Jonathan Arnold from the Canadian Climate Institute joins us to kickstart the mini-series on Sustainable Finance Taxonomies.

Our host Gaurav asks Jonathan about the premise of a Climate Taxonomy in Canada, the bureaucratic process it took to set this up and the current political holdup this taxonomy is facing.

They also touch upon how the Canadian Taxonomy is unique because of its 'transition' label that includes certain controversial oil and gas projects. Tune in to better understand this unique financial sorting instrument, and witness a 'Sorting Hat' exercise for clean investments.

Join hosts Sriya and Ishita as they explore the history of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in this special episode of the Global Get Down. Our guest, esteemed professor and expert on the topic, Professor Ibrahim Muradov, takes center stage to shed light on the intricacies of this geopolitical saga. His expertise and thorough analysis shed new light on the multifaceted aspects of the conflict.

Professor Muradov shares insights into his research journey and personal connection to the topic, highlighting key gaps in existing research that drove his investigation. He discusses the role of internal politics in Ukraine, the differences between the conflicts of 2022 and 2014, and Ukraine’s historical significance to Russia.

Tune in as Professor Muradov reframes the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, offering fresh perspectives on its impact on contemporary international relations.

Incoming Chairperson of the World Bank Inspection Panel, Mark Goldsmith joins our hosts Belle and Gaurav on this special episode of the Global Get Down to introduce the organisation and tell us about the work it has done in its 30 years of existence.

Mark gives us an outline of what the Inspection Panel is and how it functions and talks through his personal journey and the career path that led him to this point. He answers questions about the legacies of the Panel and the impacts he hopes to have in his year of chairmanship. He also briefly touches on some ongoing cases that the Inspection Panel shall deal with over the next few months.

Back for our third episode in the Environmental Policy series running parallel to COP 28, Professor Naoko Ellis from the Chemical and Biological Engineering (CHBE) Department at UBC joins us to explain how Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) works.

Hosts Gaurav and Sriya get Professor Ellis's view on when and under which circumstances CCS is a good policy option to encourage, and get a primer on how this technology works, along with learning what the different options to capture, sequester and utilise Carbon Dioxide from the Atmosphere are.

This is the Global Get Down's first attempt at instituting an interdisciplinary bridge across the technical and policy facets of a problem. This episode should be of interest to both Engineering and Arts students and faculty.

Our Team spoke to Dr. Peter Arcese from the Faculty of Forestry at The University of British Columbia to help understand what Biodiversity Credits are, how they work and how they link to the more traditional Carbon Credits.

Co-hosts Gaurav and Alyssa get Dr. Arcese's take on the inter-disciplinarity involved to make Biodiversity Credits a reality, and dig into the complex researcher-financier-policymaker nexus that this involves. This episode also gets into some of the global diplomacy that has been involved in the pursuit to cash in on conservation.

This episode is Part 2 in our Environment Policy series running parallel to COP 28.

As COP 28 kicks off in Dubai, our team sat down with Professor Simon Donner, host of the Podcast Pacific Voices (that highlights his engagement with the Pacific Island of Kiribati) and a Lead Author for the most recent 6th Assessment Report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Professor Donner joins your hosts Alessia and Gaurav and reflects on his time spent at COP 27 in Sharm-el-Sheikh last year. They connect this journey to the now ongoing COP 28 in Dubai and discuss some realistic expectations we could have from the Event, especially dealing with the much-awaited "operationalisation of a loss-and-damages fund".

This is Part 1 in our Environmental Policy series to commemorate the ongoing debate and discussion taking place at COP 28, and at dinner tables across the world, in the spirit of advancing further conversation on these crucial topics as the world heads towards a greater mean global temperature.

Starting today, the UBC IRSA, PSSA and VSEUS Clubs are hosting this year's rendition of the Canadian Undergraduate Policy Competition (CUPC) on the theme 'Emerging Technologies'. The event shall run from November 24th-26th, 2023.

Join us in our conversation with Bridget Chu, one of the co-chairs for CUPC 2023 as we address some FAQs about the event.

Register here for the Minister's Box Free Workshop on November 24th, 2023: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeBYi3Urd15iyEe3NzKRF2lDsF_aGX_BphADlOUmc9oc0ldRQ/viewform

Access previous years' CUPC archives through their website: https://www.thecupc.ca/

Thanks for listening!

In Part 2 of 2 of our very special collaboration with the World Bank’s Air Quality Management (AQM) team on South Asia, based in New Delhi, co-hosts Gaurav and Thalin go deeper into the report ‘Striving for Clean Air’ with guests Jostein Nygard and Sayantan Sarkar.

They address the methodology recommended in the report, which speaks of three policy priorities that South Asian governments should follow to effectively attain cleaner air across airsheds by 2030. Also discussed are lessons from AQM in the rest of the world, synergies and tradeoffs between national strategies on AQM and climate action, and positive actions that the World Bank is taking to help counter this problem.

Listeners can find brief bios for both our guests and a link to the report ‘Striving for Clean Air’ below.

Jostein Nygard

Jostein Nygard, a Norwegian national, is an environmental economist with the World Bank where he has worked on Pollution Management and Environmental Health programs for over 20 years. He has developed the World Bank’s methodology for Air Quality Management (AQM) worldwide and developed the largest-scale AQM programs for the Bank in East Asia - particularly in China, Mongolia and Vietnam - as well as in other regions like Africa, South America and the Middle East, and more recently in South Asia. Jostein is presently based in New Delhi, where he coordinates the Bank’s regional AQM program in the South Asian region (particularly India, Pakistan and Bangladesh). Jostein is educated as an economist from Aalborg University in Denmark and Beijing University in China.

Sayantan Sarkar

Sayantan Sarkar has worked on air pollution and climate change issues for over a decade. He currently works with the World Bank’s Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy Practice, based in New Delhi. He supports the India Air Quality Management Program, and also works on regional air quality issues in South Asia. He has previously worked with bilateral and non-profit organisations including the UK FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), the University of Chicago’s India Centre, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) on a range of issues like international climate negotiations, low-carbon development policy, environmental transparency initiatives, air quality planning, and extreme heat resilience. Sayantan has a Master’s degree in Environmental Science from The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) University in New Delhi.

Link to the report: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/sar/publication/striving-for-clean-air

Join your host Gaurav as he gets a 101 on Canadian Climate Politics from UBC Professor Kathryn Harrison.

Welcome to Part 1 of 2 of a very special collaboration that the Global Get Down conducted with the World Bank’s Air Quality Management (AQM) team in South Asia. We discuss their report ‘Striving for Clean Air’ on how best to combat the deteriorating condition of Air Pollution in the region (encompassing India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and parts of Afghanistan and Iran).

This episode, co-hosts Gaurav and Thalin introduce the contentious topic of Air Pollution with our guests, Jostein Nygard and Sayantan Sarkar and talk to them about the approach they followed in their report. They discuss the basic economic, social and political implications of this regional crisis and the unique character that the problem is demonstrating in South Asia.

Listeners can find brief bios for both our guests and a link to the report ‘Striving for Clean Air’ below:

Jostein Nygard

Jostein Nygard, a Norwegian national, is an environmental economist with the World Bank where he has worked on Pollution Management and Environmental Health programs for over 20 years. He has developed the World Bank’s methodology for Air Quality Management (AQM) worldwide and developed the largest-scale AQM programs for the Bank in East Asia - particularly in China, Mongolia and Vietnam - as well as in other regions like Africa, South America and the Middle East, and more recently in South Asia. Jostein is presently based in New Delhi, where he coordinates the Bank’s regional AQM program in the South Asian region (particularly India, Pakistan and Bangladesh). Jostein is educated as an economist from Aalborg University in Denmark and Beijing University in China.

Sayantan Sarkar

Sayantan Sarkar has worked on air pollution and climate change issues for over a decade. He currently works with the World Bank’s Environment, Natural Resources and Blue Economy Practice, based in New Delhi. He supports the India Air Quality Management Program, and also works on regional air quality issues in South Asia. He has previously worked with bilateral and non-profit organisations including the UK FCDO (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office), the University of Chicago’s India Centre, and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) on a range of issues like international climate negotiations, low-carbon development policy, environmental transparency initiatives, air quality planning, and extreme heat resilience. Sayantan has a Master’s degree in Environmental Science from The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) University in New Delhi.

Link to the report: https://www.worldbank.org/en/region/sar/publication/striving-for-clean-air