The Agenda Podcast

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As China's Belt & Road Initiative marks it's tenth anniversary, in this episode of The Agenda podcast Juliet Mann explores the impact it's having on the world's energy consumption.

She talks to Lord Adair Turner, the former head of the CBI and ex-Chair of the UK's Financial Services Authority.

But his current role is chair of the Energy Transitions Commission - and here he tells The Agenda just how important the BRI is to a greener energy future.

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Extreme weather across the globe has claimed tens of thousands of lives this summer alone. From floods in Libya and China to drought in Sri Lanka and with heatwaves causing fires across much of Europe and North America, the devastating impact of climate change has never been clearer. As UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres put it – we’re no longer talking about global warming – but global boiling.

So what can the world do to respond? Or do we now have to accept that these climate catastrophes are the new normal?

To find out in this episode of The Agenda, Juliet Mann speaks to Niklas Hagleberg, Global Coordinator for Climate Change at the UN Environment Programme, Dr Alex Fisher, Program Director for Climate Ambition at ClimateWorks Foundation and Dr Clement Albergel from the European Space Agency. 

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Not since the 1960s has the focus of space travel been so squarely targeted at the Moon – earth’s only natural satellite. 

In the past weeks India became the latest country to land a rover on the lunar surface. NASA says it will land men back on the Moon next year, and China is planning to do the same before 2030. So what’s really at stake here? And is the future in space one of collaboration or competition?

In this episode of The Agenda, Juliet Mann speaks to James Head, Professor of Geological Sciences at Brown University, who helped select landing sites for the Apollo moon program, and Xu Yansong, Director-General of the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Program. 

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One in four people around the globe now lives in a country grappling with severe water stress.

And that figure is only expected to rise as by 2050, global water demand is projected to surge by 20% to 25%.

On this edition of The Agenda, Juliet Mann speaks to Professor Asit K Biswas, Honorary Professor, Glasgow University, Changhua Wu, Vice Chair, Governing Council of Asia Pacific Water Forum and Dr. Peter Gleick, Senior Fellow and Co-founder of Pacific Institute to ask about the challenges we face and how innovation and technology will be key in averting an even deadlier water crisis.

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The China Investment Corporation - better known as the CIC,  is the world's largest sovereign wealth fund, managing an impressive $1.35 trillion in assets. Its carefully chosen investments in various resources and cutting-edge technologies are strategically aimed at bolstering China's global influence. 

But just what are they investing in? And how big can they really get?

In this episode, Juliet Mann speaks to Zongyuan Zoe Lui, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of "Sovereign Funds," which delves into the CIC's journey, and Michael Maduell, President of the Sovereign Wealth Fund Institute. 

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Few sectors, if any, were hit harder by the pandemic than travel and tourism – with bookings dropping by around three-quarters between 2019 and 2020. 

But now the world’s opened up again, is the sector back on its feet? Or has the way we travel changed forever? Has the crucial Chinese market returned? And, as global boiling hits the headlines, are we now ready to pay more for sustainable travel?

In this episode of The Agenda, Juliet Mann speaks to Miguel Sanz, Director of the European Travel Commission, Steve Saxon, the leader of McKinsey & Company’s Travel, Logistics & Infrastructure Practice in China and Zoritsa Urosevic, Executive Director of the United Nations World Tourism Organization to find out more.

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Less than a decade ago, the Greek economy was very much the sick man of Europe.

For 13 years Greece faced a debt crisis and financial stagnation. Three international bailouts - and a global pandemic – later, the economy is steadily growing. The cost of living still soars and unemployment remains high. But growth in Greece is outpacing most Eurozone countries. So what’s behind this revival? And what has Greece learned from the economic crisis?

In this week’s episode Juliet Mann is in Athens to find out in an exclusive interview with the Governor of the Bank of Greece, Yannis Stournaras.

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For decades now, Hong Kong has served as  China's gateway to the world - especially in the financial sector. So as China continues opening up post-pandemic and looks to expand business beyond its borders - what does the future really hold? 

 Hong Kong's Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury - Christopher Hui has spent much of this year travelling around the world to underline the message that Hong Kong is back open especially for sustainable and hi-tech businesses. In this episode of The Agenda he speaks exclusively to Juliet Mann.

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In recent weeks both the United Nations and the World Economic Forum have released their latest reports on Gender parity - and it's not looking good for the world's women. According to the UN at least the gender gap only appears to be widening, and WEF say it will still be more than 130 years before we reach anything like true equality. But just why does the distance between men and men’s roles remain so stubbornly large?

In this edition of The Agenda, Juliet Mann speaks to Raquel Lagunas, Global Director of Gender Equality at the United Nations Development Programme and Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum to find out. She also gets the views of Jane Sun, the CEO of Trip.com, on why it makes business sense to keep women at the forefront of her business.

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As both BYD and Tesla released record sales figures for the second quarter of the year, this week on The Agenda we consider the future for electric cars.

In spite of rising sales, many consumers still suffer from range anxiety – concerns over how far they can travel on a single charge – as well as worrying about car prices in the midst of a global cost of living crisis. But is this all set to change as China leads the charge for cheaper, higher performance vehicles?  

 In this episode Juliet Mann speaks to the experts - Bill Russo, CEO of Automobility Ltd and David Bailey and Professor of Business Economics at Birmingham University to find out.