Contents : The world as You’ll Know It – Ep. 1 ·
The Word as You’ll Know It
Episode 1: The Future of Climate Change
The podcast series, The World as You’ll Know It, is about “the forces shaping our future”. The first episode in the series is relevant to my research question and includes a conversation with David Wallace-Wells author of The Uninhabitable Earth: Life After Warming and Christiana Figueres the former Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The conversation centers on the urgency of climate action and the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, emissions need to be reduced by 40-45% by 2030. However, David expresses doubt about achieving this due to geopolitical tensions between China and the US, which are crucial players in climate action.
Christiana emphasizes the importance of nature-based solutions, like reforestation and soil regeneration, as part of the response to climate change. The resurgence of interest in these solutions is promising, but global collaboration is necessary, especially between the US and China.
Christiana Figueres highlights the positive impact of the youth climate movement, which has put pressure on governments and businesses to take action on climate change. She also mentions that the recovery packages implemented in response to COVID-19 will play a crucial role in determining the scale and depth of decarbonization efforts.
The conversation also addresses the geopolitical landscape and importance of collaboration between major emitters like China and the United States. They express concerns about the increasing rivalry between the two countries and the potential impact on global climate action. Christiana Figueres emphasizes the significance of the upcoming US election and how it could shape the trajectory of climate policies.
The episode concludes with the acknowledgment that meeting climate targets requires concerted global action.
The focus on the necessary collaboration between China and the US was especially thought provoking and provided a new lens for analysis of my research question. It shows that investment in strategies that one does not typically think of as traditional climate solutions like diplomacy can have as important role to play as any in the climate fight.