COP Conversations

Planet Pod COP26 Series in partnership with COP26 Universities Network and University of Strathclyde.

The Planet Pod team will be in Glasgow for this crucial climate summit and we will be podcasting every day bringing our listeners insights, reflections and observations from the conference, and hearing from a wide range of voices. We will be in conversation with academics, policy makers, politicians, businesses, artists, not for profits, NGOs and activists.

Our mission is to take the global issues and unpack them at a national and local scale. To get under the skin of COP and seek to understand what is really going on beneath all the public statements and the fanfares.

We are delighted to be working with our partners at University of Strathclyde and The Grantham Institute for Climate Change & the Environment at Imperial College London. Guest podcasters include Dr Chris White, Head of the Centre for Water, Environment, Sustainability and Public Health at the University of Strathclyde and Alyssa Gilbert, Director of Policy and Translation at the Grantham Institute and Director of the COP26 Universities Network.

Our first podcast in the series sets the scene and explores the power of COP to bring hearts and minds together to address the pressing issues of climate change. Episode 2 considers the road ahead with some very positive messages about collaboration and the practical actions being taken on the ground. In Episode 3 we ask who pays the price for the non-economic loss and damage due to climate change and where does responsibility lie? As talks progress at all levels Episode 4 explores the importance of tapping into the collective pool of wisdom to find solutions. On the eve of the Fridays for the Future Climate Strike Episode 5 steps out onto the streets of Glasgow to talk with young climate activists who bring their passion and energies to the discussions. Our OB special joins young climate strikers as they call for their voices to be heard. Episode 6 catches up with Professor Andy Purvis of the Natural History Museum at COP and Amanda goes on location to see first hand the threat to one small woodland rich in biodiversity. Episode 7 explores the likely societal, environmental and economic impacts of our disappearing coastlines. The importance of mobilising and engaging communities, particularly young people, to ‘rethink, reimagine and redesign spaces and places to be greener, more resilient and more vibrant’ is explored in Episode 8. Episode 9 looks at transport inequality, exploring ways to offer clean green transport for all. Episode 10 reflects on some of the key themes at this year’s COP with Seema Joshi from Global Witness. Advances in hydrogen production and personal mobility are uncovered in Episode 11. In the final episode of this series Chris Stark, head of the UK’s Climate Change Committee, reflects on COP26 and suggests this is the COP we should have had 20 years ago.