Climate change is the most important issue of our time. We’ve all heard that it poses an existential threat to our species and that it is already changing our planet in unprecedented ways, but with so many numbers – from parts-per-million of atmospheric CO2 to the now-famous ‘1.5°C red line’ of the Paris Agreement – we know that it can be confusing.
Our new podcast “Climate Change: Behind the Numbers” helps listeners make sense of the complex topic of climate change. Each episode, we will talk to various experts to try to demystify one climate change number and help you understand how it may affect you, your family and your community.
Along the way we will share some surprising, fun and always interesting stories that span history, science, politics and the economy.
Tune in with us each month on your favourite listening platform for a journey behind the numbers on climate change. We’ll be announcing subsequent episodes on Twitter and LinkedIn, so make sure that you follow us.
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The impacts of climate change are threatening the global food system, particularly rural farming communities who depend on agriculture to support their local economies. Droughts, heat waves, and altered precipitation patterns are affecting agricultural yields and increasing the risk of food insecurity. Unsustainable farming practices can exacerbate these climate impacts and decrease the productivity of agricultural land. On the contrary, nature-based solutions and adaptive agricultural practices can support food production and those whose lives depend on it.
Sébastien Treyer, Head of IDDRI and president of the Scientific and Technical Committee of the French Faculty for Global Environment (FFEM), and Lead Faculty Member of the Earth System Governance Network will explore:
How can data help us understand the threats of climate change to the global food system?
How can smallholder farmers promote ecological resilience (financial opportunities, agricultural practices, etc.)?
How to unpack the costs of inaction and what do these mean in practice? How will costs affect individual daily lives?
Over the last few years, the climate crisis has begun to manifest itself and it is clearer than ever that the impacts are not felt equally the world over; developing countries who tend to be lower emitters are disproportionately affected.
Countries in the Caribbean region, for example, and particularly small island developing states (SIDS), are already experiencing extensive coastal erosion, more frequent and severe tropical cyclones, sea-level rises, increasing temperatures and changing precipitation patterns damaging the population´s well-being.
These countries need urgent action to adapt to climate change and build resilient societies. National adaptation strategies and policies will determine how countries and their international partners act and how successful they are. These adaptation strategies and policies require quality data for identifying the most affected people, designing actions that consider their needs and priorities and monitoring their effectiveness.
Miosotis Rivas Peña, Director General of the Oficina Nacional de Estadística of the Dominican Republic talks to PARIS21's Sandra Camacho about how the country, a small island state on the frontlines of climate change, is prioritising climate change and environmental statistics within the NSO.
Less than 20% of the world's landholders are women, according to FAO data. Unequal access to land rights mostly for women means a lack of decision power over their home and property. With climate change bringing more droughts, rising sea levels, and extreme storms, access to and control over resources is key, and so is sex-disaggregated data. It is of essence if we want to bring to the fore these disparities in land rights and climate change resilience and to monitor the progress towards gender equality in agriculture.
In this third episode of PARIS21’s podcast “Climate change: Behind the numbers”, Lorena Aguilar, Former Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship of Costa Rica, joins hosts Johannes Jütting and Sasha Ramirez-Hughes for a conversation on the differentiated impact of climate change on women and men, and the underlying causes.
As a gender and environment expert, she also highlights examples of how cultural practices and customs could be addressed and how persistent gender data gaps hinder our understanding of how climate change escalates social, political, and economic tensions.
Reporting on climate change can be complex, given the sheer volume of data and interrelationships between issues like global warming, pollution and sea level rise, among others. To convey messages in a relatable and objective way, journalists seek to provide context, stories and visualisations that don’t leave room for misinterpretation.
In this second episode of PARIS21’s podcast “Climate change: Behind the numbers”, Alan Smith, Head of Visual and Data Journalism at the Financial Times, joins hosts Johannes Jütting and Sasha Ramirez-Hughes for a conversation on temperature records, and the use of data visualisation and storytelling to engage audiences, incentivise change in behaviour and combat fake news.
In his talk, he highlights the number 53.8 degrees, which represents the extreme temperature swing recorded in the United Arab Emirates during the first half of 2021, where recorded temperatures went from -2 degrees Celsius in January to 51.8 degrees Celsius in the summer.
As a former Head of Digital Content at the UK’s Office for National Statistics, he also shares his thoughts on what it comes down to when national statistical offices want their statistics to be relevant.
In recent years, environmental, social and governance (ESG) investment has emerged to play a significant role in the sustainable development sector. At the same time, criticisms of the ESG industry have grown louder.
In this first episode, Sony Kapoor, CEO of the Nordic Institute for Finance, Technology and Sustainability and Professor of Climate, Geoeconomics and Finance at the European University Institute, joins hosts Johannes Jütting and Sasha Ramirez-Hughes for a conversation on sustainable and responsible investing, which amounted to 35.3 trillion dollars in 2021, according to latest edition of the Global Sustainable Investment Review.
In his talk, he explores the financial sector’s role in putting the global economy on a sustainable path and points out the risk of mis-selling ESG labelling as well as the need to take climate action in developing and emerging economies.
In this introductory episode, hosts Johannes Jütting and Sasha Ramirez-Hughes kick off the new PARIS21 podcast and unpack three numbers in less than three minutes: 1.5°C, 95% and 63%.
Are you interested in exploring how the COVID-19 pandemic is changing the world of data and how data have been used to inform the response and recovery? Then listen in to the PARIS21 podcast “Data for the People” launched in 2020.
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