Beyond Politics: Should we take the heat out of the climate crisis?

Somewhere along the way, acting on a threat to all of humanity became a political act. Not a simple matter of science and economics, but a signal of whose side you are on.

So, what would it take to change the political narrative around climate? This week, Christiana Figueres, Tom Rivett-Carnac and Paul Dickinson answer some difficult questions gathered for our live event at Bath Abbey, postponed when extreme heat made the venue unsafe - as if we needed another reminder of the urgency of this crisis.

They ask: can we lift the climate out of party politics altogether? Does real leverage sit with the decisions made in national capitals, or is it only on the COP conference floor while the cameras are rolling? And if vested interests and lobbying can’t be removed, how do we meet them head on, with an equal and opposite force.

This episode tries to answer the challenge we all face: do we seek to depoliticise this crisis, or fight for it in the open? And, now that the climate crisis has become a political hot potato, can we change course in time?

Learn More

🌍 Explore the Earthshot Prize, Prince William's platform for scaling climate solutions

🗳️ Read about Climate Assembly UK, the citizens' assembly that brought 100+ people together to shape how the country reaches net zero, and why the format keeps vested interests at the door

🚭 Understand Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the treaty clause Paul points to that shields health policy from the tobacco industry

📢 Read how The Hague banned fossil fuel advertising, a world-first local law that survived a court challenge in 2025

💸 Revisit the fossil fuel divestment movement, the student-led campaign, which pushed institutions holding trillions to pull money out of coal, oil and gas

🎬 Watch The People's Emergency Briefing, the film built to give the public the same starting picture of the crisis their governments often will not explain

🎤 Leave us your voice notes and questions for upcoming episodes on SpeakPipe

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Senior Producer: Ben Weaver-Hincks

Edited by: Miles Martignoni

Show Runner: Caitlin Hanrahan 

Exec Producer: Ellie Clifford

This is a Persephonica production for Global Optimism and is part of the Acast Creator Network.

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