Former British diplomat Arthur Snell is about to publish a book that explains how climate is rapidly changing the geographic assumptions on which geopolitics is built.

Buy it now — Elemental: The New Geography of Climate Change and How We Survive It.

But first, check out this Wickedproblems.earth conversation with Arthur Snell about his new book, the first comprehensive account of the geopolitics of climate change.

In this conversation:

00:00 Arctic Ice Wake Up

00:45 War Crowds Out Climate

02:32 Chokepoints Aren’t Fixed

04:08 Meet Arthur Snell

04:22 Why Climate Is Geopolitics

08:05 Alps Collapse Story

11:01 Skiing Lobbies And Emissions

12:40 Geopolitics Map Gets Redrawn

14:59 Arctic Shipping Routes Open

18:37 Trump Greenland And Minerals

22:46 Panama Canal China Leverage

24:20 Panama Canal Leverage

25:56 Who Shapes Strategy

28:24 Migration as Hard Reality

34:55 Greenland Plans Accelerate

39:27 Russia China North Shift

42:28 Wine and Adaptation

44:36 Book Plug and Farewell

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On Wicked Problems, host Richard Delevan interviews Svitlana Romko, founder of Razom We Stand, at the Laudato Si “Raising Hope” conference about linking Ukraine’s war to global fossil fuel dependence. Romko says We Stand formed in early 2022 to coordinate a coalition of 900 organizations from 60 countries urging bans on Russian fossil fuels and investment, and rebuilding Ukraine with renewables to cut financial flows fueling wars. She argues “all gas is bad,” criticizes replacing Russian gas with US LNG, and urges Europe to accelerate renewables for peace, energy security, climate, and human rights. She describes vast destruction, displacement, population decline to about 20 million, and energy capacity collapsing from 54 GW to 9 GW, while 17–18 GW is needed for winter. She highlights faith-led divestment successes, distributed renewables powering communities, and Ukraine’s renewable potential of 653 GW as a basis for rebuilding and hope.

00:00 Ukraine in Ruins

00:21 I ntro

00:21 Confrontation and Repression

00:59 Intro

01:40 Podcast Intro and Guest

03:20 Meet Svitlana at Conference

03:50 We Stand Mission

05:42 No Such Thing as Clean Gas

07:58 Faith Groups and Divestment

10:46 Populism and Fossil Money

15:50 Ukraine Power Grid Under Attack

22:13 Panel Clip Fossil Fuels and Dictators

34:40 Hope Resilience and Closing

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“Wicked Problems,” hosted by Richard Delevan, returns after a long hiatus and links escalating repression - newly including climate activists - with a high-stakes by-election in Greater Manchester. It opens with concerns about confrontational protest being met with violence and political repression, alongside Nigel Farage's Reform proposing a “UK deportation command,” expanding detention with “no chance of bail,” and “detention will mean deportation.” Devin cites New York Times reporting that the FBI has begun targeting climate activists, including people who have not protested in years, and frames this as part of a broader effort to quash dissent.

Professor Dana R. Fisher of American University discusses what she describes as a “perfect storm” in the US: federal occupations of cities (highlighting Minneapolis), the murder of two American citizens while they were bearing witness to ICE actions, the president getting rid of the endangerment finding underlying US climate policy, and FBI investigations focusing on the "radical fringe" of the climate movement. Fisher argues these groups are “low hanging fruit” because their confrontational tactics (e.g., throwing paint, smearing food, blocking traffic, bird-dogging elected officials) are widely unpopular, making it easier for authorities to target them first as part of a broader slide toward autocracy that also threatens media freedoms. She says repression and violence against peaceful activists historically mobilize larger protests, even as it can lead to persecution, jail, and martyrdom. She also describes survey results from a Women’s March–coordinated “Free America walkout” showing over 75% support for a movement becoming more confrontational and 65% willingness to personally engage in confrontational activism; she notes the participants were largely white, female, older, and highly educated.

Prof. Fisher's Apocalyptic Optimist podcast.

Britain has already jailed nonviolent climate protestors and restricted defenses in court, with ongoing debates about protest trials and labeling Palestine Action a terror group. The Gorton and Denton by-election seems to be between Reform, seeking to import Trump’s climate and migration agenda, and the surging Green Party, treating climate, inequality, and migration as realities to face without losing humanity. The show notes a single constituency poll with Green candidate Hannah Spencer ahead of Reform’s Matt Goodwin, with Labour (which has held the seat for a century) behind; as Labour is consumed by Epstein-linked arrests and scandal involving Peter Mandelson and former Prince Andrew.

In an interview recorded late in 2025, Harriet Lamb, CEO of the Green Party of England and Wales, describes rapid growth following Zach Polanski’s leadership, with membership doubling to over 150,000. Lamb connects her background in international development and environmental and social justice to party politics, argues the UK has shifted into a multi-party system creating both dangers and opportunities, and emphasizes a “people and planet” platform focused on the cost-of-living crisis, inequality, wealth taxes, and strong public support for climate action. She discusses candidate development through a “Greens to Parliament” program aimed at building a diverse slate for 2029, and says coalition politics must protect Green principles and public trust, citing German coalition negotiations and the Scottish Greens’ Bute House agreement as examples.

00:00 Confrontation and Repression

01:35 Wicked Problems Returns

04:11 FBI Targets Climate Activists

07:42 Low Hanging Fruit and Autocracy

19:18 UK By-Election and Green Surge

29:32 Hope Surge and Outreach

31:28 Broad Coalition and Core Values

36:28 Vetting New Recruits

38:39 Road to Parliament and Coalitions

45:24 Milestones and Closing Reflections

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