Gary White is the CEO of Water.org, a non-profit that helps people gain access to safe water and sanitation. He also leads WaterEquity, an asset management firm deploying capital towards the global water and climate crisis. He speaks with Paul van Zyl about ‘creating the financial plumbing’ to allow global capital markets to respond to individuals’ needs, he explains why poorly managed infrastructure is a climate problem, and proposes solutions to tackling the problem whilst looking at good examples from around the world, including India. 

Michael Sheldrick, Co-Founder of Global Citizen, and Alice Aedy, a climate justice advocate, dive into transformative activism at COP26. They discuss the urgency of creating impactful campaigns and building platforms that bypass traditional media. The conversation highlights the disparities faced by developing countries in climate financing and the necessity for a 'just transition.' Sheldrick and Aedy also explore the complexities of climate migration, emphasizing storytelling's power in mobilizing collective action against climate injustice.

Miguel Veiga-Pestana is Chief Sustainability Officer at Reckitt, a consumer goods company whose brands include Dettol, Durex, Finish, and Nurofen. Miguel oversees the development and integration of Reckitt’s sustainability and purpose-led agenda. He speaks about how consumer behaviour responds to and elicits change from big businesses, he speaks of the challenges and successes of phasing single-use plastics out of consumer product packaging, and reflects on the corporate leadership needed to drive the necessary momentum towards net-zero.

Kumi Naidoo is a seasoned activist and has held leadership positions at Greenpeace International and Amnesty International.  In this impassioned conversation with his compatriot Paul van Zyl, Kumi lays out four things he believes activists could do better at in order to more effectively lead a green revolution. He also speaks about the representation of marginalised voices, how consumer spending power can force greener supply chains, and he suggests radically rethinking the economic systems that have caused so much environmental damage to date.

How achievable is the goal of universal access to affordable and clean energy for all by 2030? And can this be achieved in Africa whilst transitioning from fossil fuels to decentralised renewable sources of energy?  Jackie Kimeu is the International Coordinator at ACCESS Coalition. They advocate for people living in poverty to have access to safe, reliable, and affordable energy. Jackie speaks to Paul van Zyl about the Coalition’s regional approach to capacity building, the challenges of storing surpluses of renewable energy, and of the large-scale behavioural change campaigns needed to shift mindsets.

Journalist and author Simon Mundy recently travelled across six continents to meet the people embroiled in a race to survive, adapt, and innovate as a response to climate change. Now that the climate emergency has moved from a fringe issue to a core one, he contemplates whether powerful business leaders and policymakers being ambitious enough in responding to the science and to the plights of climate-affected citizens around the world. He also questions whether the voices of those most vulnerable to climate change, like those he met on his travels, are being heard in spaces like COP conferences? Simon shares personal insights from the people he met – scientists, miners, entrepreneurs, farmers, and senior policymakers – in this rich and ranging discussion with Paul van Zyl on life on the front lines of the climate crisis. 

To stay on track for 1.5 degrees warming, we need more ambitious policies, implemented much more quickly. In this episode, Paul talks to Apolitical co-founder and CEO, Robyn Scott; Climate Envoy for the Netherlands, H.R.H. Prince Jaime de Bourbon de Parme; and Former Minister for the Environment in Denmark, Ida Auken about the role of policy in a just transition. They discuss why governments need to adapt their strategies for urgent climate mitigation, the unique challenges that policy makers face across the globe, and how we can ensure that bold new policies are implemented effectively. This episode is produced in collaboration with DLA Piper, and recorded at The Conduit Studio at COP26, as part of a series exploring the role of the law in responding to climate change. 

Are we, the average citizen, the most powerful trigger of tipping points? With the public fast acknowledging that climate change is a grave and imminent threat, can this awareness coupled with activism trigger rapid changes in government policy and to markets to the benefit of people and planet? 19-year-old Jerome Foster II is an environmental activist, voting rights advocate, and emerging technology engineer. He sits on President Biden’s White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council and serves as executive director of OneMillionOfUs, which educates and mobilises young people to register and turn out to vote. He joins Paul van Zyl to talk about social justice, environmental justice, and creating movements.

Global transformation of food and land use systems is needed now more than ever to improve food security, ensure healthier diets, and safeguard biodiversity. Central to achieving this – and unlocking trillions in society returns each year – is protecting nature and addressing food and land use systems’ contribution to the climate crisis.  Social entrepreneur and writer Jeremy Leggett is joined by Talia Smith (Co-Director of Knowledge Generation at the Food and Land Use Coalition) to tell us how food and land use systems can accelerate towards positive tipping points. 

As the buzz around green hydrogen gathers steam, Andreas Gunst, Partner at DLA Piper, joins Lee Beck (Clean Air Task Force) to discuss its potential as a clean and renewable energy source, the latest developments in carbon capture, utilisation and storage technology, and the ways in which government and business must collaborate to accelerate the transition to a decarbonised energy sector. This episode is produced in collaboration with DLA Piper, and recorded at The Conduit Studio at COP26, as part of a series exploring the role of the law in responding to climate change.