangerment finding has long been the legal bedrock of federal climate action, and how the case could climb all the way to the Supreme Court. Until then, uncertainty reins: is this a temporary political detour - or a structural turning point for US climate leadership? And if federal authority falters, will states, businesses and markets keep the transition moving anyway? Learn More: 🌿 Learn how the EPA’s 2009 Endangerment Finding established the legal basis for regulating greenhouse gases 📊 Understand the ‘Social Cost of Carbon’ - and why putting a price on climate damage matters ⚖️ Read the statement from NRDC and its partners outlining their legal challenge to the rollback  🎤 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-HincksPlanning: Caitlin HanrahanExec 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.

Transcribed - Published: 19 February 2026

Who shapes climate action when old systems begin to strain? And where does power really sit - with governments, financial institutions, communities, or individuals? Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson explore climate leadership in a more fragmented geopolitical moment. Picking up the threads from last week’s episode, they ask what happens when multilateralism is threatened - and whether smaller coalitions, subnational actors and civic movements are already stepping in to fill the gap. Because with great challenges, come new opportunities. What might we gain from faster, more focused alliances? Might Indigenous wisdom provide lessons for building fairer, greener economic models? And how can we use the resources we have to support Brazil’s vision for a global mutirão? Learn More: 💡 Watch Mark Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos 🍩 Dive into the concept of Doughnut Economics 🏙️ Explore what C40 Cities members are doing across the world 📈 Find out more about ShareAction’s work to build a fairer and more sustainable financial system 🎤 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-HincksPlanning: Caitlin HanrahanAssistant Producer: Caillin McDaidExec 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.

Transcribed - Published: 12 February 2026

Who really holds power in the climate transition? And how do money, politics, and influence shape the pace of change? In this episode, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson use some of your most probing questions on the political economy of climate action to unpack what happens behind closed doors and to challenge some of the assumptions that often dominate public debate.  What does lobbying actually look like - and is it always a bad thing? What are we talking about when we refer to ‘fossil fuel subsidies’? And in an age of populist politics and shrinking attention spans, can complex climate solutions still cut through? Or are we drifting toward simpler narratives that are easier to sell, but harder to govern? From negotiation rooms to national politics, and the economic systems beneath them, these are the forces both loudly and quietly shaping climate progress. And if we want to accelerate action, we first have to understand where power truly sits. 🎤 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-HincksPlanning: Caitlin HanrahanAssistant Producer: Caillin McDaidExec 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.

Transcribed - Published: 5 February 2026

World leaders are flocking to Beijing. In the first weeks of 2026, Canada’s Mark Carney, the UK’s Sir Keir Starmer and South Korea’s Lee Jae-myung have all made high-profile visits - an unmistakable signal of global power recalibrating. China’s dominance in clean energy manufacturing is already well established: from solar panels and batteries to wind turbines. The question now is whether this transition remains merely made in China, or whether it is increasingly being shaped and led from Beijing. Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson consider what this shift may mean for the future of climate leadership - and for the institutions, alliances and norms that have shaped global climate cooperation for decades. They’re joined by scholar of China’s political economy and climate governance Yixian Sun, who has recently advised the UK government on their engagement with China. He unpacks the country’s own vision of leadership, its evolving role in the Global South, and the risks and opportunities of an increasingly multipolar climate order. As the world recalibrates around China’s growing role, how does Beijing see itself? And what are other governments actually seeking as they turn towards it? We spoke to the man advising the UK government ahead of Keir Starmer’s arrival in Beijing.   🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe Join the conversation:  Instagram @outrageoptimismLinkedIn @outrageoptimism Or get in touch with us via this form.  Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksPlanning: Caitlin HanrahanAssistant Producer: Caillin McDaidExec 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.

Transcribed - Published: 29 January 2026

How dependent are we - economically, politically and socially - on fossil fuels? And how do we begin to loosen that grip? As the world reels from geopolitical shocks, multilateral institutions under strain, and the United States’ withdrawal from key climate bodies, Ana Toni - CEO of COP30 - joins the show to discuss what comes next. Both for Brazil’s presidency in this crucial year, and for the wider system of climate cooperation at a moment when the old rules feel increasingly fragile. Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson ask Ana what was achieved in Belém, what fell short, and why the year after the COP may matter more than the summit itself. Are we entering an era where progress is driven not by universal agreement, but by those willing to move first and bring others with them? And could reframing the transition around ending dependence, rather than negotiating targets, change the politics of climate action?  🎤 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-HincksPlanning: Caitlin HanrahanAssistant Producer: Caillin McDaidExec 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.

Transcribed - Published: 22 January 2026

What happens when the world’s most powerful country walks away from the system it helped to build? This week, we examine the United States’ decision to withdraw not only from the Paris Agreement, but from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change itself - alongside dozens of other international bodies. Headlines declared the end of multilateral climate cooperation. But is that really what this moment represents? Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson unpack what has actually been announced - and what it does (and doesn’t) change in practice. They are joined by Sue Biniaz, former US Deputy Special Envoy for Climate Change and one of the quiet architects of decades of climate diplomacy. Sue brings rare insight into whether a US president can legally withdraw from a Senate-ratified treaty, the surprising pathways by which a future administration could rejoin, and what influence the US may still wield as a non-party. Could the absence of the US voice, paradoxically, unlock progress elsewhere? And in a fractured world, where does collective climate leadership now come from? Learn more: 🎥 Watch our hosts’ immediate response to the US UNFCCC withdrawal announcement, recorded the day after news broke📰 Read the New York Times profile of Sue Biniaz by Lisa Friedman: Meet the Closer Who Finds the Right Words When Climate Talks Hit a Wall📄 Dive into the Just Security article penned by Sue Biniaz and Jean Galbraith on treaty withdrawal and re-entry 🎤 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-HincksPlanning: Caitlin HanrahanAssistant Producer: Caillin McDaidExec 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.

Transcribed - Published: 15 January 2026

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-HincksPlanning: Caitlin HanrahanExec 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.

Transcribed - Published: 8 January 2026

As billions around the world mark the beginning of a new year, many are pausing to ask the same questions: what do we carry forward, and what do we leave behind, as we cross from the old into the new? And as headlines fill with predictions about the rise of artificial intelligence, could a different kind of AI - ‘ancestral intelligence’ - offer insights equal to the depth of the climate and biodiversity crises we now face? This year’s COP saw Indigenous and First Nations Peoples better represented than ever before; but it also showed how far there is still to go to include them in meaningful dialogue. In a conversation recorded at COP30, Christiana Figueres sits down with two Indigenous leaders from different continents and traditions: Mindahi Bastida, from the Otomí-Toltec peoples of Mexico, and Atawévi Akôyi Oussou Lio, Prince of the Tolinou people of Benin. Together, they explore a relationship with the living world grounded in belonging rather than dominance, continuity rather than short-termism, and reciprocity rather than extraction. Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson then join Christiana to reflect on what it means to carry this wisdom into the year ahead. And if the challenges before us are not only technical and political, but also cultural and spiritual, how might that reshape the way we act, decide, and lead in 2026 and beyond? 🎤 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-HincksPlanning: Caitlin HanrahanAssistant Producer: Caillin McDaidExec 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.

Transcribed - Published: 1 January 2026

At a moment when the world feels noisier, faster, and more demanding than ever, what role can beauty play in helping us slow down, reconnect, and remember what matters? As the year draws to a close, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson step back from targets, timelines and political headwinds to explore how craft, design and the quiet appreciation for our objects and spaces can shape both the worlds we live in, and the futures we are trying to build. Tom is joined in Bath by designer and artist Patrick Williams, founder of the design studio and workshop Berdoulat, whose work is rooted in traditional craft, natural materials and a deep sensitivity to place. Together they reflect on what happens when efficiency crowds out care, when buildings and objects lose their connection to human bodies and natural rhythms, and why the climate crisis may also be a crisis of beauty. As we reflect on a challenging year for climate action, we also offer an invitation for the days ahead: to slow down, to notice what restores us, and to remember that meaningful change is sustained not just by effort, but by care, beauty and joy. Learn more:📖 Find out more about Patrick’s upcoming book release, The House Rules 🎤 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-HincksPlanning: Caitlin HanrahanExec 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.

Transcribed - Published: 24 December 2025

At the very moment we need clarity and trust, information integrity is being polluted. Disinformation is profitable and the impact on truth is dangerous. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the discourse around climate. This week, Outrage + Optimism steps into the murky, fast-moving world of climate disinformation. Not simply misunderstanding and confusion, but the deliberate shaping of narratives to delay action, fracture trust, and profit from doubt. Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson explore why disinformation is accelerating just as the climate stakes are rising, how it feeds on human psychology, and why the erosion of shared facts may be one of the greatest barriers to collective climate action. Paul brings us a conversation from COP30 with Jake Dubbins, a leading voice at the intersection of advertising, climate and human rights. Together they unpack how fossil fuel advertising, opaque algorithms and the attention economy are shaping what we see, what spreads, and what stalls climate action. And they examine the newly launched Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change, a first-of-its-kind effort at the international level. But can governments, platforms and advertisers clean up a poisoned information space without sliding into censorship? And where should the line really be drawn between free expression and preventing harm? Learn more: 🛡️ Read the Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change📊 Explore the OECD report on disinformation and misinformation🔍 Find out about the Conscious Advertising Network and Climate Action Against Disinformation 🎤 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-HincksPlanning: Caitlin HanrahanAssistant Producer: Caillin McDaidExec 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.

Transcribed - Published: 18 December 2025

Ten years ago, a gavel dropped in a conference hall north of Paris. It was the moment the world agreed on a strategic plan for one of the most consequential transformations in human history. But, a decade later, what has the Paris Agreement truly delivered? Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson pull back the curtain on the moment that changed global climate politics. The emotional reality of that night, the fragile trust built after the failure of Copenhagen, and the architecture of cooperation that still shapes the world today. Looking back, they ask: was it diplomacy’s greatest breakthrough, or the beginning of a myth we still rely on? Can an agreement built on voluntary commitments survive as the world becomes increasingly fragmented? Is the Paris Agreement still our best chance at limiting the impacts of climate change - or simply the only chance we have? Learn more: ▶️ Watch Christiana’s Ted Talk 💌 Read Christiana’s Open Letter of Gratitude🌱 Read The Future We Choose, by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac🌍 Dive into the Profiles of Paris - including contributions from Tom, Paul, and many former guests of the podcast 🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe Join the conversation:  Instagram @outrageoptimismLinkedIn @outrageoptimism Or get in touch with us via this form.  Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksPlanning: Caitlin HanrahanExec 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.

Transcribed - Published: 11 December 2025

This week, hosts Tom Rivett Carnac and Paul Dickinson delve into the rapidly emerging - and faintly surreal - world of solar geoengineering.  Politico journalist Karl Mathiesen joins us to unpack his investigation into Stardust, a VC-backed startup claiming it’s ready to spray particles into the stratosphere. Karl explains why this technology is suddenly attracting serious money, why scientists still have major questions about safety and side effects, and how in some places, the global regulatory landscape is almost nonexistent. And from technological disruption to political stability, former New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, reflects on the leadership we need. She’s unflinchingly honest about why so many politicians still choose “fear and blame” over long-term action, and why climate remains New Zealand’s “nuclear-free moment.” A test of political character as much as policy. Her argument is hopeful: people, she insists, are ahead of their politics. As we march towards the end of 2025, these conversations map the terrain of 2026: technologies racing ahead, governance lagging behind, and a public increasingly hungry for leaders willing to act with integrity. If you want to understand where the climate fight is really heading this episode is essential. Learn more: 📚Read The Strange and Totally Real Plan to Blot Out the Sun and Reverse Global Warming 👂Listen to our episode with Ricken Patel 🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe Follow us on social media for behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimismLinkedIn @outrageoptimism Or get in touch with us via this form. Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksPlanning: Caitlin HanrahanExec 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.

Transcribed - Published: 4 December 2025

This week on Outrage + Optimism, we’re taking a breath. After two intense weeks of daily updates from COP30 in Belém, we’re returning to weekly programming with something different - a slower, deeper, more reflective conversation that felt too valuable to cut. While in the Blue Zone, we sat down with Kim Stanley Robinson, the acclaimed author of The Ministry for the Future, 2312, The Mars trilogy, and the Science in the Capital series. His writing has been read by negotiators, ministers, campaigners, and many of you. In our conversation, Kim Stanley Robinson reflects on why The Ministry for the Future begins with such a devastating opening chapter, a “punch in the gut” designed to reveal the human limits of adaptation. He introduces the idea of “pre-traumatic syndrome,” the unsettling clarity that comes from imagining a catastrophe before it happens, and how this can motivate us rather than paralyse us. We explore storytelling as a cultural tool for moving from despair to determination, and why each of us needs a a unifying purpose that gives shape to our actions in a chaotic world. At a COP defined by urgency, exhaustion, and flashes of courage, this wide-ranging conversation with Kim Stanley Robinson felt like a necessary exhale, a moment to step back and reflect on why we do this work, and what kind of future we’re choosing to build.We’re airing the conversation almost exactly as it happened. 🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe Follow us on social media for behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimism Or get in touch with us via this form.  Series Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksPlanning Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan Edited by: Miles Martignoni 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.

Transcribed - Published: 27 November 2025

This is our final episode of Inside COP. For two weeks we’ve tried to bring you as close as possible to the heart of COP30 - the pace, the pressure, the progress, and the perspectives of those working inside and around the process. The closing plenary on Saturday began amid unexpected tension. Already running a day behind schedule, the Presidency moved to adopt the final text, but proceedings were paused following questions over whether all interventions had been properly registered. What followed were hours of clarification, consultation and procedural back-and-forth, underscoring concerns among many developing countries who had negotiated through the night to secure their priorities. In this episode, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson examine how the final day unfolded, what was agreed, and what it might mean. But this COP was never just about negotiation. Beyond the formal process, we explore what COP30 revealed about wider trends: shifting clean-energy economics, accelerating deployment across regions, and emerging signs of how the decline of fossil fuels is beginning to influence global decision-making. 🎤 What do you want to hear on Outrage + Optimism? Ask us on SpeakPipe or on our socials where you can also see more behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr via this form. Lead Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksPlanning Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan Edited by: Miles Martignoni Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 23 November 2025

We recorded this episode across Friday afternoon and deep into the evening inside the Blue Zone at COP30. At the time of publishing, there is still no final deal. The negotiations are ongoing, positions are shifting, and the outcome remains uncertain. We know that by the time you listen, some of what we heard today may already have changed, but we decided there was value in sharing the day with you.  This episode is meant as a time capsule. We wanted to bring you inside the atmosphere of a COP Friday: the outrage, the optimism, the urgency, and the sheer human effort that goes into trying to land a deal.  Rather than wait for the dust to settle, we spoke to the people living this moment. City leaders. Climate diplomats. Ministers from the front lines. Seasoned negotiators who’ve been in this process for decades. Activists still fighting for the best possible outcome for the planet. Their perspectives were captured as they were living this day, not in hindsight. This episode captures the feeling of a COP Friday: the confusion, the determination, the fear of losing ambition, and the belief, still alive in many corners, that progress is possible if countries choose it. With thanks to those who spoke with us: ⁠Eric Garcetti, former US Ambassador to India and former mayor of LA Mark Watts, CEO of C40⁠Matt Webb, Associate Director for Global Clean Power Diplomacy, E3GGustavo Pinheiro, Senior Associate, E3G⁠Irene Velez Torres, Colombian Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development and head of the Colombian delegation⁠Dr. Antwi-Boasiako Amoah, Ghanian Negotiator and incoming head of Africa Group of Negotiators (AGN)Giovanni Maurice Pradipta, Foundation for Sustainability  🎤 What do you want to hear on Inside COP? Ask us on SpeakPipe or on our socials where you can also see more behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr via this form. Produced and edited by: Caitlin Hanrahan and Ben Weaver-Hincks Additional editing by: Miles Martignoni Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 22 November 2025

It’s Friday morning in Belém and COP30 is moving fast. After yesterday’s fire and the overnight closure of the venue, the Brazilian Presidency worked through the night and released a new draft text early this morning. It has immediately triggered significant pushback. In this emergency episode the team talks through what changed overnight, and why so many countries are unhappy. Christiana Figueres highlights how the new text removes the roadmaps for transitioning away from fossil fuels and for halting deforestation, and why that has triggered such a strong response. The mood on the ground has shifted. Delegates are back after the disruption yesterday, rested just enough to be energised, and preparing to make their views known in plenary. The Presidency now has to listen, absorb, and decide how far it can move. This is our Friday morning take on a rapidly changing situation, the snapshot before whatever comes next. Follow us on social media across the day for real time updates from Belém.Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimism Learn more: 📣 Read the latest draft of the Political Package🧩 Use this helpful cheatsheet on how to read a COP text🌍 Check out the official COP30 website for background and announcements 🎤 What do you want to hear on Inside COP? Ask us on SpeakPipe or on our socials where you can also see more behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr via this form. Lead Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksPlanning Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan Edited by: Miles Martignoni Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 21 November 2025

Today was not meant to be this episode. At around 2pm local time, a fire broke out near the country pavilions, triggering the full evacuation of the Blue Zone.  As COP30 entered its final stretch, we’d planned to bring you an update on the negotiations, and to share some of the many extraordinary stories of progress and perseverance that surface here every single day. As of Thursday evening, the fire has been contained, and we understand there were no serious injuries. But there is shock, and there will be aftershocks, for those who were inside the venue. And there is now a heavy burden on the Presidency and the teams working behind the scenes to stabilise and steer the summit through the hours ahead. For many, today has been a humbling reminder of how quickly the unexpected can unfold. But despite a difficult day, negotiations continue.  And yet, despite an already difficult day, and despite the exhaustion of negotiators who have now been here for weeks, the work continues. In this episode, we reflect on what unfolded inside the venue.  But we also look beyond it to the incredibly important work that still must be done at COP30, and to what we are collectively called upon to deliver. This episode includes eyewitness testimonies from Beatriz Beccari Barreto (CDR30 Pavilion), and members of our team Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr via this form. Lead Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksPlanning Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan Edited by: Miles Martignoni Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 21 November 2025

We’re approaching crunch time in Belém, and a long-running COP30 saga may finally have found its landing spot. After days of rumour, diplomacy and thunderous rainforest downpours, the question of who will host COP31 looks close to being resolved - and it all plays out over the course of our day’s recording. Paul Dickinson and Fiona McRaith trace the twists of the Australia-Turkey negotiations in real time, with insight from former UN diplomat Dean Bialek. Plus, we hear from political journalist Thais Bilenky on the domestic pressures shaping Lula’s approach, as the Brazilian president personally steps in to break the deadlock. Across the day, the team also dives into one of the summit’s biggest sticking points: CBAM, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. In a wide-ranging conversation, the EU’s Teresa Ribera lays out why Brussels sees CBAM as essential for true decarbonisation - but why it’s sparking concern among countries who fear they’ll be penalised while still industrialising. Then it’s over to the Action Agenda, with Dan Ioschpe and Jennie Dodson giving a ground-level view of how coalitions, companies and cities are reshaping the COP’s centre of gravity - from regenerative landscapes in Brazil to global momentum across grids, food systems and industry. Finally, as we’re packing up the mics, news of COP31 appears to land. What does this unusual arrangement mean? What happens to the long-promised Pacific Island leadership? And what will it take for next year’s COP to deliver on the ambition so many hoped this decision would unlock? Learn more: 📣 Read the latest reports about the COP31 host and Presidency⚙️ Dive into the nuts and bolts of the EU’s CBAM🧩 Explore the 6 pillars and 30 objectives of the COP30 Action Agenda🌍 Check out the official COP30 website for background and announcements 🎤 What do you want to hear on Inside COP? Ask us on SpeakPipe or on our socials where you can also see more behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr via this form. Lead Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksPlanning Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan Edited by: Miles Martignoni Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 20 November 2025

It’s the middle of week two at COP30, and the negotiations are entering their crunch phase. A draft cover text has finally landed, ministers are on the ground, and the presidency is pushing hard to close before Lula heads to the G20 in Johannesburg. Paul Dickinson and Fiona McRaith look at the issues still holding up progress - from finance and adaptation to trade, the global stocktake, and the long-running debate over fossil fuel language. Plus, Germany’s former climate envoy Jennifer Morgan joins the show with a clear-eyed read of where things stand, what’s moving, what isn’t, and how the presidency is trying to break the deadlock.  But beyond the blue zone drama, real shifts are already reshaping the global transition. And nowhere is this more obvious (and more significant) than in the world’s two most populous countries: On China, Professor Wang Yi , senior adviser to the Chinese government on climate change, outlines how rising energy demand is increasingly being met by renewables and new energy sources, why emissions may already have plateaued, and how the world’s largest solar exporter thinks about “steering” the clean economy without dramatic rhetoric. And on India, Dr Arunabha Ghosh describes a “pentathlon” transition, sets out India’s avoided coal build-out, and explains why diversified supply chains will determine whether global deployment accelerates or stalls. Whatever happens in Belém this week, the direction of travel from China, India and other rising economies will be impossible to ignore. But can the text on the page match the momentum gathering pace in the real world? Learn more:🔍 Read the COP30 Draft Cover Text📖 Learn more about India's Local Grids to Global Power report, announced by Dr Arunabha Ghosh🌍 Check out the official COP30 website for background and announcements 🎤 What do you want to hear on Inside COP? Ask us on SpeakPipe or on our socials where you can also see more behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr via this form.Lead Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksPlanning Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan Edited by: Miles Martignoni Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 19 November 2025

It’s getting hot in the COP. Executive Secretary Simon Stiell turned up the pressure in Belém on Monday, sharpening his message as ministers arrived for what is often the most charged phase of the summit. He called for no more tactical delays, and no more dancing around the hardest issues.  And Pope Leo XIV weighed in with an appeal to moral responsibility and global solidarity. Fiona McRaith and Paul Dickenson break down what these dual interventions signal for the state of play at COP30, as key sticking points emerge for negotiators. And: a major milestone in the global energy transition. South Korea has joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance and committed to phasing out coal by 2040. Paul speaks with Joojin Kim of Solutions for Our Climate to unpack what pushed a G20 economy to move and why Korean industry now sees clean power as its competitive future. Finally, Christiana sits down with Minister Sonia Guajajara, Brazil’s Minister for Indigenous Peoples, for a powerful conversation about Indigenous diplomacy, forest protection, and why this COP marks a historic shift in global recognition of Indigenous leadership. Learn more: ⛏ Mine more information about the Powering Past Coal Alliance🌍 Check out the official COP30 website for background and announcements 🎤 What do you want to hear on Inside COP? Ask us on SpeakPipe or on our socials where you can also see more behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimismLinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr via this form. Lead Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksPlanning Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan Edited by: Miles Martignoni Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 18 November 2025

As ministers arrive in Belém for the crucial second week of COP30, forests move from the backdrop of the summit to the main stage. Protests began at dawn on Friday and have continued through the weekend - among them, several activists carried a giant Brazilian flag, emblazoned with the words “Amazȏnia Protegida” (“Protected Amazon”). From the streets outside to the plenary halls in the Blue Zone, trees, land and Indigenous stewardship are shaping this summit’s conversation. In this episode, Paul Dickinson and Fiona McRaith dig into this moment of forest urgency and turn their attention to one of the biggest themes of the COP30 Action Agenda: protecting these crucial ecosystems, carbon sinks and centres of cultural and biodiversity. Paul speaks with some of those behind the Race to Belém initiative - a real-world case study in how one Brazilian state, Tocantins, is rewriting the rules of forest protection. We hear Christiana Figueres speak to Mindahi Bastida about what genuine stewardship means and why so many Indigenous communities are the best equipped to care for their native lands. And Fiona reports to us from a project in the Amazon rainforest itself, where she met local producers building a sustainable bio-economy from the forest’s living wealth. The Brazilians have brought the world to the Amazon and put forests at the heart of this COP. What will be the legacy of COP30 for the forests of Brazil and beyond, that so desperately need protecting? Learn more:🌴 Read about the Tropical Forests Forever Facility📊 Explore the Forest Declaration Assessment and its 2025 report🌍 Check out the official COP30 website for background and announcements 🎤 What do you want to hear on Inside COP? Ask us on SpeakPipe or on our socials where you can also see more behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimismLinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr via this form.Lead Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks Planning Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan Edited by: Miles Martignoni Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism. This is a Persephonica production for Global Optimism and is part of the Acast Creator Network. With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 17 November 2025

It’s the mid-point of COP30 and all four of our hosts have gathered in Belém to take stock. In the Blue Zone, the mood is its usual blend of high-stakes and surreal. The Presidency is calling its consultations a “collective therapy session,” China would prefer “massage and yoga,” and delegates are deep in the weeds of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism. To sift the signal from the noise, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, Paul Dickinson and Fiona McRaith take on the questions listeners keep asking. Why are there so many fossil fuel lobbyists here? Do recent host country venue choices undermine the process? And does the Amazon road story point to a deeper hypocrisy? The team dig into the numbers, assumptions and stories shaping public distrust and legitimate concern. Then: what connects the Protestant Reformation, Agora of Athens and the No Kings Movement? Yes, it’s Vice President Al Gore. In an expansive discussion that charts where we are now and how we got here, the former VP offers a wide angle diagnosis of the forces that have polarised climate politics in his own country - from decades of fossil-fuel-funded disinformation to the shockwave of Citizens United - and explains why linking climate to public health, backed by real-time emissions data, could transform global accountability. Learn more:🛰️ Explore the Climate TRACE tool, and track emissions worldwide📰 Read reports mentioned in this episode about the presence of fossil fuel lobbyists at COP30 🌍 Check out the official COP30 website for background and announcements 🎤 What do you want to hear on Inside COP? Ask us on SpeakPipe or on our socials where you can also see more behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr via this form.Lead Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksPlanning Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan Edited by: Miles Martignoni Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 15 November 2025

Christiana Figueres takes us behind the scenes at the UNFCCC offices to speak to the man who now holds her old job as Executive Secretary. As week one of the negotiations nears its end, Simon Stiell explains the quiet but crucial difference between the COP Presidency, which sets the political direction, and the Secretariat, which guards the Paris process and connects it to the real economy. He also speaks candidly about Hurricane Beryl’s destruction in Carriacou, and how that experience turns what can look like abstract words and commas in negotiation texts into a daily, personal drive for urgency. Inside the media centre in Belém, the story of COP30 is being shaped in real time. Tom stumbles on Ed King, author of the Climate Diplomacy Brief, to talk protests, leaky ceilings, fire ants - and who is sidling up to whom in the negotiation chamber.  At the core of the talks, three fault lines keep coming up: finance, fossil fuels and forests. Countries are edging towards stronger language on fossil fuels and implementation, but current national plans still only point to a 12 percent emissions cut by 2035, when science demands more than 50 percent. That gap is especially sharp for vulnerable countries already in heavy debt and struggling to even get full teams to Belém, fuelling talk of “roadmaps” to connect today’s constrained politics with tomorrow’s science-based destination and send credible signals that the transition is still on. Alongside the negotiations, the action agenda continues at pace. As Christiana tracks down Alan Dangour from the Wellcome Trust, who shares news of a new coalition of 35 philanthropic funders and a $300 million commitment at the intersection of climate and health. Learn more: 📖 Read the Climate Diplomacy Brief📚 Learn more about Climate Adaptation Plan for Health 🌍 Check out the official COP30 website for background and announcements 🎤 What do you want to hear on Inside COP? Ask us on SpeakPipe or on our socials where you can also see more behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimismLinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr via this form. Lead Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksPlanning Producer: Caitlin HanrahanGuest Producer: Juanita Silva Edited by: Miles Martignoni Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 14 November 2025

At a COP meant to centre the Amazon, some Indigenous voices have found themselves on the outside. On Tuesday night, what began as a vibrant street march ended in a dramatic breach of the Blue Zone, as Indigenous protesters passed through the barriers of the official venue. What does this moment tell us about who gets to shape the ‘Amazon COP’? From finance to flotillas, and from protest to participation, this episode traces how Indigenous leadership is being expressed - and tested - in Belém. Manuella Cantalice, Focal Point for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities at the Tropical Forest Forever Facility (TFFF), shares how Indigenous and local communities are co-designing a global financial mechanism - reflecting the novel ways in which Indigenous leadership is being built into the architecture of climate finance at COP30. Indigenous communicator Levi Tapuia, who arrived in at the COP after a 31-day flotilla, describes a voyage retracing the routes of colonisation - and contrasts the sense of unity on the river with the divisions he’s witnessed on the ground in Belém. And Helena Gualinga, Indigenous and climate advocate, reflects on the frustration felt by many participants at COP30, and on the ongoing challenge of turning symbolic inclusion into meaningful influence. Where are the tensions between visibility and voice, inclusion and influence - and what it will take for Indigenous leadership to shape not just the storytelling of COP30, but its outcomes? Learn more: 📣 Find out more about the protests at the COP30 venue🌳 Read all about the Tropical Forest Forever Facility🌍 Check out the official COP30 website for background and announcements 🎤 What do you want to hear on Inside COP? Ask us on SpeakPipe or on our socials where you can also see more behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimismLinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr via this form. Lead Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksPlanning Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan Guest Producer: Juanita SilvaTranslations by: Camilo RamosEdited by: Miles Martignoni Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 13 November 2025

Day three of COP30, and there’s one elephant not in the room. While there are plenty of United States citizens at this COP, for the first time, there are no US delegates. Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Fiona McRaith consider this notable absence, and ask: can a country that keeps flipping between progress and denial still claim climate leadership? In a conversation recorded live in the Blue Zone for America Is All In, Christiana sits down with California’s Governor Gavin Newsom, who delivers a fiery defence of his state’s climate leadership and a warning about what’s at stake for democracy itself. But with reports swirling that Donald Trump may soon greenlight new drilling off California’s coast, how does he respond? Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the team untangles the latest intrigue over who will host COP31 - with Australia, Turkey and even Germany now in the mix - and a rather surreal rumour involving Turkey’s First Lady. And just after the mics were packed away, protests erupted outside and inside the COP30 venue. Christiana shares her reflections on what this moment means for the summit. Learn more: 📰 Read the latest reports that Trump is planning to allow oil and gas drilling off the California coast📣 Find out more about the protests at the COP30 venue🌍 Check out the official COP30 website for background and announcements 🎤 What do you want to hear on Inside COP? Ask us on SpeakPipe or on our socials where you can also see more behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr via this form. Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksEdited by: Miles MartignoniVideo Producer: Caitlin HanrahanExec Producer: Ellie Clifford With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 12 November 2025

What is Brazil trying to achieve with COP30? It's Day Two in Belém and all eyes are on the host nation. Join Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac as they unpack how the country is shaping the first days of COP30 - and the quiet strategy behind Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago’s leadership. With the release of the Call of Belém for the Climate, they explore what may be a masterstroke of multilateral diplomacy. And friend of the show Thais Bilenky joins us to break down how the early days of the summit are playing out in Brazilian media and on the streets of Belém. With the support of the Arapyaú Institute, this episode also turns the spotlight on Brazil’s own climate progress. How is a nation, standing at the bridge between the Global North and the emerging Global Majority, using this moment of global attention to tell a new story: one defined by solutions, not sacrifice? We hear from Renata Piazzon, Director General of Arapyaú, whose mission is to reframe Brazil’s climate story - showing the opportunity that lies in regeneration, restoration, and a thriving social bioeconomy.  And Marina Silva, Brazil’s Minister for the Environment and Climate Change, joins Christiana to share her call for an Ethical Global Stocktake - a reminder that sustainability is not only a way of doing, but a way of being. Learn more:🌴 Explore the work of the Arapyaú Institute⚖️ Read about the Global Ethical Stocktake🌍 Check out the official COP30 website for background and announcements 🎤 What do you want to hear on Inside COP? Ask us on SpeakPipe or on our socials where you can also see more behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr via this form.Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksEdited by: Miles MartignoniVideo Producer: Caitlin HanrahanExec Producer: Ellie Clifford With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 11 November 2025

COP30 is here! Day one dawns in the Amazon, and all eyes are on the host nation - and on the man tasked with steering the talks. On the eve of what could be the most consequential COP since Paris, Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac sat down with Ambassador André Corrêa do Lago, Brazil’s COP30 President, for an inside look at his priorities: the tone he hopes to set and the outcomes he hopes to see for this pivotal summit. How does he view the difference between negotiation and implementation? How can leaders sustain confidence in progress when some countries aren’t even in the room? And what will it take to restore faith that this process can still deliver? The science is unsparing: the 1.5°C limit is no longer a distant prospect but a fast-approaching threshold. Meanwhile, the geopolitical framework on which multilateral cooperation depends is under strain. Against this backdrop, Ambassador Corrêa do Lago faces an unenviable task: to steer a divided world toward unity, and to turn ambition into action on the banks of the Amazon. Can he do it? Learn more:Listen to our episode, Inside COP: How to Build a COP🌍 Check out the official COP30 website for background and announcements🎤 What do you want to hear on Inside COP? Ask us on SpeakPipe or on our socials where you can also see more behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr via this form. Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksEdited by: Miles MartignoniVideo Producer: Caitlin HanrahanExec Producer: Ellie Clifford With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 10 November 2025

Why hasn’t the UK contributed to Brazil's flagship Tropical Forests Forever Facility it helped design? With COP30 about to open in Belém, the UK’s absence from this major forest finance deal is raising eyebrows. Meanwhile, Prince William, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Energy and Climate Change Minister Ed Miliband have been in Brazil this week, demonstrating the country’s continued commitment to the COP process. Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac sit down with Ed Miliband for a wide-ranging and candid conversation about credible climate leadership, the defence of multilateralism, and why the right is wrong to claim voters don’t care about the climate. Recorded just after the Leaders’ Summit, 36 hours before COP30 begins, this episode dives into the apparent contradictions in the UK’s actions this week, and asks: how can climate ambition survive amidst political polarisation and harsh economic realities? Learn more: 💡 Read about the Tropical Forests Forever Facility⚡See the latest from the UK’s Department for Energy Security & Net Zero🌍 Check out the official COP30 website for background and announcements 🎤 What do you want to hear on Inside COP? Ask us on SpeakPipe Follow us on social media for behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimism And we want to hear from you! What do you want to hear more of in Inside COP? Get in touch with us. Get in touch with us via this form. Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksVideo Producer: Caitlin HanrahanExec Producer: Ellie Clifford With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 9 November 2025

As COP30 opens in Belém, world leaders have gathered for the first major moment of this Amazon-based summit in the shadow of growing doubts about global cooperation. With some major countries absent and others already signalling caution, the urgency of credible action is louder than ever. Brazil has launched it’s flagship Tropical Forests Forever Facility to fund the protection of the world’s tropical forests. But with some major donors holding back, including the UK, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Fiona McRaith discuss who’s really stepping up to deliver - and who isn't. Jacinda Ardern, former New Zealand Prime Minister, joins Christiana and Tom to share what it’s like to be on the inside of a leaders’ summit and asks: if this is to be an implementation COP, the question needs to be, “of what?” And we are also joined by Selwin Hart, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advisor on Climate, for a wide-ranging conversation on shifting geopolitics and diplomatic tactics, and how the ‘The siloed Ministry of Environment’ is a thing of the past. As we move toward the start of the crucial COP30 talks, this episode brings you into the room where debates are shaped, questions are asked, and agreements are negotiated.  Learn more:📖 Read more about the Belem Leaders Summit💡 Learn about the Tropical Forests Forever Facility 🌍 Check out the official COP30 website for background and announcements 🎤 What do you want to hear on Inside COP? Ask us on SpeakPipe Follow us on social media for behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimism And we want to hear from you! What do you want to hear more of in Inside COP? Get in touch with us. Get in touch with us via this form. Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksEdited by: Miles MartignoniVideo Producer: Caitlin HanrahanExec Producer: Ellie Clifford With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 8 November 2025

Behind the national plans and global headlines, a quieter revolution is already underway. Almost 100 major cities - representing 23% of the world’s economy - are proving what local leadership can do. From clean-air targets and green-job creation to citizen-led adaptation, these C40 cities are already showing that climate action works for the planet and for their people. In this episode, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Fiona McRaith take us inside the COP30 Local Leaders Forum in Rio de Janeiro - where mayors, governors, and regional leaders are driving climate progress from the ground up. As part of this, they spend time at the C40 World Mayors Summit, where Tom speaks with Mark Watts, C40 Cities Executive Director C40 Cities, about how mayors are turning ambition into action. And in a timely conversation, Mayor Keith Wilson of Portland shares how his city is cutting emissions and investing in resilience as federal support stalls. Finally, we hear from a panel hosted by Christiana Figueres with Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, Mayor of Freetown Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, youth climate advocate Juliette Oluoch and COP30 Special Envoy for Bioeconomy Marcelo Behar. As the world prepares to meet in Belém, these cities, citizens, and local leaders are demonstrating that climate action doesn’t wait for permission - it starts where people live.  Learn more: 📰 Read what was on the agenda and what happened at the COP30 Local Leaders Forum🌆 Explore the people and places behind C40 Cities🤝 Find out more about the CHAMP initiative (the Coalition for High Ambition Multi-Level Partnerships)🌍 Check out the official COP30 website 🎤 What do you want to hear on Inside COP? Ask us on SpeakPipe Follow us on social media for behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimism And we want to hear from you! What do you want to hear more of in Inside COP? Get in touch with us. Get in touch with us via this form.  Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksEdited by: Miles MartignoniVideo Producer: Caitlin HanrahanExec Producer: Ellie Clifford With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 7 November 2025

In a year when climate news can feel relentlessly bleak, the Earthshot Prize offers something vital - proof of progress. And in this year’s fifteen finalists, that proof is taking many forms, across many corners of the globe. This week, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Fiona McRaith bring us behind the scenes of the Earthshot Prize. Recorded in Rio de Janeiro as the world’s attention turned to the 2025 ceremony. As Chair of the Earthshot Prize, Christiana reflects on Prince William’s vision to turn his platform into a catalyst for global good, and how the Prize has evolved into one of the most visible platforms for environmental innovation. Tom and Christiana sit down with Jason Knauf, CEO of The Earthshot Prize, who shares how the idea first took shape during a trip to Africa and what it means to inject “a big dent of optimism” into the climate story. Christiana also speaks with Nonette Royo of the Tenure Facility - one of this year’s finalists - about empowering Indigenous communities to protect forests and secure land rights. Later, Fiona takes us inside the Earthshot hub in Rio to speak with more of this year’s finalists. Omoyemi Akerele of Lagos Fashion Week, Runa Khan of Friendship in Bangladesh, and Fred Holt of Key Quarter Tower in Sydney share what this recognition means for their work and the change they hope to spark in their fields. From floating hospitals to circular fashion, from forest protection to upcycled skyscrapers, hear the extraordinary creativity driving climate action around the world - and the energy building as the Earthshot movement looks toward its next chapter. Learn more: ⚡Explore all this year’s Earthshot Prize finalists and winners📜 Read Christiana in the Economist on the innovation driving climate action  🌍Join the global citizens demanding faster action on climate change🌊 Listen to our episode Hope for the High Seas on the "blue marble"! 🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe Follow us on social media for behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimism Or get in touch with us via this form. Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksEdited by: Miles MartignoniVideo Producer: Caitlin HanrahanExec 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.

Transcribed - Published: 6 November 2025

It’s the trillion-dollar problem: funds are on the table - but the money isn’t always flowing to where it’s needed most. As Hurricane Melissa batters the Caribbean, it leaves behind a stark reminder of what’s at stake when finance fails to reach the most climate-vulnerable places. This week on Inside COP, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, Paul Dickinson and Fiona McRaith unpack what it will take to fix the world’s climate finance system, and make COP30 a turning point from pledges to real investment. The team are joined by guest host Sue Reid, Climate Finance Advisor at Global Optimism, to demystify the landscape of public and private finance and explain how smarter systems - not just bigger sums - can unlock climate action at scale. And Avinash Persaud of the Inter-American Development Bank, outlines the major finance innovations to watch in Belém, from debt-swap facilities to the ReInvest+ initiative. Plus, the team considers the latest NDC synthesis report, which highlights the gap between where we are and where we need to be. But do these nationally determined contributions reflect the real-world momentum already underway - or just mirror the politics of the moment? Learn more: 🌎 Check out the official COP30 website for background and announcements💰 Read about the Baku-to-Belém Roadmap to $1.3 Trillion🌳 Discover the Tropical Forests Forever Facility📈 Explore the latest NDC Synthesis Report 🎤 What do you want to hear on Inside COP? Ask us on SpeakPipe Follow us on social media for behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimism And we want to hear from you! What do you want to hear more of in Inside COP? Get in touch with us. Get in touch with us via this form.  Lead Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksVideo Producer: Caitlin HanrahanAudio Editor: Ned Carter MilesExec Producer: Ellie Clifford With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 30 October 2025

Nearly 9 out of 10 people worldwide want their governments to do more on climate. So why does it feel like progress is so slow? And what happens when countries start bending the rules? This week on Inside COP, Tom Rivett-Carnac, Christiana Figueres, Paul Dickinson and Fiona McRaith react to the shock postponement of the IMO’s net-zero shipping deal, derailed by US pressure. What does this setback reveal about power, diplomacy, and the fragile state of cooperation. Meanwhile, the COP Presidency is turning a national idea into a global invitation: the Mutirão - a uniquely Brazilian, Indigenous-rooted concept of coming together to get things done for the common good. Christiana and Paul speak with André Guimarães, the COP Special Envoy for Civil Society, who unpacks the deeper meaning of the Global Mutirão and how it could unite citizens, communities and governments behind climate action that feels both personal and collective. And to bring that spirit alive, Laura Moraes of Earth FC joins to share how the world’s most-loved sport is joining Team Earth - using football’s passion and global reach to rally millions around climate action. From grief to agency, from stadiums to summits, from Outrage to Optimism, this episode asks: what does it take to feel part of something bigger? And how can each of us play our part in the world’s greatest team effort yet? Learn more: 🌎 Check out the official COP30 website for background and announcements🤝 Learn how COP30 is defining “Global Mutirão”⚽ Get onside and learn more about Earth FC🚢 Find out how the US torpedoed the IMO’s shipping emissions levy📋 Read about the Global Goal on Adaptation on the UN Climate Change site 🎤 What do you want to hear on Inside COP? Ask us on SpeakPipe Follow us on social media for behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimism And we want to hear from you! What do you want to hear more of in Inside COP? Get in touch with us. Get in touch with us via this form.  Lead Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksVideo Producer: Caitlin HanrahanAudio Editor: Ned Carter MilesExec Producer: Ellie Clifford With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 23 October 2025

The global balance of power is shifting. Can climate diplomacy keep up? As China rises, the BRICS expand and the United States retreats, new power blocks formed by competition and conflict will take centre stage in the negotiations in Belem.   In this week’s Inside COP, Tom Rivett-Carnac, Christiana Figueres, Paul Dickinson and Fiona McRaith ask: what will it take for COP30 to foster genuine cooperation in a changing world? And who will get a slice of the new green economy? They are joined by Bernice Lee of Chatham House, who explores how multipolar geopolitics, resource security, and the race to ‘share the green pie’ are transforming climate diplomacy. And Joanna MacGregor, Senior Adviser to the Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, sets out why progress is still being made despite global headwinds - and what implementation success could look like in Belém. From populism to geopolitics, the team asks: can climate ambition survive an age of competition? And what lessons from past COPs might help Brazil carve out space for collaboration in a fractured world? Learn more: 🌍 Check out the official COP30 website for background and announcements 💡 Dive into Chatham House’s work on subjects including climate policy, energy transitions, and natural resources 🤝 Read ‘Will China and the BRICS fill the ‘leadership gap’ on climate change?’ from Carbon Brief 🎤 What do you want to hear on Inside COP? Ask us on SpeakPipe Follow us on social media for behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimism And we want to hear from you! What do you want to hear more of in Inside COP? Get in touch with us. Get in touch with us via this form.  Lead Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksVideo Producer: Caitlin HanrahanAudio Editor: Ned Carter MilesExec Producer: Ellie CliffordCommissioning Editor: Sarah Thomas  With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 16 October 2025

Will COP30 be the COP of ‘implementation’? And what would that actually mean?  Beyond the famous negotiating halls, climate action is already happening. Businesses, investors and cities are driving real change, and the new green economy is rising in tandem with diplomacy. So can Belém mark the moment when implementation promises turn into reality?   This week, Paul Dickinson and Fiona McRaith explore the COP ‘Action Agenda’ - the broad range of voluntary climate action that mobilises the private sector, regional governments and civil society. Plus, they consider the extraordinary transformation already reshaping global energy systems and the flow of capital worldwide. Paul and Fiona hear from leading voices who explore how the real economy is accelerating climate action - from boardrooms and bond markets to start-ups across Latin America. Contributing are Marina Grossi, COP30 Special Envoy for the Private Sector; Aniket Shah, Global Head of ESG and Sustainable Finance at Jefferies; Sue Reid, Senior Advisor at Global Optimism; and Daniel Gajardo, Chilean entrepreneur and co-founder of Reciprocal. Together, they outline what to look for this November in Brazil, and ask how we can tell when implementation is truly happening - not just promised. Learn more: 🌍 Check out the official COP30 website for background and announcements ⚡ Dive into the details of Ember’s Global Electricity Mid-Year Insights 2025, highlighting the scale of the energy transition 🌳 Discover more about the proposed Tropical Forests Forever Facility 📋 Read about the themes and key objectives of the COP30 Action Agenda 🎤 What do you want to hear on Inside COP? Ask us on SpeakPipe Follow us on social media for behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimism LinkedIn @outrageoptimism And we want to hear from you! What do you want to hear more of in Inside COP? Get in touch with us. Get in touch with us via this form.  Lead Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksVideo Producer: Caitlin HanrahanAudio Editor: Ned Carter MilesAssistant Producer: Caillin McDaidExec Producer: Ellie CliffordCommissioning Editor: Sarah Thomas  With thanks to Groundswell and Global Optimism. 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.

Transcribed - Published: 9 October 2025

Following the sad news this week of Jane Goodall’s passing, Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac remember her extraordinary work, personality and humility. They are joined by Mary Lewis, Vice President of the Jane Goodall Institute and Jane’s long-time friend, who shares her memories of her remarkable colleague and her reflections on the incredible legacy she leaves behind. Plus, we share an interview from one of our very earliest episodes with Jane herself, originally released in May 2019. Learn more  🌳 Discover more about the work of the Jane Goodall Institute, and its impact across the world 🐝 Read the original 2019 report on nature and biodiversity loss from the UN's Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) referenced in the re-released episode with Jane Follow us on social media for behind the scenes moments and to watch our videos: Instagram @outrageoptimismLinkedIn @outrageoptimism Or get in touch with us via this form.  Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksVideo Producer: Caitlin HanrahanProducer: Caillin McDaidExec Producer: Ellie CliffordCommissioning Editor: Sarah Thomas  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.

Transcribed - Published: 3 October 2025