Episodes

  • What role can the private sector play at the ‘finance COP’?

    What role can the private sector play at the ‘finance COP’?
    Nov 21 2024
    For this special episode of our weekly podcast series, Devex EVP and Executive Editor Kate Warren sits down with leaders from Bayer and Mars who discuss the challenges and opportunities for the private sector in addressing climate change.
    Show More Show Less
    43 mins
  • Leaders push for climate adaptation funding in the face of escalating risks

    Leaders push for climate adaptation funding in the face of escalating risks
    Nov 16 2024
    For this special episode of our weekly podcast series recorded at COP29, Devex climate reporter Jesse Chase-Lubitz sits down with Kulthoum Omari-Motsumi from the Africa Adaptation Initiative, Patrick Verkooijen of the Global Center on Adaptation, and Tagaloa Cooper from the South Pacific Regional Environment Program.
    Show More Show Less
    35 mins
  • How agricultural innovation and science can help tackle climate change

    How agricultural innovation and science can help tackle climate change
    Nov 15 2024
    Agriculture is both a driver of climate change, with around 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions coming from direct on farm emissions, and a potential game changer in mitigating it, if carried out sustainably. Yet currently agriculture receives only 4.3% of total mitigation and adaptation finance, making it an underutilized part of the solution to climate change.

    “Maybe an important conversation to have in Baku is to say, of the finances that we have available, are we all focussing on the sectors where we can see true, tangible, and implementable solutions,” said CropLife International’s Vice President for public affairs and communications Laurie Goodwin, the global association that advocates on behalf of plant science innovation.

    In a conversation with Devex Executive Vice President and Executive Editor Kate Warren, Goodwin and CropLife International’s President and CEO Emily Rees discussed advancements in plant science and the role of innovation, such as the use of digital tools — otherwise known as precision agriculture — in building resilience in global food systems. “It’s a real digital revolution, a farming revolution, that we’re seeing,” said Rees. “I think it’s really important to keep in mind what the benefits are of this from a biodiversity perspective, from a conservation perspective, from a land degradation perspective.”

    Listen to their conversation to hear how innovative technologies are helping improve crop resilience and yields, and what more is needed to ensure these solutions reach smallholder farmers.
    Show More Show Less
    39 mins
  • What are we watching at COP29?

    What are we watching at COP29?
    Nov 11 2024
    As the COP 29 U.N. climate conference kicks off in Baku, Azerbaijan, we look ahead to the potential implications of the discussions on the global development sector.

    Labeled as the “finance COP,” one of the expected outcomes of the summit is a new financial goal for high-income countries to deliver to lower-income countries to address the challenges induced by climate change.

    With Trump’s recent reelection and implications for development, as well as Europe’s ongoing cuts to development funding, serious questions remain over whether ambitious financial and political commitments will be made, and if the discussions will translate into meaningful action.

    What are we expecting from COP29? Which are the conversations that we will be following?Devex President and Editor-in-Chief Raj Kumar sits down with Devex reporters Jesse Chase-Lubitz and Ayenat Mersie for this special episode of our weekly podcast series ahead of COP 29.

    Sign up to the Devex Newswire and our other newsletters.
    Show More Show Less
    21 mins
  • What does climate vulnerability mean for the Caribbean?

    What does climate vulnerability mean for the Caribbean?
    Dec 22 2023
    The agreement to operationalize a new fund for loss and damage was a key achievement of this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP 28. But key questions remain about how that fund will work to get financial resources to countries experiencing the impacts of climate change.

    It’s part of a broader conversation about climate vulnerability and resilience — how to measure it, how it relates to a country’s income status, and how to quantify the costs of climate change impacts.

    “These are things that will be with you forever — your entire trajectory, your entire life, your entire space has changed fundamentally and in a permanent way. So the solutions cannot be sliced and diced solutions,” argues Gene Leon, president of the Caribbean Development Bank, in this episode of the Climate + podcast.

    Leon outlined how support for countries experiencing loss and damage due to climate change can help them regain their footing — and rediscover an economic growth trajectory on a changing planet.

    The Climate + podcast is supported by the World Bank.
    Show More Show Less
    48 mins
  • A food systems breakthrough at COP 28?

    A food systems breakthrough at COP 28?
    Dec 22 2023
    The United Nations climate change conference in Dubai, or COP 28, was a big moment for food systems. For the first time, COP included a day dedicated to food and agriculture, which many see as an important signal that silos between climate and food policy are starting to break down.

    Still, less than 5% of climate finance is invested in food systems, despite the massive need for financial support for priorities such as regenerative agriculture, reducing food loss and waste, and sustainable livestock management, says Ertharin Cousin, former head of the World Food Programme, in this episode of Devex’s Climate + podcast.

    “Ensuring that we are part of the finance dialogue is as critical as ensuring that we are part of the substantive dialogue around the actions,” Cousin said.

    It’s an urgent challenge, considering existing — and increasing — levels of food insecurity, and what a changing climate likely means for those unserved by the existing food system, says Ismahane Elouafi, chief scientist at the Food and Agriculture Organization.

    “It’s broken because it’s not nourishing us. It’s broken because it’s part of the climate crisis … and it’s broken because we haven’t been able to use agriculture, really, to uplift people from poverty,” Elouafi said.

    The Climate + podcast is supported by the World Bank. To learn more about efforts to end poverty on a livable planet, check out the link.
    Show More Show Less
    27 mins
  • The role of corporations in shaping the climate conversation

    The role of corporations in shaping the climate conversation
    Dec 21 2023
    The annual climate conferences, or COPs, have become much more than just a forum for technical and political negotiations. They’re also a convening space for representatives from the likes of civil society, academia, and the private sector. Corporations now have an increasingly significant role to play in shaping the climate conversation and — crucially — in ensuring their own operations are environmentally sustainable.

    For a global technology company like Microsoft, being present at COP is important not just because of the potential tools and solutions the company can offer, but also due to the implications of climate change for its business and operations, said Melanie Nakagawa, Microsoft’s Chief Sustainability Officer.

    Joining the Climate + podcast from COP28 in Dubai, Nakagawa shared Microsoft's priorities around investing in carbon removal, using artificial intelligence to accelerate progress on sustainability, and improving sustainability reporting mechanisms and governance. “We want to make sure corporations are stepping up and doing what they can do to rapidly reduce emissions, and… to remove what they can't,” Nakagawa said.

    The Climate + podcast is supported by the World Bank. To learn more about efforts to end poverty on a livable planet, check out the link.
    Show More Show Less
    28 mins
  • What “Paris alignment” means for multilateral development banks

    What “Paris alignment” means for multilateral development banks
    Dec 15 2023
    The Paris Climate Agreement, established at COP 21 in 2015, calls for leaders and institutions across society to work towards reducing their carbon emissions with the aim of reaching net zero by 2050. Multilateral development banks, or MDBs, which have a critical role to play in the climate finance landscape, are in the process of figuring out what it means to deliver on their commitment to “Paris alignment”.

    “Delivery means really, for us, implementing what we have committed to do and working with the countries in which we invest in order to accompany them in this green transition,” said Odile Renaud-Basso, President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, in the latest episode of the Climate + podcast. EBRD aims for 50% of its investments to be in support of the green transition by 2025, she added.

    Renaud-Basso joined Devex senior reporter Adva Saldinger to delve deeper into EBRD’s climate priorities, the bank’s approach and timeline for phasing out investments in fossil fuels, what MDBs can do to mobilize more private capital for climate investments, and how MDBs can work better together to support countries with their climate goals.

    This podcast episode was recorded with a live online audience as part of Devex’s wider Climate + event programming at COP 28.

    The Climate + podcast is supported by the World Bank. To learn more about efforts to end poverty on a livable planet, check out the link.
    Show More Show Less
    53 mins