The Daily

Who Pays the Bill for Climate Change?

Dec 2, 2022

David Gelles, a climate correspondent for The New York Times, discusses the historic climate funding agreement reached at COP27, where wealthy nations pledged support for poorer countries affected by climate change. He highlights Prime Minister Mia Mottley's advocacy for climate justice and the innovative Bridgetown Initiative, aimed at reforming global finance to escape cycles of debt. Gelles emphasizes the urgent need for reform in institutions like the World Bank and IMF to effectively address climate challenges, especially for vulnerable nations.

45:40

Creator website

Episode guests

David Gelles

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

The Consequences of Debt for Developing Countries

01:48

Climate Change

01:22

Intro

5min

Mia Mottley's Call for Climate Justice

15min

Reforming Financial Institutions for Climate Action

3min

Exploring Personal Journeys in Politics and Belief

2min

Divergent Paths: Politics and Finance Unite

2min

Resilience in the Face of Climate Crisis

22min

Last month at COP27, the U.N. climate change conference, a yearslong campaign ended in an agreement. The rich nations of the world — the ones primarily responsible for the emissions that have caused climate change — agreed to pay into a fund to help poorer nations that bear the brunt of its effects.

In the background, however, an even more meaningful plan was taking shape, led by the tiny island nation of Barbados.

Guest: David Gelles, a climate correspondent for The New York Times.

Background reading:

As global warming delivers cascading weather disasters, leaders at U.N. climate talks said it’s time to radically overhaul the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

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