Little Amal, the giant puppet of a Syrian refugee girl was, literally, the biggest figure at COP26 on Tuesday, where the main theme was gender.
She took to the main stage today, alongside Samoan climate activist Brianna Freuan, who reminded delegates that women and girls bear the brunt of the climate crisis.
Even if we were to cut all the world's greenhouse gas emissions tomorrow, we would still be left coping with rising temperatures and an unpredictable climate. That’s why adaptation is, literally, a hot topic at COP26.
Nevertheless, the annual $100 billion promised for climate finance in the 2015 Paris Agreement – half of which was to be earmarked to help developing countries to cope with the climate crisis – has yet to materialize.
Mankind’s impact on the planet is causing it to react against us, provoking extreme weather events in every corner of the world.
But there is a growing realization that, rather than inventing new technology to tackle the climate crisis, we can harness nature to help us solve the problem.
In today’s episode of the Lid Is On, Conor Lennon and Laura Quinones explore nature-based solutions, from forests to seaweed, and mangroves.
Music: Within the Earth, Ketsa
The anger of climate activist Greta Thunberg, one of the leading voices of the demonstrations in Glasgow City Centre on Friday, threatened to drown out the events taking place within the COP26 conference centre.
Yet, there were many youth voices inside, engaging with government leaders, the UN and others. On today’s episode of The Lid Is On, Conor Lennon was at the venue, whilst Laura Quinones stayed in town to follow the protests.
Music: Within the Earth, Ketsa
Energy was the main theme of COP26 on Thursday, with a particular focus on ending the world’s reliance on coal.
However, to achieve the UN’s aim of achieving clean and reliable access to energy for all by 2030, all countries need to speed up the transition away from all fossil fuel sources, and switch renewable sources.
Day three of COP26 was dominated by climate finance: how to ensure that the financial sector moves definitively away from fossil fuels and instead invest in initiatives that push the global economy towards sustainability.
Conor Lennon and Laura Quinones share the main stories of the day, and explain why, in the context of climate change, insurance is interesting (it really is!).
They also share some words in Welsh, Doric, Quechua, and Cuyonon!
Several new pledges were made on the second day of COP26, the UN climate conference, but the reforestation commitment made by the public and private sector attracted the most attention.
In today’s Colombia-tinged COP26 episode of The Lid Is On, Conor Lennon and Laura Quinones discuss the main events of the day, as well as Prince William, methane, and sausage rolls.
The 26th UN climate conference, or COP, opened with a World Leaders Summit on Monday, and a characteristically blunt speech from UN chief António Guterres. It’s the start of a mammoth two-week event, which some are calling the last best chance to save the planet.
Conor Lennon and Laura Quinones are on the ground throughout the conference, to give you a flavour of what it’s like to be in Glasgow, and to speak to some of those involved, from climate change activists, to artists, UN leaders and more.
For UN Secretary-General António Guterres, this is a pivotal moment for mankind, which is on the brink of global catastrophe, but has the tools to create a fairer, cleaner world, if the political will can be found.
In September, Mr. Guterres outlined his vision of how international cooperation needs to develop over the next 25 years, in “Our Common Agenda”, which lays out a pathway for a sustainable future.
Kaylee Werner was a teenager when a gunman attacked the Tree of Life Synagogue in the US city of Pittsburgh, on October 27, 2018. It was the deadliest attack on the Jewish community in the nation’s history, with 11 people killed and nine injured.
Kaylee, who is Jewish, wasn’t at the synagogue that day, but she bears the scars: one of her relatives was killed, and she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder. She now campaigns for religious tolerance and gun control.
