Outrage and optimism in oil country

Zero: The Climate Race

Bloomberg

Technology, Business, Science

4.7 • 219 Ratings

🗓️ 29 November 2023

⏱️ 31 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today is the start of COP28. And for the next two weeks, Zero will be in the United Arab Emirates, along with more than 70,000 people who will come for the year’s biggest climate conference. These are set to be difficult negotiations. Getting every single country to agree to one common text is a gargantuan task. So for this first episode from COP, we wanted to hear from someone who’s been on the inside; someone who has helped forge global climate agreements from the ashes of broken diplomacy.

Christiana Figueres is the cohost of the podcast Outrage & Optimism, and was formerly the head of the UNFCCC, the body tasked with running COP meetings. She took over the role at a low point in global climate negotiations in 2010 and her efforts culminated in the signing of the Paris agreement in 2015.

Now, the world is way off track to meet that goal. So we wanted to hear from Christiana about what can be expected from COP28, the role the fossil fuel industry plays in negotiations, and whether the climate summit is still fit for purpose.

Listen to Christiana's podcast, Outrage and Optimism
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Fill out Bloomberg Green's climate anxiety survey

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kate Mackenzie and Kira Bindrim. Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Olivia Rudgard, a reporter for Bloomberg Green. I'm currently working on a piece
0:05.7	about climate anxiety and I have a request for zero listeners. Climate change can cause stress, both
0:11.1	with people directly affected by it and for those concerned about its effects on others and
0:14.8	their future. If you're okay to share your experience of this, we would love to hear from you. Tell
0:20.3	us what makes you
0:21.0	worry, how your worries affect your life, and what helps you feel better. Take our short
0:25.3	survey. There's a link in the show notes. Thank you. Welcome to Zero. I'm Akshadrati. This week,
0:34.3	outrage and optimism in oil country.
0:56.0	Today is the start of COP28, and for the next two weeks, I'll be in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, along with more than 70,000 other people who will come for the year's biggest climate conference.
1:03.0	It is one of the most controversial COPs in recent memory.
1:06.0	It is being hosted by an oil dependent nation and the president of the summit, Sultan al-Jabber,
1:11.6	is also the head of the state's oil company. Many are worried that it's being run by the
1:17.0	wrong people at the wrong time, just as the world is experiencing record-breaking heat.
1:23.8	Yet, representatives of almost 200 countries are now gathered here in Dubai to create a new
1:29.9	consensus that will hopefully push the world closer toward net zero.
1:35.4	If things go to plan, we should see a global agreement to triple renewables, double energy
1:41.0	efficiency, phase out fossil fuels, and work out how to implement a fund that would compensate vulnerable countries for climate impacts.
1:50.7	Have no doubt, these are difficult negotiations.
1:54.6	Getting every single country to agree to one common text is a gargantune task.
2:00.0	So for this first episode from K COP, I wanted to talk with
2:03.1	someone who's been on the inside, someone who has helped forge these agreements from the ashes
2:09.3	of broken diplomacy. My guest today is Christiana Figueres, who is now the co-host of the podcast
	...

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