Global perspective Human stories

The Lid is On

UN Photo/Mark Garten

COP27 EXTRA BONUS PODCAST: Heart to Hart

We though it was all over…it is now, we promise! We gave you the instant reaction to the final COP27 plenary session on what we though was the last podcast on the event, but then we decided to get an expert perspective from Selwin Hart, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advisor on Climate, and friend of the podcast.

Audio
23'38"
United Nations

A new series from UN Podcasts: amplifyHER

On this week's episode we're letting a new UN podcast take over! It's called amplifyHER, and it's a tribute to some of the best women artists, from around the world, working today. 

Over the next 10 weeks, inspiring women musicians from diverse cultural backgrounds, talk to us from their homes and studios, about their challenges as women in a male-dominated industry, overcoming barriers, and what drives them to continue creating music.

Audio
18'10"
Kiara Worth

COP27 BONUS PODCAST: Early like Sunday morning

COP27 officially ended on Friday, but no agreement was reached when Conor and Laura recorded their last podcast in Sharm El-Sheikh.

But, despite the gloomy predictions of no deal, the COP27 outcome document was finally agreed, on Sunday morning.

Back home in New York after a 25-hour journey, Conor goes solo, to pull together a final COP episode of The Lid Is On. You can find all the details on the outcome document here.

Music: Within the Earth, Ketsa

Audio Duration
13'51"
UN News/ Laura Quinoňes

COP27 PODCAST: Delayed ratification

It’s officially the last day of COP27, and the UN podcast team have their bags packed, ready to return home.

However, today did not see an outcome document agreed, and negotiating positions are reportedly still far apart on many issues.

Laura and Conor report on the current state of play, and run through some of the main takeaways from this COP, before waving goodbye to Egypt.

Music: Within the Earth, Ketsa

Audio
16'45"
UN News/ Laura Quinoňes

COP27 PODCAST: Exit ramps off the climate hell highway

UN Secretary-General António Guterres is back in Sharm El-Sheikh, in an attempt to nudge countries towards resolving their differences on contentious climate issues, and reaching an acceptable outcome to COP27. He boiled down the topics to three main areas: loss and damage, the emissions gap, and climate finance.

Conor and Laura were on hand in Egypt to make sense of the negotiations, and the reaction from activists and representatives of some of the countries most vulnerable to the climate crisis.

Audio
22'54"
UN News/ Conor Lennon

COP27 PODCAST: From the Ocean to the Amazon – biodiversity in crisis

With just a couple of days to go at COP27, agreement on an agreed text – committing countries to move forward on measures to tackle the climate crisis – seems a long way off.

On today’s episode of The Lid Is On, Laura and Conor pick over some of the main areas of contention, and report on the highlights from Biodiversity Day.

Guests include the British singer Ellie Goulding, who is calling for improved coral reef protection, and the head of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), Inger Andersen, who is preparing the ground for a major UN biodiversity conference in December.

Audio
21'49"
UN News/ Conor Lennon

COP27 PODCAST: Gas lingers on energy day

The UN is leading calls for an end to fossil fuel use, but lobbying for gas has been a feature of this African COP, and there have been warnings that new gas and other fossil fuel projects are underway in many developing countries.

On Energy Day, there were stark reminders of the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also signs that the world is moving in the right direction when it comes to renewable energy.

Conor and Laura sniff out the gas story, and speak to energy experts about the prospects for a clean energy future, based on renewable energy sources.

Audio
21'31"
UNIC Tokyo/Momoko Sato

COP27 PODCAST: Manels, mansplaining and Mary Robinson

The second half of COP27 has begun and there’s uncertainty in the air regarding the progress of negotiations in the packed conference venue. 

Monday saw a focus on two main themes: water and gender. UN officials were at COP to prepare the ground and raise awareness for a major conference on water, due to take place next year, whilst senior leaders pointed out the inadequate representation of women in the climate action space.

Audio
22'54"
UNIC Tokyo/ Momoko Sato

COP27 PODCAST: Beans, bugs, and a better deal for farmers

Saturday is a working day at COP, allowing negotiators just one day to catch their breath, before the really hard work of hammering out some kind of outcome document begins on Monday.

The theme of the day is agriculture and adaptation. We hear from the UN agencies that focus on agriculture (FAO and IFAD), and Conor and Laura explore options for sustainable diets. Beans and bugs are on the menu!

Subscribe to The Lid Is On on all major podcast platforms!

Music: Within the Earth, Ketsa

Audio
21'22"
UN Video/ Runa A

COP27 PODCAST: Now the hard work begins

COPs are a marathon, not a sprint. During the first week, country negotiators set the parameters for the serious, and often exhausting, horse-trading that begins next week, when ministers fly in, with the aim of hammering out a consensus agreement by the end of the conference. On today’s show, Laura and Conor speak to Selwin Hart, the UN Secretary-General’s special advisor on climate, and Rueanna Haynes, a climate negotiator for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), about the progress made so far; and Conor sits down with Lily Cole, model, environmental activist and advisor to the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), on how to bring the huge environmental cost of the fashion industry under control. Music: Within the Earth, Ketsa
Audio
25'