Inside Geneva: Is Climate Change the Forgotten Crisis?

Podcast: Inside Geneva
Host: Imogen Foulkes
Date: November 25, 2025
Duration: ~29 minutes
Main Guests:

• Dermid Campbell-Lendrum (WHO’s Climate Change and Health Program)
• Deborah Sanchez (Miskito community, indigenous rights advocate)
• Candy Ofime (Climate Justice, Amnesty International)

Episode Overview

This episode of Inside Geneva explores whether climate change is being sidelined amidst current global conflicts and crises. Recorded just after the COP30 climate conference in Brazil—remarkable for the absence of the United States and limited commitments in the final agreement—Imogen Foulkes gathers leading voices from global health, indigenous advocacy, and human rights to discuss the intersection of health, justice, and political will in the climate crisis. Uniting these perspectives is a call for urgent, just, and locally-driven action.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Climate Change and Human Health (04:00–08:50)

Dermid Campbell-Lendrum (WHO) details the immediate and long-term health impacts of climate change:

• Direct Impacts: Heat waves now cause approximately 540,000 deaths per year (04:50).
• Indirect Impacts: Floods and droughts have long-lasting effects well beyond immediate fatalities.
• Threat to Health Infrastructure: Climate events overburden already-strained health systems.
• Preventive Strategies: Proven interventions (e.g., heat health warning systems) can save millions of lives.

“Extreme heat now takes about 540,000 lives every year… But [climate change] also hits in many other ways. The impact of floods… after the effect, is perhaps ten times as many lives as the event itself… [It] undermines the environmental determinants of health.” — Dermid Campbell-Lendrum [04:50]

2. The Scientific Consensus and Solutions (06:17–06:56)

There is no scientific debate about climate change itself or its human causes; the challenge now is implementation.

• Climate action can create jobs, improve health, and economically benefit societies, according to WHO.

“The scientific consensus on the main points is absolutely clear and has been for decades now. It is happening, it’s mainly due to human activities, it is bad—including for health. But… we can fix this, and it is… good news for jobs, the economy and health...” — Dermid Campbell-Lendrum [06:17]

3. Indigenous Knowledge and Conservation (08:51–12:48)

Deborah Sanchez explains the foundational role indigenous communities play in sustainable land management:

• Recognition Leads to Results: Where indigenous land rights are recognized, forests persist and deforestation slows (10:17).
• Sustainable Solutions: Real, lasting climate progress depends not just on what is done, but how—requiring informed, consensual involvement of communities.
• Example: Pastoralist engagement in solar projects demonstrates the value of community-led planning.

“The solution that many… are looking for is already happening at the indigenous local community.” — Deborah Sanchez [09:47]
“If you see… lands that have been secured or recognized for those indigenous peoples are still intact forest… beyond that, there are already a lot of deforestation happening.” — Deborah Sanchez [10:17]

4. The Challenge of a Just Transition (12:48–17:03)

Candy Ofime (Amnesty International) warns that shifting to renewables does not automatically resolve justice issues:

• Human Rights Risks: Extraction of minerals for EVs (e.g., cobalt from the DRC) carries serious environmental and social harm.
• Holistic Approach Needed: The ‘just transition’ must address the whole supply chain and worker retraining from fossil fuels.

“If we want the transition to be just, fair, equitable and rights-respecting, we have to think about the whole supply chain model… I’ve documented the impact of cobalt mining … people are evicted… artisanal miners are risking their lives daily.” — Candy Ofime [13:42]

5. The Political/Economic Obstacles and Fossil Fuel Subsidies (17:21–20:29)

• Massive Subsidies Continue: Worldwide, taxpayers subsidize fossil fuels to the tune of ~$3,000 per household per year (17:37).
• Myths About Transition Costs: Clean energy is now cheaper, with returns outpacing up-front investments.
• Cost Arguments are Manipulated: Fossil fuel lobbies promote narratives of unaffordable change.

“For most people, your taxes are actually going to subsidize the climate crisis.” — Dermid Campbell-Lendrum [17:37]
“These are flawed arguments, often fueled by fossil fuel lobbyists… invested in spreading those narratives… Our collective imagination is limited by design.” — Candy Ofime [20:29]

6. COP30 Outcomes and the Absence of the US (22:20–25:12)

• Modest Agreement Wins: COP30’s final text omits a phase-out of fossil fuels, reflecting weak progress.
• Mixed Feelings About the US: Civil society actors suggest that lack of US participation sometimes enables more consensus, as the US has been a blocker in the past.
• Rising Global South Leadership: Small island states and vulnerable countries are showing the political will others lack.

“I’m actually quite hopeful. I think that the answer is probably coming from the countries and the communities that have the most to lose.” — Candy Ofime [22:54]
“The US is usually a blocker… sometimes having the biggest polluters not in the room allows for consensus to be reached.” — Candy Ofime [24:08]

7. Empowering Real Solutions (25:12–28:51)

• Indigenous Success Stories: Sanchez reports concrete results, with 150,000 hectares of land recognized in the DRC for indigenous communities; hopes to multiply this by next year.
• Public Support for Action: Campbell-Lendrum notes most citizens want climate action; focusing on practical and popular solutions can build momentum. Health professionals worldwide back these measures.

“Polling from around the world shows that there is a very strong majority in basically every country in the world to do more about climate change… The solutions… are pretty popular.” — Dermid Campbell-Lendrum [26:45]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The answer is us.” — Common slogan among indigenous communities highlighted by Deborah Sanchez [09:47]
• “It’s all doom and gloom and no benefit: the evidence is if we look at the actual solutions... many are popular.” — Dermid Campbell-Lendrum [26:45]
• “Our collective imagination is limited by design.” — Candy Ofime, reflecting on corporate influence on public perception [20:29]
• “If you have an overstretched health service which is then hit by a heatwave… you’re further overburdening your health system.” — Dermid Campbell-Lendrum [07:15]
• “If we continue supporting that conversation… next year in COP, we want to see 1 million hectares [recognized for indigenous people].” — Deborah Sanchez [25:21]

Key Segments & Timestamps

• Introduction & Theme – [02:39]
• WHO: Health impacts of climate change – [04:00–08:50]
• Science consensus and solutions – [06:17]
• Indigenous stewardship & practical examples – [09:47–11:39]
• The need for a just transition – [12:48–15:34]
• Supply chain, mining, and renewables – [13:42–16:00]
• Fossil fuel subsidies & economic realities – [17:37–20:29]
• Political will, COP30 agreement, US absence – [22:20–25:12]
• Empowerment, popular support, and health community advocacy – [26:30–28:51]

Tone and Closing Thoughts

The episode combines sober analysis with measured optimism. Though politically the world is stalling—especially with US disengagement—citizen demand, the courage of frontline communities, and practical, health-driven climate solutions offer hope. Indigenous perspectives and scientific voices are in agreement: urgent, just, and inclusive action is both necessary and possible.

“These are clever people who want what’s best for you and can read a temperature graph… There are concrete actions that you can take which are good for your health as well as good for the planet.” — Dermid Campbell-Lendrum [28:30]

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