Carnegie Council Podcasts

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), large-scale carbon dioxide removal (CDR) is required in all pathways to keep global warming under 1.5°C.  A range of approaches to CDR are under consideration, including technological or biological approaches, with the latter being increasingly referred to as "nature-based solutions." Afforestation and reforestation, together with other nature-based approaches to CDR, have been gaining international attraction because of their huge potential to remove carbon from atmosphere but also due to the other prospective environmental and social benefits they could bring. However, there are concerns raised around "moral hazard," competition for resources, permanence of sequestration, and other potential risks of deployment of large-scale afforestation and reforestation, which pose governance challenges. How do we address these challenges and make decisions that maximize synergies and co-benefits and minimize tradeoffs? What can we learn from previous large-scale afforestation and reforestation initiatives? To explore these questions, C2G brought together a diverse group of policy, intergovernmental, independent research organization, NGO, and academic experts for a "C2GDiscuss" podcast on July 20, 2020. Featuring: Li Fang, chief representative, World Resources Institute Beijing Representative Office, China Martin Frick, deputy to the special envoy, UN Food Systems Summit 2021 Thelma Krug, senior researcher (retired) at National Institute for Space Research, Brazil and vice-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Kelsey Perlman (speaking on behalf of CAN International), forest and climate campaigner, Fern Artur Runge-Metzger, director for climate strategy, governance, and emissions from non-trading sectors, DG CLIMA, European Commission Janos Pasztor, executive director, C2G (Moderator) For more, please go to C2G's website. 

Are we reaching for the wrong metaphors and narratives in our eagerness to govern AI? In this Artificial Intelligence & Equality podcast, Carnegie Council Senior Fellow Anja Kaspersen is joined by Google Research’s Blaise Aguera y Arcas. In a talk that spans from Gutenberg to federated learning models to what we can learn from nuclear research, they discuss what we need to be mindful of when discussing and engaging with future applications of machine intelligence.  For more on this podcast, please go to carnegiecouncil.org.  For more on the Artificial Intelligence & Equality Initiative (AIEI), please go to carnegieaie.org.

In response to climate change risks, scientists are considering the viability of developing and deploying marine cloud brightening (MCB), which seeks to whiten clouds over the ocean to reflect solar radiation back into space in order to achieve cooling. MCB is still largely theoretical, but if ever deployed at scale, could create large and potentially long-term risks and governance challenges. The recent first outdoor MCB experiment conducted by Australian scientists went largely unnoticed by the general public and has generated some interesting but limited debate. In this C2GDiscuss, the panelists explore:  How to situate MCB in the global challenges of response to climate risks context?  What is the latest research and debate about MCB as well as the governance implications of potential deployment?  What could we learn from the recent MCB outdoor experiment in Australia to move forward the governance of solar radiation modification research? The C2GDiscuss features:  Kerryn Brent, lecturer at the University of Adelaide and member of the Australian Forum for Climate Intervention Governance; Silvia Ribeiro, Latin America Director, ETC Group; Phillip Williamson, Honorary Reader, School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia Paul Rouse, Science Advisor, C2G (Moderator) For more, please go to C2G's website.

C2GDiscuss is a series of moderated in-depth conversations between diverse experts on some of the governance challenges of climate-altering approaches. In this podcast, Mark Turner, communications consultant at C2G, interviews Janos Pasztor, C2G's executive director, about how how these discussions encourage an engaging conversation about some of the toughest questions faced by decision-makers on climate change, now and in the future. C2GDisccuss and C2GTalk are posted on Monday on Carnegie Council's podcast channels.  For more, please go to C2G's website. 

Judah Grunstein, editor-in-chief of World Politics Review, returns to The Doorstep to discuss 2022 trends in U.S. global engagement with co-hosts Nick Gvosdev and Tatiana Serafin. Where is the Biden/Harris team succeeding on the world stage? Where are they missing opportunities? Is the American public ready to participate in shaping new narratives for how the U.S. shows up in the world? For more, please go to carnegiecouncil.org. 

When author Eliot Peper first heard about solar geoengineering, or solar radiation modification, he knew he had to write a novel. "There are so many different angles on this kind of a problem. It raises so many questions that impact every area of our lives," he told C2GTalk. Speculative fiction, says Peper, can spark people's curiosity and inspire them to become engaged. "If it makes other people look more deeply and pay more attention, to me that's a huge win." Eliot Peper is the author of nine novels, including Veil, Cumulus, Bandwidth, and Neon Fever Dream. He also publishes a blog, and sends a monthly newsletter. He is on Twitter, @eliotpeper. Peper’s most recent novel, Veil, is a speculative thriller about diplomats, hackers, spies, scientists, and billionaires racing to control our climate future. Janos Pastor, C2G’s executive director, calls Veil "the tale we need to confront climate change. Peper deftly explores one of the most controversial ideas on the climate agenda—solar geoengineering—and its geopolitical quandaries—raising tough questions and showing why we require new forms of governance to answer them." This interview was recorded on  December 14, 2021 and will be available with interpretation into 中文,  Español, and Français. For an edited transcript, please go to C2G's website.

In this episode of the Artificial Intelligence & Equality podcast, Senior Fellow Wendell Wallach sits down with Professor Shannon Vallor to discuss how to reenvision ethics and empower it to deal with AI, emerging technologies, and new power dynamics in the information age. For more on this talk, please go to carnegiecouncil.org. For more on the Carnegie Artificial Intelligence & Equality Initiative, please go to carnegieaie.org.

Equity, justice, and transparency are needed to enable meaningful conversations around the the debate on solar radiation modification, because Africa has to be very careful about climate-altering technologies, especially when we do not understand their consequences, says Vera Songwe, executive secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) during a C2GTalk interview. Africa can only sustainably and justly have the conversation on carbon emissions if it sees that this road leads to a more prosperous life, better livelihoods, and that this road will help the continent meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Vera Songwe is the United Nations under-secretary-general and the ninth serving executive secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA). As executive secretary focusing on "ideas for a prosperous Africa," her organizational reforms have brought to the fore critical issues of macroeconomic stability; development finance, growth and private sector; poverty and inequality; the digital transformation and data; and trade and competitiveness. She is acknowledged for her long-standing track record of providing policy advice on development and her wealth of experience in delivering development results for Africa. A strong advocate of the private sector, Songwe launched a business forum debate at ECA and created, for the first time, a private sector division with a number of significant initiatives. Before joining the ECA, Songwe held a number of leading roles at the World Bank and International Finance Corporation (IFC). Songwe serves as a non-resident senior Ffllow at the Brookings Institution. She is also a member of the African Union institutional reform team under the direction of the president of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, and an advisory board member of the African Leadership Network and the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. This interview was recorded on October 19, 2021 and is available with interpretation into 中文, Español, and Français. For an edited transcript, please go to C2G's website.

The Biden/Harris team had big plans for re-engaging the U.S. with the world after four years of retrenchment under Trump. But the continuing pandemic, runaway inflation, and rising populism have upended the new administration's 2021 goals. Mo Elleithee, executive director of Georgetown's Institute of Politics and Public Service, joins Doorstep co-hosts Nick Gvosdev and Tatiana Serafin to discuss what the Biden/Harris team gets right and how messaging can be improved ahead of 2022 mid-term elections to engage a disconnected electorate. For more, please go to carnegiecouncil.org. 

In the last 20 years, the U.S. and its allies significantly expanded their military and security infrastructures. But as America pivots from the War on Terror, new areas of focus have begun to take center stage, including the militarization of space and rising tensions with China. Is there a better way to meet our basic security responsibilities without militarizing across society? Carnegie Council President Joel Rosenthal discusses these issues with security experts Elliot Ackerman, Neta C. Crawford, and Ned Dobos. This special event was inspired by the Ethics, Security, and the War-Machine book symposium recently published in the Fall 2021 issue of Carnegie Council's Ethics & International Affairs journal. For more, please go to carnegiecouncil.org.