Outrage + Optimism

So here we are! 30 episodes later we have finally arrived at the end of Season 5 of the Outrage + Optimism podcast. And what a rollercoaster it has been for all of us in the global climate community since the start of the year! We are due to take a well-earned break over August before we return with gusto in September for Season 6 - but before we go - in this dynamic episode, we take you on a whistlestop tour of the last six months of the podcast, narrated with a present day lens from our...

Crippling heat, fire, and death in the U.K., Europe, and the U.S. are bringing the climate emergency to our literal doorsteps. At the same time, political antipathy一in the lack of climate depth among Britain’s leadership candidates or the collapse of sweeping climate legislation in the U.S., for example一seems to be adding fuel to the fire. Co-hosts Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson, and especially Christiana Figueres, are outraged! They explore what this means for the climate agenda...

With the US Supreme Court's ruling on the EPA still sending shockwaves through some quarters of the climate community, we ask in our second special episode this week: is this a sign that the tide is turning against environmental regulation, or should we be careful not to mistake the tide for the current? In this episode, co-hosts Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, and Paul Dickinson take leave of UK politics (in the most part) and take a look across the ‘puddle’ at what many have...

Welcome to another episode of Outrage + Optimism. As always, we examine issues at the forefront of the climate crisis, interview change-makers, and transform our anger into productive dialogue on building a sustainable future. In this episode, co-hosts Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, and Paul Dickinson reflect on the recent downfall of British Prime Minister (PM) Boris Johnson and what comes next for U.K. climate initiatives, with guests Ben Goldsmith, Founder of the Conservative...

Welcome to another episode of Outrage + Optimism. As always, we examine issues at the forefront of the climate crisis, interview change-makers, and transform our anger into productive dialogue on building a sustainable future. In this special episode, the Outrage + Optimism crew has teamed up with the Dartington Arts School to bring you the first episode of the school’s intriguing new podcast, Arts and Ecology. The podcast explores the nexus between art, ecology, and culture and the role...

This week, our hosts Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson sit down for an exclusive interview with Paul Simpson as he exits his role as CEO of CDP after co-founding the organization over 20 years ago. CDP began in a basement with a few committed individuals to bring about a livable future through the disclosing of environmental data from companies around the globe. While it may have had humble beginnings from a small basement office and only a few employees in 2000, today CDP reports...

ESG is in hot water - Is it just simmering or is it spoiling? When Elon Musk tweets “ESG is a scam” that “has been weaponized by phony social justice warriors.” and a day later, an HSBC executive says that “climate change isn’t a financial risk that we need to worry about,” and then after that Former Vice President Mike Pence writes an opinion in WSJ that “ESG is elevating left-wing goals over the interests of businesses and their employees”...You start to wonder - What is all this fuss...

Regenesis: Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet is the title of George Monbiot’s new book and an essential challenge that we explore in this Future of Food episode, with the help of George and three other guests committed to transforming our food system. As the current global food crisis continues to push more and more people to the brink of starvation, join us as we take a deep dive into the root causes of the crisis. Surface with a diverse and exciting range of solutions that...

Scientists are reporting that there is now more carbon dioxide in the air than ever before, and with OPEC recently agreeing to accelerate oil production following pressure from the Biden administration to stabilize global markets, what gives? And with cracks showing in the EU as energy prices start to bite, is there a way through this crisis that keeps us on track with the goals of the Paris Agreement? Our guest this week has her own solution. We speak to Tzeporah Berman about her journey...

Today, a special bonus episode in your feed from British model, actress, climate activist and podcaster, Lily Cole. In this episode of ‘Who Cares Wins’, Host Lily Cole interviews Christiana Figueres on how to maintain daily optimism, why more women in leadership will deliver a better world, and how systemic change and a livable future can begin with me and you. Enjoy the episode! Click Here to listen to more episodes of ‘Who Cares Wins’ Who Cares Wins with Lily Cole Apple Podcasts...

Reactions to the now infamous presentation of the suspended HSBC Head of Responsible Investing, Stuart Kirk, is still a source of considerable outrage here at Outrage + Optimism. Kirk’s presentation entitled "Why investors need not worry about climate risk" peddled such dangerous climate disinformation that it prompted Christiana to refer to it in her brilliant op-ed in Investor Week as one of the most irresponsible public statements we have heard in years. In this week’s episode brace...

Finally, some optimism for future generations! First, in Australia, the massive success of the so-called ‘teal’ female candidates, who are not aligned to either of the major political parties, but have essentially swept to power across a number of states. This, along with long-awaited Labour victories…Does this mean the climate wars are over in Australia? We dialed up Dean Bialek, lead negotiator and legal advisor to the world’s island states (AOSIS) in negotiations that led to the 2015...

In this episode, we talk about the impacts of living through a global energy crisis while living through a climate crisis. Inflation is running at 10% in most major economies, the highest in decades. This is driven primarily by the cost of food and energy. And while most of us are aware of higher prices at the pump and on energy bills, today we focus on the hardest place it is hitting: Africa. Since 2019, 4% of Africans have lost access to affordable energy, undoing a decade of gains. And...

Cities are where we will lose or win the climate change battle. Chapter 8 of the IPCC report on mitigation reported that more than half of the global population now lives in cities, and that proportion is expected to grow to about two-thirds by 2050. That is a lot of people. And that’s a lot of emissions. As of 2020, urban areas are the source of about 67-72% of emissions with about 100 of the highest emitting urban areas [currently] accounting for approximately 18% of the global carbon...

Does Putin’s invasion mark the end of the Fossil Fuel Era? In this week’s episode we look at how the Russian invasion in Ukraine and subsequent energy crises are impacting energy deals between developed and developing countries ahead of COP27. We also subject our guest, Kingsmill Bond of RMI, to a round of Paul’s new painfully-condescending evil oil baron persona as we put his optimistic assertions on the green energy transition to the test. And be sure to stay tuned until after the...

What on Earth is happening in the US on climate policy? This week, a look at US federal climate policy ahead of the US midterm elections. We explore the scarily-small-and-measured-in-weeks amount of time we have to pass meaningful climate legislation before the US midterm elections, and where the optimism is in Senate blocked legislation, a so-called ‘Conservative’ leaning Supreme Court, and a Presidential Administration dealing with fossil fuel addiction issues - Russia’s invasion of...

Australia is turning up the volume on environmentalism for the world to hear! If you turned on your favorite music radio station, would you know we’re in a crisis? Only 1% of songs in National Australian premier radio station Triple J’s Hottest 100 (2.5M+ votes) over the last 5 years directly referenced environmental issues…and that’s following mass bleaching of The Great Barrier Reef, The devastating Australian Bushfires of 2019-2020, AND a recent study before COP26 that reported 75% of...

As many around the world turn inward this week, we bring you a special episode featuring Christiana Figueres from ‘The Way Out Is In’ podcast. Many of us are looking for a way out of the crises we face. Climate, biodiversity, ecological, nature, health, wealth inequality…not to mention the deeply personal, familial, and interpersonal. A quick log in to twitter, checking the news, or reading the latest IPCC report reveals to us that we are on a path towards breakdown. We know there is a...

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." - MLK (1963) This week, we reject our flawed, siloed thinking and embrace the oneness of social justice and environmentalism as a singular, inclusive movement. In the Summer of 2020, our guest, Leah Thomas, coined the term “Intersectional Environmentalism” with a graphic she shared to Instagram that read, “Environmentalists For Black Lives Matter” as a call out to all environmentalists to stand in solidarity with BIPOC communities...

The World’s scientists have come together on behalf of the web of life to deliver the most comprehensive review of how we can mitigate the effects of climate change. So what’s in this latest IPCC report? The latest from Working Group III covers a broad spectrum of topics: from mitigation pathways and in-depth sectoral analysis to finance, international cooperation, net-zero and carbon dioxide removal… Let’s simplify that - Mitigation. This report lays out how we’re going to mitigate the...