As COP27 begins in Egypt, attention will focus once again on the scale of the climate crisis and our global efforts to respond. After a couple of weeks though, the headlines will move on again, to the cost-of-living, Covid and war in Ukraine.

We reflect on the achievements and shortcomings of COP27, and how we can ensure that climate issues continue to make the headlines every day, as they should.

In a 24/7 news cycle of instant social media hits, how should governments and climate activists seek to persuade business and society to pay attention to longer term trends? What’s the right balance between warning people how bad it’s going to get, and focusing on the enormous opportunities that a green revolution will produce? And what are the positive climate stories that can be told now, to accelerate and inspire change?

This discussion presented in collaboration with On Front Line as we seek the answers and reflect on progress made at COP27.

Speakers:

Daze Aghaji – climate justice activist, political candidate, student and Conduit Impact Champion. She recently became a Trustee at Blagrave Trust. The main focus of Daze’s activism is regenerative cultures, intersectionality, environment, youth political engagement and social change funding. Described by The Guardian as “a ball of energy, conviction and warmth”, Daze’s advocacy for racial systemic change has led her to work with many leading charities, institutions, governments and grassroots change-makers globally.

Margaret Klein Salamon – Executive Director of Climate Emergency Fund. She is the Founding Principal of Climate Awakening, a project to unleash the power of climate emotions through scalable small group conversations and author of Facing the Climate Emergency: How to Transform Yourself with Climate Truth, a radical self-help guide for the climate emergency. In 2014, she co-founded The Climate Mobilization.

Luke Douglas-Home – a chartered environmentalist who advises councils, schools and companies on how to improve their environmental impact and educates school pupils in Romania, India and the UK about the circular economy, the UN’s SDGs and the waste hierarchy. Last year he started ‘The Coastline Runner’ campaign; running much of the East Coast foreshore of England to draw attention to the problem of plastic waste going into our seas.

Dr Mattia Romani – Partner at SYSTEMIQ and internationally recognised leader on sustainable finance, power system decarbonisation, and transition economics. He was formerly Managing Director for Economics, Policy and Governance and EBRD; Deputy Director General and Chief Economist of the Global Green Growth Institute; senior expert with McKinsey and Company; and Lord Nicholas Stern’s deputy on the UN Secretary General’s High-Level Advisory Group on Climate Finance.  Prior to this he had leading roles at Shell International and the World Bank.

Solitaire Townsend is a renowned sustainability expert and solutionist. From Google to the United Nations, Ikea to WWF, Solitaire works with the worlds’ most influential organisations to activate social justice and environmental restoration. She is Co-founder & Chief Solutionist at Futerra and Trustee of the Solutions Union. Her acclaimed book – The Happy Hero: How to Change Your Life by Changing the World is available now.

Moderator:

Chris Morris – writer and broadcaster, foreign correspondent with the BBC for more than 25 years, based in Colombo, Washington, Istanbul, Brussels and Delhi. He was BBC’s Global Trade Correspondent before leaving the corporation earlier this year.

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