Daunting challenges for UN climate conference

Daunting challenges for UN climate conference

Author: BBC World Service November 4, 2022 Duration: 48:55

Delegates are gathering in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, for the COP27 UN climate change conference beginning on Sunday 6 November. But a lot has changed in the 12 months since attendees of the COP26 meeting in Glasgow promised bold action to tackle global warming. Russia invaded Ukraine sparking global inflation and rising energy prices. Relations between the United States and China have continued to sour. And extreme weather events have caused thousands of deaths across the planet. Last week a UN report concluded there’s no longer any "credible pathway" to keeping the rise in global temperatures below the key threshold of 1.5C and that the world will warm by around 2.8C this century if current policies remain in place. So, what’s on the agenda at COP27? Can the conference come up with solutions to the growing number of challenges posed by climate change? And how can we judge whether the meeting will be a success or a failure?

Ritula Shah is joined by a panel of expert guests.

Mohamed Nasheed - Former President of the Maldives, now an ambassador for the Climate Vulnerable Forum (CVF).

Dr Jessica Omukuti - Research Fellow on net zero emissions, climate finance and climate justice at the University of Oxford.

Nick Robins - Professor in Practice for Sustainable Finance at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at the London School of Economics (LSE).

Also featuring ...

Dr Michael E. Mann - Professor of Earth & Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania and author of 'The New Climate War: the fight to take back our planet'.

Dr Michal Meidan - Director of the Gas Research Programme at the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies think tank.

Producers: Paul Schuster and Ellen Otzen.


Each week, The Real Story from the BBC World Service moves beyond the headlines to examine a single, pressing issue shaping our world. Instead of rapid-fire updates, this podcast dedicates its time to deep, thoughtful conversation. You’ll hear directly from the people involved-policymakers, analysts, journalists, and those directly affected-as they unpack the complexities of a major event or trend. The discussions are rigorous and nuanced, focusing on the underlying forces, historical context, and potential consequences that simpler reports often miss. It’s a space for genuine debate where differing perspectives collide, providing a clearer picture of why a story matters. For anyone seeking to understand the deeper narratives behind the news, this podcast offers essential context and insight, transforming a familiar topic into a richer, more complete understanding. Tune in for a thorough analysis that challenges assumptions and connects the dots on global affairs.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The Real Story
Podcast Episodes
Bonus: Evan Gershkovich - a year since my friend was jailed in Russia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 24:27
The Wall Street Journal reporter, who is the first US journalist charged with spying in Russia since the Cold War, has now been imprisoned for a year. His detention has been repeatedly extended and he is yet to face tria…
Is the future of journalism in crisis? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:55
Over the past year thousands of journalists have lost their jobs as mass media news organisations struggle to make ends meet. Ad revenue is down, many publishers are struggling to gain subscribers, and social media has r…
Bonus: Sam Bankman-Fried's multibillion dollar FTX fraud [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:39
A bonus episode from The Global Story podcast.Sam Bankman-Fried was the golden boy of cryptocurrency. He was dubbed the king and saviour of the industry. But this week he will be sentenced to possibly decades in prison f…
Bonus: The curse of the world's fastest growing economy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:15
A bonus episode from The Global Story podcast.When Guyana discovered huge offshore oil reserves in 2015, it transformed the prospects of a country which had a been an economic and political backwater. But, as one of the…
Bonus: Insight on Islamic State Group + Miami stops the party [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:04
A bonus episode from The Global Story podcast.On this episode, we’re covering two very different stories. After the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for the attack on a concert hall in Moscow, we’re revisiting…
How can Boeing win back trust? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:46
The plane maker’s safety record is in the spotlight after a series of incidents. In January an unused door blew off a Boeing 737 Max 9 operated by Alaska Airlines shortly after take-off. An initial report from the US Nat…
Should we be afraid of TikTok? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:17
The US House of Representatives has passed a landmark bill that could see TikTok effectively banned. It would give the social media giant's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, six months to sell its controlling stake or t…
Can Haiti break free from its history? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:21
The Haitian government declared a 72-hour state of emergency on Sunday. It follows the storming at the weekend by gangs of two prisons, with some 3,700 inmates escaping. The gang leaders want the resignation of Prime Min…
What's fuelling the war in Sudan? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:52
At the Munich Security Conference in February a senior UN official described the war in Sudan as “not a forgotten crisis, but a wholly ignored crisis”. And yet the impact of 10 months of fighting is huge - nearly eight m…