Podcast
Climate +
Hosted by Devex · EN
Politicians, scientists, and activists are heading to Dubai this year as one of the world’s largest oil producers plays host to a high-stakes climate change summit.
With countries battered by storms and strained by heatwaves, floods and droughts, can COP28 help change the trajectory of the climate crisis and preserve the planet for future generations?
Climate + is our new twice-weekly podcast, publishing in the lead up to, during, and after this year's UN climate conference.
Join Devex senior reporter Michael Igoe and the Devex team as we speak with COP insiders and experts, campaigners, and contrarians to ask — can COP28 deliver?
With countries battered by storms and strained by heatwaves, floods and droughts, can COP28 help change the trajectory of the climate crisis and preserve the planet for future generations?
Climate + is our new twice-weekly podcast, publishing in the lead up to, during, and after this year's UN climate conference.
Join Devex senior reporter Michael Igoe and the Devex team as we speak with COP insiders and experts, campaigners, and contrarians to ask — can COP28 deliver?
10episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
What role can the private sector play at the ‘finance COP’?
Nov 21, 202400:43:21Tap to summarizeFor this special episode of our weekly podcast series, Devex EVP and Executive Editor Kate Warren sits down with leaders from Bayer and Mars who discuss the challenges and opportunities for the private sector in addressing climate change.
Transcribe →Leaders push for climate adaptation funding in the face of escalating risks
Nov 16, 202400:35:02Tap to summarizeFor this special episode of our weekly podcast series recorded at COP29, Devex climate reporter Jesse Chase-Lubitz sits down with Kulthoum Omari-Motsumi from the Africa Adaptation Initiative, Patrick Verkooijen of the Global Center on Adaptation, and Tagaloa Cooper from the South Pacific Regional Environment Program.
Transcribe →How agricultural innovation and science can help tackle climate change
Nov 15, 202400:38:45Tap to summarizeAgriculture is both a driver of climate change, with around 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions coming from direct on farm emissions, and a potential game changer in mitigating it, if carried out sustainably. Yet currently agriculture receives only 4.3% of total mitigation and adaptation finance, making it an underutilized part of the solution to climate change.“Maybe an important conversation to have in Baku is to say, of the finances that we have available, are we all focussing on the sectors where we can see true, tangible, and implementable solutions,” said CropLife International’s Vice President for public affairs and communications Laurie Goodwin, the global association that advocates on behalf of plant science innovation.In a conversation with Devex Executive Vice President and Executive Editor Kate Warren, Goodwin and CropLife International’s President and CEO Emily Rees discussed advancements in plant science and the role of innovation, such as the use of digital tools — otherwise known as precision agriculture — in building resilience in global food systems. “It’s a real digital revolution, a farming revolution, that we’re seeing,” said Rees. “I think it’s really important to keep in mind what the benefits are of this from a biodiversity perspective, from a conservation perspective, from a land degradation perspective.”Listen to their conversation to hear how innovative technologies are helping improve crop resilience and yields, and what more is needed to ensure these solutions reach smallholder farmers.
Transcribe →What are we watching at COP29?
Nov 11, 202400:21:01Tap to summarizeAs the COP 29 U.N. climate conference kicks off in Baku, Azerbaijan, we look ahead to the potential implications of the discussions on the global development sector.Labeled as the “finance COP,” one of the expected outcomes of the summit is a new financial goal for high-income countries to deliver to lower-income countries to address the challenges induced by climate change.With Trump’s recent reelection and implications for development, as well as Europe’s ongoing cuts to development funding, serious questions remain over whether ambitious financial and political commitments will be made, and if the discussions will translate into meaningful action.What are we expecting from COP29? Which are the conversations that we will be following?Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar sits down with Devex reporters Jesse Chase-Lubitz and Ayenat Mersie for this special episode of our weekly podcast series ahead of COP 29.Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters.
Transcribe →What does climate vulnerability mean for the Caribbean?
Dec 22, 202300:47:53Tap to summarizeThe agreement to operationalize a new fund for loss and damage was a key achievement of this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP 28. But key questions remain about how that fund will work to get financial resources to countries experiencing the impacts of climate change.It’s part of a broader conversation about climate vulnerability and resilience — how to measure it, how it relates to a country’s income status, and how to quantify the costs of climate change impacts.“These are things that will be with you forever — your entire trajectory, your entire life, your entire space has changed fundamentally and in a permanent way. So the solutions cannot be sliced and diced solutions,” argues Gene Leon, president of the Caribbean Development Bank, in this episode of the Climate + podcast.Leon outlined how support for countries experiencing loss and damage due to climate change can help them regain their footing — and rediscover an economic growth trajectory on a changing planet.The Climate + podcast is supported by the World Bank.
Transcribe →A food systems breakthrough at COP 28?
Dec 22, 202300:26:41Tap to summarizeThe United Nations climate change conference in Dubai, or COP 28, was a big moment for food systems. For the first time, COP included a day dedicated to food and agriculture, which many see as an important signal that silos between climate and food policy are starting to break down.Still, less than 5% of climate finance is invested in food systems, despite the massive need for financial support for priorities such as regenerative agriculture, reducing food loss and waste, and sustainable livestock management, says Ertharin Cousin, former head of the World Food Programme, in this episode of Devex’s Climate + podcast.“Ensuring that we are part of the finance dialogue is as critical as ensuring that we are part of the substantive dialogue around the actions,” Cousin said.It’s an urgent challenge, considering existing — and increasing — levels of food insecurity, and what a changing climate likely means for those unserved by the existing food system, says Ismahane Elouafi, chief scientist at the Food and Agriculture Organization.“It’s broken because it’s not nourishing us. It’s broken because it’s part of the climate crisis … and it’s broken because we haven’t been able to use agriculture, really, to uplift people from poverty,” Elouafi said.The Climate + podcast is supported by the World Bank. To learn more about efforts to end poverty on a livable planet, check out the link.
Transcribe →The role of corporations in shaping the climate conversation
Dec 21, 202300:27:48Tap to summarizeThe annual climate conferences, or COPs, have become much more than just a forum for technical and political negotiations. They’re also a convening space for representatives from the likes of civil society, academia, and the private sector. Corporations now have an increasingly significant role to play in shaping the climate conversation and — crucially — in ensuring their own operations are environmentally sustainable.For a global technology company like Microsoft, being present at COP is important not just because of the potential tools and solutions the company can offer, but also due to the implications of climate change for its business and operations, said Melanie Nakagawa, Microsoft’s Chief Sustainability Officer.Joining the Climate + podcast from COP28 in Dubai, Nakagawa shared Microsoft's priorities around investing in carbon removal, using artificial intelligence to accelerate progress on sustainability, and improving sustainability reporting mechanisms and governance. “We want to make sure corporations are stepping up and doing what they can do to rapidly reduce emissions, and… to remove what they can't,” Nakagawa said.The Climate + podcast is supported by the World Bank. To learn more about efforts to end poverty on a livable planet, check out the link.
Transcribe →What “Paris alignment” means for multilateral development banks
Dec 15, 202300:53:13Tap to summarizeThe Paris Climate Agreement, established at COP 21 in 2015, calls for leaders and institutions across society to work towards reducing their carbon emissions with the aim of reaching net zero by 2050. Multilateral development banks, or MDBs, which have a critical role to play in the climate finance landscape, are in the process of figuring out what it means to deliver on their commitment to “Paris alignment”.“Delivery means really, for us, implementing what we have committed to do and working with the countries in which we invest in order to accompany them in this green transition,” said Odile Renaud-Basso, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, in the latest episode of the Climate + podcast. EBRD aims for 50% of its investments to be in support of the green transition by 2025, she added. Renaud-Basso joined Devex senior reporter Adva Saldinger to delve deeper into EBRD’s climate priorities, the bank’s approach and timeline for phasing out investments in fossil fuels, what MDBs can do to mobilize more private capital for climate investments, and how MDBs can work better together to support countries with their climate goals. This podcast episode was recorded with a live online audience as part of Devex’s wider Climate + event programming at COP 28.The Climate + podcast is supported by the World Bank. To learn more about efforts to end poverty on a livable planet, check out the link.
Transcribe →The power of cash transfers in preparing communities for climate change
Dec 15, 202300:31:30Tap to summarizeThe United Nations climate conference, or COP 28, kicked off with a great deal of optimism as the loss and damage fund was established and countries made their first pledges to contribute. However, concerns remain on whether money channeled through the scheme will really reach its intended recipients. An alternative model to this is the one utilized by GiveDirectly, the U.K. charity that provides direct cash transfers to vulnerable households. To find out more about the organization — including how they might help people in areas prone to climate disasters — Devex Executive Vice President and Executive Editor Kate Warren sat down with GiveDirectly’s vice president for partnerships, Yolande Wright, for this episode of the Climate + podcast.During the conversation, Wright highlights the effectiveness of lump sum cash transfers in helping households build resilience to climate change by investing in livelihoods and improving homes, as well as their ability to address systemic issues — such as infrastructure and gender equality — to support long-term sustainable development.They also dug into the importance of having access to good data and how the rise of artificial intelligence will enable cash transfer targeting to become more efficient. “I think there’s been a tendency of development experts to spend a long time designing and consulting on programs and deciding how best donor money should be spent,” Wright points out during the conversation. She argues that people facing the challenges of climate change in the global south “are best placed to make their own decisions about how they invest their money.” The Climate + podcast is supported by the World Bank. To learn more about efforts to end poverty on a livable planet, check out the link.
Transcribe →Giving Indigenous peoples a seat at the climate table
Dec 11, 202300:27:42Tap to summarizeFor too long, Indigenous peoples were sidelined from the climate negotiations process, despite being among the most directly affected by climate change. That changed at COP 26 in Glasgow, when for the first time in the history of the UN climate conferences, indigenous representatives were invited to engage directly and share experiences with governments. Indigenous leaders, however, argue that there is still a long way to go towards having their rights sufficiently recognized. “We see that at least we have some spaces that we occupy, and mechanisms which allow better participation, but we still have to do much more at the national levels,” said Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in the latest episode of Climate +. Tauli-Corpuz said she and other Indigenous representatives are calling for Indigenous peoples’ rights, territories, and knowledge to be recognized in countries’ national climate mitigation plans (known as nationally determined contributions, or NDCs).Tauli-Corpuz, who is a member of the Kankanaey Igorot people of the Cordillera Region in the Philippines, also shared her own experiences of being targeted by the government as an environmental defender, why direct access to climate finance is still a pain point for Indigenous communities, and what needs to happen to safeguard Indigenous peoples’ rights in the face of the renewable energy transition. The Climate + podcast is supported by the World Bank. To learn more about efforts to end poverty on a livable planet, visit: https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/the-world-bank-at-cop28
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