As ministers arrive in Belém for the crucial second week of COP30, forests move from the backdrop of the summit to the main stage. Protests began at dawn on Friday and have continued through the weekend - among them, several activists carried a giant Brazilian flag, emblazoned with the words “Amazȏnia Protegida” (“Protected Amazon”).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 @outrageoptimismLinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr via this form.Lead Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksPlanning Producer: Caitlin HanrahanEdited by: Miles MartignoniExec Producer: Ellie CliffordWith 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.
--------
44:46
--------
44:46
Inside COP: Al Gore on Fossil Fuel Lobbying and (In)convenient Truths
It’s the mid-point of COP30 and all four of our hosts have gathered in Belém to take stock.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 @outrageoptimismOr via this form.Lead Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksPlanning Producer: Caitlin HanrahanEdited by: Miles MartignoniExec Producer: Ellie CliffordWith 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.
--------
56:58
--------
56:58
Inside COP: The UN’s Top Climate Official on Week One of COP30
Christiana Figueres takes us behind the scenes at the UNFCCC offices to speak to the man who now holds her old job as Executive Secretary. As week one of the negotiations nears its end, Simon Stiell explains the quiet but crucial difference between the COP Presidency, which sets the political direction, and the Secretariat, which guards the Paris process and connects it to the real economy. He also speaks candidly about Hurricane Beryl’s destruction in Carriacou, and how that experience turns what can look like abstract words and commas in negotiation texts into a daily, personal drive for urgency.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 @outrageoptimismLinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr via this form.Lead Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksPlanning Producer: Caitlin HanrahanGuest Producer: Juanita SilvaEdited by: Miles MartignoniExec Producer: Ellie CliffordWith 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.
--------
41:56
--------
41:56
Inside COP: Protests at COP30 - and the reality of Indigenous representation
At a COP meant to centre the Amazon, some Indigenous voices have found themselves on the outside.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 @outrageoptimismLinkedIn @outrageoptimismOr via this form.Lead Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksPlanning Producer: Caitlin HanrahanGuest Producer: Juanita SilvaTranslations by: Camilo RamosEdited by: Miles MartignoniExec Producer: Ellie CliffordWith 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.
--------
38:49
--------
38:49
Inside COP: Is The US Still In? And Gavin Newsom on ‘invasive species’ Trump
Day three of COP30, and there’s one elephant not in the room.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 @outrageoptimismOr via this form.Producer: Ben Weaver-HincksEdited by: Miles MartignoniVideo Producer: Caitlin HanrahanExec Producer: Ellie CliffordWith 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.
Outrage + Optimism: The Climate Podcast is for anyone who is not ready to give up on making the world a better place. For unrivalled conversations with decision makers, visionary thinkers and a community of like-minded climate optimists, join former UN climate chief Christiana Figueres, political strategist Tom Rivett-Carnac and sustainable business consultant Paul Dickinson. Each week they make sense of all the top climate news stories, go behind the scenes at crucial talks and ensure you stay informed and inspired ahead of what is set to be the consequential year for climate action.As we approach the middle of the decisive decade for world emissions, and the 10 year anniversary of the Paris climate agreement, subscribe to Outrage + Optimism: The Climate PodcastAnd join us for our special Inside COP series with co-host Fiona McRaith where we bring you behind the scenes of COP30 in Belém! And to see video content from the show, follow us on LinkedIn, and Instagram. Got a question? Send us a voice message.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.
México