How can you reduce the environmental impact of your cat or dog? What’s the best way to prepare for climate breakdown? And how should you talk to children about climate? Christiana, Paul and Tom wrap up the year by answering an eclectic and insightful selection of your questions.

Plus: they digest the fourth and final COP of the year, known as the Desertification COP, which took place in December in Saudi Arabia and reflect on their own feelings at the end of a challenging year for the climate movement.

Huge thanks to our community of listeners for all the great questions submitted and all the support this year. Apologies if we didn’t get to your question this time but do keep sending them our way. See you in 2025!

NOTES AND RESOURCES

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Ben Rhodes—writer, political commentator, and former Deputy National Security Advisor under President Obama—joins the host team to dissect the challenges of a Trump 2.0 administration.

Rhodes issues a bold call for a new "climate populist" strategy, to redirect the populist right-wing outrage over climate action toward exposing the oil and gas industry's stranglehold on climate negotiations, as seen at recent COP summits.

Christiana, Tom, Paul, plus special guest Fi Macklin, invite Rhodes to explore themes of strong leadership, the shifting dynamics of geopolitics, Trump’s appeal to the U.S. electorate, and how the world could navigate global climate politics without the US over the next four years?

NOTES AND RESOURCES

GUESTS

Ben Rhodes, writer, political commentator, and national security analyst

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Fiona Macklin, Senior Advisor on Groundswell, Global Optimism

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Learn more about the Paris Agreement.

It’s official, we’re a TED Audio Collective Podcast - Proof!

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This week, Christiana, Tom and Paul tackle the latest on the global plastics treaty (known as INC-5), which ended last week without a deal. Why were countries unable to agree a deal despite the huge amount of public concern about plastic pollution? What pathways remain for an agreement in 2025? And why is it so important to maintain focus on plastic from a climate point of view? Dive into the challenges and explore potential solutions with the team.

Continuing this critical theme, Ellen MacArthur, Founder & Chair of Trustees of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, world record-breaking sailor and circular economy advocate, joins Christiana to share an exclusive conversation as part of a collaboration between The Circular Economy Show and Outrage + Optimism. Together they consider what’s next for the global plastics treaty, get excited about the role of the private sector in tackling plastic pollution, and highlight how the visibility of plastics can help capture public attention on climate.

Before you go…

Listener Survey

Help shape the podcast for 2025! If you haven’t yet completed our annual listener survey, we’d be so grateful if you can spare 10 minutes to complete it here.

Tell us what you like, what you don’t like, and what you want more of from Outrage + Optimism.

NOTES AND RESOURCES

GUEST

Dame Ellen MacArthur

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Ellen MacArthur Foundation

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The Foundation works to accelerate the transition to a circular economy, if you’d like to find out more, the Foundation’s podcast ‘The Circular Economy Show’ talks to experts from across industry, governments and academia to hear first hand about how the circular economy is being developed and scaled.

December Mailbag Episode

We would LOVE to hear your questions for our end of year listener Mailbag episode. Whether it is your questions on our most recent How to Live a Good Life series, questions on the recent COPs or everything and anything in between. Please either:

• Send us an email: contact@globaloptimism.com with Climate Questions: December Mailbag in the title.

• Visit our social media pages and drop the question in the comments.

• Alternatively, if you want the chance for your message to be played on the show, record a message for us here

Learn more about the Paris Agreement.

It’s official, we’re a TED Audio Collective Podcast - Proof!

Check out more podcasts from The TED Audio Collective

Please follow us on social media!

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