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 @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.

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 @outrageoptimism

Or 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.

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 @outrageoptimism

Or 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.

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 @outrageoptimism

Or 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.

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 @outrageoptimism

Or 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.

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 @outrageoptimism

Or 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.

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-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.

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-Hincks

Planning: Caitlin Hanrahan

Assistant Producer: Caillin McDaid

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.

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-Hincks

Planning: Caitlin Hanrahan

Assistant Producer: Caillin McDaid

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.

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 @outrageoptimism

LinkedIn @outrageoptimism

Or get in touch with us via this form. 

Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks

Planning: Caitlin Hanrahan

Assistant Producer: Caillin McDaid

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.

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-Hincks

Planning: Caitlin Hanrahan

Assistant Producer: Caillin McDaid

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.

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-Hincks

Planning: Caitlin Hanrahan

Assistant Producer: Caillin McDaid

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.

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-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.

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-Hincks

Planning: Caitlin Hanrahan

Assistant Producer: Caillin McDaid

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.

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-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.

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-Hincks

Planning: Caitlin Hanrahan

Assistant Producer: Caillin McDaid

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.

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 @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.

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 @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.

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-Hincks

Planning 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.

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 @outrageoptimism

Or 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 C40

⁠Matt Webb, Associate Director for Global Clean Power Diplomacy, E3G

Gustavo Pinheiro, Senior Associate, E3G

⁠Irene Velez Torres, Colombian Minister for Environment and Sustainable Development and head of the Colombian delegation

⁠Dr. 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 @outrageoptimism

Or 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.

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 @outrageoptimism

Or 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 @outrageoptimism

Or 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 @outrageoptimism

Or 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 @outrageoptimism

Or 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 @outrageoptimism

LinkedIn @outrageoptimism

Or 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 @outrageoptimism

LinkedIn @outrageoptimism

Or 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.

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 @outrageoptimism

Or 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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 @outrageoptimism

LinkedIn @outrageoptimism

Or via this form.

Lead Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks

Planning Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Guest 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.

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 @outrageoptimism

LinkedIn @outrageoptimism

Or via this form.

Lead Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks

Planning Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Guest Producer: Juanita Silva

Translations by: Camilo Ramos

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.

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 @outrageoptimism

Or via this form.

Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks

Edited by: Miles Martignoni

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

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.

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 @outrageoptimism

Or via this form.

Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks

Edited by: Miles Martignoni

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

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.

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 @outrageoptimism

Or via this form.

Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks

Edited by: Miles Martignoni

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

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.

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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

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.

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-Hincks

Edited by: Miles Martignoni

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

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.

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-Hincks

Edited by: Miles Martignoni

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

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.

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-Hincks

Edited by: Miles Martignoni

Video Producer: 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.

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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Audio Editor: Ned Carter Miles

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.

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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Audio Editor: Ned Carter Miles

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.

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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Audio Editor: Ned Carter Miles

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Audio Editor: Ned Carter Miles

Assistant Producer: Caillin McDaid

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

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 @outrageoptimism

LinkedIn @outrageoptimism

Or get in touch with us via this form. 

Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Producer: Caillin McDaid

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, Paul Dickinson and Fiona McRaith unpack how high-level climate conferences actually work, and explore the people and processes shaping this first Amazonian COP. And, with multilateralism under pressure, they ask what we should be looking out for in November, and what success in Belém might look like.

Joining the hosts is Thais Bilenky, Brazilian political journalist and new friend of the show, to give us the view from inside Brazil: Lula’s positioning on the global stage, domestic tensions between national and regional politics, the tricky symbolism of COP in the state of Pará, and what all this means for international climate negotiations.

Learn more:

🌍 Check out the official COP30 website

📊 Find out more about the NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions) and see what countries have submitted this year, or dive into this NDC tracker from Climate Watch for some digestible analysis of where they leave us

🎤 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

And we want to hear from you! What do you want to hear more of in Inside COP? Get in touch with us via this form. 

Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Assistant Producer: Caillin McDaid

Assistant Producer: Eve Jones

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

Inside COP is your complete guide, unpacking the challenges, conversations and actions shaping the global response to climate change in 2025. 

Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, Paul Dickinson and new co-host Fiona McRaith take you on the road to Belém, starting on the ground at New York Climate Week where we hear from Simon Stiell, the Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and Kara Hurst, Chief Sustainability Officer at Amazon. What needs to happen from here in this new era of climate action?

We speak to Ana Toni from the COP Presidency about expectations for the Nationally Determined Contributions (the climate action plans countries submit under the Paris Agreement) as well as what COP hopes to achieve, including their hopes for collaborative initiatives like the Mutirão.

Plus, our hosts address President Trump’s shocking comments on climate. Is this a major concern or is the climate community already moving forward regardless?

Learn more 

⁠🎬 Re-watch the live event at CWNYC

🌿 Follow the official COP30 website

⁠🌅 Understand how COP30 can give rise to this new international era

Make sure you don’t miss any of our behind the scenes content. Follow us on socials: 

LinkedIn @outrageoptimism

Instagram @outrageoptimism

And we want to hear from you! What do you want to hear more of in Inside COP? Get in touch with us via this form.

Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Assistant Producer: Caillin McDaid

Assistant Producer: Eve Jones

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

Alongside Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, and Paul Dickinson, guest co-host Sophia Li helps us explore how states, cities, and communities in the US are holding the line on climate when federal leadership fails.

What does it take to take Trump to court on clean energy? Attorney General Peter Neronha of Rhode Island tells us about his landmark lawsuit to restart the nearly completed Revolution Wind project.

How can we bring more people with us on this transition? Musician and climate advocate Adam Met introduces his Neo-Industrial Revolution declaration, calling for a new language of climate that connects with jobs, prosperity and everyday lives.

Plus, we hear from voices in politics and advocacy - from New York to Texas - about the efforts they have been making to create green jobs, support healthier communities, and fight misinformation, at a time when the national picture is far from easy.

Learn more:

⚖️ Read more on Rhode Island and Connecticut lawsuit against Trump over wind farm halt 

⚡ Find out about New York’s all-electric buildings act

🏫 Further information on ALIGN’s Green, Healthy Schools campaign

🌍 See more on 50 for 50 Earth on Corey’s Substack

📜 Read the Neo Industrial Revolution declaration on Planet Reimagined’s website

🎤 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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Assistant Producer: Caillin McDaid

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson are joined by Ani Dasgupta, President & CEO of the World Resources Institute. His new book, The New Global Possible: Rebuilding Optimism in the Age of Climate Crisis, argues that while we know what needs to be done, the real challenge lies in how to orchestrate transformation at scale.

Ani shares stories of progress from cities, nations, and communities around the world, making the case that optimism isn’t about ignoring reality, but about mobilising the political, economic, and social will to act.

But does a hopeful outlook risk minimising the seriousness of the crisis? And how can we close the gap between lofty pledges and meaningful action?

Learn more:

📖 Check out Ani Dasgupta’s The New Global Possible - currently available internationally in ebook and in print editions from many retailers

🌍 Read about the background and latest developments on the UN Global Plastics Treaty

🌡️ Dive into this roundup of the record-breaking extreme weather that hit the northern hemisphere this summer

🎤 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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Assistant Producer: Eve Jones

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

This week, Christiana Figueres and Paul Dickinson are joined by guest host Andrew Higham (Founder of the Future of Climate Cooperation, and former UNFCCC Senior Advisor), to hear from three remarkable people from across the Solomon Islands, Alaska and Greenland. Their stories serve as a stark warning of the ways climate change is reshaping lives, identities and politics. How centuries-old knowledge offers resilience and guidance the world cannot afford to ignore.

How do you build an island? Indigenous Knowledge Advocate Lysa Wini describes how her Solomon Islands ancestors literally created their islands from coral and rock. How are their successors responding, now that rising oceans threaten their homes? 

Wáahlaal Gidaag, Haida leader from Alaska and VP of Arctic Conservation at Ocean Conservancy, shares how her son’s questions are drawing her back to ancestral ways of seeing land and sea.

And Parnuna Egede Dahl, Special Advisor with Oceans North Kalaallit Nunaat in Greenland, explains how self-rule intersects with ocean governance, and what Greenland’s decision to join the Paris Agreement means for the future.

Their experiences challenge us to look beyond negotiations and policy texts, and ask: what can we learn from those who have always been on climate’s front lines? And how can we work together to protect the planet on which we all depend?

🎤 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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Assistant Producer: Caillin McDaid

Assistant Producer: Eve Jones

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

From decoding whale songs to giving nature a legal voice, the possibilities are tantalising - and they may not be as far-fetched as they sound. That’s why the Earth Species Project (ESP) is racing to use artificial intelligence to translate the communication of other species before they fall silent.

How can this cutting edge technology analyse data that would take human researchers a lifetime? And how might findings feed into emerging ideas about ecocentric governance and earth law? We hear from ESP’s Aza Raskin (Co-founder), Jane Lawton (Managing Director) and Olivier Pietquin (Chief Scientist) about this extraordinary mission, and the tools they’re using to achieve the previously unimaginable.

Plus, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, and Paul Dickinson explore the promises and pitfalls of AI: its energy demands, its unpredictable impacts on democracy and capitalism, and its potential to become a ‘Galileo moment’ in how humans relate to the living world.

This episode features recordings of animal species - some of which were used in the training of ESP’s NatureLM-Audio model.

Learn more 

🔊 Discover more about ESP’s large audio model, NatureLM-Audio, and the technology driving their work

📖 Read Aldo Leopold’s A Sound County Almanac, including the essay Thinking Like a Mountain

🐋 Read about about the story of Tokitae the orca calf

🎤 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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Assistant Producer: Caillin McDaid

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

This year’s COP is one of the most significant in years, and we’ll be there with you every step of the way - charting the buildup, analysing events on the ground, and reflecting on the impacts that will be felt for decades to come.

We’re delighted to announce that we are the official COP30 podcast, and there’s nobody better than Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson to tell you everything you need to know - alongside some very special guests.

Inside COP will bring you the voices of negotiators, COP30 leaders and communities from Brazil and beyond. And as the climate story of the year unfolds, we’ll be asking the hard questions, and ensuring you get the inside scoop on what’s really going on. 

Episodes of Inside COP will be released in this feed - so if you’re not already, subscribe now and join us as we gear up for Belém. Plus, send us your questions, insights, hopes and concerns, so that you can help shape this vital conversation.

🎤 Leave us your COP-related voice notes and questions 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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

But what if agriculture could look completely different?

This week, Christiana Figueres and Paul Dickinson travel to Umbria, Italy, to visit QuintoSapore, a farm founded by twin brothers Nicola and Alessandro. After leaving city careers, they set out to reinvent farming: growing food in a way that respects living things, restores soil, and values the people who work the land.

Instead of short-term, precarious labour, they offer full-time contracts, living wages, and community. Instead of chemical fertilisers and pesticides, they look to biomimicry, biochar, and heirloom seeds - not discovering, but remembering the old ways and learning from nature.

From a revelation in a drought-stricken woodland, to redefining what it means to “grow” rather than “produce” food, this episode is a reminder that the path to climate resilience runs straight through our fields.

Learn more

🌱 Explore QuintoSapore’s story

🍅 Watch our video clips from the farm visit on Instagram and LinkedIn

🎤 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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Assistant Producer: Caillin McDaid

Assistant Producer: Eve Jones

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

This week, Tom, Christiana and Paul grapple with the latest science, the looming risks of climate tipping points, and the urgent need to prepare for the worst - even while hoping and working for the best. They’re joined by Ricken Patel, former Founding CEO of global activism nonprofit Avaaz, who is now calling us to take the possibility of overshoot seriously, and to build the political, technological and social capacity to bring temperatures back down.

From nature-based solutions to novel carbon dioxide removal and solar radiation management, this episode considers the broad spectrum of options on the table, and the challenges they present. Why has climate contingency planning been missing from the political debate? And does simply talking about it risk slowing climate action?

These aren’t just questions of what we might do in the future - but of what we’re prepared to act on now.

Learn more 

🌡️ Explore the IPCC’s Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C - outlining some of the projected impacts and available pathways 

🌱 Interested in nature-based solutions? Check out this explainer from the UN Environment Programme

🌬️ Interested in carbon dioxide removal? Browse through the CDR Primer 

☀️ Interested in solar radiation management? Read this NOAA factsheet

🎧 Listen to two of producer Ben’s other podcasts about carbon dioxide removal, The Carbon Removal Show and Grounded: A Climate Startup Journey

🎤 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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Assistant Producer: Caillin McDaid

Assistant Producer: Eve Jones

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

Lies travel faster than facts. We’ve all been confronted by someone who doesn’t ‘believe the science’ and asks questions like these - but how do we change their minds?

A powerful report from the International Panel on the Information Environment (IPIE) warns how coordinated misinformation campaigns are eroding public understanding and slowing climate progress around the world. And as anyone working in or advocating for climate action knows, persistent myths and misunderstandings continue to thrive - even as the science gets clearer, the stakes get higher, and the crisis becomes more urgent. What’s clear is that disinformation is a weapon, and it’s being targeted at climate action. 

So this week, Christiana Figueres and Paul Dickinson tackle some of the most common (and frustrating) climate myths - where do they come from, why are they misleading, and how can we win the battle against them? 

Learn more 

⏳ Listen back to our episodes Momentum vs Perfection, where we explore different theories of change within the climate movement and the tension between urgency, impact, and doing things the ‘right’ way.

🎤 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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Assistant Producer: Caillin McDaid

Assistant Producer: Eve Jones

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

Then, we bring you a conversation with the brilliant Maggie Baird - actor, producer, climate activist, and mother of Billie Eilish and Finneas. Maggie joins us backstage at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, where Billie’s shows are going plant-based, thanks to Maggie’s food justice initiative Support + Feed. We talk food, parenting, the power of culture to shift climate narratives, and how to stay hopeful - even when it feels like the world is falling apart.

Learn more 

⛽ ‘How the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ positions US energy to be more costly for consumers and the climate’ in The Conversation

🎶 See Billie Eilish talk about cleaning up the music industry’s environmental practices, or watch the full documentary (for CNN subscribers)

⏳ Listen back to our episodes Momentum vs Perfection, where we explore different theories of change within the climate movement and the tension between urgency, impact, and doing things the ‘right’ way.

🎤 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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Assistant Producer: Caillin McDaid

Assistant Producer: Eve Jones

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

International Court of Justice President Yuji Iwasawa just delivered a landmark advisory opinion on climate change and human rights - one that could transform global climate action and accountability.

A dancing and crying Christiana Figueres is joined by Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson, to react in real-time, and speak with two of the lawyers who helped make it happen. 

Fresh from the courtroom, Julian Aguon, the indigenous human rights lawyer who represented Pacific nations, and Jennifer Robinson, barrister for Vanuatu and the Marshall Islands, bring their raw, unfiltered reactions to this history-making ruling (before heading off to celebrate).

As governments, legal teams, and corporate leaders worldwide scramble to interpret its implications, we have everything you need to know about what just happened in The Hague.

The ICJ’s unanimous opinion states:

• Climate action is now a legal duty: States are obligated under international law to prevent dangerous climate change.
• 1.5°C has legal weight: States must pursue their “highest possible ambition” in their Nationally Determined Contributions and ensure collective measures can limit warming to 1.5°C.
• Failure to act is unlawful: Granting fossil fuel licenses, providing subsidies, or failing to regulate emissions may constitute an internationally wrongful act.
• Reparations are possible: Countries could be required to compensate or remedy the damage caused by their emissions - anywhere in the world.

Could this be the legal tipping point that forces governments to act? Across capitals and boardrooms, the conversations have already started - and what happens next could reshape how nations and companies are held to account. Listen in and join us as this story unfolds.

Learn more 

Listen back to our two previous episodes that explore the background to this case:

🌿 Sovereignty and Survival: A Spotlight on Vanuatu, where Christiana reports on Vanuatu’s long fight for climate justice.

✊🏽 The Climate Case of the Century, where Cynthia Houniuhi shares her story of how the landmark ICJ case came to be.

📖 Dive into the full advisory opinion from the ICJ.

🎤 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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

Christiana Figueres, Paul Dickinson and guest host Fiona McRaith (Director of The Climate Pledge at Global Optimism) are back with more of the knottiest and most urgent questions you’ve ever sent us.

Plus: are the world’s biggest financial institutions abandoning climate action? Sue Reid (Climate Finance Advisor at Global Optimism) explains how banks and insurers are reacting to political pressure, why some net zero alliances appear to be fracturing, and why “green hushing” doesn’t mean giving up entirely.

And: from climate visas to sponge cities, adaptation is finally rising on the global agenda - but is it fast or fair enough? Irene Suárez Pérez (Senior Advisor to Groundswell) walks us through some of the global hotspots of climate resilience, and why adaptation isn’t a consolation prize.

Learn more 

Listen back to episodes referenced in this Q&A, including:

⏳ Momentum vs Perfection, where Fiona joins Tom to explore different theories of change within the climate movement.

💼 When Business is Political: Climate Commitments in an Age of Backlash, where Tom and Paul speak to Helen Clarkson about the moves of large companies in the context of rising anti-ESG forces.

💰 Learn more about greening pensions and investments: ShareAction, Third Act’s Banking on our Future and Make My Money Matter

🎤 Get your chance to be featured on the show! Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe

And 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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Additional production: Miriam Hall

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

In this special Q&A episode, Christiana Figueres, Paul Dickinson and guest host Fiona McRaith (Director of The Climate Pledge at Global Optimism) respond to thought-provoking questions from listeners around the world. They consider the future of the COP model, whether the Pacific concept of vā may offer a better way to think about our local and global relationships, what a multipolar world might mean for climate diplomacy, and much more. Plus, friend of the show Nigel Topping (Founder of Ambition Loop) helps to explain why UK electricity prices are tied to gas - and how we can fix it.

From the philosophical to the practical, this is a wide-ranging conversation about where climate progress is stalling, where it’s surging forward, and how global cooperation might evolve in the years ahead.

Learn more 

Listen back to episodes referenced in this Q&A, including:

⏳ Momentum vs Perfection, where Fiona joins Tom to explore different theories of change within the climate movement.

✊🏽 The Climate Case of the Century, where Cynthia Houniuhi shares her story of how the landmark ICJ case came to be.

🌿 Sovereignty and Survival: A Spotlight on Vanuatu, where Christiana reports back on her time in the South Pacific.

🤝 COP30: Can Brazil deliver a global breakthrough?, where Tom brings back the latest from Belém ahead of this year's COP.

🌎 Other episodes exploring the shifting geopolitics of climate, including deep dives on China, Australia and Canada

🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions 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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Additional production: Miriam Hall

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

This week, we look inside that extraordinary campaign, and hear the story of Cynthia Houniuhi, who - as a young law student from the Solomon Islands - helped launch the movement that would ultimately unite over 130 countries behind a single goal. Now, six years after this idea began in a law classroom, the world’s highest court is set to weigh in on the responsibility of states to protect current and future generations from climate harm.

Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, and Paul Dickinson reflect on the power of legal activism, the role of youth leadership, and what this landmark case could mean for the future of international climate law.

Learn more 

⚖️ Read more information about the ICJ climate case on the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change website

🛏️ We’ve been told that the platforms QuintoAndar and ZAP Imóveis may be useful for booking accommodation in Belém. Please note that we don’t have any direct experience of them, so we do not and cannot recommend them personally. We encourage you to take the usual precautions when making any arrangements.

🎤 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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Assistant Producer: Caillin McDaid

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

Today, we want to recommend a show that those who enjoyed that episode are likely to love. When Science Finds A Way is a brilliant podcast from the Wellcome Trust that highlights how science is changing lives around the world. In the short clip here, we hear how something as simple as a cool roof - a special reflective paint - is helping communities stay safe from extreme heat.

🎧 Listen to the full episode: Cool roofs: homes fit for a hotter world

🔗 Follow the podcast: on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, or wherever you get your shows, and learn more about it here.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From deadly heatwaves to worsening air pollution and climate-related trauma, the health impacts of climate change are escalating. In this episode, Christiana Figueres and Paul Dickinson explore how growing awareness of these challenges is beginning to reframe the conversation, and ask whether this could be the narrative that finally drives faster, more inclusive climate action.

Christiana is joined by former Australian Prime Minister and Chair of the Wellcome Trust, Julia Gillard, who makes the case for why health must become central to climate communication - and why we should be talking about “lives lost”, rather than simply degrees gained.

Meanwhile, Tom Rivett-Carnac drops in from the launch of London Climate Action Week 2025, where health is rapidly emerging as a defining lens. 

Learn more 

🌡️ See what the Wellcome Trust is doing at the intersection of climate and health

🩺 Read all about the speakers and events at the Conduit’s Climate and The Future of Health, supported by the Wellcome Trust and held on the first day of LCAW

📅 Browse the full London Climate Action Week events listings, featuring over 500 events across London and online

🎤 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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Assistant Producer: Caillin McDaid

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

Around the world, figures from business, government and civil society come together at climate weeks to share ideas, showcase solutions, and accelerate action. Ahead of London Climate Action Week, where many of these innovations will be spotlighted, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, and Paul Dickinson introduce just a few of the many founders and builders reimagining how we grow, produce, work, and live in a world under pressure.

From bio-based foams to paper-based electronic sensors, and from temperature-sensitive food labels to AI water management devices, this episode dives into the materials, data, and design transforming the climate solutions landscape.

While technology alone won’t solve the crisis, can it offer glimpses of what a livable, low-carbon future might look like? And how might it contribute to reshaping the infrastructure, industries, and incentives that underpin our daily lives?

Learn more 

🧶 The Future Fabrics Expo, where Evoco and other makers of sustainably and responsibly produced materials will be sharing their work

♻️ Reset Connect, where Watergate, Hurd, Giki and hundreds of other businesses and speakers will be featured

🧪 The Undaunted Innovation Hub, from the programme that has supported PulpaTronics, Mimica and Cyanoskin

📅 The full London Climate Action Week events listings, featuring over 500 events across London and online

🎤 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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

Reporting from the summit, Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac ask: can this moment become a true turning point for ocean governance? Central to the agenda is the High Seas Treaty: a long-awaited international agreement designed to protect marine life in the 64% of the ocean that lies beyond national borders. But with more ratifications needed to get it across the line, can its future be secured while the world’s eyes are on Nice?

Later, Christiana is joined by legendary oceanographer and explorer Dr. Sylvia Earle. Drawing on a lifetime of experience beneath the waves, she shares stories, warnings, and a passionate case for protecting the blue lungs of the planet.

This episode features underwater and ocean recordings taken by sound artist and documentarist Louise Romain.

Learn more 

⚓ Get the latest news on UNOC from the official website

🌊 Learn more about the High Seas Treaty and track its progress towards 60 ratifications

🐠 Discover Sylvia Earle’s ocean advocacy initiative Mission Blue

🎤 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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

Back from his recent trip to the country, Tom shares conversations with COP CEO Ana Toni and Gustavo Westmann from the office of the Brazilian Presidency, along with insights and impressions he picked up on the ground - from the growing political momentum to the logistical and diplomatic hurdles still to be overcome. Plus, he introduces the team to the concept of mutirão - this COP’s ambition that the path to climate action be built collectively, and through shared effort, cooperation, and solidarity.

With Brazil readying itself to be the focus of the world’s media later this year, we ask: can COP30 be a breakthrough moment for fossil fuel phaseout, nature protection, and delivery on past promises? Or will it risk becoming another high-profile summit weighed down by old divisions and new distractions?

Learn more 

🗺️ Get the latest COP30 updates and insights from the official website

💡 Start exploring the Outrage + Optimism archive by listening to our Lifelines VS Deadlines miniseries, co-hosted by Global Optimism’s Fiona Macklin, whom you heard from at the end of this episode

🎤 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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

In this week’s special episode, Christiana Figueres brings us a deeply personal and political dispatch from Vanuatu - a country on the frontlines of the climate crisis and at the heart of one of the most significant climate justice initiatives of our time.

In conversations with voices from government (Minister Ralph Regenvanu), climate diplomacy (Christopher Bartlett), youth leadership and advocacy (Litiana Kalsrap), and the arts (Jean-Pascal Wahe), Christiana explores the legacy of colonisation, the meaning of land and sovereignty, and the moral power of a nation that is doing everything it can to protect its people and its planet.

Alongside Paul Dickinson, she also considers Vanuatu’s history as a climate leader and the decades-long struggle for loss and damage. Plus, they begin to unpack the landmark ICJ case that Vanuatu has initiated, and which we will be exploring further in future episodes.

How is this island nation persevering in the face of rising seas and extreme weather? And what does the world owe to those who have done the least to cause our current crisis?

This episode features songs recorded by Christiana in the village of Imaki, on Tanna island, and additional wildlife recordings from Vanuatu by Dominik M. Ramík.

Learn more 

🍠 Jean-Pascal Wahe telling Christiana what it means to be ‘chief of the yam’

⚖️ Information about the ICJ climate case on the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change website

🎤 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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

With Christiana Figueres away in Vanuatu, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson take the reins to explore how climate progress is increasingly being driven by - or being left to - businesses and non-profits. They unpack the mounting challenges facing climate-aligned companies, the promise and complexity of existing voluntary initiatives, and the role that the private sector can play in driving innovation, accountability, and ambition in the absence of strong national leadership.

Later, they speak with Helen Clarkson, CEO of the Climate Group, about the shifting reality for businesses trying to lead on climate in the US and beyond. And they ask her to address some of the rumours surrounding Climate Week NYC: Is it happening? Will it definitely be held in New York? And how can it become a beacon of action in an age of political uncertainty?

Plus: Tom and Paul consider the upcoming ruling in a ground-breaking climate liability case with potentially seismic impacts.

Learn more 

⚖️ Details and documents on the Luciano Lliusya v. RWE EG legal case

🛢️ ‘Scientists Tally Oil Majors’ Climate Damage With Eye to Legal Liability’ in Bloomberg

🛑 ‘The End of Rule of Law in America’ by J. Michael Luttig, in The Atlantic

📺 ‘Every day I have been shocked and disgusted’ - J. Michael Luttig on MSNBC

🌎 Find out more about Climate Week NYC, or the Climate Group’s RE100 and EV100

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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

This week, Tom Rivett-Carnac, Christiana Figueres, and Paul Dickinson dig into what we know, what we don’t, and ask what this blackout really tells us about the transition to renewables. They speak with energy strategist Kingsmill Bond of Ember and hear an on-the-ground account from José Manuel Entrecanales, CEO of global renewables leader Acciona, to build a picture of how our grids function – and how they fail.

Plus: what can we say when friends or colleagues claim that ‘renewables aren’t reliable’? And, after our recent conversations reflecting on the legacy of Pope Francis, what might Pope Leo XIV mean for future climate leadership?

Learn more 

🔌 Ember’s report, ‘Energy Security in an Insecure World’

🎧 Octopus CEO Greg Jackson interviewed on the Azeem Azhar’s Exponential View podcast

💡 Simon Evans’s analysis for Carbon Brief on the role of gas in electricity pricing

🌐 The IEA’s report, ‘Electricity Grids and Secure Energy Transitions’

🌳 ‘Pope Francis was a passionate climate advocate. Will Pope Leo XIV continue his legacy?’ in EuroNews

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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

Hosts Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, and Paul Dickinson dive into the heart of these questions and explore what Blair’s comments mean for the wider net zero debate. At a time when climate action is becoming increasingly politicised and weaponised, they consider how we might frame net zero as something that improves people’s lives, rather than threatening them. And how we can ensure that every credible climate solution stays on the table.

With timely and provocative contributions from listeners and friends of the podcast - including former BBC News Science Editor David Shukman and Senior Policy Advisor at Carbonfuture Sebastian Manhart - the hosts ask: can we rescue the net zero brand before it’s written off?

Learn more 

📘 The Tony Blair Institute’s report, ‘The Climate Paradox: Why We Need to Reset Action on Climate Change’

✈️ ‘Aviation industry is ‘failing dramatically’ on climate, insiders say’ in the Guardian

🌱 The Future We Choose, by Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac

📣 Our previous episode on communicating climate change with John Marshall, whose work Christiana references in this episode

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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

Commissioning 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.

As a pivotal election looms, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson examine what’s at stake for one of the world’s highest per-capita emitters. After months of polling ahead, the opposition Coalition now faces a late surge from the governing Labor Party, with the Greens, Teals and independents all likely to play a crucial role. The result could reinforce, roll-back or reshape domestic climate policy, and determine whether Australia emerges as a global climate leader at a time when others are stepping away from the stage.

To understand what’s going on, the team calls up friend of the show Dean Bialek, Founder and Managing Director of The Pacific Project. Together, they explore the opportunities for Australia in the energy transition, the narratives and dynamics driving this election, and the country’s potential role as a regional leader as it hopes to host 2026’s COP31 with other Pacific nations.

So, does Australia have a role to play in reigniting regional and global climate momentum? And how will this election shape the climate fight - both within and beyond its borders.

Learn more

🌿 Philip Levin’s opinion piece in the New York Times, ‘Trump Tried to Derail Our Work. We Banded Together and Moved Forward.’

🦅 The Economist’s US cover this week, reported by Yahoo

🔬 Hungry Beast’s ‘I’m A Climate Scientist’ video

⚡ ABC News Australia’s graphic, illustrating the shift in Australia’s energy mix

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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Exec Producer: Dino Sofos

Commissioning 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.

This Earth Day, Outrage + Optimism explores a seismic shift in global energy: the possibility that major oil and gas companies are entering a self-managed decline. Have fossil fuel companies been overvalued for decades? And are they now quietly winding themselves down? 

For years, analysts and campaigners have questioned why these companies are valued as if they'll pump oil forever. With rising climate risks, tightening regulation, and growing investor scrutiny, the foundations of their business model have looked increasingly shaky.

Now, something remarkable is happening. From Exxon to Shell, oil majors are cutting back on capital investment, failing to replace their reserves, and instead handing profits back to shareholders. Could this be the beginning of an industry in managed decline?

In this Earth Day special, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, and Paul Dickinson sit down with Mark Campanale, founder of Carbon Tracker and the originator of the ‘stranded assets’ concept that helped launch the global divestment movement.

Is this truly the start of fossil fuel’s final chapter? Or is it a strategic pivot - away from fuels and toward petrochemicals, plastics, and a long tail of influence?

Learn more 

🏛️ Adam Serwer’s article, ‘The Constitutional Crisis is Here’ in The Atlantic

🖍️ Reporting on the White House deportation cartoon 

🚨 Ezra Klein’s video on illegal deportation, ‘The Emergency is Here’

🏳️ Harry Benham’s Substack piece, ‘Leaving the battlefield: oil companies are quitting renewables, yes, but also quitting energy’

🌍 Carbon Tracker’s Paris Maligned

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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Exec Producer: Dino Sofos

Commissioning 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.

Learn more 

🌍 Pope Francis’s words in Profiles of Paris

📜 Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato Si’: On Care for Our Common Home

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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Exec Producer: Dino Sofos

Commissioning 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.

In the latest of our country deep-dives, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson explore China’s pivotal and complex role in decarbonising our world. At home, the nation is a technology superpower, the driver behind the renewables and EV revolutions, and dominates the world in solar panels, batteries and green hydrogen. But it’s also a coal-powered polluter, with a history of taking a backseat in traditional climate diplomacy on the international stage. So, with global geopolitics and trade realigning, is it about to pick a lane?

To unpack all this, the team is joined by Li Shuo, Director of the China Climate Hub at the Asia Society Policy Institute. At a time of flux, he outlines the complex forces shaping China’s strategy, and considers what we might expect to see from it in the years ahead.

Above all, one thing is clear: China’s role will be a defining force in the next decade of climate progress. And the impact of its action - or inaction - will be felt around the world.

Learn more 

🔩 ‘China halts critical rare earth mineral exports as Trump teases new tariffs’ from the Independent

🔋 BloombergNEF’s update on global investments into the energy transition, highlighting China’s role

💥 ‘China hits out at Trump's "blackmail" and spells out conditions for ending trade war’ in TAG24

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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Executive Producer: Dino Sofos

Commissioning 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.

In this urgent and wide-ranging episode, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson explore the fallout from Trump’s new global tariffs, reflect on the environmental movement’s complex relationship with free trade, and ask what this moment tells us about democracy, power and inequality.

Later, Christiana shares highlights from a timely conversation she recently had in Paris, with former US Vice President Al Gore and France’s Special Representative for COP21 Laurence Tubiana. Together, they consider the impact of money in politics, the poly-solutions to our state of polycrisis, and the importance of staying (stubbornly) optimistic.

Learn more 

⚖️ The New Civil Liberties Alliance Complaint for Injunctive and Declaratory Relief 

📉 Rebecca Schneid’s article for Time, ‘Is the U.S. Heading Into a Recession Amid Trump’s Tariffs? ‘Liberation Day’ Fallout Sparks Fresh Fears’

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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Exec Producer: Dino Sofos

Commissioning 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.

In this episode, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson explore the history of this often unseen influence, ask why fossil fuel lobbyists have become so embedded in the COP system, and consider what levers are emerging to disrupt their involvement in domestic and international politics.

This episode also features another panel from our live event at The Conduit, inspired by the RSC and Good Chance Theatre’s Olivier-nominated production of Kyoto, and hosted by the Financial Times’ Pilita Clark. She’s joined by climate lawyer Tessa Khan, climate finance and energy expert Kirsty Hamilton, and historian of climate change negotiations and former UNFCCC secretariat Joanna Depledge, to unpack how industry lobbyists - from oil majors to car manufacturers - used misinformation, procedural manipulation, and political influence to undermine progress in Kyoto and beyond.

So, how have fossil fuel lobby tactics changed in the years since Kyoto? Have they achieved everything they set out to? And what might the world look like if the industry had never sought to delay and derail climate negotiations - or, better yet, had taken responsibility for its role in the green transition?

This is our second episode inspired by the RSC and Good Chance Theatre’s production of Kyoto. You can listen to the first episode, Behind the Scenes at Kyoto: Drama and diplomacy on the world stage here. 

Learn more:

📚Read: This Guardian article about the Greenpeace loss in North Dakota

📺Watch: Climate of Concern, a 1991 film by Shell

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-Hincks

Video Producer: Caitlin Hanrahan

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford and Dino Sofos

Commissioning 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.