The Sustainability Agenda

Katharina Pistor, Professor of Comparative Law and director of the Center on Global Legal Transformation at Columbia Law School, discusses her most recent book The Code of Capital: How the Law Creates Wealth and Inequality. In this fascinating discussion, she highlights the various ways that debt, complex financial products, and other assets are selectively coded to protect and reproduce private wealth—and the malleability of the legal system, that can be redesigned, and repurposed--by well paid lawyers. Katharina discusses the recent trend to create environmental financial assets-and highlights what she sees as a crucial, perennial, question: who will bear any financial losses (associated with climate change investments). Katharina also shares some ideas on we might create a financial system that would be more socially, environmentally and financially equitable. Katharina Pistor is the Edwin B. Parker Professor of Comparative Law and director of the Center on Global Legal Transformation at Columbia Law School. A leading scholar and writer on corporate governance, money and finance, property rights, and comparative law and legal institutions, Pistor’s most recent book, The Code of Capital: How the Law Creates Wealth and Inequality, examines how assets such as land, private debt, business organizations, or knowledge are transformed into capital through contract law, property rights, collateral law, and trust, corporate, and bankruptcy law. The Code of Capital was named one of the best books of 2019 by the Financial Times and Business Insider. 

In this fascinating discussion on the COP, Professor Stefan Aykut, a German scholar working on global climate governance, on the role and expectations around COP26. Stefan shares a more positive assessment of COP26 than some others interviewed on this podcast: ultimately, he points out, the outcome is in the hands of national governments. Stefan argues that one of the main reasons climate problems have not received the necessary attention is that they have been treated as uniquely climate problems . But he sees signs that is changing. Stefan worries that the lack of solidarity in the way the Global North has dealt with COVID crisis does not augur well for dealing with climate problems in the future. Notwithstanding its urgency, Stefan also worries about the dangers of framing global warming as an emergency: emergencies, he says, are associated with concentration of political power.  Stefan Aykut is Junior professor of Sociology, Director at Center for Sustainable Society Research (CSS) Hamburg, Germany.  He is a sociologist, political scientist and Science and technology scholar working on global climate governance and sustainability transformations with a particular focus on contemporary approaches to aligning economic activities and social practices with global ecological limits.

COP26 debrief with Rupert Read. In the immediate aftermath of COP26, Rupert Read shares his profound disappointment with the outcome of COP26, shares his views for possible ways forward with the COPs, how they might evolve--and talks about the vital importance of adaptation-another area where he feels COP26 failed to deliver. Unvarnished and candid reflections on COP26 and worries about general progress on the scale of environmental challenges the world is facing: in particular global warming and the environmental catastrophes the oceans are undergoing. Rupert Read is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of East Anglia, an author, a blogger, and a climate and environmental campaigner, including his work as a spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion. He has written over a dozen books, most recently Parents for A Future. Deep Adaptation: Navigating the Realities of Climate Chaos which he edited with Jem Bendell came out this summer. Rupert has also been national parliamentary candidate, European parliamentary candidate and councillor for the Green Party of England and Wales and chaired the ecological think tank Green House. He is a strong advocate for positive, radical change to address the climate emergency, and has argued for the environment extensively in the media, including writings in the Guardian, The Independent and The Ecologist and frequent guest appearances on the radio.

In this hugely inspiring interview, James Thornton, CEO of legal powerhouse ClientEarth, talks about how the firm uses the law to confront nature loss and climate change. At a time when market solutions are in vogue to deal with climate change, this is a powerful testimony to the power of law to build effective regulatory frameworks to drive climate mitigation – and hold companies and governments to account. James discusses how ClientEarth works, highlighting a few of the many influential legal cases that the environmental legal charity has fought -in David vs Goliath style-and won. This is an eye-opening account of ClientEarth’s work which provides inspiring insights into the vital role (and potential) of law to deal with some the greatest challenges we face as a civilisation. James also shares how his perspective as a Zen Buddhist priest informs his life and work.James Thornton is the founding CEO of ClientEarth, a path-breaking law firm which uses advocacy, litigation and research to address the greatest challenges of our time – including nature loss and climate change. ClientEearth has an extra-ordinary record of success built on solid law and science - and has brought about fundamental change in the way environmental protections are made and enforced across Europe. The New Statesman has named James as one of 10 people who could change the world. James has twice won Leader of the Year at the Business Green Awards. The Financial Times awarded him its Special Achievement accolade at the FT Innovative Lawyers Awards. James is an ordained Zen Buddhist priest.

 A fascinating discussion with 3 passionate youth activists from the UK, India and Bangladesh, on 7th November 2021, about their expectations for COP26, their experience on the ground, and their concerns about the environmental challenges we are facing. Although COP26 is not yet over, and we don’t know the final outcome, these activists express profound disappointment with what they see as a “business as usual” approach-- and call out governments around the world for avoiding taking vital climate action –and the pervasive corporate greenwash. They identify the kinds of changes they would like to see to deal with global warming, and related environmental challenges, highlighting the failure to provide capital transition capital to countries in the global south—and calling for more inclusion for youth and indigenous voices in the COPs themselves. They also discuss the ongoing emotional stress dealing with climate and feelings as young activists-the sense of exhaustion and burnout.Sohanur Rahman is a Journalist & Social Worker from Barisal in Bangladesh. He is founder of Founder of the YouthNet for Climate Justice (YN4CJ) – a voluntary youth organization network for raising awareness and taking actions to tackle the adverse effects of Climate Change. Lucy Jordan is an English climate activist, member of UK Youth Climate Coalition‏ whose mission is to mobilise and empower young people to take positive action for global climate justice—she organises its COP Working Group. John Paul Jose is a young environmental and climate activist from the coastal state of Kerala in India. He is one of the youth leaders of #FridaysForFuture in India and collaborates with many other environmental groups including UN Major Group for Children and Youth (UNMGCY), the United Nations Convention on Combatting Desertification (UNCCD).

In this thought provoking interview, Frédéric Hache, co-founder of the Green Finance Observatory, asks some hard-hitting questions about carbon-offsets and related market solutions to climate change and the biodiversity crises-and financialisation of nature more generally. Frederic discusses the evolution of market-based solutions to climate. “It is interesting that the conversation now is about how to incentivize economically, corporations, as if governments no longer had the power to compel and regulate.” Frédéric highlights what he sees as a key trend: outsourcing dealing with climate change to developing countries by buying land, planting trees and opening a new market for global investors in the process. Frédéric is a co-founder, and executive director, of the Green Finance Observatory an independent NGO that analyses the new market mechanisms and sustainable finance frameworks in order to determine how likely they are to meet their stated environmental, economic and social objectives. Earlier in his career, Frederic spent 12 years working in investment banking, designing and selling currency derivatives before joining NGO Finance Watch at its creation, where he managed the policy analysis team and analyzed European prudential regulation of banks and capital markets. 

Fascinating interview with Professor Mike Hulme on his expectations for COP26, the role and importance of the COPs, and the dangers of an overly scientific approach to climate change-- a reductionist framing of the problem in terms of numbers and deadlines. He shares what he sees as some of the biggest dangers of framing climate change as an emergency—drawing lessons from government responses to the Covid-19 pandemic. Professor Hulme also discusses his new book, Climate Change, where he introduces a number of “more than science approaches,” lenses, for coming to terms with the idea of climate change: post-colonial justice and resistance; the arts and humanities; and the lenses of various world religions. Dr Mike Hulme is professor of Human Geography in the Department of Geography at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Pembroke College.  His work explores the idea of climate change from a range of perspectives-- historical, cultural, scientific-- revealing various ideological, political and ethical dimensions to the way climate change is deployed in public and political conversations.  Author of numerous books on climate, his latest book is Climate Change, where he argues that the full power of the idea of climate change can only be grasped from a vantage point that embraces the social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences.   

In this fascinating interview, Dr Genevieve Guenther does a deep dive on the powerful ongoing ways in which the fossil fuel industry influences communication about climate change-- preventing us from not only seeing the true problem of climate change, but also preventing us from envisioning and desiring and implementing solutions. She analyses the various ways in which the fossil fuel industry try and divert attention from their activities—emphasizing, for example, individual carbon footprints, and their spending on renewables (in reality a tiny percentage of their overall budgets). She also highlights the emotional impact—undermining individuals’ confidence in their ability to do anything about climate change. Genevieve also discusses the important work done by a charity she has set up, End Climate Silence, and her work to stop the New York Times taking money from fossil fuel industry.  Genevieve is an author and activist. Her work focusses on the role of language in climate change drawing on sociology, psychology, philosophy, and literary theory to critique current forms of climate communication. She is affiliate faculty at The New School, where she sits on the advisory board of the Tishman Environment and Design Center.  Genevieve is also the founder and director of End Climate Silence, an volunteer organisation that pushes the news media to cover the climate crisis with the urgency it deserves. Genevieve’s book The Language of Climate Politics, is forthcoming from Oxford University Press.

In this deep dive on resilience, Professor Daniel Aldrich gives a fascinating overview of different ways of thinking about resilience—focussing in particular on the kind of resilience that allows communities to recover from disasters in a way that brings together resources -- and allows the communities to rebuild themselves so they're not as vulnerable as they were before the shock—so they can collaborate, communicate, and work together in a more effective way. Daniel discusses his research which has identified the critical importance of social bonds as a key factor determining how communities deal with disasters—too often neglected due to an overemphasis on infrastructural resilience. A fascinating interview, packed with rich insights and research findings-providing a multidimensional perspective on resilience. Daniel Aldrich is professor of political science and Director of the Security and Resilience Studies Program at Northeastern University. A main body of his research focussed on recovery after natural disasters. His most recent book, Building Resilience: Social Capital in Post-Disaster Recovery, highlights how relationships among people in a disaster zone are a critical engine for recovery after a disaster. Daniel has held posts as a Fulbright Research Fellow and an Abe Fellow at Tokyo University and as an AAAS Science and Technology Fellow with USAID.  He is a contributor to the New York Times, CNN, The Conversation, and the Asahi Shinbun, among other media.    

In this interview, Professor Katharine Hayhoe, one of climate change’s most effective communicators, provides inspired guidance on how to navigate all sides of the conversation on a topic that is currently one of the most politicised and divisive. Katharine discusses her new book Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World, illustrated her arguments with stories from her personal experiences. Katharine argues we need to go beyond facts and statistics and begin essential climate conversations with shared values, connect the issue to our individual identities, and help inspire collective action. For Katharine,  urgency of action is paramount: “The key conclusion of the IPCC is simply this. Every year counts, every action matters, every choice can make a difference.” Katharine Hayhoe is an atmospheric scientist—and a professor of political science at Texas Tech University, where she is co-director of the Climate Science Center. She has served as lead author on the Second, Third, and Fourth National Climate Assessments. Katharine also hosts and produces the PBS Digital Series, Global Weirding, and serves on advisory committees for a broad range of organizations including the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, the Earth Science Women’s Network, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She has recently become Chief Scientist, at the Nature Conservancy, the world's largest conservation organization- her new book Saving Us: A Climate Scientist's Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World has just been published.