Climate One

Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard made headlines recently when he announced that he and his family had transferred their $3 billion stake in the storied outdoor gear company to a special purpose trust and nonprofit that would give away $100 million a year, specifically to environmental causes. Patagonia has a long history of donating at least one percent of its profits – and 100% of profits made on Black Friday – to grassroots environmental non-profits.

Yet even with this massive gift, and Laurene Powell Jobs’ own recent $3.5 billion pledge, climate philanthropy still only accounts for a small fraction of all charitable giving. This Thanksgiving weekend, we look back to our 2016 interview with Yvon Chouinard and bring the story up to date with Inside Philanthropy’s Michael Kavate.

Guests:

Yvon Chouinard, Founder, Patagonia

Michael Kavate, Staff Writer, Inside Philanthropy

For show notes and related links, visit our website.

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Climate One has been at this year's UN climate summit, COP27, where one of the issues at the forefront of the conversation has been “loss and damage” – the idea that rich countries who have historically emitted the vast majority of climate-disrupting pollution should have to pay for the resulting suffering borne by those least responsible for the problem. At the same time, the whole world needs to drastically reduce its emissions and transition to clean energy – and that costs money, too.

When even wealthy countries struggle to meet self imposed goals to cut down on carbon pollution, how can developing countries, who are already suffering the effects of the climate crisis, fund their own moves to clean energy?

Guests: 

Bogolo Joy Kenewendo, UN Climate Change High-Level Champions’ Special Advisor, Africa Director

Arunabha Ghosh, CEO, Council on Energy, Environment and Water

Alastair Marsh, Reporter, Bloomberg

Johnson Cerda, DGM Global

For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org

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The 27th UN convention on climate change, known as COP27, is now underway in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. When Climate One spoke with Egyptian Ambassador Wael Aboulmagd in October, he argued that progress at this year’s summit would be more rapid than in past years, because this year, the focus is on implementation rather than negotiation.

And for the first time, loss and damage — what richer nations owe poorer ones for the climate impacts their emissions have caused — is on the agenda. How will these issues play out during the conference? Are countries increasing their ambition as promised, and keeping the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees alive? Climate One brings us interviews with those on the ground pushing for meaningful change in Egypt.

Guests:

Preety Bhandari, Senior Advisor, Global Climate Program and the Finance Center, World Resources Institute

Claire Stockwell, Senior Climate Policy Analyst, Climate Analytics

David Munene, Programs Manager, Catholic Youth Network for Environmental Sustainability in Africa

For show notes and related links, visit our website.

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It’s been a big year for U.S. climate policy. Three major pieces of legislation: the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act have all become law, ushering in the largest commitment of federal money toward the climate crisis to date. In a bipartisan vote, the Senate also finally ratified the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, which will help phase out some of the most potent greenhouse gasses. Gina McCarthy has helped shepherd these achievements in her former role as White House Climate Advisor, and joins us to discuss her time leading climate action under President Biden. 

We also feature a special interview about the Biden administration’s climate priorities between Vice President Kamala Harris and the hosts of the podcast A Matter of Degrees, Katharine Wilkinson and Leah Stokes.

Guests: 

Kamala Harris, Vice President, United States

Gina McCarthy, former U.S. White House National Climate Advisor, former U.S. EPA Administrator

Guest Hosts:

Katharine Wilkinson, Co-host, A Matter of Degrees, Co-Founder and Executive Director of The All We Can Save Project 

Leah Stokes, Co-host, A Matter of Degrees, Associate Professor of Environmental Politics, UC Santa Barbara

For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org

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In a democracy, meaningful change often requires adapting views and building coalitions. Some believe finding common ground and building rapport is the best way to change minds. Others believe activism and protests are key to raising awareness. Increasingly, however, the acts of listening and persuasion are left out, as each side is convinced that the other is unmovable. 

Anand Giridharadas is a journalist, columnist, on-air political analyst, and author. His latest book, The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy, explores how the tactics of persuasion can help strengthen democracy and foster positive societal change.

Guests:

Anand Giridharadas, Journalist, Author, The Persuaders: At the Front Lines of the Fight for Hearts, Minds, and Democracy

For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org

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Twenty of the world’s richest countries – mostly in the Global North – are responsible for 80 percent of the carbon pollution that’s driving extreme weather and supercharging natural disasters. Yet poorer countries in the Global South are experiencing climate-induced disasters first and worst. Wealthier and whiter countries in the Global North are being hit by climate disruption as well, but they also have more resources to adapt. We talk with two award-winning journalists, one from each hemisphere, about covering climate change in their part of the world and bridging the disconnect that exists between North and South.

Guests: 

Lauren Sommer, Reporter, NPR

Lagipoiva Cherelle Jackson, Reporter for The Guardian, Host of An Impossible Choice. 

For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org.

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The Paris Agreement requires every country to declare their own nationally determined contributions, or NDCs, for reducing emissions. Last year at COP26 in Glasgow, it became clear that even the updated targets would – at best – limit warming to 2.4°C, almost a full degree above the 1.5° goal. But even more important than goals or promises is how every country turns policy into reality. This year’s COP27, hosted by the Arab Republic of Egypt, is being framed as “the implementation COP,” where the stated goal is to move from negotiations to action. In this special episode, Climate One Host Greg Dalton speaks one-on-one with Egyptian Ambassador and Special Representative of the COP27 President, Wael Aboulmagd, about how Egypt plans to close the gap between promises and implementation. 

Guest: 

Wael Aboulmagd, Egyptian Ambassador, Special Representative of the COP27 President

For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org

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For decades, scientists and activists have called for action to slow the pace of global warming. The political process has struggled and largely failed to keep up with the growing climate crisis. But through annual summits known as the United Nations Conference of the Parties, or COP, countries have finally started to commit to reducing their emissions. At last year’s climate summit, nations that make up about two thirds of the global economy committed to reducing emissions enough to try to limit global heating to 1.5 degrees celsius. 

At this year’s 27th COP in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, central questions will focus on how to pay for climate adaptation and mitigation. And, since the world’s 20 biggest economies are responsible for 80% of all climate disrupting emissions, how much money do those nations owe poorer countries suffering from a problem they didn’t create?

Guests:

Jonathan Pershing, Former Special Envoy for Climate Change, U.S. Department of State

Omnia El Omrani, COP27 Youth Envoy

Ambassador Wael Aboulmagd, Special Representative of the COP27 President

Contributing Producer: Rabiya Jaffery

For show notes and related links, visit our website.

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With the US midterm elections looming, the window for enacting meaningful climate policy may be closing. November’s elections will determine which party controls Congress, and that will have far reaching implications for the planet. Historically, the midterms have been bad news for the party in control of the White House, but the Dobbs decision by the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act may have changed that calculus. Where do voters stand going into the midterms, and how does climate factor into their decisions? 

Guests: 

Nathaniel Stinnett, Founder & Executive Director, Environmental Voter Project

Chelsea Henderson, Director of Editorial Content, RepublicEN

Jean Chemnick, Climate Reporter, E&E News

For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org

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In recent years, hundreds of thousands of people in high-risk disaster areas across the US have been dropped from their insurance policies, leaving them both physically and financially vulnerable. At the same time, premiums have sky-rocketed, making insuring homes and businesses out of reach for many. And federal insurance and relief programs have come under scrutiny for payouts that contribute to inequality.  

The insurance industry wasn’t set up to account for climate change, which is increasing the frequency, scale and severity of disaster claims. From Hurricane Ian flooding communities across the coast of Florida to fires in the Pacific Northwest, and further storm damage from Puerto Rico to Nova Scotia, we’ve seen frequent and fierce weather take lives and devastate communities. As more people and property face loss due to extreme weather events, who will pay to protect and rebuild communities? And what policies are being constructed to help the insurance industry stay afloat? 

Guests:

Junia Howell, Urban Sociologist, University of Illinois Chicago

Simon Young, Senior Director, Climate and Resilience Hub, Willis Towers Watson

Carolyn Kousky, Associate Vice President for Economics and Policy, Environmental Defense Fund; author of Understanding Disaster Insurance: New Tools for a More Resilient Future

Umair Irfan, Climate and Covid Reporter, VOX

Eric Letvin, Deputy Assistant Administrator for Mitigation, FEMA

For show notes and related links, visit ClimateOne.org

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