182. COP15: Nothing Without Nature!

Welcome to another episode of Outrage + Optimism, where 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 jam-packed episode, co-hosts Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac, and Paul Dickinson catch up on news from the Earthshot Prize awards ceremony in Boston, the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) in Montréal, insights from Conservation International’s Dr. M. Sanjayan, and music from Boyish. Christiana opens by recounting her time at the award ceremony for the Earthshot Prize一the world’s most prestigious environmental award. Highlights include the “green carpet” with such A-listers as Prince William, Billie Eilish, Annie Lennox, and David Beckham, among others, £5 million in prizes, and the extraordinary winners themselves. Christiana was actually brought to tears.  The team also previews the UN Biodiversity Conference COP15, which started Dec. 7. Conference dynamics are bound to be interesting since it’s being chaired by the Chinese delegation (a holdover from the cancellation of the in-person conference in 2020) but hosted by the Canadians in Montréal. Listen for all the details on “30 by 30,” the significance of biodiversity for global GDP, and more. Later, Conservation International CEO Dr. M Sanjayan shares his thoughts on the connection between climate and nature, why the nature agenda is一counterintuitively一running behind the climate agenda, and the forthcoming nature economy. We close the episode with music from the indie duo, Boyish. They’ve amassed more than 15 million streams across their catalog, received praise from publications including Billboard, Paper, Office Magazine, and Pigeons and Planes, and were the recipient of the 2021 LGBTQ+ Emerging Artist Award. Enjoy their beautifully evocative track, “mom i think i'm gay”    Listeners, this is your last chance to complete our listener survey. Your feedback is important to us, and we’re deeply grateful for your ongoing support. Thank you!   Bye for now!   NOTES AND RESOURCES    To learn more about our planet’s climate emergency and how you can transform outrage into optimistic action subscribe to the podcast here.   Catch up with The Earthshot Prize 2022 Learn more about the UN Biodiversity Conference: COP15 in Montréal   Check out our sister-podcast, ‘The Way Out Is In’   Sanjayan, Ph.D. Twitter | LinkedIn | YouTube   Conservation International Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube It’s official, we’re a TED Audio Collective Podcast - Proof! Check out more podcasts from The TED Audio Collective   MUSIC   Boyish Spotify | Instagram | YouTube | Facebook   Clay’s Pick of The Week:   Boyish Music Videos - Smithereens | Legs | Congratulations | Superstar BEL - Paul BigDawg (with Boyish)   Please follow us! Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook