Ani Dasgupta on Moving From Promises to Progress

We know what needs to be done to ward off the worst impacts of global climate disruption: rein in heat-trapping pollution, reverse deforestation, build resilient systems. But how we do those things is the trick. Every second counts. The sooner we act, the more lives saved, the more jobs protected and the more futures secured. 

So how do we orchestrate the vast change we need in a short amount of time? World Resources Institute President Ani Dasgupta gives his honest take on the lack of progress since the Paris Agreement was signed 10 years ago — and maps a path forward.

Guests:

Ani Dasgupta, President and CEO, World Resources Institute (WRI); Author, “The New Global Possible”

Jonathan Foley, Executive Director, Project Drawdown

Nikhil Swaminathan, CEO, Grist

Highlights: 

00:00 – Intro

01:46 – Importance of the Paris Accords in terms of multilateralism

04:00 – Backlash to climate action 

07:00 – The market is producing the technology we need, but we also need to deploy them at scale

12:00 – How do we get companies producing the bulk of emissions to change course?

16:00 – Addressing climate disruption is a societal choice about what we value

20:40 – Why COP is essential and also disappointing and maddening

23:30 – Unpacking climate finance and why it’s so important

27:30 – Addressing justice isn’t a choice but an imperative when it comes to climate

31:00 – How to keep focused and remain optimistic in this current moment

37:00 – We have everything we need right now to solve climate change

41:00 – Project Drawdown’s analysis of what climate tools do and don’t work

45:00 – So many missed climate opportunities

52:00 – Tradeoffs of tools like batteries 

58:00 – Climate One More Thing

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